By Jamie Lambert
On Friday the 12th of September, under very specific circumstances, a small portion of Nintendo Club members received a number of download codes for the Super Smash Bros 3DS demo a week before public release. Though I was not personally one of those to receive codes, I was lucky enough to have 'Links' with people who were.
On Friday the 12th of September, under very specific circumstances, a small portion of Nintendo Club members received a number of download codes for the Super Smash Bros 3DS demo a week before public release. Though I was not personally one of those to receive codes, I was lucky enough to have 'Links' with people who were.
For anyone that doesn’t already know, the Smash Bros. series are games where Nintendo’s most (and least) well known characters are Pit against each other. 2 to 4 characters are fighting at one time, and the amount of damage one has taken effects how easily that fighter can be hit off the stage. If the character falls or is hit off the stage, they lose a point or a stock (the equivalent of “lives”) depending on the game mode. If the fighter was hit off by another, they will gain a point.
The demo for SSB 3DS only includes the standard brawl mode, now called “Smash” mode. There is a choice between solo and group brawl, the latter being local multiplayer only for the demo. Five characters are included and playable: Mario, Link and Pikachu as returning characters, Megaman and Villager as newcomers. The only playable stage is the standard Battlefield stage, though the Final Destination version (the “Omega” version) is included too. Generally, the gameplay feels very solid. The fighters are much less floaty than in brawl, and the fights feel much more fast paced. The difficulty ranges from the CPU characters basically standing still the whole time to them being brutally challenging, so there’s plenty of room for both new and experienced players alike. Due to the nature of the 3DS thumbpad, you find yourself using dash attacks more than side attacks simply because it’s easier to pull off.
If you want to find some new tactics for different characters, it can be interesting to set all of the fighters to the highest difficulty and set them against each other in a game, and watch them to take inspiration for play styles or combos.
The demo for SSB 3DS only includes the standard brawl mode, now called “Smash” mode. There is a choice between solo and group brawl, the latter being local multiplayer only for the demo. Five characters are included and playable: Mario, Link and Pikachu as returning characters, Megaman and Villager as newcomers. The only playable stage is the standard Battlefield stage, though the Final Destination version (the “Omega” version) is included too. Generally, the gameplay feels very solid. The fighters are much less floaty than in brawl, and the fights feel much more fast paced. The difficulty ranges from the CPU characters basically standing still the whole time to them being brutally challenging, so there’s plenty of room for both new and experienced players alike. Due to the nature of the 3DS thumbpad, you find yourself using dash attacks more than side attacks simply because it’s easier to pull off.
If you want to find some new tactics for different characters, it can be interesting to set all of the fighters to the highest difficulty and set them against each other in a game, and watch them to take inspiration for play styles or combos.
The three returning characters play very similarly to how they did in previous games, Though their attacks are slightly faster. The newcomers are quite technical, however, making them slightly more difficult to get the hang of. The villager has moves that require setting up beforehand, such as the tree that must be planted, watered and then chopped down before it can deal damage. However, it makes up for the setup time in the power it has. Villager also adds another layer to fights with the ability to pocket any item or projectile. This includes another Villager’s tree or bowling ball, and since the item’s damage is drastically increased after being pocketed, both can be absolutely devastating. One massive downside to playing as Villager is that the recovery moves leave them extremely vulnerable, so it can be difficult to time them well so you aren’t smashed straight off again as you land.
Megaman also has a very interesting move set, a few of which are projectile-based. Each move is based on a power that can be acquired in the original Megaman series, such as the Leaf Shield, Metal Blade and Crash Bomb. His moves seem to leave him open for a little while afterwards, and using the Leaf Shield stops him from using his recovery. Speaking of which, the recovery is very effective, and can be used to escape light stun.
In fighting games, a small amount of input lag can completely ruin your multiplayer gaming experience.I was expecting this to be a problem in SSB3DS, however the local multiplayer seems almost lag-free. The game runs at a smooth 60/30FPS (the fighters in 60FPS, everything else in 30FPS), however it very occasionally drops with massive slowdown for a second or two. This doesn’t affect the game drastically, and happens to all players at the same time, so it may be deliberately implemented to avoid input lag. The demo is overall just really fun to play, and backed up by the fact that it is an “unlimited” demo (with no limit to how many ties it can be played), it has already sucked over 20 hours of gameplay out of me. Seeing as this is only a very small fraction of the potential the game has to offer, I can see this becoming the best game out this year, and quite possibly the best 3DS game yet.
The public demo is out now, though it only has thirty plays so don’t take it for granted.
In fighting games, a small amount of input lag can completely ruin your multiplayer gaming experience.I was expecting this to be a problem in SSB3DS, however the local multiplayer seems almost lag-free. The game runs at a smooth 60/30FPS (the fighters in 60FPS, everything else in 30FPS), however it very occasionally drops with massive slowdown for a second or two. This doesn’t affect the game drastically, and happens to all players at the same time, so it may be deliberately implemented to avoid input lag. The demo is overall just really fun to play, and backed up by the fact that it is an “unlimited” demo (with no limit to how many ties it can be played), it has already sucked over 20 hours of gameplay out of me. Seeing as this is only a very small fraction of the potential the game has to offer, I can see this becoming the best game out this year, and quite possibly the best 3DS game yet.
The public demo is out now, though it only has thirty plays so don’t take it for granted.
Happy Smashing!
Super Smash Bros for the 3DS releases on the 3rd October, featuring an all-star line up of new faces and old foes. Will you be playing when it hit stores? Do you think this will give the Wii U the much needed boost it has been pleading for since its launch nearly two years ago?
Let us know in the comments below, or come find us on Facebook and Twitter!
Let us know in the comments below, or come find us on Facebook and Twitter!
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