Life as a Nintendo mascot is pretty cushy. Every year or two, you iron your work clothes, jump around a little, save a world from disaster, maybe drive a kart, and then it’s back to sipping 8-bit Mai Tais on Legendary Character Island. Let the nerds worry about Nintendo’s future. You’re an icon! Order room service!

The trouble with all that lounging? It makes you soft. Flabby. Weak. And while you might not think of yourself as a fighter, you suddenly become one the minute a gamer turns on Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. Put down the drink and pick up a bat. Mario’s coming for you, and he’s got a hammer. And fireballs.

Thankfully, every mascot is deadly in the hands of a Super Smash Bros. player, a testament to the game’s brilliant character design and accessible-yet-deep gameplay. Despite its diminutive stature, Super Smash Bros. for 3DS isn’t just one of the biggest games ever released for Nintendo’s handheld. It’s also among its best.



Super Smash Bros. got its start 15 years ago on the N64, and while it’s evolved a bit over the years, the basics remain unchanged: Famous video game characters duke it out on hilarious, game-themed levels using their fists, feet, and all sorts of crazy weapons. But where most fighting games require complicated inputs and ridiculous reflexes, Super Smash Bros. boils it all down to a couple of buttons and a few directions. The result is a chaotic, fast-paced slugfest that just about anybody can play.

This is the first time anyone’s played it on a handheld, however. With the Wii U version still in limbo (Nintendo has yet to give a firm release date beyond “holidays 2014,” so really soon, we hope?), the 3DS version is currently the most important game in Nintendo’s fall lineup. Some fans have expressed fears that it would suffer on the smaller system, and while it has its challenges, make no mistake: This is a big, bold, beautiful video game.

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS boasts a whopping 49 playable characters, the largest roster in franchise history. It’s a who’s-who of famous faces, from Nintendo icons like Mario, Link, and Donkey Kong to Pac-Man, Mega Man, and even longtime Mario rival Sonic the Hedgehog. Heck, the dog from Duck Hunt is in here. The character list is staggeringly cool, particularly if you’re a fan of Nintendo’s past.

Even cooler? You can create your own fighter using your little 3DS “Mii” avatar. You’ll choose one of three archetypes (brawler, swordsman, or gunner), but that’s just the start. Over the course of playing through the game’s many modes, you’ll earn items and abilities that will turn your bobble-headed familiar into a lethal kung-fu madman. It’s a role-playing game crammed into a fighter.

There are a multitude of modes culled from past Smash Bros. games, but the real standout is the awesome new “Smash Run” adventure. Exclusive to the 3DS version, Smash Run gives players five minutes to collect ability-enhancing badges in a labyrinth crawling with enemies and treasures. Once those five minutes are up, the newly powered-up characters battle one another in a final challenge. It’s terrific fun either solo or with a group.

Unfortunately, multiplayer — where a fighting game like Super Smash Bros. should shine brightest — has some issues. Online matches are beset with lag problems; I was dropped out of more matches than I completed. It’s a shame, because hopping online and playing with friends or strangers is a fair share easier than playing local multiplayer, which, while certainly smoother, requires multiple 3DS systems and copies of the game. Portability has its drawbacks.

But regardless of how you choose to play, you’ll be gobsmacked by the river of nostalgia running through Super Smash Bros. You and your buddy will bash each other while standing on the fuselage of Starfox’s Arwing ship, riding on a train from The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, and sitting in the living room from Nintendogs. A level based on Nintendo’s artsy chat program Pictochat actually draws itself in while you play. You’ll wield a sword made of Super Mario fireballs and capture enemies with the help of a Galaga alien. Smash director Masahiro Sakurai and his team clearly had fun making this game, and their fondness for the subject matter is infectious.

They’ve built a beauty, too. Super Smash Bros. for 3DS pops with color and charm. Concerns that the limited power of the 3DS would result in performance issues were unwarranted. It plays great — as long as you keep it offline.

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