A little something in lieu of the New Smash Bros Title that hit the Wii U console

Smash Bros has been my fighting game of choice for as long as I can remember. The N64 was the first console my family owned, and Smash was the first fighting game I ever played and has been the measure of all other fighting games for me. I played Street Fighter, Soul Caliber, and DOA but have always found Smash Bros to be my personal preference. This isn’t because I think Smash is technically superior to any of those titles, I simply found that I enjoy playing Smash Bros more. I like that the mobility in the game is high enough to provide breathing room during fights. I like the idea of knocking opponents out of bounds and the use of damage percentage over life bars. I like how the game can be played seriously or for fun and that the game has settings to cater to both desires. This seems to be especially the case in the newest Smash Bros game and I commend the game for that.

This marks the first Smash Bros game where I have begun to play online against others. My opponents in all other games before have been my brother and friends. The Wii iteration of Smash featured online play, but I never owned a Wii and only played at social gatherings. I feel more comfortable playing online now knowing that Nintendo’s online game has become more stable and how this Smash Bros game has been refined (No more tripping, thank god). So far the online experience has been as good for me as any other genre, having all the excitement and frustrations I get from playing Halo, Call of Duty, and Battlefield online. The distinct modes for competitive and casual online play is a great way to satisfy both players who want to compete or just have fun. The only things I wish it also had was the feature to bring custom characters into the online mode. I understand why it should stay out of the competitive side of the game, but I was looking forward to seeing what kind of perverse creations players could come up with when I heard that character customization was featured in the game. Another minor issue I had was the lack of a 1 on 1 mode outside of the Glory mode. I understand that 1 on 1 by its nature is competitive, but it would be nice to have place where I can play 1 on 1 but consider more as practice rather than competition.

My own personal favorites to play online and against friends are Ike and the Wii Fit Trainer. Both by virtue that I rarely see others use them. These are followed by Charizard, Palutena, and Ganondorf (who is always pitted against Captain Falcon when I choose him). I use these characters less often but enjoy them very much. I harbor a secret desire to play Little Mac because I enjoyed the Punch Out games, but avoid doing so. Partly for his reputation as being unfair in Glory mode, but mostly because I greatly dislike the way the developers designed his move set (The KO Punch seems entirely unnecessary among other design choices). I’ve found the most success so far with Ike (about 65% W/L so far) and like that I can succeed against others by being a smarter player. While it can be frustrating at times, I do like facing off against the different strategies that players come up with and feel great triumph when I overcome them.

This seems to be the most balanced and potentially competitive Smash Bros game since Melee and I may even try some tournaments for the first time. I’m glad it’s been around in my lifetime and it’s been a blast to play.

~ Yuji