Today we have witnessed the
Nintendo Direct focused on Super Smash Bros.
Well, other people say it directly, I caught up with it Destructoid
after the fact. This series of
announcements has left Smash fans with a puzzle.
Has Nintendo given up on the
WiiU?
Understand my point of view. I’ve always loved Smash, though feared that
its core gameplay may be beginning to wear a little. Common, you all know it; the core gameplay is
essentially unchanged since the N64, which we all played until the frail analog
stick broke. …Or was that Mario Party
2?
Anyway, the vitality of the Smash
franchise now lies in its wonderfully creative new modes and challenge
stages. Not just Subspace Emissary,
though that mode was great. Also Trouble
Kings, and all of the alternate battle challenges, and the boss rush, and the fighting
wire frames (though Cruel Melee is just that).
There was a lot to do in the last two games, and having a wide berth of
time (the original is launched in 1999, Melee in 2001, and Brawl in 2008) in which
to play them made it all the sweeter!
Nintendo has confirmed launch
windows for both its 3DS version of Super Smash Bros, aiming for Summer 2014,
and its Wii U version, aiming for Winter 2014 – the latter has already past, so
they must mean Holiday 2014, targeting the end of the year. Consider the pill offered for us to swallow,
as the two games are co-developed, and one won’t be substantially “better” than
the other, nor will they be very far apart, giving each other the wide berth
enjoyed by predecessors. Nor even will
they be close enough together to enjoy a lot of cross-online play
together. Where Monster Hunter 3 U
brings enthusiastic Monster Hunters together on the Wii U and sends them out
alone on the 3DS all in the same window of time, Super Smash Bros 4 will be
actively trying to use the Wii U launch event to drum up activity among the 3DS
Smash community, but the reasons for buying Smash on Wii U are still lacking,
and everyone with a 3DS has already seen a lot of the new innovations already.
Which is the question – is the
Wii U version sent out to die or to die in the service of the 3DS version? Is there a point to having both?
There is hope. Nintendo and series director Masahiro Sakurai
appear sensitive to the criticism, and have advised of a new Multiplayer mode
on the 3DS, Smash
Run. Smash Run challenges players to
collect power boosts in a timed scramble, pitting them against a wide number of
Nintendo enemies from across its favorite franchises. Those boosts then affect the main
battle. It is claimed to be a quick
preamble leading to an exciting showdown.
This mode is exclusive to the 3DS, and will not appear in the Wii U
version …
…
But could that idea be revisited
on the Wii U? It is tantalizing to know
that Wii U version could have its own gameplay mode to shake up the conventions
and deliver its faithful fans their own version of the well-worn
franchise. Hang-on, let me change that
statement.
I think that we expect it, and we
would be a hard sell without it.
I’ve waffled in the past. I’ve once called Smash Bros one of the most
delightfully fun, playable commercials on TV, and it is true: everything in
Smash Bros is a celebration, and a marketing message, for Nintendo’s long
history of entertainment.
If Nintendo wants to have the commercial
run long, I hope they can deliver still more fun, playable delights, and I hope
not everything will have already been seen on the 3DS.
I guess this means that I have
not been convinced yet about the Wii U version, though it looks quite
nice. The 3DS version looks very nice
too, and I expect I will be one of the many pre-orders playing on day 1. Keep an eye out of me.
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