OK, I’ll admit it. I’m not that good at Smash Bros, In fact, I would never even feign any kind of proficiency at it. The deeper complexities of Nintendo’s mascot-based brawler elude me to this day.
However, for me (and I’m betting 90% of the people who love Smash Bros) the fun to be found in the game is derived not from performing the perfect dash cancel but from watching Princess Peach kicking Bowser right in the plums.
The innate appeal is in watching characters that, in their usual surroundings, are for the most part pretty damn wholesome suddenly knocking ten bales of shit out of each other. No one’s entirely sure why they are doing this, and the closest I ever understood, it was for the whims of the terrifiying and god-like Master Hand, who [spoiler]once again makes an appearance as the end boss of the game’s single player mode.[/spoiler] It’s a kind of fan-centric entertainment that just never gets old.
The best thing I can say about Super Smash Bros for Wii-U is that it is Smash Bros. If you have played and enjoyed the other games in the series, you’ll love it. What it represents is the best-looking and most-refined entry in the series to date. The huge roster of playable characters includes all the usual suspects, as well as plenty of fresh new faces such as Little Mac, Megaman and Shulk (from Xenoblade Chronicles) is one of the series’ most balanced, unique and satisfying, and will have pros poring over the minutiae of each fighter for years to come, leaving rank amateurs like myself to gawp at how simply beautiful the onscreen chaos is, running at a silky smooth 60fps at 1080p, all whilst bashing buttons and seeing what sticks.
There’s a fantastic completeness to the whole affair. Even the game’s mostly-console-specific backgrounds are just as much character as the playable roster. They range from tight, retro-inspired reproductions to massive multi-tiered affairs that are seem tailor made for the Wii-U’s impressive new console-exclusive 8 player Smash mode. As the name suggests, it ups the player count from the standard four player mayhem to an eye-watering eight players. Now, I have trouble keeping up with the action when there’s four players, but watching eight characters all vying for dominance truly is a marvel to behold. Especially considering that it retains a rock-solid 60fps with minimal reduction in visual fidelity. it’s a testament to just how finely-tuned and technically-proficient the game is. Like Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario 3D World before it, Super Smash Bros is a technical powerhouse that shows just how capable the Wii-U is for developers that know what they’re doing with the hardware, and one of the best looking games on any current-gen system.
Along with being a technical showcase, 8 player Smash also demonstrates the Wii-U’s play-how-you-want approach to control, enabling players to control the game using any combination of compatible pads including Wiimotes, gamepad pros. classic controllers and even Game Cube controllers via a new USB adapter.
If you can’t find eight players there’s no need to fret, as you can also play this mode using any combination of Human and AI opponents, including any Amiibo figures you may have to hand.
The loudest-touted new feature of Smash Bros for Wii-U is the ability to use Amiibo, Nintendo’s new range of NFC figurines that will be compatible with pretty much every game they make in the future. Each playable character in the game will eventually have a real life Amiibo counterpart. During my time testing the game, I had access to two first-wave figurines; Mario and Link. In order to use your Amiibo in Super Smash Bros, it’s worth mentioning that you first need to link it to your NNID within the Wii-U system settings before registering them in-game, which is a bit of a pain.
Once we’d set them up, affectionately nicknaming them Gobshiite, and Liink (guess which one’s which) using the pair in game was a simple case of pressing them to the NFC reader during character select.
In game, each Amiibo starts off at level 1 (to a maximum level of 50), and gradually gains experience from every bout that it takes part in, gradually learning new moves and combos as it levels up. Initially, Amiibo fighters are pretty useless, flailing wildly at whatever comes near them and getting outsmarted by all but the lowest-level AI, but after just a few bouts, when they reach level 15 – 20 or so, the bloody things become deadly, countering and kicking the crap out of all comers, including human opponents. I’m now pretty sure that I’ve seen the beginning of the end of mankind. When the machines finally do rise up. I’m sure the death-bots will be wearing Dungarees and proclaiming their arrival with a chilling cry of “It’s-a-me, Maaarrrio”.
You can also feed up your Amiibo with various stat-boosting power ups in order to further refine how it fights and reacts to certain attacks and strategies. After a while, I found it interesting simply to play spectator, getting Liink and Gobshiite to fight each other without any human or straight AI interference as if they were taking part into some kind of figurine-based fight club. It’s official, folks. Gaming has reached its peak. We no longer have to play games ourselves. but can field little plastic ringers in our stead. For an extra twenty fucking pounds.
Since they are restricted to causing havoc only within the Smash and 8 player Smash modes, The Amiibos feel more like a wholly-optional aside at worst and an interesting curio at best, rather than a vital or even particularly necessary part of the experience. In many respects, it feels like Nintendo have missed a trick with this one as they could have been used far more widely. This will likely never be addressed as the figures themselves are going to sell regardless of how useful they are in-game, and you get the feeling Nintendo are already acutely aware of this.
Aside from harrowing visions of the nightmarish future of our new figurine overlords, Super Smash Bros is crammed with content, much of it making its way from the 3DS version with subtle tweaks. Most notable is the single player Classic mode. which is Super Smash Bros’ stand in for Subspace Emissary, although sadly not nearly half as epic. In the Wii-U’s version of Classic mode, the single-line progression of the 3DS version is replaced by a board covered in enemies which you then choose to tackle in whichever order you desire until it is cleared and another wave are dropped. This continues until you eventually face off against Master Hand, or crazy hands on higher difficulties. Highlights include eight-player battles and facing off against a horde of miis, although it never quite reaches the heady heights of Melee’s much-vaunted single player campaign. If you’ve already spent months playing through the 3DS version, aside from presentation and a couple of console-centric tweaks such as the aforementioned eight-character battles, there’s little to bring back players who’ve already conquered it on their handhelds.
But for everyone else, it’s a ton of fun. Where the Wii-U version really comes into its own is in the modes that didn’t make it into the 3DS version. The return of Event matches from Brawl and Melee, offering up quirky bouts based on character’s historical rivalries and other parameters. these reward players with additional bonus items for completing them without taking damage or completing other secondary objectives. They’re a fun and fairly compelling time sink.
Next up, there’s Master Orders, in which players face off against three waves of increasingly-difficult enemies in order to unlock additional customisation items. Increasing the difficulty level increases the amount of bonus cash and rewards gained after each round, but also increases the initial entry fee. It’s a simple risk vs reward system that creates a nice balance and allows the mode to be challenging without letting you get too far out of your depth.
The most interesting new mode exclusive to Super Smash Bros Wii-U is Tour Mode, although on paper it sounds like a clone of the similar board-game based modes of wii/mario party. In this mode, up to four players use their miis to wander around a board in a bid to collect as many character figurines as they can. They end the game in a massive battle where each player uses the characters they’ve collected as lives in order to fend off their opponents.
Much like Mario Party, the first few times round the board can be a little bewildering but I promise that if you stick with it you’ll find it both hilarious and addictive, rife with curve-balls, and some of the best couch multiplayer on the Wii-U or any other console, for that matter.
Online, Smash Bros fares reasonably well, although it does feel fairly limited with many modes omitted from the online fun. Players are restricted to the standard four player matches, which are divided into fully-customisable ‘for fun’ matches and straight stock four player affairs (with customisation turned off) for ranked play. During my time testing online, I had little trouble finding a match. However, I did occasionally see some minor hiccups when the action became particularly hectic.
Much like in Brawl, online play feels like more of an added bonus than a core part of the experience, although it’s greatly improved from the relatively-lackluster netcode of its predecessor. Super Smash Bros on Wii-U is still best played with a group of your friends, several cans and a bottle (or two) of something cheeky.
The wealth of modes, challenges, tweaks and refinements over its predecessors make Super Smash Bros on Wii-U the finest game in the series and another essential addition to your Wii-U library. Regardless of whether you know what a dash cancel is.
