I was
planning to write game reviews here quite some time ago but kinda stopped
blogging overall. Now it’s finally time for me to write a review.
Super Smash
Bros. Brawl, a game that didn’t get boring after playing for so many years now.
Wonderful music, nice graphics, great gameplay and endless durability due to
the amount of content and wonderful local multiplayer. Can the first game in
the series on a handheld device live up to the high expectations I had after
Brawl? Well, not really.
But don’t
get me wrong, it’s still a really, really good game. It just has some minor
issues.
The first
thing worth mentioning is that Smash Bros. 3DS is really using 3DS’
capabilities to its max. It actually needs to disable extra functions like Miiverse
and Internet Browser to even work and even restart once you close the game
(most likely to release that allocated memory). That might seem like a bad
thing, but it pays off as the game looks fantastic and plays at constant 60 fps
which makes the game very smooth and feel faster. The character models and
textures look really good for a 3DS game.
In terms of
audio presentation the game is great as well. The soundtrack is not as good as
Brawl’s but includes many wonderful tracks including new remixes and original
themes. Some songs are less good, but I just ignore them for the most part. The
voices are for the most part good but some characters sound weird. Lucario for
example. Sound effects are good, most of which are changed from Brawl which is
both good and bad depending on the sound.
But let’s
get to the most important part of any game, the gameplay and Smash 3DS has
great gameplay just like previous games in the series. For those of you who
preferred Melee, I have some good news. The game is faster than Brawl and
random tripping is completely gone. The returning characters have been balanced
and now most character seem to be equally useful. The new characters are great
as well and they are quite many. I’m not gonna complain about clones because
they were present since Melee and not to mention, I use Dark Pit the most. The
roster is really good in this game. There’s just so many characters to choose
from and you can also bring basically anyone (kind of) in the game by creating
new Mii Fighters. And speaking of Mii Fighters, one new feature is
customization. In local battles as well as in Smash Run you can customize
characters by changing their special moves and equipping stat boosts. That can
lead to some fun variations. Additionally, Mii Fighters’ Outfit and Headgear
can be changed. Specials (except for the Miis), equipment and outfits (for
Miis) need to be unlocked. Speaking of things to unlock… Getting all characters
and stages is really easy, so the focus of unlocking will be on trophies and
unlockables mentioned before. Just like in Brawl, there’s quite a lot of
challenges/achievements to get. This time they done it in the same style as Kid
Icarus: Uprising with three separate panels, two of which are unlocked after
getting a certain amount of previous challenges.
There’s
plenty of different modes to play. There’s of course a standard Smash mode
which is local single/multiplayer matches where you can customize the settings
for every match and play freely. The classic mode has got a new look. There’s only
6 stages now and you get 2 lives per stage. At the beginning, you use coins to
change intensity from 0.1 to 9.0 (2.0 is standard). This is yet another things
inspired by Kid Icarus: Uprising. In between stages you’re sent to a map screen
where you choose your path. The colors depict the difficulty of the next stage.
Choosing blue leads you to an easier stage while choosing red leads you to a
harder stage. The harder the stage the more rewards you get. Playing on an
intensity higher than 5.0 leads a twist that literally made me go: “HOLY F*****
S***”, so here’s your encouragement to play on higher difficulties ;).
All-Stars
mode has been slightly changed as well. It is available from the start, however
not with the full roster until you unlock everyone (which of course leads to a
lower score at the end). The change I love in All-Stars Mode is that the stages
are divided into years the character were introduced in. Overall, it’s just as
good as the previous All-Star but a little better.
Stadium is
back with three main modes: Multi-Man Smash, Target Blast and Home-Run Contest.
Multi-Man Smash is the same as before, however you’ll fight Miis this time.
There’s also a new mode called Rival Smash in which you need to K.O. more Miis
than your opponent. Home-Run Contest is the same good classic mode where you
abuse the poor Sandbag for a few seconds and then launch it with a baseball bat
to see it fly for hundreds of meters. Lastly, the brand new and sadly the worst
mode of them all… Target Blast. In this mode you launch a bomb towards an Angry
Birds-like “building” where the bomb destroys blocks and target which gives you
point. The problem is… it feels just random every time and sometimes the damn
bomb doesn’t even want to be launched. Inside the Vault there’s a little mode
called Trophy Rush in which you are placed on a flat stage and need to destroy
blocks in order to get points. Once in a while it will rain blocks that give
coins and trophies.
Last but
not least is Smash Run. A brand-new mode which is partially inspired by Kirby’s
Air Ride multiplayer and Subspace Emissary. In this mode four fighters are each
sent to a giant maze-like level in which you for 5 minutes have to gather stat
boosts by defeating enemies from various games, opening treasure chests and
complete challenges. You can equip Smash Run powers to make your life in the
maze easier. After those 5 minutes you and the other three players are in for a
final battle. This can be a regular 1 minute Smash or one of many different
final battles including enemy smash and race. Many reviewers seem to hate this
mode but I like it a lot.
Moving on
from local modes to online and this is where the game shows its’ biggest
weakness. The different modes are cool. For Fun is an unranked mode where you
can battle others with items on regular stages. For Glory is a ranked mode
where you battle others without items on Omega-form stages (aka Final
Destination-forms). The problem is… the same as in Brawl… When the other
players have bad connection, the game goes from 60 fps to a lagfest. It can
destroy the experience quite a lot, especially in For Glory mode where you
really want to do your best.
Lastly
there’s a small mode for StreetPass in which you need to K.O. other people’s
tokens with your
own token on a top-down stage. Nothing really special.
Verdict:
Super Smash
Bros. 3DS is a great game and definitely worth picking up even for the sole
reason of having the game on the go. The graphics are pretty, the audio good as
always and the gameplay amazing, even better in 60 fps. The game offers quite a
lot of varied modes, most of which are very well done. The character roster is
big but none of the characters feel bad. If you can ignore the crappy netcode
in the online mode, the game is close to perfect in many ways. It doesn’t give
the same feeling of endless durability as Brawl does (for me) but it is still
addicting.
Pros:
+ Really
good graphics
+ Constant
60 fps
+ Well
balanced
+ Great
Gameplay
Cons
- -
Target
Smash Mode
- -
Online
lag
- - Some
kind of bigger story mode would be nice
Score:
Graphics:
10/10
Audio: 9/10
Gameplay:
9/10
Online:
6/10
Durability:
9.5/10
FINAL SCORE: 9 Smash Balls out of 10
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