Super Smash Bros. review

Punch your way out your nearest game store

Review written by
Matt Clewley

January 10th, 2015

The beauty and versatility of handheld consoles has always given us great surprises, especially those coming from Nintendo. My favorite on handheld so far this year has been the excellent Pokemon X/Y, however my all-time favorite surprise (sorry Nintendo fans) has been Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories on PSP. I highly anticipated Super Smash Bros. on 3DS to be an absolute blast. With screenshots being released and characters being rumored, I was excited to purchase it.

I read several articles that gave me some panic about the 3DS analog stick. I love getting into a Smash game, and so do other people, who are so glued into their game that they break the analog stick. The stick on the 3DS isn't as maneuverable as the console controllers, so I did worry admittedly.

So I ripped off the packaging as if I were a pack of wolves savaging a snowboarder, and smashed that cartridge into my 3DS. Now just to warn those who are new to the 3DS Smash Bros at the moment, then I suggest downloading the 1.4 version update from the eShop to smash some wonderful people online.

The game took a while to load up at first, but I eventually got to the title screen. The nostalgia of Brawl already hits as the new menu has the same sound effects and music as Brawl does. I tried out the Smash icon and then got myself loaded into a fight. I picked Yoshi as he is my favorite Nintendo character, and I was up against Sheik (who can't transform into Zelda, and vice versa), Kirby and Mario. I randomized the stage and got myself onto Golden Plains, a New Super Mario Bros. stage.

The graphics are absolutely brilliant. It's amazing the 3DS could capture the movements and graphics so well, they are a lot better than they seem in screenshots.

The gameplay is perfect as well for the 3DS, with the controls pretty much what you'd expect them to be. I never read instruction manuals, but I knew what the controls were going to be from the start, so if you've been playing these games since N64 or GameCube you know what to expect.

There are a great bunch of items with some new guns, and item combination to make headcrush hits on your opponents. Smash Run involves you playing and smacking your way through enemies to build up your stat points. The enemies aren't playable characters, they nod in the direction towards games like Metroid and Pikmin, as well as a cheeky appearance of enemies from classic games like Dig Dug. Once you have beaten an enemy they explode into little stat items that you collect. If you avoid dying, then you will be able to keep these stat points for when you take on the multi-man challenge at the end.

Games and More on the menu offers the lot to keep you playing. We have got the classic... Classic mode! You collect gold the more you fight on this game, and this gold can be used to change the intensity level. On classic mode you have 3 different pathways while your characters walks, you choose which one to go on and then you end up in a battle. I always went for the pathway with the most coins because, well, I do like some money in my pocket. This led me to a brilliant fight with the Master Hand and Crazy Hand, a challenging, but engaging boss battle. Up next is the new All Star section, where you battle the characters through their timeline of video games. They are in a section of 5 to 6 fighters per round, starting off with the Mario, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Little Mac and Luigi from the early 80s and moving on until the current day. You will stay damaged throughout All Star, and you won't be the sharpest tool in the set, so there are health options for you. So whilst you have your own pharmacy, you can kick Jigglypuff's face in with all the joy in the world and you're ready to heal up! (After all, Jigglypuff surpasses everyone with power...)

In the stadium events you have the 3 classics that we all know and love. Multi Man Smash has different levels on it like the previous one, ranging from a 10-man Smash, to a Cruel Smash, so you can imagine the fun you will have there.

Target Smash is a mix up of home run and target smash from Brawl, which does sound pretty awesome. I can't help but notice the resemblance of this to Angry Birds, but instead of a bird killing pigs, it's a bomb blowing up targets. I think this is a shame, there wasn't anything wrong with the old target gameplay was there?

All of the above play very well, and everything is exquisite from the controls to the monstrous gameplay. The new characters are charming and some of them even take a while to get used to, I just need to get Mewtwo now.

Online is a thousand times better than it was on Brawl. Even though when you're fighting people across the world, the fighting options are still a 2 minute smash, but it's still fun. You have the option to play for fun or for serious, the fun option of course being mainly item based.

Conquest is a great addition to Smash Bros and the spectate option is still there. Even though online seems more fresh, I still struggle to fight as about a quarter of my fights have had to be cancelled due to lagging. It's extremely annoying and gives me flashbacks to Brawl, as online on Brawl was very lackluster. However, when a fight doesn't lag it's the best thing to be involved in.

The music is perfect and it ranges from all the titles that are involved in the character roster. You've even got some hidden Sonic The Hedgehog songs. I have to admit though, I do like Sonic songs, even if they're from some of his lesser games (CAN YOU FEEL THE SUNSHIIIIIIINE?!)

Super Smash Bros. on 3DS has gone above expectations in how it has turned out. The character roster is better than ever, I knew Pac-Man would surface, but I was sad that Rayman wasn't a part of the roster. With slick graphics, vicious gameplay and a mouthwatering soundtrack it is without doubt worth your money. Super Smash Bros. 3DS differs from the Wii U version. The stages and gaming options all differ and it's nice to keep it fresh, buying both games is the best thing I have done.