At yesterday's Nintendo Direct, we received a lot of new info regarding the playable characters in the game. We got taken through the changes to the veteran fighters, as well as introduced to the special moves of the newcomers.

One of the most noteworthy changes this time around is the removal of the ability to transform from Samus into Zero Suit Samus and from Zelda into Sheik. Instead these different forms will be completely separate characters, allowing players to experience each unique style through an entire bout.

This will of course mean that when Samus uses her Final Smash move, the suit will not fall to pieces this time. Due to the fact that Zero Suit Samus is weaker than her armoured counterpart, she has been given jet boots which improves recovery ability and allows her kicks to dish out a lot of damage.

Zelda's Down-B move is now called 'Phantom Slash' which allows her to summon a phantom to strike an opponent. Sheik also gets two new special moves in the form of 'Burst grenade' and 'Bouncing Fish'.

Kirby is another character that has been granted a new special move, called 'Hammer Flip', which is as powerful as it sounds (no sarcasm intended - it really is powerful). Kirby has also received a new Final Smash - the 'Ultra Sword'!

Dedede also returns in this installment and will have ability to throw Gordos, as opposed to Waddle Dees in Brawl. Lucario's aura attacks have been strengthened, however this is an element of self-danger if Lucario powers up too much! One exciting prospect is the 'Mega Evolution' for Lucario which will allow the playable Pokemon to always dish out max damage with his aura attacks.

Moving on, Olimar and his adorable Pikmin are back and with quite a few changes of their own. This time around, only three Pikmin can follow him at one time. Pikmin can only be plucked in a fixed order: red; yellow; blue. When these Pikmin are dispatched, the next Pikmin to be plucked will be white and purple and then the cycle begins again. The reasoning behind this change is to allow for better management of your Pikmin on the battlefield. Olimar's recovery move now involves a winged Pikmin - from Pikmin 3 - carrying him upwards. However, the more Pikmin Olimar has with him, the heavier he will be.

A further veteran character that was detailed is Pit. The character's gliding mechanic has been cut, however he has been upgraded in a number of areas. 'Power of Flight' is an easy-to-use recovery move and his Final Smash has been changed to 'Three Sacred Treasures'.

It was then announced that Yoshi would be returning to the New Super Smash Bros! Apparently, the character now stands in a more upright position, as opposed to his previously arching stance. Masahiro claims that:

Yoshi will stand tall in battle

Masahiro Sakurai

As well as being taken through the veteran fighters, we also got to experience some of the styles of the newcomers. Rosalina & Luma are an interesting duo. The two can remain together or separate. When Luma is separated from Rosalina, the player can control Luma's attacks from afar. This allows the two to fight separately in order to unleash vast amounts of attacks in a short space of time.

Little Mac is a huge puncher and his ground attacks are his strongest area, however in the air, he can be left very vulnerable and his recovery move is... "just terrible". An intriguing ability unique to Little Mac, though, is his power meter. This meter fills up when he both dishes out and receives damage. Once the meter is full, he gains access to his most special attack, the KO uppercut, which instantly KO's an opponent.

Villager, from Animal Crossing, is also a character in this game and it appears as though his special moves will please a lot of fans of the game, with callbacks to tree-cutting, Tom Nook and more.

One of the biggest newcomers is of course Megaman and it appears as though his moveset will revolve greatly around his explosive and diverse attacks.

As for the Wii Fit Trainer... well, you can choose between the male and female model and it seems that the character's strict yoga regime will play a big part on the battlefield.

The final thing we saw from Nintendo Direct was the introduction of two new, previously unannounced, characters: Charizard and Greninja! Whilst no official details were provided for these characters, we did get to see Greninja in action and... he looks pretty awesome.

This article has focused on the characters in the game, but more articles will come concerning more of the game's features. So for more info on the New Super Smash Bros game, be sure to stay tuned to Wii's World.