Riding gyroids, catching items, and planting trees of doom.
Over the past few days, I've spent a lot of time with the Super Smash Bros. for 3DS demo that went up on the Japanese eShop (other regions should be getting the same demo soon!). There is a lot to be unpacked about the five included characters, mainly that Mario and Link seem to be way improved over their Brawl counterparts, but the biggest deal to me is how much I love the Villager.
Back at E3 2014, I really enjoyed using the Villager. He (or she if you choose) is just a super fun character that reminds me a lot of Wario. The Villager is excellent for players who just want to mess with people, and even if he might not develop into a top-tier competitive fighter, I know I'll be using this charming fella to piss off my friends and bait the computer. It doesn't hurt that he has some absurd recovery moves, as his up special attack covers a lot of area and his side special covers a straight horizontal line with ease.
One of my favorite things about the Villager I only just discovered playing this demo. His neutral special attack involves pocketing a nearby item or projectile. Sometimes it's as simple as there's a Pokeball on the ground and you tap the B button to snatch it up. It works better than a normal item pick-up because it seems to have a little more range. But then I started noticing some more fun with it. I'd snatch Link's arrows in mid-air and then throw them back at it later on. I stole Pikachu's Thunder attack and threw it at Mario. I could pick up another Villager's tree and then throw it out at any time. It's just such a wonderful way to mess with people, and it's also useful because you can store an item for later, basically holding onto two items at once.
I also love the Villager's side special attack. He hops on a gyroid and rides it across the screen until it blows someone up. There's nothing else to say. It looks hilarious. Back during an E3 match with other NWR staffers, I just did that back and forth for an entire match. I might not have won, but damn did I have fun.
There's also the Villager's down special attack, which is a multi-step one similar to Snake's down special attack. First, you plant a sapling. Then you water it. Then it grows and you chop it down with an ax. Alternatively, you can run around with the ax and attack people with it. But the tree can be very damaging, even if it's obvious that it's coming. Landing it feels like landing a Falcon Punch. It's easily telegraphed, but it makes it all the sweeter when you land the move on someone.
Also, if you were to have two Villagers, you could pocket each other's trees back and forth and basically just rule the world. I love the Villager so damn much. I still think Little Mac will be my preferred character, at least early on, but I'm pretty sure I'll be chopping trees and pocketing items with the Villager a lot when I play with my friends.
