Danny takes a crack at some Smash 3DS online.
Super Smash Bros. and online didn’t work so well when Brawl launched on the Wii back in 2008. As ambitious as the game was, the right tools were simply just not in place to put together an online experience that was consistent enough for players. It just ended up a hot mess. Sakurai and his team have no doubt dedicated tons of man hours to try to make sure that the same mistakes aren’t made again with Smash on 3DS (and Wii U) and this time around, the systems definitely have more capable hardware in terms of delivering. I’ve had a chance to play an hour or two of Smash Bros. for 3DS online and walked away a bit conflicted with my experience.
With my first attempt to play online, I figured I would play in the For Fun mode to make sure I could get the hang of some of the new characters. Even before I got to play in a match, I kept receiving an error code every time that I tried to enter the Free-for-all mode, but was perfectly fine when I tried to get into Team Battle. Although playing on a team with a stranger wasn’t my ideal first choice for online play with the new Smash, I got to see how the game performed.
Things started out great, but slowly started taking a turn for the worse. Occasional lag would pop in, not necessarily to the point where I would make mistakes with attacks, but annoying enough to get on my nerves. It seemed particularly worse in larger stages and in places with a lot going on in the backgrounds. On the plus side, I never got kicked from a match or received any other error codes other than what I mentioned above. It was still enjoyable, but nowhere near as smooth of an experience that the game offers in single player (I have yet to try out local multiplayer at this point). Since my initial sitting, I’ve had a chance to play several online matches throughout the day both with random people and with friends. It was still a bit laggy, but I still kept finding myself coming back for more.
The on and off lag that I experienced throughout my play time with Smash on 3DS is a bit worrisome. It’s possible that it could be some launch day jitters with the server. We just don’t know at this point. Regardless, the online play is nowhere near as awful as it was with Brawl. It’s serviceable and still providing me with enjoyable matches with friends and other folk that can’t play sitting beside me in the public bath.
