Smash Bros. for 3DS may finally be out in the west, but there's still more to learn!
Welcome to This Week in Super Smash Bros., our weekly recap of the various updates, images, and information regarding the upcoming Super Smash Bros. games for Wii U and 3DS. As of this entry, the 3DS version of the game is finally out in North America and Europe. That doesn't mean the updates have stopped, though. The game's creator, Masahiro Sakurai, still has things to say about the handheld edition of the game, and there's a lot yet to be revealed about the Wii U version. Check out the new tidbits Sakurai shared this week, along with his comments.
Monday, 09/29/14: Alternate Stage Tracks
For the 3DS version, you can select alternate tracks for stages by holding down the R Button while you select the stage--the brown drop shadow that frames the stage image when you hold down the R Button indicates the alternate track is active. For the Living Room stage, the alternate track is the vocal version of the default track. Songs with vocals aren't the best match for battles, but the song was too good to leave out, so this is how we chose to include it.
Alternate Boxing Ring
Also, For the Boxing Ring, if you select the stage while holding down the L Button, you can play on the Smash Bros. version of the stage. If you hold down the Y Button, you can choose to play on the Punch Out! version. These variations are usually selected at random, but this method lets you select them manually.
Tuesday, 09/30/14: Team Colors (Wii U version)
In the 3DS version, your fighter gets outlined by your team color. So, how does this work in the Wii U version? Check out this screenshot. In this picture, the outlines may seem faint, but the color intensity is consistent. This means that the farther away and smaller your fighter appears on the screen, the clearer the colors will look.
Wednesday, 10/01/14: Orbital Gate
This is the Orbital Gate stage. This is a Wii U version-exclusive stage reenacting Team Star Fox's defense of the Orbital Gate from an Aparoid missile attack.
Missiles are launched towards the Orbital Gate! The force field shields the machinery for a while, and the missiles eventually get shot down by team Star Fox. Overall, this stage feels like a ride. It's pretty hectic, so hold on tight!
The Arwings are passing through the gate! And the fighters hop on for a free ride!!
Thursday, 10/02/14: Sheriff (Assist trophy)
This assist trophy is Sheriff. Sheriff was an arcade game released in 1979. In this game, the players aim by choosing one of eight directions to shoot using a second joystick separate from the one that controls movement. It was quite a revolutionary game for its time. For shooting games overseas, it's common to see games that utilize the left stick to move around and the right to determine the direction to shoot, so we can say the origin of modern shooting games was this game--which is pretty remarkable.
Friday, 10/03/14: Future updates
Finally, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS is being released overseas. Congratulations!! With the game released globally, from here on out I'll be posting about some of the hidden elements in the game. However, for now they'll only trickle down a little bit at a time. I'll be done with posting new pics by the end of the year, so I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the ride.
