Topic: Super Smash Bros. for WiiU (& 3DS)

[BlackNMild2k1]

Have we talked about the customization yet?  Sakurai said on Miiverse today that each character has 12 different special moves.

Personally, this makes me worry that I'm going to have to play the game a ****-tonne to get the right character/moveset.  I mean, even characters I don't normally play as might be 1000% better for be by just swapping the moves.  On the other hand, it's kind of exciting and could make being competitive with friends more fun/strategic since you never really know what you're going to get.

Any other thoughts?

This should make the Amiibo's all the more important when playing with friends and at friends houses. You can load up your character, stats, settings, etc etc without having to manually reselect or play through your friends game to unlock all the things they haven't unlocked yet just to get your character to where it is.

[Adrock]

Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if some characters who are considered low tier with their normal movesets, can become top tier with the right change.

In that case, I'll wait until someone else does all the work and picks the best combination of moves.

[nickmitch]

Speaking of balance, doesn't that present a whole new issue?  I know Sakurai has a bigger team on it, and is taking more time, but with so many characters and combinations, will that be enough?  Will one character/moveset be significantly OP?  It seems like a lot of variables that could break the balance.  I think the people who would normally be the ones to figure that out would likely ban customs (as is in the "for glory" mode).

Have we talked about the customization yet?  Sakurai said on Miiverse today that each character has 12 different special moves.

Personally, this makes me worry that I'm going to have to play the game a ****-tonne to get the right character/moveset.  I mean, even characters I don't normally play as might be 1000% better for be by just swapping the moves.  On the other hand, it's kind of exciting and could make being competitive with friends more fun/strategic since you never really know what you're going to get.

Any other thoughts?

This should make the Amiibo's all the more important when playing with friends and at friends houses. You can load up your character, stats, settings, etc etc without having to manually reselect or play through your friends game to unlock all the things they haven't unlocked yet just to get your character to where it is.

They better be good for that.  Honestly, better AI is cool and all, but it kind of sucks if I'm only gonna have to pay per character I wanna level up.

[Luigi Dude]

Speaking of balance, doesn't that present a whole new issue?  I know Sakurai has a bigger team on it, and is taking more time, but with so many characters and combinations, will that be enough?  Will one character/moveset be significantly OP?  It seems like a lot of variables that could break the balance.

No matter how big the teams are trying to balance the game, they'll always be certain characters that end up better then others, that's just what happens with fighting games.  Yeah the custom movesets might make some too OP, but that has a chance of happening regularly without them anyway. 


But that's the nice thing about custom movesets is it allows others to maybe make characters who can rival the broken movesets.  The previous Smash Bros didn't have custom movesets and yet they still had some pretty OP characters in the tournament levels anyway.  Now with custom movesets, if someone ends up too powerful, other characters can maybe become just as powerful with the right changes.

[nickmitch]

Right, but it would stand to reason that the risk of imbalance increases pretty significantly as the permutations go up?  Sakurai even implies that the game is more balanced without them.

Sure, the risk is never 0%, but an increase in man-hours towards balancing the game pulls that down.  Custom movesets likely brings that risk up even more than roster count, which for SSB4 is already expected to be pretty high.

[Stratos]

But now they can issue patches to the game to fix balance issues. I would hope they continue to release balnace updates to hammer out the kinks in custom moves.

[Stratos]

Check out this voice actor's current project as listed on IMBD (hint - it is the voice actor for Shulk). Confirmed as a fighter or just in as an assist trophy?

[azeke]

I should add Morgan Freeman as God to this cast page.

It will be on Kotaku within an hour.

[Stratos]

Is IMDB's database updated by users? For some reason I thought it was a more controlled system.

[nickmitch]

I'm pretty sure you just gotta log in.

[Stratos]

Wow, so I guess that could be anyone. Though it would be interesting if the actor or his agent did it without realizing the may have broken an NDA or two.

[nickmitch]

Personally, I'd be shocked if Xenoblade wasn't represented in the game.  He should be an assist trophy at the least.

[Luigi Dude]

Personally, I'd be shocked if Xenoblade wasn't represented in the game.  He should be an assist trophy at the least.

http://gematsu.com/2014/04/rumor-shulk-palutena-set-super-smash-bros

Considering the leaker is looking pretty accurate, Shulk is pretty much a guaranteed playable character at this point.  This is the same source that said Wii Fit Trainer before last years E3 which already made them look pretty accurate.  Now most of the characters they've said would be in have been confirmed.  Every enemy shown to be in Smash Run so far have been from series with playable characters and with Rythm Heaven getting an enemy that points to it having a playable character which just makes the leak saying the Chorus Men all the more likely.  And if they're in, then Shulk and Chrom are in as well.

[Adrock]

A few random thoughts:

1. Some of the Final Smashes have not been changed, including but not limited to Mario, Fox, Bowser, and Donkey Kong. I never liked Bowser's because he has way too much history to just transform into a character Sakurai invented for Melee. I was really hoping he would get the Koopa Clown Car and you could fly around and drop Mecha-Koopas or those giant marbles. Donkey Kong's is similarly terrible. Give him Rambi. It's just so weird that they went out of their way to give Kirby and Luigi new Final Smashes, but kept others the same. Not that I use the Smash Ball terribly often, but go HAM or go home.

2. Toon Link is still a missed opportunity. He also still has the same Final Smash as regular Link. Boo/hiss. It makes the Final Smashes seems less special when some characters have the same one. It also feels lazy for a game that isn't for the most part.

3. One discussion video I watched mentioned that the games play closer to Brawl than Melee. This is mildly disconcerting as I find myself disliking Brawl more and more as the years go by. However, the removal of random tripping will help considerably.

4. I still think the 3DS version will negatively affect the Wii U version, but no where near as badly as New Super Mario Bros. 2 did to New Super Mario Bros. U. First, due to the kind of game Super Smash Bros. is, it's just better suited on a TV. Additionally, it's probably far easier for most people to gather a few friends to play on a single console than find a few people who each have a 3DS and the game. Second, I keep reading that the controls on the 3DS version are serviceable though ultimately far worse than the Wii U version, primarily due to the lack of options and the Circle Pad.

5. Speaking of the 3DS version, with Bayonetta 2 coming out a couple weeks later, I'm strongly leaning toward just waiting for a Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale that typically show up around October and November. Hyrule Warriors would be my third game.

6. On Monday's Miiverse Update, Link got a Skyward Sword-inspired non-costume. He's still in the tunic but it has the design of what Link wears prior to getting the tunic. Despite all the hints and hype over alternate costumes, this points to some characters not getting one. Boo/hiss. Again, it just feels lazy for a game that goes all-out in so many different ways. Still, it's not a huge deal, just mildly disappointing. If this and some of the Final Smashes are the worst I can say about the game, it's in very good shape.

[Ceric]

I can't believe Landmaster is still in.  I feel like he might be trolling us.

[nickmitch]

I was expecting more shakeups with the final smashes as well.  Samus' being the same makes sense, but you make a point with Bowser. Hopefully Falco and Wolf (if they're back) won't also have landmasters.  If they don't then I'm fine with Fox having it.

[pokepal148]

Falco could get an amusing arwing airstrike thing that would be fun.

[Caterkiller]

About the 3DS's controls they are absolutely fantastic. Anyone who ever had to play with the classic controller or even remembers Smash 64 will feel right at home. Our bodies and mind are so glued to the Gamecube controller it's hard to see past it. It took me just 1 game to get over my Smash muscle memory and start smashing on people with ease. The 3DS button layout works absolutely perfect for Smash and once the game is out there will undoubtedly be control options. Too bad for the extra stick though, people just gotta deal with it.

[EasyCure]

Falco could get an amusing arwing airstrike thing that would be fun.

If Wolf comes back, they can give him a Final Smash similar to Snake's, where someone from his team flies in on the Wolfen, and Wolf rides the wing firing a canon. Am I the only one that liked Star Fox Assault?

Oh, but that's assuming Snake doesn't come back. I haven't been paying enough attention to the roster. After Mega Man was announced, I don't care. I'm sticking with him.

[Stratos]

Falco could get an amusing arwing airstrike thing that would be fun.

If Wolf comes back, they can give him a Final Smash similar to Snake's, where someone from his team flies in on the Wolfen, and Wolf rides the wing firing a canon. Am I the only one that liked Star Fox Assault?

Oh, but that's assuming Snake doesn't come back. I haven't been paying enough attention to the roster. After Mega Man was announced, I don't care. I'm sticking with him.

I actually feel SF Assault is a little unfairly treated. Other than the cheesy Saturday morning cartoon vibe I thought was a rather decent take on StarFox. I thought the multiplayer was enjoyable and would love for a 12-16 player version of it to appear in the next game.

[Adrock]

Too bad for the extra stick though, people just gotta deal with it.

I'm hoping for Circle Pad Pro compatibility. I never used the right stick in either Melee or Brawl, but the comfort and extra shoulder buttons would be greatly appreciated.

[Stratos]

You mean they haven't confirmed compatibility yet? I assumed it was an automatic inclusion because Smash, like Mario Kart, traditionally is inclusive of as many control styles as possible.

[nickmitch]

Yeah, and Sakurai has a habit of giving every control style possible.

[Adrock]

It might be. I haven't read anything either way. Kid Icarus Uprising used the Circle Pad Pro so it's pretty likely Super Smash Bros. will as well. I'd honestly be surprised if it didn't.

[Caterkiller]

New character might be revealed at the World Hobby Fair in Japan on it's last day! That's tomorrow!  Or rather today in Japan!