As you may already know, Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS has released in Japan. This is a game that has been highly anticipated by a great deal of fans for many years, all the way back to the days of Brawl in 2008, and after engaging in a plethora of discussions, eagerly scouring Miiverse for new Posts of the Day, and watching some of the latest footage released for the finalized version of the game, I have one thing to say...
I definitely over hyped myself for this game.
Take note that I am not saying that it is a bad game as I am sure it brings a great deal of excitement for those who have waited patiently for its arrival, and I am not trying to undermine Sakurai's hard work and determination to deliver his finest product yet, but there are some aspects of this game that have left me feeling slightly dissatisfied. I am sorry, but after six years of waiting I was expecting a lot more than what was delivered. Again, I take into account that it was my own fault for hyping myself up to such extensive levels, but that does not mean I can't be just a little disappointed with what I have witnessed. In that regard, I would like to point out a few concepts I would like to have seen implemented in the latest Smash Brothers installment, and I would like to know what, if any, changes you would apply if given the chance.
I will begin.
I would like to start off with one of my larger gripes about Smash Bros., and that is its roster. Yeah, yeah, I know all the arguments about "slot stealing" and the like, but I would still like to address the matter.
I'm sorry, but no matter what anyone says, I cannot find myself to particularly care for Dr. Mario, Lucina, and Dark Pit, three characters who I felt did not deserve their own character slots. Now,from what I have heard, Lucina received her own character slot when Sakurai found it difficult to create her as an alternate skin for Marth, which makes no sense when you compare it to the fact that Bower Jr. has about 8 different alternate forms, each one a different Koopa sibling, and Olimar has Alph as one of his alternate costumes. Even more so, the fact that he "balanced" Lucina differently to Marth to further justify his point of turning her into a separate character doesn't hold much weight. Dark Pit is probably the most insulting when you consider the fact that his fighting style in Kid Icarus: Uprising is entirely different than Pit's. Sure, the list of playable characters isn't bad. We have Duck Hunt Dog, Pac-Man, Mega Man, Palutena, Shulk, Bowser Jr., and so many more, but when you factor in that Lucina, Dark Pit, and Dr. Mario made it into the game over a long list of wanted newcomers, one can't help but to expect more from such an established franchise.
Some of the fans were disappointed that Ganondorf remained a clone to Captain Falcon, as they should be. Heck, I don't even use Ganondorf and found myself to be saddened by the matter. There is no reason why Ganondorf should copy his fighting style from someone who exists in an entirely different franchise. There just isn't. People have been clamoring for Sakurai to alter Ganondorf's abilities for a while now, and the fact the he outright ignored everyone is a tad insulting. I really do wish that Sakurai would have made some changes for characters. I do acknowledge that there are limitations to what he can do, but come on, did Ganondorf, Pikachu, Lucina, Dark Pit, Jigglypuff, and so many others really need to have the same stagnant moves they've had since the first Super Smash Bros. or act as blatant clones to one another? I mean, Pikachu and Jigglypuff, out of all the others, should be easy enough to alter. Instead of having Skull Bash as his side B, why not Volt Tackle? Why not increase the effective range for Thunder or have it so that it can be altered to, I don't know, say, Iron Tail? I think it would have been nice if he added a menu, like he did for Palutena, to allow people to change the special attacks of every character.
Finally, let's get to the Mii's. Let's face it, we all knew that the Mii's were going to make it into the Smash Bros. installment, one way or another. What's there though doesn't feel like it's enough, at least not for me. From what I understand, there were a great deal of character requests that Sakurai felt like he couldn't put in the game, which is why he created the Mii Fighter, Gunner, and Brawler respectively, and while that is understandable, there is a small problem. The Mii's don't have much in their customization range to truly add in the character that you may have wanted. Allow me to give an example. Some people didn't enjoy the fact that Wolf was taken out of the game. Well, what if the Mii creator allowed me to make him instead? Well, that's where you're out of luck. The Mii creator doesn't have features that would allow for that. At the most, you can make a Mii who has wolf ears and that's it. I thought it would be cool if there were a set of costumes that could be applied to your Mii to allow for a character you may want in the game who didn't make it in. I thought it would also be cool if Sakurai allowed for copied move sets. You know, like, I could give my Mii Fox's abilities and fighting style, or Mario's, or Pikachu's. If he wanted, Sakurai could even add more fighting styles to the Mii's that include using staves, dual blades, whips, magic, etc.
Anyway, these are just a handful of concepts I would like to have seen implemented in the 3DS version, and, subsequently, the Wii U version since it sounds like the two won't have too much of a difference from one another.
What are some of the concepts and ideas you would like to see in the game that you think would help improve its quality?
I definitely over hyped myself for this game.
Take note that I am not saying that it is a bad game as I am sure it brings a great deal of excitement for those who have waited patiently for its arrival, and I am not trying to undermine Sakurai's hard work and determination to deliver his finest product yet, but there are some aspects of this game that have left me feeling slightly dissatisfied. I am sorry, but after six years of waiting I was expecting a lot more than what was delivered. Again, I take into account that it was my own fault for hyping myself up to such extensive levels, but that does not mean I can't be just a little disappointed with what I have witnessed. In that regard, I would like to point out a few concepts I would like to have seen implemented in the latest Smash Brothers installment, and I would like to know what, if any, changes you would apply if given the chance.
I will begin.
I would like to start off with one of my larger gripes about Smash Bros., and that is its roster. Yeah, yeah, I know all the arguments about "slot stealing" and the like, but I would still like to address the matter.
I'm sorry, but no matter what anyone says, I cannot find myself to particularly care for Dr. Mario, Lucina, and Dark Pit, three characters who I felt did not deserve their own character slots. Now,from what I have heard, Lucina received her own character slot when Sakurai found it difficult to create her as an alternate skin for Marth, which makes no sense when you compare it to the fact that Bower Jr. has about 8 different alternate forms, each one a different Koopa sibling, and Olimar has Alph as one of his alternate costumes. Even more so, the fact that he "balanced" Lucina differently to Marth to further justify his point of turning her into a separate character doesn't hold much weight. Dark Pit is probably the most insulting when you consider the fact that his fighting style in Kid Icarus: Uprising is entirely different than Pit's. Sure, the list of playable characters isn't bad. We have Duck Hunt Dog, Pac-Man, Mega Man, Palutena, Shulk, Bowser Jr., and so many more, but when you factor in that Lucina, Dark Pit, and Dr. Mario made it into the game over a long list of wanted newcomers, one can't help but to expect more from such an established franchise.
Some of the fans were disappointed that Ganondorf remained a clone to Captain Falcon, as they should be. Heck, I don't even use Ganondorf and found myself to be saddened by the matter. There is no reason why Ganondorf should copy his fighting style from someone who exists in an entirely different franchise. There just isn't. People have been clamoring for Sakurai to alter Ganondorf's abilities for a while now, and the fact the he outright ignored everyone is a tad insulting. I really do wish that Sakurai would have made some changes for characters. I do acknowledge that there are limitations to what he can do, but come on, did Ganondorf, Pikachu, Lucina, Dark Pit, Jigglypuff, and so many others really need to have the same stagnant moves they've had since the first Super Smash Bros. or act as blatant clones to one another? I mean, Pikachu and Jigglypuff, out of all the others, should be easy enough to alter. Instead of having Skull Bash as his side B, why not Volt Tackle? Why not increase the effective range for Thunder or have it so that it can be altered to, I don't know, say, Iron Tail? I think it would have been nice if he added a menu, like he did for Palutena, to allow people to change the special attacks of every character.
Finally, let's get to the Mii's. Let's face it, we all knew that the Mii's were going to make it into the Smash Bros. installment, one way or another. What's there though doesn't feel like it's enough, at least not for me. From what I understand, there were a great deal of character requests that Sakurai felt like he couldn't put in the game, which is why he created the Mii Fighter, Gunner, and Brawler respectively, and while that is understandable, there is a small problem. The Mii's don't have much in their customization range to truly add in the character that you may have wanted. Allow me to give an example. Some people didn't enjoy the fact that Wolf was taken out of the game. Well, what if the Mii creator allowed me to make him instead? Well, that's where you're out of luck. The Mii creator doesn't have features that would allow for that. At the most, you can make a Mii who has wolf ears and that's it. I thought it would be cool if there were a set of costumes that could be applied to your Mii to allow for a character you may want in the game who didn't make it in. I thought it would also be cool if Sakurai allowed for copied move sets. You know, like, I could give my Mii Fox's abilities and fighting style, or Mario's, or Pikachu's. If he wanted, Sakurai could even add more fighting styles to the Mii's that include using staves, dual blades, whips, magic, etc.
Anyway, these are just a handful of concepts I would like to have seen implemented in the 3DS version, and, subsequently, the Wii U version since it sounds like the two won't have too much of a difference from one another.
What are some of the concepts and ideas you would like to see in the game that you think would help improve its quality?