Super Smash Bros. Direct: A TON of New Info

Masahiro Sakurai, the creator and director of the Super Smash Bros. series, dropped a ton of new information about the 3DS and Wii U titles in today’s Super Smash Bros. Direct. I’ve come out of hiding to let you know what he showed, as well as some thoughts on the new content.

To start off, we got some information on the games’ launch windows. The 3DS version is going to hit first, in the summer of 2014, while the Wii U version is planned for Winter 2014. The ability to play the game on the go should make the wait for the HD, console version quite a bit easier…but it’ll still feel like forever. The two versions will link up, though details on how will come at a later date.

On the technical side, the 3DS version is a bit of a feat, running at 60 fps in 3D, much like A Link Between Worlds did. Some elements, like assist trophies and Pokémon, will animate at 30 frames, to preserve the performance of the fighters. The Wii U version should run at 60 fps with no hiccups, like every Smash before it.

Stages

Each version has a different swath of stages to choose from; with the 3DS getting stages primarily based on handheld games, and the Wii U’s based on console titles. A rundown of old and new stages was shown off in the video.

On 3DS we’re getting:

Reset Bomb Forest (Kid Icarus: Uprising)

3D Land (Super Mario 3D Land)

Spirit Train (The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks)

Gerudo Valley (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3d)

Arena Ferox (Fire Emblem: Awakening)

Tortimer Island (Animal Crossing: New Leaf)

Living Room (Nintendogs and Cats)

Prism Tower (Pokémon X, Pokémon Y)

Rainbow Road (Mario Kart 7)

Find Mii (Find Mii)

Balloon Fight (Balloon Fight)

Jungle Japes (Super Smash Bros. Melee)

While the Wii U brings us:

Mario Galaxy (Super Mario Galaxy)

Pyrosphere (Metroid: Other M)

Town and City (Animal Crossing: City Folk)

Boxing Ring (Punch Out!!)

Pilot Wings (Pilotwings Series)

Skyloft (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)

Windy Hill (Sonic: Lost World)

Garden of Hope (Pikmin 3)

Wii Fit Studio (Wii Fit Series)

Palutena’s Temple (Kid Icarus Series)

Halberd (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)

Wily Castle (Mega Man 2)

Sakurai promises even more stages, old and new, in both games, as well as shared staples like Battlefield and Final Destination.

Some stages will feature boss enemies as hazards. On Wily’s Castle, the Yellow Devil, from Mega Man 1, appears to get in the middle of the fight. The enemy brings in new strategies; it can only be destroyed by hitting its eye, and the player that lands the last hit gains possession of the explosion that’s caused by its death.  Other stages, like the Pyrosphere, will feature other familiar enemies.

Music can be selected for each stage, just like in the previous game. The 3DS version will offer 2 songs per stage, like in Melee, while the Wii U version offers multiple, like in Brawl.

On top of all of those details, Final Destination has a much greater emphasis in the new games. In past games, the stage had only one look and a few different songs, and players would sometimes never get to enjoy the themes of the other stages. Now, final destination can be reskinned to look and sound like any other stage, while retaining its competitive viability. This should make for more fun 1 on 1’s and competitions.

Online

Both Wii U and 3DS titles feature online play, with randoms and friends. Online will depend on players connections; Wii U players are suggested to use a wired connection.

Brawl’s online issues have been acknowledged (thankfully), and the entire system has been revamped with new options and match types.

Online lobbies are divided into 2 variants: For Fun, and For Glory.

For Fun sets players on random stages, without Final Destination in rotation, all Items on, no 1 on 1s, and only Wins are recorded.

For Glory forces only one Stage, Final Destination. There will be no items, and it’ll be possible to have 1 on 1 matches. Both wins and losses are tallied up.

Friend matches allow for any options to be set, from items, rules, stages, and more.

All battles let players see each other’s names now, making each fight just a little more personal.

The network will have rules in place to punish players who drop matches, and commit to unsportsmanlike conduct, like self-destructing. Bans can occur depending on the severity of the violations.

A new system, called Global Smash Power, will rank players around the world. This score is accrued through single player gameplay, but will be used in some degree for skill based online matchmaking.

Items

Many Items return from past games, taking on new forms and having new properties. Some of these include the Beam Sword, Motion Sensor bomb, and Bumper.

There are several new items as well, like the POW block, Rocket Belt and Steel Diver.

The combination of these items should be a good time in casual local and online battles, creating the mad scrambles that have come with Smash Bros. since 1999.

Assist Trophies

Assist Trophies return, to give a boost to players’ and bring a few extra faces into the fight.

Many from Brawl return, like Andross, Waluigi, and Lyn, but new ones like Ashley, Midna, Elecman, and friggin’ Po…or Color TV Games 15 come to splash some flair into battle.

Just like Assist Trophies, Pokeballs are back too, with a new twist; some of them are Master Balls.

Master Balls unleash legendary Pocket Monsters, of which are far more potent than their normal counterparts. Some of them, like Arceus, offer a free, full screen meteor smash, which is super devastating to anyone caught off of the stage. Many, many other Pokémon, new and old, return to twist up matches in their trainers’ favors.

Fighters

Returning Characters

First off: All transformations are gone. Characters who could change mid battle, like Samus and Zelda, are no longer attached to their second form…

…Which is awesome, because Zero Suit Samus and Sheik return to the battle as individuals; they have new, rebalanced move sets and are a more focused, design wise.

Zero Suit Samus: Has improved power and better recovery, thanks to her new jet boots. Takes on the look from Other M, which can mean a lot of things depending who you ask.

Zelda: Has a new move where transform used to be: Phantom Slash. Summoning a Phantom from Spirit Tracks, Zelda can send it out as a defensive or offensive option. Using it leaves her open to reflecting moves, however.

Sheik: 2 new moves: his chain whip is now a grenade, which should prove to be a far better option. His transformation has been replaced with Bouncing Fish, a Heel Kick.

Kirby: His Hammer can be charged like DeDeDe’s, and His final Smash is now Ultra Sword.

DeDeDe: Throws only Gordo’s now, making him much stronger.

Lucario: Aura charges are far stronger, improving his moves to uncontrollable degrees. He can also Mega Evolve, powering up his aura moves even more.

Pikmin and Olimar: Only 3 Pikmin can be out, and they are plucked in a fixed order now; Red, Yellow, Blue, White, and Purple. Recovery is no longer a tether, but a much easier to us Winged Pikmin, which will pick Olimar and the Pikmin he has upward.

Pit: Can no longer glide, but his up special is a more direct recovery move. His final Smash is the 3 sacred treasures that fire shots across the screen. He’s rounded out with new normals based on Kid Icarus Uprising.

Yoshi (He’s Back!): Stands upright….he honestly looks a lot more fun than he ever was, seriously.

Every character has seen adjustments to make them more fun to play than ever before, and that seems to be true with the games’ new systems in place.

Newcomers

There’s quite a bit of new and reiterated info about the new guys. Check out the direct for full details; there’s enough info for another full articles worth.

Rosalina: Can move her Luma around the stage and control its attacks. Can combo while separated.

Little Mac: Excellent ground game, builds meter by attacking and taking damage, KO punch is a free knock out. Oh, and he’s got his Wireframe skin from the original arcade Punch Out!! as an alternate costume. Cool.

Villager: Can pocket others moves to use them later, has a ton of unique moves based on Animal Crossing actions.

Mega Man: A torrent of moves from past games in his series, and HOLY SH**, his Final Smash Features Several Mega Men, including X and .EXE!

Wii Fit Trainers: Can breathe as a down special to power up moves, then use Neutral Special, Sun Salutation, as a projectile. They can also crawl. Both trainers, male and female, are exactly the same, so just pick the one you like looking at.

There’s more characters on the way for sure, from the racer that wants to see some moves, to the other pink puff ball, and maybe even the neighborhood psychic.

Oh, and there’s some crazy stuff going on with the games’ customization; players can customize special moves, making them function however players desire. These customs can only be used in friendly and local games. More details on that are on the way.

The 3DS also has an exclusive mode: Smash Run. Players are thrown into a giant dungeon stage in order to gather powerups for their character. After 5 minutes of doing this, each character is thrown into a standard battle with their acquired buffs to see who “did it better.” The mode includes enemies from various Nintendo games, as well as a few subspace enemies from Brawl. The rules of the game are a lot like the GameCube exclusive Kirby Air Ride’s City Trial mode, where players would gather powerups in a hub city before racing.

That wasn’t quite all either. Remember when I told you about the transformations being gone?

Our buddy, Charizard is back, and clearly was a higher level than his trainer’s badges. He’s here with new attacks, increased speed, and his X Mega Evolution. He’s not the only one coming for some action:

Greninja sneaks in with an all new play style and moves all his own. Scant details are available about him, so watch his trailer to see what the new ‘Monster is all about.

A TON of information flooded in today, and I’m incredibly excited for the new game. All the growing pains seen in Brawl seem to be done with, and everything in this new title is being made to give everyone options to play exactly how they want, whether competitively or casually. Be sure to watch the Direct for yourself, and get pumped up for both Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. for 3DS coming later on this year. They’re looking like the best titles in the series since Melee.

Sources: Super Smash Bros. Direct, SmashBros.com