Super Smash Bros Fisticuffs for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS

[Jamaha]

Some thoughts after the Direct.

Release date
Pleasantly surprised by the early release of the 3DS version. Wasn't expecting either before something like October. Also, it kind of makes sense to release the "worse" version first, so people will feel like upgrading to the other version after a few months. Releasing at the same time would probably hurt sales for both. Though I doubt this is only a marketing decision, apparently 3DS development is that much faster.

Technical stuff
They claim 60 fps in 3D. That's going to be great if they can keep that promise, especially if there's no fps drops or such. The 30 fps assist trophies sounds like an interesting way to optimize the game, though I wonder how noticeable that is.

Stages and Music
The music options for the Wii U version look nice.

Balloon Fight stage looks interesting as you don't appear to die when walking to the side, instead appearing on the other side. KO only by falling into water / being launched up?

Palutena's Temple looks huge.

So I guess Ridley is confirmed as a stage hazard? Though was there a reason they showed only his shadow? Unfinished model or some sort of misdirection? I know Ridley's rather popular on people's wishlist for playable characters. Keeping the hype alive, I guess.

Online
I hope they get their online service sorted for this. Especially for the 3DS version where the difficulty of local multiplayer might increase the popularity of online. Surely they've learned their mistake from Brawl.

The For Fun / For Glory division seems like an interesting idea. Though in my opinion going with Final Destination was a mistake. Despite the "Fox only, no items, Final Destination" joke, something like Battlefield would've been more enjoyable. Also more balanced, a completely flat stage isn't exactly idea.

Also I'd like to know more details on how well the online battles against friends work. Hope they actually get the lobby system somewhat functional.

Global Smash Power sounds weird, isn't it pretty much an inverted ranking system where a higher number is better instead of lower? So people know how close they are to the worst player instead of the best? Must suck for the guy with a score of 0.

Items and all that
The items look great. Also, it appears there's going to be lots of them, with all the new ones in addition to many of the old ones.

Apparently lots of returning Assist Trophies from Brawl. Though the new ones seem more interesting, yay for Mother Brain and Dark Samus. The Pong trophy is also great.

I like how they made two tiers of Pokeballs. Assuming the legendary Pokemon are actually more effective, that should make it fun to prioritize whether to go grab a Pokeball or not.

Fighters
I'm liking the separation of the transforming characters, never was too fond of switching character mid-match. Also, Sakurai seems to enjoy joking around.

Zero Suits Samus' jet boots look kind of weird, though. Guess they had to justify the Other M heels somehow. Other than that, I think they improved her looks, at least her face. She always looked a bit odd in, say, the Prime series.

The changes made to the veteran fighters' moveset make me wonder how much they are focusing on balancing the characters this time around.

Also that Pseudo-Palutina trophy was a clear hint that Sakurai is aware of the playable Palutina rumors.

Wii Fit Trainer and Little Mac alternate costumes. Maybe costumes for other characters as well?

The Pokemon trailer was great. Having not played X/Y, I'm not that familiar with Greninja. Though from what I hear he is rather popular starter? Also, I thought he was going to be Mewtwo at first, until the water sound effects kind of gave it away. Once again Sakurai likes to trick us.

Pokemon is kind of a special case in Smash Brothers as the series evolves (heh) more than the others, in a sense that they keep introducing new characters much more often than most Nintendo series. Must be difficult to balance between including the old fan favorites while also introducing new playable Pokemon and not overload the game with too many Pokemon characters.

Smash run

Interesting concept. Also in the sense that on a Wii U it wouldn't work without splitscreen. On 3DS everyone has their own screen anyway, so it fits great. Might be quite fun to play.

I wonder what kind of modes they'll have on the Wii U, though with it releasing much later I guess we won't be hearing about those for a while.

[Crazy Hand]

IDK it would have been cool if they had like put Gengar in or something

Please, no. Anything but more Gen 1. Gen 1 is great and all, but super overrated. We need more Gen 5.

[Nebbles]

Agreed, Gen 1 is way too overrated. We need some love for the other gens.

[K-NiGhT]

i didn't even notice any new Pokemon items from Gen 5. Kinda odd, if you ask me, but I probably just missed it.

[fingerz]

KYUREM BABY, KYUREM!! Also, if that movie at the end of the direct was anything to go by, there's gonna be A LOT of Pokemon in these upcoming games. I like that a lot.

[Roz~]

Gen 1 is not overrated.

Also I like the changes so far. Now I just need to know if I want to get the game for my 3DS or my WiiU.

[blueflower999]

It makes me grimace every time I see a piece of Pokémon merchandise that only has Pokémon from Gen 1 on it.

I literally can't think of any other game series where seemingly half the fanbase are completely infatuated with the first game.

[fingerz]

I agree, Roz. I think people put too much emphasis of the newer Generations. They have to be around for a while before they get appreciated. I'm still not entirely happy with Gen IV yet.

I'm sure they'll have some awesome features for the Wii U, but in my opinion, it's probably going to be the 'pretty game with nothing else going for it.' Sakurai knows that the 3DS is far more popular, and this staggered release probably won't help the Wii U either.

[SlowPokemon]

Gen 1 is not overrated.

^This. I hate how people are getting bashed for saying gen I is their favorite or even really good.

[mikey]

The thing is the way they have it set up, Gen 1 is pretty much the most impactful and influential generations of the series.  It's the most well known, having hit the largest number of players, and pretty much has the most impactful pokemon.

[fingerz]

Even if some (or most) of them are a tad strange, they will always be considered by many to be best! It's like a series of movies, really. No one says "OMG SHREK 8 WAS THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL ONE OF THE LOT!" do they?

[FierceDeity]

The thing is the way they have it set up, Gen 1 is pretty much the most impactful and influential generations of the series.  It's the most well known, having hit the largest number of players, and pretty much has the most impactful pokemon.

yeah gen 1 was such a bold leap from gen 0, i wonder why none of the other generations have been so dynamic /sarcasm

Of course it's the most influential. It's the first game of a series; you can't really have much more of an influence on a series than at the point at which you create it. That's not really the point; people get so caught up in nostalgia/attached to the pokemon from their childhood that they neglect to realize the vast improvements in gameplay that are made from generation to generation. Judging based on "impactfulness" of specific pokemon is pretty silly, if you ask me; kids of this generation seem to love this generation's pokemon just about as much as we loved those of our respective generations. Until somebody comes up with a codified set of objective qualifiers that make a certain pokemon good or bad, I don't think there's much more than "youth appeal" that we can judge them on.

Of course I love gen 1, and am equally frustrated with people who bash on it, but really that's just an exaggerated response to the original complaints made against later generations. Pure "genwunners" who, rather than simply claiming it as their favorite, claim that the following generations are objectively bad, are far worse, in my opinion.

[fingerz]

Yeah, the other Pokemon aren't bad! It's just people tend to love what they grow up more with as a child. I suppose Generations I and III were my first exposure to Pokemon (LeafGreen and Emerald), so I even find Generation II as more of a tack-on. XD

[SlowPokemon]

Exactly, it's going to be viewed differently by different people.

Nothing is "overrated," just rated.

[Olimar12345]

Only three pikmin? And a set order? I am not amused...