Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Settle it... in SMASH! Protagonist(s): Various Genre(s): Fighting Platform(s): Nintendo 3DS Wii U Release: Nintendo 3DS JP: September 13, 2014 NA/EU: October 3, 2014 AU: October 4, 2014 HK: July 24, 2015 KOR: September 10, 2015 Wii U NA: November 21, 2014 EU/SAF: November 28, 2014 AU: November 29, 2014 JP: December 6, 2014 Developer(s): Bandai Namco Studios Sora Ltd. Publisher(s): Nintendo (2015-2017, 2020-present) Country: Japan Series: Super Smash Bros. Predecessor: Super Smash Bros. Brawl Successor: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is a group of two 2014 crossover fighting games developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo. Both are counted as the fourth game in the Super Smash Bros. series by most fans. In an interview with Kotaku, Masahiro Sakurai has stated he considers the 3DS version the fourth installment and the Wii U version the fifth installment. It was followed by Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch in 2018.

Why They Settle It

1. There are a lot of characters to play as, from both Nintendo franchises and third-party franchises.
   • After having been absent in Brawl, Dr. Mario, Mewtwo and Roy are back since Melee!
   • Lucina and Robin from the Fire Emblem Series, Wii Fit Trainer from the Wii Fit series, Shulk from the Xenoblade Chronicles series, Duck Hunt from Duck Hunt, Palutena and Dark Pit from the Kid Icarus series and Villager from the Animal Crossing series appear as selectable characters in these games.
   • Pac-Man and Mega Man appear as guest characters.
2. The gameplay has massively improved in the competitive scene, since there is actual hitstun and is faster.
3. Excellent and nice graphics and art style for Wii U and 3DS standards, which means gives no longer washed out color schemes, through it was exceeded.
4. For the first time ever, you can now create custom moves for many characters which it can improve for having weak attacks and poor recovery, the same goes to Mii Fighters.
5. You can now play Local Wireless on 3DS, so you don't need to connect the internet.
6. Speaking of which, the idea of how you can now play the game everywhere you go to be in a handheld system for the first Super Smash Bros game is interesting.
7. Play with up to four local players for lots of fun, and, for the first time, up to EIGHT on the Wii U.
8. An online mode is included with both games. Additionally, two distinct game modes are now available: For Fun and For Glory. In both modes, Mii Fighters and character customization are disallowed. To use Miis or customizations online, the player must be in With Friends, or in a Tourney that allows them.
9. You could upload YouTube videos, before Miiverse is shut down.
10. A different Stage Builder mode is in the Wii U version, although it lacks some object parts like rotating platforms.
11. The game can now be updated to rebalance characters whenever any are declared too overpowered or underpowered.
12. Tons of replay value, like other Super Smash Bros. games.
13. DLC content is now officially introduced for the first time ever in this game. One of the most exciting new characters is Cloud from Final Fantasy VII, including the Advent Children skin, as he can charge the limit and use it for powerful attacks. What's more, the 64 stages and Super Mario Maker stage on both versions as well as the Brawl stage of Pirate Ship on Wii U versions have been officially added. Of course, you can purchase the Mii Fighter Costumes, and change the outfits and headgear in order to have a reference.
14. The random tripping from Brawl is now gone, making extended dash-dancing a viable movement option.
15. The online mode, unlike Brawl's, actually works pretty well and has limited lag compared to the predecessor.
16. Includes references to pop cultures, such as No-Johns as a random name, and Pokémon turning swirly eyed when they're dizzy or weak as in the anime.
17. This game introduced Mii Fighters, meaning you can create with either video-game characters, or non-video game characters, using many custom moves, and then you can share it in order to play. And the idea of having Miis in Smash is a good one.
18. Introduced a brand new mode, called amiibo who, first needs a Mii and nickname, second, choosing alt skin, third, needed power up and custom moves as well as training, and lastly, you can either play or watch any amiibo battles. Likewise, due to amiibo sell well, it becomes a trend of amiibo series, outside Smash Bros., oh and you can also use non-Smash amiibo for any fighters you want.
19. Both versions have exclusive modes. Smash Tour on the Wii U version is a really good mode, where you can play with your friends, have power-ups, and can use many items you want. Smash Run for the 3DS version is considered one of the best modes in the Super Smash Bros. franchise, where you can fight a wide variety of enemies, power up your stats, equip many items, and the Final Battle round has many rounds where you can either run or jump.
20. You can battle against players who have StreetPass and CPU in StreetSmash mode on 3DS, before it became extremely difficult.
21. A new mechanic, unofficially known as "rage", has been implemented. Characters receive a steady increase to the knockback (and therefore hitstun) of their attacks as their damage rises starting at 35%, with the effect capping out at 150%. Rage becomes more visible when a character reaches 100%, as they begin to flash red and emit steam.
22. The music score (like the previous Smash games) are another timeless and great that improvement and does fit on each background stages. However, the 3DS versions does not features My Music settings.

Bad Qualities

1. Some fan-favorite characters from Brawl have been cut:
   • Due to hardware restrictions of the Nintendo 3DS and the developers wanting character roster parity across the two versions of the game, recurring fan-favorite character pair Ice Climbers who have been in the series since Melee are absent.
   • Solid Snake from the Metal Gear franchise does not return from Brawl as a playable character due to a licensing dispute.
   • Characters that change "forms" mid-fight were removed, instead those alternate forms were made into fighters of their own or removed completely. The Pokémon Trainer with his three Pokémon was removed and replaced with Charizard alone, of course due to technical difficulty with the 3DS.
   • Wolf from the Star Fox franchise.
2. No adventure/story mode, like "The Subspace Emissary" from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Boss Battles, Break the Targets (Replaced by Target Blast) or Board the Platforms in either version of the game.
   • It was later confirmed that Masahiro Sakurai, the game director, said there would be a single-player story mode included in the new Smash Bros. after the E3 2013 trailers, but that it would be different from Brawl's Subspace Emissary, in that there would be no cutscenes due to people uploading cutscenes to the internet that might spoiled the game. Later he would recant this and announce that he decided to cut any story mode altogether to avoid spoilers.
3. Not much regular Bosses Besides Master Hand, Crazy Hand, Master Core and Master Core's Other Forms, which is a downgrade from Brawl's Boss Roster (Not counting Ridley's Clone, Yellow Devil, Dark Emperor and Metal Face, since they are stage bosses rather than regular bosses).
   • Speaking of Bosses, Master Fortress is a Frustrating three wave Boss.
4. Some of the new items are not really that good. For instance, the Super Leaf serves no purpose other than to let players float in the air, the POW Block is easy to dodge, rendering the latter almost completely useless and the Grass can pick up many best or worst item or whatever none.
5. In November 2017, Nintendo shut down the servers of Miiverse, following the announcement in August 2017.
   • Tourney was online only and is no longer available after Miiverse shut down.
   • Players who post screenshots, upload custom stages, or upload videos are now no longer shared, due to Miiverse lacking in popularity. Same can be said for Miiverse stage, who doesn't returned to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, mainly due to lack of inclusion on the Nintendo Switch.
6. While Smash Run in 3DS version is one of the best modes in the series, some of the enemies aren't very good, such as Orne from Kid Icarus: Uprising, which can instantly KO players.
7. The menu layouts are really confusing, like for Wii U version (Games & More has almost everything).
8. Bayonetta, Cloud, Diddy Kong, Sheik, Sonic, Mario, Rosalina & Luma, and Zero Suit Samus are incredibly broken.
9. The challenges in the Wii U version are incredibly frustrating. Among those are:
   • You have to clear Classic Mode on intensity 9.0 without losing a life.
   • You have to clear Classic Mode on intensity 9.0 with no customizations.
   • You have to clear Classic Mode on intensity 8.0 or higher with two and also three characters.
   • You have to clear Classic Mode on intensity 7.0 or higher with all characters (excluding Mii Fighters and DLC characters).
   • You have to clear Classic Mode in twelve minutes on intensity 9.0 as Marth.
   • You have to clear All-Star Mode as Zero Suit Samus without healing between rounds.
   • You have to clear All-Star Mode on Hard with all characters (excluding Mii Fighters and DLC characters).
   • You have to clear All-Star Mode as Captain Falcon on Normal or Hard without healing between rounds.
10. Most characters' voices are just recycled voice clips from Brawl or from other games, like Meta Knight, the Mario/Zelda characters (aside from maybe Bowser who has some new clips), Sonic and some Pokémon characters.
11. The 3DS version feels watered down from the Wii U version, and it lacks a Special Smash game mode.
12. Some of the new stages range from bad to awful, such as:
    • Pac-Land
    • The Great Cave Offensive
    • Balloon Fight
    • Wrecking Crew
    • Palutena's Temple
13. Jigglypuff and Ganondorf are barely any better than the terrible fighters they were in the previous game.
    • Zelda is also still bad like she was in the previous two games.
14. King Dedede is underpowered. He has extremely low speed in air, and movement. He also suffers from the weakening or removal of moves and/or mechanics that were important to his neutral game and disproportionately weak strength for a super heavyweight as his fastest moves fail to KO until very high percentages, whereas his slowest moves are among the most punishable in the game.
15. Some more frustrating Event Matches such as Kirby’s Crazy Appetite, Secret Smash, Mechanical Menace, and The FINAL Final Battle.
16. Very lazy titling. Literally any game released for/ported to the Wii U or 3DS could have the subtitle "For Nintendo 3DS/Wii U" under its name.
    • Though oddly enough, even if you did give them more unique subtitles, if they were both different, you might think it's a different game when it's the same game, and vice versa.

Reception

The 3DS version was generally positive, according to review aggregator Metacritic. The game was praised for its large and diverse character roster, its improvements to game mechanics, and its variety of multiplayer options. Some criticisms include a lack of single player modes and issues concerning the 3DS hardware, such as the size of characters on the smaller screen when zoomed out and latency issues during both local and online multiplayer. There were also reports of players damaging their 3DS Circle Pads while playing the game excessively.

The Wii U version received critical acclaim, receiving praise for its variety of gameplay modes and improvements upon features in the 3DS version.

Super Smash Bros. 4, overall, have received positive reviews; they applauded the fine-tuning of existing gameplay elements, but criticized some issues with online play.

Both versions have sold well. The 3DS version sold over 9.62 million copies worldwide as of March 31, 2021, and the Wii U version sold over 5.38 million copies as of September 30, 2020.

Trivia

• Customers that pre-ordered both games had a chance to receive a 2-disc soundtrack.
• A Smash Controller app was released on the Nintendo eShop on June 14, 2015, allowing players to use the Nintendo 3DS as a controller for the Wii U version without needing a copy of the 3DS version.
• Fighters have been considered for the base game and DLC roster:
  • Ice Climbers - The Ice Climbers were originally planned to return as characters. While reportedly functioning on Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the Nintendo 3DS's technical specifications made it difficult to properly incorporate the two into Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, as well as other characters with multiple models such as Olimar. Sakurai stated in his Famitsu collection, Thoughts About Making the Video Games 2, that they even went as far as disabling effects such as gravity and removing joints in attempt to get the Ice Climbers working. Since Sakurai didn't want the Wii U version to have an exclusive character, the Ice Climbers were ultimately cut, but still appear in-game as a trophy and returned in the next game.
  • Rhythm Heaven character - Data mining has revealed an unused emblem reference for a potential Rhythm Heaven character. The emblem reference appears in the emblem database on for Wii U. Rhythm Heaven is, notably, one of the few universes to not have a representation other than a Smash Run enemy and collectible trophies, and the name suggests that a character from Rhythm Heaven was planned to be included before being scrapped at some point in development.
  • Alternate characters - Sakurai has stated that Dark Pit, Dr. Mario, and Lucina were originally going to be alternate costumes for Pit, Mario, and Marth, respectively. They were promoted to full characters due to either Sakurai wanting to add, or already having, a feature that made them unique: Dr. Mario with his Megavitamins and Dr. Tornado, along with his down aerial; Dark Pit with his Electroshock Arm and Final Smash; and Lucina with her hitbox placement. In addition, Sakurai felt that Dr. Mario's fans would be upset if he behaved identically to Mario. Regarding the decision to make Lucina a full-fledged character, however, Sakurai stated in a Miiverse post that "whenever there is even a small difference in abilities, that character gets an actual roster slot."
  • Alph - Information from interviews and Sakurai's design documents shows that Alph was next in line to get his own roster spot as a clone, and would use Rock Pikmin. He was scrapped possibly due to time constraints and instead, became an alternate costume for Olimar.
  • Takamaru - In a Niconico interview, Sakurai states that Takamaru was briefly considered as a playable character, but didn't make the cut due to lack of fan familiarity, resulting in his Assist Trophy role. A Mii Swordfighter costume based on Takamaru appears as DLC.
  • Chrom - In Sakurai's weekly Famitsu Column after the reveal trailer for Robin and Lucina, Sakurai stated that he considered adding Chrom in the game and even planned a moveset for him. However, he instead chose Robin, feeling that Chrom offered nothing unique over Marth and Ike. Chrom appears as part of Robin's Final Smash and victory screen, and a Mii Swordfighter outfit based off of him (the latter as DLC). He later became a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as an Echo Fighter of Roy, although he still returns as part of Robin's Final Smash and victory screen.
  • Geno - Geno, who was previously considered for a playable character in Brawl, was once again considered as a playable character, but was not added for unknown reasons. He was later added for Mii Gunner DLC outfit.
  • Ridley - Ridley, who was previously considered for Brawl, was once again briefly considered to be playable, but was decided against because Sakurai felt that getting Ridley to fly was difficult during development. Ridley was later added as a playable fighter in Ultimate.
  • Heihachi Mishima - In Sakurai's Thoughts About Making Video Games 2, Sakurai states that Heihachi was considered as being a playable character, but was decided against since his movements would have been too difficult to implement. A Mii Brawler costume based on Heihachi appears as DLC. Kazuya Mishima, another Tekken character, was added as a DLC fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, who was added over Heihachi due to the Devil Gene making Kazuya more unique.
  • Other Final Fantasy characters - While discussing potential candidates from the Final Fantasy series to include in SSB4, Sakurai stated in an interview with Square Enix veteran Tetsuya Nomura that he could have included characters such as Fusoya from Final Fantasy IV, Bartz Klauser from Final Fantasy V, or Terra Branford from Final Fantasy VI. However, Sakurai ultimately said it was difficult to imagine a Final Fantasy character to include that was not Cloud, primarily owing to his design and iconic status.
  • Sora - In Super Smash Bros.™ Ultimate – Battling with Sora – Nintendo Switch, Sakurai reveled Sora was considered to Smash Bros due to winning the Smash Bros Ballet. But to the difficulty in getting the rights to Sora from Disney, they went with Bayonetta instead due the character being easier to negotiate, although they ever outright confirmed Sora was planned for inclusion in Smash 4. Sora would later join Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on October 18, 2021 as the last fighter.
• In late August 2014, a series of allegedly leaked photos and videos of the 3DS version were uploaded to the Internet, revealing at the time several unannounced fighters. The original videos were removed shortly thereafter citing a copyright claim by Nintendo of America. These leaks were confirmed on September 11, 2014 when various gamers in Japan and Taiwan obtained the 3DS version two days prior to its release date and streamed footage of the game on Twitch.
• In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, a glitch could occur that banned a player from online play for up to 4,294,967,295 seconds (displayed in-game as 71,582,788 minutes and 15 seconds), or about 136 years; the glitch often occurred as a result of constantly pursuing a single player in free-for-alls. The cause of the glitch is thought to be due to an integer overflow from an unsigned long integer; the system in place erroneously banned players for a negative number of seconds, causing the time to wrap into an extremely large number. This glitch no longer exists due to updates.
• Like other games in the series, it spawned several memes.

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