Top 10 Video Games of 2014 - Part Two

As in years past, I’ve compiled a list of the best games I played in 2014. While some might say 2014 was a slump year for gaming, I felt the case was quite the opposite – granted, some of the titles on this list were not released in this year, but a large chunk of the titles I played this year were released in a window between late 2013 through 2014. In each year prior to this one, I narrowed my ‘games of the year’ down to a select five. However, I felt that doing so this year would serve a great injustice to many of the titles I found to be simply exceptional this year. As such, this year’s list will consist of the ten best games I played in 2014, and will be split into two parts. Keep in mind that the order of these games on this list is not necessarily representative of the score I gave each of them in my reviews, rather a ranking based on which games were the most enjoyable and impressed me the most.

#5) Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U: As a pair, these two new Smash Bros. titles might just be my new favorites in Nintendo’s all-star fighting franchise. The Wii U version offers a wider variety of game modes, many of them fast-paced, and while the 3DS’ controls might hold a little less appeal in the longterm, the handheld version’s classic mode is more in line with that of previous Smash installments. The roster includes some curious characters, each of whom makes use of highly inventive movesets and feels right at home with the veteran characters. Coupling that with the intelligent repurposing of final smashes, these two latest titles offer up the most balanced fighting frenzy Smash Bros. has seen since its N64 debut.

#4) Bayonetta 2: One of the smoothest-playing action games I’ve ever had the pleasure of getting my hands on, Bayonetta 2 is equally impressive in its visual presentation. It’s easily one of the most graphically impressive games on the market right now, and the polar opposite designs of statuesque Angels and mechanical Demons provides a great variety of designs to coincide with their various attack and defense patterns. Bayonetta 2 is thoroughly unapologetic, in both its demanding combo system of close encounters and pinpoint-accuracy dodging, as well as its sense of flash and flair, which, much like its very vocal and very confident protagonist, it owns and flaunts in every possible angle.

#3) Skullgirls Encore: I’ve never been one to claim I’m particularly skilled at popular combo-heavy fighting games like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat, but Skullgirls was something of a game-changer for me. It is designed with the hardcore fighting game crowd in mind, but somehow opens up to a wider audience with tutorials and combo chains that prove far more intuitive than heavyweights of the genre typically offer. While the default character roster may be smaller than in most fighting games, each character is designed with a very specific play style in mind, and with more DLC characters on the way, fights are bound to push forth more complex team strategies and fast-paced action as they are added to the lineup. The hand-drawn character models are absolutely gorgeous, and a further testament to the love of labor that the creative team behind Skullgirls has poured into this magnificent creation.

#2) Killer7: It’s no secret that I love the utterly bizarre creations of Suda51 and the team at Grasshopper Manufacture, and Killer7 is no exception. Polar opposite in themes and presentation to No More Heroes, Killer7 is a dark and serious tale, albeit an incredibly weird one, that weaves political intrigue, a terrorist organization that mutates its loyalists into walking time-bombs, the personas of multiple assassins given corporeal form, and heavily cel-shaded graphics into one effectively perfect gaming experience. Of all the aspects of Killer7 I found myself simply in awe of, it was the fact that – despite its unorthodox combination of on-rails progression, third-person action, first-person shooting, and character-specific puzzles – I was unable to find any noteworthy flaws in the design or mechanics of this game.

#1) Shovel Knight: Shovel Knight is a case of David holding his own with the Goliaths of the gaming industry, an indie title that shows as much love and polish, if not more, than most of its AAA-title competitors. It’s a love song to NES-era icons like Mega Man, Zelda, Castlevania, and Final Fantasy, and yet is able to craft its own identity that feels right at home in the company of Nintendo’s long-since-famous mascots. Shovel Knight is not a cakewalk of a game, by any means, but its smooth controls and wacky items prove a wonderful pairing to the game’s 8-bit aesthetic. Shovel Knight is great for its classic fantasy vibe, its comedic cast, and its addictive gameplay that is great for both brief sessions on the go, or a long haul of taking down the nefarious Order of No Quarter.

2014 Year in Review: Video Games

As this year comes to a close, I am wrapping up my ‘year in review’ lists, including my top anime and video game picks for 2014. Below is a list of every video game in the order that I played them this year, complete with a brief summary of my full review and the final score I provided each. Keep an eye out for my picks of the top ten video games of the year later this month, and please note that this list will be updated within the next week or so to account for my review of Pokémon: Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

Grand Theft Auto V – Blending action-packed heists with parodies of contemporary culture in a setting as true to the west coast as possible, GTA V never seems to stop dealing out entertainment, whether from its cleverly-scripted story of three crooks in over their heads, or simply driving freely across the massive expanse of forests, desert, and bustling city streets. There is so much to do and see, it’s truly baffling that the game runs so seamlessly, not only in its load times, but in the way it develops each character and shapes the grand plot. While many games of this genre sacrifice quality for quantity, GTA V still looks quite visually impressive for a late seventh generation console release, and the myriad of alternative, electronic, and classic rock tunes add some welcome flavor to the depiction of Los Santos. My rating: 9.25

Super Mario 3D World – The follow-up to the 3DS’ Super Mario 3D Land, this Wii U platformer sticks to the 2D/3D hybrid design, and features levels that are much shorter than most Mario games would offer. That said, the game looks gorgeous, and offers plenty of variety and replayability, with drop-in/drop-out multiplayer, secret areas abound, and an extra challenge from post-game bonus stages. The Cat Suit, while fun for a while, overshadows many of the other more interesting items, which could have been more consistently utilized. My rating: 8

DmC: Devil May Cry – A new vision of one of the biggest action gaming series out there, DmC sports a new punky, foul-mouthed Dante as he pairs with his more calm and collected brother Vergil to free the humans of the city of Limbo from the influence of the demon Mundus. Everything has been given a gritty, yet colorful look, with Dante smashing and hacking apart grotesque statue-like enemies in environments that draw heavy inspiration from modern eastern European urban areas. The dialogue is cheesy, no doubt, and the story over a bit more quickly than it could have been, but it is unquestionably the smoothest-playing entry in the Devil May Cry franchise, and plenty of fun to boot. My rating: 9.25

DLC
- Vergil’s Downfall: 6.75

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds – Attempting to build upon the foundation laid by what is easily one of the most popular Zelda titles is a gutsy feat, and A Link Between Worlds displays how to go about delivering the bare minimum to fans of the series. Selling itself entirely on nostalgia, A Link Between Worlds rips almost everything in its overworld directly from the SNES classic, while showing a general lack of inspiration in the boss and dungeon layouts - these can be challenged in any order, but the tradeoff for such open-ended adventuring is that the difficulty factor peaks within the first two hours of gameplay. The story is bland, the characters generally uninteresting, and the whole package simply a lazy offering for what is one of the most renowned series in adventure gaming today. My rating: 6.5

Killer7 – A cel-shaded hybrid of multiple gaming genres, Killer7 conveys the bold and bizarre ideas that culminated from Suda51 and Shinji Mikami’s brains, albeit in a much different light than the action/comedy seen in Grasshopper Manufacture’s other modern masterpiece, No More Heroes. In a not-too-distant future, six assassins and one liaison take on corporeal form and carry out missions on behalf of their host, Garcian Smith, and elderly man who was once an ace assassin. With political intrigue, science fiction, and psychological horror all mixed into a singular product, Killer7 is a game like no other. Its on-rails control scheme and emphasis on solving puzzles while seeking out and dispatching invisible walking time bomb enemies may sound both a convoluted and repetitive process, but the unique abilities of each assassin continue to offer up new spins on familiar gameplay elements up until the very end. My rating: 10

Kirby: Triple Deluxe – While the 3D effects do well to explore new creativity in level design and the signature simplistic combat the series is known for, the real surprise in Kirby: Triple Deluxe is the degree to which the game utilizes the 3DS’ internal gyroscope, requiring players to tilt their systems back and forth to overcome puzzles within the varied environments. At its core, Triple Deluxe is a familiar path for longtime fans of the series, but the new power-ups and unexpected spins on boss encounters add an air of newness to this latest Kirby title, as well as a welcome (though not overly intense) challenge. Despite being a bit on the short side and hosting a story that is even more simplistic than that of many of its predecessors, Triple Deluxe is a wonderfully polished experience that emphasizes a ‘fun factor’ through every facet of its design. My rating: 9.25

Mario Kart 8 – Introducing zero-gravity segments to the Mario Kart series, number eight is quite a far cry from where it started back on the SNES, and yet, it could not play more smoothly. A few new items adjust the ‘rubber band’ balancing issues many players had with some of the recent installments, while the Grand Prix mode provides both fun and inventive new locales as well as flat-out gorgeous reimaginings of retro tracks. The one major drawback that Mario Kart 8 faces is that its battle mode has been relegated to the race tracks themselves, and lacks any proper battle arenas, effectively nullifying the enjoyment of that bonus game mode. My rating: 8

DLC
- The Legend of Zelda x Mario Kart 8: 8

LEGO Marvel Superheroes – A love letter to fans of Marvel’s comics and films, this LEGO version of Manhattan incorporates a ludicrous number of heroes and villains, from the iconic Iron Man, Wolverine, Thor, and Captain America, to less mainstream and sometimes oddball picks like Taskmaster, Black Bolt, Super Skrull, and M.O.D.O.K. There’s plenty of distractions in the form of races and combat challenges, both in New York City and on board the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier stationed overhead. It’s a fun story that does well to aim itself at younger players and older fans alike, and isn’t afraid to poke fun at itself, with members of the Avengers commenting on how silly some of their foes plans are. My rating: 8.25

Shovel Knight – A brilliant homage to NES icons like The Legend of Zelda, Mega Man, Castlevania, and Final Fantasy, Shovel Knight conveys charm in its 8-bit aesthetic while offering smooth platforming action controls more appropriate for a 2014 release. The crew at Yacht Club games has done a masterful job in balancing fun elements with a fair but challenging degree of trial-and-error routines. The quirky and colorful villains of the Order of No Quarter are a humorous and memorable lot, and though it may not be as long a quest as many major retail releases this year, Shovel Knight offers up plenty of variety and replayability via its StreetPass arena, wandering warriors, and bonus challenge stages. My rating: 8.75

The Wolf Among Us – Hot off the heels of their success with the first season of The Walking Dead video game, Telltale Games has opted to take on the more fantastical and magic-oriented realm of the Fables comics. As Sherriff Bigby Wolf, you must search for clues regarding the death of one of the Fables now living in Fabletown, New York. It quickly becomes apparent that there are larger motives at play, and that Bigby will have to pay attention to the finest of details if he is to bring the case to justice. Favoring clue hunting and quick-time prompted action sequences, The Wolf Among Us is as much an ‘interactive story’ as it predecessor, not controlling in a manner typical to most video games in this day and age. Still, its cel-shaded styling is distinct, its storytelling generally solid and engaging, and its characters all decently developed by the time the final chapter comes to a close. My rating: 7.5

Skullgirls Encore – Designed with fighting game fans in mind, Skullgirls is surprisingly accessible to those lacking an intimate history with genre mainstays like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter. While the nearly-all-female cast conveys a curious charm with their designs all being inspired by monster movies and horror fiction, the most impressive feat Skullgirls pulls off – aside from its buttery-smooth gameplay – is the fact that every single character is animated by hand, a design choice unheard of in today’s industry. Though the roster may not be as large as other fighting games, each character is designed with specialized playstyles in mind that fit major staples of the genre while adding a little bit of a different flair to the mix. Story modes are rarely the highlight of any arcade style combo-fest, yet Skullgirls handles its world and characters in such a way that will leave players wanting more when the single player modes have been conquered – and with more DLC characters on the way, one can only be excited for what lies ahead. My rating: 9.25

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes – A glorified demo of what is planned for the next proper numbered installment in the MGS series, Ground Zeroes has Snake running around a small camp in search of his former Peace Walker comrades Chico and Paz. The story is far too short and simple for player to care about, and lacks any real semblance to a proper Metal Gear tale. Likewise, the gameplay has been dulled across the board to grant mainstream gamers ease of access, which in turn effectively robs the entire experience of the Metal Gear spirit. My rating: 4.5

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D – A port of the Wii’s recent resurrection of DK’s platforming adventures, this game is riddled with many worlds and stages to explore, each with secret areas and bonus collectibles. Aside from a few upgrades courtesy of Cranky Kong’s shop, the gameplay is rather straightforward, asking that players progress to the end of the stage while stomping and rolling on enemy wildlife that have been possessed by resident villain tiki masks. The emphasis on twitch-memorization movement drags down the fun factor in later worlds, however, as the game is effectively asking you to go through the motions in a very specific pattern as opposed to throwing any real learning curve at you or asking you to strategize with experience. My rating: 6.5

Sin and Punishment: Star Successor – Letting up on the difficulty factor from its predecessor, this Wii sequel offers greater creativity in both enemy and environment designs. More general science fiction, the cyberpunk aesthetic is still at play in Star Successor, though not as heavily as in the original Sin and Punishment. The story of Isa and Kachi running from the Nebulox forces is light, but this is a game that is more about fine-tuned arcade-style action gameplay than it is about a gripping story, and to that end, Star Successor does a fine job of continuing the cult-following legacy of Sin and Punishment. My rating: 8

Kid Icarus: Uprising – Part on-rails shooter, part action-adventure game, Kid Icarus: Uprising is a bold reimagining of a long-dormant Nintendo property that doesn’t take itself too seriously, poking fun not only at the previous Kid Icarus titles, but also Nintendo’s long history of iconic video game characters and creations. With Hades pulling the strings behind a grand bid at expanding his forces from the Underworld into the realm of the living, Palutena calls upon her most trusted Angel Pit to seek out ancient artifacts and take up the mantle of unlikely savior. Along the way, Pit will become sidetracked as he squares off with the Forces of Nature and beings from beyond the Earth, all of which bear beautiful, highly-detailed designs fitting of the classic Greek and Roman influences the series is known for. My rating: 9.25

Persona 4 – Designed in the vein of old-school JRPGs, but incorporating modern sensibilities to its design, gameplay, and story, Persona 4 follows a group of classmates/friends as they try to unravel the mysteries surrounding a series of murders and the television world of the Midnight Channel. The party members are, by and large, a genuinely entertaining lot, which is just as well, considering how much time will be spent in their company, both while scouring dungeons for experience points and treasure, and during your free time in town and at school as you forge stronger social links to increases their combat capabilities. The symbols of the arcana that you choose to pursue will influence the types of Personas you are able to fuse and summon, and taking on a local job or after-school activity will boost personal stats. The dungeons each hold an aesthetic unique to the characters they correlate to, though the endgame stretch streamlines everything into a suddenly straightforward and deflated experience compared to everything that preceded it. My rating: 8.75

Hyrule Warriors – A hack-and-slash spinoff in the vein of Dynasty Warriors, this is certainly one strange but not unwelcome combination of franchises. While the core mechanics are more in line with the DW combat system, the incorporation of classic items like the Bow, Bombs, Hookshot, and more give Hyrule Warriors a flavor just different enough to identify it as its own beast. The story may be light, but the game offer plenty of missions between its three core modes of gameplay, and a reasonable amount of depth in upgrading character stats and weapon bonuses. As a whole, it may not be as strong as most Zelda titles, but it does well to cater to longtime fans of the series, while refining many elements carried over from Dynasty Warriors. My rating: 8.25

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS – Overpowered characters from the series’ last outing on the Wii have been toned down in favor of greater balance across the board, while final smash moves have similarly been evened out for the better. Classic mode grants players freedom to select from one of three matches before each encounter, throwing metal, giant, and horde battles into the mix, and offering greater rewards at higher difficulty settings, while the time-sensitive gathering of stat boosts in Smash Run is, in stark comparison, a largely forgettable portion of the handheld Smash experience. 3D effects are used for little more than added depth perception, which is just as well, given the often chaotic nature of fights, and players who find it difficult to keep track of their fighter on screen can increases the thickness on the outline of their character model – the renders of which, along with the environments and collectible trophies, look exceptional on the small screen. My rating: 9.25

Bayonetta 2 – Pairing silky smooth gameplay with an unapologetic sense of flair that many other action games strive to achieve but few actually manage to do, Bayonetta 2 is not only one of the best showings in its genre, it is one of the best games of this eighth generation of consoles. With wacky humor, battles that constantly escalate in scale and ridiculousness, and a protagonist that commands with every backflip and shot from her pistols, Bayonetta 2 is not just an absolute visual treat, it’s a no-holds-barred wild ride from start to finish. The majestic soundtrack, bonus levels, and Nintendo easter eggs only add to this utterly delicious package. My rating: 9.75

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U – While Smash Bros. does well on the 3DS, it feels properly at home on the Wii U, with tight controls and the ability to enter (admittedly chaotic and fast-paced) 8-player bouts. There’s an abundance of modes represented in this new home console Smash Bros., and even more in the way of unlockables. While Classic mode does break from its traditional patterns a bit, the roster of playable fighters is top-notch, and easily the most diverse and balanced group the series has seen in years. The returning stages may not boast as strong of a showing as on the 3DS, but the new stages for this Wii U counterpart are a strong showing, by and large, and pair well with the move away from Brawl’s gimmicky gameplay and design elements. My rating: 9.25

Pokemon: Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire – While generation III did well during its original Gameboy Advance release to introduce plenty of new and interesting typing combos that proved both enjoyable and useful in the long run, this pair of 3DS remakes only adds so much to the formula. Some new features from the Pokenav aid in catching specific Pokémon in the wild, while the experience share system carried over from last year’s Pokémon X and Y lead your party members to reach much higher levels than necessary shortly after the halfway point of the journey through the now fully-3D Hoenn region. The bonus post-game Delta Episode content is easily among the highlights of the game, and makes up for many of missteps encountered during the core story of Team Magma and Team Aqua. A lack of new offerings, combined with the generally less-inspired layout of the Hoenn region when compared to its brethren in the franchise, lead Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire to be less impressive than what most fans have come to expect in the overall quality of Pokémon titles. My rating: 7

Wii U review: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Boasting the same roster as its 3DS counterpart, the latest Super Smash Bros. has arrived on the Wii U, and sports the same frantic action coupled with a solid blend of the play styles of the previous two entries in Nintendo’s all-star fighting series. Plenty of familiar faces return, while a few have been cut from Brawl’s offerings, and a couple have been split into multiple characters – such is the case with Sheik, Zelda, Samus, and Zero Suit Samus, each of whom now have an extra move or two. The newcomers are some of the most bold and varied additions to the roster in the series’ history, with the Animal Crossing Villager, Wii Fit Trainer, Pac-Man, Mega Man, Palutena, and Little Mac, joining the fray, among plenty more interesting additions.

While Smash played well on a handheld – better than most would have anticipated – it feels more at home on the Wii U. The Pro and Gamecube controllers evoke tight, smooth responses from each fighter, while the Gamepad and Wiimotes, despite having slightly less orthodox spacing and button layouts, fill their roles in similarly solid fashion. Stages and characters are generally easier to keep in focus in all their high-definition glory, though this can change drastically in some of utterly massive stages designed for the new 8-player Smash mode.

While the 3DS Smash Bros. offered up a solid variety of stages, the Wii U’s brand new arenas are better, by and large. The Kalos Pokémon League sets players on a medium area of ground with small variable platforms, and throws a few environmental hazards like fire, water, giant swords, and the occasional legendary Pokémon into the mix to keep players on their toes. The winding courses and mobile platform representing Mario Kart 8 are effectively a stand-in for F-Zero, whose only stage in this Wii U version is the tried-and-true Port Town Aero Dive from Brawl. Skyloft builds off the basics of Brawl’s Delfino Isle, albeit with many larger areas to set down in, while both Pilot Wings and Donkey Kong’s Jungle Hijinks offer simple yet refined design points.

While nearly every newcomer to this Smash Bros. has a stage to call their own, it is unfortunate that some of the series veterans get left out in the cold, so to speak. There is no new F-Zero stage beyond the 16-bit one exclusive to the 3DS version of Smash, and Kirby’s only two Wii U stages are the massive Great Cave Offensive, suitable only for frantic bouts of trying to keep sight of your own fighter in 8-player Smash, and the Halberd, which was easily one of the best stages to come of this game’s Wii predecessor. Each of the new stages does hold up solid with the quality and variety fans have come to expect from the Smash Bros. series, though.

The returning stages, on the other hand, are a bit of a mixed bag. Smashville, Kongo Jungle 64, and Port Town Aero Dive all play as wonderfully as they did during their respective debuts, while Donkey Kong’s 75m is obnoxious and poor in design. The claustrophobic setup of Luigi’s Mansion and bland emptiness of the Bridge of Eldin both make for strange choices as well, though Melee’s Hyrule Temple, which has long been an unnecessarily large stage, finally sees some more practical use, thanks to the inclusion of 8-player Smash matches.

With regards to 8-player Smash, certain stages were designed with this larger number of players in mind, like Sonic’s Windy Hill and an even larger version of the classic Battlefield stage, appropriately named Big Battlefield. Other stages are reserved for smaller numbers of players, and cannot be accessed for 8-player Smash. Online play proves generally more solid and connections more consistent than in the 3DS version, a welcome improvement that will hopefully only get better as time goes on.

The core experience of this latest Super Smash Bros. is a majorly impressive achievement for Sakurai and the rest of the creative team behind it, as it contains the most balanced roster of fighters since the original N64 version. Final Smashes, one of the most polarizing additions to Brawl, make a return, and have largely been retooled for the better. Characters with previously over-powered Final Smashes, like Pit and Ness, have been granted significantly toned-down replacements, while others have been swapped for more practical options, like Luigi’s vacuum cleaner and Zero Suit Samus firing upon foes from a safe distance inside her gunship. Others still have seen previously perfectly reasonable Final Smashes ditched in favor of still-plenty-effective and well-balanced moves that align more closely with some of their latest outings, such as Kirby’s giant sword he wielded in Return to Dreamland and Lucario’s Mega Evolution, parallel to Charizard’s own. It’s a far more intelligent showing for this mechanic that was previously able to tip the scales in matches so drastically that it almost certainly spelled one-hit K.O.s from particular characters.

Classic and All-Star modes both see a return, the latter being almost entirely unchanged from every Smash Bros. prior, a gauntlet run of matches against every other fighter on the roster, this time in reverse chronological order of their debut in the video game industry. Classic mode, meanwhile, sets the players’ chosen character trophy on a base that they can freely move about, and tackle different sets of opponents based on which fighters they will be up against, how many, which stage they will be duking it out on, and what sorts of rewards will be granted upon winning the fight. On top of these match-specific rewards, players can stop a roulette to earn further rewards, though losing two lives and being taken to the ‘continue’ screen will result in one or more of these rewards being taken away. The higher the difficulty setting, the better the rewards typically are, but also the more that will be taken away should players fail.

When selecting fights, players need to be mindful of their designated rival character, who is randomly selected at the start of each classic mode run. This rival will generally put up more of a fight than its CPU counterparts. Facing it early on can grant a sort of safety net, but yields less in the way of rewards, while waiting until the last possible minute to face off with it means a more challenging battle for a better haul. Occasionally, one of the CPUs will be kicked off the base by a more challenging foe who will take on either giant or metal form, which again, yields greater returns for players who best them in battle. Classic mode will, however, always cap off with a multi-man battle against a team of Mii fighters, and Master Hand/Crazy Hand/Master Core thereafter.

The Miis are the new representatives for all forms of Multi-Man Smash found in the additional Stadium content, including time-sensitive matches, 10 and 100-man matches, and two other modes that pit players against highly aggressive Mii fighters and throw a rival CPU into the mix respectively. Home Run Derby makes its return, largely unchanged from the last time around, while the new Target Blast mode combines the basic idea of launching an object ala Home Run Derby with the old Break the Targets mode. The object of Target Blast is to chain as many targets as possible from the bomb’s explosion radius and the environment objects that are launched as a result of it for a high score.

Event matches also make a comeback, some being locked early on due to their requiring use of bonus unlockable fighters. These matches play out in a manner not unfamiliar to veterans of Melee and Brawl, with silly scenarios made up for the sake of adding interesting rules into the mix. On the whole, these latest event matches are easier than in previous installments, with a few sprinkled throughout that will prove a test of patience through trial-and-error runs. Some event matches do lack clear instructions, however.

Filling in a similar spot as the 3DS version’s Smash Run, the board game setup of Smash Tour provides lightning-fast matches with rules that range from relatively normal to borderline-ludicrous. Players will move around the board, collecting extra fighters and power-ups as they go, and using trophy powers to set traps and shuffle their opponents around the board, or even grant themselves an edge in a fight, such as starting off with a particular weapon or shrinking one of their fellow players with a poison mushroom. The fighter players will use in each match is predetermined, so there is no real way to gain an edge with relying on a particular fighter, and losing a match may see one of your fighters fall into the hands of another player. Smash Tour is entertaining for a brief run, and more conceptually interesting than its Smash Run counterpart on the 3DS, but it’s not the sort of game mode most players will devote a great deal of time to.

For completionists who want to unlock every trophy, soundtrack tune, and optional character ability, Master Orders and Crazy Orders set players up with very specific rules in order to reap these rewards. Tickets in Master Orders can only be purchased with coins, and range from straightforward time and stock matches against a handful of low-to-mid-level CPU fighters, all the way on up to high launch power, double speed Smash matches wherein each combatant has but one life. Crazy Orders, meanwhile, takes this concept one step further, combining it with the gauntlet run sensibilities of All-Star mode, as players race the clock to see just how many matches they can fit into a ten-minute span. Tickets for taking on Crazy Orders can be racked up quite quickly in Classic mode, and once a run of Crazy Orders starts, players can select one of three matches to attempt, which become increasingly more challenging as the rounds progress. However, damage taken is carried over from one match to the next, with slight heals occurring automatically between each bout. With all these factors in mind, carefully planning your next move in Crazy Orders is crucial, and playing to the strengths of whichever character you selected is typically advised, though not always a guarantee to victory. When the timer is nearly at zero, the damage counter high enough that another battle seems ill-advised, or the challenge factors being offered less-than-ideal for a fighter, Crazy Hand can be challenged in a match where both parties begin with a predetermined amount of HP, and attempt to whittle each other down from there. The more Crazy Order challenges completed before facing Crazy Hand, the more difficult the match will be, with extra CPU fighters taking to the Final Destination stage and even Master Hand joining in the fight.

There are an abundance of unlockables in the forms of soundtrack tunes, trophies, and stat boosts for the Miis and custom fighters. While the quickest ways to gather these is through Classic and All-Star Modes, some can only be acquired by clearing spaces on the Challenges board, accessible from the main menu. By and large, the challenges in this new Smash Bros. are far more reasonable than those included in Brawl.

Mii fighters are divided into three categories – Gunner, Swordfighter, and Brawler, who – as their names imply – focus on close-quarters punch and kick combos, mid-range swipes of the blade, and distanced shots respectively. Attributing defense, offense, and speed-boosting stats to these Mii fighters, as well as customized versions of the remaining roster members, can drastically alter the way they control in battle, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. Some of the stat boosts unlocked can even start players off with certain items at the beginning of a match, or grant slightly multiplied damage dealt to foes, though these sometimes include tradeoffs that mean a fighter may be slower in battle or start off with a predetermined amount of damage already taken to their HP counter. The movesets for Mario, Donkey Kong, Mega Man, Samus, Captain Falcon, Fox, and so on can be swapped for new abilities, typically offering one option that carries out a faster but less damaging attack, while the other is a slower but heavier hit. It’s a great addition that makes battles less predictable, and allows a greater level of depth in the way players can strategize, without breaking the already solid balance between fighters.

Launching alongside this Wii U Smash Bros. are Nintendo’s collectible Amiibo figures, physical counterparts to the in-game characters. While only twelve were made available at the time of the game’s launch, they all operate in the same basic manner – they can be scanned via a chip that is help over the Gamepad controller, and brought into the game as CPU fighters. The difference between these Amiibo fighters and the traditional CPU fighters is that the Amiibos can be fed different stat boosting abilities, and will gradually learn better strategies for countering human players over time. Amiibos can easily rack up a large amount of experience points early on, while the progression slows as they ascend to higher levels. A low-level Amiibo is a relatively easy opponent to overcome, while an Amiibo at the max level of fifty can put up a serious challenge.

Plenty of classic and remixed tunes accompany each stage, while the graphical presentation is solid, though not nearly as impressive as other recent Wii U releases. From a distance, the textures on stages like Yoshi’s Woolly World and Xenoblade Chronicles' Guar Plain look decent enough, though pausing the game and zooming in for a closer peek reveals textures not nearly as polished as what other console exclusives have offered up. On the other hand, the lighting effects and colors in the Pikmin Garden of Hope, Mario Kart 8’s Mario Circuit, and the Kalos Pokémon League look more in line with the quality players would expect of a current-gen HD console, and these minor visual inconsistencies may be the result of this Smash Bros. being built off the same engine used for 2008’s Brawl. Slight oversights aside, this Wii U version is the most fun Super Smash Bros. has been in years, sweeping gimmicky elements aside in favor of deeper fighting mechanics and a superb roster.

My rating: 9.25 (out of 10)

3DS review - Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

It may be hard to believe that it’s been six years since the last installment in Nintendo’s crossover fighting franchise was released, but now Super Smash Bros. has found a home on two of Nintendo’s consoles. While we won’t be able to get our hands on the Wii U entry until November twenty-first, the 3DS version of the game has already turned plenty of heads for the simple fact that it is a handheld version of the beloved fighter.

This latest Smash Bros. may be running on the same engine that was used for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but the two titles boast play styles that are only so similar. Gone are the inexplicable and unpredictable tripping mechanics, and less gimmicky are the characters. Both of these aspects make for a more enjoyable fighting experience, which is only enchanced by the inclusion of what is easily the most well-balanced roster since the days of Melee. Some players have already taken a liking to a handful of characters for competitive play, but relatively simple downgrades to Meta Knight and Pit as well as slight upgrades to Sheik and Zero Suit Samus leave a major impact on the overall feel of the game. Meanwhile, newcomers like Robin, Mega Man, and the Animal Crossing Villager feel right at home in the company of veterans Mario, Donkey Kong, Captain Falcon, Kirby, and many more.

Similarly, the stages offer a great deal of variety, with the sizes of most ranging from small to medium. Battlefield and Final Destination see mere aesthetic changes, while the latest F-Zero and PictoChat stages are very slight variations on their predecessors. The designs of the Nintendogs Living Room or Find Mii stages may not boast the flash and flair or interactivity of environments like the Unova Pokemon League or Fire Emblem Arena Ferox, but this handheld version of Smash Bros. seems often more concerned about functionality than flamboyance. A large portion of these stages (nearly one-third, in fact) are re-used from previous Smash Bros. games, but are far better suited for the series’ 3DS outing than some of the Melee stages that were carried over to Brawl.

Classic mode returns, with little change to the long-established pattern of squaring off against CPU fighters, be they metal, giant, or in a continuously spawning team. Before the start of each match, however, classic mode does allow you to select your path, the suggested difficulty of each match indicated by green, blue, and red paths. In the vein of Kid Icarus: Uprising, Classic mode allows you to gamble more coins to take on greater challenges on higher difficulty settings and reap greater rewards. All-star mode similarly remains largely unchanged from its Brawl counterpart, as you face off against multiple CPU fighters at a time in what is (more or less) the chronological order of their video game debuts, starting with Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Mario, and working all the way on up to Greninja, the Wii Fit Trainer, and the latest Fire Emblem characters.

Training mode still allows you to test out Smash’s many items and stages, as well as hone your abilities in chaining combos (now made more easily identifiable thanks to a successive hit counter and damage percentage numbers that pop up when your character makes contact with an opponent). Stadium sees the return of both the Home Run Derby and Multi-Man Smash, and again, little has been changed on either of those fronts – 100-Man Smash, Endless Smash, and Cruel Smash have you taking on hordes of Mii Fighters, but the concept remains the same. New to this Smash Bros. is Target Blast, something of a hybrid between Home Run Derby and the old Break the Targets mode. In Target Smash, players will have a brief window of time to deal as much damage as possible to a bomb, which they can then launch at a series of targets, blocks, smaller bombs, and occasional bonus trophies and abilities in the hopes of knocking these objects into one another and chaining a high score. Think of it like Angry Birds, except that you have but two successive shots to take out as many targets as possible.

Smash Run operates similarly to Kirby: Air Ride’s City Trial mode, as players have a set amount of time to explore every nook and cranny of a gauntlet-style stage, taking on grunt enemies from many of the game series represented in Smash Bros. How you choose to dispatch these foes, which paths you take, and how many secret rooms you discover influences which stat boosts you will receive, which are then factored into an endgame challenge, be it a vanilla Smash bout or something more directly related to your newfound upgrades like a footrace through a multi-layered course.

Custom versions of each character can also be crafted from a separate menu, and can be used in some of the game’s various modes. These customization options not only include boosts and tradeoffs for a character’s speed, defense, and offense, but alternate moves as well, all of which can be collected as rewards through Smash Bros.’ many game modes. Custom Mii Fighters take this concept a step further, allowing you to give them steampunk outfits, samurai armor, or a mech suit, and designate them as belonging to one of three classes – Brawler, Gunner, or Swordfighter.

Challenge panels make a return from Brawl, though the early sets are decidedly easier than in the previous installment, asking that you play three matches as Meta Knight, hit just over 2500 feet in Home Run Derby, customize a handful of characters, and so on. Later challenge panels do up the ante, though this Smash Bros. is more generous with the number of hammers you earn that can be used to knock out most any space on the board. The rewards for completing these challenges include Smash stages, Mii Fighter stat boosts, sound test tracks, and trophies. While trophies can also be collected from the single player modes, Super Smash Bros. for 3DS introduces both a Trophy Shop and Trophy Rush mode. The Trophy Shop’s offerings will rotate frequently, even slapping a discounted price tag on some, and can be purchased with either in-game coins or 3DS Play Coins. Meanwhile, Trophy Rush is a more robust and fast-paced evolution of Melee’s Snag the Trophies, as players must break down blocks before they stack too high in order to fill a meter to initiate a feverous stream of coins and trophies to fall from the sky, all while avoiding electric balls and explosives. Betting more coins at the start of Trophy Rush will net you more time to try and improve your collection, but any fall out of bounds will subtract fifteen seconds from your remaining time.

One of Brawl’s biggest shortcomings was in the highly unreliable online play. While this new Smash Bros. certainly improves on its Wii predecessor’s faltering, it too is far from perfect in this aspect. Some matches are spot-on, and only once in a blue moon does the online play teeter into the realm of being wholly unplayable. More often than not, however, this multiplayer mode lags just enough to be a constant annoyance. The Streetpass mode known as Street Smash is underwhelming as a top-down ‘bumper cars’ sort of matchup, wherein the goal is to knock other player icons off a small platform. While Streetpass features of any 3DS title are hardly the highlight of the experience, something that was more interactive or dealt out greater rewards would no doubt have been better received.

The 3D effects, while still a cool feature as in nearly any 3DS game, are not utilized for much beyond the added depth perception of stages. It removes potential distractions from the equation, but compared to many other games on the system, does feel a bit underwhelming, especially when the character models are so small compared to their surroundings. On the whole, however, the visuals are thoroughly impressive – bright colors on the Animal Crossing Island pop, metallic textures in Super Mario’s 3D Land glisten, and all of the character models have such fluid and highly-animated motions to match their super-tight controls. Personally, I have only found myself losing track of my own character in Smash on two or three occasions since launch day, but for those concerned with being able to see who’s who on a handheld device, the character outlines can be thickened from the options menu.

For those concerned that Nintendo’s beloved fighter might lose something in translation or fail to work on a handheld entirely, you can lay those worries to rest. Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS is the best entry in the series since Melee, even surpassing the Gamecube classic in many respects. With so much to do and so many characters to play as, it’s easy to pour hours upon hours into this title and not become even the slightest bit bored with it. The easy settings may be a bit softer for younger players and newcomers to the series, but on a higher difficulty, Smash Bros. for 3DS carries on the tradition of those Smash titles that came before it. If this handheld entry is but a taste of what is to come from its Wii U counterpart, we’re sure to be in for a real treat. With that in mind, this is a great release all its own, and a standout entry in the already stellar lineup of the 3DS’ library of games.

My rating: 9.25 (out of 10)

Little Mac joins the roster for new Super Smash Bros.

This announcement comes as no surprise to me, really. When R.O.B. debuted in Brawl and Mr. Game and Watch made his return, I felt Little Mac would make a perfect addition to the selection of retro Nintendo characters within the Smash Bros. universe. I mean, after all he is a fighter to begin with, so it only makes sense, though I am glad to see that the development team incorporated some combat mechanics unique to Little Mac in the upcoming Wii U/3DS releases. This Little Mac reveal follows hot on the heels of a number of other Smash Bros. roster confirmations, including the return of Zelda and Lucario, and the debut of Super Mario Galaxy's Rosalina.

Gaming Update: Welcome to Los Santos

Due to the fact that I wrapped up most of the games I wanted to complete in 2013 right at the end of the year, my early 2014 playthroughs are still currently underway. Grand Theft Auto V is easily one of the more expansive and longest-running of this early slew of titles, and should be one of the first games I post a review for this year, alongside The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. Aside from those two titles, I received Super Mario 3D World and Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition for Christmas, and still have Pokémon Sapphire, the original NES Legend of Zelda, Persona 4, and a couple of Final Fantasy titles I intend to return to this year. I’m actually quite a ways into Persona 4, and feel like that game will become higher priority during this winter/spring season than some of the others, due in part to the fact that I haven’t very far to go before completing it, and the fact that the game has been on loan to me from a friend.

As far as the outlook for the rest of the year is concerned, I really can’t throw out a whole lot of concrete details, simply because I don’t really know what to expect from 2014 with regard to new games. I do intend to pick up Watch Dogs day of release for the Wii U, and I’ll definitely get Kirby: Triple Deluxe. The new Smash Bros. is also a guaranteed purchase for me, though currently, signs point toward that being a quarter three or quarter four release. Bayonetta 2 (as well as a playthrough of the first) stands as a moderate possibility – the game looks cool, no doubt, but I really haven’t been particularly impressed with Platinum as of late, as evidenced in most of my posts from 2013 detailing hands-on experiences with some of their games and demos.

I would like to pick Final Fantasy VII back up later this year, as I truly did enjoy what I played in early 2013. Final Fantasy X did not impress me nearly as much, primarily due to the displeasing battle system and lack of many useful characters. I own copies of both Final Fantasy V and VI that I have yet to start files on, and I clocked a few hours into Final Fantasy IV: The After Years at the end of the summer. Though I realize it isn’t classical RPG in any sense of the term, I’m quite a ways into Paper Mario, and have simply been taking my time with that game, picking it up and clocking in a couple of hours here and there, as I feel like it. There’s a very good chance that title will see a review from me by the end of 2014.

The only other game that currently comes to mind as a potential purchase for this year is Killer7, which is a game I’ve wanted to experience in proper for quite a few years now. With that one, it’s really just a matter of finding a reasonable price for a used copy. I have absolutely zero intention of purchasing either the Xbox One or the Playstation 4, so I will write off any potential reviews from those consoles here and now. From this point out, my reviews of new-school games will be fueled by the Wii U and 3DS, as well as the Xbox 360 and Wii for those odd titles I never got around to playing in proper when they were first released. I suppose DmC might be worth mentioning as having a better-than-decent shot at seeing a review later this year, and Ghost Song is one indie title I've had my eye on since Two Best Friends Play made mention of it on their Facebook page. As for the rest of the year, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what lies in store.

Sonic joins the roster of the new Super Smash Bros.

Sonic the Hedgehog has been officially confirmed as returning for the latest installment of the Super Smash Bros. series. This comes as little surprise to me, personally, considering how much Nintendo and SEGA have bred a strong sense of partnership over the last two console generations, as well as the fact that the blue blur will be starring in his latest adventure in the Wii U exclusive Sonic: Lost World. I'm certain that many old school Nintendo fans will have fun pitting Sonic, Mario, and Mega Man against one another. And hey, even if you were not a fan of the way Sonic played/controlled in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, at least he has a unique moveset unlike Toon Link whose unnecessary return was announced a short while ago.

Super Smash Bros. E3 reveal + roster and stage predictions

Nintendo revealed the new Smash Bros. at E3, and while I felt the expo as a whole was rather lackluster in comparison to previous years, the Smash Bros. reveal was certainly one of the highlights for me. I’ve never been real big on the Megaman games, but after Brawl opened the doors to non-Nintendo characters, I had a feeling the blue bomber might be a good fit for the series. Apparently, Nintendo, Capcom, and Namco all felt the same way.

As for the other two new fighters to be revealed, the Animal Crossing Villager looks a solid addition, if not a pretty basic fighter (perhaps the whole idea behind his inclusion is to present another balanced, easy-to use character like Mario). I was by no means surprised that many of his attacks saw him making use of tools like the axe and bug net, but I did get a chuckle out of his moves. As for the other big reveal, the Wii Fit Trainer, I found it downright hilarious, and in the best way possible. Her reveal trailer was just plain goofy, and based on her crazy moves that were shown off, I think ‘over-the-top and silly’ is the whole theme of her character.

When Nintendo first announced the partnership with Namco to bring players a new Smash Bros. title, they stated that the number of fighters on the roster was not likely to increase, but that some of the fighters at players’ disposal certainly would. From the E3 reveal, we know of twelve confirmed fighters, which are as follows:

- Mario
- Link
- Donkey Kong
- Samus
- Fox
- Kirby
- Pikachu
- Pit
- Bowser
- Animal Crossing Villager
- Wii Fit Trainer
- Megaman

The Brawl roster contained thirty-five fighters, which (assuming this number is to remain the same) leaves twenty-three spots open. Personally, I expect most (if not all) of the clone characters to be dropped, while I expect them to keep all of the fighters from the original Smash Bros. – Captain Falcon, Ness, Jigglypuff, Luigi, and Yoshi. Luigi, while technically a clone character of Mario, is such a huge part of Nintendo’s brand image, and I can’t imagine them dropping him for any reason. Plus, his new moves in Brawl set him and Mario a little further apart from one another. While I didn’t expect Mr. Game & Watch's debut in Melee to be more than a cute bit of nostalgia from Nintendo, he made a return to Brawl, and I expect he will be back for this next installment, along with Zelda, Olimar (representing the soon-to-be-released Pikmin 3), Ice Climbers, and at least one of the Fire Emblem characters. Considering SEGA’s good relationship with Nintendo and their upcoming Wii U exclusive Sonic Lost World, I’d say their blue hedgehog mascot will almost undoubtedly return to the fight too.

Assuming all of those predictions prove true, that would leave us with twelve free spots. So then the question is, who is left to fill them? Going solely off what was shown in the reveal trailer, there were two stages that really caught my attention. The first was a boxing ring, which had the Smash Bros. logo displayed in the center. It’s entirely possible that this is a brand new original Smash Bros. stage (much like Battlefield and Final Destination), but I wonder if it isn’t the home stage of Punch-Out protagonist Little Mac. The second was the Skyloft stage from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Link’s appearance still seems to be based largely off his Twilight Princess counterpart, but he has a slightly different look than he did in Brawl. His tunic and the belts that run across his chest bear a striking resemblance to his Skyward Sword design (even though he does not bear any cel-shading), while his face is more angular and his nose slightly more pointed (again, much like Skyward Sword’s Link, or even Ocarina of Time’s). If this new look is in fact a nod to Skyward Sword, I think there is a decent chance that Ghirahim could replace Ganondorf on the roster. He’d certainly offer up a significantly different play style and would remove one of the clone characters in the process.

As for the stages shown between both the 3DS and Wii U versions, we can confirm the following:

- Battlefield (Smash Bros. series)
- Spirit Train (The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks)
- Skyloft (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)
- Smashville (Animal Crossing)
- Dr. Wily's Castle (Mega Man series)
- Nintendogs
- A new Mario Bros. stage (that highlighted spiked pillars in the water)

We also saw snippets of a few other stages, but not enough to be certain as to what series they are representing. Here are my ideas on the four:

- Valley with a waterfall (possibly Gerudo Valley from Ocarina of Time)
- Indoor colosseum of sorts (possibly from Fire Emblem or a new original Smash Bros. stage)
- Boxing/wrestling arena (possibly from Punch-Out or a new original Smash Bros. stage)
- Spinning stone wheel in a forest/jungle (possibly from Donkey Kong Country Returns)

I expect we’ll gradually learn more in the months leading up to this new Smash Bros. release. Maybe these exclusivity deals between Nintendo and Platinum Games will see the inclusion of someone from the Wonderful 101 as well? It seems like and appropriate fit for the franchise. As for me, I’m still hoping and praying that they put in Travis Touchdown.

Mewth24's Smash Bros. 4 wishlist - part three

Now comes the part of this series where I talk about the stages where the fighting will actually take place. Keep in mind that some of the new stages I would ultimately like to see are dependent on the inclusion of the characters I previously mentioned in my roster wishlist. Most of the following points are simply arguments I wish to make about the design of a few stages from previous Smash Bros. titles as a collective.

Personally, I've always been a fan of stages that include environmental hazards and moving platforms. I know not everyone is a fan of these, and there are some that I feel are more enjoyable to play and just plain better designed than others. I certainly don't hate Melee's Rainbow Cruise, but it requires that you constantly be on the move, which is obnoxious in comparison to the breaks between vehicles in Big Blue that require you pay attention to your footing. I could certainly see a Sin and Punishment stage designed after the second level of that game, where the characters are stable on a platform that moves about the armada of ships, in a style not unlike past Star Fox levels or even Brawl's Battleship Halberd. A few standstill cannons or other methods for the stage to fire upon players in the midst of a skirmish makes fights all the more entertaining.

That said, I realize that many players prefer the standard stages with a few platforms and zero influence from the environment itself. Battlefield's design is tried and true, and even Shadow Moses proved relatively tame with little more than destructible towers on either side of the stage. Again, I enjoy these stages, and I feel that Nintendo has delivered a solid balance between the standard stages and those with environmental hazards in each Smash Bros. release. However, there are a handful of stages that I find incredibly annoying due to their size and layout. Specifically, I'm talking about Hyrule Temple and New Pork City. It is true that there are other stages in Melee that are quite large, like Fourside and Brinstar Depths. But the former is rather open and the latter constantly rotates, discouraging players from sticking to one spot. Hyrule Temple, however, is a stage that - due to its design incorporating platforms, a tunnel, and pillars for players to hide behind - caters primarily to campers and cowards. The whole point of a four-player fighting game is for the matches to be frenetic, and designing a stage with so many hiding spots/escape routes removes this fun factor. On the other hand, New Pork City seems to have been designed as some sort of successor to Fourside, but the stage is in fact so large that once characters spread out far enough it becomes difficult to track one's own character.

The option to construct your own stages in Brawl was a really neat and unexpected inclusion on Nintendo's part. However, there were only so many pieces allotted and a limited number of ways to place them on a stage. While the stage builder should be retained, Nintendo can certainly do a lot more with it. Aside from new pieces, they could include both new color palettes/themes for the environments (as Brawl only had three to choose from) and the ability to include timed environmental hazards (like the lava spouting forth in Norfair and) or slight/temporary changes in the stage's design (like the extra floating platform that shows up from time to time in Smashville).

With regards to the story modes/single player experience, Subspace Emissary was a great way to springboard off Melee's Adventure Mode. Though it did not feature a perfectly crafted story, a game like Super Smash Bros. does not necessarily need one, as the experience is meant to cater to fans of all Nintendo franchises. Keeping the story simple, yet still creative and fun is great, while offering up the option to revisit Classic Mode caters to fans of the original Super Smash Bros. Boss Battle Mode was quite fun and carried a decent challenge factor, while Home Run Derby and Multi-Man Brawl were only altered slightly from their previous iterations. I can really only complain about All-Star Mode, in that it lost some of its challenge factor during the transition from Melee Brawl. The game did not spawn new foes fast enough during the matches where you were to take on three or four opponents, and not a single one of them felt overly powerful, even on the harder difficulty settings.

Now comes the issue that many a Smash Bros. fan has debated over since Brawl's release: what to do with the Final Smash moves? Personally, I like the idea of Final Smashes from a conceptual stage - they make matches more exciting as players scramble to grab them and simultaneously attempt to keep one another from reaching them. However, they are incredibly unbalanced in Brawl. Pit's Final Smash is basically unavoidable, and will instantly kill most anyone on screen, regardless of how much damage they have already taken. Meanwhile, R.O.B. and Donkey Kong have very underwhelming attacks that can only gain a moderate range and deal relatively little damage in comparison to everyone else. Assuming Nintendo is going to keep the Final Smashes at all, they need to be evened out - either everyone gets an instant K.O. move, or they simply get a temporary power-up of some sort. Frankly I'm more inclined toward the latter. While a tussle over Final Smashes that instantly clear the stage of fellow fighters would be fun for a while, I think many players would ultimately get fed up with them and simply turn said items off. However, a temporary invincibility (ala Ghirahim's ultimate form, which I mentioned in the previous part of this series) or limited use of a powerful attack (ala Travis Touchdown's tiger form) would allow the strategic element to be retained and decrease the likelihood that players become flat out frustrated with matches. If Nintendo decides to completely remove the Final Smashes, it would not completely alienate players - there were two games prior to Brawl that functioned well without them. But I think that Nintendo and Namco could really make the experience fun and fresh by toning down these Final Smashes and evening them out.

Mewth24's Smash Bros. 4 wishlist - part two

Let's assume that all of the characters I mentioned in the last post end up getting removed: Wolf, Ganondorf, Toon Link, Lucas, Wario, Diddy Kong, Lucario, R.O.B., and one of the Kirby characters. This would open nine spots on the roster. Mind you, what follows here is my own personal wishlist, and is not necessarily a representation of what the greater Smash Bros. fanbase might want. However, I do have reasons as to why each of these characters would make for a good fit on a Smash Bros. roster.

As I mentioned last time, there seems to be a trend with the Smash Bros. games altering their presentations of certain characters with their most recent releases - more specifically, I made mention of the Legend of Zelda games, and how Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf's appearances have changed from one game to the next. If the next Smash Bros. game were to adopt a Skyward Sword aesthetic, there's a good possibility that Ghirahim would make an appearance in place of Ganondorf. In Skyward Sword, Ghirahim's tactics relied heavily on swordplay and firing small projectiles. In one of the game's most important cutscenes, he was shown to be capable of erecting a barrier for a brief period of time, and he is also capable of teleporting short distances (which could be integrated as either a jump move or an over+B move). Finally, Ghirahim alters his physical form over the course of the game, making his arms more durable, which could be included as a time-limited move to grant him greater defensive and offensive prowess. Assuming Nintendo wants to keep Final Smash moves in Smash Bros. 4, Ghirahim could either be granted temporary invincibility via his final form seen at the end of Skyward Sword, or (going the more overpowered route) be able to summon the imprisoned for a brief period, allowing the beast to stomp about the stage.

Though Earthbound is probably the game most fans of Smash Bros. are least intimately familiar with due to how difficult it is to come by nowadays, I applaud Nintendo for attempting to better represent the Earthbound/Mother series in Brawl. As I mentioned in the previous part, I felt Lucas' inclusion was entirely unnecessary, but I would love to see another character worked into Smash Bros. 4 - preferably one who has a strikingly different moveset from Ness. Jeff appeared in Brawl as an assist trophy and shot off fireworks, and I think his reliance on weapons could make for a very interesting contrast to Ness' PSI abilities. Admittedly, I'm not nearly as familiar with Earthbound as I am with most other Nintendo franchises, but I think including at least one other character from the game that offers something different from what Ness is capable of would make for a more interesting and diverse roster.

Though I think the Pokémon series is well represented through the presence of Pikachu, Jigglypuff, and the Pokémon Trainer, I would not be surprised if Lucario's spot on the roster is opened up in order to make room for yet another Pokémon. Though Mewtwo and Lucario represent psychic and fighting types respectively, their body types and size are similar, and they even share a few similar moves. A Generation V Pokémon who would fit well with this trend is Zoroark, a dark type famous for his ability to create illusions and mask himself as other Pokémon (and even people, as seen in Pokémon Black 2/White 2). N's Zorua/Zoroark was relatively important to the plot of Black 2/White 2, and he was the first Generation V Pokémon to be officially revealed. Granting him the ability to temporarily disguise himself as opponents (which would either wear off after a short period of time or after he were to take enough damage) as well as a few dark type attacks would allow him to follow the trend established by Mewtwo and Lucario as a mostly close-quarters fighter with a few ranged attacks. At the same time, the sixth generation of Pokémon games will be released by October of this year, so it is entirely possible (perhaps even more likely) that this spot would be filled by a Pokémon representing the new games.

Nintendo has a history of including one or two characters per Smash Bros. game that have not been in any major retail release in quite a few years. In the original Smash Bros., this was Samus Aran, whose only appearance on the N64 was in said beat-'em-up game. Melee saw the return of Mr. Game & Watch and the Ice Climbers, while Brawl revamped Pit. Keeping with the trend of incorporating NES-era characters into Smash Bros. (whether as a teaser for upcoming revival projects or simply for nostalgic purposes) Balloon Fighter trophies, stickers, and music have all previously appeared in Smash Bros. titles, and the incorporating of the game's main character would prove interesting, to say the least. Some of these NES classic characters have a tendency to control unusually, like the Ice Climbers operating as two characters under the control of a single player, and designing the Balloon Fighter as a highly agile fighter with little in the way of defense would add an extra degree of challenge for those seeking it. Sometimes the strategies used by more competitive Smash Bros. players are largely dependent on the unorthodox characters in the roster.

While I did say that I do not expect Wario to make a return, I do feel that the WarioWare games are sort of unsung heroes among Nintendo franchises and ought to be represented in Smash Bros. 4. Kat and Ana are two ninjas who could effectively operate in a similar fashion as the Ice Climbers, with one player controlling two characters, though they would be angled toward quick strikes and offense more than defense. On the other hand, 9-Volt would fit in better with the standard weight class and could dish out a variety of moves inspired by retro Nintendo games, as is his calling card in the WarioWare titles.

Capcom is well-known for making tons of crossover fighting games, as well as notorious in the video game community for their habit of making a buck off of everything possible, earning them the moniker "Cashcom". Regardless, Megaman is a hero familiar to many an owner of Nintendo consoles, and carries a similar aesthetic appeal as many of the fun and colorful Nintendo mascots. He's already seen plenty of skirmishes across other fighting games, so adding him to a Smash Bros. roster would not require much work. Throw in one of his more powerful abilities gained from a Robot Master as his Final Smash and the blue bomber would fit right in.

Travis Touchdown, on the other hand, would be a bit more bold an inclusion. His crude nature and explicit language would have to be toned down for any appearance in Smash Bros., which is just as well since few of the characters spend much time speaking anyways. However, there are still plenty of clever ways his comedic nature could be retained for a story-driven mode like Subspace Emissary: his habit of picking his nose, his sometimes cynical nature, and his general goofy behavior as an outwardly awkward otaku. His collection of beam katanas would provide him with a variety of attacks - Blood Berry providing decent range and acting as his standard means of attack, the Rose Nasty slicing up, down, and all around in a series of consecutive swings, and the Tsubaki Mk-II carrying out a slow but powerful up+B/down+B smash move as Travis leaps up and forward to slam its multiple beam blades into a foe below him. His grabbing a foe could be followed up with one of his many wrestling moves to inflict further damage, though at the cost of leaving him open to attack from others for a few seconds. As for his Final Smash, the most logical answer would be to allow him temporary transformation into Tiger form to inflict significant damage on the other fighters. Though the No More Heroes games do not have as strong a following as many of the other series currently incorporated into the Smash Bros. series, it does have a highly devoted fanbase, and there are plenty of people who would love to see Travis Touchdown make an appearance, even if only for one game.

In order to present a rounded experience, the characters I have presented thus far would have to be offset with the inclusion of a couple of slower characters. In the past, the tradition has been to couple heavy characters with slower motions, but I think having at least one character break from that play style would not be a bad thing. I know some other Smash Bros. fans would like to see Bowser Jr. included, and while I can honestly say that I'm not opposed to the idea of having a small and slow-moving character, I feel that the Mario series is well-represented as is, and I think Namco and Nintendo could do even better by including a strange combination: a standard weight character who moves around the stage at a rather slow jog/run, has an even balance of ranged and close-quarters moves, and whose jump moves are quite limited. Specifically, I am talking about Saki and Airan from Sin and Punishment, a title that was, until its Virtual Console release, a Japanese-exclusive. I suggest the developers include either Saki or Airan, but not both (again, for the sake of avoiding clone characters). It would not be the first time the Smash Bros. series has catered to fans of a series that has seen limited release in the U.S. - Melee included Marth and Roy before the Fire Emblem games really caught on stateside, while Lucas is from Mother 3, which never saw a U.S. release.

There would also need to be at least one more slow and heavy character to balance the experience. I don't have one specific character in mind, but I do feel there are certain franchises that are underrepresented. For Donkey Kong, this character could be K. Rool, a character that many other fans have asked for in the past. His variety of combat methods across the Donkey Kong games would open up plenty of options with regards to his moveset. Samurai Goroh of F-Zero has had cameos in both Melee and Brawl via trophies, stickers, and even an assist trophy. Meanwhile, Fire Emblem's Hector could focus almost entirely on heavy close-range swings of his axe, while the weight of both this weapon and his armor would limit his jumping and speed.

The third installment of this series will focus on the gameplay at large. There are a few alterations I would like to see with regards to how the different game modes are handled and the difficulty factor that accompanies them. I also have a few ideas on how to handle stages in the future - no drastic changes, but a few complaints that I have about a handful of stage designs. And of course, I couldn't properly cover Smash Bros. without giving my own input on the topic of the Final Smash moves.

Mewth24's Smash Bros. 4 wishlist - part one

With the next entry into the Super Smash Bros. series currently in development, I decided it was time to make my own wishlist regarding what changes I would like to see in the fourth game. The game is being developed by Namco, with Nintendo still being heavily involved in the process. At this time, Namco has said that they are hesitant to include characters from any of their own games (Tekken, Pac-Man, etc.). This likely stems from the fact that the Tekken games are much different fighting games that the Smash Bros. titles, and there is no doubt a challenge in trying to sell new, non-Nintendo characters in a game that is all about the Nintendo brand. However, Smash Bros. Brawl opened the door to newcomers Sonic and Snake, characters owned by SEGA and Konami, respectively, and I think it is certainly possible that other non-Nintendo combatants could enter the ring in Smash Bros. 4.

One thing that was made clear by Namco shortly after they announced their involvement with Smash Bros. 4 was that the roster size would likely not be changing from Smash Bros. Brawl's thirty-five playable characters. So we can assume is that there will be at least a few characters that will not be returning for the next game, in order to make room for new fighters. I think the first fighters to be cut would be the clone characters, which have been a point of contest among fans since the release of Smash Bros. Melee. Clone characters are defined as characters whose move set is strikingly similar to another fighter, though their weight, speed, and offensive/defensive capabilities may differ. For example, Falco is a lighter and faster clone character of Fox, while Ganondorf is a slower and heavier clone character of Captain Falcon. Frankly, I was rather surprised that Falco made the cut for Smash Bros. Brawl - despite how much I enjoy playing as him, he didn't seem all that different in the third game, and the inclusion of Wolf made me question just how necessary it was to keep Falco around. I don't know that I am convinced that Falco will be cut from Smash Bros. 4, due to his popularity in the fanbase, but I can't imagine that Wolf will return. If Falco does make a comeback, I think his moveset will likely be reworked to some degree, and hopefully (assuming Namco chooses to keep the Final Smash moves in the fourth game) his Final Smash will be different from Fox's (I'll get into my thoughts on Final Smash moves in greater detail later on).

Though Falco's return is a matter I am still on the fence about, there are a few characters I highly doubt will return: Wolf, Ganondorf, Toon Link, Lucas, Wario, and Diddy Kong. The first four characters are clone characters. Wolf, Toon Link, and Lucas are easily the least necessary fighters in Smash Bros. Brawl, and perhaps even in all of Smash Bros. history. Their movesets are too similar to the characters they are cloned from - even Young Link from Melee had fire arrows to set him apart from Adult Link. Meanwhile, Toon Link is simply there to cater to fans of the Wind Waker aesthetic. Lucas' moves are almost identical to Ness', with one or two slight discrepancies. The same could be said for Luigi in relation to Mario. However, I can't imagine Nintendo approving the removal of such an iconic mascot of their flagship series. While Wario and Diddy Kong both presented something new and unorthodox to the experience, they seem like characters who would be difficult to build upon in future releases, and I feel they will be one-hit wonders in the same fashion as Dr. Mario was in Melee. With Pikmin 3 just around the corner and Kid Icarus: Uprising still fresh in people's memories, it's only smart for Nintendo to keep Olimar and Pit in the mix. That said, I think Pit is easily the most unbalanced character in Smash Bros. history, due to his insane knack for recovering from falls and ridiculously overpowered Final Smash, and needs to be reworked significantly before the fourth game releases.

The Zelda characters tend to represent whichever Zelda game is most recent. With any Zelda WiiU news currently far off, it seems likely that the next Smash Bros. would include a Skyward Sword Link, as the original Smash Bros. and Melee both featured Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask Link(s), and Brawl featured Twilight Princess Link. Zelda's presentation would be drastically different if she were to adopt a Skyward Sword look, so it may also be possible that the Skyward Sword, Ocarina of Time, and Twilight Princess looks may simply come in the form of alternate colors/costumes, while the movesets remain largely unchanged. However, Ganondorf is not in Skyward Sword - instead, the role of primary villain falls on the shoulders of Ghirahim, who would make for a very different and interesting fighter, due to his reliance on projectiles, his sword, and his highly durable arms.

Two characters that I think have a slim chance of returning are Lucario and R.O.B. Lucario will probably be swapped in the same manner that Mewtwo was (though I don't understand why Mewtwo was dropped in the first place; I thought he was a great Pokémon to add to the roster). The question is, with the Pokémon Trainer being introduced in Brawl, will Lucario be replaced by another Pokémon or someone entirely different? I feel that R.O.B. will likely follow the same path as Wario and Diddy Kong, but I never expected Mr. Game & Watch to return after Melee, so I can't be too sure on this one. Meanwhile, I expect only one of the newcomers from Dreamland to return, not both. Dedede is more or less a heavy-hitter version of Kirby, while Meta Knight is a light defensive close-quarters variant. Meta Knight's unusual flight patterns and style of attack make him a more likely candidate for dismissal, but Dedede is a more direct clone of Kirby.

In the next part of this series, I will present my own personal wishlist of characters. I doubt that all of these characters will match up with those most-requested by fans, but I have arguments prepared as to why each character would make a solid entry among long-lasting fighters like Mario and Pikachu.