Super Smash Bros. for 3DS Demo

[size=+1]Super Smash Bros for 3DS Demo[/size]​

Firstly, thank you Hybrid for the demo code. That was wonderful of you!

Super Smash Bros is looking pretty good. Here's a few quick thoughts

I mean, Mr Sakurai probably has a good idea for what he's doing by now but it probably needs a little reassurance. And yeah! This demo is pretty decent and a good prelude to the new, subtitle-less Smash Bros.

OK, so, this is just the 3DS version. Even so, it runs fantastically, looks lovely and, well...The 3DS is effectively a portable Wii at this point. It's not a surprise that it looks good. Think 'Mini-Brawl' and you're not very far off, OK? It runs at 60 fps, the 3D looks neat, the characters all look great and the environments are all gorgeous looking. I cannot comment on any other than 'Battlefield' but everything else looks great.

So, let's look at what I can comment on.

The five characters I can play as are Mario, Link, Pikachu, Mega Man and The Villager.

Now, Mario, Like and Pikachu have been around since the first game. Talking about them is almost entirely pointless as every Smash Bros player knows how they play. Mario is the balanced brawler that was ruined in Brawl with the inclusion of F.L.U.D.D.

Well, in my opinion, anyway. There might be some Mario loyalists out there that can make him work better than I can.

Then there's Link, who its the versatile fighter that can find ins and outs for any fighter.

Lastly, Pikachu, the fast, area-denial character that can chase you down and finish you off.

All of them feel fine. Link feels a little speedier this time and F.L.U.D.D is no longer a long stream across the stage to feebly push players away. Either way, if you've played the game before, you know what they're like.

The interesting thing is the new characters.

Mega Man is an entirely projectile based fighter. Even more so than Samus Aran. After all, even she would backslap an attacker if they came too close but Mega Man's main attack is a short to mid range burst from his Buster Cannon. It doesn't cause any recoil either. So, Mega Man can run through an attacker and still cause damage without doing anything to them. Otherwise, he can easily bounce around the level, hopping and shooting. Mega Man's B moves are all based around his alternative powers too, predictably. He can throw a buzz saw, which is effectively a more powerful Buster Cannon shot with greater range. It's quick and has decent range, making it just as effective as a boomerang. His down B summons some sort of ring of leaves. It can be fired forwards to cause damage but I have no idea what exactly it is...

Then there's his side B. This is a missile that fires forwards and will attach to an enemy. There's a second or two and boom! Damage. It seems to play into the idea of Mega Man attempting to keep his distance from the main scrap and pick characters off one by one.

I have to admit, I like the Blue Bomber in this. He plays right into my play style as an avid Olimar player. Hopping around a player and leaving something else to deal damage other than my fists is second nature to me already so I'm pretty OK with it. Plus, a decent recovery move, tight movement and smash moves that have a decent range. Yes please! Mega Man already feels fantastic.

His Smash is both flashy and pretty cool. I wasn't expecting Battle Network Mega Man to turn up...Weird, random but perfectly fine. I actually remember the anime fondly...​

The Villager is a little more...gimmicky, I want to say. However, he's effective, I'll give him that!

The Villager has a variety of very fast and hard hitting moves. Heck, he even has a smash that can bury fighters in the ground! He's hardly a push over. Speaking of which, is down B is a three stage trap. You remember Snake's ability to lay mines and explosives in the ground, right? Now imagine if that was more powerful but took about three or four actions before it did anything. First, he plants a seedling, then he makes it grow, then he spends two actions cutting the resulting tree down. The falling tree will cause heavy damage to whatever is in the way of it's fall.

It's a harsh little attack if you line it up right but man is it hard!

Thankfully, The Villager can hit hard with everything else too. This Side B summons a rocket powered Gyroid that he can ride or fire off. It seems like a flying version of Wario's Bike, which I happen to love using, so I'm happy with it. He's reported to be able to capture various items for later use and he feels very simple and stocky to control.

His Up B is interesting. It's a Balloon Fight reference. Why? No idea. The Villager can fly around using the balloons in order to gain air but it's lessened by any loss of your two balloons. If both are lost, you fall, sadly. The movement seems pretty freeing, if floaty so making balloon loss very possible.

Overall, I also like The Villager. I'm not sure if I would play as him very often but he's still very effective.

I do like the idea that this little guy will go to any lengths to make sure his local museum has decent exibits. No matter the cost, that fish tank will be filled!​

Everything else are just little additions.

Like the addition of the Omega mode for all levels. Apparently, you can push a button to make all levels flat and simple.

Remember that old favourite of 'Final Destination and No Items, GO!!!'? Well, now that is a dedicated button for any level in the game. So, while Final Destination doesn't appear to be here, it's here in spirit. Unless it's unlocked later, of course.

There's new items as well. Things like this fire burst thingy that shoots death in four directions, a gust gun that forces players off the stage and...fairies in bottles? I have no idea what it does but...Neat!

As I fiddle with it and play around with it, I'll report back with more stuff but for now, I'm liking this. It's a neat little demo that just simply proves that Smash Bros for 3DS not only plays strongly on the console but might be something of a must own just in general.

My only nitpick is the controls themselves. You cannot change them at all and you cannot turn off things like Tap Jump (jumping by pushing up). It's not too far away from the Gamecube controller I'm used too, this is just me being uncomfortable with the 3DS analog nub.

Man, the next 3DS' analogue nipple is going to be bizarre in comparison...Anyway, it's just the demo...Still, a few options would have been nice. But like I said, just nitpicking.

Anyway, if you can get hold of this, do so. It also supports multiplayer play too! I love Smash Bros. This is a good version of it from what I can see. I cannot wait to see what the rest of this is like.