Nintendo Direct Wrap Up: Smash Bro. 3DS & Wii U Info Extravaganza

Nintendo’s latest direct is over, but the excitement hasn’t faded. The father of the Pink Puff Ball, Masahiro Sakurai led the event from his studio, and oh boy did he have a bunch of fantastic news for us!

The biggest, and obviously the most important are the release dates. They’ve narrowed down both the 3DS and Wii U windows. Expect 3DS out this Summer and the Wii U version ships this Winter. Both versions will have the same characters and we can expect the game to run in a solid 60 FPS. What I found very interesting is backgrounds and assist trophies will run in 30 FPS so as not to slow down the gameplay.

It’s obvious Nintendo wants to win back the competitive players with this iteration, as they’ve included two online battle modes. “For Fun” will feature all levels, items and only wins are recorded. “For Glory” will feature no Items and only Final Destination is available as a playable battlefield. Wins AND loses will be recorded on the player profile. The most exciting news for this mode is that most of the new levels will have a “Final Destination Mode”. This is basically a re-skin of the very popular Final Destination level from Melee.

Unique to the 3DS version is the “Smash Run” mode. Players are dumped into a dungeon and have five minutes to scour the level for upgrades. Speed, attack, defense, special and more can be collected. Each powerup stacks and gets added to your overall stats. Then its battle time! Sakurai said he took the idea from Kirby’s Air Ride City Trial mode.

An awesome addition for local play and online with friends is the custom move sets. Players will be able to take their favorite fighter and adjust how they are played. No specific details were released but from the footage shown it looks like speed and power can be tweaked.

Gone are the characters that change during battle due to a trigger. No more Zero Suit Samus after the Final Smash; those characters are all now selectable on their own. Samus, Sheik and Charizard have been confirmed.

Notably the most anticipated news was the inclusion of new characters. New to the franchise is Greninja, the final evolution of Froakie (Seriously, fire the guy who names Pokemon. He peaked with Jigglypuff) from Pokemon X and Y.

Be sure to watch the full Nintendo Direct for all the motion picture goodness, and keep and eye out here for more news as it is released.

Check out the full detail list below:

“New Super Smash Bros. games are a major event for video game fans everywhere, and present an experience that only Nintendo can offer,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Fans have two launches to look forward to this year, and they will want to get in plenty of practice with the Nintendo 3DS version so that they can be prepared for the launch of the Wii U game later in the year.”

To view the Nintendo Direct in its entirety, visit http://www.nintendo.com/nintendo-direct. Today’s announcements included:

-Launch windows: The Nintendo 3DS version of Super Smash Bros. is planned to launch this summer. The Wii U version of Super Smash Bros. is planned to launch in winter 2014.

 

–Silky-smooth 3D: Most game-play elements of the Nintendo 3DS version of the game will run at 60 frames per second, all in stereoscopic 3D.

 

-“Smash Run”: Exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS version of the game is a new mode called “Smash Run.” In this mode, four players have five minutes to enter a dungeon and explore the surroundings, fight enemies and obtain power-ups to enhance their fighters. Once the five minutes are up, all four fighters enter a battle arena using their newly equipped items and power-ups. Enemies encountered in the Smash Run mode are from a wide range of game series. Multiple Nintendo 3DS systems and games are required for multiplayer modes.

 

-New challenger!: Greninja, the awesome final evolution of Froakie from Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, joins the roster as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS.

 

-Oldies but goodies: Many of the classic characters from past Super Smash Bros. games that are returning in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS have new powers and abilities. Four characters that have appeared in previous games, but had yet to be announced before this Nintendo Direct, include:

Zero Suit Samus: That’s right, Zero Suit Samus is back, but this time she is her own fully playable character, separate from suited Samus. In the new game, she is given jet boots to make her even more powerful.

Sheik: As with Zero Suit Samus, Sheik is another character that appeared in previous Super Smash Bros. games, but will be a unique playable character for the first time in the new Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games. Sheik has new moves like Burst Grenade and Bouncing Fish.

Yoshi: In previous games, Yoshi stood on two legs and hunched over, as if Mario were going to jump on top of him at any moment. This new version of Yoshi stands completely upright, making him an even stronger fighter.

Charizard: After appearing from a Poké Ball in Super Smash Bros. Melee and becoming playable by using Pokémon Trainer in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, this fire-breathing Pokémon is now a selectable character.

 

-Online play: Both the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS versions of Super Smash Bros. will offer online multiplayer game play with other players on the same platform. Players with broadband Internet access can battle it out with anyone else who is online and also has the game.

-When playing with random players online, two modes are available: “For Fun” and “For Glory.” In “For Glory,” only Final Destination stage variations are available. There are no platforms, elevated areas or items in this mode. It is a nice, clean battle between characters. In “For Fun,” all stages are picked randomly and all items and power-ups are available.

-When playing with friends, full customisation is available – players can set the rules, stages and items however they want.

 

-Variety of stages: While the cast of playable characters is the same in both versions of the new games, the stages where the battles take place are vastly different, depending on which system a player chooses. The Wii U stages are primarily based on past home console games, while the Nintendo 3DS stages draw from hand-held games for inspiration.

 

-Boss characters, such as the Yellow Devil in Dr. Wily’s Base, will make appearances in some stages. When bosses appear, fighters will have to battle the boss, as well as one another. The boss can even be used in strategic ways to damage other fighters.
-Almost all the stages in both versions of the game will have a “Final Destination form,” an alternate form of each stage that is inspired by the relatively simple layout of the much-loved Final Destination stage.

 

-Items, trophies and Pokémon: Items, assist trophies and Poké Balls all return in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. New to the games are Master Balls, special Poké Balls that contain Legendary Pokémon like Arceus and Xerneas.

 

-Get connected: There will be elements in Super Smash Bros. that link both versions of the games. More details about this will be revealed at a later date.

 

-Custom moves: In a series first, players can now customise move sets when playing locally or online with friends. More information about this feature will be announced in the future.