Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Review

By Nikki Yuan on December 30, 2014 • ( 2 )

Smashing done right.

Remember when I claimed Super Smash Bros. for 3DS is a very sophisticated demo for this game? It turns out I was absolutely right. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is the best Smash game ever, and the franchise has never been this beautiful before. Again, other than fighting, the game features a lot of different game modes and unlockables for you to collect. The game is essentially an ultimate guide to all the Nintendo history.

We already covered the characters back in the 3DS review, and both games have exactly the same roster and control. However, what we don’t know from the 3DS version is how beautiful these characters really are. We’ve already seen veteran characters such as Mario or Donkey Kong under the high def. light, but for newcomer like Duck Hunt or Mega Man, this can be a brand new experience. Under 60 frames and 1080p, the gameplay has never been smoother and the characters have never been more gorgeous.

The game features a variety of ways to play. Players have the option to play the game with GameCube controller, Classic controller, Wii U GamePad, Wii Remote and even the 3DS system. One of my biggest problem with the handheld version is the uncomfortable control, and I’m glad the console version gives us the option to play the game anyway we want. GameCube controller has always been my favorite, and you bet I ordered the GameCube controller bundle.

The game shares many game modes with the 3DS version, but it also has a few only available in the Wii U version. The Eight-Player Smash is an instant fun, and I never know an eight-player chaos is what I’ve been looking for my entire life. Unfortunately, the awesome chaos is only available locally, and a lot of stages aren’t available in this mode either. However, having a big group of friends gather together to play Smash at the same time, without the need to rotate players out is truly awesome.

Other than Eight-Player Smash, the game also features its very own Smash Tour mini-game. Smash Tour is a board game for up to four players, and they have to take turns gathering items, states boosts and fighters for a final battle. It’s kind of similar to the 3DS exclusive Smash Run, but actually fun. Smash Run’s problem is the isolation gamepaly during the mazes, and Smash Tour fixes the problem by actually allowing the players to interact with each others on the game board.

The game doesn’t have a story mode like Brawl before, and the closets thing is the Event Mode. This particular mode features some fun scenarios that requires you to play as characters you might not be familiar with. For example, “Fitness Junkie” requires you to play as Wii Fit Trainer, as her goal is to convince two Warios to get into shape. “Pokemon Royal” has you play the game as Greninja, and you’re pit against all the Pokemon characters in the game. However, not all the games require you to fight. “It’s Past Your Bedtime!” will have you play as Jigglypuff against children characters such as Browser Jr., Toon Link and Ness, and your goal is simply put all of them to sleep with Jigglypuff’s special move. The best part of this mode is the mission text, as they have some hilarious references to the video game history.

The online gameplay is also an improvement from the 3DS version. The gameplay doesn’t have the same lagging problem as the handheld version, and it’s as smooth as local gamepaly. There are a lot of things to do online too, as you can either play for glory without items and only omega stages, or you can play for fun with all the stages and items. The only disappointing is Eight-Player Smash is not an online option, but I guess Nintendo cannot handle that many players online at the same time.

The game is also the first to utilize amiibo, Nintendo’s new NFC toy line. The figures will come to life in the game, and it will serve as a worthy opponent for the players, once it level up to a certain level. Unlike CPUs, the amiibo learn their fighting moves based on the players, so if players tend to play a lot of itemless games, the amiibo won’t know how to use one when presented. The amiibo level up quick, and they will quickly exceed you. By the time my Villager is level 21 (out of level 50), I already have a difficult time defeating it, and I have never been so proud of an unanimated object.

Overall, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is a great improvement from the 3DS version. A lot of missing options are back in the console version, including the ability to select stage music before the fight, masterpieces, and items rarity. These might all seem like small details, but they’re some popular options introduced in Smash before, but taken away in the 3DS version. This is why the 3DS version is only a demo, and the Wii U one is a complete one. Nearly every aspect of the game is perfect, and it’s a game everyone can pick up and enjoy right away. The game is great, and I’ve hardly ever seen a game people can enjoy for hours, and have plenty of replay values with tons of things to do. Nintendo has done it again, and this is the perfect Smash game we deserved.

9.5/10