Mum's the Word in Smash Bros.: What Did the 3DS Patch Change?

Mystery abounds in the most recent patch for Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. Last week, Nintendo announced an update for the handheld fighter that would "balance the game", but players are scratching their heads trying to figure out the specifics.

Masahiro Sakurai, the creator and director of the Smash Bros. series, outlined only two vague elements of the new patch: 

Adjustments will be made to balance the game.
Other adjustments will be made to make for a more pleasant gaming experience.

This is a move that is not only bizarre, it's entirely unprecedented. Most developers--especially ones with ties to popular multiplayer games often played competitively,like Smash--feel the need to be as specific as possible with any changes or improvements to ensure players have the best gaming experience. In a game that has millions of hardcore fans and brings in a lot of money on the competition circuit, it would seem that being open with players would be imperative, if not mandatory.

It looks like Sakurai and his team don't see it that way, and thus, the Smash fanbase had no other choice but to compare notes with each other, post-update gameplay, to determine the specific changes.

And that's just what they did. At the online forum SmashBoards, players analyzed the game to determine some of the things the patch changed. Some characters like Sheik Little Mac got "nerfed", or changed to become less damaging and effective during matches. Others had some of the bugs removed from their gameplay, like Princess Peach and Robin from Fire Emblem. 

For SSB4 newcomer and Xenoblade Chronicles hero Shulk, the patch provided a 1% damage increase for almost all of his attacks. It may not seem like much, but to professional players and die-hard fans, 1% can go a long way.

The full list of adjustments can be found here.