Smash Bros. Wii U: Your Responses

I recently posted a feature about the Super Smash Bros. franchise. I discussed items that I'd like to see changed, improved or removed. For the most part, the responses from around the Web were great. Some of you were very insightful, others gave me funny ideas or fresh takes on the ideas I had. I didn't write it as an experiment, but it proved successful.

For the most part, anyway. Here are some of your responses, both positive and negative:


Luther Loomis, via Facebook:

“…only thing I find missing was something about one of the Devs stating that they refuse to make any changes to the game after it's been launched, but a lot of things needed tweaked…Patching happens in most "good" online games, and it would have been nice to have hope that they would touch up the game that every melee fan was looking forward to.”

This is something I wish I’d addressed to begin with. Patching and DLC have become so integral to development that Nintendo practically can’t skip out on them. For its titles like Zelda and Metroid, it’s less of a problem. No multiplayer means the developers don’t have to worry about character balance. But genres like fighting, racing, RTS and MOBA have to be carefully maintained. Capcom’s done this to some extent with Marvel vs. Capcom 3—even though Sentinel is still overpowered. With Smash Bros. Wii U, Nintendo has an unprecedented opportunity—by its own standards, anyway—to interact directly with fans and improve the experience for everyone.


David Travis, via AIM:

“As long as you know [Megaman]'s going to be the fat one with a pistol.”

If it’s not, I’ll be severely disappointed.


Infernostew, via N4G:

“Travis Touchdown and a much improved stage creator.”

No More Heroes was great fun. I’d love to see Travis as a playable character—or at least an assist trophy.


Nozzle, via N4G:

“For the clone thing, how about they just do the extra characters from the same franchise (those which have the same moves) as Skins for the featured character instead of trying to make it look like they have a load of differen't characters by filling in the character gaps.”

Alternate costumes would be a good way to get around that. Considering a lot of clones have similar animations, it wouldn’t be too much of a problem. And heck, Peach already has a Daisy skin.


Chidori, via N4G:

“I really never saw Falco and Wolf as a Fox Clone. I mean, they all pretty much have a unique moveset with small details keeping them similar… There's no way you can go in a battle as either falco or wolf with Fox's play style. It just won't work.”

That’s not a bad point. Their weight classes and physics are different, which forces different playstyles. But I’d like to see a smaller, more robust cast.


EdgarRF, via NoobFeed:

“Seriously, how many anti-Brawlblogs do we need exactly? The game is almost 4 years old. This has gotten old in the first year. We get it, this game in your opinion is the worst disappointing game ever made and it is an unplayable mess. We all comprehend that you all hate the game completely after the fifth iteration of this kind of blog (this current one is the 789,478,934th iteration).”

Hey, Ed. Mind if I call you Ed? Anyway, I’m glad you wrote, and I’d like to address some of your concerns.

First off, I liked Brawl. A lot. It’s one of my favorite and most-played Wii games, and I’ve logged hundreds of hours playing with my friends and unlocking all the content. I’ve played it as much as its predecessors, if not more. It’s an excellent game, but it has some issues.

Just because I liked a game, does that mean I have to be completely satisfied with it? No. And why would I want the next title to retain the missteps of its predecessors? Developing a sequel is about refinement and innovation. You improve the things that were good and fix the things that were bad. Shouldn’t that be obvious? I love the first Mass Effect, but that doesn’t mean I can’t point out where it went wrong. Enjoying something isn’t about loving it in its entirety.


LSHardCase, via NoobFeed:

“Seriously, the fact that you praise Project M, reveals you as a transparent Meleefanboy. People like you are stuck in the past and are too blind with nostalgia to make proper judgements. If you think Brawl is a shitty game, then what makes you think that the next ones will not suck. 5 years from now, I'll most likely see another blog saying how bad SSBWUis a shitty game and that the next Smash Brosmust be as "perfect" as Melee.

Personally, I think Melee is just more overrated than Halo. Yeah I said that.”

I find the concept of Project M interesting, but I called it what it is: A re-balanced Brawl running on the Melee engine. That’s not praise; it’s a fact. If you want to call me out for something, do it because I said, right now, that Reverge Labs is better at developing a fighting game than Nintendo. What Reverge has done with Skullgirls is phenomenal.

I’m not a Melee fanboy, either. I’ve gotten into arguments with several of my friends over Brawl vs. Melee. I like Brawl more, as stated above, which is why I play it more. If I were stuck in the past, I’d probably only play the N64 game, on my black-and-white TV, before driving to work (professional loom-smashing, of course) in my Ford Model T.

Just for the record, I agree about Melee being at least as overrated as Halo.


DaavPuke, via NoobFeed:

“What do I want in the new Smash Bros? A way to intuitively implement the native controller of the Wii U, since that is the whole plug of the damn thing. I'm talking about more than just using the capacitive touchscreen to do command inputs, like on the 3DS. Perhaps involve simple line drawings to create moves (sort of, but not like, Okami). Have that interconnectivty pay off on screen, get some added content in there through it, go nuts. Perhaps a way to target with the controller on the screen to create environmental events or something? Just thinking out loud on that fact.”

I’m all for this, as long as such a control scheme is balanced with all other input methods. Even if that’s not possible, you’re absolutely right: It’d be a huge waste of potential to not implement the Wii U controller in some way. This could be exactly what the single-player modes need in order to feel fresh and inventive. Like with Kirby’s Epic Yarn, the Wii Remote (or Wii U tablet) could be used to interact with levels to advance or access secrets.

Rather than make another tacked-on single-player mode, Sakurai and his team should use Smash Bros. Wii U as an opportunity to demonstrate the new console’s potential. Give us yet another system-seller, with everything that made Melee and Brawl great, along with all the other insanity we've come to expect—and not expect—from the franchise.