Smash Bros. for 3DS Review: Let’s Settle it in Smash

By now many of you may be aware that I had what I have now deemed as a “failure to launch” when it comes to Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. My initial impressions

were not looking good, mostly due to having intense lag in the single player areas whenever I faced 4 CPU opponents with items on no matter what stage I was on. It wasn’t pleasant, as having my screen freeze multiple times really kicks my brain out of the experience.

Thankfully this review is not based entirely on that experience, because I was able to rectify the issue after resetting my A Link Between Worlds 3DS XL and attaching a different Nintendo Network ID to it. Basically, a blank system with nothing downloaded and no games… except for my retail version of Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. Yes, the things I make difficult for myself (recovering my digital downloads) just for the sake of a review. Somehow this eliminated my lag entirely, allowing me to give a fair review of what most of you are already are or can expect to experience should you choose to dive in at some point.

The Good

It’s Smash on the go. I know saying that is obvious, but I never realized just how much I would appreciate it. Just last night I was at the mall with a friend when we couldn’t decide which place in the mall to eat at. There were many options, but we sort of wanted to go to the same place to make things easier on us. Plus the place was packed, so there was that too. We couldn’t pick between where I wanted to go or where he wanted to go. As we were debating I busted out my 3DS which was already in the middle of a Smash game. Little did I know he purchased the game himself at midnight on launch, because it hadn’t come up in conversation to that point. He busted out his and yes… as cliché as it is bound to become, we did settle it in Smash. I am proud to say my Villager beat his Yoshi.

Later that night we were at the movie theatre with the same problem: Which movie to choose? That’s right, we settled it in Smash. This time my Villager lost to his Wario. Yeah, he switched it up… so should have I. Either way, problems were solved and it was a lot of fun doing it. While these situations could arguably be done at home playing Brawl on my Wii U, it’s just cumbersome. I have to turn on the TV, boot up the Wii menu on the Wii U, turn on an extra controller, get the game going… and then shut it all down when we’re done. Smash 3DS is much simpler: Just go, whip out the 3DS when you get there, and settle it within minutes. When done? Just close the 3DS and move on with the day. So simple, yet so satisfying.

Beyond that, the game functions as you think it would and yes, it is slightly faster paced than Brawl – I think where folks get the Brawl feel is that the menu selections really feel like they were ripped right out of Brawl, but beyond that the gameplay is wildly different – of course you all know that already from the Demo. Having workable online has led to rating competitions amongst my friends and the game is what is should be.

I am assuming if you are reading this review you know what Smash Bros. actually is, but if you don’t this is a fine entry point to the series. Really, any game is a fine entry point, because they all stand well on their own.

The Bad

Well, cell phones interfere with online connectivity. This isn’t a new issue for 3DS owners, but it has never been more annoying given how much gamers really want to play Smash online. Cell phones turned off, it’s still a solid experience – way better than Brawl. Still, it requires that external step to really find perfect harmony regardless of your network speed. Truly a fault of the 3DS Hardware itself, not the game.

Maybe I expected too much of this game to try and give me a full console experience on the go, but it lacks an opening intro that has become well known in the series, and many of the gameplay modes are short and to the point. Some feel this is a negative, while I am uncertain. If I want to say this game should be comparable to a console experience – it is a let down. If I want to understand this is a game built for being on the go – it feels just right. 10 minutes or under to beat almost every mode in the game is truly perfect for gaming on the go. Still, I know most of us can slave away for hours at time on our 3DS systems… so I am putting this in the bad category… tentatively. It’s not really a negative, but is it a positive? I just don’t know.

My main gripe with the game is that I subconsciously compare it to prior Smash experiences. That is to say: 4 fighters on the screen feels like two too many, as the action is compact and depending on the stage and player positioning, the player outlines and all that can get really tiny – almost to the point it is hard to make out who is who, especially if two of the same type of character are on the stage at the same time. Color, hat differences, it doesn’t matter when they are so small you can’t see the differences.

The game also gives you most of the roster out the gate, which I feel is a letdown. A large chunk of the fun in Smash Bros. is unlocking characters, and while still present, you can quickly dispatch that in the first hour just by playing the game. It doesn’t actually feel challenging like it has in previous games. As for clones… they don’t bother me. Without them, nothing replaces that slot. We’re silly to think otherwise. Clones take far less time than original characters, though Ganondorf himself is a let down. He deserves more attention given who he is.

The “Man, this is Good” Moment

When I realized the controls weren’t as clunky as I feared, and performed a final smash with Toon Link that took out 3 players online at the exact same time. Talk about perfect timing and having a big “hell yeah” moment. For fun? Wish there was a competitive form of the game online with rankings and items. Would be amazing.

Conclusion

I won’t go as far as to say the game isn’t as good as Smash Bros. for Wii U – we don’t know that and would be making an assumption to claim as much, but compared to prior iterations there are some pitfalls. The controls are not as smooth (sorry, circle pad) and it can be hard to understand all the action with 4 players at once on some stages, and the game itself works in a series of quick burst action – good for gaming on the go in general.

I can’t help but feel the game isn’t quite as good as it should be, but it’s not nearly as bad as it could have been. It’s a fun game that practically any Smash fan should feel free to dive right in, if for nothing else other than to be able to Settle it in Smash when on the road. Competitively, it should provide a better experience than Brawl, but can it topple Melee? I don’t honestly know. I’ll save that debate for the professional Smash crowd.

This isn’t a must own game, but it’s one you should be proud to have in your 3DS collection. This game gets a 3.5 Reggies out of 5.

How our rating system works:

• 1 Reggie: Is this even a game? I can’t tell. Let’s turn on My Little Pony instead.
• 2 Reggies: My Body wasn’t ready, but the experience has some fun moments.
• 3 Reggies: Ready… Fight! A good game that is worth it for any fan of the series.
• 4 Reggies: A pillar of excellence, much like Reggie himself. The only thing wrong with the game was that I forgot to stretch before reviewing it.
• 5 Reggies: Finally, My Body is Ready. All stretched out, I am now in pristine game playing shape. A flawless experience.
• Any instance with half Reggies: Not quite as ready as the full head above, but certainly better off than the one below.