No Story Mode in Super Smash Bros.

[Fig]

How is not developing a game to its full potential anything but lazy? They're making excuses to not put effort in. Nintendo is still putting cutscenes in all of their other games, so why not do it in Super Smash Bros.? Because they're being lazy.

Clearly you have not played the original Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee. If you payed attention to those games, you can see that there was NEVER a story mode. And frankly, more fans will love Melee than Brawl because of its sharpness and physics compared to those of Brawl. Even Sakurai has stated that even with the release of SSBB, Melee is still the sharpest game in the series. Have you not payed attention to EVO 2013? Many fans were there to play MELEE, not Brawl. Besides with Brawl, you can clearly see the many game mechanics that really upset SSB fans. I can truly see how people prefer Melee over Brawl by a long shot and I guess you can't see it. I'm sorry but you may need to replay Melee a few times to understand what I'm saying.

How does a bill that didn't pass have anything to do with this?

Bill S.978 comes along to this argument quite well. Simply due to the that Sakurai does not want to add any cutscenes into the latest installments of the Smash Bros. series if people are going to leak all of the cutscenes of the game on launch date. Bill S.978 is simply an amendment that the government wants to pass because of the illegal or authorized mainstreaming of movies, thus causing possible predicaments that a company would have to face in the future. What I am saying is this: Sakurai has very good reasons to not add a story mode or cutscenes simply due to the fact people will leak all of the cutscenes on launch or later before other fans can enjoy for themselves. If fans were to watch all of the cutscenes before they even have a chance of purchasing their own copy of the new Smash Bros. games, then it is safe to say that once fans have finished watching those cutscenes, then they don't need to buy the game because they know the story. That is what Sakurai is afraid of my good man. He doesn't want to risk losing sales because some "fan" posted the cutscenes online for everyone to see. See my friend, this is where you come in. Your only purpose to buy the new Smash Bros. is for the story mode correct? Well what if you were about to buy the game the next day but happen to stumble upon leaked footage of the cutscenes and story mode itself? You would watch the footage and once you're done, you will probably think to yourself that you need to buy the game anymore because you just saw the entire story and that was your only reason for purchasing the game correct? Thus you saved yourself or your parents approximately $60 and Nintendo just lost a possible sale just because you saw the story cutscenes online. That's why I brought up Bill S.978, to inform you that Sakurai's reasons for no story mode or cutscenes is for people/fans like yourself who only buy for the story, saw leaked footage of the story, and ultimately ended up not buying the game simply because you wanted to see the story mode online.

The Subspace Emissary was one of the biggest reasons why I enjoyed Brawl. Without a story mode, I may not even buy Super Smash Bros. because it has nothing new to offer worth $60. Ironic that Nintendo did this to "keep customers" and now they're losing customers because of it.

Umm, so you are saying that you won't by Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/Nintendo 3DS just simply due to the fact that it won't feature a story mode? What about Super Smash Bros.? Melee? Tekken? Super Street Fighter? The list goes on and on. These games also don't have a story mode, but rather an arcade mode, the concept that the SSB series began with (better known as Classic mode/Adventure mode) and will always stick with. I don't know why you care about a story mode so much, man. The Subspace Emissary was a pretty good story, but it wasn't the reason why people bought Brawl in the first place. People bought the game because it was simply a Super Smash Bros. game. I don't understand why a story mode is the only reason why you would buy the upcoming Super Smash Bros., and even then, no one's complaining about it but you. Everywhere I go to talk about SSB4, I tell them about the non-addition of a story mode and they all respond with "Ok, as long as the game is still going to be in development". What do you have against SSB4 not having a story mode? I for one, think that is Nintendo's safest bet. I'm a Nintendo fan and I know when a game needs work, or it could have gone better by the final stages of development. Seeing story mode taken out of the new Smash Bros. makes it happier for us Nintendo fans who know the full concept of Smash Bros. By taking away story mode, Sakurai will have more room to add more features and concepts to the new Smash Bros. game(s) and be able to achieve what he originally intended.

 

[Hero of Time]

Clearly you have not played the original Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee. If you payed attention to those games, you can see that there was NEVER a story mode. And frankly, more fans will love Melee than Brawl because of its sharpness and physics compared to those of Brawl. Even Sakurai has stated that even with the release of SSBB, Melee is still the sharpest game in the series. Have you not payed attention to EVO 2013? Many fans were there to play MELEE, not Brawl. Besides with Brawl, you can clearly see the many game mechanics that really upset SSB fans. I can truly see how people prefer Melee over Brawl by a long shot and I guess you can't see it. I'm sorry but you may need to replay Melee a few times to understand what I'm saying.

Melee was my very first console video game and one I played religiously throughout my childhood. It's one of the best games of all-time. But just because a series has a great game, that doesn't mean it can't advance and improve upon things in the past.

Bill S.978 comes along to this argument quite well. Simply due to the that Sakurai does not want to add any cutscenes into the latest installments of the Smash Bros. series if people are going to leak all of the cutscenes of the game on launch date. Bill S.978 is simply an amendment that the government wants to pass because of the illegal or authorized mainstreaming of movies, thus causing possible predicaments that a company would have to face in the future. What I am saying is this: Sakurai has very good reasons to not add a story mode or cutscenes simply due to the fact people will leak all of the cutscenes on launch or later before other fans can enjoy for themselves. If fans were to watch all of the cutscenes before they even have a chance of purchasing their own copy of the new Smash Bros. games, then it is safe to say that once fans have finished watching those cutscenes, then they don't need to buy the game because they know the story. That is what Sakurai is afraid of my good man. He doesn't want to risk losing sales because some "fan" posted the cutscenes online for everyone to see. See my friend, this is where you come in. Your only purpose to buy the new Smash Bros. is for the story mode correct? Well what if you were about to buy the game the next day but happen to stumble upon leaked footage of the cutscenes and story mode itself? You would watch the footage and once you're done, you will probably think to yourself that you need to buy the game anymore because you just saw the entire story and that was your only reason for purchasing the game correct? Thus you saved yourself or your parents approximately $60 and Nintendo just lost a possible sale just because you saw the story cutscenes online. That's why I brought up Bill S.978, to inform you that Sakurai's reasons for no story mode or cutscenes is for people/fans like yourself who only buy for the story, saw leaked footage of the story, and ultimately ended up not buying the game simply because you wanted to see the story mode online.

That still has nothing to do with the bill itself.

Umm, so you are saying that you won't by Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/Nintendo 3DS just simply due to the fact that it won't feature a story mode? What about Super Smash Bros.? Melee? Tekken? Super Street Fighter? The list goes on and on. These games also don't have a story mode, but rather an arcade mode, the concept that the SSB series began with (better known as Classic mode/Adventure mode) and will always stick with. I don't know why you care about a story mode so much, man. The Subspace Emissary was a pretty good story, but it wasn't the reason why people bought Brawl in the first place. People bought the game because it was simply a Super Smash Bros. game. I don't understand why a story mode is the only reason why you would buy the upcoming Super Smash Bros., and even then, no one's complaining about it but you. Everywhere I go to talk about SSB4, I tell them about the non-addition of a story mode and they all respond with "Ok, as long as the game is still going to be in development". What do you have against SSB4 not having a story mode? I for one, think that is Nintendo's safest bet. I'm a Nintendo fan and I know when a game needs work, or it could have gone better by the final stages of development. Seeing story mode taken out of the new Smash Bros. makes it happier for us Nintendo fans who know the full concept of Smash Bros. By taking away story mode, Sakurai will have more room to add more features and concepts to the new Smash Bros. game(s) and be able to achieve what he originally intended.

There are only so many things you can do in a fighting game. I don't expect a radical departure from previous games, but I do want enough additions to make it worth the money. If all Nintendo does is add a couple new characters and items, I'll gladly continue playing Melee or Brawl instead.

 

[SinkingBadges]

I thought only the cutscenes would be removed. Didn't hear anything about the story mode itself being axed.

Anyway, I'm not bothered by the decision itself. I liked the sheer fanservice Subspace had, but I can do without it. If I remember correctly, Kid Icarus Uprising (another game by Sakurai) didn't lose any of its charm because of a lack of cutscenes. That alone removes any worries I might have about their absence in a game where they have even less importance. If the movies are not there, the resources will probably go to something more interesting or fine-tuning anything that already is there. Fair enough to me.

But like others have said, the reasoning is weird. Why not put them in a game because they'll be uploaded to the internet? For all I know, next he could say they're not making the game at all because it'll be uploaded to the internet eventually. It's understandable if Sakurai thinks the cutscenes are rewards for the players and lose their value when they can be viewed online, but the reason makes it sound like he's not much in contact with how fast information goes around these days. Even then, it's also a big assumption to say everyone will watch them online, when chances are someone who'd care about not being spoiled would make a point of not watching them in the first place.

 

[Fig]

Melee was my very first console video game and one I played religiously throughout my childhood. It's one of the best games of all-time. But just because a series has a great game, that doesn't mean it can't advance and improve upon things in the past.

First off, how do you play a video game "religiously"? Are you not an atheist according to your blog sometime ago? Nevermind. I'm not saying that the next Super Smash Bros. should not advance, by all means I would love for the series to advance, but you got to consider that the series doesn't have to be as impressive as you may want to. Sure, we want the game to improve, but even then, Sakurai wants this next Smash Bros. more similar to Melee than Brawl. Not every video game isn't like that. Take a look at The Legend of Zelda. It has clearly improved since the NES days and it just happens to be one of those series where Nintendo can look back at previous games in the series and observe what material can be altered or fixed so that when the next installment comes, it makes the game flow smoothly and still improve from the previous games. Now take a look at Super Mario Bros. Sure, Mario as a character has improved but what about the Super Mario Bros. series itself? My friends have shoved their intense knowledge that Mario games are repetitive and that it is quite possible that Nintendo just got the original Super Mario Bros. and recycle it a "new" Mario game. No matter what they said and even if it was true, I still buy and play every single one of the Super Mario Bros. series. Why? Because the game is fun! When I told my friends, they even have to admit that it was fun. I told them that not all games have to "advance" to be an awesome video game series. I would always say (credit to person who originally stated the quote)

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

This is because the formula of Mario is so simple and generic that it actually works. I think Super Smash Bros. is one of those series such as Super Mario Bros. It doesn't necessary have to advance to still be a great video game series, but one must accept (especially true fans like myself) that we might want to resort on keeping the formula simple.

That still has nothing to do with the bill itself.

I added Bill S.978 into the argument not because it was the main point of the argument that we are currently having, but because it shows the similarity that it has with Sakurai's choice of not adding a story mode or cutscenes. The point is that if someone leaks the cutscences online and you stumbled upon it, would you honestly watch it? Obviously you would since you are only buying the game for the story mode, which is not what a true fan/gamer of the series would do. What I always find funny is that you my good man, is that you always state that this argument has nothing to do with the bill, when in reality it does. If you can read what I mean by the bill's main point of why it was created, then you truly will finally understand what I mean when Sakurai's choice is similar to Bill S.978. And either way, the bill is still pending so you should still care.

There are only so many things you can do in a fighting game. I don't expect a radical departure from previous games, but I do want enough additions to make it worth the money. If all Nintendo does is add a couple new characters and items, I'll gladly continue playing Melee or Brawl instead.

Yes, there can be more additional stuff in the game, but the fact remains the same. The game itself is already worth your money. You shouldn't rely on just one concept that the previous game had for the next game to also have. The game itself is fair enough. I'm pretty sure if you had the knowledge as others, then you will know that as of now SSB4 is fine enough. Thank you and have a nice evening.

 

[Batman]

First off, how do you play a video game "religiously"? Are you not an atheist according to your blog sometime ago?

This is either maliciously disingenuous or a matter of natural inability to understand sarcasm and metaphor. I don't know which. In case of the latter, to play/watch/read/do something "religiously" is a figure of speech, meaning that you devote a lot of time to the task. "I play this game religiously" = "I play this game with tons of devotion". This is a device of modern English and its use is widespread.

 

[Ventus]

Put frankly, this move is a...meh move, with poor justification. I don't think Sakurai should've tried to justify the move, because doing so only causes more hate to come up. However, I have to say that the more vocal is the "hardcore" base of Smash, meaning that the lack of the cool cutscenes really doesn't affect the more vocal people. So perhaps this is a GOOD thing? Maybe Sakurai is making this game more akin to Melee which, as we can tell from numerous tourneys, is the most popular Smash? :O

 

[Aelic7]

Put frankly, this move is a...meh move, with poor justification. I don't think Sakurai should've tried to justify the move, because doing so only causes more hate to come up. However, I have to say that the more vocal is the "hardcore" base of Smash, meaning that the lack of the cool cutscenes really doesn't affect the more vocal people. So perhaps this is a GOOD thing? Maybe Sakurai is making this game more akin to Melee which, as we can tell from numerous tourneys, is the most popular Smash? :O

I think Sakurai did say that the speed of this game would be about halfway between Brawl and Melee, so I don't know if it will be as "hardcore" per se, but it should be more fun to play.

 

[blue-eyes]

It doesn't really change my decision on whether or not I'm buying it, based mainly on the fact that I didn't like the story mode in Brawl. It wasn't bad, but it really wasn't important to me.

 

[DarkestLink]

Looking back, I think I can see Sakurai's point. SSE took forever to make, was boring as hell, and the only reason to do it was for the cutscenes (and unlocking characters). With that in mind, why bother with the story mode? Maybe just an adventure mode that takes less time, has no real story, but is actually fun to do? Or maybe focus on adding more characters, which the series desperately needs.