Back in the Fray - A Smash Bros. Introspective

[Shrikeswind]

So it'll probably surprise a lot of you that I haven't played Smash Bros. in forever. Some time back, my Brawl disc stopped working - I guess my Wii didn't like that I was trying to mod in some re-textures? - and plainly speaking I just kinda stopped caring too much. My interactions with the competitive Smash community, after all, had always been...let's say "sour"...and everyone who was big on Smash that I enjoyed talking about it with kinda dropped off the face of the planet. And let's be honest, so did I - there were personal issues I was dealing with anyways which I'd rather not go into detail on. Suffice it to say that I didn't really have time to deal with a friendly community which was rapidly dwindling and a community of like-minded folks who I couldn't stand over a game I couldn't play.

Super Smash Bros. 4 came out in 2014. It's now going on March of 2017 and I've finally got to really sit down and play it. I'm remembering what I loved about Smash Bros., but also all the little things which made it easy to stop caring. It certainly feels familiar, despite the fact that I hate the nunchuck controls (no I did not hit D-side, stop air-dodging) and can't readily do anything about it. And I'm finding a lot to like about things which feel less familiar - I may never get used to Sonic's new down-Smash, but I'm definitely feeling Lucario's aura buff and I'm loving it, and Zero Suit Samus? I think I'm in love. Sorry Donkey Kong, but I've expanded and you haven't and I can't take your monkeying around anymore, it's driving me bananas. Her paralyzer fires in spurts, and when she shoots ya, it's gonna hurt. Face it ape, she's bigger, faster, and stronger too. She's the first member of my Smash Bros. crew.

But then I see the things that always ticked me off. I play a lot of single player - I have to since even if I had many friends I'd have to fit them in a room just large enough for two people, and if someone's in my room with me it's not for Smashing (at least, not with the capital~) - and single player Smash? Oh hell no. Smash Tour is pretty much Smash Bros. meets Mario Party and I'm pretty much positive they copied the AI from the latter for the former - frustratingly good at killing you, frustratingly bad at finishing the match afterwards, and it all boils down to the items. Screw Galaga Boss, screw the Beetle, screw the Ore Club, screw the Smart Bomb, screw Hammers, screw X-Bombs, screw...you get it.

I'm also struck by how gimmicky a lot of the new fighters feel. I haven't unlocked everyone yet, so I can't say that with the utmost confidence, but here's what I've gathered - Shulk's Monado Arts need to be toggled. An art which was valuable literally half a second ago becomes worthless as soon as you get to it and the Monado realizes you've made your selection. Wii Coach's auto-healing down-Special? It's a pain in the ass just to get the timing right (how do you screw up breathing?) and even then you are basically never in a situation where you can relax long enough to try it. How about Rosalina & Luma? Did that end up working out? Nope. Every time I try using them I realize that Luma is either a glorified Pikmin or a half-assed Ice Climber. Rosalina could do literally everything you get out of Luma - yes, even Luma Shot - as just Rosalina. She'd still suck, but at least she'd suck on her own merit. Palutena? "Here's the one non-Mii to have custom moves. Every one of them is crap."

There are three new characters I am glad are in the game, though: Bowser Jr., Mega Man, and Little Mac. Junior doesn't have any gimmicks, and I feel he plays pretty solidly, so I see nothing to fault with him. Mega Man's basically nothing but projectiles, which is...I'm just gonna say it, I've seen a lot of people talking about people overusing his Mega Buster but I don't see it - I'm too busy playing with literally everything else he can do. And Little Mac?

I'll be honest, Little Mac is a gimmicky fighter. He's also a gimmicky fighter done right. See, here's his deal. His big gimmick is the fact that he has two neutral-B moves. The first is a chargeable rushing punch attack, which is so powerful and handles so predictably that it renders his Side-B absolutely obsolete. This is what he normally does when you press B. But if you've been doling out punches like a champion, your B move changes into a simple uppercut. ...Oh, I'm sorry, did I say a simple uppercut? I mean what may as well be a Final Smash. Little Mac's gimmick is that you are rewarded for playing well by taking an already good move, turning it up to eleven, setting the amp so that eleven is now one, and then turning it up to eleven again. The literal only downside to the Star Uppercut is that you have to get up close to an enemy to use it. You were already doing that. So what's the drawback to Little Mac? He's terrible in the air. I thought going in that this would be a daunting flaw. I realized quickly that, since I use the nunchuck controller, I hate jumping anyways because DAMN IT ALL, I TOLD YOU TO JUMP. STOP GRABBING, YOU INCOMPETENT TURD. So as long as I play like a sensible nunchuck player, he has no flaws. I'd consider him worth a main slot but he fills the same role as my Valkyrie in Garavani rocket boots and I'll be damned if I'm dropping her.

But, ultimately, did Smash 4 live up to my expectations? Well, I don't know if it matches the hype I had built up 3 years ago, but that's not really the point; I didn't buy it 3 years ago. Whatever might have happened 3 years ago while I was on board the hype train, I didn't have the ability to stay aboard and go over the cliff the hype train is always bound for. What I do know is this: I am, in terms of the ultimate feelings I have coming back into Smash, reinvigorated. I was 8 when I first played Smash 1 and I felt like I was 8 when I first played Smash 4. And while this is kind of a big long essay to review a game 3 years too late...this isn't a review, despite the entire post I just wrote up, and it's not really about Smash Bros., despite the fact that I was talking about Smash Bros. this whole time. The real thrust of this whole thing is this: There are good games, there are okay games, and there's the toilet. Hype will make you think to flush the good if you let it get to you. Don't let it. A Sham-wow is just a rag with a commercial.

tl;dr: I haven't played Smash in a long time, finally played Smash 4 three years after its release (loved it, found some flaws), hype is garbage, I love Samus unhealthily. Send help.

[nocturnal YL]

I like it when we get posts like this. Like I always say, this forum is usually filled with announcements and pre-release discussions and there's relatively little about the actual game contents (with cameos being a notable exception).

"Sorry Donkey Kong, but I've expanded and you haven't and I can't take your monkeying around anymore, it's driving me bananas." Oh my. I find this entertaining. Nice one.

I actually find Smash Tour rather easy. Sure, there are unfair fights here and there, but like Mario Party, in long term the more skilled player (well, the sole human player) will eventually win. You can't easily lose when you have two or three 1000s in your stats and 10 fighters to spare compared to your rivals' 4 or 5.

Camping is a very effective strategy when you're playing with CPUs. Unlike Brawl, they don't gang up on the only human, so feel free to go away and prepare whatever move you have while the others fight among themselves.

I think Monado Arts require a bit of reading the situation and picking the right boost before the actual action. You're not going to benefit from Shield if you're already at 200%.

Palutena is outright a goddess (well, she already is) when it comes to Trophy Rush.

Bowser Jr. does have a gimmick, albeit not very notable at all. He's the only fighter to have a constant damage multiplier: he takes more damage than others if he's hit in the head, but any hit to the Clown Car will lead to reduced damage.

I fear Little Mac's uppercut more than his Final Smash. But either way, he's not someone I want to get close to. If I'm not an aerial fighter or a projectile spammer, Little Mac can be quite a threat.

My own enthusiasm to Smash has died down a bit, and now I prefer the games that contribute to Smash over Smash itself. But despite that, the Wii U version remains the best Smash I've ever played, and I'd easily recommend it to anyone wanting either a party game or an introductory game to the world of Nintendo.

Overhyping is generally a bad thing, since it creates unnecessary expectations. But I'd say Smash has far exceeded the wildest of my own expectations (well, except the general lack of exciting stages).

And, um, about Samus... Well, one serious comment: Zero Suit Samus in Brawl felt like an incomplete fighter, with some of her moves feeling too similar and having no real non-tether recovery. I'm glad she got the boost this time.