..::What I want from Super Smash Bros. 4::..
Ah, yes, it's that time of year again. That time of year where I decide to for no easily explained compile my thoughts on Nintendo's upcoming game Super Smash Bros. (4? Clash? Strife? Kerfuffle? Adjective?) for the Wii U and 3DS. I understand that this is an absolutely gigantic topic, and it'll be full of rants and opinions... But hey, there's gotta some wisdom in this somewhere.
I suppose I should explain my almost unhealthy obsession with the Smash Bros. series. It all started in the year 2000... I think. I don't know, I was very young. Anyway, I remember seeing the game on shelf in some fairly small store and looking at it intently.
Just to clear a few things, I should explain my Nintendo history pre-Smash. I was born in '96, so I really wasn't 'there' to play anything on the 64. However, I got into gaming very early on in my life, playing mostly Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time for whatever reason at about age 3 and 4. I was horrible at said games, but I liked it... Always was better at Sonic 2!
Anyway, I was staring down the box art and noticed both Mario and Link. I practically fangirl'd, and damn near demanded that my parents buy the game. I was lucky, and they did, and I went home and popped it in. I was very impressed to say the least. DAT INTRO! I watched that introduction scene eyes wide in awe, watching the manliness unfold on our TV screen! It was just so... Good. I honestly think no word in our English language at this point in time to explain how I felt watching it.
AND THAT WAS JUST THE INTRO!
The game itself was really neat. At the time I had no idea, but there was no other fighter like it. We'll all know, but the game doesn't use the traditional health bar that goes down, but it had a damage bar that went up. This was damn cool. The fact that characters would also be affected gameplay wise by this made it seem so much more realistic... As realistic as the game could be, really. It's not something you see in Street Fighter, though, is it? Beat up someone enough in any other fighter, and maybe they'll have broken armour or something, but it was never full-on gameplay changing. And I think it was that one gameplay mechanic that made me love it at such a young age: I didn't have to go about checking bars constantly, I didn't even really need to understand the concept of percentages - as long as they were flying around further and faster than me, I'd win.
In my younger years I mained Mario and Link... Obviously because I knew them. As you'll remember, it was spotting those two on the box art that made me want the game so badly, so it was only fair that I would use them exclusively. As I got older and better at the game, I eventually shifted to Captain Falcon and Ness, and I still use those two today, in all three games, honestly.
Now it's onto Melee. Funnily enough, I had some strange feelings about Melee. Most Smash fanatics regard it as the best in the series... But for a while, I didn't. I mean, the gameplay was better, yes, but it just didn't feel like a proper sequel in my eyes. In fact, it wasn't until I unlocked Marth and then eventuall Roy that I found the badassery that was Melee. Once I had those two, I played religiously, and loved every moment. In fact, it's because of those two characters that I still play the game today.
Looking back on Melee now, one of my favaourite things about it is how broken it is. Not broken in a bad way like Sonic '06, but broken in all the right ways. I mean, wavedashing was for all intents and purposes a mistake, but it's so integral to the tournament scene and it can be the one little word that'll divide casuals from 'hardcore' players. Another one of my favourite things about the game was the art style. Cartoony, but very impressive to look at. I have to give some mad props to whoever made the textures in Melee.
Once again I suppose I should explain myself a little bit. I like Roy so much more than Marth. I understand that Marth is just the BETTER character in every way, but I like Roy. His hits always feel so much stronger, the fire is a nice touch, and his sweetspot matches my style. I'm a very brutal attacker in fighting games, always rushing down opponents and hitting them no matter the cost. In fact, it's from Roy, Marth and in ways Link that I found my little 'gamertag' of sorts and eventually username on the forums - PWN3. The three of them had swords, and I knew how to pwn with 'em. But hey, we all knew that already.
Now I guess it's Brawl? Brawl's my favourite in the series, hands down, but I imagine Smash 4 will take its place. The games really have gotten better each time, and anyone that needlessly bashes Brawl should just shut up and have fun with it. Yeah, the tripping is bloody awful, and it's slow as all hell, but it's still a ridiculously fun game to play. With the removal of Roy, I shifted purely to Captain Falcon, Ness and Marth, but I've thrown in hints of everybody throughout the... What is it, five years Brawl has been out now? They go by so fast! Also, I'll say it now, but Brawl is only getting this one paragraph. Anyway, people seem to hate this game, but I love it, and I still play it every now and again with friends. I think it's Brawl that truly sealed the deal on the series for me, though: 64 I was too young to really 'get,' Melee I had some mixed feelings about, and still sorta do, but Brawl did everything right in my eyes.
...So, that's my Smash Bros. history, now it's time to move on to the actual POINT of this thing - my wishes, ideas and miscellaneous crap I want for Smash 4. I'm actually going to break it up into sections, so everything above this could be considered the introduction.
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CONTENTS:
1. 'Splash' Intro.
2. Intro.
3. Gameplay.
4. Character Roster.
5. Stage Roster.
6. Everything Singleplayer.
7. Everything Multiplayer.
8. Overall Design.
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1. Splash Intro.
Remember how when you put a disc in the Wii and go into the channel to start it up, it has a small animation, maybe some music, that sorta thing? We already know the 3DS has this, so it's really only a concern for the Wii U... But I'd like this to be attention grabbing. This is it - this is he very first hands-on thing you'll experience with the game, so it needs to be awesome.
On the 3DS, I'm thinking the Smash Bros. logo with the title of the series above it, and the subtitle for this particular installment (4? Clash? Strife? Kerfuffle? Adjective?) over the logo in a somewhat contrasting colour.
On the Wii U, just make it fancy. The Brawl Splash Intro is pretty good, just have something like that but even better.
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2. Intro.
...The second hands-on experience. It needs to memorable, and it needs to be fun. Remember how little old me just sat and watched the intro on Smash 64? I did that for every other game, and each time I was impressed. Smash 4 needs to follow this, and it needs to have a rockin' introduction sequence. I don't think we need lyrics this time around - at least not in the intro. Have two versions of a 'theme,' one without lyrics that plays during the introduction, and another with lyrics (Latin, of course...) that plays during major credits for the game.
Some of you may think it's silly to focus so much on the introductions, but it really is more important than people seem to give it credit. Give me something to smile at like I was when I was little and I'll be happy, Nintendo. I think you'll pull it off - you've got it perfect three times in a row, you can do it again!
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3. Gameplay.
What would a game be without gameplay? I really don't think Smash can get a whole lot better from what it was in Melee and Brawl, but certain things absolutely have to change. Remove tripping. Bring back the 'advanced' techniques like wavedashes and L-cancels, up the game speed, but have it be as fast as Melee... Have it be a tiny bit slower. Just a bit. In fact, have it be some minuscule difference, but enough to have it be that tiny bit slower. Melee always seemed just a tad too fast, so if the game speed was lowered just that tiniest bit and the advanced techniques were brought back, it'd give them so much more value.
I understand it's hard to make a game. And I honestly think it's because of trying to find the perfect type of gameplay. Honestly, I think there's no way to impress everybody ever, but Nintendo can try and probably do a damn good job.
Also, what's the deal with Meta-Knight and Falco (at least in Melee.)? Those two have some crazy-high priority, it makes fighting them boring and frustrating. Again, you'll never be able to get this perfect, but the faster characters NEED to be weaker and have less priority. Honestly, I can't count how many times Meta-Knight's stupid little tornado has screwed me over, and how many times in Melee Falco's jab has completely stopped Smash attacks.
Not even kidding with that last one - maybe I just have a screwed up copy of Melee, but Falco can completely interrupt my Smash attacks sometimes. It's whack.
I really enjoy Final Smashes, too, Nintendo. Those things are awesome, so keep doing what you're doing with those.
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4. Character Roster.
I'm not gonna go too deep with this one. Honestly, I want Mewtwo back, and Roy with a new moveset, and maybe just 10 or so new characters from Brawl's roster. That could bring it up to about 45-50 characters, and that seems like a good amount to me. Anything more than 50 just be wasted space... Space that could go to BRINGING BACK ROY. I WANT ROY. ROY'S MY BOY.
...Sorry... I kinda exploded there.
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5. Stage Roster.
Again, nothing overly deep with this one... I only want two 'neutral' stages, to be fair. A nice, sexy version of Battlefield and Final Destination. Every other stage needs something to make it interesting, although it doesn't have to be extremely radical. Even if it's very minor, like the pillars rising and falling in Fountain of Dreams or the tilting of the ship in Lylat Cruise, they all need some defining feature.
I'd also like stage creation to come back, but I'll go into that a bit more in the next section.
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6. Everything Singleplayer.
Oh yes. Oooooooooooooooooooh yes! This is where some of the cooler things in Smash come from, like Adventure modes, All-Star modes, even things like the Home run contest and Board the Platforms - which, by the way, NEEDS to return! Despite the game being so Multiplayer focused, the Singleplayer aspects of the game are always great too. Once again, Nintendo, keep up what you've been doing... And bring back Board the Platforms, please.
And on the topic of Adventure Mode, why did Subspace get so much hate? Seriously, I'm asking anyone that may end up viewing this thread to answer that question - I had fun, but everyone seems to despise it.
...Now, moving to the point of stage creation. Brawl did a good job, but it could have been better. Have some more options on backgrounds and remove some of the restrictions, and it'll be perfect. I also think that instead of having specific styles, you get one giant 'canvas' which you could then resize as you need. This could also let you choose the sort of level you want... For example, you want a level with a low 'ceiling?' Lower the higher parts of the canvas and there you go! It's a small thing, but it could make a great concept better.
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7. Everything Multiplayer.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH YES! This where the COOLEST things in Smash come from! I guess you could argue that most of the points I made in the Gameplay and Character Roster sections apply here, and you'd be right, but I still think it deserves its own section. The Multiplayer is what makes Smash so bloody fun. The more people you have involved, the better it is.
Again, the points I made in Gameplay and Character Roster are extremely relevant, so I'm not gonna bother posting them again. Instead, I might as well just move onto Online play. Brawl had the right idea, but the FC system as a whole was just a bit dumb... The 3DS still has them, sure, but it's just the one code, and the Wii U is supposedly gonna have a proper online system, which is good to hear. As long as the online is less glitchy and prone to disconnections, and has a decent amount of options, I'll be happy.
Also items. Items are fine.
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Overall Design.
Just make it feel good. You're making two games at once, for two very revolutionary systems. There's a whole lot of pressure in making this one, sure, especially after the extremely mixed reception that Brawl got, but I've got faith in you Ninty. The other games in the series are some of the highlights of their respective consoles, if not THE highlight.
I'm basically gonna summarise everything while adding a few new points.
-Intro! Make it memorable.
-Melee's gameplay and feel, but with a slightly slower speed. It gives the advanced techniques more value.
-Brawl had a fantastic roster, so there's no need to remove anybody. Bring back a few and bring in some more and you'll do great.
-Two stages MAX should be perfectly neutral. Everything else needs a nice little gimmick or mechanic.
-Add even more awesome music.
-Stages and cutscenes need to be breathtakingly sexy. You can do it, guys!
-Why not bring back that somewhat cartoony, bright style Melee had? You can still have lots of detail in everything, just make it colourful and awesome. For example, this is Ike in Melee 'style.' Same model from Brawl, just in Melee 'style': http://i.imgur.com/WTfMC.jpg
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...So yeah. That's it. I just felt like posting this. Feel free to add your own thoughts... If mods think this should simply be added to the Smash 4 discussion thread, I'll do so, but I'd like for this to have its own topic.
