Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS Reviews
Smash Bros. for 3DS is fast and fun—but won't satisfy hardcore fans
If you like the idea of taking one of Nintendo's hottest fighting game franchises with you on the go, then this game will do you good. Otherwise, wait on the Wii-U version. Circle pad movement takes some getting used to and can get bothersome if you're used to playing hard and precise. Online mode shatters the game's replay potential.
Super Smash Bros for Nintendo 3DS is a very large game in some ways, and shockingly small in others. While there is an amazing amount of busywork, you might even feel like you've seen most of what the game has to show you within a few hours of play. As a companion, Smash 3DS works. it functions. As it's own entry though, it just feels light and without identity.
With a fantastic roster of characters, strong graphics and gameplay and a grab-bag of bonus modes, this is as good a Smash Bros. as you could hope for on the 3DS. All the same, you're left wondering if this combination of game and platform is a good enough fit. Play it with friends online or through local co-op and you're guaranteed to have a good time, but this 3DS version can't reach the heights of console Smash Bros, even when it bends over backwards to try.
Despite the system's limitations, Super Smash Bros. for 3DS successfully brings the frenzied fighting series to a portable platform.
The 3DS version of Smash Bros. is the broadest yet … but it lacks the social aspects of gathering round a TV
A highly polished iteration of Smash Bros. that plays great on its own. But if you're afflicted by latency problems in local multiplayer, you'll suddenly become painfully aware of the 3DS version's critical shortcomings.
I can all-but guarantee that the Wii U version of Super Smash Bros. will be game of the year based on the raw quality of how the 3DS version plays and the assumed value of the local multiplayer on the big screen. But if we were too look at 3DS version in isolation, it does miss the point of why people play Smash Bros. in the first place.
Super Smash Bros. for 3DS does an immaculate job of bringing Nintendo's beloved fighting game to the handheld system and has packs in the best character roster and feature list to date, but the shortfalls of its hardware prevent it from reaching greater heights. It's the perfect Smash Bros. game on an imperfect console. We wait with much anticipation for the Wii U version later this year.
Super Smash Bros. for 3DS is absolutely a great game. It retains all the action, polish, and fun factor that makes the series wildly popular with a wide range of gamers. However, the game gains little and loses much on the small screen. As much fun as it is to play, it's going to be more fun, more attractive, easier to control, and hopefully more online-capable on the Wii U. I won't say that you shouldn't buy the game on the 3DS, but I will suggest that the Wii U version is probably the game that you really want to play. The excellent roster and various other improvements found on the 3DS only make me more excited for the big-screen version of the game that is to come.
I can't argue with the logic behind a handheld Smash Bros—people will buy it, people will love it, Nintendo will make money and everybody will be happy—but I might have to wait for the upcoming Wii U version, where even the secondary screen that I hold in my hands will be significantly bigger than the one on the 3DS. It's not the game's fault, of course. The game is big. It's the picture that got small.
Super Smash Bros. makes the leap to 3DS with aplomb. Its deep, addictive combat makes it the best fighting game on the system.
Smash Bros. on 3DS isn't perfect, but it's about as close a match to console-quality Smash as anybody could reasonably expect on the go. The addition of a C-stick via the New 3DS next year will make a huge difference, but in the meantime, this is still a worthy means of passing the time until the Wii U version releases.
For the time being, though, this is a smashing return to form for one of Nintendo's most popular franchises, endlessly energetic and electrifying. Not unlike Pikachu's farts.
Is it as good as playing with friends fighting around a TV? No, but it is Smash Bros as we've come to know and love and, at least until the Wii U version arrives, that's more than good enough. hardcore and causal players rejoice.
The classic Nintendo brawling game returns with a huge cast of characters, refreshed modes and a fist full of charm
It's not feature rich, and it's not the perfect way to play Super Smash Bros. 4, but Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS does mean you can see if attacks link in training while in the queue for coffee. It means you can set a new high score in a home run contest while on the loo and save the replay to prove how you did it later. It means you can play Super Smash Bros. online without crippling lag, while waiting for pasta to boil, and then watch some replays of online Luigi players while you eat. It would be easy to sit and reel off a list of things Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS doesn't have, but it's better to focus on what it is. And what it is, is a functionally excellent, portable version of Super Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros. brings everything good about the series, including its rich roster of beloved characters, stages that honor Nintendo's handheld heritage, tens of hours of unlockable content, and condenses it all into a fine portable package. It goes a long way towards catering to both long-time fans of the series and casual newcomers with mechanics that are simple to grasp, while also adding some welcome new degrees of complexity.
If anything, Super Smash Bros. For 3DS is a precursor to the main event – the Wii U version – which is arriving later this year. It's a handheld game at heart, so it can be excused where it falls short in certain modes, and it brings a wealth of new functionality to the series, including character customisations in an already expansive roster.
Even if you're likely to move onto the console version or you don't play your 3DS much, this edition of the venerable brawling series offers everything you could want and will likely become a standard bearer for the platform.