Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Genre: Fighting Game / Platformer / Party Game

Players: 1-4 Competitive / Team Competitive (Local Wireless, Online), StreetPass Supported

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Review:

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, alongside its Wii U counterpart, is often referred to by fans simply as “Super Smash Bros. 4”, as both of these games are essentially different versions of the same core game, that game being the fourth entry in Nintendo’s beloved franchise that mixes Platformer and Fighting Game elements to make for a fast-paced frenetic brawl where Mario can punch Pikachu in the face while Link faces off against Samus… along with numerous other Nintendo characters (along with a few Third-Party characters as well).

Each version of this game features the same roster of characters, along with the same core gameplay, but each version has a slightly different list of stages, as well as its own unique gameplay modes and features. Many of these features (and at least a few stages) did not end up carrying over into the game’s Nintendo Switch sequel, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, so one might be inclined to ask, “is it worth it to get Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS if I have Ultimate?”

Before answering that question, let’s talk about exactly what this game brings to the table that separates it from what came before and what we got in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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Smashing Features

There’s an argument to be made that the core gameplay in Super Smash Bros. 4 is mostly a refinement of what we had in brawl, adjusting the speed, fixing the pointless “tripping” from Brawl, and adding more characters, stages, and features, making for some of the best core gameplay in the series, with a great balance of accessibility and depth, and making for a truly outstanding game to hop into and go head to head with friends.

However even compared to its predecessor Super Smash Bros. 4 isn’t clearly superior in all areas. For one thing, this game has no single-player campaign or story mode to speak of, unlike the prior game’s “Subspace Emissary” campaign and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s World of Light. In its place, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS got a new multiplayer mode, Smash Run.

This game mode has each of the game’s players running around in a massive area filled with monsters, taking down enemies and hunting for secrets that will power-up their chosen character for one final battle between the group. I found this gameplay mode to be absolutely delightful, but also disappointingly lacking in a few key areas. Namely, the fact that other players are playing on their own instanced map means you’ll never run into each other, even if you’re in the same place, and the fact that none of you knows what the final challenge will be means that you’ll be out of luck if that challenge is, say, a race after you’ve spent a lot of time getting attack power-ups instead of speed power-ups. I still think this mode is a lot of fun, but it’s too unbalanced to be a good replacement for the massive campaign modes that preceded and followed it.

What’s more, unlike its counterpart, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS doesn’t have the ability to play with 8 players, only 4, and this release lacks the Stage Builder that has been in every other Super Smash Bros. game since Brawl. To this game’s credit, it is the first Super Smash Bros. game on a handheld device, though Ultimate’s release on Nintendo Switch makes that accomplishment somewhat less important now.

Another new feature here is the ability to build customized versions of your characters with alternate attacks or different stats, a feature that would be replaced with the Spirits mode in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but it’s a noteworthy feature all the same.

In terms of game modes, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (as with the Wii U version of the game) is the final game in the series to feature any sort of Target mode (though sadly the Target mode isn’t nearly as engaging as its counterparts in Brawl and Melee). There’s also a minigame called StreetSmash that works with StreetPass, with players flicking discs at the discs of players they passed while the Nintendo 3DS is in sleep mode, a game mode that seems akin to shuffleboard, and while not terrible, it seems lo have nothing to do with the main game.

Beyond these features, this game lacks many of the game modes present in the Wii U version. No Events mode, no Custom Orders mode, no Stage Builder. Still, even with the slimmer list of game modes, Smash Run is a mode I will argue is the best new game mode of this generation. However, this feature doesn’t really make up for the loss of Subspace Emissary and the earlier Break the Targets modes, nor does any of it quite compare to the World of Light mode in Ultimate.

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All the World’s a Stage

Okay, so what about the stages that this game has that were cut from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate? From what I can tell (and assuming we’re not counting slightly-altered versions of stages like Final Destination and Battlefield), this game features two stages that would go on to be cut from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Rainbow Road seems like an odd stage to cut from Ultimate, given that it plays similarly to other stages that did make it into Ultimate, most notably Mario Kart 8. It’s also a truly iconic location (so much that it’s even being featured in the upcoming Mario Movie, in a way), so its removal is doubly perplexing.

The other stage that didn’t make the cut into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was Pac-Maze. On the one hand, this kinda’ makes sense because of one of the unique features in this stage that really counts on everyone viewing it from a different screen, something you couldn’t be sure to emulate on a console release. However, this stage seems far more iconic to the Pac-Man character than the absolutely terrible Pac-Land stage that did make it into the game, and surely we could have lived without the unique mechanic.

There is one other change of note here – Flat Zone 2 is not in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but its content was incorporated into Flat Zone X, which is in Ultimate.

All told, these stages make less sense to be cut from Ultimate than the Wii U stages that were cut, but they’re also somewhat easy to overlook because, well, there’s only two of them. Certainly not something so important that it’s worth going back to this game to play.

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A Smashing Spectacle!

Of course, visually, the Super Smash Bros. series is one that just keeps getting better and better, though some may argue that Brawl’s visuals were a mixed bag due to its washed-out colors. Anyway, Super Smash Bros. 4’s 3D visuals maintain the pattern of being a true spectacle to behold, with a ton of detail, some incredible action going on in backgrounds, an incorporation of countless games’ different visual styles, amazing animation… and what’s really shocking is how little this game loses in the transition from the Wii U to the Nintendo 3DS.

Certainly this game’s character models are undoubtedly less-detailed, but on the small screen of the Nintendo 3DS, this isn’t all that noticeable. In fact, the most noticeable change to the visuals in this version is likely something that was added, not removed or compromised. And that is, characters in this version now have a colored cel-shaded border surrounding them to help players to keep track of them in the midst of all the action on the small screen, which seems like a good idea in retrospect.

Beyond the visuals, all this graphical goodness is backed by an ever-growing soundtrack of original game tunes and remixes that make this series one of the most musically epic franchises ever made, building on the massive soundtrack already present in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and adding even more great songs. Plus of course each character is appropriately voiced (or at least, those characters who should be voiced are).

In short, Super Smash Bros. 4 is a treat for both the eyes and ears… though of course all of this would go on to be topped by Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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Smash or Pass?

Okay, I’ve put off answering the question long enough. Is Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS still worth getting if you already have Ultimate?

Well… mostly no.

Sorry, while this game does have some features and game modes not present in Ultimate, as well as a few stages that never made it into the sequel, Ultimate absolutely mops the floor with this game in terms of its comprehensive 80+ character roster, it’s absolutely massive stage list, and its superb World of Light campaign.

Having said that, Smash Run is genuinely fun, and there’s nothing else like it in the history of the Smash Bros. series. It’s a shame it’s so unbalanced, because I could absolutely see this mode being worth pursuing in and of itself if that wasn’t the case.

So if you have a Nintendo 3DS and you can get a good deal on Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, it may be worth getting to try out Smash Run. However, otherwise this game is largely eclipsed by Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in virtually every way. If you already have that game, you’re not missing out on too much here.

tl;dr – Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS is a truly great entry in Nintendo’s franchise of Platformer / Fighting Game hybrids. Unfortunately, it is a truly great game that has been thoroughly eclipsed by Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on Nintendo Switch. While this game has a few gameplay modes, features, and stages that didn’t make it into its Nintendo Switch sequel, none of those elements hold a candle to all of the content in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (though Smash Run is almost good enough to be worth pursuing on its own). This game is truly a great game, but if you own a Nintendo Switch, you should skip it and go straight to the sequel.

Grade: A-

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