Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS Review

One of the greatest appeals of Super Smash Bros. as a series is just how far reaching its audience can be. From nostalgic franchise characters such as Mr. Game & Watch from the original Nintendo handhelds in the early 80’s, to 21st century icon Villager from the Animal Crossing series. Smash Bros. brings all these faces together from the Nintendo multiverse and pits them against one another to find the strongest of them all.

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS isn't just the next in the legendary line of games, it's the first ever handheld version, bringing dozens of recognisable characters to the Nintendo 3DS and 2DS's dual-screens.

The titles are known for their visual complexities with up to four players on one screen, small detailed items, a moving and interactive stage and background and quick-paced fluid action. Not something you'd normally associate with an on-the-go, small screen title. Yet, running at 60fps in full stereoscopic 3D, Smash Bros. for the 3DS feels right at home even on the smaller screens. It's very easy to distinguish even the smallest of items on-screen, despite the resolution of the 3DS compared to other mobile alternatives. Furthermore, actions feel controlled, removing the mad and sporadic character animations attributed to previous games in the series, making it easier to track your opponents next move and punish them with a well-timed counter.

Smash Bros. on 3DS has a plethora of different game modes, most of which can be enjoyed on and offline. The most recent and notable addition is Smash Run. Reminiscent of some of the stages in the Story Mode of Smash Bros. Brawl, you are given five minutes in which to boost your stats in preparation for the final bout at the end.

Characters work their way through a vast, pre-loaded map, defeating various small (and not so small) enemies. Along the way, players collect stat boosts that improve agility, attack, defence and suchlike, filling up respective meters ready for the final randomly selected challenge at the end. This challenge can be: a 4-player smash battle with certain rules, defeat as many enemies as possible, getting to a finish line first or being the one who reaches the highest point on a map. Sometimes the power-ups you gain during the main stage are irrelevant, such as attack improvements when you are given a race stage, but players can't afford to skimp on some stat boosts in case the final challenge relates to those boosts specifically.

Another massive change in the series is the ability to customise your fighters. Unlike no other Smash Bros. game in the series, characters can utilise different moves for each button press as well as equipping power-ups collected in some game modes to enhance and improve the way they fight. This change gives an air of RPG elements, first touched upon in Smash Bros. Brawl. These customisations are utilised in all modes including Smash, the original 4-player battle mode, when rules allow for such enhancements and alterations. In truth, this can get a tad confusing when trying to spec your character to the top degree, but with practice it's very rewarding when done correctly.

Much like many other game modes in Smash Bros. for 3DS, Smash Run can be enjoyed alone or more rewardingly with friends via local play.

Collectibles are of course a massive part of any Smash Bros. game and this iteration is no different. Coins are gained in essentially any mode and can be used for various things such as exchanging for trophies from the store and taking part in higher-bounty Classic Mode runs. Hundreds of trophies, move-sets, hats and outfits are scattered around the game to collect, as are other power-ups and equipment used for the next attempt at Smash Run.

Online is as simple and streamlined as it needs to be. Play 'For Fun' or 'For Glory' in a few set modes including the ever popular 1v1 mode. Within online is Conquest, rewarding players for using specific characters to contribute points to a global battle of rival characters.

The vast array of characters found in Smash Bros. for the 3DS highlight the cream of the Nintendo crop with some notable omissions. Veteran fighters Ice Climbers were taken out as it was too tough to keep the 60fps up with two highly animated characters on one screen but they are missed too much (in my eyes anyway). Without giving too much away, you'll find some familiar faces from Luigi, Marth and Peach to more obscure and different characters in Little Mac from Mike Tyson's Punch Out! and Pac-Man from, well, Pac-Man, as well as many more.

Each character, new or old, has positives and negatives to their play, with some characters being more complex to master than others. I haven't seen notable unbalanced characters other than when I get upset after playing online. Being the modern-age of gaming, updates are able to be sent to the game when appropriate. Stats of characters are sent to servers that can analyse performance patterns, meaning that balancing characters can be achieved with ease - a system that has already been utilised.

In truth, I could talk about Smash Bros. on 3DS for days. The music, its many other game modes, Streetpass and beyond, but to be honest, you would get a whole lot more enjoyment in witnessing these feats in handheld gaming for yourselves. Somehow, Sora and Bandai Namco have managed to squeeze a console class of game into a tiny screen - a trait of many Nintendo handheld games of late. It's polished, engrossing, entertaining and classic on-the-go gaming at its best and - following on from all the other games in the Smash Bros. series - will be one that is enjoyed for years to come after its release. A near flawless mobile gem.