Super Smash Bros 3DS: Demo Review

Last week, Japanese gamers were treated to a free downloadable demo of Super Smash Bros 3DS. This demo contains 5 fighters (Mario, Link, Pikachu, Animal Crossing Villager, & Mega Man), one stage (Battlefield), and 30 uses before forcing gamers to purchase the full game. Nintendo announced on Friday that Western audiences would be treated to the same privilege on the 19th of this month. The announcement also included a bonus: select Club Nintendo members who had hit Platinum status over this last year would be given early access to the demo, but with unlimited uses.

Guess who got chosen?

As you can see, I was one of these lucky members. Nintendo gave me 4 download codes for the demo, one of which I promptly used for myself. The second went to my wife for multiplayer matches (more on that later).

Upon loading the game and bypassing the obligatory health warnings, I found that this demo appears to contain the full game’s menu contents. Most options are grayed out, but Smash is selectable. From there you can choose to play solo or with a group. I went solo and chose Mega Man.

Who else would I be? Source

The game plays slightly faster than Super Smash Bros Brawl. Anyone familiar with the game should not be too put off by the game’s pacing or physics. Tripping is thankfully gone from this title, but I did notice that having an item knocked out of your hands seems to happen frequently. While annoying, it just means adjusting your combat style to dodge or shield more if you really want to keep that item you are holding.

Multiplayer:

My wife and I played several matches over local internet. We didn't experience any latency or frame rate problems. I can’t say how online play will hold up over remote locations, but local multiplayer is just as solid as playing on a console.

Items:

The items showcased in this game are varied and interesting. The Blue Shell from Mario Kart will follow a player, drop down and explode. The Gust Bellows (Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword) blows bursts of air that push opponents horizontally across the stage; this is a devastating edge guarding item. The Beetle (Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword) grabs players by the throat and carries them skyward; low damage enemies can escape, but high damage enemies will be hard pressed to get out alive. The Flame Bar (Super Mario Bros) is an interesting sword; when fully charged, I think this does more damage than the traditional Beam Sword.

Conclusion:

I’ve put seven hours into the demo thus far and most of my time has been spent playing as Mega Man. He is not the most intuitive character, but I’m quickly becoming familiar with him. I’m including a list of his attacks below. In short, this demo exceeds my expectations for a handheld version of Smash. This game looks to be just as enjoyable as any console version. If the full game holds up to the demo, I would say this is a must own title for any Nintendo 3DS owner.

Ground Attacks

Normal

• Standard attack: His standard attack is his Buster Cannon. These short quick fire shots do 1-3% damage dependent upon proximity. You can fire 3 shots in rapid succession.
• Dash attack: Mega Man spins in one foot in a small whirlwind effect. Mega Man can push enemies along the ground doing up ~10% damage.
• Side-Tilt: Mega Man runs while using his buster cannon.
• Down-Tilt: Mega Man slides along the ground.
• Up-Tilt: Mega Man uppercuts his opponent. It looks a lot like Ken’s Shoryuken from Street Fighter.

Smash

• Side Smash: Charged Buster Cannon. Does 20% damage when fully charged.
• Up Smash: Spark Needle. Mega Man shocks enemies above him. Can do 20% damage when fully charge. This move has decent launching power.
• Down Smash: Flame Jet. Mega Man fires 2 streams of fire into the ground. These streams form a column to the left and right of Mega Man. When fully charged, this move does 24% damage. It has good launching power, but is slow to charge and slow to execute.

Other

• Floor attack: Mega Man does a little spin of his legs while getting up, kind of like a break dancer.
• Ledge attack: Mega Man swings his leg up over the edge in his floor dash position.

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral Aerial: Buster Cannon again.
• Up Aerial: Mega Man launches a small tornado. These have proven useful in finishing high damage enemies. This move would also be devastating on stages with a short ceiling.
• Forward Aerial: Flame sword. This doesn't do much damage or seem to launch well. I think it’s more of a harrowing move to keep enemies away or off their game.
• Back Aerial: Mega Man does 2 quick backslashes with his hand.
• Down Aerial: Hammer Fist. This move is a meteor smash, but has a very short range.

Grabs and Throws

Mega Man uses his GutsMan arm to grab and throw opponents, so he must be in direct contact with his enemies to grab them. His throws seem weak in all four directions, so it is not an advised finishing strategy.

• Pummel: Mega Man squeezes his enemy in his hand. 2% damage done per squeeze.
• Forward Throw: A standard overhand throw.
• Up Throw: An underhand throw.
• Back Throw: A behind the back throw.
• Down Throw: A football style spike with a small bounce up.

Special Moves

• Standard Special Move: Blade Cutter. Mega Man throws a small saw blade causing 6% damage.
• Side Special Move: Crash Missle. Mega Man launches a missile that clamps onto his enemy. It explodes after a few seconds, but it can be transferred to another player (Mega Man included) before it explodes. Does 8% damage.
• Up Special Move: Rush Coil. Mega Man’s dog Rush comes in and springboards Mega Man high into the air. Other characters can use Rush. Rush causes no damage.
• Down Special Move: Leaf Shield. Mega Man forms a ring of 4 rotating leaves around him. If players touch his leaves, they will fade away. Each leaf inflicts 2% damage. The ring can be launched at enemies, causing 3% damage.
• Final Smash: Mega Man fires a slow moving projectile. After crossing a certain distance or hitting another player, the projectile opens up into a small black hole. Enemies who touch the black hole are pulled into Mega Man’s attack. Mega Man summons 4 other iterations of Mega Man (X, Legends, .EXE, & Star Force) and the 5 of them fire beams of energy from their Buster Canons. This deals moderate damage, but has great launching power.

Taunts

• Up: Mega Man thrusts his Buster Cannon toward the screen and then pulls his arm back to his side.
• Down: Mega Man drops to the ground as his teleportation beam shines down on him.
• Side: Mega Man turns his back to the screen and swings his Buster Cannon to the side.