First Impressions: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

This is the second version of the superb fighter/mascot hall of fame Super Smash Bros. 4 and is for the Wii U (hence the name). This one, while lacking the portability of its handheld little brother, packs much, much better graphics and animation as well as a load of new mode options. As this is a First Impressions, I haven't had a chance to try them all out yet.


However, the first thing that stands out is the graphical upgrade; it's amazing, that's all I can say. The attention to detail is amazing in both the characters and stages as well as their attacks and items. Nintendo are definitely keeping their standard high. Just play Final Destination to see what I mean. The better graphics also enables you to keep track of the different fighters which is crucial in the new 8 player smash (which, I haven't been able to play yet due to the huge amount of controllers and people/amiibo you need to play it).

And that brings us onto the amiibo themselves. As watchers of Satamer's box opening video will know, I have got four amiibo (Samus, Link, Mario and Pikachu) and I promptly enjoyed watching them beat each other up (or, for Link, watch him try to hit a Smash Ball as it rose off of the screen - hey, they still need training). They're very easy to use and you can customise them as well by choosing their alt costume and name as well as training them. It was a great feeling to watch them grow and become more powerful as they fought, first, me and Satamer and then between themselves.

Then you've got the new and improved Classic Mode which involves you battling hordes of characters before fighting your rival (a randomly selected character that will give you more rewards the later you beat them). Then you have to battle a load of alt costumed characters as well as a hoard of Mii's. Finally, you get to fight Master Hand (like in the 3DS version). All of the characters are placed on a board and are represented by their trophy/alt trophy. This touch is really nice and, thanks to the enhanced graphics of the Wii U, you can see all of the small details on the trophies and it really gives you an idea of how hard the developers worked on it.

I also had a go at the event stages which have made their return from the Wii U version and are a welcome return for me. They offer you lots of different, specific challenges, which will really test your skills (especially on hard mode). Next up was home-run contest which I played in two player with Satamer using a Ganondorf technique that we'd used in Brawl (Ganondorf and some other secret characters are now available from the start).

Well that's all for this First Impressions but look out for my Super Smash Bros. for 3DS review soon! (just in time for the 100th game review!)

Goodbye for now, Harry