Super Smash Bros. 4
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Super Smash Bros. 4

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Super Smash Bros. 4
(unofficial title)
SSB4 Logo.png
Collective logo for the game.
Developer(s) Bandai Namco
Sora Ltd.
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Designer(s) Masahiro Sakurai
Engine Havok
Released Nintendo 3DS
September 13, 2014 Japan
October 2, 2014 Germany
October 3, 2014 North America Europe
October 4, 2014 Australia
July 24, 2015 Hong Kong Taiwan
September 10, 2015 South Korea

Wii U
November 21, 2014 North America
November 28, 2014 Europe
November 28, 2014 South Africa
November 29, 2014 Australia
December 6, 2014 Japan

Genre(s) Fighting
Mode(s) Single player, Multiplayer, Online multiplayer
Ratings CERO: A
ESRB: E10+[1]
OFLC: PG[2]
PEGI: 12+

Super Smash Bros. 4 (also referred to by shorthands such as Smash 4, SSB4, or more informally Sm4sh, and officially as Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U) is a term used to collectively refer to Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, two games in the Super Smash Bros. series created by Bandai Namco[3] and Sora Ltd. However, in an interview with Kotaku, Masahiro Sakurai has stated he considers the 3DS version the fourth installment and the Wii U version the fifth installment. The games feature mostly identical gameplay, but with several differences in other areas. The 3DS version is the first game of the series to be released on a handheld.

The 3DS version launched in Japan on September 13th, 2014 and in most other parts of the world on October 3rd, 2014. The 3DS version was released in stores one day earlier in Germany on October 2nd, 2014 to avoid coinciding with German Unity Day, and was released one day later in Australia on October 4th, 2014 because of time zone differences. Hong Kong and Taiwan received a release of the game over 10 months later, on July 24th, 2015, while South Korea got its release on September 10th, 2015, nearly a full year after the game's initial launch in Japan. The Wii U version was released in North America on November 21st, 2014, and was released on November 28th, 2014 in Europe, November 29th, 2014 in Australia, and on December 6th, 2014 in Japan.

Both versions have received positive reviews; critics applauded the fine-tuning of existing gameplay elements but criticized some issues with online play. Both versions sold quickly, with the 3DS version selling over 7.92 million copies worldwide as of February 2016, and the Wii U version selling over 4.61 million copies during the same time period.

Characters

Both games feature identical character rosters. The roster contains a total of 58 characters, 34 of which return from Brawl, 3 of which return after being cut in the transition from Melee to Brawl (Dr. Mario, Mewtwo, and Roy), and 21 of which are new to the series. Of these 58, 39 are starter characters in both versions and 8 are unlockable characters in both versions, while 4 characters are unlockable in the 3DS version but starters in the Wii U version. Additionally, 7 characters appear as downloadable content. A further 8 "characters" exist as alternate costumes for other preexisting characters, Alph as a palette swap of Olimar, and each of the seven Koopalings as palette swaps of Bowser Jr.

Veterans (37)
Mario (SSB4)
Mario
Mario (universe)
Luigi (SSB4)
Luigi
Mario (universe)
Peach (SSB4)
Peach
Mario (universe)
Bowser (SSB4)
Bowser
Mario (universe)
Dr. Mario (SSB4)
Dr. Mario
Mario (universe)
Yoshi (SSB4)
Yoshi
Yoshi (universe)
Donkey Kong (SSB4)
Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong (universe)
Diddy Kong (SSB4)
Diddy Kong
Donkey Kong (universe)
Link (SSB4)
Link
The Legend of Zelda (universe)
Zelda (SSB4)
Zelda
The Legend of Zelda (universe)
Sheik (SSB4)
Sheik
The Legend of Zelda (universe)
Ganondorf (SSB4)
Ganondorf
The Legend of Zelda (universe)
Toon Link (SSB4)
Toon Link
The Legend of Zelda (universe)
Samus (SSB4)
Samus
Metroid (universe)
Zero Suit Samus (SSB4)
Zero Suit Samus
Metroid (universe)
Kirby (SSB4)
Kirby
Kirby (universe)
Meta Knight (SSB4)
Meta Knight
Kirby (universe)
King Dedede (SSB4)
King Dedede
Kirby (universe)
Fox (SSB4)
Fox
Star Fox (universe)
Falco (SSB4)
Falco
Star Fox (universe)
Pikachu (SSB4)
Pikachu
Pokémon (universe)
Jigglypuff (SSB4)
Jigglypuff
Pokémon (universe)
Mewtwo (SSB4)
Mewtwo (DLC)
Pokémon (universe)
Charizard (SSB4)
Charizard
Pokémon (universe)
Lucario (SSB4)
Lucario
Pokémon (universe)
Captain Falcon (SSB4)
Captain Falcon
F-Zero (universe)
Ness (SSB4)
Ness
EarthBound (universe)
Lucas (SSB4)
Lucas (DLC)
EarthBound (universe)
Marth (SSB4)
Marth
Fire Emblem (universe)
Roy (SSB4)
Roy (DLC)
Fire Emblem (universe)
Ike (SSB4)
Ike
Fire Emblem (universe)
Mr. Game & Watch (SSB4)
Mr. Game & Watch
Game & Watch (universe)
Pit (SSB4)
Pit
Kid Icarus (universe)
Wario (SSB4)
Wario
Wario (universe)
Olimar (SSB4)
Olimar
Pikmin (universe)
R.O.B. (SSB4)
R.O.B.
R.O.B. (universe)
Sonic (SSB4)
Sonic
Sonic the Hedgehog (universe)
Newcomers (21)
Rosalina & Luma (SSB4)
Rosalina & Luma
Mario (universe)
Bowser Jr. (SSB4)
Bowser Jr.
Mario (universe)
Greninja (SSB4)
Greninja
Pokémon (universe)
Robin (SSB4)
Robin
Fire Emblem (universe)
Lucina (SSB4)
Lucina
Fire Emblem (universe)
Corrin (SSB4)
Corrin (DLC)
Fire Emblem (universe)
Palutena (SSB4)
Palutena
Kid Icarus (universe)
Dark Pit (SSB4)
Dark Pit
Kid Icarus (universe)
Villager (SSB4)
Villager
Animal Crossing (universe)
Wii Fit Trainer (SSB4)
Wii Fit Trainer
Wii Fit (universe)
Little Mac (SSB4)
Little Mac
Punch-Out!! (universe)
Shulk (SSB4)
Shulk
Xenoblade Chronicles (universe)
Duck Hunt (SSB4)
Duck Hunt
Duck Hunt (universe)
Mega Man (SSB4)
Mega Man
Mega Man (universe)
Pac-Man (SSB4)
Pac-Man
Pac-Man (universe)
Ryu (SSB4)
Ryu (DLC)
Street Fighter (universe)
Cloud (SSB4)
Cloud (DLC)
Final Fantasy (universe)
Bayonetta (SSB4)
Bayonetta (DLC)
Bayonetta (universe)
Mii Brawler (SSB4)
Mii Brawler
Super Smash Bros. (universe)
Mii Swordfighter (SSB4)
Mii Swordfighter
Super Smash Bros. (universe)
Mii Gunner (SSB4)
Mii Gunner
Super Smash Bros. (universe)

Bold denotes unlockable characters in both versions.
Bolded italics denote unlockable characters in the 3DS version only.

Stages

The two games feature considerably different stage selections, which is one of the primary differences between the two games. The 3DS version features a total of 42 stages with 7 unlockable stages and 8 DLC stages, 30 of which are new and 12 of which are familiar. The Wii U version features a total of 55 stages with 6 unlockable stages and 9 DLC stages, consisting of 34 new stages and 21 familiar ones. Only 13 stages are shared between the two versions.

In general, the 3DS version features more stages based on handheld console games, while the Wii U version features more stages based on home console games. However, several stages in both games ignore this distinction.

Past Stages in both games are now known as "Familiar Stages". Three DLC Familiar Stages are shared between the two games.

3DS version

New stages (30)
Battlefield (SSB4)
Battlefield
Super Smash Bros. (universe)
Final Destination
Final Destination
Super Smash Bros. (universe)
3D Land
3D Land
Mario (universe)
Golden Plains
Golden Plains
Mario (universe)
Rainbow Road
Rainbow Road
Mario (universe)
Paper Mario
Paper Mario
Mario (universe)
Super Mario Maker
Super Mario Maker (DLC)
Mario (universe)
Gerudo Valley
Gerudo Valley
The Legend of Zelda (universe)
Spirit Train
Spirit Train
The Legend of Zelda (universe)
Dream Land GB
Dream Land
Kirby (universe)
Unova Pokémon League
Unova Pokémon League
Pokémon (universe)
Prism Tower
Prism Tower
Pokémon (universe)
Mute City SNES
Mute City
F-Zero (universe)
Magicant
Magicant
EarthBound (universe)
Arena Ferox
Arena Ferox
Fire Emblem (universe)
Reset Bomb Forest
Reset Bomb Forest
Kid Icarus (universe)
Tortimer Island
Tortimer Island
Animal Crossing (universe)
Boxing Ring
Boxing Ring
Punch-Out!! (universe)
Gaur Plain
Gaur Plain
Xenoblade Chronicles (universe)
Duck Hunt (stage)
Duck Hunt (1.1.1)
Duck Hunt (universe)
Wily Castle
Wily Castle
Mega Man (universe)
Pac-Maze
Pac-Maze
Pac-Man (universe)
Suzaku Castle
Suzaku Castle (DLC)
Street Fighter (universe)
Midgar
Midgar (DLC)
Final Fantasy (universe)
Umbra Clock Tower
Umbra Clock Tower (DLC)
Bayonetta (universe)
PictoChat 2
PictoChat 2
Nintendo DS (universe)
Balloon Fight
Balloon Fight
Balloon Fight (universe)
Living Room
Living Room
Nintendogs (universe)
Find Mii
Find Mii
StreetPass Mii Plaza (universe)
Tomodachi Life
Tomodachi Life
Tomodachi (universe)
Familiar stages (12)
Peach's Castle
Super Smash Bros. Peach's Castle (64) (DLC)
Mario (universe)
Mushroomy Kingdom
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Mushroomy Kingdom
Mario (universe)
Yoshi's Island (SSBB)
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Yoshi's Island
Yoshi (universe)
Jungle Japes
Super Smash Bros. Melee Jungle Japes
Donkey Kong (universe)
Hyrule Castle
Super Smash Bros. Hyrule Castle (64) (DLC)
The Legend of Zelda (universe)
Brinstar
Super Smash Bros. Melee Brinstar
Metroid (universe)
Dream Land
Super Smash Bros. Dream Land (64) (DLC)
Kirby (universe)
Corneria
Super Smash Bros. Melee Corneria
Star Fox (universe)
Flat Zone 2
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Flat Zone 2
Game & Watch (universe)
WarioWare, Inc.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl WarioWare, Inc.
Wario (universe)
Distant Planet
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Distant Planet
Pikmin (universe)
Green Hill Zone
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Green Hill Zone
Sonic the Hedgehog (universe)

Bold denotes unlockable stages.

Wii U version

New stages (34)
Battlefield (SSB4)
Battlefield
Super Smash Bros. (universe)
Final Destination (SSB4)
Final Destination
Super Smash Bros. (universe)
Big Battlefield
Big Battlefield
Super Smash Bros. (universe)
Mushroom Kingdom U
Mushroom Kingdom U
Mario (universe)
Mario Galaxy
Mario Galaxy
Mario (universe)
Mario Circuit
Mario Circuit
Mario (universe)
Super Mario Maker
Super Mario Maker (DLC)
Mario (universe)
Woolly World
Woolly World
Yoshi (universe)
Jungle Hijinxs
Jungle Hijinxs
Donkey Kong (universe)
Skyloft
Skyloft
The Legend of Zelda (universe)
Pyrosphere
Pyrosphere
Metroid (universe)
The Great Cave Offensive
The Great Cave Offensive
Kirby (universe)
Orbital Gate Assault
Orbital Gate Assault
Star Fox (universe)
Kalos Pokémon League
Kalos Pokémon League
Pokémon (universe)
Coliseum
Coliseum
Fire Emblem (universe)
Flat Zone X
Flat Zone X
Game & Watch (universe)
Palutena's Temple
Palutena's Temple
Kid Icarus (universe)
Gamer
Gamer
Wario (universe)
Garden of Hope
Garden of Hope
Pikmin (universe)
Town and City
Town and City
Animal Crossing (universe)
Wii Fit Studio
Wii Fit Studio
Wii Fit (universe)
Boxing Ring
Boxing Ring
Punch-Out!! (universe)
Gaur Plain
Gaur Plain
Xenoblade Chronicles (universe)
Duck Hunt (stage)
Duck Hunt
Duck Hunt (universe)
Windy Hill Zone
Windy Hill Zone
Sonic the Hedgehog (universe)
Wily Castle
Wily Castle
Mega Man (universe)
Pac-Land
Pac-Land
Pac-Man (universe)
Suzaku Castle
Suzaku Castle (DLC)
Street Fighter (universe)
Midgar
Midgar (DLC)
Final Fantasy (universe)
Umbra Clock Tower
Umbra Clock Tower (DLC)
Bayonetta (universe)
Wrecking Crew
Wrecking Crew
Wrecking Crew (universe)
Pilotwings
Pilotwings
Pilotwings (universe)
Wuhu Island
Wuhu Island
Wii Sports (universe)
Miiverse
Miiverse (1.0.8)
Miiverse (universe)
Familiar stages (21)
Peach's Castle
Super Smash Bros. Peach's Castle (64) (DLC)
Mario (universe)
Delfino Plaza
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Delfino Plaza
Mario (universe)
Figure-8 Circuit
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Mario Circuit (Brawl)
Mario (universe)
Luigi's Mansion
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Luigi's Mansion
Mario (universe)
Yoshi's Island (SSBM)
Super Smash Bros. Melee Yoshi's Island
Yoshi (universe)
Kongo Jungle
Super Smash Bros. Kongo Jungle 64
Donkey Kong (universe)
75m
Super Smash Bros. Brawl 75m
Donkey Kong (universe)
Hyrule Castle
Super Smash Bros. Hyrule Castle (64) (DLC)
The Legend of Zelda (universe)
Temple
Super Smash Bros. Melee Temple
The Legend of Zelda (universe)
Bridge of Eldin
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Bridge of Eldin
The Legend of Zelda (universe)
Pirate Ship
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Pirate Ship (DLC)
The Legend of Zelda (universe)
Norfair
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Norfair
Metroid (universe)
Dream Land
Super Smash Bros. Dream Land (64) (DLC)
Kirby (universe)
Halberd
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Halberd
Kirby (universe)
Lylat Cruise
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Lylat Cruise
Star Fox (universe)
Pokémon Stadium 2
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Pokémon Stadium 2
Pokémon (universe)
Port Town Aero Dive
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Port Town Aero Dive
F-Zero (universe)
Onett
Super Smash Bros. Melee Onett
EarthBound (universe)
Castle Siege
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Castle Siege
Fire Emblem (universe)
Skyworld
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Skyworld
Kid Icarus (universe)
Smashville
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Smashville
Animal Crossing (universe)

Bold denotes unlockable stages.

Modes

Multiplayer

  • VS Mode
  • 8-Player Smash (Wii U exclusive): In this mode, up to eight players can play in Smash battles, compared to the standard limit of four. Due to system resources, some stages have their behavior modified while in this mode, while other stages cannot be used at all.
  • Special Smash (Wii U exclusive): The successor to Special Brawl, in this mode players can create custom battles by changing a variety of options, such as making all the fighters metal. Up to 4 players can play in this mode. This mode does not affect records and stats.
  • Smash Run (3DS exclusive): In this mode, up to 4 players have 5 minutes to traverse a large dungeon-like environment, collecting various power-ups and facing enemies from various games. After the time limit, the players fight in a battle utilizing their boosted powers, and can then do subsequent matches with those power-ups. Sakurai mentioned in the April 2014 Nintendo Direct video that this mode was inspired by Kirby Air Ride's City Trial mode, which has a similar premise.
  • Smash Tour (Wii U exclusive): Players take control of Miis moving along a game board, collecting characters and power-ups in order to win the final match, with each fighter collected acting as one stock.
  • Tournament Mode (Wii U exclusive): A competitive elimination mode returning from Melee and Brawl, which was released as a downloadable online feature.

Single Player

Development

SSB4 was announced in passing at E3 2011; however, the game's development was not slated to begin until sometime after October 2011, after the completion of Sakurai's other project, Kid Icarus: Uprising.[4] He had stated, in response to a fan asking him about whether a "child Link" would appear in the game, that he had not at the time decided on who would appear in the game. However, he had also said that he "can't say that it's entirely out of the realm of possibility that some Capcom character could appear in the next Smash Bros."[5] Indeed, Capcom's Mega Man was ultimately confirmed as playable, and Ryu was made available as DLC. The paired versions of the game were officially revealed at E3 2013 in the form of a trailer on June 11, 2013, with a projected release in 2014.

Development of the game began in early 2012[6], but it went unmentioned during E3 2012, something which many fans were disappointed about despite the known extremely early state of the game; the "first step of the process" was taken shortly after in mid-June. Sakurai expressed disappointment that fans would be waiting for longer than expected for the game to be released due to the earliness of the initial announcement.[7] Shortly afterward, it was revealed during a Nintendo Direct that Namco Bandai (as Bandai Namco was previously named) was the primary developer alongside Sora Ltd., and had already completed a working prototype.[3]

The whiteboard drawing posted by Sakurai.

On July 2nd, 2012, Sakurai posted a whiteboard drawing on Twitter which was drawn by the game's staff. It depicts Donkey Kong, Fox, a Heart Container, Kirby, Link, Luigi, Mario, Marth, Meta Knight, Mr. Game & Watch, a Mr. Saturn, Pikachu, a Pikmin, Pit, Sandbag, Wario, and Zero Suit Samus; some argue that the curved lines in the background form the shape of Master Hand. The sketch also has what appears to be large block letters hidden below the visible area. While the post came with no explicit confirmation of any of these characters or elements as reappearing, it did show that they were in some sense acknowledged by the staff; everything depicted would in fact turn out to appear in the final game. The image itself was later removed from the original Twitter post.[8]
Sakurai had remarked that one feature of the 3DS Smash Bros. title would be that players can improve their character through battles and rewards, then transfer them to the Wii U Smash title to play against friends; such a function was ultimately made possible through character customization. He also said the 3DS title was intended to offer a new experience for veteran Smash Bros. fans, and that neither the 3DS game nor the Wii U game would simply be sequels like Melee and Brawl were, and that they would do more than just add characters and stages. It had also been revealed that they were looking towards co-operative play for the Wii U title. Official Nintendo Magazine said "there is merit in having skilled and unskilled players play together, so one emphasis will be on elements of players helping one-another". They also stated that the graphics would be significantly stepped up, as the Wii U can handle high quality graphics, dynamic effects and smooth character movements in HD at 60 frames per second.[9] Sakurai was also quoted as claiming that the new game was unlikely to emphasize new playable characters, focusing instead on gameplay balance and distinctiveness of its characters. [10] Indeed, SSB4 initially introduced less newcomers than Brawl did.

Shortly after the initial E3 2013 trailers, Sakurai said there would be a single-player story mode included in the new Smash Bros.[11], but that it would be different from Brawl's Subspace Emissary in that there would be no cutscenes, since he did not want said cutscenes to be uploaded to the Internet. However, he would later recant this, and announce that he decided to cut any sort of story mode altogether [12].

Sakurai had stated that there were no plans to implement downloadable content or touch screen controls of any variety. However, he also stated that once the game was released DLC was something they would take into consideration. [13] Downloadable content was eventually implemented through several additional fighters, stages, and costumes for Mii Fighters.

Changes from Brawl

Gameplay changes

Greater Size diversity.pngTheDanceClubSSB4.jpg
Magnify-clip.pngMagnify-clip.png
The character size comparison in Brawl and SSB4

Smash 4’s main goal is to strike a balance between Melee’s faster, more technical gameplay and Brawl’s slower, more relaxed gameplay, in an attempt to appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers. This is most easily apparent in Smash 4’s game speed: most veterans from Brawl have faster dashing, falling, and air speeds, though the game speed is still noticeably slower and floatier than Melee. The removal of random tripping introduced in Brawl makes extended dash-dancing a viable movement option, and pivoting, a movement technique previously possible in Melee and Smash 64, has been reintroduced; thus, characters in Smash 4 generally have more flexible mobility than in Brawl.

In a similar appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers, there are now two distinct type of With Anyone Wi-Fi modes; one called For Fun which is similar to the previous game's casual-styled Basic Brawl, and one called For Glory, a mode explicitly catered to competitive-styled play. Additionally, every stage now has an "Ω Form", where the stage's layout is altered into that of Final Destination. These forms cannot be played on in the For Fun mode, while they are the only forms available in the For Glory mode.

The differences in size across the cast are now more pronounced, with Bowser now standing much taller than Mario, compared to being only slightly taller in previous games. Larger characters like Donkey Kong are thus easier to hit but benefit from longer reach, while smaller characters like Kirby are harder to hit while hindered by shorter reach. Nevertheless, the differences in range across the cast have been overall toned down, with melee-oriented characters like Diddy Kong having more elastic limbs, while sword-wielders have shorter range either through the improvements in range to the rest of the cast (eg. Marth) or through direct nerfs to their own range (eg. Meta Knight).

Mid-match character transformations have been removed. Sheik and Zelda, and Zero Suit Samus and Samus, are all now completely separate characters, while Charizard returns as a stand-alone fighter in place of the Pokémon Trainer. These changes are due to hardware limitations on the 3DS and Sakurai’s own wish for both versions of the game to feature the same roster.

As a possible effort to balance gameplay, Smash 4 has removed a few exploitable techniques that were prevalent in previous entries. The mechanics of grabbing ledges have undergone an unprecedented overhaul, with edge-hogging having been removed entirely, as attempting to grab a ledge that someone else has already grabbed onto will now gently remove them from the ledge and "steal" it, a mechanic known as "ledge trumping". This changes the entire edge metagame, with players now having to attack opponents that they have ledge trumped instead of completely stopping their recovery by grabbing the edge, along with making edgeguarding more reliant on stage spikes and meteor smashes. On the other hand, ledge trumping itself can be used as an edgeguard, as it leaves the recovering opponent vulnerable.

An additional overhaul is the elimination of most planking stall strategies, as the length of intangibility given by grabbing the ledge is now affected by air time and current damage, and does not carry over if the character drops from the ledge. No intangibility at all will be granted if a character grabs the ledge twice without touching the ground or being hit (making them more open to edgeguarding). Finally, the difference between fast and slow edge options based on current damage has been removed. The general recoveries of the cast have also been improved, with many of them traveling farther and having better protection while benefiting from the faster air speeds and new ledge mechanics; these changes weren't entirely consistent across the cast however, and recoveries are overall more polarized than in previous games. On the other hand, meteor cancelling has been removed, making meteor smashes functionally equivalent to spikes and thus much deadlier edge-guarding moves; to compensate, several meteor smashes are now weaker, with a few requiring more specific hitboxes (such as Ike's down aerial).

In Smash 4, characters are granted 60 frames of invulnerability to all grabs after being released from a grab or thrown (not counting special moves). This change makes it impossible to perform chain-grabs, which were not only possible but rather common in previous games. Possibly in relation to this, stale-move negation has been weakened, making it harder for characters to abuse the mechanic by staling moves to allow them to combo for longer; at the same time, characters do not have to worry about preserving their KO moves as much as they did in Brawl, though still more than in Melee. Characters can also not grab the ledge after going through hitstun for 55 frames.

Hitstun cancelling, a controversial mechanic introduced in Brawl that allowed characters to escape combos with ease, has been toned down. Characters can now air dodge or use an aerial attack to cancel hitstun after frame 40 or 45 respectively, compared to Brawl’s 13/25 frames, with the window being pushed back when a character sustains 69 or more frames of hitstun. As a result, true combos at low- and mid-percents are much more prevalent. However, with the increased knockback growth on many throws, moderate falling speeds, gravity increasing vertical knockback, the continued lack of advanced techniques such as wavedashing and L-cancelling, and the retained ability to cancel hitstun, true combos in Smash 4 are generally shorter and less varied compared to the ones in Melee and Smash 64, especially at high percents. Additionally, many of the faster, more combo-oriented fighters, such as Sheik, Fox, Meta Knight, and Diddy Kong have had their damage outputs reduced, likely to compensate for their improved combo abilities or to balance them out with the slow, heavy characters. The changes to hitstun also prevent characters from immediately performing moves to slow their momentum, reducing their ability to survive powerful attacks.

Directional influence works differently. Holding a horizontal direction now directly increases or decreases knockback in that direction, while also altering the launch angle as in previous games. As of update 1.0.4, holding a vertical direction only alters the launch angle, as it did in Melee and Brawl. These changes make it harder to carry out horizontal combos, especially at higher percents since opponents will often be sent too far for follow-ups, and in turn indirectly benefits characters who possess vertical-launching moves, notably Mario, Meta Knight, Zero Suit Samus, and Ryu, as it is now comparatively easier to combo and KO with attacks that deal vertical knockback. The effects of smash directional Influence have also been drastically weakened, which is most easily visible with multi-hit attacks, making it much harder to escape them than in earlier games.

A new mechanic popularly known as “rage” has been implemented. Starting at 35%, characters receive a steady increase to the knockback (and therefore hitstun) of their attacks as their damage rises, with the effect capping out at 150%, at which point the base knockback of a character’s moves will be increased by 1.15x. Rage becomes more clearly visible when a character reaches 100%, as they begin to flash red and emit steam.

Defensive options have been heavily modified. Shields now take 19% more damage from attacks, rather than 30% less, and as of update 1.1.1, shield stun has been significantly increased, making out of shield options less reliable; thus, shields are much more fragile than in Brawl. Air dodges now have high landing lag (21 frames), but lower ending lag (roughly 5 frames, down from 10 to 30 in Brawl), making air dodges safer for aerial combat but riskier when done close to the ground. Sidesteps and rolls have slightly less ending lag but offer less intangibility frames, which makes rolls overall safer for quick repositioning.

Star KOs and Screen KOs now do not always occur when a character is KO'd over the top blast line; in addition, the Screen KO animation has been lengthened to last a few frames longer than the Star KO animation. They no longer occur near the end of a timed match (unless characters are launched to the upper blast line when End of Day is active, the only known exception to this) or Sudden Death; being instead replaced by regular blast KOs. They also will not occur when a character is launched at a fast enough speed.

Aesthetic and sound changes

Sudden Death (SSBB).PNGSudden Death (Super Smash Bros. for Wii U).jpg
Magnify-clip.pngMagnify-clip.png
The aesthetic changes between Brawl and Smash 4
  • In general, the game is much more stylized and visually intense than previous entries, with the colors being bolder and brighter, sound effects being more cartoonish (though generally quieter) and many elements having been redone to stand out more.
  • The characters' design styles are more distinct from each other and more in-line with their home series, in contrast to Brawl which gave the characters a more unified realistic look. For example, characters from cartoony franchises such as the Mario and Kirby series are much closer to their native styles, while those from more realistic-looking franchises such as The Legend of Zelda (with the exception of Toon Link) and Metroid series maintain more realistic appearances.
  • Some characters will always stand facing the screen regardless of which direction they face, with the intent of having them face the screen more often.
  • Damage percentage now rises through yellow shades before turning red in both versions, and are now displayed with a metallic gradient on the Wii U version, with the 3DS version getting flat numbers.
  • Several visual effects are significantly bolder and brighter:
    • Attacks' visual effects (such as motion blurs) are in general more pronounced, with bright saturated blurs replacing the previous game's subtle ones.
    • Many attacks have bright motion trails, making their range more obvious.
    • Smoke trails of hit characters are now thick trails of light, colored according to which player would be credited with a potential KO. Should the KO occur, the attacker will flash with an aura of their own color.
      • In the Wii U version, the attacker's damage meter will also show a brief burst of flame when a KO occurs.
  • A new visual effect is introduced, referred to as Deadly Blow by the game; hits that deal enough knockback to KO the character before they can act afterwards produce a red-and-black lightning effect during hitlag if they are close enough to the blast line. However, the effect is not always consistent, as it does not factor in DI or other obstructions, and does not always appear at an attack's minimum KO threshold. Attacks that cause freezing never produce the visual effect, instead the screen briefly flashes white. Meteor smashes do not produce it until high percentages.
  • Certain items such as the Bumper and Home-Run Bat have been given new, more striking designs. The Home-Run Bat, for example, is more ornate and is now colored to match the new high-knockback lightning effect.
  • A successful meteor smash that deals high knockback will play a distinct sound effect.
  • Characters now have team colored outlines in Team Battles, and can select a color normally.
  • Revival platforms now have a section that changes color based on the time remaining before the platform disappears. This section starts out yellow before fading between orange and then turning red before disappearing.
  • Characters with over 100% of damage now emit steam, presumably to make their vulnerability more clear. They also flash red, which is not very noticeable at 100%, but intensifies as their damage raises.
  • In the 3DS version, players can tap on a character's icon on the bottom screen to place a marker on that character on the top screen, in order to more easily follow their movements.
  • Magic and PK attacks no longer have electrical properties and produce sparkle sounds if they hit.
  • Victory scenes seem to be a cross between all of the previous three games. Like in Smash 64, the screen has different animations that transition to the scene, instead of just cutting to it, while only the winner is shown in the main area like in Melee, with the others applauding in small windows on the screen on the Wii U version. However, instead of a featureless black screen, the winner's area is an environment similar to that in Brawl’s victory screen. Additionally, after the winner has been announced and the victory theme has finished playing, a remix of the character selection music from Smash 64 will play (with the exception of Cloud, as his victory theme loops rather than finishing).
  • The Stock Icons for Stock Matches are now akin to those in Melee, in which they appeared as the character's head, as opposed to Brawl, where they were merely small circles colored depending on the player. Additionally, the stock icons are placed below the HUD that contains the character's damage percentage rather than on it.
  • Assist trophies and Poké Ball Pokémon now come with a marker above them, in order to indicate which player summoned them.
    • Additionally, certain items come with white triangular markers above them to make them more noticeable, like in SSB64.
  • Some of the more realistic sound effects from Brawl have been eschewed in favor of sound effects which are inspired by the characters' home franchises, such as the one that plays when Kirby uses Inhale.
  • Like in the previous games, each character has a voice clip for whenever they take a fair amount of knockback. Though now, it plays right as they receive the blow, like in the original Super Smash Bros. and Melee, and not during the knockback itself, like in Brawl. In SSB4, damage noises are no longer based purely on the amount of knockback taken, unlike in SSB64 and Melee, where characters had damage noises for medium damage and hard damage specifically. This means that certain attacks and items that repeatedly launch the character can make them repeat the voice clips constantly, such as the Drill.
  • Most flash/tint effects (such as flashing white while invincible) do not display while the game is paused.
  • On the Wii U version, most stages have constant subtle ambient noise in the background, such as wind (Onett and Mushroom Kingdom U) or animal sounds (Kongo Jungle 64). This is an addition for most returning stages.
  • Many characters are much more expressive than in Brawl; for example, Wario now scowls when performing an attack or in the Wii U version, Wario's mustache and eyebrows now stretch and grow to fit the situation.
    • Each character's expressions are different for each version, mainly due to hardware limitations on the 3DS version. An example can be seen during victory scenes. If Marth, for example, were to win a match, his expression would vary; Marth would keep a serious face on for 3DS, while he would slightly smile and look at the screen on for Wii U.

Console differences

The Wii U and 3DS versions of the game were shown to have distinct art styles from one another in that the 3DS version uses flatter shading and optional black outlines to make characters easier to see at a distance, a graphical style reminiscent of other 3DS games such as Fire Emblem Awakening and Pokémon X & Y. These outlines are customizable as Sakurai stated players can change the size of the outlines or get rid of them completely. As stated before, many of the stages are version specific, with the 3DS version having more stages based on handheld console games, and the Wii U having more stages based on home console games.[14] There is no cross-platform gameplay between the Wii U and 3DS versions due to the exclusive stages to each version[15]; however, one can create customized fighters in the 3DS version using the character customization feature and send them to the Wii U version. In addition to this, by connecting the two games (or using a special downloadable application), the 3DS can be used as a controller on the Wii U version. However, this doesn't apply vice-versa, as none of the Wii U's peripherals can act as a controller on 3DS hardware.

In the 3DS version, there is up to the usual amount of fighters on one stage, with four. The Wii U version features up to eight players at once, though this is only available on a limited selection of the stages.

Trophies are different between the two versions, with the trophies in the 3DS version being mainly from handheld games, while the trophies in the Wii U being primarily from console games.[16]

When it comes to music, each stage on the 3DS version has only two music tracks available, as was the case in Melee. On the other hand, the Wii U version sees the return of Brawl’s My Music option, with a large selection of tracks available for each stage.

Reception

The 3DS version mainly received positive reviews, with a current rating of 85/100 on Metacritic[17] and 86% on GameRankings[18]. The game has been praised for its large and diverse character roster, its improvements to game mechanics, and its variety of multiplayer options. Some criticisms include a lack of single player modes and issues concerning the 3DS hardware, such as the size of characters on the smaller screen when zoomed out and latency issues during both local and online multiplayer. There were also reports of players damaging their 3DS Circle Pads while playing the game excessively, and to an extent the circle pad can easily fall off. The 3DS version sold over a million copies in its first weekend on sale in Japan, and had sold more than 3.22 million copies worldwide as of October 2014. The 3DS version was nominated for both "Best Fighting Game" and "Best Handheld/Mobile Game" at the 2014 Video Game Awards, but lost to the Wii U version and Blizzard Entertainment's Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, respectively.

The Wii U version received critical acclaim, with a Metacritic score of 92/100[19] and a GameRankings score of 92.39%[20], being among the highest rated games of 2014, is also awarded the Metacritic's Game of the Year and the second-highest rated game of the series after Brawl. The 2014 Video Game Awards even awarded the Wii U version with the "Best Fighting Game" award. The game was lauded for improving everything the 3DS version offered and significantly improving the online experience.

Super Smash Bros. 4 won "favorite video game" at the 2016 People's Choice Awards. As of February 2016 the Wii U version of Smash 4 is the 5th best selling Wii U game and the 3DS version is the 7th best selling 3DS game.

Trailers

E3 2013

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E3 2014

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Gallery

Miscellaneous

Characters

Trivia

  • Super Smash Bros. 4 is the only game in the series not to include a new The Legend of Zelda and Star Fox universe character.
    • Super Smash Bros. 4 is also the only game in the series to not introduce more than one character from the Pokémon universe.
  • Super Smash Bros. 4 introduces three Fire Emblem series newcomers, which is more series newcomers than any other universe has in the game.
    • However, this is not the most introductions in a single universe in the series, as in Melee, The Legend of Zelda introduced four total newcomers, Zelda, Sheik, Ganondorf and Young Link.
  • Super Smash Bros. 4 introduces the Mii Fighters, making it the first game in the series to have playable characters representing the Super Smash Bros. universe.
  • Super Smash Bros. 4 is the only game in the series to cut all playable characters within a universe, cutting both Ice Climbers and Snake.
  • Super Smash Bros. 4 introduces 10 new universes with playable characters, tied with the first game for the most of any entry in the Super Smash Bros. series.
  • Super Smash Bros. 4 marks the first time in the series where long-running veterans Luigi and Marth are starter characters. Jigglypuff and Ganondorf also have this distinction, though only in the Wii U version.
  • Super Smash Bros. 4 marks the first ever playable appearance for Wii Fit Trainer, Palutena, and the Duck Hunt dog.
  • Super Smash Bros. 4 is the second collaboration between Bandai Namco, Capcom, and Sega, the first being Project X Zone and the third being its sequel Project X Zone 2. One of Project X Zone's co-developers, Monolith Soft, was involved in Brawl and SSB4.
  • Super Smash Bros. 4 is the first game in the series to receive "E10+" ESRB rating and a "Mild Suggestive Themes" content descriptor.
  • Super Smash Bros. 4 is the second game in the series with a character debuting from a series containing an "M" ESRB rating, following Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
  • Super Smash Bros. 4 is the only game in the series to not have introduced any new Yoshi stages named "Yoshi's Island" (in either version).

References

  1. ^ Nintendo.com's page for the 3DS version
  2. ^ http://www.classification.gov.au/Pages/View.aspx?sid=baAYDzOrSLTJS31kqfUnSQ%253d%253d&ncdctx=kY4ZcmxpzFiR75%252faQboRyhefdrcxUukb9ZDwrHw7sGSByd%252fNX2SA4QwXLhHqWtIb
  3. ^ a b IGN: "Namco Bandai Developing Next Smash Bros."
  4. ^ Andriasang.com: "Smash Bros. U & 3DS development appears to be very early"
  5. ^ Nintendo Everything: "Sakurai: Capcom character could appear in next Smash Bros."
  6. ^ Cubed3: "Sakurai Begins Work on New Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS"
  7. ^ Nintendo Everything: "Next Smash Bros. in “first step of the process”, Sakurai worried about long wait"
  8. ^ Jul 2, 2012 Tweet by Sora_Sakurai (Masahiro Sakurai)
  9. ^ Official Nintendo Magazine: "Smash Bros Wii U/3DS: How they'll work together"
  10. ^ Official Nintendo Magazine: "Smash Bros Wii U may not feature more characters"
  11. ^ My Nintendo News: "Smash Bros Wii U And 3DS Story Mode Won’t Be Like Brawl"
  12. ^ http://kotaku.com/the-next-super-smash-bros-wont-have-a-story-mode-or-c-906856304
  13. ^ Gamnesia: "No Plans for DLC or Touch Controls in the New Smash Bros., Tripping is Removed"
  14. ^ Nintendo's YouTube channel: "Wii U & Nintendo 3DS Developer Direct - Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U @E3 2013"
  15. ^ Joystiq: "No cross-platform play for Smash Bros on 3DS and Wii U"
  16. ^ http://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAADRUqFpGGYsgQ
  17. ^ http://www.metacritic.com/game/3ds/super-smash-bros-for-nintendo-3ds
  18. ^ http://www.gamerankings.com/3ds/632937-super-smash-bros-for-nintendo-3ds/index.html
  19. ^ http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii-u/super-smash-bros-for-wii-u
  20. ^ http://www.gamerankings.com/wii-u/633202-super-smash-bros-for-wii-u/index.html

External links