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{{Infobox Game
{{Infobox Game
| title        = '''Super Smash Bros. 4''<br><small>(unofficial title)</small>'''
| title        = '''Super Smash Bros. 4''<br><small>(unofficial title)</small>'''

Revision as of 11:43, October 25, 2015

Super Smash Bros. 4
(unofficial title)
Merged version of the SSB4 logo.
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 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+ (provisional)

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 Namco Bandai[3] and Sora Ltd. Despite this, 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 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 6.19 million copies worldwide as of December 2014, and the Wii U version selling over 3.39 million copies during the same time period.

Characters

There are 55 total characters on the roster, 34 of which return from Brawl, 3 of which return after being cut in the transition from Melee to Brawl (Dr. Mario, Mewtwo, Roy), and 18 of which are new to the series. Twelve of them need to be unlocked before they appear in the 3DS version, and 8 are unlockable in the Wii U version. 4 characters, Mewtwo, Lucas, Roy and Ryu, appear as downloadable content. In addition, 8 other 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 as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Mario
MarioSymbol.svg
source
Luigi
MarioSymbol.svg
Peach as she appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Peach
MarioSymbol.svg
Bowser as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Bowser
MarioSymbol.svg
Dr. Mario's artwork in Smash 4.
Dr. Mario
MarioSymbol.svg
Yoshi as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Yoshi
YoshiSymbol.svg
Donkey Kong as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Donkey Kong
Symbol of the DK series.
Diddy Kong as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Diddy Kong
Symbol of the DK series.
Link as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Link
ZeldaSymbol.svg
Zelda as she appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Zelda
ZeldaSymbol.svg
Sheik as she appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Sheik
ZeldaSymbol.svg
Ganondorf SSB4.png
Ganondorf
ZeldaSymbol.svg
Toon Link as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Toon Link
ZeldaSymbol.svg
Samus as she appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Samus
MetroidSymbol.svg
Zero Suit Samus as she appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Zero Suit Samus
MetroidSymbol.svg
Kirby as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Kirby
KirbySymbol.svg
Meta Knight as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Meta Knight
KirbySymbol.svg
King Dedede as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
King Dedede
KirbySymbol.svg
Fox as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Fox
StarFoxSymbol.svg
Falco as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Falco
StarFoxSymbol.svg
Pikachu as it appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Pikachu
PokemonSymbol.svg
Jigglypuff as she appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Jigglypuff
PokemonSymbol.svg
Mewtwo SSB4.png
Mewtwo (DLC)
PokemonSymbol.svg
Charizard as it appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
source
Charizard
PokemonSymbol.svg
Lucario as it appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Lucario
PokemonSymbol.svg
From the official website.
Captain Falcon
FZeroSymbol.svg
Ness as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Ness
EarthboundSymbol.svg
Official artwork of Lucas from SSB4, from the Nintendo UK press library.
Lucas (DLC)
EarthboundSymbol.svg
Marth as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Marth
FireEmblemSymbol.svg
Roy SSB4.png
Roy (DLC)
FireEmblemSymbol.svg
Ike SSB4.png
Ike
FireEmblemSymbol.svg
Mr. Game & Watch SSB4.png
Mr. Game & Watch
Game&WatchSymbol.svg
Pit as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Pit
KidIcarusSymbol.svg
Wario as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Wario
WarioSymbol.svg
Olimar as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Olimar
PikminSymbol.svg
North American ROB.png
R.O.B.
ROBSymbol.svg
Sonic as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Sonic
SonicSymbol.svg
Newcomers (21)
Rosalina as she appears in Super Smash Bros. 4, from the character page.
Rosalina & Luma
MarioSymbol.svg
Bowser Jr. as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Bowser Jr.
MarioSymbol.svg
Greninja as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Greninja
PokemonSymbol.svg
Male Robin as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Robin
FireEmblemSymbol.svg
Lucina as she appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Lucina
FireEmblemSymbol.svg
Corrin as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Corrin (DLC)
FireEmblemSymbol.svg
Palutena as she appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Palutena
KidIcarusSymbol.svg
Dark Pit as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Dark Pit
KidIcarusSymbol.svg
Villager as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Villager
Symbol of the Animal Crossing series.
Wii Fit Trainer as she appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Wii Fit Trainer
WiiFitSymbol.svg
Little Mac as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Little Mac
PunchOutSymbol.svg
Shulk as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Shulk
XenobladeSymbol.svg
Duck Hunt as they appear in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Duck Hunt
DuckHuntSymbol.svg
Mega Man as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Mega Man
MegaManSymbol.svg
Pac-Man as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Pac-Man
PacManSymbol.svg
Ryu SSB4.png
Ryu (DLC)
StreetFighterSymbol.svg
Cloud as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Cloud (DLC)
FinalFantasySymbol.svg
Bayonetta as she appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Bayonetta (DLC)
BayonettaSymbol.svg
Source: Spriters Resource. Mii Brawler it appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Mii Brawler
Symbol of the Smash Bros. series.
Source: Spriters Resource. Mii Swordfighter it appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Mii Swordfighter
Symbol of the Smash Bros. series.
Source: Spriters Resource. Mii Gunner it appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Mii Gunner
Symbol of the Smash Bros. series.

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 two versions share only 10 stages. The 3DS version features more stages based on handheld console games, while the Wii U version features more stages based on home console games. Several stages in both games, however, ignore this distinction.

In addition to new stages, several Past Stages, known now as "Familiar Stages", reappear in both versions of the game. Three Familiar Stages are shared between the two games, and all are DLC.

The 3DS version features a total of 40 stages with 7 unlockable stages and 6 DLC stages, 28 of which are new and 12 of which are familiar. The Wii U version features a total of 53 stages with 6 unlockable stages and 7 DLC stages, consisting of 32 new stages and 21 familiar ones.

3DS version

New stages (30)
Battlefield3ds.png
Battlefield
Symbol of the Smash Bros. series.
Final Destination
Final Destination
Symbol of the Smash Bros. series.
SSB4 3D Land.png
3D Land
MarioSymbol.svg
SSB4 Golden Plains.JPG
Golden Plains
MarioSymbol.svg
SSB4 Rainbow Road.jpg
Rainbow Road
MarioSymbol.svg
SSB4 Paper Mario.JPG
Paper Mario
MarioSymbol.svg
Super Mario Maker 3DS.jpg
Super Mario Maker (DLC)
MarioSymbol.svg
Gerudovalley3ds.png
Gerudo Valley
ZeldaSymbol.svg
SSB4 Spirit Train.png
Spirit Train
ZeldaSymbol.svg
SSB4 Dream Land.jpg
Dream Land
KirbySymbol.svg
SSB4 Unova Pokemon League.jpg
Unova Pokémon League
PokemonSymbol.svg
SSB4 Prism Tower.jpg
Prism Tower
PokemonSymbol.svg
SSB4 Mute City.JPG
Mute City
FZeroSymbol.svg
SSB4 Magicant.jpg
Magicant
EarthboundSymbol.svg
Arena Ferox press image 2.jpg
Arena Ferox
FireEmblemSymbol.svg
Reset Bomb Forest press image.jpg
Reset Bomb Forest
KidIcarusSymbol.svg
SSB4 Tortimer Island.jpg
Tortimer Island
Symbol of the Animal Crossing series.
SSB4 Boxing Ring.JPG
Boxing Ring
PunchOutSymbol.svg
Gaur Plain 3DS.jpg
Gaur Plain
XenobladeSymbol.svg
Duck Hunt Smash 3DS.jpg
Duck Hunt (1.1.1)
DuckHuntSymbol.svg
SSB4 Wily Castle.jpg
Wily Castle
MegaManSymbol.svg
SSB4 Pac-Maze.jpg
Pac-Maze
PacManSymbol.svg
SSB43DS SuzakuCastle.png
Suzaku Castle (DLC)
StreetFighterSymbol.svg
Midgar 3DS.jpg
Midgar (DLC)
FinalFantasySymbol.svg
SSB4-3DS - Umbra Clock Tower.png
Umbra Clock Tower (DLC)
BayonettaSymbol.svg
Balloonfight.png
Balloon Fight
Symbol of the Balloon Fight series.
Nintendogstage.png
Living Room
NintendogsSymbol.svg
SSB4 Find Mii.JPG
Find Mii
FindMiiSymbol.svg
SSB4 Tomodachi Life.jpg
Tomodachi Life
TomodachiSymbol.svg
SSB4 PictoChat 2.jpg
PictoChat 2
DSSymbol.svg
Familiar stages (12)
SSB3DSPeach'sCastle.jpg
Super Smash Bros. Peach's Castle (64) (DLC)
MarioSymbol.svg
SSB4 Mushroomy Kingdom.jpg
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Mushroomy Kingdom
MarioSymbol.svg
SSB4 Yoshi's Island.jpg
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Yoshi's Island
YoshiSymbol.svg
JungleJapes-3DS-1.png
Super Smash Bros. Melee Jungle Japes
Symbol of the DK series.
SSB3DSHyruleCastle.jpg
Super Smash Bros. Hyrule Castle (64) (DLC)
ZeldaSymbol.svg
SSB4 Brinstar.JPG
Super Smash Bros. Melee Brinstar
MetroidSymbol.svg
SSB4-3DS DreamLand64.png
Super Smash Bros. Dream Land (64) (DLC)
KirbySymbol.svg
SSB4 Corneria.JPG
Super Smash Bros. Melee Corneria
StarFoxSymbol.svg
SSB4 Flat Zone 2.jpg
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Flat Zone 2
Game&WatchSymbol.svg
SSB4 WarioWare, Inc.jpg
Super Smash Bros. Brawl WarioWare, Inc.
WarioSymbol.svg
SSB4 Distant Planet.jpg
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Distant Planet
PikminSymbol.svg
SSB4 Green Hill Zone.JPG
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Green Hill Zone
SonicSymbol.svg

Bold denotes unlockable stages.

Wii U version

New stages (34)
Battlefield at Day.
Battlefield
Symbol of the Smash Bros. series.
SSB4 WII U Final-Destination.jpg
Final Destination
Symbol of the Smash Bros. series.
SSB4UBigBattlefield.jpg
Big Battlefield
Symbol of the Smash Bros. series.
SSB4UMushroomKingdomU.jpg
Mushroom Kingdom U
MarioSymbol.svg
Mario Galaxy.jpg
Mario Galaxy
MarioSymbol.svg
SSB4UMarioCircuit8.jpg
Mario Circuit
MarioSymbol.svg
SuperMarioMakerWiiU.jpg
Super Mario Maker (DLC)
MarioSymbol.svg
SSB4UWoollyWorld.jpg
Woolly World
YoshiSymbol.svg
SSB4UJungleHijinxs.jpg
Jungle Hijinxs
Symbol of the DK series.
SSB4USkyloft.png
Skyloft
ZeldaSymbol.svg
Pyrosphere press image.jpg
Pyrosphere
MetroidSymbol.svg
SSB4UTheGreatCaveOffensive.jpg
The Great Cave Offensive
KirbySymbol.svg
SSB4UOrbitalGateAssault.jpg
Orbital Gate Assault
StarFoxSymbol.svg
SSB4UKalosPokemonLeague.jpg
Kalos Pokémon League
PokemonSymbol.svg
SSB4UColiseum.jpg
Coliseum
FireEmblemSymbol.svg
SSB4UFlatZoneX.jpg
Flat Zone X
Game&WatchSymbol.svg
Full view in better quality
Palutena's Temple
KidIcarusSymbol.svg
SSB4UGamer.jpg
Gamer
WarioSymbol.svg
Garden of Hope press image.jpg
Garden of Hope
PikminSymbol.svg
Town and City 1.png
Town and City
Symbol of the Animal Crossing series.
A picture of the Wii Fit Studio stage from Super Smash Bros. 4, with a straight-on perspective and devoid of characters.
Wii Fit Studio
WiiFitSymbol.svg
Boxing Ring Punch Out.jpg
Boxing Ring
PunchOutSymbol.svg
Gaur Plain Wii U.png
Gaur Plain
XenobladeSymbol.svg
SSB4UDuckHuntStage.jpg
Duck Hunt
DuckHuntSymbol.svg
Windy Hill press image.jpg
Windy Hill Zone
SonicSymbol.svg
Wilys fortress.png
Wily Castle
MegaManSymbol.svg
SSB4UPac-Land.jpg
Pac-Land
PacManSymbol.svg
SSB4WiiUSukazuCastle.png
Suzaku Castle (DLC)
StreetFighterSymbol.svg
Midgar in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Midgar (DLC)
FinalFantasySymbol.svg
Umbra Clock Tower in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Umbra Clock Tower (DLC)
BayonettaSymbol.svg
SSB4UWreckingCrew.jpg
Wrecking Crew
WreckingCrewSymbol.svg
SSB4UPilotwings.jpg
Pilotwings
PilotwingsSymbol.svg
SSB4UWuhuIsland.jpg
Wuhu Island
WiiSportsSymbol.svg
SSB4 - Miiverse.jpg
Miiverse (1.0.8)
MiiverseSymbol.svg
Familiar stages (21)
SSBUPeach'sCastle64.PNG
Super Smash Bros. Peach's Castle (64) (DLC)
MarioSymbol.svg
SSB4UDelfinoPlaza.png
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Delfino Plaza
MarioSymbol.svg
SSB4UMarioCircuit.jpg
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Mario Circuit (Brawl)
MarioSymbol.svg
SSB4ULuigisMansion.png
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Luigi's Mansion
MarioSymbol.svg
SSB4UYoshisIsland.png
Super Smash Bros. Melee Yoshi's Island
YoshiSymbol.svg
SSB4UKongoJungle64.jpg
Super Smash Bros. Kongo Jungle 64
Symbol of the DK series.
SSB4U75m.png
Super Smash Bros. Brawl 75m
Symbol of the DK series.
SSBUHyruleCastle64.PNG
Super Smash Bros. Hyrule Castle (64) (DLC)
ZeldaSymbol.svg
SSB4UTemple.png
Super Smash Bros. Melee Temple
ZeldaSymbol.svg
SSB4UBridgeOfEldin.png
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Bridge of Eldin
ZeldaSymbol.svg
Pirate Ship Wii U.jpg
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Pirate Ship (DLC)
ZeldaSymbol.svg
SSB4UNorfair.png
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Norfair
MetroidSymbol.svg
SSB4UDreamLand64.png
Super Smash Bros. Dream Land (64) (DLC)
KirbySymbol.svg
SSB4UHalberd.jpg
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Halberd
KirbySymbol.svg
SSB4ULylatCruise.png
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Lylat Cruise
StarFoxSymbol.svg
SSB4UPokemonStadium2.jpg
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Pokémon Stadium 2
PokemonSymbol.svg
SSB4UPortTownAeroDive.png
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Port Town Aero Dive
FZeroSymbol.svg
SSB4UOnett.jpg
Super Smash Bros. Melee Onett
EarthboundSymbol.svg
SSB4UCastleSiege.jpg
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Castle Siege
FireEmblemSymbol.svg
SSB4USkyworld.png
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Skyworld
KidIcarusSymbol.svg
SSB4USmashville.jpg
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Smashville
Symbol of the Animal Crossing series.

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.
  • Special Smash (Wii U exclusive): In this mode players can change the options to create custom battles (such as changing the body option to metal will make all the fighters metal) up to 4 players can play in this mode. This mode does not effect records and stats.
  • Smash Run (3DS exclusive): In this mode, up to 4 players have 5 minutes to traverse a huge 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.
    • Players are also able to have items set to their characters via character customization.
  • 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 was the primary developer alongside Sora Ltd., and had already completed a working prototype.[3]

Whiteboard drawing from the Smash 4 staff posted on Sakurai's twitter 1
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. While it came with no explicit confirmation of any of these characters or elements as reappearing, it did show they were in some sense acknowledged by the staff and everything depicted would turn out to appear in the final game anyway. The image itself was later removed from the original Twitter post.[8] The sketch also has what appears to be large block letters hidden below the visible area.
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 made possible through character customization. He 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 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 four fighters, seven stages, and many different costumes for Mii Fighters.

Changes from Brawl

Gameplay changes

For Smash 4 comparison purposes
Brawl character size comparison.
Mario, Bowser, Donkey Kong, and King Dedede on a biplane on Pilotwings in SSB4.
SSB4 character size comparison.
  • The size differences between bigger and smaller characters is somewhat more drastic, which can be seen when comparing the pictures on the right, with Sakurai remarking "A group shot of the big guys. How much bigger are they compared to Mario?" for the latter image.[14]
  • The movesets and animations of returning characters went through a larger amount of change than the returning characters did from the transition of Melee to Brawl, with many returning characters having completely new moves, and some moves being significantly altered (such as with Bowser).
  • Many newcomers have several standard attacks that consist of projectiles, a first for the series (excluding Snake). A notable example is Mega Man, who has seven projectiles in his standard moveset.
  • Mid-match character changes, such as Zelda/Sheik's Transform, no longer exist. This means Zelda and Sheik, along with Samus and Zero Suit Samus, are completely separate characters that are no longer able to transform to the other. This also means the Pokémon Trainer does not return as a playable character, though Charizard returns as its own stand-alone character. This is mainly due to a combination of 3DS hardware limitations and Sakurai's wish for both versions to contain the same roster of characters.[15]
  • The game's speed is between that of Melee and Brawl, to appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers. Comparably, SSB4 is much less floaty and faster compared to Brawl, while Melee is still faster than both games in terms of gameplay and movement speed.
    • 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 seems 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 mechanics of grabbing ledges underwent an unprecedented overhaul[16]. The difference between fast and slow edge options based on current damage has been removed, the length of intangibility given by grabbing the ledge is now affected by air time and current damage, and no intangibility is granted if a fighter grabs the ledge twice without touching the ground or being hit, making them more open to edgeguarding. Additionally, attempting to grab a ledge that someone else has grabbed onto will gently remove them from it and "steal" the ledge, effectively removing edge-hogging. This changes the entire edge metagame, with players now having to attack opponents that they have ledge-stole instead of completely stopping their recovery by grabbing the edge, along with making edgeguarding more reliant on stage spikes and meteor smashes.
  • A new mechanic known as rage has been implemented; this increases the player's knockback dealt when at high damage percentages, starting at 50% and capping at 150%. This works similar to the Aura effect, which rewards characters if they survive until high percentages – this is especially beneficial to heavyweights, who can easily survive to high percentages and use rage to full effect. The rage effect is made more visible after 100%, as characters begin emitting steam and flashing red.[17]
  • Grabbing an opponent will miss if the opponent has been thrown or has escaped from a grab within the past second. This mechanic mitigates against chain grabs, which were not only possible, but readily exploitable, in previous games.
  • Random tripping introduced in Brawl has been removed. However, forced tripping remains, as shown by the return of the banana peel item.
  • Directional influence works slightly differently. Holding a horizontal direction on the control stick while being hit can now directly increase or decrease knockback in that direction, not just change the launch angle. Holding a vertical direction on the control stick only changes the launch angle (since patch 1.0.4), as in previous games.
  • The ability to act out of hitstun has been removed when sent large distances – this is especially obvious with the inability to airdodge almost immediately after getting knocked back. However, at smaller launch distances, the amount of hitstun is reduced, with characters being able to act out of hitstun more easily. This, combined with higher base knockback in general, makes true combos more prevalent, but also more difficult to pull off.
  • In a similar line, smash directional influence for multi-hitting attacks has been drastically reduced – this is most obviously seen when comparing the ease of escaping a Smart Bomb explosion in Brawl and SSB4. This significantly buffs multiple-hitting attacks such as drills, which previously had an SDI multiplier that made it easier to escape from them, making it much harder to escape from a drill once trapped compared to previous games.
  • Shields no longer take reduced damage from attacks, instead taking full damage. This makes shields more fragile than they were in previous games, as a fully charged smash attack can bring a shield to its last bar of health, whereas in previous games they would barely chip the shield. Additionally, many attacks do more shield damage, making shield breaks much more common. To compensate, shields do not lose health as quickly when it is held up, allowing a player to hold up their shield for extended periods of time without draining their shield's health. As of the 1.1.1 update, shield stun was tremendously increased, which makes out-of-shield punishes less effective while making multi-hitting or powerful moves much safer on shield, along with making them break shields more easily.
  • The window for teching is now larger due to characters "freezing" against a wall for half a second if they slam against it after getting knocked back with an extremely strong attack. This can happen multiple times if the player bounces off a wall onto another wall.
  • When an airborne character is hit by a meteor smash that sends them down onto the stage, that character will now bounce back up into the air instead of just landing on the stage as in previous games. However if a character techs before hitting the ground, they will no longer bounce up and will just tech the move. This opens up opportunities for meteor smashes to KO opponents from the rebound if they possess high enough knockback scaling, an ability shown by many new Final Smashes.
  • The wait time until meteor canceling can be performed now increases as a player's damage increases. As such, meteor canceling is useful only at low percentages, and at even mildly high percentages, meteor smashes are pragmatically equivalent to spikes.
  • Neutral attacks that previously ended in an indefinite number of weak hits (such as Fox's and Kirby's) now end with a finishing hit that knocks opponents away, making such moves safer to use (as simply ending the move no longer leaves the opponent nearby).[18] Rapid jabs can still be held indefinitely, but the user will be pushed back if they land too many hits on one opponent, making infinite combos against walls impossible.
  • Pummeling has been sped up dramatically, with many characters having a much faster pummel compared to their previous incarnations. This improves some fighter's damage racking abilities, though the increased pummel speed is not consistent with the entire cast; Marth has one of the fastest pummels out of all three of his appearances, for example, while Ganondorf still has his slow pummel.
  • Holding a direction on the C-Stick or right control stick is treated as a held button input. With the default control scheme, this allows players to charge a smash attack using only the C-Stick. A smash attack can also be performed by pressing the attack and special buttons with any controller, much like the control scheme used for a Wii Remote by itself in Brawl.
  • Tether recoveries have been buffed, with their reach being improved. In addition, multiple tethers can grab onto the same edge at once, making such moves less susceptible to edgehogging, though the new mechanic of ledge-stealing still applies to said tether recoveries. Any character whose sole recovery move was a tether has received a different recovery move instead, making it so that no character is forced to rely on a tether to recover.
  • Counterattacks have been universally buffed, with all of them having higher base knockback scaling. This makes counterattacks KO much earlier than previous games, especially if a smash attack is countered.
  • Campable projectiles were universally nerfed throughout the cast to make camping a less viable option. Changes include only allowing a certain amount of one type of projectile to be in play at the same time (like Samus' Missile), drastically reducing the range of the projectiles (such as Pit's Palutena's Arrow) or increasing the amount of ending lag for using the projectile (such as Falco's Blaster).
  • As a possible effort to balance the game, Final Smashes have had their knockback and damage toned down, with many that could kill at extremely low percentages in Brawl getting nerfed to the point that they only start taking stocks at middle percentages. This only applies to trapping and transformation type Final Smashes like Triforce Slash and Super Sonic, however; directional Final Smashes such as Light Arrow and Critical Hit still retain their high power as a compensation for their need of accuracy.
  • In a similar line, many attacks or items that have One-Hit KO potential have been nerfed, notably the knockback scalings of some Poké Ball Pokémon such as Deoxys. Some items are exempt from this however, such as the Home-Run Bat, which can still OHKO.
  • Characters with unique battering item swings that allow them to swing items like the Beam Sword twice in a single attack (such as Ike or Captain Falcon) now follow the single-hit swings of the rest of the cast.
  • 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 the same amount of time as the Star KO animation. Additionally, they no longer occur near the end of a timed match or Sudden Death; being instead replaced by regular blast KOs. This makes said KOs more balanced in time-crucial matches due to Star and Screen KO's animations sometimes being able to affect who wins in the end.
  • Swimming has been removed in the 3DS version, but returns in the Wii U version, possibly because the almost rare mechanic of swimming would take up unnecessary space in the 3DS version.
  • Every special move for each non-DLC character can be switched out for two different preset variations with different properties.
  • The Wii U version is compatible with a set of amiibo figurines utilizing the Wii U GamePad and near field communication. By using their respective figurine, players can give a character custom moves and level them up to level 50. An update on February 10, 2015 added amiibo support on the 3DS version.
  • In the 3DS version, paths can be chosen by the player in Classic Mode. Different CPU-opponents appear on different paths, with some paths being marked as easier or harder than others; harder paths grant the player more rewards such as more gold and a higher base trophy or custom part reward.
  • In All-Star Mode, the order of characters fought is now based upon the character's personal first appearance.
    • All-Star Mode is also now available from the start of the game, unlike Melee and Brawl, where it had to be unlocked by unlocking every character.
  • If a character runs off an edge and takes no action before landing on another platform, they will immediately continue running once they hit the ground. This is accompanied by a new "rolling" animation as they run off edges.
  • When a Shooting Type item (Ray Gun, Super Scope, etc.) runs out of ammo, the player can press the attack button again to immediately dispose of the item, as opposed to previous games where they had to press the grab button to let go, and pressing the attack button would result in them replicating the motion of using the weapon though nothing would come out.
  • Due to the sheer number of controllers and players that can be present at once, entering controllers into player slots is now implemented differently. In Brawl, GameCube controllers would take precedence over Wii Remotes, and would automatically show up in the player slot corresponding to their physical port (e.g. the controller plugged into slot 1 would appear as P1 regardless of button input). In Smash 4, when a button on a controller is pressed, that controller is set to the first available player slot (e.g. if a GameCube controller in Port 2 were to activate when P1 was empty, it would show up as P1 (If P1 was active, but P2 was not, it would show up as P2; if P1 and P2 were active, but P3 was not, it would show as P3; if P3 were active, but P1 and P2 were not, it would show up as P1, etc.)

Aesthetic and sound changes

File:Sudden death.PNGSudden Death as seen in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Part of the MediaWiki software. For use in {{ImageCaption}}Part of the MediaWiki software. For use in {{ImageCaption}}
The aesthetic changes between Brawl and Smash Wii U
  • 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.
    • This applies to movement and attack animations as well, often involving them mirroring their stance and attacks. Due to this, there is a possibility that some attacks may behave slightly differently when they interact with each other from different directions. For example, if such an "ambidextrous" character and another character that does not use this feature attack each other, the attacks may clang in a different location or even connect with the opponent differently depending on what direction the two characters are facing.
  • 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.
    • The design of KOs themselves closely resembles those in Brawl, but the soundbite sounds much more like an actual explosion now.
    • A new visual effect 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 on contact. However, it does not guarantee an actual KO; if the move can just barely KO the character, DI can still prevent it from taking a stock. Likewise, there is a small chance that no lightning effect occurs but the character is still KO'd. In addition, the game does not consider stage walls, ceilings, or obstacles than can otherwise change the trajectory of knockback (thereby preventing or causing a KO) when determining whether the lightning appears. Meteor Smashes do not produce the lightning effect.
  • 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 remaining time left 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 is played.
  • Screen KOs now feature characters hitting the screen and staying there ("splatting") for a moment before sliding off, whereas in preceding games, they either simply bumped into the screen and kept falling at their initial speed, or tumbled in front of the screen without hitting it.
  • 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 activated 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.
  • Formerly a beta element of Brawl, visual battle damage over the course of battle exists in the Wii U version. However, this only applies to Little Mac, as bandages and bruises appear on his head after getting KO'd like in his appearance in the Wii version of Punch-Out!!.
  • 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.[19] There is no cross-platform gameplay between the Wii U and 3DS versions due to the exclusive stages to each version[20]; 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; this, however, cannot work vice versa.

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.[21]

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[22] and 86% on GameRankings[23]. 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's Hearthstone, respectively.

The Wii U version received critical acclaim, with a Metacritic score of 92/100[24] and a GameRankings score of 92.39%[25], 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.

Trailers

E3 2013

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E3 2014

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Gallery

Miscellaneous

Characters

Trivia

  • Super Smash Bros. 4 is the first Super Smash Bros. game to receive an "E10+" ESRB rating, as well as the first to be called out for "Mild Suggestive Themes".
  • This is the second collaboration between Namco Bandai, Capcom, and Sega, the first being Project X Zone. One of Project X Zone's co-developers, Monolith Soft, was also involved in SSB4.
    • Ryu appears in Project X Zone and its upcoming sequel Project X Zone 2, and is a playable character in SSB4.
    • Lucina, Chrom and Tiki from Fire Emblem series, Fiora and Metal Face from Xenoblade Chronicles, X and Zero from the Mega Man series, Akira Yuki from the Virtua Fighter series, and Heihachi Mishima from the Tekken series will additionally all make appearances in Project X Zone 2.
  • Super Smash Bros. 4 is the only game in the series not to include a new The Legend of Zelda or Star Fox character, or a new character who debuted in the 1990s.

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. ^ https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAADMUKlhFSRn7g
  15. ^ http://www.gameskinny.com/l9ilc/why-zelda-and-sheik-are-separate-characters-in-super-smash-bros-3ds-and-wii-u
  16. ^ https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAABnUYngiZ2EwA
  17. ^ The "Rage Effect"
  18. ^ https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAABnUYnly14CnA
  19. ^ Nintendo's YouTube channel: "Wii U & Nintendo 3DS Developer Direct - Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U @E3 2013"
  20. ^ Joystiq: "No cross-platform play for Smash Bros on 3DS and Wii U"
  21. ^ http://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAADRUqFpGGYsgQ
  22. ^ http://www.metacritic.com/game/3ds/super-smash-bros-for-nintendo-3ds
  23. ^ http://www.gamerankings.com/3ds/632937-super-smash-bros-for-nintendo-3ds/index.html
  24. ^ http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii-u/super-smash-bros-for-wii-u
  25. ^ http://www.gamerankings.com/wii-u/633202-super-smash-bros-for-wii-u/index.html

External links