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Contrast Review: Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U/3DS

Archive — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 08:28:00 +0000

These games have been two of the most hyped games to be released last year, and for good reason. If you have been living under a rock for the past three years, Super Smash Bros for the 3DS and the Wii U are the fourth and fifth games in the critically acclaimed party brawler series from Kirby's Dreamland series creator Masahiro Sakurai, but I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that. As such, this review is going to be slightly different than what I normally do. Because of the varying contrast between the content of the two versions of the game, this time I'm gonna compare the two and tell you which version would better suit your gaming palette.

Now if you are worried about what characters are available in each version, you have no need to worry about that. Both versions of the game have the exact same cast of nearly fifty characters which include Mario, Link, Pikachu, Fox, Samus, Yoshi, Donkey Kong and Kirby (just to name a few), but the number of unlockable characters is reduced in the Wii U version. While there are twelve characters to unlock in the 3DS version, the Wii U version has four of these characters already unlocked from the get go which reduces the amount of work needed.

Returning from Super Smash Bros Brawl are the challenges. Challenges are in both versions of the game, but they are split up into three separate pages on the 3DS version with a total of 105 relatively easy ones to complete whereas the Wii U version has 140 moderately more difficult ones all on one page. Completing a challenge will give you a reward and a special picture to view as a little bonus.

Classic Mode also makes a return in these games as it always has since the series' beginning, but this time it has gotten a drastic overhaul. On the 3DS, you go through branching paths of varying difficulty (Blue = Easy, Green = Normal, Red = Hard) and it feels very similar to how Classic Mode has been in past games, but in the Wii U version, Classic Mode is more based on your actual skill level as there are multiple groups of fighters each with a varying number of opponents and the occasional rival and surprise ambush.

All-Star Mode makes a return yet again from its introduction in Super Smash Bros Melee, but it feels a little bit different this time around. Like in Brawl, you face every character in the game in order of character's creation and release according to the real world (with the exception of the customizable Mii Fighters), but the direction of the order you face them in differs per version. In the 3DS version, you fight them in chronological order. In the Wii U version, you fight them in reverse chronological order. Also, unlike the previous games in the series, All-Star Mode is unlocked from the start with more available opponents to face every time a new one is unlocked.

Now for the mode everyone knows about, SMASH MODE. This is the game's basic free-for-all versus mode in which you choose your character and beat the crap out of your opponent on one of dozens of different stages inspired by a game in Nintendo's MASSIVE repertoire of franchises. The types of battles that can be done include Timed, Stock, and Coin battles and each can be played in teams. Smash mode can also be played online in modes called "For Fun" which has all items on and uses every stage except for Final Destination, and "For Glory" which all items are turned off and the only stage available is Final Destination or a visual variation of it.

Now new to these two games are character customization and amiibo support. With character customization, you can apply badges to a character that will boost one stat and hinder another and modify their special moves to better suit your tastes (I personally made a version of Mario that had completely fire based attacks). These customizations can also be applied to the amiibo that have been getting released these past few months. Amiibo fighters are completely AI controlled with no input by the player at all, but at their lower levels they can be trained to fight better by mimicking the player's fighting style. It should also be noted that amiibo support on the 3DS is limited to the "New" 3DS only.

Stadium mode also returns from the previous games, but with some slight alterations. Break the Targets has been completely removed and a new mode called Target Blast has taken its place. The 3DS version only has one stage while the Wii U version has three and if you want an idea of what Target Blast plays like, think Angry Birds but instead of a slingshot, you're launching a large bomb with a character's smash attack. 15-Minute smash mode in the Stadium has also been replaced with a new mode called Rival Smash in which you have to knock out more opponents than a CPU controlled rival character. The Fighting Alloy Team from Brawl in Stadium has also been replaced with the Fighting Mii Team. I find this to be pretty humorous as the Mii's faces are taken from the system's internal memory (I have some pretty low brow ones on my systems).

Now, here is what is exclusive to each version.

Returning from Brawl are the Event Matches, but these are exclusive to the Wii U version of the game. Event Matches are special battles with very specific win conditions. Some examples would include defeating a specific character before a computer controlled rival, or even preventing a hoard of slowly falling enemies from landing of the stage. Each event also has a secondary win condition that will reward you with a special prize should you succeed.

Also returning from Brawl and are exclusive to the Wii U are the Masterpieces. Masterpiece are demos of classic games that last anywhere between 1 to 5 minutes in length. If you happen to like the game's demo by the time the timer runs out, you are given the option to buy the game from the eShop which is a very nice convenience.

The Stage Builder also returns to the Wii U version of the game, but it simultaneously got both an upgrade and a downgrade in terms of content. The upgrade is the ability to draw the stage you're building with the Wii U's Gamepad. The downgrade on the other hand is the lack of stage additions you can add to what you're creating compared to Brawl. While the free form drawing is very nice and extremely cool, I feel a bit let down by the removal of so many options from the last game. Overall though, what you are given gets the job done, but I was still hoping for more.

New to the game and exclusive to the Wii U version is Special Orders mode. Special orders gives you randomized rules and opponents to fight with a guaranteed prize should you succeed. In Master Orders you pay a small sum of coins to take one of three challenges and the options reset with each win or loss. In Crazy Orders however, you can either pay a fairly high sum of coins or pay with an Orders Pass which can be won from Event Matches or from the roulette in Classic Mode. In Crazy Orders, you go round after round with most damage kept after each round until you feel like you don't have the confidence to continue any further. Whatever damage you accrued from the previous rounds will be then calculated into health for the final battle with Crazy Hand and any minions he may have helping him.

Exclusive to the 3DS version is Smash Run mode which is a 5 minute trial in a MASSIVE map where you collect stat boosting items to help increase your chances of winning a special challenge after the time is up. To find stat boosters, you need to defeat enemies from many different Nintendo games and some from games made by Capcom, Namco and Sega. It is actually very similar to the City Trial mode in Kirby Air Ride. The Wii U version has something slightly similar to this mode, but it is a much more party based mode called Smash Tour. This mode is played on one of 3 different maps of varying sizes with your Miis to act as the game pieces, but the general concept is the same: collect stat boosting items to improve your chances in the final match. Honestly though, I personally think Smash Run is much better than Smash Tour.

And now the pi√É¬®ce de réstistance, 8-PLAYER SMASH. This mode is exclusive to the Wii U version of the game and it is a damn fun mode to be had. You and up to seven other people can compete in these fantastically outrageous battles on a select few set of stages that can support the load of eight characters at once. But there is a catch. If you want to play with eight people, you will need to get at least one Game Cube controller adapter due to the fact that only four wireless controllers can linked to the console at any one time. In my opinion though, the Game Cube controller is the way to go anyway.

Now comes the verdict. The controls are tight and responsive, the music is fantastic, and everything else will keep you occupied for a very long time like collecting trophies and betting coins on the online spectator mode. If you're like me and enjoy playing games with other people in the same room, then get the Wii U version. Almost all the game modes in the Wii U version can be played in co-op mode with friend which is very nice. However, if you aren't the person who spends a lot of time playing TV games or if you travel a lot, then I would recommend the 3DS version as the game can be taken over to a friend's house for use as a controller for the Wii U version or you can play the 3DS exclusive Street Smash game mode when you encounter a random person with the game when out and about. I guess you could also get both if you have the money, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

3DS Score:

Wii U Score:

50 Haiku for my Top 50 Favorite Video Game Series

Archive — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 07:36:00 +0000

It's that time again! That's right everyone, I've reached article number 50 since I started writing here. And if my calculations are correct, then this will double as the site's 200th article as well. DOUBLE KILL! To be honest, I've actually been planning this article for months. I've been meticulously compiling my Top 50 favorite video game series and writing a little haiku that I believe sums up what I feel about each one. So, without further ado, here's 50 haiku for my fop 50 favorite video game series.

Animal Crossing

Banjo-Kazooie

Bayonetta

BioShock

Castlevania

Chibi-Robo

Crash Bandicoot

Donkey Kong

Doom

Final Fantasy

Fire Emblem

F-Zero

Game & Watch

God of War

Golden Sun

Halo

Jak & Daxter

Katamari Damacy

Kid Icarus

Kirby

The Legend of Zelda

Mario Kart

Mario Party

Mass Effect

Mega Man

Metal Gear Solid

Metroid

Monster Hunter

Mortal Kombat

Mother/EarthBound

Okami

Pac-Man

Phoenix Wright

Pikmin

Pokemon

Professor Layton

Punch-Out!!

Ratchet & Clank

Rayman

Rhythm Heaven

Shantae

Sly Cooper

Sonic the Hedgehog

Spyro the Dragon

Star Fox

Super Mario Bros

Super Smash Bros

Tetris

Warioware

Yoshi's Island

Thanks once again for your continued support and I hope you all will still be reading my articles even after I reach 100. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

How to Deal with Fangames the RIGHT Way

Archive — Thu, 29 Sep 2016 11:47:00 +0000

This subject has been bothering me for a while now. Ever since Nintendo recently put the kibosh on over 500 fangames, it has got me wondering whether or not the legality of fangames is really something that companies need to fuss over. I get that fangames are technically illegal because most of them contain unauthorized use of characters, music, or assets owned by another company, but 99% of the time the game in question doesn't pose any harm to the company or the image they represent. They're just little distractions that were made by a fan of that series as a symbol of how much they like those games. And it's not like a lot of these fans are trying to make any money off of those games, and most of the time they even give credit to the original developers. Now I can definitely understand why these companies would be so protective of their property, but they aren't exactly going about it the right way. They need to figure out better, more tactful ways to deal with this without damning the person or people that made them. It just creates poor PR and bad blood with the fans. Let me elaborate...

More often than not, when a fan-dev makes a fangame they are showing their appreciation to the company that made the original work. Most of the time they mean no harm in their intentions and just want to show how much they like the game or series that inspired them to make their own with their favorite characters. However sometimes when the fan project gets shut down, it breaks the heart of the fan sometimes even making them think that their favorite game company doesn't care about what the fans think at all.
They give potential future game developers a good jumping off point in which they can get into the field of game design, but if the project gets shut down relatively early in its development cycle, it becomes rather dejecting to the fan-dev thinking that game development just isn't for them.
Some fangames promote awareness of a franchise or series that might not be selling well or have been neglected by the owners of the original IP. Now this is where things get a little gray. Whether or not if the game gets canned, this still promotes awareness for the series in question. It just happens to work better if the game gets finished first.
Fans gain more from the experience of fangames and official works combined than from the official works by themselves. It is actually quite common for a fan to run into a fangame that is of extremely poor quality and makes them appreciate the polish that went into the official series more as a result. But in the event that a fangame is really good, it makes them not only appreciate the original work, but applaud the effort that the fan-dev made to make it as close to the original series as possible and anticipates whether or not if they will make anything original later.
Much like video game piracy, fangames WILL happen with or without the IP holder's consent and trying to police this and prevent it from happening is a fruitless effort that not only wouldn't accomplish anything, but would alienate any future game devs from making their own original work down the line.
Fan-devs gain more from encouragement than from a cease and desist. It costs nothing to allow them to keep their finished work up for others to play, and more often than not will not affect their sales much if at all. Most fan-devs even encourage the fans that play their games to buy from the original IP holders so as to offset their involvement in making their little project.
If a fan-game is good enough, it benefits both parties more if the original IP holders buy the rights to the fan work and/or ask them to port it to a system they regularly develop games for. Non-canonical works by the original IP holders do exist in the video game industry and fangames always fall under this as they have no legal rights to any of the characters, music, assets, etc. that they borrowed from.

Now with the advent of more user friendly game development tools like Unity, Game Maker Pro, RPG Maker, and the upcoming Mystic Searches S.T.A.G.E, it has become much easier for fans to get into game design. So what should the big gaming companies do? First of all the way I see it, STOP BEING SO STRICT. A hundred or so fangames that happen to contain assets from your works is not the end of the world. Your paychecks aren't going to be affected any from a few practice projects. Secondly, if you see one that looks promising, ENCOURAGE THE DEV. A few kind words can go a long way, especially if you can get a profit from it in some way, shape, or form. And lastly (and this is most important), if a popular fangame is of a series that hasn't seen the light of day in over a decade or so, TAKE THE HINT. It's obvious that the fans want that series to come back, but since you're not doing anything with it, they often take matters into their own hands. The only time you should break out the legalese is when a fan-dev is trying to make money off of their game when it contains many assets your company created. This should be done especially if that fan in question happens to work for a rival game company.

Only time will tell if gaming companies like Nintendo will loosen the leash they have on their property. Many gaming companies like Namco, Sega, and Capcom have already become more lenient on these matters, but while this is a step in the right direction, bigger gaming giants like Konami, Square Enix, and Nintendo still need to unclench and treat the fans as fans and not as parasites. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Top 10 Most Anticipated Games of E3 2018

Archive — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 22:12:00 +0000

I know I usually do a recap of Nintendo's E3 Direct and press conference for E3 every year, but this time I'm going to do something a little bit different. Since I saw the majority of conferences this time instead of Nintendo's by itself, I'm instead going to list off my top 10 games and add-on expansions that were shown or revealed at E3 that I'm most excited for. So let's get started.

Cyberpunk 2077

I love me some good old-fashioned Sci-Fi, but if there is one thing that I need in order to get REALLY invested in it, it is aesthetic. Cue Cyberpunk 2077 by CD Projekt Red; when I first saw the game, I was not expecting an 80's punk rock style RPG mixed in with shooting elements. But in all honesty, I didn't know what to expect since this is my first experience with this game. If the immense praise that The Witcher 3 got is any indication of this game's quality, then I'm sure to pick this game up on day one, assuming I have the cash.

Kingdom Hearts III

The epic conclusion to one of the most beloved crossover game series of all time, Kingdom Hearts III by Square Enix and Disney is sure to sell like hotcakes. I have played a few games in this series and I've tried to make heads or tails of the overly convoluted plot, but to no avail. Hopefully this game will tie up some much needed loose ends so we can finally get the closure we've all been waiting for this January.

Starlink: Battle For Atlas

If any of you were hoping for anything to fill that Star Fox shaped void in your life, this game might be able to pull that off. Starlink from Ubisoft is an open-space adventure game mixed with Star Fox style dogfights and a toys-to-life-based vehicle customization, but thankfully the game does not require the use of the figures to unlock everything. They still look quite nice though and with the Switch version having Star Fox exclusive content, you might actually want to plunk down the $75 for the game's starter edition this October.

Cuphead: The Delicious Final Course

I LOVE Cuphead; everything from its gameplay, music, and art style has proven to me that classic animation is not dead. So imagine how elated I was when the trailer for the game's DLC dropped. The fact that we're getting a FULL new island with new weapons, bosses and a new playable character just shows that this game is a labor of love that deserves every dollar thrown at it. For me, 2019 can't come soon enough.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

I may not be a big fan of the Dark Souls series, but I love Bloodborne. Yes its difficulty is more forgiving than Dark Souls, but I was more drawn in by the setting and atmosphere than anything else. To me, dark medieval fantasy has been played to death, so the Victorian era horror that Bloodborne offered was a breath of fresh air. Hopefully the feudal Japanese theme that Sekiro will offer will do the same thing that Bloodborne did for me, plus I'm really looking forward to using that multipurpose prosthetic limb that the main character has.

Devil May Cry 5

I have a confession to make: I have only really gotten into one game in this series, and it was the DMC reboot by Team Ninja Theory. I'm not sure what the general consensus is regarding that game, but I had a lot of fun playing it; it reminded me a lot of Bayonetta in its presentation. Now I know that Team Ninja Theory isn't working on the latest installment in this series, but considering how similar the gameplay looks I'm sure that I'll have just as much fun, if not more.

Spider-Man

This is a bit of a big hurdle for me. On the one hand it's Spider-Man; a comic book series that I have loved since I was a child, but on the other hand it's a licensed game; a mark that usually doesn't bode well with me as most licensed games never really do too well, but damn does this game look GOOD. Insomniac did a fantastic job in capturing the look and feel of the Spider-Man comics and the updated costumes of the villains in this game look amazing. I also love that the game has heavy stealth elements and the combat makes use of the environment. I may have to bite the bullet and buy this game because it is starting to make me think that maybe licensed games now have a chance at being genuinely good.

Babylon's Fall

Very little was shown about this game other than some of the game's backstory and the developer behind it, Platinum Games, but considering that Platinum is the same company that has given us Bayonetta, Vanquish, Nier: Automata, and The Wonderful 101, I am more than certain that this game will be a great, fast-paced, high-fantasy action game. I'll be sure to get this game day one as well, once again assuming I have the cash.

Doom Eternal

Doom 2016 was a great way to breathe life back into a mostly dead game genre, arcade style FPS, and now that the game is getting a sequel, I can only hope for one thing with the new entry: More of EVERYTHING. I want to see more weapons, more gore, more demon types, more locations, and most importantly more insanity. Only time will tell, but if the previous game is any indication, I could see the Doom Slayer getting revenge on Samuel Hayden for trapping him back in Hell.

Super Smash Bros Ultimate

As if this was even a surprise. I can't wait for this game and so far the only things we know about it is that it has over 65 characters, over 80 stages, every character from the previous 4 and half games will make a return plus Inkling, Daisy and Ridley, 8-Player smash will make a return, several characters had some major tweaks to their movesets, many final smashes were overhauled to speed up the fights, and some new items, pokemon and assist trophies will make their debut in this entry. Besides amiibo support, we don't even know anything about any side modes, collectibles, or single-player stuff and I'm STILL excited. December 7th will be marked on my calendar, and I will be waiting.

So that's my list. I am likely going to go broke in the coming year or so trying to get all of the games I'm most excited for, and I only listed my top 10 here; there are many more that were shown at E3 that are now on my wish list. I just hope I'll be able to at least get the ones listed here, but until then, I'll be seeing you.