Rating: 10/10
Overview:
A simple button mashing brawling fighter that has a surprising amount of depth but can also just be picked up and played by the whole family. Prepare to smash all of your friends, family and acutances with some of your favourite Nintendo and other franchise characters.
My Views
This game is crazy, fast, badass fun (sorry about the language) that is far larger than I ever thought I would get from a fighting game. I am not a person who considers themselves a fighting game lover but this series has always been one that me and my friends have come back to playing since the series made its debut on the N64.
The Fighting and characters
So without any DLC there are 74 characters in this game, which I have never seen before in any game and it is honestly mind blowing but when you start the game you will only have 8 characters unlocked. These characters have a good variety to them from the heavy, slow but powerful Donkey Kong to the light, quick but weaker Pikachu, and of course Mario being yet again being the absolute pinnacle of the middle class balanced character that just ends up get out matched by almost any other character once you discover you're favourite character type.
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Despite the different character types, every character has 5 set combo moves with one of those being there super smash finishing move. These moves are mapped to the same button combinations for each character so you can easily pick up and play any character as you unlock them. This makes the game very easy for small children to play with more experienced players and still have a chance at winning a round. This idea means that the actual character traits are all you have to worry about when selecting your character.
As simplistic as this make the game sound it is a ridiculous amount of fun, like illegal amounts of fun. each match is fast-paced and energetic, with up to 8 player coach matches (which only needs one joy con per player) are available or up to that many computer-controlled characters you are going to lose track where you are on the screen and die in very unfair ways but then so is every other player which in a weird way makes it fair again.
As well as these combo moves you also have standard attack buttons that will make your character kick, punch, throw or slash a weapon dependent on the characters fighting styles and weapons. You will also have a shield and a grapple button that is mapped to the back bumper buttons.
There are many ways to unlock characters in this game from the main story mode to classic challenge runs but the most common way you will be unlocking them is through the simple smash mode, this is where you will be doing your multiplayer and single match games. After every few fights, a new challenger will appear and the winner of the last battle will be thrown into a new fight with this challenger and put simply if you beat them, you unlock them. If they beat you then you will get the chance after a little while to re-battle them in the 'games & more' mode selection.
The story mode
Adventure mode is a little different to the main brawler section of the game, here you will first be treated to an awesome cut scene that will leave you with just Kirby left and he must battle his way across the map rescuing his friends whilst moving closer to the power that trapped them all in the first place. You progress by battling copies of your friends that have different spirits that are trapped within them and once you win you will be able to use these spirits to give you boosts in battle, which may be as simple as an attack and defence increase or starting the fight with a weapon already equipped right through to making your character not being affected by lightning attacks. This adds an extra layer to the combat as both your opponent will have different abilities and you will have to equip the right spirits to counter there added abilities.
This mode can be very challenging and you will find your path blocked many times by battles that you just won't be able to beat until you have unlocked certain fighters and spirits that will push you past your opponent's abilities. the hardest part for myself was having no heavy characters that could take a good beating for quite some time in my playthrough, this really made me hit a brick wall and took a lot of attempts to get past.
Fundamentally however the fighting is still the same and just as excited as a standard battle mode but the extra strategic elements give this mode added difficulty curve that will test you and ultimately make you a better smash player, which for someone like me who sucks at fighting games is always welcome. Plus that opening cinematic is just amazing.
My last thoughts
There are a few other modes, like classic which has you pick a character and go through several different fights towards a final battle like in old school arcade fighting games, a horde like mode where you have to defeat 100 enemies, and a spirit board that has daily challenges to unlock more spirits for the main campaign. Now it may not seem like a lot but there really is plenty here to keep you coming back and playing because for as simple as the game seems on the outside it is complex and deep the further you want to dig into it.
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It is defiantly a game that begs to be played with friends, and it is defiantly more fun when played that way but with the inclusion of the adventure mode, it is also worth playing alone. I personally love this game and think it achieves being a full game that not only improves on its older iterations but also achieves what he game set out to do. My family and I play this a lot when we have time together and it is always a fun time so I implore you to try it out if you can, you may be pleasantly surprised.
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Until next time...
Toby