Simeon and Scott are back from PAX West 2018, where they got to go hands on with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate! Impressions of the new and returning characters are here. We also got off-screen footage of the game running, so enjoy this exclusive first look!
“Exit the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Sakurai
Honest Nintendo Direct: E3 2018
Here’s what really happened during the E3 2018 Nintendo Direct.
If you laugh, please share with a friend!
“Exit the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Nintendo’s Bad Good E3 2018 Direct
E3 has come and gone, and sadly not many Nintendo fans feel like they came out the other side in victory. Yes, we got Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but it felt a little bit off, didn’t it? Simeon and Scott discuss what could have been done better.
“Exit the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
5 Ways to Fix Smash’s ONLINE for Switch
Smash Bros. has never had very good online connectivity or modes. It’s time that Nintendo stepped it up and made an experience more comparable to their competitors. Let’s do this! Smash 5 is coming out this year. Let’s get it right, Sakurai.
“Exit the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
5 Ways Smash for Switch Should Be the SAME
Last week, Simeon and Scott outlined a handful of ways that Super Smash Bros. needs to change things up on Nintendo Switch. This week, we’re examining the other side of the coin: what should stay exactly as it is right now?
“Exit the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
5 Ways Smash for Switch Should CHANGE
Super Smash Bros. 4 may have perfected the formula. Now, is it time for Nintendo to innovate in a big new way?
“Exit the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Smash Bros. as a Service Scott’s Thoughts
I expected a port of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U in 2018. Smash development cycles are too long, and we would never get new entries this close together… those were my thoughts entering into the March 8th Nintendo Direct.
I was wrong; it’s a brand new game.
There are still skeptics, or fans who are simply being cautious not to jump to conclusions. But Nintendo laid it out plainly for us:
- The game has a working title (not simply “Super Smash Bros. for Switch” in the Smash 4 branding.)
- Nintendo chose to forgo the transition used at the beginning of every Smash 4 trailer
- SmashBros.com has been completely started over from scratch
- The trailer shows only vague outlines of a cast with fewer than 20 characters, not the entire Smash 4 ensemble waiting to welcome the Inklings
It’s really happening. It’s a new console generation, a new Smash Bros. website, a new series of character reveals (who’s staying, who’s leaving, and who’s arriving?)—friends, it’s a new Super Smash Bros. game.
And the cherry on top? 2018.
It seems impossible. How would Nintendo have time to develop a new title from the ground up? The Wii U and 3DS entries only came out during the tail end of 2014.
The answer: The developers probably didn’t start from scratch. For one thing, this new game could very well use the Smash 4 engine. They finally struck the perfect balanced formula that resonated with casual players and eSports alike (not easy), so Sakurai and his team won’t be quick to abandon the engine.
Smash 5 likely won’t launch with a beefy lineup of 50 characters, either. I think the group of brawlers shown in the trailer was deliberately small.
Super Smash Bros. could easily be sold to us as a service. Think of all the popular games these days that add content gradually—the “Splatoon approach,” if you will.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Smash launch alongside Nintendo’s paid online service in September to help promote the program. I also would not be surprised if Smash, in September, feels like a half a game.
Sakurai could keep the hype train of character reveals steaming along the tracks for—well—years!
P.S. Why didn’t Nintendo save this bombshell announcement for E3? Because it’s going to be the central theme of their booth, and booth decorations are literally impossible to prevent from leaking. We knew about Breath of the Wild and Odyssey before Nintendo decked out their corner of E3 in previous years, and the same will go for Smash this time. The lid is going to be absolutely blown off this game at E3 2018, only months ahead of launch!
Playing Smash Bros… with NO THUMBS
We thought it would be a great idea (or at the very least… entertaining) to attempt a few Smash Bros. matches without using our thumbs. When we streamed this live, our viewers in the chat said they had a hard time distinguishing our playstyle from a normal match! I’d say we adapted pretty well! And for comparison, we show you a couple rounds with all our digits legalized.
“Exit the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Over-Hyping a Nintendo Direct Scott's Thoughts
It’s hard to resist. When a Nintendo Direct leak or rumor starts circulating, the wish-lists and pie in the sky dreams quickly follow.
Over-hyping a Direct is just asking to be ran over by the hype-train.
How often have you felt that crushing disappointment when your favorite obscure series didn’t get a sequel out of nowhere, or when Nintendo didn’t suddenly adopt Xbox Live and rebrand it?
Here’s the key to contentment as a Nintendo fan: “I will wait patiently for the next Nintendo Direct, and I will keep an open mind. I will probably be interested in a few of the announcements, other games won’t be for me, and I’ll have hopes leftover for next time.”
Balanced Brawl Scott's Thoughts
Super Smash Bros. Brawl was a Wii game that I played to death—I’m surprised the disk never shattered after all the hours I put into it.
700, if you’re wondering.
What can I say! I was living at home with few responsibilities, bonding with friends and family, and playing competitively (for TENS of dollars).
Some people’s skin crawls at the thought of playing Brawl in a tournament setting, and they do have a point. The game was criminally imbalanced and was never blessed with a single patch.
Unless, of course, you count “unofficial” patches, like Balanced Brawl. If Nintendo ever did patch Smash Bros. on Wii, they surely would have blocked this batch of homebrew.
Balanced Brawl was a set of adjustments that could be loaded in via SD card. You could go to the Stage Builder mode and then the screen would suddenly be covered in data that would look like you were hacking into the Matrix. Things loaded for a minute, and then you’d be ready to play some balanced matches.
Meta Knight was hit with a nerf hammer from the heavens. Link could kill with his bow and arrow. All things considered, it was a pretty good effort. Still not perfectly fine-tuned, but it was fun to mod an official Nintendo game.
Should Sakurai Quit Smash Bros?
You know you’re messed up when you gotta use a third party controller. :(
We love Sakurai, the director of Smash Bros. There’s no question about that. But we do have some real concerns about him that range from the health of his body to the way he manages his employees. It might actually be the case that developing Smash Bros. games isn’t the best thing for him, or for his company! We are going to examine the issue from each angle and do our best to come to an objective conclusion: Should Sakurai quit?
Shot by Alex Campbell
“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
