Link was released in Wave 1 on November 21st, 2014.
As a Wave 1 amiibo, Nintendo had no prior experience with optimizing poses and reinforcing figurines.
As a 2014 release, Breath of the Wild was still known simply as “Zelda Wii U.”
Look how ugly it is!
I’m thankful that Sakurai and his development team are taking the time to update Link’s visuals and moveset to match the wildly popular (get the pun?) newest game, but now we are left with an amiibo/character mismatch!
Sure, the same predicament applies to Zelda and Ganondorf, and I wouldn’t mind if Nintendo rectified those situations as well, but no amiibo is in greater need of help than our poor Link.
I can’t fathom what they were thinking when they propped him up on a pillar of frozen urine.
What can I say? I think I’m in love with a potted plant.
The final Smash Direct opened with a bit of a snoozer: an Echo Fighter and a Pokemon being confirmed as the final roster additions.
Sure, the fake leak didn’t help to keep our expectations down, but seriously? I would have to sit out the next 35 minutes of the Direct without another exciting character reveal?
Thankfully, Piranha Plant completely blindsided me and brought that wow-factor I craved.
He (she?) has a lot going for him (her?)!
Free before February
Never leaked, suspected, or even requested from anyone on God’s green earth
Not a sword-fighter
Completely unique moveset
Has an amazingly detailed amiibo
Adds another much-needed villain to the cast
The only thing you could really criticize my good buddy P.P. (as I like to call him [her?]) is that it makes the Mario series even more over-represented. So what! Fire Emblem was catching up to Mario in character count, and if any franchise should have the biggest presence, it’s the plumber and his pals.
I’m trying to keep my rotation of characters smaller in this game—more on that later—but I’ll undoubtedly make room for this DLC.
P.S. If you call Piranha Plant “Petey” one more time, I will smack you.
The Super Smash Bros. series has had a very rocky history when it comes to balancing, an important aspect of all video games, but especially ones in the fighting genre.
The director of the series, Sakurai-san, has often insisted on fine-tuning each character personally. As such a critical task, he really only trusts himself (and holds himself responsible) for how the game ships.
And as the cartridges or discs were produced and transported to the retailer, that’s exactly how the balance remains to this day. It wasn’t until Super Smash Bros. for 3DS & Wii U when patches were enabled.
If you go back and play the first three iterations of Super Smash Bros., you won’t find balanced games. Many characters are completely inviable, and certain ones can be selected for their exploits; Ice Climbers and Meta Knight are a few prime examples. These characters were so off-balance that a handful of techniques had to be regulated by tournament organizers, and Meta Knight wasn’t allowed in many competitive Brawl events!
Thankfully, Nintendo finally created an online infrastructure for their 2012 Wii U console (only a decade late, give them a break) to allow for patches. The result? One of the most balanced fighting games ever: Smash 4!
What made Super Smash Bros. 4 so balanced? A huge change was made to the ledge mechanics; getting rid of ledgehogging and introducing trumping. This effectively allowed the entire roster to reliably make it back to the stage. And the aforementioned patches, which constantly tweaked stats in order to level the playing-field, ensured that no character was too overpowered.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is increasing the character count by 28%. Is it possible that Sakurai can maintain such minute balance when adding an extra quarter of the cast?
I don’t think the game will be balanced at launch. I remember fondly my Smash 4 pre-patch Sheik, who could kill with forward-air, back-air, up-air, down-B, and jab. (I’m joking about that last one.) But over the coming months, Sheik was nerfed to an appropriate level. I think you’ll see a similar pattern in the 5th Smash title; some characters will launch OP and others will be UP, but we’ll have to wait for a few tournaments to take place to discover which characters are the most abusable by professionals.
Non-pros will also have an influence on the game’s balance, as the development team has already gone on record to say that Elite players’ results will be monitored! So if a certain attack is killing way too often, or a specific set-up is impossible to avoid, those things are going to get expedited into a patch.
Ultimate will be the biggest Smash game yet, but also has the potential to be the most balanced.
If not, I guess that’s one good reason to go back and play 4!
I stuck with the long lines at PAX twice to get to play the game, for a total of four separate matches. Reflecting on that experience, here are some of my impressions of Smash 5:
It’s faster. Due to higher damage ratios, as well as knockback that plays out faster, there’s no dilly-dallying. That appears to be why 3 stocks is the default instead of 2.
Returning characters feel new. This is especially true of Link, who has been reworked from his visuals, to the bombs he throws, to his grab, to the addition of a 0% blade beam attack.
It’s more animated than ever. Characters are super expressive, explosions and hits look beautiful in person and at 60fps, and even the stages come to life more than ever before.
Attention to detail is off-the-charts. Sakurai is truly making this the Ultimate entry in the series, fine-tuning quality of life improvements like having stage select before characters, allowing rule presets to be created, giving a visual representation of all character colors available, and much more.
There’s a lot to learn. This is no port of Smash 4, and the clearest examples of this may be air-dodging and perfect-shielding, mechanics that have been completely revamped. Gamers will need to break habits, adapt, and relearn how to play.
And… it’s fun!
There are still dozens and dozens of characters I can’t wait to try out. Come quickly December 7th!
In Super Smash Bros. 64, there was only one tournament legal stage: Dream Land.
Thankfully, in Super Smash Bros. Melee, the count rose to 5 or 6, depending on the ruleset.
The community couldn’t agree on stages with Brawl, but those who tried to take the game seriously had roughly 10 stages that could be counted as tournament legal, and 31 others that were usually banned.
Smash 4 brought a record-breaking 55 stages to the select-screen after DLC, but only a depressing 5 were given the thumbs-up by tournament organizers (TOs).
Lots of competitions even banned the Omega versions of stages because some had walls that certain characters could cling to, or jump off!
When a community limits stage selection in an attempt to keep gameplay 100% pure, the following aspects are also limited: music selection, aesthetic variety, strategy, and challenge.
Those aren’t aspects of Smash Bros. I want to lose!
I honestly think limiting the stage selection shortens the lifespan of a game. It can be pretty boring watching players get into a match in Smash 4: rock-paper-scissors, ban Lylat, strike a few stages, and end up at Smashville. The player who loses will switch to a character who kills off the top and take his or her opponent to Town & City, where the upper blast-zone is small. It can be very predictable.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate introduces a welcome feature: A toggle for turning off stage hazards! This will prevent terraforming stages like Pokemon Stadium from moving, shut off boss encounters and other NPC interference, and more.
Now, this is a Sakurai-developed feature, so it won’t always work exactly how an eSports player would design it, and there’s already talk of ignoring the toggle and keeping the stage pool small. Some TOs are reluctant to have a bigger selection of stages available, because it makes our made-up stage striking process take longer.
Forget our process! Embrace the toggle!* Let’s inject some variety into the scene and let players learn how to adapt. This will help the competitive scene take off, and thrive for years to come.
*Note: The hazards-off toggle may make some stages worse, like Smashville where the floating platform doesn’t move at all and stays still in the middle. The moving platform wasn’t a problem, so I believe the toggle will NOT be appropriate for some stages, but WILL allow others into tournament rotation. Selective stage-hazards for the win.
The Super Smash Bros. series has completely mastered the hype cycle.
I haven’t seen another game whip up fans into as much of a frenzy, and it can be done with a simple glimpse of a logo, a single sound effect, or another cue that tells fans “More Smash Bros. is on the way. Buckle up.” (We discussed this more in the Art of Video Game Trailers Podcast.)
Excitement is at an all time high for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which is why I’m kicking off this blog series: 30 Days to Smash Ultimate! Every day between now and December 7th when the game launches, I’ll be posting a new “Scott’s Thoughts” blog post. You’ll be able to read the whole series here.
One of my favorite things to do is watch a Smash Direct, then go to YouTube and find a Nintendo store crowd reaction clip. Smash fans are packed like sardines in front of a big screen, waiting with baited breath for new announcements. As soon as a sliver of a new character appears on screen, they jump up and down, flailing their arms like their favorite sports team just won.
And in a sense—they did! I’ve been at Smash tournaments where competitors and spectators alike say “these are my sports.” Whether you’re rooting for Zero to win Evo, or cheering on Nintendo as they regain ground in the console wars, every Super Smash Bros. announcement feels like a victory for your home team.
Nintendo Switch owners were treated to quite the surprise in March, while watching a regular quarterly Nintendo Direct. That’s when a Splatoon 2 announcement ended and the Inklings retook center stage for the shocking reveal of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, unveiled for the first time, and coming out in 2018 no less!
Ever since, we’ve been getting drip-fed information from Sakurai and his development team, with the occasional flood of information that accompanies each character reveal!
Better yet, the hype cycle doesn’t come to a screeching halt on launch day, because this Ultimate entry in the series will continue development through February of 2020! We can look forward to seeing that mysterious Smash orb logo alight into flames in many Nintendo Directs over the next 16 months. And you can bet that the Nintendo NY crowd will be there to jump up and down, and express how we are all feeling!
Where is your hype meter sitting at? Let me know in the comments!
Epic Games is releasing Fortnite on Nintendo Switch… PHYSICALLY! For $30. As if having a custom console bundle with Nintendo for the holidays was not enough, they feel the need to get on even more store shelves. This one doesn’t quite add up, especially for the consumer!
“Exit the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Hollow Knight is a beautifully atmospheric, yet incredibly challenging platformer. It debuted on Switch a few months ago, but it’s still charming any player brave enough to pick it up. Simeon and Scott take the game for a spin and give their impressions!
“Exit the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
There are only a few months left in the year, but all the best games are coming out in October! Scott ranks his top 5 most anticipated Nintendo Switch games for the remainder of 2018.
“Exit the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Nintendo revealed several 2018 games, as well as made announcements for 2019! Animal Crossing? Luigi’s Mansion? Who would have made those predictions?!
“Exit the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Scott’s not the BEST Mega Man player, but he’s not the worst either! In this video, follow along as he tackles the Block Man stage from Mega Man 11, launching October 2018.
“Exit the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Flipping Death is a very funny game developed by Zoink and published on Nintendo Switch. It looks like a platformer or side-scrolling adventure, but you should think of it more like a point-and-click puzzle game. It’s definitely story-driven; whether you’re watching cutscenes, hearing a recap during loading screens, or experiencing characters bantering back-and-forth during gameplay, the story is always advancing and the world is being built. It starts with the sudden demise of Penny Doewood, who enters the afterlife and is promptly put on substitute reaper duty for Death himself, who wants to take a vacation to the moon. You may have already gathered that Flipping Death is quite the quirky title, and it’s very charming and entertaining as a result.
The entire game is voice-acted, and skillfully so. This is a bonus that might come unexpected to the average fan of Nintendo games. The writing is top-notch, and Flipping Death’s greatest boast is its impeccable humor and timing. Simeon and I have never laughed out loud so much from a video game! You may be tempted to feel impatient as you can read the captions in half the time it takes the voice actors to deliver their lines, but the wait is worth it.
Another plus in the presentation department are the graphics. Zoink chose a really unique art style, which is memorable and looks beautiful on the Switch. One thing I didn’t like as much was the music—sure it fit the game, but there were so few compositions that the soundtrack grew repetitive. Something else to watch out for are the long loading screens in Flipping Death. A narrator will meander through a funny recap of the previous chapter, which makes it bearable, but you’ll want to try to finish one of the game’s eight chapters in a single sitting so you don’t have to endure the same loading screen a second time.
The gameplay is unique, in that you can gather souls as currency and spend them to possess bodies of the living, who inhabit a mirror version of the world. It’s always interesting to try out all the different characters, find out what their move is, and use them to solve puzzles or just fling them around. There’s a great variety of characters who become “playable” in this way, each with their own special twists and inner-dialogue.
Sadly, controls are sub-optimal. Sometimes, Flipping Death doesn’t feel like it was made with the Switch in mind; using Death’s scythe to teleport was a good mechanic idea, but never feels quite natural as you have to use the right stick at the same time as face-buttons and trigger buttons. Some things aren’t consistent between characters (like holding a button to jump). However, It’s nice that the developers included some touch-screen functionality, which makes using the wide map easier.
The Missions and challenges provide a great variety of things to do. There are also plenty of side-quests in each chapter to keep completionists busy. If you get stuck, there’s a hint system readily available which shows you what needs to happen, but not always how. It’s a good balance of negating frustration without making things too easy.
Flipping Death is an appropriate length, which throws a lot of different ideas at you, but doesn’t get redundant or overstay its welcome. For a second play-through, it may be fun to come back to after several years, but hearing the jokes for the first time is the main reason to play. You could also beat the main story, then go back just to clean up sidequests which can be pretty entertaining, especially when you’re tasked with possessing an undead lama and spitting on everyone.
Overall, this game really is funny. Not just during story segments either, but the way characters move, interact, and the things you can do with them. I did experience a bug that made me lose all progress while reviewing the game. Thankfully it was in chapter 1, and the devs were aware and already working on it. This game is one of a kind, and is enjoyable for the story and humor alone. Considering everything, Two Button Crew scores Flipping Death a 7.25 out of 10.
Simeon absolutely REFUSED to play TumbleSeed vs. mode with Scott… until the Patrons voted it into the Live Show! And what do you know, it actually ended up being a lot closer than he thought…
“Exit the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Some big expansions are coming to Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove! Namely, the King of Cards campaign (with card game bonus mode) and Shovel Knight Showdown. The latter is a Smash Bros. like party fighter where you pick from the large cast of Shovel Knight characters and battle it out for gems and K.O.s. It’s a great time, so enjoy the footage and our impressions!
“Exit the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
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/
