We have a batch of great new impressions for Super Smash Bros 4 culled from fans.
First off is this roundup from one player, who managed to play several characters, and says he believes the roster is well balanced. We’ll go through his impressions of each character he tried below:
- Mario is really easy to use and pick up and play. His fireball is a powerful move and this time, his aerials have zero lag.
- Bowser is highly improved, with faster attacks and better moves. His weight being heavy, he can also take more damage, and more easily KO other characters.
- Rosalina & Luma have good aerial attacks but otherwise appear average. However, our source believes their power has not yet been fully discovered and unleashed.
- Donkey Kong has received small, but meaningful improvements, in his general speed, as well as his dash attack.
- Samus is a formidable opponent, with a more powerful charge shot, and faster bomb deployments. Her screwattack is not an instant KO but is a better move than before.
- Zero Suit Samus is even more powerful, with improved up and down specials. Our source argues that she still isn’t unreasonably more powerful than everyone else.
- Link has become a credible threat, with more weight and a better up special ensuring he won’t fall off edges as easily as before. Players can focus on his formidable attacks to take others out.
- Zelda, on the other hand, seems to have been depowered, with less damage and knockback. She may have been a casualty of balance changes, but this may be better for the game overall.
- Villager is a formidable opponent, with powerful specials and projectiles and the ability to combo out of down throws.
- Pit is mostly the same as in Brawl, lacking gliding and arrows that don’t last as long. He remains a strong opponent thanks to his range and aerials.
- Kirby has been depowered somewhat, but remains a strong character, with throws that can still KO.
- Fox has also been depowered but remains a solid choice for players.
- Marth is substantially the same as before, and may benefit from Smash 4’s emphasis on the ground game.
- Greninja has a lot of strengths, which compensate for his slow Smash attacks. He seems really good on the surface, but may not be any better than Pit.
- Pikachu is a really powerful character now, so it’s good that his down Smash can still be escaped with an SDI.
- Olimar is better off with the changes to how he uses Pikmin, since it means he is no longer forced to use a nearby Pikmin. His attack range has been lowered but he remains a sold contender.
- Little Mac packs a lot of power and has super armor. His height is a liability, esp when others use platform shenanigans, but he has the tools to be a threat nonetheless.
- Wii Fit Trainer’s unconventionality means she was obtuse to figure out, but many believe she has potential to be a good fighter.
- Mega Man is, surprisingly, not that good, with really slow projectiles. He does have good aerials, and in Capcom fashion, his projectiles are useful at controlling space.
- Sonic is much improved, with multihit attacks causing more damage this time around.
Fans have also found a new advanced movement technique, that seems poised to replace wavedashing as a core movement technique. No, really.
The technique is tentatively called turnaround cancelling, with other proposed names as pivot cancelling or turndashing. Basically, fans have found that you can cancel your turnaround, which creates unintended effects to certain moves that can be exploited.
For example, let’s say you are playing Mario and you’re dashing towards the right. If you turnaround cancel and input for a fireball, what happens is Mario pivots while he continues to slide to the right, and his fireball moves to the right.
This movement can effectively replace wavedashing, as both a form of locomotion, and an advanced technique that changes how moves operate.
Knowing all this, it’s important to remember that the game isn’t done yet, so Sakurai may already be acting to change some or all of these things now. Of course, none of that detracts from how amazing it is that we know all this.
Super Smash Bros. 4 is coming to the 3DS October 7 and to the Wii U this holiday season.
