Seven Features I Want in Super Smash Bros. Switch

FALCON-Pinch me

Hey guys, I just returned home last night from a very relaxing vacation. Between school and sickness I was really stressed out, so being able to step back from everything for a few weeks and just recharge for a bit was great. I'm back in action, and full of great post ideas that will be hitting your computer screen in the coming weeks. Next week, I'll be taking a deep dive into Kirby: Star Allies, a game I've been playing quite a bit over the last few days. Keep an eye out for that!  I did not plan on having anything up this weekend. I was just focusing on getting away for a bit and wasn't going to do any writing. I was planning on picking things back up this week. But, Nintendo just had to present a Direct. 

       Some things just force you to change your plans. Posts were going to return to Penguins With Capes next week. But, Nintendo came out swinging during the last Direct. Much like John Wick, I have no choice but to return and do what needs to be done. Only, Nintendo didn't kill my dog, they announced Super Smash Bros. Switch currently slated for a 2018 release. There's one thing you need to understand: I'm hyped out of my mind. Yea, there are a lot of games I get excited for, but there are few that bring me legitimate hype.  Frankly, I think the Direct as a whole was somewhat lacking. All you need to know is that I was walking away from the show with some great looking games, but an overall feeling of bleh. Too many ports. So, when Mr. Koizumi said there was one more thing, I got excited.

       I fully expected Super Mario Odyssey DLC. But, then the trailer started and I knew right away I was looking at Smash, I just didn't want to admit it to myself until we saw that logo. At that point, I snapped. Now, I'm not one of these ridiculous YouTube personalities who'll implode upon a game's announcement, but I came close last night. Something halfway between a squeal and a less embarrassing sound escaped my agape mouth as my gum fell right out onto my bed. I did some kind of peculiar twisting motion that resulted in my shirt being halfway off my body as one thought formed in my head: Super Smash Bros. is coming to the Switch this year! I can count on one hand the number of times a video game has gotten me this excited, so I need to talk about it. But first, we need to talk about that trailer.

       The Smash Ball in the Inkling's eye is one of the most badass ways a game has ever been announced. Nintendo has gotten very good at creating trailers as of late; from Zelda story trailer, to the Mario reveal trailer, to now Smash, Nintendo is the king of hype. The Inkling misdirect went on just long enough to make you second-guess what was happening, and the fade in of the logo was just about perfect. The silhouettes of Mario and (Champion!) Link also exuded that too-cool-for-school attitude that made Brawl so enjoyable, and I hope that transfers into the final game as well. Between the great trailer, and the limited pre-release material, there is enough mystery to keep me guessing. But there are just enough clues to answer the million dollar question: Is it a port?

Nope. 

       It was always fairly evident to me that this is a new game, but there were a lot of people last night who disagreed with me. I think that the trailer itself is enough of an indication; keep in mind that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was formally announced off-camera in a press release. The Mario Kart series has sold, life to date, over 120 million units which puts Super Smash Bros.'s 40+ million, a still mind boggling number, to shame. If Mario Kart couldn't get its port announced formally in a presentation, a Smash 4 Deluxe wouldn't get the fanfare that it received last night. Past that, the music in the background is an all new track, the copyright date suggests a brand-new game, Bandai Namco isn't credited as a developer, the logo is brand new, the game only has a tentative title, and Sakurai himself has stated that the game is in its early phases and his team is working day in and day out on the title. That doesn't sound much like a port to me.

       That begs the question: Is this the full sequel that we all want, or is it a new version, more akin to the differences between the 3DS and Wii U versions of Smash Bros? I think the most reasonable conclusion is that this new Smash Bros. game will build on the foundation that was laid by Super Smash Bros. Wii U, re-using the same engine, keeping much of that game's roster, and building upon it with new characters, stages and modes. That would explain the shortened development time, and considering how well regarded the engine of Smash Wii U is, I certainly wouldn't mind the past game being used as the foundation here. Essentially, the idea is to take the Splatoon 2 route with this sequel, but closer in scope to the version 3.0 Splatoon 2, not the launch version. Likewise, I do think that we'll see Smash Switch turn into a platform, with new stages and characters launching throughout the life cycle of the Switch. While I think that is what will happen, I have a few hopes for this new entry that are a bit farfetched, but still grounded in some form of reality.

Update the Original 12 Fighters

This is one thing that I really want to see, and it looks as though we will.The canary in the coal mine, in my opinion, is the reveal of Champion Link. Now, it is fully possible that this is merely an alternate costume, but I doubt it. I believe that this is a completely new version of Link, equipped with a new move set. Why else would he be prominently featured in the reveal trailer? A simple cosmetic change wouldn't warrant a spotlight. So, under that assumption, I do believe that Cappy is under Mario's hat, a character featured just as heavily as Link.  If Sakurai is willing to go in and modify Link, I very much doubt that he'd stop there. To various extents, I think these staple Nintendo characters will change to better fit their modern appearances. For the most part, the original 12 fighters have stayed the same since the Nintendo 64 iteration of Smash, whereas these characters have drastically changed in their respective franchises. Mario and Link are due for total redesigns, but almost every other character, with the exception of Ness, could be modified in various ways to better represent their modern forms.

Bring Back the Story Mode

I hesitate to ask for another Subspace Emissary. I've been replaying this mode with my aunt the past few weeks, and this adventure does not hold up. Subspace is, dare I say, a mess. The stages, enemies, and music are very uninspired, and Brawl's movement is not good enough for a side-scrolling platformer/beat 'em-up hybrid. Then, couple all of that with the literally nonsensical story, and the one redeeming quality is getting to see Fox and Diddy Kong beat on Rayquaza. Far from an ideal mode. However, that doesn't mean Sakurai shouldn't try again, because a well executed story mode in Smash Switch would be fantastic. Take a page out of Injustice 2's playbook: Write a simple, yet engaging story, and intersperse beautiful cutscenes (Which SORA already has down!) between traditional fights. It could be as succinct as Bowser, King Dedede, and King K Rool(?) teaming up alongside shadow versions of our heroes to try and enslave the Nintendo Universe. Keep the story simple, keep the Smash Bros. gameplay (No platforming, please), and keep the fantastic cutscences that made Subspace somewhat bearable to sit through.

Rescue Smash Run

When it comes to the 3DS iteration of Super Smash Bros, that game had one crowning achievement: Smash Run. I must've spent ten hours on this mode alone: it is a perfect blending of single player adventuring and multiplayer fun. It does have some issues, like the inability to interact with your opponents during the opening phase, but those could be easily ironed out. Some people think that this game mode wouldn't translate to a TV screen, due to the fact that on the 3DS everyone could be at totally different places on the map, but I have a workaround. use the eight player Smash maps for local-multiplayer Smash Run. Maps like The Great Cave Offensive are absolutely massive, which would allow for some exploration and NPC fighting, but just confined enough to allow for player-on-player confrontation. Sakurai could even design new maps in that same size to really flesh out Smash Run in comparison to the one map iteration on 3DS.

Add QBBY!

No self-respecting Nintendo blogger would be caught dead making a Smash Switch wish list without including their personal picks for newcomers to the game. However, for once I'm ahead of the curve because I talked about this last year when Smash Switch was just a rumor. I'll include a link to that post at the end of this one, in case you're interested to know who I want to see in the next title. Since then, I've developed an interest in a certain HAL character; one that my friends refuse to acknowledge as a legitimate contender: BOXBOY!'s star QBBY. One of Nintendo's most prolific digital-only ventures is certainly the string of puzzle series on the 3DS eShop, and BOXBOY! is one of the most recognizable. And, like Duck Hunt Dog and ROB, QBBY would be one of those super unique, off the wall characters that would catch the community totally off guard. He even has an amiibo!

Expand the Trophy System

One of my favorite aspects of Super Smash Bros. Wii U was collecting trophies. I dabbled in trophy collecting in Brawl, but the Wii U iteration is where I really got bit by the bug. However, while I really loved checking the shop and doing Trophy Rush, I wish there was a bit more going on. Perhaps in Smash Switch duplicate trophies (or even singles, if you're bold enough) could be wagered against players online, with the winner takes the trophies that their opponent puts up. This would be a fun way to work towards a more complete trophy list without having to endlessly grind for those last couple characters. Trophy Rush is fun, but I can only get so many duplicates before I start pulling my hair out. 

Add a Hazard Toggle

Want a nice Metroid stage? Play on Pyrosphere. Want a nice stage to be ruined when your sister gets uncharacteristically angry as Ridley kills her over and over? Play on Pyrosphere. Bottom line, there are so many great, casual stages that are squandered by their overbearing stage hazards, and being able to turn them off would be awesome. 

Give Us a New Way to Play

I wouldn't call myself particularly competitive when it comes to Smash. I'd call myself somewhat skilled with certain characters, such as King Dedede. I know some character-specific techniques, I'm all right at movement, and I can think strategically. With my mains, level 9 CPUs aren't too much of a challenge, and I can hold my own online. However, you'll never see me counting frames or using the myriad of advanced lingo that the truly competitive players use. If anything, I'd consider myself a "serious casual player". I have the most fun playing with any stage, and the majority of the items on. But, after years of playing time, stock, and coin matches, I'm ready to spice things up. There are some staple game-types that Smash Bros has yet to emulate, such as the tag-team mode, but I'd like something more exotic. Something along the lines of Rayman Legend's Kung Foot mode would be very fun, and would offer a wholly new way to play Smash Bros. At the end of the day, all the modes in Smash Bros, essentially play the same, just with different modifiers. Something fully new would be a great addition, and would give my friends and I something to play when we need a change of pace. 

       There you have it, seven things I want to see in Super Smash Bros. Switch. I tried to keep my hopes realistic, although if we see a more standard Smash experience due to the shortened development time, I won't be upset. Just the fact that, by the end of the year, we'll be playing a brand new Smash title is exciting enough. And, I really do think that the game will hit in 2018. Last year showed us a more confident and realistic Nintendo that hit all of their projected release dates. The fact that Nintendo didn't put a release date on Metroid Prime 4 or Pokemon tells me that we've entered an era in which the big N isn't going to just put a temporary release date on a game and then delay it to no end. I'm more inclined than ever to actually believe Nintendo when they say a game is coming out in 2018. Bottom line: I think this year just might be turning around.