Super Smash Bros. on the 3DS: Gameplay, Features, and Characters

Super Smash Bros. 3D

Many people want SSB on a Nintendo handheld but are divided on whether it could be done well. I’m in the section that wants it and thinks that it can be done correctly. In this post I’m going to explain to you how I would make a SSB game on the 3DS work and play correctly. I’ll then go into detail on the features, characters, and stages I would want in such a game.


How It Would Play:

• In-Game:

The reason people are afraid of a SSB game on the 3DS is because of the screen size. There’s a lot of action going on and the stages are huge. That doesn’t even include item drops, where the final smash would appear, and assist characters.  I understand these concerns but there are ways to make it work.
To do so would utilize both screens on the 3DS. The top screen would be where most of the action takes place. Instead of the top screen showing a static camera shot of the entire stage, it would be a slightly zoomed in perspective on your character. It would leave enough real-estate to see characters approaching from any side. This way your character isn’t the size of a pin and impossible to see. It allows you to know where you are and still have some breathing room.

The bottom screen would have a map of the stage with markers tracking all four players. It would also display alerts for when items would drop or when the final smash lands.

I do think that assist characters should be left out of this iteration. I can’t imagine the 3DS having the power to handle them along with everything else at the same time. It would also take up a lot of screen space and confuse everyone playing. It would be much cleaner without them.

The analog circle is perfect for movement and the many face buttons would continue to be used as the attack buttons/jump buttons. The L and R buttons would remain as shield buttons.

• Character Selection:

During game set up the touch screen would be where the players would choose their characters and set up what items will be used. The top screen will display the four chosen characters and what teams they’re on.

Features:

• Multiple Modes:

Naturally one of the coolest things about Smash Bros is the amount of modes in the game. Besides standard versus there’s a tournament mode and a lot of variations on standard versus. Modes like stamina mode or lightning mode, etc would definitely have to make a return.
I wouldn’t even mind seeing some new modes. Maybe team tag mode set up very much like an MvC3 game but with only two characters (and no assists). It’d be a nice experiment in my opinion. I would also love to see a “big head mode”, but that’s the nostalgia talking.

• More Mini Games:

Currently there are only three “mini-games” in the SSB series. There is the Home Run Contest, Target Breaker, and 100 Man Melee (and assorted numberings). These games are fun and all but why not add more? Also, let’s give Home Run Contest a purpose shall we? There’s has never been any reason to hit that sandbag as far as possible except to brag to your friends. It should be tied to a character unlock or something useful.

• No More Story Mode:

That Subspace Emissary mode was easily the mode confusing and boring thing I’ve ever had to do in a SSB game. It was very long and not a whole lot of fun to play. The bosses were kind of cool and some of the stages were actually fun but it didn’t play very much like a SSB game. It also took all the fun out of unlocking all the characters and sort of just handed them to you as you played, with one or two exceptions of actually having to seek them out.

• The Return of Arcade Mode:

What I really want is the return of standard arcade mode. Give me nine (or even more) stages with littered with bosses and random encounters (like team battles or giant enemies). Sure, this was included in the last SSB game, but it felt like an afterthought and unimportant compared to Subspace Emissary mode.

A co-op mode would be fun as well. It would have to be limited to two players so there’s still room for the actual enemies. Just amp up the difficulty of the opponents and everything is balanced. This way there are more options for people who want to play together, but don’t want to just play a simple versus match.

• More Boss Battles:

Speaking of arcade mode, the coolest part was fighting the exclusive boss characters that you could see in the rest of the game. I’d like to see more bosses with different variations of them in arcade mode.

• Street Pass:

Super Street Fighter IV 3D is already using the street pass feature for their figurine battle. Winning gets you more coins which you can use to purchase better figurines and in game art (along with other bonus content I’m sure). I would want SSB 3D to do the same thing.
You’d select one character that your 3DS would use during a street pass battle. Winning would gain you coins that could be used to level your figurine or buy bonus content. This bonus content would include hidden stages or characters that you could alternatively unlock through normal play if you wanted to.

• Online Play:

This one is pretty simple. The ability to play with friends over the internet or locally is critical to a game like Super Smash Bros. All the fun lies in unlocking those characters, and being able to use them while playing with your friends. There’s little to no point in doing it on your own.
I would also like to see the game utilize the DS Download Play like Street Fighter does. It could transfer the game to those who don’t own it and play them online. Then if the host drops, the connection between the other players will remain intact, allowing them to continue playing.

• Connectivity with the Wii 2:

Assuming the Wii’s successor comes out while the 3DS is still relevant, it would be nice to see some interplay between the two systems. Some transfer of characters or stages would be nice. Maybe you could transfer stage music as well? There’s a lot of room for excellent ideas here. Perhaps even using the 3DS as your controller?

• Downloadable Content:

Nothing would make people happier between SSB releases than if Nintendo would put out a few new stages or characters for people to download. All people would need to do is hook up their 3DS to the new Wii console and download them to their system. This would keep people playing the game for even longer and keep things fresh while they do so.

The Characters, Items, and Stages:


It’s time for the moment you’ve all been waiting for. The next three sections will go on about the items I either want in the game or taken out, the stages the game should include, and of course the characters that should be playable.

• Items:

There are fifty-two items in Super Smash Bros Brawl. Like I said, the assist trophies should be taken out because I doubt the system would be able to handle so much on screen at once. Other items are either pointless (pitfall, smoke bombs?) or just repeats of other items (do we really need two hammers?). Otherwise I think the rest of the items are fine. I don’t think any more of them needed to be added to the game.

• Stages:

Many of the stages in SSBB are fun to play. There are a few though, such as Pictochat or Flat Zone that aren’t very fun to play and should either be revamped or taken out completely. I do hope they’ll continue to add classic stages from the older games back into further iterations of Super Smash Bros.

• Characters:

Last, but certainly not least, are the characters. Before I begin, here is a quick rundown of all the characters included in Super Smash Bros Brawl.

Bowser│Captain Falcon│Diddy Kong│Donkey Kong│Falco│Fox│Ganondorf│Ice Climbers│Ike│Jigglypuff│King Dedede│Kirby│Link│Lucario│Lucas│Luigi│Mario│Marth│Meta Knight│Mr. Game & Watch│Ness│Olimar│Peach│Pikachu│Pit│Pokémon Trainer│R.O.B.│Samus│Snake│Sonic│Toon Link│Wario│Wolf│Yoshi│Zelda/Sheik

The characters in a Super Smash Bros game are arguably the most important aspect. After all, these characters are what players are going to be using for many years after the game’s release.

There are many characters on this list that I would love to have removed. I feel that many are clones and others aren’t very fun to play. I do know though that a single subtraction to this list and nearly every Smash Bros player would go bonkers. Even so, the bolded characters are the ones I would remove if I had the power to.

Now, I will talk about the changes I want made to some of the characters and what characters I would like added to the list.

Toon Link/Young Link


I’m not a fan of Toon Link. I think he’s a redone version of Young Link and even less fun to play as. What’s surprising to me is that Young Link is ripe with the potential to become the most fun and diverse character. I am of course referring to Majora’s Mask. In Majora’s Mask there are plenty of – well – masks that Link uses to transform into various beasts and help him get places.

How badass would it be to play as Fierce Deity Link?

 The three masks I see being used in the game would be the Goron mask, the Zora mask, and of course, the Fierce Deity Mask. Link would transform into these much like Zelda transforms into Sheik or Pokémon Trainer switches Pokémon. This would offer various styles of play, as each mask would have its own move set and be powerful in different ways. The one exception would be the Fierce Deity Mask, which would make more sense as a final smash.

Mario

Rainbow Suit FTW!

Mario has had very little changed in his move set. I would like to see some of the suit additions from SMG make into his character’s move set in Super Smash Bros. The cloud suit could help him jump higher; he could burrow through the stage with the drill suit, and the rainbow suit could be his final smash.

Alucard



For many years the Castlevania franchise was one of the prides of Nintendo. It would only make sense to include their staple character in the next Super Smash game.

He'd be one of the more epic additions to the SSB roster, don't you think?

 Alucard would play as a fast character with decent range. I imagine as a combination of Marth and Ike. He’d have Marth’s speed and Ike’s range. His attacks would have to be subdued though, so he isn’t too powerful.

Isaac

There's also room for more classic Nintendo characters, right?

The Golden Sun franchise is fairly new compared to most Nintendo franchises, but it certainly deserves to shine just as much. I know most of the characters here have swords, and so to make Isaac a little different his main attack should focus mostly on his magical abilities. His final smash would involve the ability to trap a single player in vines and attack them continually.

Mega Man

The people want Mega Man! So where is he?

No third-party character aside from Sonic the hedgehog has been asked for more.  Mega Man seems like an easy fit too. He’d play more or less like Samus, utilizing his mega buster. He’d be faster than Samus, but have less attack strength. His final smash would be a giant laser attack or something similar.

Ryu

HADOKEN!

In my opinion, nobody fits the Super Smash series better than Ryu. His moves are very simply and could translate very easily into the playing style of SSB. His hadoken gives him ranged (but limited) attack capacities and his final smash would involve a brief transformation into Evil Ryu, heightening his attack and speed.

And that’s the end! I hope you all have enjoyed reading this. I would also like to hear your thoughts on this piece. Do you have a wish list of characters or features you’d like added to the new Super Smash game?

If you have any constructive feedback on my writing, please feel free to leave that here as well. I’m always looking for ways to improve!