Ryu and Roy Join The Super Smash Bros. Fracas

Super Smash Bros. is getting another pair of combatants in the form of Ryu from Street Fighter and Roy from Fire Emblem. The news of the pairs addition had been leaked yesterday after the update was mistakenly made available and introduction videos were mined out of the information. This also stands in line with a leak in April after theme songs were found in a 3DS update to Super Smash Bros. Ryu and Roy are available now in the form of DLC for both the Wii U and 3DS versions of the game.

Nintendo made the announcement as part of a Super Smash Bros. related video that they uploaded as part of their constant stream of E3 related coverage. Ryu is making his Smash debut while Roy is returning after his lone appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Ryu’s moveset will be updated to the more simplistic Smash controls and he will surely have his Hadoken and Shoryuken in his arsenal. Roy’s flame sword will return as he joins the crowded sword-based fighters of the Fire Emblem series.

Ryu will also be receiving a Smash remixed version of his classic Suzaku Castle stage along with remixed music based on his theme as well as the theme of his lifelong friend and rival Ken.

The update also includes a slew of costumes to the customizable Mii Fighters including Mega Man, Isabelle from Animal Crossing, Splatoon’s Inklings and Heihachi Mishima from Tekken.

Roy and the previously announced Lucas are available now for $3.99 each or for $4.99 each for versions on both the Wii U and 3DS. Ryu will be packaged with his Suzaku Castle stage and will be priced at $5.99 for a single version or $6.99 for both versions.

No Smash Bros. DLC in works after Mewtwo

When Nintendo announced that Mewtwo would be making his return to Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U in the form of a downloadable character, the internet exploded with excitement. Not only would a longtime favorite character and marquee Pokemon be back after skipping Brawl, Mewtwo’s addition hinted at Nintendo experimenting with additional characters.

Sadly, this does not appear to be the case.

“I understand that DLC could add a lot to the appeal of Smash Bros., and I appreciate that a major part of the excitement for these games come from which characters will appear in the roster, so I think fans could really enjoy DLC that could keep this excitement going. However, I think there might be criticism that we are cutting up content to sell characters one by one, or that we are adding things later that should have been there from the start.

…what I can say now about paid DLC is that we aren’t working on anything at the moment. We’ve put all our efforts into making the actual game. Creating DLC would involve large additional costs and require the involvement of a lot of people.”

Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai explained to several outlets that Mewtwo represented an experiment for Nintendo to gain a foothold in content distribution. He elaborated saying that while understands the excitement and fervor around an iconic characters inclusion via DLC, he does not want to cheapen the Smash Bros. experience by making players feel like he and his team are holding content back. He concluded by stating that there are currently no paid DLC projects in the works as they would require more manpower and more expenses that would detract from their ability to work on Smash Bros. as it exists currently.

It would be absolutely unfortunate if Nintendo misses out on the opportunity to add some additional characters via DLC. I understand their classic notion of releasing games whole and as complete experiences, but DLC, when handled properly can be a fantastic way to augment and extend game’s life.

Now to think that Nintendo has simply nixed the idea of DLC for Super Smash Bros. is absolutely crazy. The company only last week released the first Mario Kart 8 DLC package, which sold very well. They’d be just sitting on untapped revenue if they refused to develop additional DLC content. Knowing Nintendo, they’ve already planned out their strategy for any DLC and have Sakurai on a megaphone stating that there are no planned additions after Mewtwo. I think Nintendo already has the plan, they just need the budget to go through with the DLC development. So long as Smash Bros. sells well, there’s no reason for Nintendo to not take an aggressive strategy with future DLC releases.

Nintendo might be new to this DLC game, but they’ve already shown the aptitude for the practice. I think that they will come around and ultimately be willing to develop some more characters for any DLC.

Videogamer – Super Smash Bros.’ Sakurai on Reggie, patch support & the problem with leaderboards

Worrying About Nintendo’s Amiibo

The first wave of Nintendo’s toy-to-game Amiibo figures are set to launch this Friday, November 21.  Promising additional functionality between a selection of Nintendo games, the Amiibo figures are releasing alongside Nintendo’s big ticket entry this holiday (and largest supporter of Amiibo figures) Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

In concept, the idea of Nintendo creating a Skylanders / Disney Infinity themed figure sounds like an easy win. They have a huge library of games, some of the most iconic video game characters exclusive to their consoles and have always been at the forefront of innovation in world of gaming.

But I am extremely skeptical whether Amiibos will be a boon for Nintendo.

The Amiibos pair fairly well with Super Smash Bros., the main game that they were designed for. The game interacts with the figures by allowing the ability to train an AI controlled version of the character in game. A sort-of enhanced version of their new custom character feature, Amiibos supplement that by allowing for that created character to be modified, trained and stored on the Amiibo figure. This figure can then be taken to other consoles and used on the systems of friends.

Unfortunately, Super Smash Bros. is the only game that can store information on the Amiibos. Any other game that touts Amiibo functionality is merely recognizing the figure and unlocking in game items in a sort of physical DLC type of way. Sure you get a little something for your trouble, but not nearly to the extent that Super Smash Bros. receives. It is frustrating to think that Nintendo has these great little figures in their hands and all that they can muster up is a little support for a bonus feature in the main game, and bonus unlocks for other games.

But the worst part is that what everybody wants out of the Amiibos, a game much like Disney Infinity’s Toy Box feature, is something I fear will never happen. The Toy Box feature is a fantastic feature in Disney Infinity that allows for players to pop their Infinity figure onto the game’s base and every figure that they have can interact with each other in a sandbox environment in their game. You can have Donald Duck running around with Thor and Captain Jack Sparrow while Lightning McQueen is racing in the background.

The way Nintendo is handling Amiibos, we might never see that game. You see, for Infinity when you purchase a character in the store, you’re essentially adding it into your game. This would be the only way to get Stitch into your game, is to have the figure to place on the base. For Nintendo games, this isn’t the case. For Super Smash Bros., all the characters that have figures are already present in the game. You’re just paying for the ability to create the trained Amiibo custom character (and for a nice figure to put on your desk). Maybe one day Nintendo will consider using Amiibos as a form of physical DLC by creating a Solid Snake figure that will pop him (as rightly should be) back into Super Smash Bros.

Even worse is the idea that I sincerely doubt that Nintendo is remotely close to creating a Toy Box styled game. I mean you’re seriously talking about the company who, when working with Disney on Wreck-it-Ralph, was so hyper specific about Bowser’s cameo, that they complained about how he was holding his cup of coffee. They are a company that has been historically not particularly fond of user-created content and have never created a true sandbox style game.

Which is sad really. They have all the tools to do so. An amazing catalog of games and characters to choose from and certainly the development pedigree to create a fantastic playroom where all their characters can co-exist. It’s what all Nintendo fans want. It’s why Super Smash Bros. is so popular. Gamers want to settle those age old arguments of who would win in a fight, Mario or Link. It’s why the new DLC pack for Mario Kart 8 is such a big deal. Gamers want the freedom to play with their toys, as their imagination sees fit.

And for a company with such a history of embracing imaginative innovation as Nintendo, it truly would be a missed opportunity.

Marth! Marth! Marth!

Nintendo’s next installment of the always popular Super Smash Bros. is finally beginning to show some life in its roster. While most of the old stalwarts have been confirmed to many agreeing nods, the tertiary franchises haven’t been explored too much from the playable character pool. Already confirmed of fringe franchises have been the Wii Fit Trainer (with a potential bonus of the male trainer being added), the Animal Crossing Villager, Pikmin’s Captain Olimar and even Pit from Kid Icarus. Even Sega’s Sonic makes his return to fight alongside Capcom newcomer Megaman.

But the announcement I’ve been waiting for has always been the inclusion of Intelligent System’s Fire Emblem characters, and I’m happy to report that Marth will be returning for his third appearance in the free-for-all brawler. As the central figure in the original Fire Emblem, Marth has become a household name and helped spur the popularity of the franchise in the west, even earning a remake of his first game in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon.

But what I’m hoping is that Nintendo holds to tradition and gives Marth a worthy Fire Emblem opponent to square off against where past games have pit him against Roy (Melee) and Ike (Brawl). Odds are that Nintendo will choose Chrom, the protagonist of Fire Emblem: Awakening which not only was a success in their home territory of Japan, but was also the best selling Fire Emblem to date in North America. Although he won’t have the brute style that Ike seemed to possess, Chrom might be a perfect balance to Marth. So long as it isn’t a Ganondorf/Captain Falcon balance.

Who else are we looking forward to? The Odds of Snake coming back are looking slim as I doubt Nintendo would pony up to have him in once more, much to my disappointment. Captain Falcon is almost always a late addition but he’ll make it on sheer popularity alone. Star Fox’s Falco and Kirby’s Meta Knight should also make their returns, but I see less of a case for Wolf and King Deedeedee. I’d almost put money on Namco throwing a character in, maybe somebody like Mitsurugi from Soul Calibur or Heihachi from Tekken would be natural additions. Or they could even go old school and put Pacman in, so long as he isn’t bipedal.

SuperSmashBros.com – Marth