Is it redundant for me to talk about the mechanics
of a game when there’s been a version of it out for nearly two months before
this point? Yes, of course. But let’s go ahead and do it anyway,
because…uh…holiday filler?
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Let’s do it!
--So today, let’s talk about Smash 4’s mechanics -- because it looks like there are a number of
under-the-hood things that have shifted around.
--One of the gameplay changes is that you have to
be a lot more wary about ledges. It used
to be that in Brawl (and likely the
other ones), you could drop down onto a ledge and use the invincibility frames
to make it impossible for your opponent to get back on. That’s no longer the case here, because the 2nd
person going for the ledge will bump off the 1st, especially if
he/she has used up their invincibility frames beforehand. It’s the sort of thing designed to promote
fair play -- or at least as close to “fair” as Smash can get.
--There’s a new effect where a vapor trail follows
you after a sufficiently-powerful launch, and likewise a burst of energy around
you when you score a KO. Since they’re
color-coordinated to match the players, it’s the sort of thing designed to tell
every player who launched who, and who got the point for what (assuming they
know what the effects stand for). But
there’s an underlying, almost-psychological use for it: if you get knocked
around by someone, then you know exactly who
was responsible. In other words, you can
plan your revenge the very second you set your feet on solid ground.
--It’s been said that this game is a balance in
speed between the madcap Melee and
the floaty Brawl, and I can believe
that. I can feel the difference between
this game and the last, and by the looks of things? I’ll probably have to unlearn everything I’ve
learned from Brawl. Or most of it, at least; this is a different
game, and unlike last time where you could do all right just by knowing a
couple of ins and outs of any random character, I get the feeling that you NEED
to know what you’re doing to get a handle on both the physics and the
combat. Good thing every newcomer is
almost as esoteric as a BlazBlue fighter!
--I’m working under the assumption that
off-the-ledge shenanigans are more important than ever in this game. Granted it won’t take the place of grounded
battles, but in a lot of instances (unless you’re playing Little Mac) it’s more
than possible to get back on solid ground.
Going for the kill with a spike or an aerial smack seems like way to go
to ensure a swift end to a fight/enemy.
Just look at Wii Fit Trainer -- two projectiles to snipe from the edge,
and at least three moves she can use
to spike. It hardly seems
coincidental.
--Final Smashes have been weakened across the
board. There are still some with plenty
of power (Ganondorf’s, as expected), but I can remember a time when they almost
guaranteed sixty damage in one go. Now
they average at about forty. Still, if
you can hit a softened-up enemy with one, you can still get some big
scores. As always, just make sure you
get the Smash Ball before your opponents do.
--They changed the sound effects again, with the
most common being a heavy thumping sound.
It certainly drives home the brutal hits that some of these guys are
throwing out, but there are plenty of others.
Zelda’s attacks sound more magical than before, to the point where they
wouldn’t be out of place in a Disney movie.
--I’m a little disappointed that, even if there
are a ton of new songs in this game (The Wonderful 101’s final
boss theme is in this GAME! OHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!), most of the
victory themes are carryovers from Brawl. The new ones are…okay? Shulk’s victory theme is
a good example. I appreciate that it
uses the song as a base, but given
that the song is already in the game,
his victory theme is a watered-down version.
--Why yes, this IS a thinly-veiled excuse to post the song.
--I’m not the type to go “NO ITEMS EVER” when it
comes to Smash, but I’m under the
impression that the game (by default) has items set on high during multiplayer
matches. I need to check to make sure,
because if it IS on medium, then the ratio of item appearance is shockingly high. Since I don’t know all of the new items
intimately yet -- and even then, gotten used to the redesigns of some of the
old ones -- it can make control of the match significantly harder. Or to put it in harsher terms, they can get
to be a serious hassle.
--It’s not as big a problem as it sounds…unless,
of course, you go to certain levels. The
new Pokémon and Star Fox stages are major offenders; they’re practically nothing
BUT hazards, what with everything going on in them. So when you take four characters and put them
in one of those stages, combine that with plenty of items, on top of Assist
Trophies regularly going active, on top of Pokémon regularly going active,
you’re more likely to fight entropy than one another.
--If you’re one of those players, then you can axe stage hazards altogether ant make
any stage a flat platform. A useful, if
extreme option, but it’s still appreciable.
That said, they can actually prove MORE chaotic; if you have four people
on the map -- the small map -- then
the chaos ends up getting a focal point.
That focal point would be the entirety of the stage.
I think I’m going to cut this post short for
now. What comes next? We’ll see.
I’ll probably go through some of the new modes. Or failing that, some of the changes to the veteran
fighters. Or maybe I’ll do something
really crazy and talk about both at once!
Yep. And
I’ll do it in only seven thousand words.
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