Hey, welcome back to another post on my newfound crack addiction.
I had a friend come over recently, and he asked me what I thought of Smash Bros. Ultimate. My answer, without hesitation: “It goes without saying, but this is the best Smash yet.” I didn’t think that was a controversial statement -- can’t imagine a lot of people disagreeing with me, though we’ll see what the verdict is a year out from release -- but naturally, my brother chimed in to say “Ehhhhhhhhhhh, I dunnoooooooooooo…” Naturally. Because naturally, he pines for the days of Melee. Except for that time when we played Melee again, and we all decided (in an unspoken decree) that that was a mistake.
Okay, sure, it’s not as if Melee is the worst or anything. But the game is old enough to drive now, and holding it in unrivaled esteem does it, the franchise, or us no favors. Even if you’re the type to uphold it for its gameplay/tournament merits, can we at least meet halfway and agree that Ultimate has the best visuals, presentation, sound design, and content thus far? Can we?
I bet we can. And with that out of the way, let’s talk about more Smash Ultimate stuff.
I’m still partial to “Bloody Tears”, but this’ll do in a pinch.
--Playing this game online reminded me of why I hate playing games online. Setting aside connection issues and lag (because nothing breaks your heart quite like having your 10-win streak in Street Fighter shattered because you ran into a flowchart Ryu from Brazil), sometimes the human intelligence behind your opponent -- as opposed to the CPU -- is…well…it’s not.
--That’s to be expected of every game, I suppose. Still, some of these online players can be ridiculously annoying on top of dumb. Having only briefly played Smash online in the previous game, I don’t have the full vaccination needed to understand attack patterns and strategy on an intimate level. So I guess Links and Belmonts want to do nothing more than throw out all their projectiles and grind opponents to death, huh? It makes sense for the Belmonts, somewhat, but come on. Link can do some big damage with his sword, so why not go for it?
--I would be more miffed about it, but Palutena is my main and she comes with a reflector (and a dash attack that beats out a lot of moves), so whatever. Keep throwing out Gordos, King Dedede player. It’ll work out super-well for you the 20th time.
--There’s a lot to gripe about in terms of online play, the connection status well among them. I’ve run into one borderline-unplayable match so far (and my opponent was gracious enough to suicide repeatedly and give me the win/points), while the rest have ranged from good-ish to not great. It won’t kill me, or you, to give the online suite a shot.
--That said, your foes can provide plenty of frustration if you let them. It seems like a good strategy -- which is one that can carry over to multiple fighting games -- is to find out what your opponent’s favorite/best/go-to tool is, and then find ways to take it away from them. In other words, make them afraid or unable to use it…and if they do continue to use it (and they will, because online play), then punish them until they lose. Part of that advantage-gaining process will come from experience, i.e. foresight you’ll gain from experience and character/match-up knowledge. Still, you should do what you can to figure out what your foe’s using, why, and how to counter it. The sooner you do, the faster you’ll win.
--Let me be clear, though. Just because online play has its frustrations doesn’t mean I’m not having fun, or that I’m not being rewarded for my efforts (such as they are for a paltry video game). That’s the thing about being an online warrior: there are more frustrations than there are people on Earth, but you always come back for another match despite the pain -- and often the defeats -- because of how much you want to fight. Evolve. And of course, win.
--Or maybe that’s just me projecting. I don’t know, I’m the sort that wants revenge instantly whenever I lose a match. Pointless grudges are my daily bread.
--Probably the biggest determinant of victory in Smash is how well you can control space. Navigating it (safely), controlling it, what have you; I imagine that guys like to use projectile specials so much because it’s the easier way to rack up damage without risking a big hit. As someone who eschews speed and mobility in nearly every game he plays, this is going to be a stumbling block I’ll have to bumble over. How do you make your approach? How do you command the neutral game? Again, it’ll depend on knowledge and experience -- especially knowing your character’s strengths and weaknesses -- so if you’re anything like me, there’ll be a lot of learning to do on the fly.
--I mean, in my defense, I did pretty well in a recent solo outing in the online space, soooooooooooooo…*casually toots horn*
--Playing doubles matches is going to take a different strategy, of course. Opponents are just as pragmatic -- if not more so -- than in solo battles; imagine having to break through an endless stream of projectiles, or a speedy foe who locks you in place so that the Charizard in the back can freely obliterate you with his Flare Blitz special. It might not be a bad idea to have one member of your team have a reflector on tap, like Zelda or Fox.
--We may have lost the stage builder and trophies going into Ultimate, but we got Spirits instead. And boy howdy, did we get some Spirits. There’s no getting around the fact that, yes, one of the game’s main draws -- and justification for thousands of hours playing -- is to collect all the JPEGs of official art that you can. Or PNGs, maybe. With wispy particle effects, because oooooooooooooh spooky, scary. Near as I can tell, you don’t even get blurbs about who or what these characters are. Hope you’re up to date on your Japan-only NES games!
--I joke, but I’ve already collected more than 600 Spirits. Why? Partly because crack addiction. Mostly, maybe. But that’s my aesthetic as a gamer. I don’t have the raw skill needed to crush my foes with superhuman reactions and dexterity; what I do specialize in is finding ways to use the tools given to me to my advantage. To make preparations to guarantee victory as soon as I step into a fight. Or -- and this is actually what I’d prefer -- to simply, utterly, decisively break the game.
--This is the truth about Spirits: thanks to them, it’s never been easier to break a game. And honestly, I kind of love that.
--For the uninitiated: you have a Primary Spirit that determines your stats, i.e. offense and defense. Then you have Support Spirits that give you perks mid-match. Some Spirits only have 1 Support slot; some Support Spirits take up a full 3 slots. Either way, the combination of two, three, or four Spirits in general means that you can power up your favorite fighter however you want -- once your collection is big enough, of course. The problem (if one could call it that) is that it takes very little for your power level to go haywire.
--You can get the Zero (Z-Buster) Spirit if you’re lucky. Level it up enough by feeding it snacks, and it can be enhanced into Zero (Z-Saber), a Primary Spirit with a passive ability that boosts weapon attacks and speed. Plus he’s got two slots for Supports, meaning that you can throw in Robobot Kirby and Tennis Luigi, both of which also boost weapon attacks. That’s on top of Zero’s general stat determinant, meaning that once you get him to Level 99 (which, again, is easy if you have enough resources -- and you likely will), he’ll have an attack level in the 5K range. Then if you give that Spirit to one of the Fire Emblem boys…well, it’s lights out.
--Give the full Zero team to Marth, and his tippers will blow foes away -- meaning that the speedy swordsman gets an insane power boost. Give the full Zero team to Ike, however, and his already hellishly-powerful forward smash can and will kill foes in one hit. And if they shield? Shield’s broken instantly, giving you ample time for a charged forward smash. It’s basically carte blanche to fuck everything in that general direction.
--I’m compelled to collect Spirits because I want to see just how powerful I can make my characters. In other words, the one thing I wanted to see carried over from Smash 4 has been reborn like a phoenix whose blood is 90% concentrated steroids. Master and Crazy Orders are gone, but the Spirit Board is a viable replacement because it gives you the chance to reap an instant, immediate reward (though you’ll actually have to win the Spirit to see what it does). And after a certain point? Once you’ve got your broken setup in place, many Spirit Board battles are completely trivial. As in, you can actually win in five seconds -- just five seconds -- with the right setup.
--You can pick your poison, by which I mean the poison you’ll force-feed your opponents. With the Medusa (Uprising ver.) Spirit, you’ll start at giant size with the attack power that both the buff and the spirit in general provide. With its slots, you’ve got room for a transformation extender to boost your giant time and a physical attack boost. As such? You can deal 127% damage in two hits, and thus end Spirit Board matches before some of the special gimmicks (enemy attack power boost, strong winds) even activate. Alternatively? Black Knight gives you a massive defense boost at the cost of all your speed; couple that with the polar bear Support, and you’ll lose nearly all of your mobility -- only to become utterly immovable with hyper-armored smash attacks. Pure invincibility is a dream come true for some.
--Anyone who says that Spirit collection is insubstantial -- that it’s only a way to waste time with padding and filler instead of real, meaty content -- isn’t entirely off-base. There have been times when I’ve thought the same. I like video games, but in my eyes, those that put up an effort to build a strong narrative have an edge. Smash Ultimate is…in a weird place because of that -- for reasons I’ll have to get into another day -- but there’s a reason why Spirits were added, and it’s not just because of cost- and time-saving measures.
--This is the Capcom inter-company crossover event that Capcom refuses to give us -- the one game where you’ll see Ryu, T. Hawk, and MegaMan.EXE in one place in some capacity. Look to the left, and you’ve got Metal Gear Rising Raiden sharing space with characters from Eternal Darkness. F-Zero GX not only lives on, but lives alongside The Boss, Paz, and EVA. Soma Cruz and Bomberman are in a game with Groose. Wonder Red is there. Just…Wonder Red in general. That’s more than enough for me.
--Once upon a time, Smash Bros. Was just a celebration of Nintendo’s characters and properties. Now it isn’t. Now it’s a celebration of video games in general, built for the people who love them. It’s unfeasible to get every single character from every single game, franchise, and company into the roster, but this is an acceptable compromise. And for that reason -- for the fact that Sakurai and the devs paid tribute to Sagi from Baten Kaitos Origins -- there’s no doubt that this is my Game of the Year. As if it could be doubted.
See you next week, I think. If I don’t die before then. I’d wager that’s possible when you’ve got the drugs in your system.
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