What is Smash Tour, though? Well, think of it like a mix of basic Mario Party board gaming with the gameplay of Super Smash Bros. While playing it (against three other competitors), you’re tasked with spinning a wheel, moving the amount of steps it shows and picking up an assortment of fighters, stat boosts and items as you progress. It’s pretty simple both on paper and in its execution, and really doesn’t feel like it was fully fleshed out. The board-play graphics are dated and unattractive, there’s little to do outside of walking and occasional battles, and even when there are battles they’re sometimes few and far between. At least, against the computer.
If four friends were to get together and play Smash Tour, they’d likely end up fighting more often than I did against the CPU. However, it all depends on how things shake out, because battles only occur whenever two or more players bump into each other on the board itself. Then, all four are lumped into a versus conflict where the winner(s) receive items from the losers’ inventories. Simple stuff, really.
The items themselves always have effects on both the board and any resulting combat. For example, instead of using a traditional warp pipe, you can use an item that will move everyone around the map at random. Or, you could choose something that will slow down your move wheel. Then, prior to a battle, why not choose to be a giant character from the get-go in order to have a huge advantage over your foes? That’s one of the best ways to get ahead, because the giants themselves are ultimate badasses and usually result when a combatant eats a mushroom.
At the end, the winner is crowned through an all-out battle to the death, so to speak. It’s then that each player’s collected fighters and stat boosts really come into play, as it’s obviously advantageous to be the one with the most characters and best statistics at your disposal.
You’ll want to play a lot of each mode, though, in order to earn as many items and bonus trophies as you can. That’s especially vital this time around, with Super Smash Bros. for Wii U possessing both a random challenge mode and a character creation suite. In the latter, your earned items, boosts and abilities can be equipped to either your Mii or edited roster characters like Mario, Toon Link or Palutena. It’s an interesting addition that will likely polarize players, as traditionalists and curmudgeons likely wish that it didn’t exist.
Rounding out this colourful and action-packed sequel is a stage creation suite that makes good use of the Wii U’s GamePad. However, it’s a bit too skill dependent to be enjoyable. To create custom geography, you’ll be forced to attempt to draw straight lines with the stylus, which is something that is easier said than done sometimes. Additionally, the texture and item options are quite sparse (at least from the onset), and the landmass versus-white-space ratio can be cause for frustration.
Honestly, I’ve never been much for creating my own anything, whether it be stages, characters or weapons. As such, I prefer to leave that type of thing to people who are much more inventive and talented than myself. So, that may explain why my interest level in this level creator is so low. Those who enjoy this type of thing will likely appreciate it more than I do, though, and that’s perfectly fine.
The GamePad doesn’t hinder this experience at all, because it makes for a surprisingly robust fighting pad. Sure, those who plan to play for hours on end and wish to do so competitively, will want to purchase a Pro Controller or the game’s themed GameCube controller/adaptor combo, but casual players will be just fine with their trusty GamePad.
Speaking of the GamePad, it’s important to note that we were provided with an Amiibo, so that we could test out the figures’ functionality. So far, I’m not too sure of what to think of it as all I was able to do was customize a character who could fight against me or alongside me and earn items as he did. And, as much as I like looking at the figure (which is Link, who just so happens to be my favourite Nintendo character), I wonder what the future will hold for these things. Will they just be a gimmick? Or will impressive functionality be added into future titles further into their life cycle? Only time will tell.
Aesthetically, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is a tour de force, as, like all first-party Nintendo games, it’s filled with colour. The series’ fast, fluid and effect-filled gameplay has also never looked better, thanks to thoroughly detailed animations and a host of new special moves. Sure, the Wii U may not be as powerful as the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but it’s definitely no slouch.
Realistically, there’s little need for me to talk about the audio, because it’s not like people play these games for engaging dialogue. All gamers want is some great music to listen to and that’s definitely supplied, thanks to an overwhelming amount of tunes from classic Nintendo games, as well as the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog. Each one has been remastered and improved upon, making it tough to fault any aspect of their inclusion.
Needless to say, there’s a lot here that fans of the series will quickly fall in love with; so much so that it’s unlikely that many Wii U owners will play anything else this holiday season. That’s especially great news for the struggling console, as it goes without saying that third-party support has been lacking and Nintendo has had a hard time filling in the blanks as much as necessary. Then again, that’s been a recurring trend for quite a while now.
If you’re a fan of the Smash Bros. brand, or happen to be looking for something that will keep you busy for many, many hours, then Super Smash Bros. for Wii U should be on your holiday list. While it’s not an incredible revolution, or a grand scale improvement upon its predecessors, it’s a very good game that is full of polish and houses tons of multiplayer-focused replay value that will expand outward once its online multiplayer goes live.
This review is based on the Wii U exclusive, which we were provided with.
