The Salt, the Cheese, and the Tiers: On Super Smash Bros. -The Concept and Falsity of Tiers

I remember being at a Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament awhile back. Before the actual matches began, there was friendlies being done. I was utilizing Mario and holding my own against two others. One onlooker told his friends something along the tines of, "You guys are letting a Mario survive all this?" That statement always bothered me, but I knew it was a joke since Mario is typically not known as one of the better characters in that particular game. This is the concept of "tiers," which in a nutshell states who the best characters in a game are and the worst. But what makes a character better than another? This concept is especially popular with the latest installment in the Smash series, but is it a really true concept and something that should be followed?

In video games, often there's such a thing has characters having unfair advantages. In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 for example some characters literally have far inferior heath bars and nothing backing them up. Krillin for example has so little health in comparison to Goku it gives the latter an extremely unfair advantage. It's games like this when the disadvantage is so obvious that one simply has no reason to play characters like Krillin or Yajirobe, even if the player likes them a lot. This type of stuff doesn't exist in Super Smash Bros. Yet, many will say that there's such a thing as bad characters in the game. Sheik at the moment is known as the best character. So, a much lower tier character such as Dr. Mario should have no shot against her. As evidenced here, this is simply not the case...

Some might say that a single battle isn't enough to gauge this type of thing, since "flukes" can happen according to many. Well, let's pit Pac-Man, whom has never been known to be a fantastic character, against someone whom is constantly being put up in the tier list: Zero Suit Samus, in 3 battles back-to-back.

My opponent obviously knew what he was doing, but my Pac-Man was just simply better here. Stuff like this tell me that that people really think too much about tier lists and the like. Players abandon their characters to play as top tiers just because many claim they're the best. Isn't that just a little disappointing? Let's say for example you've been playing with Samus throughout all the games. And when the new one comes out, you're still playing as her. You enjoy her moveset, and find yourself mastering all the different things she can achieve. You've even beaten quite a few Sheiks, according to many the best character in the game. Then someone comes along and tells you Samus is actually the worst character in the game. You're great with her, but because you find out that most agree she's the worst, you abandon her. Sound fishy? That's because it is.

Let's take two characters: Pac-Man and Sheik. They have vastly different movesets and can achieve quite a bit. On their own however, they can't do anything. They are immobile; they need a person controlling them. All characters are equal in that sense. Then we grab two people. An expert Pac-Man will almost always beat a rookie Shiek, and vice versa. What if you pit two people whom know their characters pretty well? I was listening to the narration for EVO, and one of the broadcasters made the statement of this match-up as "unwinnable for Pac-Man." As we can see, this is simply not the case...

A person can train their character to beat anyone. For example, just a few days I managed to beat the word champion of the game, ZeRo, in a match on tourney mode.

Many will be quick to point out that he wasn't using Sheik, his main, rather he was using Little Mac. Would the battle have gone differently? Let's hypothetically say it would have. That wouldn't be because Sheik is inherently a better character than Little Mac. Rather, it'd be because ZeRo has mastered Sheik so well that it's just supremely difficult to overcome him.

There is such a thing as bad match-ups. Mega Man against Rosalina is a fight in the latter's favor due to her being able to absorb whatever Mega shoots at her. This doesn't make her a better character than Mega Man, she just has the advantage. A classic example is the original Pokemon anime. Near the finale before Advanced started, Ash had his Charaizard battle Blastoise. Both Pokemon are equals; they are the final form of their species and both trainers have been on similar journeys with them. But Blastoise has the edge due to being a water type. Does this mean he is better than Charizard? Not at all. Then in a surprise turn of events, Charizard takes the win, showing that even having the advantage doesn't guarantee a win.

Sheik, Rosalina, and Zero Samus are great characters, but I believe every character in the game has the capability of being the best. Unlike many other fighting games, there isn't an obvious unbalance here. And when an anomaly seemingly appears, Nintendo has been quick to fix it. (Meta Knight being much less over-powered, Robin becoming slightly faster, etc.) If you find yourself doing well with say Duck Hunt and like the way he plays, don't feel like you should switch just because many say your character is more on the average side.

Of course, if you find yourself liking Sheik's moveset for example, by all means grab the character. The problem is that people give up on their mains just because many say certain characters are superior. Then there's this illusion that losing to certain characters means the player isn't quite that good. If say Luigi lost to Mewtwo, many would question Luigi's player skills, no matter how impressive Mewtwo looked, simply because Mewtwo is known as one of the worst characters in the game. This kind of thinking hurts the competitive landscape as less and less diversity is seen since everybody is flocking to characters people claim are the best. Then the other characters aren't taken seriously when in actuality they can be equally impressive.

Here's a saying to remember, "Tier power is all in the head. It's really all about the person playing the character, building a connection, learning their moveset, and being creative. Every character has the potential to be the best. You just have to make them the best."

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Review

There are very few fighting game series as more critically acclaimed than Super Smash Bros. The 3DS version released a few months ago. While it was definitely awesome to be able to play Smash on the go, the Wii U version is the one fans truly awaited for; the small console was just a holdover. (Indeed, now that the Wii U version has been out virtually no one is talking about the 3DS.) Perfect gameplay makes the latest installment perhaps the best yet. I say perhaps because there are quite a few things Brawl and Melee did better. No Adventure Mode and poor number of new stages hurt this game. The multi-player mode however is by far the most fun anyone can have. If you have at least two other people to play with, and with items on, it's endless amount of hours of fantastic fun.

The core thing about Super Smash is the frantic, on-the-go strategy, item-grabbing gameplay. The Wii U version is pretty much perfect in this category. The gameplay isn't quite as fast as Melee, but definitely slightly quicker than Brawl, finding a nice balance between the two. The items are at their best; from whacking people with the Ore Club to trying desperately to gain another life with the Rally-X Flag, playing with items and with friends will create unforgettable battles and laughs. What the game does not shine in is its questionable new modes...

In the 3DS version of the game, there's "Smash Run" which is pretty mediocre after you've played it a couple of times. Thankfully, that was a 3DS exclusive. Sadly, the Wii U's mode is even worse in the form of "Smash Tour." After playing it once you will never want to play it again. The goal was to make this installment in the franchise more party-like and happy I suppose, but that aspect failed miserably. "The Subspace Emissary" from Brawl was an excellent change of pace for fighting games because they usually don't offer cutscene-driven story modes. It upped the bar, and few games since have raised it. Unfortunately, this game is one of them. Adding to the disappointment is the inclusion of a couple of new modes: "Master Orders" and "Crazy Orders." These modes, like Smash Tour, don't serve much of a purpose once you play them at least once. "Boring" would be the word to describe these new inclusions.

The Wii U version has the same characters as the 3DS one, so same positives and negatives apply. New additions like Pac-Man and Rosalina are excellent, but with however questionable decisions like adding Dark Pit (could have been a palette swap of Pit, same with Marth and Lucina) and not another Metroid character. (Interesting how we get Dark Pit but not Dark Samus who has been the antagonist of two games.) The stage selection is a pretty disappointing factor. There's nothing wrong with the new ones, most of them are quite excellent. (Except Mario Galaxy, which is immensely disappointing.) The problem is that there's almost as much old ones as new ones. Some have called this game "Super Smash Bros. Brawl 2.0," and that title is definitely justifiable in this category.

While the game has a lot less lag issues online, it's still present, which is a great shame. We shouldn't be seeing this on a modern console in 2014. Perhaps the greatest and also most disappointing aspect of the game is the challenges. Like Brawl, Challenge Mode will challenge even the most seasoned of veteran players. The disappointing part is the reward: it's just in-game cash. By the time you actually complete all challenges, there isn't much else to buy! It should have rewarded the player with a new character or at least a stage, but no all it gives you is pretty much useless $. Knowing that ahead of time destroys all motivation to complete them all.

Do not let the past few paragraphs deceive you; Super Smash Bros. is one awesome game. The gameplay is pretty much perfect. Playing with friends and items will result in some of the most unforgettable gaming times. Online for the most part is also great and the player will spend many hours over the course of the year on it. It is however disappointing that the game adds more party-like features while eliminating Adventure Mode. I don't think there's any Smash player who would rather have all these new mediocre modes over it. The stage selection is almost half old ones, which is a big disappointment. But overall the latest installment in Super Smash Bros. is another incredibly fun game that delivers a basically flawless gameplay experience.

4/5

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS Review

There are very few fighting game series which get people excited like Super Smash Bros. There's things like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, but there's something incredibly fun about Smash Bros. that puts it above the rest. It's been 6 years since Brawl came out. With a new Nintendo home console the time was ripe for the next installment in the series. Dating back three years, the game's announcement was met with great anticipation. The next announcement which changed the playing field was that instead of just being on Nintendo's home console, the new game would also be on the handheld, the 3DS. This was unique, because playing Smash on the go has always been a dream for fans. Interestingly, the 3DS version was released first, with the Wii U version coming a month later on the 21st. Whether or not this will hurt the latter's sales remains to be seen. This review however is of course on the handheld version released a few weeks ago. Super Smash Bros. for 3DS realizes something a lot of people didn't think would ever happen: being able to play Smash on the go whether it be in the car, on the plane, or on the other side of the world. The game just about has everything you could want in a handheld Smash, but does fall short in some areas which hopefully the Wii U version will improve.

Most of the time you'll be spending in the game is in vs. mode, or rather "Smash." Though if you're playing the game alone often, chances are you'll be spending more time in the online "For Glory" mode. This is one added feature that is a nice touch when playing through Wi-Fi.. Nintendo has never really dealt with leadership boards like rival companies Sony and Microsoft have. Sadly "For Glory" is a bit of a disappointment because there's no technical leadership boards; you can't see where your stats line up with players across the globe.. Hopefully there's more of a standings in the home console version. Also, after the horrible lag that plagued the online matches back in Brawl, one would think Nintendo would have fixed it for the sequel 6 years later. Sadly that's not the case, you will run into lag. In a modern first party Nintendo game, it's a real shame.

Moving back to normal offline play, the 3DS game plays extremely smooth and well. Is it better than Brawl's gameplay? Not necessarily, but it isn't worst either. It takes away the unnecessary tripping from the Wii game, which most players are happy about I'm sure. Interestingly, "edge guard" is no longer a factor. So you can't hold onto a ledge and the other player plummets to his or her doom anymore. Whether that's a good or bad thing is up to the person. The controls transition well from the standard controller onto the handheld. They can of course be configured to the player's needs, but as default there are no complaints to be had.

One of the things that sets Smash above other fighting games is its list of unique and fun modes. The main as usual is Classic. It generally works the same as it usually does, except this time if you set the meter above 6 difficulty you get a very different kind of Master Hand/Crazy Hand battle. It's a nice change of pace and the final level of difficulty provides a challenge to even the greatest of Smash players. The other main mode is usually Adventure Mode, but it has been replaced by "Smash Run" in the 3DS installment, which is easily the most underwhelming aspect of the entire game. One of the most hyped things about Super Smash Bros. Brawl was its adventure mode, "The Subspace Emissary." It upped the bar not only for the series, but for fighting games in general. It was a detailed story mode with CGI cutscenes. Almost no fighting game since has replicated such an amazing mode. Instead in games such as Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Playstation All-Stars all you get is just the standard "Arcade." Sadly, at least in the 3DS version, Adventure Mode so to speak is extremely mediocre. It's a neat novelty the first time around, but after that first time I haven't gone back to it since because really there's nothing motivating about it besides just doing it for the challenges. It's an extremely disappointing aspect of the game.

Unarguably the biggest draw of Smash is the character roster. Leading up to its release, there was always hype to see which character would make it in. The game has a solid selection, bringing in a lot of the veterans while adding in quite a few awesome newcomers. Mega Man and Pac-Man are arguably the biggest of the new characters, and they don't disappoint in the slightest. Shulk, Greninja, and Little Mac are also worthy additions with diverse movesets. There are however a few questionable decisions regarding the characters. For one thing, it's awesome Bowser Jr's alternate costumes literally transform him into different characters, so why can't that be applied to others? Why is Dark Pit his own character when he could be a swap for regular Pit? Why can't Samus go all the way with her color swap and be Dark Samus? If Robin has a girl palette swap, why is Lucina a separate character from Marth when she's essentially the same thing? Same with Mario and Dr. Mario, why have two separate characters? It's not necessarily a bad thing to have those characters, but when you think about it they're taking up space for others. If Dr. Mario could be brought back, why not Mewtwo? The latter is the one everyone had been clamoring for. Unlocking the characters is rather easy also, there's very little challenge in acquiring them.

The game boasts a solid selection of unique stages. One of my favorites is Dream Land, which literally puts inside the Game Boy as it navigates through that first Kirby level. There are a number of 3DS exclusive ones, so it'll be interesting to see what the Wii U version brings to the table. One of the most notable things about the Smash series is its soundtrack. Each game brings impressive themes and remixes from all different games. The soundtrack here is generally underwhelming in comparison. For example, the Final Destination theme is definitely the worst yet. Still, that's not to say the soundtrack is bad, (the new Battlefield theme sounds nice) it's just underwhelming when compared to the stellar soundtrack from Brawl. If it's one thing the game does improve on over its predecessors, it's items. It has a lot of impressive new additions, such as the Ore Club and Blue Shell. Final Smashes are for the most part improved. Kirby has a much more impressive sword attack, Luigi has a more "normal" one with his Poltergeist 3000, and even Mario's, while still not amazing, is actually (and thankfully) improved.

One of the more interesting additions to the new game is the customization of characters and the ability to use Miis in fighting. Customizing a character's moveset when played around with can yield some interesting results. Then there's the Miis, which can make for a very humorous fight when playing with friends. These things don't make up for an underwhelming Adventure mode, but they're still neat the nonetheless. There's a solid amount of challenges, which range from easy to long. Street Smash however shouldn't be a challenge, because what if it's impossible for the player to complete it? And he or she had used up the hammers? Then they'd be stuck. Sadly, stage creator has been cut out, at least for this version anyway.

Overall, Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS is an incredibly fun game with some shortcomings. (The first mistake is no intro cutscene, how lazy is that? Even the original, which came out on the Nintendo 64 15 years ago had a CGI intro.) A lot of the previous paragraphs may have sounded negative, but that's because this game was held to a very high standard and in many areas it didn't achieve the greatness of brawl. Hopefully the Wii U version delivers the definitive next gen Smash experience. Nonetheless Super Smash 3DS is a must have, what beats battling on the go?

4/5