My Good Times with Super Smash Bros. 4

Ah, Super Smash Bros. 4. The first (and only) Super Smash Bros. game I got on its release date. Between the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U versions, I have many fond memories of this iteration of Smash.

I know that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is out and it certainly looks fantastic, but I don't have it yet. I will get it in January to kick off my 2019 of gaming.

For now, I am going to discuss 15 specific things I enjoyed about SSB4. It's going to be a long article, so consider yourself warned.

Let's get started!

1. The use of Color

Right from the get-go, Super Smash Bros. on Nintendo 3DS/Wii U pops with vibrant colors. This is easily my favorite aesthetic in the Smash series.

Though I don't have a specific screenshot to show it, it's apparent that the vibe of this Smash was to stray away from realism and make the characters look more like they do in their home games. This is most obvious with series such as Mario, Kirby, and Pokemon.

By extension, the alternate colors look so good in SSB4. Most veterans receive some new ones, like Black Yoshi or Golfer Mario. Even the newcomers have generally good costumes (i.e. Lucina referencing female characters from Fire Emblem Awakening or Bowser Jr. with his Koopaling skins).

Yes, the use of colors in Smash 4 is awesome indeed.

2: The Default Characters

I am sure that this is an unpopular opinion, but I really enjoy how many characters in this game were available from the start.

...I understand that many complained that SSB4 had so few characters to unlock, and it would only take a few hours for a good player. Well, it appears that Ultimate satisfied that by giving us 66 secret characters. 🙂

Personally, I tend to like it when there's a large pool of characters to begin with. A peculiarity of mine is getting happy when previous or expected unlocks become default. It was cool not having to unlock Lucario, Toon Link, Luigi, Ganondorf, Jigglypuff, Sonic, Pac-Man, Mega Man, Rosalina, and a few others.

3. 50-Fact Extravaganza

I liked how Smash 4's hype cycle contained special Nintendo Directs. These were generally hosted by Masahiro Sakurai and would talk about cool things to look forward to.

My favorite Smash Direct (and Nintendo Direct in general) is easily the 50-Fact Extravaganza, aired on October 23, 2014. This was the only one that Sakurai did not host, as the announcer, Xander Mobus, detailed it.

This presentation was so cool! The announcer kept things engaging with his over-the-top style of speaking, and almost every fact was neat. I especially like the heading for each one.

While the basic 50-Fact Extravaganza is fun to re-watch, I recommend checking out Cobanermani456's reactions. He and his buddies make the Direct even funnier to watch.

4. Bowser's Children

In case you didn't already know, the Mario series is my favorite series. The reps in SSB4 were neat. In particular, this game is the first to feature all eight of Bowser's Koopaling children as playable characters.

As someone who is a huge fan of the Koopalings, seeing all of them the battle made me extremely happy! Earlier in the year, I geeked out when the older seven siblings were added to Mario Kart 8.

Now, because the older kids are skins of Jr., they play exactly the same as him. This was a stroke of genius on Sakurai's part; players can choose whichever Koopa kid they want and head into battle.

5: Duck Hunt Returns!

As with every Super Smash Bros. game, 4 had some unexpected characters added. Among these were a Wii Fit Trainer, Bayonetta, and Cloud Strife.

However, the one newcomer that is considered to be the ultimate WTF character in Smash 4 is the dog and duck duo known as Duck Hunt.

As everyone likely knows, Duck Hunt was shown off in the infamous leak from August 2014. When I first saw the image, I did not believe it; I was convinced it was glorified Photoshop editing. But then when the 3DS version launched in September, it was indeed true.

I am pleased to see I was wrong. Duck Hunt is among the most entertaining inclusions in any Smash installment. They aren't very powerful, but ooze charm and silliness more than most others. What's more, this is the characters' first proper appearance since their title game 30 years prior.

6: Mario, Sonic, Pac-Man, and Mega Man

Super Smash Bros. Brawl introduced third-party characters to the series with Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog, good picks at the time.

When Smash 4 was first announced, one of the earliest confirmed newcomers was Mega Man, and in E3 2014, Pac-Man was shown off. This game was the first time that Mario, Sonic, Pac-Man and Mega Man appeared in the same place.

If you grew up with video games in the late 80s or early 90s, something like this seemed impossible. This image here highlights the surreal feeling of having four of the biggest game stars in the same package.

7: YouTube videos

Throughout the lifespan of SSB4's release, I was able to express my thoughts on the Smash Bros. franchise. Now, my popularity didn't skyrocket or anything, but it felt good making rudimentary animations explaining my two cents on things in Smash or posting several VS. battles.

While I'm on the subject, I got introduced to some YouTubers through SSB4. These include Aaronitmar with Costume Origins, Introspecktive with his Smash 4 School, Rogersbase with his discussions on TheBitBlock and GameXplain, and RelaxAlax's Know Your Moves.

8: Trophy Text

Between the two versions of the game, there are over 1,400 trophies. I am not a completionist when playing Smash, so I don't have *all* of them.

My favorite aspect of trophies are the flavor text describing where the subject comes from or their importance. In Smash 4, the writers seem to have been given free rein to add jest to these descriptions! These are the best ones in the series.

Some standouts include the last sentences of Pokemon Trainer and Wii Fit U Trainer, and the general descriptions of Broom Hatter from Kirby, the Piranha Plant, and many Kid Icarus characters.

9. Miiverse

A stage specific to the Wii U game was Miiverse, based on the now-discontinued Miiverse service.

Throughout the entirety of enjoying Smash 4, I posted several screenshots on Miiverse. These mostly pertained to alternate costumes, but I also talked about favorite characters, stages, and trophies.

As for the stage, it was fun reading all of the silly posts people would come up with. Unfortunately, other posts were less... able for Nintendo standards. This might be one of the reasons why Miiverse died. 🤔

I still like playing on the stage for the cute aesthetic and good music.

10. Smash Run and Smash Tour

Each version of the game had an exclusive "green menu mode", as I like to call it.

For the 3DS, that would be Smash Run. It's essentially a scaled-down take on Melee's Adventure Mode and Brawl's Subspace Emissary, with inspiration from City Trial in Kirby Air Ride. Here, players have five minutes to explore an expansive area and gather stat boosts from enemies, chests, or mini-challenges.

This mode is absolutely brilliant. The variety of enemies are massive and span through several game series. There are bigger baddies that will reward sizable stat boosts. I like how many different versions of Final Battles there are; while most are variations of Smash matches, others can include footraces, climbing challenges, or taking on a group of themed enemies.

As great as Smash Run is, it could benefit from some options and certainly online multiplayer. I would *love* for Ultimate to add Smash Run as a DLC mode with these improvements.

The Wii U's specific mode is Smash Tour, a sort-of Mario Party-esque board game.

As Sakurai stated on a Miiverse post, this mode is difficult to explain in words. The basic idea is to power up your characters with stat boosts and prepare for a Final Battle on Battlefield. Each character you get acts as a stock.

During the board game, battles will take place when two or more players run into each other or if the Battle Space is triggered on the large map. The battles are somewhat similar to Smash Run. In addition, you can use special trophies to give yourself an advantage or screw with your opponents.

Now, despite the initial confusion I had regarding Smash Tour, I ended up enjoying it. When playing against the AI, I can generally formulate solid strategies. Plus, I love the Final Battle, where I can use my souped-up fighters.

...That being said, it's difficult to explain this to most people, and it feels rather random. I also don't think it needs to be on the first screen of the main menu in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Honestly, this mode doesn't need to come back in Ultimate; it is fine as a Wii U exclusive, and Smash Run is much better.

11. Special Orders

Exclusive to the Wii U game is the Special Orders. This comes in two forms: Master Orders and Crazy Orders.

In Master Orders, you are presented with a series of challenges from Master Hand. These are Smash battles with certain quirks applied to you or the opponents. Depending on the difficulty, you might have benefits that can favor or hinder you.

I like this mode, as it's just fun to have battles with interesting modifiers, such as bring Mega or lower gravity. Plus, you can do as many or little as you desire.

Things change a bit for Crazy Orders. First off, you will need 5000G or a Crazy Orders to enter. You can get es as rewards in single player modes.

Once you enter, Crazy Hand will offer challenges like Master Hand does. The catch here is that you have only 10 minutes to play through them before you can challenge Crazy Hand in a final match. Based on how far you progress, other opponents can assist Crazy Hand; even Master Hand will in if you get extra far!

I do enjoy Crazy Orders, but I won't lie; it got rather frustrating when I lost after making good progress. Granted, you can fight Crazy Hand as early as turn 2, but there were times I was at turn 13 or 14, and I would lose because of bad judgement...

While I prefer the Master Orders, both of the Special Orders are a fun diversion.

12. All-Star mode

I know most people think otherwise, but I actually love the Classic and All-Star modes in both versions of SSB4, specifically the Wii U version.

The All-Star mode in particular is what I consider the best in the series. Your character is stronger while your opponents are weaker. There are also no items, allowing players to more easily focus on attacking enemies.

While opponents are given below-average strength, stage hazards are still an issue, especially on Rainbow Road, Port Town Aero Dive, or Gamer, although others disable such intrusions. I like how everyone is fought in chronological order, complete with a pretty rest area in between bouts.

I will give All-Star a fair chance in Ultimate, but I am fairly certain that nothing will top how Smash 4 did it. :blush:

13. Fighter Movies

One of the coolest parts about Smash 4 were the animated trailers for the newcomers. Each one had nice CG cinematics and gameplay snippets. My favorite was Pac-Man, who is also my main in Smash 4.

Oftentimes, I would set aside Fridays to enjoy watching all of the trailers and character ending movies while eating a fun snack. Those were fun times indeed...🤗

Sadly, the DLC trailers weren't viewable in-game, but I still enjoyed watching them on YouTube.

14. Palutena's Guidance

As highlighted in the Extravaganza, one of the inclusions in the Wii U version was Palutena's Guidance. This is the successor to the Snake Codecs from Brawl.

Much like the Codec Conversations, Palutena's Guidance had characters offering descriptions on opponents. What I like about this version is that the Kid Icarus cast has their silly, light-hearted viewpoint on giving banter.

I like to think of Palutena's Guidance in a similar fashion as Goombella's Tattle from Paper Mario 2. Both are based on their predecessors, but improved upon to be funnier and more enjoyable.

While the DLC fighters didn't get unique conversations in Smash 4, they, alongside the returning Brawl and Melee veterans get them in Ultimate. Good stuff!

15. The sense of Humor

The final point here is the overall humor that Smash 4 has.

While every Super Smash Bros. game is considered goofy and light-hearted, I feel that Smash 4 does it the best. From characters with more exaggerated expressions (like DK), a whimsical, colorful aesthetic, to the hilarious Palutena's Guidance skits or trophy text, Smash 4 embraces humor quite nicely.

And that will just about do it! Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is definitely looking to be a fun successor, and will most likely be ed more fondly in the game community, but Super Smash Bros. 4 will remain a fun, complete, and overall awesome package. I love this game wholeheartedly. :heart_eyes:

Thank you very much for reading this blog! 🤗