The look of Wii U vs 3DS
First and foremost, the game looks tremendous. It's the little touches that make it effective, like the reflection of the colors on characters standing next to a bomb going off, the bandages and bruises on Little Mac's face as he gets beat up, etc. Nintendo first-party games are looking better and better with each game and this is no exception.
The Wii U specific stages:
While the 3DS had stages devoted to Tomodachi Life and Pictochat, the Wii U boasts some of the best stages in the series with levels like Wuhu Island and Wrecking Crew. The Wii Fit level is impressive with the reflective mirrors in the background, and Gamer from Game & Wario adds the element of the mom seeing the characters, getting mad, and dealing damage. The stage that give me the most nostalgia would have to be the Duck Hunt level, since it faithfully recreates the game screen and all the sounds, even allowing you to hit the ducks out of the air. It is also the hardest one to unlock since you have to get a KO in "Cruel Smash" which took me SEVERAL tries to get. Here is how I did it though: I used Little Mac (naturally) and was able to build my KO meter up thanks to getting the crap beat out of me, and I was lucky enough to catch an enemy with the KO attack.
The stages aren't all winners though, as Pac-Land may actually be my least favorite in the series. In its normal mode it is a constant fast side scroll (and I don't like those to begin with) and in its "Omega" mode, it's just a mixture of grey and green mess. I understand why you need to have something for Pac-Man in the game, but the 3DS stage that was a Pac-Man level was a lot better than this and I would have rather had an HD version of that.
Goodbye "Smash Run", here's "Smash Tour"
The dungeon crawling/beat-em-up/platformer mode from the 3DS version is replaced by a board game. You choose one of 3 boards, you are delegated a couple fighters, you spin the wheel and travel around the board picking up items, stat boosts, and other fighters. If 2 players bump into eachother, then everyone fights, these fights could be normal smash fights, or have special rules like "Pokèmon items only" or "Galaga boss Smash" and the winner will also receive the fighter the knocked out last. Throughout the game, random events can happen, like Nabbit grabbing items, or a Metroid which steals your stats, or an appearance by Ripley which grants a huge stat bonus to the vanquisher. This goes anywhere from 15 to 25 turns and it all culminates in a final bout. It is NOT a last man/woman standing however, as the winner is judged by how many KO's they get. So you could have 8 fighters against someone with 1 but if they KO 2 of your fighters and you only KO their 1, you lose.
Overall, I like this mode better than Smash Run, and this concept can totally work, but I just don't see me playing this very often. There is a lot of things being presented to you at any given time and it's only local for up to 4 players. An online version of this would have been nice.
Speaking of Online...
Ugh. I tried playing a match last night and it was unplayable. The lag was out of control and I somehow got 2nd and don't really know how. Sure, not every match will be like this, but the general consensus with this and the 3DS version is that the online may work sometimes and be downright brutal other times. Also, still no "invite" option. If I go to "Play with friends" it would be nice to be able to send or receive invites from those friends.
Amiibos for my Amigos...
I ended up buying 2 Amiibos (Amiiba? Amiibi?) just to see what purpose they had. I ended up buying a Link figure and a Villager figure. Let me get this out of the way up front: YOU DO NOT CONTROL THE AMIIBO. You place the Amiibo on the controller, the game sees it, you choose what stat items you want to feed the character, which moves you want to give them, what you want to name them, etc, but when it's time to send them into battle, the AI takes over. You can choose to fight against the Amiibo or with them in a team battle, and through time and usage, they level up towards the 50 cap.
I guess I might be missing something, but what's the point of this? What makes the Skylanders and Disney Infinity characters work is the fact that the character comes to life on the screen and you get to control it, also, if you don't own that figure, you don't see that character in those games. Here with Amiibo, these characters are already in the game and you can play as them, which makes the whole "come to life" thing a little less interesting. One good note though is that they can pick up trophies and equipment that spawn during the match, so you can start a 99 Stock match with your Amiibo, put the game down, play something else, come back and see a bunch of free trophies.
We'll see how the Amiibo system works in other games but I will say I am unimpressed by the system, though the figures look alright and I will be buying a Little Mac one because it's Little Mac.
8-PLAYER SMASH!!!
This may seem ridiculous (and it is) but it is a LOT of fun. Only certain levels can hold the 8 man battle, but it's crazy and chaotic without being TOO crazy and chaotic, and it is a perfect way to play in a party atmosphere.
If you have a controller, you can play Smash
Whether it's the gamepad, a Wiimote, a pro controller, a Gamecube controller, even your 3DS, you can play Smash for Wii U and have an enjoyable time.
Final Results
Super Smash Bros for Wii U is the best Smash game to date and is a perfect companion to the 3DS version. It boasts the best graphics (obviously), some of the best stages in the series, and even more Nintendo fan service that keeps this series as one of the best selling in the Nintendo library. Sure, not everything hits a home run but the core experience is still intact and still an absolute blast to play. The reasons keep piling up why you should own a Wii U, and if this game doesn't swing you towards getting one, I don't know what will. Get this game!
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