A new year for Nintendo fans brings with it the fourth installment of the Super Smash Bros. series and from the look of the trailer it could be the most impressive game yet. Though details are still a little thin on the ground for Super Smash Bros. Wii U / 3DS, what we do know for sure is a fair bit about what characters you’ll be able to play in the game when it’s released later this year.
The official release date hasn’t yet been announced, so the game could be coming out anytime throughout 2014. However, our guess is that it’ll be a spring release to tie in with spring breaks throughout the world. Check out the trailer below to see all of the characters in action.
Super Smash Bros. Wii U / 3DS characters:
There are 21 characters that you can play in Super Smash Bros. Wii U / 3DS characters and as well as the regulars from the series like Mario, Link and Donkey Kong there are also a few new addition to the game with Mega Man, Rosalina and Luma, Villager and Wii Fit Trainer entering the fray. Though the design of the characters on the two systems is fairly different in style, they both look very cool. On the Nintendo Wii U characters are crisp and shiny like they’re from a twisted version of the Tekken series, but on the Nintendo 3DS they’ve got an outer sketched shadow quality that looks a bit like the style of the cut scenes in Street Fighter 4 3D Edition.
Bowser
There aren’t many games that let you take control of Bowser in his natural state of attack, which is one of the reasons the Super Smash Bros. series is so much fun. His character is as slow and lumbering as he is in his nemesis mode, be when he connects they’re always pretty powerful blows. His electric slide move is perhaps his quickest attack and it’s combined with his spinning shell of doom, Zangief inspired belly crusher and flames of fury.
Diddy Kong
A recent announcement from Nintendo has confirmed that little Diddy will be getting in on the fight scene action with some of the quickest moves in the game. He’s been involved in previous editions of Super Smash Bros. games and his old moves will be getting a next-gen facelift as he goes ape on everyone that’s brave enough to stand in his way. He’s got Dhalsim-like double fists of fury, rocket powered barrels and a mean uppercut in his kit bag, along with his monkey fast reactions.
Donkey Kong
Donkey is equally mired in his plodding form, but compensates with high impact attack moves. He loves boxing it out with his massive, club-like mitts, but he’s also got some cool hand slap moves, spinning roundhouses and he’s not afraid to use the might of his backside when it’s needed either.
Fox
Fox hasn’t been seen in a new 3DS or Wii U game to date, so he a welcome return to Super Smash Bros. He’s a mid level character, so he’s nippy enough with medium strike strength. His moves include a flying kick, backflip retreat, Guile-like uppercut kick and deadly blaster. Hopefully, there’ll be a full Starfox game for both systems in the not so distant future.
King Dedede
Kirby’s archenemy doesn’t necessarily look as mean as Bowser, but he’s pretty underhand at heart and his war hammer is as ferocious as Thors when it comes to Super Smash Bros. Wii U / 3DS. He uses it to smash other characters up a treat and he’s got a very mean stomper move that’s pretty hard to defend against.
Kirby
The little pink air bag may not look all that sinister, but when he’s up against it he’s got a lot of fire power beneath those big blue eyes. His signature move is the classic gust of air, but he’s also got a drop kick and transformation defense move that tough to beat, as well as being pretty handy with the hammer and blade weapons.
Link
It’s cool to see link looking so impressive as we’re still to see the all singing, all dancing return of the hero to a new fully fledged 3D adventure on the Wii U or Nintendo 3DS. While the cartoon-like Link (see below) is a lot of fun, it’s good to get to play the more detailed Link, smashing up the competitors with sword moves, bow and arrow shots and the power of the Tri-force.
Little Mac
You’ll need to be a long-time Nintendo fan to recognise this little guy as he goes way, way back and hasn’t really been seen in a while. For anyone that doesn’t know who he is, he’s the central character from the classic Nintendo boxing game, Punch Out. His moves on Super Smash Bros Wii U/3DS will be super punches on the whole, but we’ve seen that he’s got a high impact, Ryu-style super uppercut that looks pretty cool.
Lucario
Lucario is another late announcement by Nintendo to the Super Smash Bros Wii U/3DS character roster, bringing even more Pokemon power to the game alongside Pikachu. The little blue and black ninja wild dog brings his plasma powered attacks to the fun of the game, as well as being able to whip out a double punch either side of him to smash up two opposition fighters at once. A bit like Sonic he can turn into a bit of a blue blur, but Lucario’s abilities make him a bit time and space bendy when you need it.
Luigi
Easily one the two best plumbers in the known universe, Luigi is a classic character option with a fair amounts of skills on the melee arena. Being one of the founding brothers in the concept of head to head battle for Nintendo, he’s always going to be a go-to option to play. Punches, kicks and bottom busters make up the bead rock of his moves.
Mario
Mario’s also up there in the top two and he’s a blur of red and blue in Super Smash Bros. Wii U / 3DS. Like Luigi, he’s an all-round character, but with his recent efforts in Super Mario 3D World he’ll still be one of the game’s favourite playable characters. Not surprisingly his block busting skills means he’s a dab hand at boxing and he can pull out a pretty mean flying kick, uppercut kick and light ball attack whenever he needs to.
Marth
He might not be the most recognisable of computer game character, but Marth is shaping up to be one of the coolest fighters in Super Smash Bros. history. The Fire Emblem character is all about the swordplay making battles with Link pretty epic, and the detail on his cape makes his attacks look very impressive.
Mega Man
Mega Man is an 8-bit computer games legend, but sadly his presence has been a bit thin on the ground since then, apart from his small part in Nintendo Land for the launch if the Wii U, so it’s very cool to see him as one of Super Smash Bros. Wii U / 3DS‘s newcomer characters. He’s all about the blaster and he makes pretty good use of it, but he’s also got a flying, spinning blade attack, leg slide and the kind of flying uppercut that Ryu and Ken would be proud of.
Peach
Now it’s time to turn to the fairer portion of the game with the first of five female characters in the game with Mario’s long-time heroine, Peach. She comes equipped with a deadly hip whack, crown crash, ribbon twirl of pain. However, surely the fun of getting to fight as Princess Peach is the opportunity to pit her against Mario, Luigi or Bowser and smash them up big style.
Pikachu
Why should you never get changes in front of this feller? Because he’ll peek at you! Bad jokes aside, this dude is a brilliant fighter, especially when he unleashes his signature electricity move. He’s got a pretty mean head butt too, along with some of the cutest creeping you’re likely to ever see in a computer game, unless Metal Gear Solid ever goes for a foxy female protagonist.
Pikmin and Olimar
With Pikmin 3 still fresh in the disk bay of our Wii U, we’ve got a lot of love for the Pikmin dudes and their space travelling hurler, Olimar. They make a great tag team in general, but the big O gets to throw the plant marauders into attack in Super Smash Bros. Wii U / 3DS in a whole new way as they crash into other Nintendo favourites like Samus and Mega Man. Like the main Pikmin games, the different colours make for different attacks, but equally they can also be lost in battle similar to the series.
Pit
The Kid Icarus hero is a gem in Super Smash Bros. form as his flight ability and weapons mash up create a lot of variation from the other characters in the game. Pit’s bow, long blade and dual sword options mean that he’s got a whole lot of different moves in his arsenal, including his flaming sword upper and power arrows.
Rosalina and Luma
Rosalina is the second of the female characters to make it into Super Smash Bros. Wii U / 3DS, along with her starry buddy Luma, both of which make their debut in battle. On the back of her introduction to the Nintendo world with Super Mario Galaxy, back in 2007, Rosalina has clearly become an ongoing part of the Mario storyline and here she demonstrates her more aggressive abilities, including her somersault leg kick, Luma strike and wand magic mischief.
Samus
Samus is another character that’s massively missed on the latest Nintendo consoles, but she’s a staple in SSB, with her super cool suit. While we all wait with baited breath on the potential of a Wii U first person shooter, we’ll have to console ourselves by taking Samus out for battle in SSB. Her moves include gun blaster, flying kick and missile launcher.
Sonic
Sonic has mad a pretty good entry to the Nintendo fold over the years and there and with the brilliance of Mario and Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games it’s only getting better. As one of the characters you can play in Super Smash Bros. Wii U / 3DS he’s like grease lightning, as you’d expect.
Toon Link
Like his character in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD and his taller, more detailed equivalent above, Toon Link is a sword and shield warrior of daring proportions. However, he’s also got the might of the wind wand and his trusty bow and arrow to fall back on when things get a bit hectic.
Villager
Villager is another big new addition to the game, crossing over from the Animal Crossing series with some cool fight moves behind his simple little face. He uses his bug catcher net and catapult to mean effect and adds a lot to the comedy of the games by being able to bury characters in soil or decimate them with a tree attack.
Wii Fit Trainer
Getting to play the Wii Fit Trainer from Wii Fit U is a master stroke of comic genius on the part of Nintendo. The manakin-like fitness freak new fighter jumps, stretches, flicks and twists her way through her attacks to take on the mo established battlers in Super Smash Bros. Wii U / 3DS.
Zelda
Like Princess Peach, we rarely get to play Zelda as she usually gets kidnapped in the main game and you don’t see her again until you’ve dished out the punishment to Ganon. She’s the last of the female characters and she’s got a pretty brutal hand slap to back up her part in the game. She looks very impressive with fierce elfin eyes and she got the skills to smash you up with her magic knight attack too.
