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[Watch Da Birdie]

The new Mario Kart DLC...it makes me sad that none of the Smash stages look 1/4th as pretty as the settings they created for Excitebike, Mute City, and Hyrule Castle.

I guess fighting game =/= racing game, they have different scopes and focus on what they want to accomplish, Smash needs to have really smooth, frame-rate and settings that make it easy to focus on the characters, while Mario Kart is more of a visual experience, only having to focus on about one character at once, but still, a Smash with Mario Kart 8-backgrounds would make me drool. Even the MK8 level in Smash doesn't look that good.

 

[Teknoman]

スゲ

So the Hori controllers are actual wired Wii U controllers, or just new Gamecube controllers?

 

[georly]

So the Hori controllers are actual wired Wii U controllers, or just new Gamecube controllers?

Considering they have a new button (ZL), as well as a select button, i'd assume they're Wii classic controllers in disguise.

 

[InvincibleAgent]

I wonder if any of the 7 amiibo Amazon has up for pre-order are exclusive to them?

There are exclusives? Or are you just making that up?

 

[ratcliffja]

Let's go with Zelda-quality characters and Metroid-quality story (Babby notwithstanding).

Only if we get Star Fox 64-quality voice acting.

 

[Masked Man]

The character has officially been renamed to "gooby hnut wow."

 

[Muzy72]

There are exclusives? Or are you just making that up?

In the video revealing Wave 3, Bill Trinen mentioned that some amiibo will be retailer exclusive. We already know Shulk is GameStop exclusive. Along with Shulk, there's 3 more amiibo from Wave 3 (Rosalina, Lucario, Meta Knight) not listed for pre-order on Amazon.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

Lucario = only available at the Pokemon Center?

And Rosalina Wal-Mart exclusive, because she's huge.

 

[jnWake]

The new Mario Kart DLC...it makes me sad that none of the Smash stages look 1/4th as pretty as the settings they created for Excitebike, Mute City, and Hyrule Castle.

I guess fighting game =/= racing game, they have different scopes and focus on what they want to accomplish, Smash needs to have really smooth, frame-rate and settings that make it easy to focus on the characters, while Mario Kart is more of a visual experience, only having to focus on about one character at once, but still, a Smash with Mario Kart 8-backgrounds would make me drool. Even the MK8 level in Smash doesn't look that good.

I'd say the main reason why MK8 looks so much better than Smash is because Smash went for 8 player 60FPS 1080p. To achieve that they probably had to use a simpler lightning engine than MK8.

I'd also speculate that the engine being built to work on 3DS also limited the effects used in the game.

 

[IntelliHeath]

I wish that they could reuse assists from Mario Kart 8 to make new F-Zero stage and ExciteBike stage. They look so gorgeous in action when I raced on the tracks!

 

[The Captain]

Toon Link amiibo just does the same thing as the Link amiibo in Hyrule Warriors.
Wind Waker is getting the short straw again...

I seriously hope we get a Wind Waker HD stage in Smash Bros.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

Toon Link amiibo just does the same thing as the Link amiibo in Hyrule Warriors.
Wind Waker is getting the short straw again...

I seriously hope we get a Wind Waker HD stage in Smash Bros.

It should've been Toon Link in Mario Kart 8, honestly.

I did notice they use the designs of the guards from Spirit Tracks in the Hyrule Castle course, which is neat.

 

[The Captain]

It should've been Toon Link in Mario Kart 8, honestly.

I did notice they use the designs of the guards from Spirit Tracks in the Hyrule Castle course, which is neat.

Toon Link + King of Red Lions kart + Deku Leaf kite would've been the best combo.

I'm still hoping the next bundle will include a Hocotate Ship kart.

 

[kirby_fox]

Even if they were exclusive for Wii U I can't imagine what would happen if you played as eight Ice Climbers.

It's time to let go of the IC dream.

As sad as I am to lose the IC, I'm pretty sure that's the only reason we have 8 player Smash now. The resources that would go to 4 ICs on the stage are just going to 4 extra characters controlled by a player.

It's for that reason I have my doubts now that the Chorus Kids will be DLC either...

 

[SalvaPot]

So hey, now that Wave 3 of Smash amiibos are up for preorder, how about we try to predict what amiibos are going to be exclusive to which retailer?

The ones amazon doesn´t have is Rosalina, Lucario and Meta Knight.

Here are my predictions from the other thread:

PREDICTION TIME!
Rosalina is exclusive to Wal-Mart
Lucario is exclusive to Target
Meta-Knight is exclusive to Best Buy
Ike is exclusive to Amazon

And I won´t be surprised if one of those up for preorder on Amazon is actually an exclusive, my money is on Megaman or Ike. (Priority to Ike)

 

[Ryce]

It's for that reason I have my doubts now that the Chorus Kids will be DLC either...

I don't think the Chorus Kids would be separate independent characters like the Ice Climbers. They'd be more along the lines of Duck Hunt -- one character (from a technical standpoint) "disguised" as several.

 

[Masked Man]

As sad as I am to lose the IC, I'm pretty sure that's the only reason we have 8 player Smash now. The resources that would go to 4 ICs on the stage are just going to 4 extra characters controlled by a player.

It's for that reason I have my doubts now that the Chorus Kids will be DLC either...

Don't say such horrible things! D:

 

[BassForever]

I think at worst we'll see a redesigned Ice Climbers where they stick together at all times but can still pick up two different weapons/two different things at the same time.

 

[The Bankslammer]

lmao

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

Toon Link + King of Red Lions kart + Deku Leaf kite would've been the best combo.

I'm still hoping the next bundle will include a Hocotate Ship kart.

Having Olimar, with the Pikmin being the ones driving the kart and tossing items, would be amazing.

Plus he'd fit pretty well in the Mario-verse. We already have the Pikmin in Toadstool Tour.

 

[Geminosity]

I kind of wish Lucina somehow got into Mariokart in the same style as Link. Preferably with a permanent expression of "how the heck did I end up here?" etched on her face
Ganon would also work, especially if he just looked permanently pissed off and too big to fit in the karts XD

 

[DICKS AHOY]

lmao

LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID

 

[Zyrox]

Side B is somewhat useless because if you hit a character, it send you into special fall, rendering you unable to do another move or jump.

Huh? What? That's not true at all. If you hit someone with side B in the air, you will not be sent into special fall (you can for example use aether afterwards). Special Fall only happens when you whiff.
I just tested it to make sure. Threw my enemy offstage, side b'd into him, it hit him, and I could use up B afterwards.

 

[APZonerunner]

I swear I remember reading that they found out at the 11th hour SEGA didn't have the rights to the music from Sonic 1 and 2 so had to scramble with midi's of music SEGA DID own off the internet.

3D Blast music can sound really nice if remixed well though.

Sonic 1/2's composer owns the music to those games (the recent soundtrack release for those for instance was released by HIM and Sega basically had next to nothing to do with it), and so to use it and remix it you not only need his blessing but you need to pay the royalties. SEGA has coughed up a few times in the past, like for Sonic Generations, but they rarely do.

The only pieces of music that recur in the Sonic series from Sonic 1/2 is the Drowning music and the 'got a Chaos Emerald' jingle, both of which were composed by somebody else in-house at Sega and are even absent from the recent soundtrack releases.

This is why in Brawl the only Sonic Remix was Angel Island from Brawl - it appears Sega can use the original Mega Drive 'chiptune' version of songs (Green Hill & Scrap Brain are in Brawl in this form) but they'd have to pay up to remix, so the only remix is of an iconic track from Sonic 3 instead.

I think Bioware weren't aware of this and got badly tripped up, and the music that was hastily put into the game instead is pulled from 3D Blast, the non-MJ bits of Sonic 3, and Sonic CD generally. 3D Blast has great music anyway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfG09iLCKsM This is arguably as iconic as Ice Cap or Chemical Plant or whatever to me.

 

[D-Man]

lmao

"First the Smash bundle, now fake music. NeoGAF forums should just be ignored."

Alright.

 

[Spinosaurus]

Huh? What? That's not true at all. If you hit someone with side B in the air, you will not be sent into special fall (you can for example use aether afterwards). Special Fall only happens when you whiff.
I just tested it to make sure. Threw my enemy offstage, side b'd into him, it hit him, and I could use up B afterwards.

To be fair it was true in Brawl but yeah they buffed it here.

 

[MaverickHunterAsh]

Just to put people in the picture.

Eveline Fischer
Simian Segue
Candy's Love Song
Voices of the Temple
Forest Frenzy
Treetop Rock
Northern Hemispheres
Ice Cave Chant

Robin Beanland
Funky's Fugue

Whoa. I'm a VGM nut but I had no idea Eveline Fischer (or anyone besides David Wise) had anything to do with DKC 1's music. Those are some of my favorite songs in that game, too, especially Forest Frenzy. Mind = blown.

EDIT: Actually, I guess I did know and must have forgotten. I just checked the soundtrack's credits in my iTunes and sure enough, both Fischer and Beanland are there with Wise. Huh.

I do agree that Fischer's work in DKC 3 was less inspired, though. Still, there are some gems in there. It was really cool of Wise to rearrange even one of her songs for Tropical Freeze (the Brothers Bear theme).

What was with Bioware's obsession with Sonic 3D blast? Was that the only game Sega allowed them to take music from or something?

It is weird, but the Saturn version of Sonic 3D Blast has one of the greatest soundtracks to anything ever, so there are many worse things they could have been obsessed with...

 

[Shadow Hog]

"First the Smash bundle, now fake music. NeoGAF forums should just be ignored."

Alright.

Or maybe Redditors could think a little harder before rushing to make posts. I mean, the post with the bundle 'shop explicitly said it was a self-made mock-up, and just a little reading around the "Nocturne" post would give away that that one was all a joke.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

Disappointed the Sawmill music from DKC3 wasn't used in the Sawmill level in Tropical Freeze, though.

A lot of the DKC3 music would've gone great in the Autumn Island.

 

[Gonzo The Great]

lmao

Eddie, let me go back to my home. I'd probably piss my pants if somebody fell for that.

 

[BY2K]

What's that about the Smash Bundle?

 

[Benzychenz]

Having Olimar, with the Pikmin being the ones driving the kart and tossing items, would be amazing.

Plus he'd fit pretty well in the Mario-verse. We already have the Pikmin in Toadstool Tour.

Olimar can be the kart and the Pikmin can drive him.

 

[DICKS AHOY]

Fischer's DKC3 soundtrack is great and its only downfall is that its sandwiched between David Wise's (and Kirkhope's to a lesser extent) work.

 

[Gonzo The Great]

Disappointed the Sawmill music from DKC3 wasn't used in the Sawmill level in Tropical Freeze, though.

A lot of the DKC3 music would've gone great in the Autumn Island.

Donkey Kong Country 3 is an under appreciated classic. In many ways I prefer it over the other DKC games. The Northern Kremisphere reminds me of Canada/Scandinavia. I guess people really hate Kiddy Kong, huh?

 

[MaverickHunterAsh]

Donkey Kong Country 3 is an under appreciated classic. In many ways I prefer it over the other DKC games. The Northern Kremisphere reminds me of Canada/Scandinavia. I guess people really hate Kiddy Kong, huh?

Kiddy Kong was a terrible character. Gameplay-and design-wise, he was just a lame DK. I never wanted to play as him, especially next to the infinitely-cooler Dixie.

DKC 3 probably would have been a lot better by having Diddy or DK instead of Kiddy alone.

 

[Hero Prinny]

スゲ

ooooh forget the luigi one! if these are any good(waiting on reviews) I'll get this one if superUFO has em

 

[DICKS AHOY]

Donkey Kong Country 3 is an under appreciated classic. In many ways I prefer it over the other DKC games. The Northern Kremisphere reminds me of Canada/Scandinavia. I guess people really hate Kiddy Kong, huh?

To be fair Kiddy Kong is completely pointless and DKC3 would've been more interesting if it'd been designed around mixing DK, Diddy and Dixie's abilities together in tag-teams, even if it would've robbed Dixie of having her own game

Spoiler

Nintendo apparently doesn't even remember exists.

I still easily rank it over DKC though.

 

[Flowmoney]

スゲ

How come Hori can't make GameCube controllers without the wii remote?

I'd be down to buy non smash logo controller for GameCube adapter.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

It is weird, but the Saturn version of Sonic 3D Blast has one of the greatest soundtracks to anything ever, so there are many worse things they could have been obsessed with...

Maybe it's because I grew up with the Genesis version, but I prefer that soundtrack

 

[MaverickHunterAsh]

Maybe it's because I grew up with the Genesis version, but I prefer that soundtrack

I've seen a lot of people say that, actually. Similarly I only played the Saturn version when I was younger and not the Genesis version, so maybe that's why.

 

[SapphireZora]

Maybe it's because I grew up with the Genesis version, but I prefer that soundtrack

I'm with you on this one. Though like you I grew up with the Genesis version of 3D Blast. It has some great tracks. I'm mostly unfamiliar with the Saturn version, though I'd be interested in changing that someday.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

I like DKC3 as well. The only major fault against it for me is that fucking elephant. Otherwise, it's just as fun as the others, probably more so than DKC1, and a bit behind DKC2, but not as stark as most people would say.

I actually don't mind Kiddy, and would like to see him return. Maybe not as playable in Returns 3, but like if they make some DK Spin-Offs. They at least sort of paid homage to him by giving Donkey Kong his water-skip skill in Tropical Freeze.

 

[Hero Prinny]

How come Hori can't make GameCube controllers without the wii remote?

I'd be down to buy non smash logo controller for GameCube adapter.

they're classic pro controllers that imitate the look of a gamecube controller. if these turn out to be good this would actually be a better purchase than the adapter + gc controller cause it'll have much more compatibility.

 

[Caladrius]

I still need to play the original Donkey Kong Country games. I started 1 some time ago

Come to think of it I was also in the middle of a Super Mario World playthrough.

Olimar can be the kart and the Pikmin can drive him.

Kinky.

 

[mgs2master2]

Preloaded on my WiiU. Excited. Add me on the WiiU friend stuff. Mgs2master2 or mgs2master is Nintendo Id

 

[MaverickHunterAsh]

So, here are some scattered impressions/thoughts for ya'll based on 10-15 hours of play time:

- Blast zones definitely do feel smaller
- The game still feels just ever so slightly faster to me than the 3DS version (but it's very minor)
- Not sure if anyone's noted this in possible character changes for the new patch, but the flowerpot looks like it goes a decent bit farther in Villager's dash attack
- The Wii U Pro Controller is pretty damn decent for Smash, as it turns out. It's still no GameCube controller, but I won't mind having to use this if/when GCN controllers aren't available
- The Wii U GamePad is also a decent control solution, neither as good as the Wii U Pro Controller nor unplayable
- The Wii's original Classic Controller still sucks for Smash
- Maybe it's because I haven't used a GCN controller yet, but being good at Brawl definitely does not translate to being good at this. I was able to wreck shit in Brawl, but I'm considerably worse at and getting kicked around a lot in Wii U (and 3DS)
- I've not seen the framerate dip even once during gameplay, but it does stutter quite noticeably in at least two other instances: 1) when the game is paused and you're moving the camera to take a picture, and 2) when you're rotating and zooming in on/out of particularly effects-heavy trophies
- Load times are mostly quite snappy (surprisingly so), with the occasional uncomfortably long load time thrown in there randomly
- On Hard difficulty, some Events can be unfairly brutal - and even on Normal, some of them aren't a cakewalk
- I haven't found Smash Tour to be compelling or very fun at all; to be quite honest, I would have rather had an online, HD version of Smash Run, and that's saying something
- Had a bunch of friends and fellow journos over last night to put it through its paces, and we generally agree that it's the definitive Smash experience and that there's no reason to go back to Brawl, Melee or PM (YMMV on this of course, especially if you only like Melee/PM)
- What Sakurai said is true: Challenges are definitely harder in the Wii U version. I've already seen several that I think are going to take serious effort to accomplish, and you only get five hammers in the Wii U version to boot, as opposed to nine in the 3DS version
- Not sure if it's just how I've been playing, but characters and stages seem to take a lot longer to unlock in the Wii U version. I still don't have Mr. Game & Watch and only got R.O.B. and Dr. Mario last night
- I have yet to see a single CD appear, though I do have items set to low, so maybe that's why
- Having the item frequency setting back makes all the difference; they appeared too frequently on 3DS, but "low" and "normal" here feel great to me
- I've spent way, way too much time in My Music already
- The graphics are just insane, even seeing it at various shows doesn't do it justice. When you're actually playing it in your own home, it's just amazing

I will, of course, link you guys to my full review once the embargo lifts. And to reiterate, if anyone has any more questions that I'm allowed to answer, I'll try my best to do so!

 

[Coolbgdog12]

So, here are some scattered impressions/thoughts for ya'll based on 10-15 hours of play time:

- Blast zones definitely do feel smaller
- The game still feels just ever so slightly faster to me than the 3DS version (but it's very minor)
- Not sure if anyone's noted this in possible character changes for the new patch, but the flowerpot looks like it goes a decent bit farther in Villager's dash attack
- The Wii U Pro Controller is pretty damn decent for Smash, as it turns out. It's still no GameCube controller, but I won't mind having to use this if/when GCN controllers aren't available
- The Wii U GamePad is also a decent control solution, neither as good as the Wii U Pro Controller nor unplayable
- The Wii's original Classic Controller still sucks for Smash
- Maybe it's because I haven't used a GCN controller yet, but being good at Brawl definitely does not translate to being good at this. I was able to wreck shit in Brawl, but I'm considerably worse at and getting kicked around a lot in Wii U (and 3DS)
- I've not seen the framerate dip even once during gameplay, but it does stutter quite noticeably in at least two other instances: 1) when the game is paused and you're moving the camera to take a picture, and 2) when you're rotating and zooming in on/out of particularly effects-heavy trophies
- Load times are mostly quite snappy (surprisingly so), with the occasional uncomfortably long load time thrown in there randomly
- On Hard difficulty, some Events can be unfairly brutal - and even on Normal, some of them aren't a cakewalk
- I haven't found Smash Tour to be compelling or very fun at all; to be quite honest, I would have rather had an online, HD version of Smash Run, and that's saying something
- Had a bunch of friends and fellow journos over last night to put it through its paces, and we all agree that it's the definitive Smash experience and that there's no reason to ever go back to Brawl, Melee or PM (YMMV on this of course, especially if you only like Melee/PM)
- What Sakurai said is true: Challenges are definitely harder in the Wii U version. I've already seen several that I think are going to take serious effort to accomplish, and you only get five hammers in the Wii U version to boot, as opposed to nine in the 3DS version
- Not sure if it's just how I've been playing, but characters and stages seem to take a lot longer to unlock in the Wii U version. I still don't have Mr. Game & Watch and only got R.O.B. and Dr. Mario last night
- I have yet to see a single CD appear
- I've spent way, way too much time in My Music already
- The graphics are just insane, even seeing it at various shows doesn't do it justice. When you're actually playing it in your own home, it's just amazing

I will, of course, link you guys to my full review once the embargo lifts. And to reiterate, if anyone has any more questions that I'm allowed to answer, I'll try my best to do so!

Game of the Forever confirmed.

 

[MaverickHunterAsh]

Game of the Forever confirmed.

Not necessarily. No one who loves Melee is going to agree with that, but yeah, for the rest of us, it doesn't feel like there's a reason to go back except for nostalgia purposes.

 

[Coolbgdog12]

Not necessarily. No one who loves Melee is going to agree with that, but yeah, for the rest of us, it doesn't feel like there's a reason to go back except for nostalgia purposes.

Seeing that this is the first smash game that can be patched and updated officially I see no reason to even go back. I'll probably play Smash 3DS and Project M 3.5 over the next week and once Smash Wii U drops I'll probably never touch PM again except for comparison sakes.

 

[Daouzin]

it's the definitive Smash experience and that there's no reason to ever go back to Brawl, Melee or PM (YMMV on this of course, especially if you only like Melee/PM)

Yeah. basically everyone around me thinks they will be done with Smash 4 after a few months, half of them already stopped playing it for either Melee or PM.

I can't stop playing For Glory in Smash 4 because it's so much fun, but it definitely doesn't have the depth that Melee or PM have. Not only because it lacks movement options but because combo moves and kill moves seem much more defined they they are in the other two. Like Sakurai wanted people to use moves for specific things and nothing else.

I don't mind it, but the more creative players definitely have a problem with it.

My personal opinion: HYPE LEVELS MAXIMUM!!!!!!

Just think that you're under estimating the differences between Melee/PM and Smash 4.

tl:dr
I think you're wrong, Melee is the best, but yeah, Smash for Wii U looks awesome.