Even more fighters are joining the brawl
Is the newest Super Smash Bros. still plugged into your Wii U or 3DS? Still patiently (or maybe not so patiently) waiting to add Mewtwo to your franchise-crossing throwdowns? And were you hoping for even more new information on new characters and download content? If so, the latest Nintendo Direct had a bunch of info on new characters and other updates that you'll definitely want to know about.
We already knew that Mewtwo will be available by the end of April for everyone, though if you registered both versions of the game on the now defunct Club Nintendo, youll get to play hiim even earlier, for free. Then we got the surprising news of Mother 3s lead returning to the game, some spiffy DLC for Mii fighters, and the chance for fans to influence the next character to join the game. Read on for all the important details
Mewtwo comes to Club Nintendo folks April 15, April 28 for everyone else
Soon after Super Smash Bros. for 3DS launched, Nintendo announced that Mewtwo, a favorite of Smash Bros. Melee, would make his triumphant return to the series as DLC for the latest Smash. Fans who purchased and registered both games would get to play him for free, and now we know when. And if you didnt jump through those hoops, you can still get the Legendary Pokemon too youll just have to wait a little bit longer.
Those who registered both games will get a free download code on April 15 that will unlock the psychic beast in both versions. Mewtwo will be purchasable for everyone else on April 28. The character will cost $4 in each version, or you can unlock him in both simultaneously for $5.
Lucas arrives in June
Mother 3 is the the white whale of Nintendo fans worldwide, as the cult RPG has yet to see official release outside of Japan. The closest fans got was seeing Mother 3s protagonist, Lucas, as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Lucas was left out of the latest Smash, but he will make a comeback as a DLC character this summer.
Though based on Ness, Lucas has a distinct moveset all his own, and now fans will finally get to test the blonde youngsters skills against his old rivals and new challengers alike. Planned for sometime in June, no price has been given yet for Lucas, though presumably it'll fall in line with Mewtwo's asking price.
You can help choose the next character
Dont think the DLC ends with Mewtwo or Lucas. It would appear that director Masahiro Sakurai plans to add even more folks to the roster - and he's enlisting your help with the Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot.
If you head over here, you can plead your case (in 500 characters or less) for whoever you'd like to see join the battle. You can vote for Goku, Bomberman, or any of a million other characters in the hopes that your voice will be heard. Knowing how much Smash fans like to imagine a dream roster, expect a ton of different votes to come in from all over the world. Voting is open until October,so maybe we'll find out who our first democratically elected Smash characters will be by the end of the year.
DLC costumes for Mii fighters coming in April
Mewtwo isnt the only DLC planned to arrive on April 15. In a move thats obvious in retrospect, a number of extra costumes for Mii fighters will soon be available for purchase in both the Wii U and 3DS versions. Youll be able to dress your combatant Miis as Link (even in the famous Majoras Mask), Mega Man X, Proto Man, and Xenoblades Dunban, as well as a cat, or monkey. Also, you can just stick 'em in a Smash Bros. T-shirt.
The price depends on how many costumes you want, and on which platform. For $0.75, you can get any of the outfits for either 3DS or Wii U, or you can unlock it on both platforms for $1.15. Should you want every article of Aprils DLC clothing, you can get the full set for $6 on either system, or across both Wii U and 3DS for $9.20. One has to wonder if this is just the start of the specialized DLC outfits.
Miiverse stage
The DLC isn't just limited to Pokemon or DLC outfits, because there's at least one stage that will be coming post-release. That's the Miiverse stage for the Wii U version of Smash. It's a simple looking level in the style of Battlefield, only it adds in the interactivity of the Miiverse as real life posts from users fly by in the background.
In case you aren't familiar with the fun of crazy Miiverse posts, this stage will expose you to it. Depending on what fighter you choose, actual user submitted drawings of the character will be pulled straight off of Miiverse and appear in the background as a way to cheer on players. No concrete timing has been set for when this will be out, but the sooner the better. I need to see "Why can't Samus crawl?" fly by during a fight.
Level sharing
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U has some new level creation tools that take advantage of the touchscreen interface in clever ways, but at launch you'll only be able to share them with your friends offline. The same is true for the custom versions of fighters that you build via alternate, unlockable attacks. But you'll eventually be able to share them once a post-release download goes live.
No specific timing has been set for it yet, but following the Wii U's launch, the developers will wrap up work on enabling sharing of custom stages and characters. No word yet on if any of this online sharing is headed to 3DS--my gut feeling is it won't. The Wii U version will also be updated to allow players to share replay footage online as well, so you'll eventually be able to show the world just how well you've mastered Link's down attack.
Host your own tournaments
Smash Bros. long term appeal owes a lot to the series' popularity in the hardcore fighting game community. Tournaments for Smash are hosted all the time for every version of the game, and that will likely continue on the Wii U version. But what if you don't have the space to host up to 64 players to decide who's the best at Smash? Don't worry, the DLC is on the way.
Though not ready at launch, a free download to Smash Bros. Wii U will allow players to create tournaments that can host up to 64 players into one massively bracketed battle royale. You can join with friends or with strangers, the rules look to be as customizable as they are in the game's other battle modes, and you can check out saved replays after it's all over. Too bad this doesn't come with the full game, but hopefully they'll have this update out before EVO 2015. I need to sharpen my skills before then.
Who else is on the way?
Mewtwo's inclusion isn't just great news for Melee fans, it's also a game changer for the franchise. If this legendary pocket monster can make a return, what's to stop any of the other previously cut characters from appearing in the next round of updates?
Read on for a list of the other characters that have been cut from previous Smash games that hopefully will come back again in the next round of DLC. Of course, in the interest of fairness, also included are the sober possibilities on if they'll actually be reborn as DLC or stay locked away in your memories.
The Ice Climbers
First appeared: Ice Climber (1985)
Before Smash Bros. Melee, none but the most hardcore of Nintendo fans had heard of the NES game Ice Climber. But when this daring duo premiered in Melee, they became favorites for anyone that could keep track of the two characters moving around the screen at once. Popo and Nana even became big on the competitive Smash scene after a grab exploit was discovered, but now those fans will have to find someone new for tourneys. These two frozen friends have been left out of the newest Smash game, which might be the most shocking omission of all.
Chance they'll be in DLC: Some fans are currently so upset that they would certainly pay to add Ice Climbers after the fact, but there's the unfortunate fact that game director Masahiro Sakurai said that the two had been cut because the twin characters were too taxing on the 3DS's CPU. Then again, there's a New 3DS on the horizon that just happens to have way more processing power. Could the two be return as DLC that won't be available to owners of the original 3DS?
