For those who are unfamiliar with Super Smash Bros, it is basically a fighting game made by Nintendo using its own characters. Super Smash Bros for 3DS is the most recent addition in the series. Returning fans and even beginners will recognize a lot of familiar characters from all eras of Nintendo’s history. Familiar faces include Mario, Pikachu from Pokémon, Link from The Legend of Zelda, Kirby, and many more. There are more than a dozen new faces joining the roster, such as Shulk from Xenoblade Chronicles, Villager from Animal Crossing, and Robin from Fire Emblem: Awakening. A few ‘3rd-party’ characters also appear in Smash Bros for 3DS. These characters are not owned by Nintendo, but thanks cooperation between the 4 companies; SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog makes a return while Namco’s Pac-Man and Capcom’s Mega Man join the roster for the first time. With nearly 50 playable characters, Super Smash Bros 3DS has the largest roster in the series’ history.

Gameplay in Super Smash Bros 3DS is the same as its predecessors, you choose your character, choose a stage, and then fight in a match. The goal of a match is not to lower a health bar to zero, it is actually to build your opponents’ damage percentage and send them flying off the stage. The more damage a character has, the farther they fly. If a character flies too far off the stage they will be KO’d. Speaking of stages, there are over 30 stages in Super Smash Bros for 3DS. These stages are based off of many games throughout Nintendo’s history. A variety of items will appear on stages, some of these items can heal you, others can damage your opponents, and some can even summon a random character that helps you.

There are several modes included in Super Smash Bros 3DS, such as Classic Mode where players must go through several matches to fight a powerful boss. Online Mode also makes a return in Super Smash Bros for 3DS. Super Smash Bros for 3DS introduces a new mode called Smash Run, where players navigate a large maze gathering items that improve stats and then fight in a match using their improved stats. Another new feature introduced in Super Smash Bros 3DS is customization. Players can collect new moves and power-ups to customize characters’ moves and stats.

The game has two major issues with gameplay, those being the Controls and the Online Mode. Starting with the Controls; in previous Super Smash Bros games, most people played using two analog sticks for movement however the Nintendo 3DS only has a single Circle Pad. This means that many people will have to adjust to the new controls. This adjustment can be frustrating at times, especially when you’re sure you can win a match and you fall off the stage, twice. Next, the Online Mode in Super Smash Bros for 3DS has lag issues. Not all online matches will have lag, when you experience lag, it will either cause the match to be slow, or completely cause the match to crash. This is very frustrating when playing online. These issues are small and do not completely ruin the game, the first issue can be fixed by playing the game and adjusting to the controls, and the second issue does not show up too often

Despite the few issues Super Smash Bros 3DS has, it is a must-have for 3DS owners. Super Smash Bros is fun playing alone, but it’s even better when playing against friends! The amount of awesomeness included in the game will keep you coming back for a long time. Also if you are not convinced by this review, there is a demo on the Nintendo eShop. Even though the demo only offers 5 playable characters, one stage, and just one mode, it gives a small taste of the awesomeness!