I wasn’t really sure what to expect from Nintendo going into E3 2014. After hearing the rave reviews of the Mario Kart 8, I had hopes that this would be Nintendo’s turning point. I don’t yet own a Wii U. Would this be that title that would finally push me to the purchase?
Nintendo didn’t just bring Smash Bros. to E3; it was pretty much the biggest highlight of the convention. Not only was there a theater sized screen to play on, they were running a makeshift tournament at the show to claim a T-shirt. First round was practice, second round was an all out battle to see if you had the chops to earn a shirt. If that wasn’t enough, once you got the coin you could then move on to the finals and battle on the big screen to earn a Smash Medal.
Now being the Smash master you all know I am, I went in with the sure fire way to beat everybody: picking the best character in the game. (Obviously, it’s Kirby.)
For the new characters it was clear: Little Mac was the character to destroy. He’s a beast; sure he starts out a little slow but once he picks up speed… As Mac lands more hits he eventually builds up to one-shot KO status. Now if that wasn’t enough, his special turns him into Giga Mac, which pretty much means get out of the way. The balance though is Mac doesn’t have any air skills so it’s not tough to destroy him, it’s just the fact you have to get him off the ground. As for Mega Man, he was one of the tougher characters to play as. A lot of people tried and I saw very few people really master his abilities. His Special, though, is a sight to behold.
Short answer? I didn’t end up getting a T-shirt. (Though, to be said I did end up in second place!)
Overall this game is great, I was even more impressed to see Nintendo supporting the Gamecube controller. It looked and played great; after round 1 I knew I had to get one. This is certainly the final selling point for anyone considering making the Wii U jump.