Though it was leaked yesterday through an early patch, and there have been code hunters picking into the software for notes, Nintendo officially unveiled a content update for Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS that includes DLC characters, stages, modes and even amiibo.
Hold on to your butts.
During a pre-E3 mini Smash Bros-focused Direct, series director Masahiro Sakurai showcased a slew of new content for the evergreen game. With a patch today, Earthbound/Mother‘s Lucas will become available for purchase. Coming along fort the ride will be Fire Emblem’s Roy — last seen in Super Smash Bros Melee on the Gamecube and updated with a look coherent with Fire Emblem Awakening and Fire Emblem If — and Street Fighter‘s iconic Ryu.
Roy will focus on close attacks, and designed to be more powerful than his incarnation in Melee. His Final Smash will be a huge sword swing that knocks opponents across the stage. Translating Ryu was much more difficult, as the transition from Street Fighter’s 6-button layout to Smash’s 2 was important to take time in developing. Now, depending on how long the attack button is pressed, Ryu will deliver light or strong punches and kicks. His trademark Hadouken and Shoryuken return, as does his Hurricane Kick, but most impressive might be his Final Smash. Proximity to the opponents determines what kind of attack Ryu will launch: up close will give a massive Shoryuken and from farther away he will deliver a blazing Hadouken. He even has the Focus Attack from recent Street Fighter iterations.
New stages were also announced. Coming along with Ryu will be his Street Fighter temple stage. The live Miiverse stage grabs messages from character-specific Miiverse rooms, and Kirby’s Dreamland stage from Super Smash Bros 64 will go live. Later this Summer will see the return of two more popular classic stages from the N64 game: the Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros 64’s castle.
A slew of Mii Fighter costumers were revealed as well. Players can now dress their Miis as MegaMan.exe from Battle Network, Zero from Mega Man Zero, Animal Crossing’s Isabelle, Splatoon‘s Inklings and Squid, and Virtua Fighter’s Jacky and Akira. Akira comes with an amazing polygonal look reminiscent of the OG block Virtua Fighter in arcades. Also announced was another fighting game crossover, as a Tekken’s Heihachi costume will become available, complete with bald head and crazy hair.
There are new amiibo coming, so prepare to go broke again. Coming in September, and joining the already announced characters like Ganondorf and Olimar, will be R.O.B. the robot, Duck Hunt God and Duck, Mr. Game & Watch and Falco from Star Fox. Mr. Game & Watch signals the first amiibo that can be interactive outside of the game, as owners can swap out poses on a standard base. Finally, ALL THREE Mii Fighters will be available, matching the base design of the fighters in the game. All of these will be available in September.
Nintendo plans on releasing all 51 characters, and even mentioned that MewTwo and Ryu will be receiving amiibo at some point.
YouTube is also on its way. Previously, videos could only be saved locally and shared through the game, but now they can be exported to YouTube much in the same way as Mario Kart 8. I’m looking forward to Kirby Death Stare, myself.
The new modes, some of which first were announced back in November during a Wii U Smash focused Direct, include Community and Regular tournaments. The Community Tournaments will let winners be decided based on points ranking. Think of this as a sort of Smash Bros league, with players competing over a large period of time. The Regular Tournaments are just that — a huge live knock-out tournament that whittles players down to one champion. These will both be available in August.
Pricing for everything is as follows:
- Mii Fighter costumes are available for $0.75 per game, or $1.15 for both 3DS & Wii U if purchased together
- Lucas is priced $3.99 per device or $4.99 for both 3DS & Wii U if purchased together
- Roy is priced $3.99 per device or $4.99 for both 3DS & Wii U if purchased together
- Ryu and his Suzaku Castle stage is priced at $5.99 per device or $6.99 for both 3DS & Wii U if purchased together
Watch the entire Super Smash Bro pre-E3 Direct below!
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