In general, I'm very, very satisfied with how this game turned out. I tried to avoid as much information as I could; I didn't watch videos, photos or anything. I didn't even watch the 50-Fact Extravaganza, all because I wanted to be surprised when I had the game, and it worked. So many simple details that I've noticed have made this game a really enjoyable experience because of the many things it has to offer.
First of all, the character roster. I won't go hypocritical and say that I love the roster when a couple months ago I was cursing Sakurai for his choices (I still do it, by the way) because I will just never forgive him for Dr. Mario, Lucina and Dark Pit and for the lack of Lucas, Wolf and the Ice Climbers. I also hate that Mewtwo was left for DLC; he should have been part of the main game in the first place but whatever, it's better than nothing, I guess. However, I'm very happy with the characters that did get in the game.
Rosalina, for Christ's sake, is my second favorite Mario character and of course my main because she's also my type of fighter. Robin, while not my type of character and fighter, is a really cool addition because of its interesting fighting mechanic. Shulk is also very cool even though I know nothing about him. Palutena is a very cool addition too and has become my secondary main along with Charizard. Villager literally had me in tears of laughter when I saw his attacks. Duck Hunt and Wii Fit Trainer, though, are some of the most stupidest additions ever, but I guess they make the roster have some... personality, if you will.
Second, the stages. God, the stages. In Brawl, most of the new stages introduced SUCKED, like Hanenbow, Skyworld, Mario Bros, 75m, Green Hill Zone, Rumble Falls, New Pork City, The Summit, Mushroomy Kingdom, and the list goes on. This time around, I think the only stages that aren't good are Wrecking Crew and Pac-Land. The rest is just so fun. Gamer is one of the most fun stages ever. Mario Galaxy is just awesome with the gravity effect it has and the gorgeous graphics it offers. Kalos Pokémon League is one of the most original stages in the series. Talking about original, I have to mention Jungle Hijinxs. The whole background fighting is just very cool. I could keep going on this. I can't say I'm not disappointed with the amount of old stages that returned. I mean, did we REALLY need Brawl's Mario Circuit when we have a brand-new, much more interesting Mario Circuit? Did we REALLY need Smashville back when there's the Town and City stage, which is literally the same thing but with different music and background? Did we REALLY need 75m which is just boring and annoying? The good part is, there's the wonderful addition of the Omega Forms of the stages, which makes them all playable.
Now I want to talk about the sound department. I can't say I'm entirely happy with the soundtrack because of one sole reason: there are way too many songs reused from Brawl. The new tracks, however, are amazing. There are some really cool tracks and they have made a great job remixing the songs.
Now, the voice acting. It's disappointing that so many characters have their voice clips from Brawl reused instead of getting new voice acting. This could have been done in order to reduce costs, but I still can't help feeling sad that some characters weren't put as much effort as others on their voices. By the way, am I the only one who doesn't think Fox's new voice is
that bad? I mean, of course I prefer the old one, but this one isn't horrible either. Maybe it's just me thinking that there can be nothing worse than Daisy's voice, though.
The game is not without its flaws, however, just like any other game. I'm not a fan of the awkward menus, and I'm not enjoying the fact that the Tourney mode isn't a thing from the get-go and that we have to wait for an update to have it. Smash Tour is a boring, overcomplicated hot mess that absolutely no one wants to play, ever. The Classic Mode is just weird and is missing some classic stuff like Target Test and other minigames. Speaking of which, what's with the Target Blast mess we got? It's basically Angry Birds. Boring as hell. I would have preferred having the normal Target Test from Melee or Brawl (although I prefer each character having their own stage like 64 and Melee had).
However, the game has one HUGE flaw, and it's...
Little Mac.
WHAT THE LITERAL FUCK. SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE LITERAL FUCK. The character is OP to no end. Yes, yes, yes, I know that he sucks in the air, but there is no reason for a character to be THAT strong, especially when they're that fast. It has to be either one or the other. But no, this thing has both. He has some ridiculous invincible frames and sometimes he won't even flinch when attacked while charging his attacks. To make matters worse, he's not only ridiculously strong, but he also gets a 1-hit KO move that can easily kill someone at 40% (it happened to me). This is not me being salty for losing at one, just in case someone says it. I've played against a couple Little Macs online and, while difficult, I've been able to beat them with Rosalina. He needs a nerf SOON.
Let's go back to the positive stuff now. Another thing that stands out from this game is the graphic department. The graphics are just beautiful and really detailed. There's also the game's 8-Player Smash which is the best thing ever, and getting 7 friends together to fight alongside you leads to some crazy, ridiculously fun battles. This is why I think this might actually be the one Smash Bros game to top Melee (since Brawl isn't that good in my opinion, and now I feel I don't have a reason to go back to it, whereas I still sometimes like to play Melee).
Overall, I give this game 9.7/10.
