Super Smash Bros. 3DS Multiplayer Tips

Get more tips with Prima’s Super Smash Bros. 3DS strategy guide!

Between Smash Run, Classic Mode and the various single player offerings in Super Smash Bros. 3DS, multiplayer isn’t a requirement to enjoy the game. That said, we all know that Smash is a party game designed to be enjoyed by four players at once. The netcode in Super Smash Bros. 3DS was significantly improved since Super Smash Bros. Brawl, so there’s never been a better time to play against friends, or even strangers than right now.

Of course, as much of a party game as Smash Bros. is, everyone wants to win. Whether you’re stealing KOs from your friends or doing all the work yourself, winning is the ultimate goal in Super Smash Bros. On that note, we compiled a few easy multiplayer tips that will help you elevate your skills to new heights.

Play a Matching Character

We all like to pick our favorite characters and lead them to victory. However, the characters in Super Smash Bros. 3DS vary quite a bit. It’s important to select a character who complements your play style. Donkey Kong may be your favorite Mario Bros. character of all time, but if you like to play with quick movement and fast attacks, you may struggle to do well with a character like DK.

Figure out how you like to play Super Smash Bros., then select a character that matches that play style. You can always play more than one character, but with a matching character your chances of winning will increase dramatically. If you like to constantly move, Fox or Falco may be right up your alley. Do you prefer to stand back and toss projectiles at your friends? Maybe Link, Toon Link or Villager are best suited for you. There are a ton of different characters and an equally large number of play styles. You should definitely be able to find the character that’s right for you.

Anticipate an Opponent’s Next Move

Super Smash Bros. is not a traditional fighting game. While anticipating (i.e. reading) what your opponent will do next is a valuable skill to have in any fighting game, Smash Bros. is far more instinctive than most fighters. In games such as Tekken or Street Fighter, you know what attack your opponent wants to connect to start a combo. In Smash Bros. there’s such a wide variety of ways you can begin your offense, it’s difficult to know what your opponent will do next.

To take that to the next level, once you’ve hit an opponent, you still have to anticipate where they’re going to tech and how they’ll react to the attack. If you guess wrong, your combo may come to an end. More importantly, once you’ve knocked a character off the stage, you have to anticipate how they’ll try to recover and be ready to prevent that from happening.

The best way to improve your anticipation skill is by focusing more on what your opponents are doing and how they react to certain situations. Many players make the mistake of focusing on themselves and what their character is doing. You already know what your character is doing and how you’re going to react to any given situation. Take the focus off yourself and look closely at your opponents. When you get close, do they shield immediately? Do they roll away or go for a grab? Do they jump or start attacking? The more observant you are, the easier it is to anticipate what your opponent will do next.

Every Item is a Good Item

Some people play with all items, some people turn off specific “cheap” items, other people turn all items off. If you use items when you play with friends, you probably have a few favorites and a few you generally don’t care for. The important thing to remember about items is that almost every single item can be thrown at an opposing character. This makes items valuable assets during edgeguarding, or just to keep an opponent away or chase them down if they’re running from you.

Every item has a use, and every item has advantages and disadvantages. Even the Smash Ball, which many people consider to be the most powerful item in Super Smash Bros., has disadvantages. As players frantically scramble to hit the Smash Ball, they’re generally ignoring the other players. This leaves them vulnerable to attack. It’s also commonplace to see one player go for the Smash Ball, hit it twice, then a more astute second player swoops in for that crucial third hit and claims the prize.

Whether you’re using an item the way it was meant to be used, throwing it at an opponent or just using it as bait to attack an unsuspecting player, there are no bad items. As soon as an item appears, decide if you want the item, note the location of your opponents and then decide what your best course of action is. There’s almost always something to be gained when an item appears.

Be Adventurous

A big part of being good at Super Smash Bros. involves taking risks. You have to anticipate, which is basically just guessing what your opponent will do next. However, you can take that a step further and become adventurous. If you’re playing a stock game, most people tend to be more cautious when both players are down to the last stock. While caution is important, this is when you should be incredibly adventurous, especially while edgeguarding.

If you knock an opponent off the stage on the last stock, as long as they KO before you do, the win is yours. Follow them off the stage and continue attacking to push them farther away in hopes of scoring that coveted KO. Even if you fail the first few times, you’ll learn what attacks and movement work best when chasing an opponent off the stage. Once you have that strategy down, you can use it all the time instead of reserving it for the opponent’s last stock, but do not extend yourself so far that you can’t make it back to the stage.

Even if you’re not chasing an opponent off the stage, chase them down as often as possible. If you land an Up Smash, double jump after the opponent to see if you can tack on another hit before they recover. If an opponent rolls away, run after them and attempt a throw, or any attack that might catch them at the end of the roll. The more risks you take, the more you learn what does and doesn’t work, and how far you can push yourself.

Defense, Defense, Defense

Everyone who starts playing fighting games loves to be offensive. In Street Fighter, everyone new to the game loves to jump. In Super Smash Bros., newcomers tend to oppose shielding. You may see someone on the other side of the stage camping out with projectile attacks, but you’ll rarely see them put up their shield. While there are ways around shielding, it’s also not your only defensive option. You can roll, dodge, jump or just move away. The most important thing to remember is that defense wins matches. If you never get hit, it’s extremely difficult for an opponent to score a KO.

Obviously it’s out of the question to simply ask that you not get hit, but that’s just an extreme take on how you should play. That’s not to say that offense is irrelevant. Offense is very important, especially in a game like Super Smash Bros. However, even with the best offense around, if you’re up against a good defensive player, it can be very difficult to land hits. In addition, the stronger your defense, the more frustrated your opponent will get and the more risks he or she start to take. If you’re astute, you can see these mistakes and capitalize on them. In this situation, exceptional defense creates all the offense you need.

Prima will post more Super Smash Bros. tips next week!