Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS- Roster Breakdown Part 2

We head into round two of our four-part look into the new Smash Bros. roster.

While information on the new Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS trickles in, we already know a large portion of the roster. With 21 characters revealed at this point, we split this feature into four parts and cover what we know about each character as we inch closer to the release of the new Smash Bros. game for Wii U and 3DS. Check out the first part of the series, or continue on for part two.

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Link

There’s controversy of late, due to the fact that the creator of the Smash Bros. series stated that some characters may not return. While this news alone isn’t too jarring, it caused a small uproar because both Link and Toon Link have already been confirmed. While the two characters play differently on the competitive stage, most casual players view them as almost identical. Finding out that some characters may be cut while two Links make it into the game didn’t sit well with some people.

With that said, Link will retain most of his previous attacks. The bomb and arrows are back in action, along with almost all of his tilt and smash attacks. We haven’t seen anything new from Link from a gameplay perspective, but we have seen a few visual changes. Most notable is the new look of his bombs. The new stone appearance of the bombs could potentially make them harder to see on some stages. Beyond that, Link looks almost identical at this point, so we’ll have to wait for more footage before we pick him apart.

Luigi

While Mario may have the spotlight in the main Super Mario Bros. series, Luigi is generally the brother of choice in Super Smash Bros., at least when it comes to comparing him to the original Mario (Dr. Mario fairs a bit better). We haven’t seen much in the way of video footage of Luigi, which means we only have screenshots to go by. However, from the screens we’ve seen, it appears as though he has all of his attacks from Brawl, just like his brother.

Since the game moves at a faster pace than Brawl and the jumps are more nimble, this should only serve to help Luigi climb up the tier list. He’s never been much of a highlight at tournaments, but he generally performs better than Mario. With the speed and other general gameplay changes in the new Smash, if Luigi can get one or two new attacks, he could become one of the more usable characters in competitive play.

Mario

The biggest star in Nintendo’s stable is back for his third Super Smash Bros. game, and like many of the other series mainstays, he hasn’t seen many change to his move set. We’ve seen more footage of Mario than virtually any other character in the new Smash, and while he seems to have a nearly identical move set to what he had in Brawl, the revamped speed of the new Smash may help Mario more than the other characters.

Mario was never a powerhouse in the other Smash games, being overshadowed by Dr. Mario and Luigi. However, many of his attacks seem to be sped up from the Brawl counterparts, which should have a significant impact on how he’s played at higher levels. With more speed on his attacks and hopefully less recovery, it means that he’ll be far more versatile and will likely see quite a bit more tournament play.

Marth

When it comes to the Fire Emblem characters, Marth has definitely been the favorite from a competitive perspective. He has been played by some of the best Melee players in the world, and while he didn’t change much in Brawl, he wasn’t nearly as dominant. From the look of things, Marth seems to be similar to his Melee and Brawl counterpart in the new Smash title.

So far, most of Marth’s attacks have returned, including his counter move. While we only have screen shots of Marth at this point, what will help him a great deal are the general gameplay changes to the new Smash. He was a force in Melee, but the floaty jumps and slower speed of Brawl helped to lessen his fearsome attack power. With the new game finding a happy median between Brawl and Melee, we can assume this will only help Marth in his climb to the top of the list.

Peach

The princess is back once again, but unlike some of the other returning characters, she has at least one new trick that we can pick up from the screenshots. Her up Smash has been revamped so that the hit box seems to extend horizontally. This is a significant improvement, and should elevate an already solid character to new heights.

In addition to her new up Smash, she has several returning favorites, including the counter with Toad and her dash attack. Like other characters, the faster pace of the new game should only help to make Peach an even better character than she was in previous Smash games. However, her high learning curve probably won’t change much.


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Author
Bryan Dawson
Bryan Dawson has an extensive background in the gaming industry, having worked as a journalist for various publications for nearly 20 years and participating in a multitude of competitive fighting game events. He has authored over a dozen strategy guides for Prima Games, worked as a consultant on numerous gaming-related TV and web shows and was the Operations Manager for the fighting game division of the IGN Pro League.