Smash 3DS Demo Discussion (No code giveaway etc.)

[Muster]

I'm honestly glad i played pretty much exclusively Project m/brawl -/melee before this, feels so much faster than before!

All the characters seem great, but Megaman got the short end of the stick having most of the other characters in the demo as good matchups against him.
By the time smash 3ds comes out, i'll have some kind of fortune saved up on Gold.

 

[Renji64]

Finally got the demo it controls better i thought it would. My only issues it is hard to dash and the L and R button need to be swapped. Characters feel good. It looks great and runs very smoothly. I wish characters didn't live so long and the blastzones weren't so big this game would be even better.

 

[SmashWolf]

-Time matches as usual are lame, especially in Free-For-Alls where people can steal kills.
-Items are REALLY powerfull.
-The game is MUCH faster yet slow at the same time, but it's better than Brawl for sure.
-Characters feel more balanced across the board, minus Megaman.
-I actually enjoy the new ledge mechanics, forcing you to be active rather than passive with edgehogging.
-Almost no single attack does any major damage, and characters live MUCH too long.
-I still feel a bit limited by the game's movement lag, and I don't like the lack of dash-momentum jumps.
-You can chain airdodges and rolls MUCH too fast, barely leaving yourself open. Makes me worry about defensive play again.
-Screw these uncustomizable 3DS controls. Why is customization of controls not an option just because it's a demo?
-3DS stick is not handled very precise. It's hard to choose between Smashing, tilting, or dash attacks.


Link is much better overall, even though I miss his old dash attack. This dash attack is WAY too telegraphed.
Mario is quite speedy, has alot of combo potential. Not sure if it's the game or him, but he seems to have less killing power.
Pikachu's attacks feel alot more fluid and have a bit more range, though his thunder and knockback got nerfed.
Alot of his moves seem useless or too situational. Probably has hidden potential, but his smashes are great.
Only used him as punching bag. Seems all-rounded with alot of emphasis on ledgeplay.

 

[Super_Queijo]

I see most people are having problems with Mega Man, being my most played char in the demo I can give a few tips:
-Use side B (crash bomb) then B (metal blade) for spacing, if you miss the bomb, you can send another after throwing the blade, do this while hooping away from thr opponent, he will have trouble getting to you. If the bomb connects, metal blade until it explodes.
-On the ground, Down Smash is the best KO move, but has a huge and long lasting hitbox, use when the opponent is dashing or landing to you.
-For mid range, side smash, if the opponent dodges in you direction, up tilt or down tilt will prevent him from attacking you
-Now the best tip of all: grab. It's mega man's fastest close move, and down throw can be followed by side air
-In the air, back air for KO, side air and up air to raise the opponets %, you can use at least twice the tornado if he's above you because of the wind effect

 

[obeymalleo]

I've been maining out Villager for the past... I don't even know how long. I got my code in the third batch that Nintendo sent out, so I've been playing it for a while. I play on a standard model 3DS, and it looks, feels, and plays out great. The overall speed of the game was such a suprise, I honestly thought it was going to only be a little bit faster than Brawl. It may be my favorite Smash Bros. game in terms of physics, since it's a perfect balance between Brawl and Melee. Also, combos are a thing, which is amazing.

I love Villager so much, haha. Landing a tree on somebody is so satisfying, mostly when it's off the ledge. His F-Air and B-Air are godly, and they string into each other, which is crazy. He has amazing killing potential, with D-Tilt, U-Tilt, F-Smash, D-Special, and many, many others. I love all of his fancy Pocket tricks, too.

Right now I'm trying out Pikachu, who has been one of my long-time favorites throughout the whole series. While I'm getting destroyed more than often, I'm getting the hang of his combos, stringing U-Airs and U-Tilts, getting actual kills, etc. which is great. I'm hoping to learn more about him, though, since I'm still not that great with him.

Also, while it is hardware limitations, I hate how choppy Assist Trophies, especially Nintendogs, looks. Maybe it's just me, but they look so choppy.

Lucky you.

 

[SmashBroski]

From a Brawl perspective, this feels overall better but coming from a Melee/PM perspective, I don't think it's as good. It's different from the two (or three) so it has that going but overall, definitely try it when you can.

Either that or the 3DS controls are just, meh.

 

[OtakuDJK1NG]

I don't get why people say Mega Man is hard to play as. He clearly isn't.

 

[Waterwraith]

Gonna go ahead and post my thoughts on the demo, then.

Overall, the game feels great to play. It might just be my favorite Smash game, gameplay wise. The pace is about where it should be. Offensive gameplay is about as viable as defensive gameplay, and all the characters feel great in their own special way. The only complaint I have is that the blast lines are a BIT too far away for 2 minute matches. I'll be lucky if I can get more than a few kills in.

As for the characters themselves...

Link
Link feels FANTASTIC. all his animations are quicker, stronger and very fluid. His items all feel a bit more useful too. The Gale Boomerang has seen lot of use from me. It also feels much easier to recover and edge-guard. All the sluggishness that held him down in Brawl is gone.

Villager
I didn't expect to like this kid as much as I do. His specials are all great, either giving him a good amount of mobility or are very useful as attacks in their own right. He's also perfect for guarding the edge. I'm actually worried he might be a little broken with his strong attacks and excellent recovery moves, but he sure is fun to play as.

Mario
Mario feels touched up in all the right places. His attacks let off faster than ever before and he's very powerful, if basic. I found it easiest to land combos with him as well. Fludd still sucks but I can look past that.

Megaman
Megaman...feels a bit clunky honestly. His jab feels sort of useless. His crash bomber seems alright if you could nail a hit but most CPUs could work their way around it. His Leaf Shield might be the most worthless special move I've ever seen. Great air attacks and Smash attacks though, at least. I could see him being good once people figure him out.

Never really cared for Pikachu, so I have nothing to say about him.

 

[Smallgenie549]

The demo got rid of any slight doubts I had about the game. The game controls like a dream, the 3D is gorgeous, it's not hard to see what's going on, and the newcomers are a blast to play as. This demo is enough to tide me over until the main game releases. There's no lesser version here.

Oh yeah, and I'll be adding Villager to my list of mains, alongside Kirby and Robin. He's a blast to play.

 

[Ikagura]

i love playing link (he will become my second main) and I had to setup my system language to enjoy the original announcer voice. I beats all lv9 characters

 

[Mr. Pants]

The demo has taught me that I need to get a 3DS XL or maybe a 2DS. The original 3DS isn't very comfortable for me to play on for an extended period of time. The controls took a little getting used to (just a little!). The game is great though and I can't wait for the full version to come out. I've gotten used to Mega Man and his play style and I like him a lot. I'm still having trouble using the villager. I keep hearing about how great and overpowered his moves are but he's not working for me! The other veteran fighters play great.

 

[ScottyWK]

A few thoughts:

Mario feels the best to me simply off of combo ability (almost feels like Project M)
MegaMan is solid, but it bothers me that you can't attack quicker after using his Up+B
Villager is fun to use, but it sucks that you have to be so up close to pull anything off

 

[MM3K]

I have found that my concerns with the game were for naught, it looks awesome, controls awesome, and just generally feels awesome!

I've been particularly loving Megaman, he's such an unique and strong fighter, for those of you stuggling to use him, the pointers that @ Super_Queijo put in his/her post are spot on and the way I have more or less been playing with Rock (I just came up with mostly the same stuff as him/her) while also using his jab, nair and ftilt a lot, it's very useful for spacing, racking up damage and just all-around fun to use.

 

[Sleeplost]

Here's my guide to become a pro with Link:

1. Play Gerudo Valley's SSB3DS theme.

2. GET HYPED AS **** WHILE YOU DESTROY ALL OF THESE CPUS

So I fell asleep. Woke up. Checked this thread. Played this song.

I have now started playing Link exclusively for the day.

 

[JC Ralls]

More people seem to be on team Villager instead of team Megaman... From my experience, Megaman has the most potential out of the characters in this demo.

Megaman is amazing at applying pressure from a distance, particularly with his Uair out of a grab. His side B and neutral A provide great spacing and seem to force opponents to block, allowing you to go for a grab or bait a counter attack. His Dair can meteor from a safe distance and his side smash is like a slow moving charge shot fom Samus, being ideal for edge guarding but not much else. His down A sliding move has no lag and can be used to escape after an opponent blocks his shot hop Bair, which is very fast and has great knockback if both hits connect. His only terrible move is his down special, which stops you from doing any other moves, even recovering, while it's activated.

Best thing about Villager is his/her side aerials and recovery. All of his physical moves are predictable and his grab is slow and punishable. He's a character that's full of charm but I don't see him becoming a competitive character, imo.

 

[linszoid]

My impression is that headphones are a must. With a good pair the games just sounds sooooo much better. Sounds are distinguished instead of muddled when coming through the 3DS speakers. Attacks just sound more meatier as well and the music slighlty more epic.

 

[ScottyWK]

I'm having a hard time KOing with Megaman. With the other 4, I can get easily manage 2, sometimes even 3 KOs a match against a level 9. But with Megaman, it's almost always 1 kill a piece and sudden death.

 

[Arti]

I was browsing through the tips feature, and I found a tip that explains DI, but gives it the name "Hitstun Shuffling".

I'm going to keep calling it DI anyway.

 

[popo12]

The only thing that really bothers me about this demo is how much harder it is to kill, but I think it might be more how I'm playing it than anything. I'm used to Melee physics where you usually don't want to go offstage unless you're sure you'll get the KO or you're willing to die for it. Chasing offstage generally feels safer in the demo, and with the big blastzones it seems like it might be more necessary than before. Really interested in seeing how it plays out at a competitive level.

As far as characters, Villager's my favorite with all of his shenanigans. Mega Man's neat, but he feels the weakest too me. Seemed easy to build damage and be annoying but hard to actually capitalize on it.

 

[MM3K]

I'm having a hard time KOing with Megaman. With the other 4, I can get easily manage 2, sometimes even 3 KOs a match against a level 9. But with Megaman, it's almost always 1 kill a piece and sudden death.

I can get 2 by applying some off-stage pressure with Megaman's Bair, is rly gud.

 

[Zeke]

Anyone know if the coins you collect will transfer to the full game?

 

[Sleeplost]

I was browsing through the tips feature, and I found a tip that explains DI, but gives it the name "Hitstun Shuffling".

I'm going to keep calling it DI anyway.

Really now?
Let me see if I can find it because that'd be a really interesting find and I really wouldn't expect Samurai to acknowledge DI or anything related to competitive play.

 

[rawrimamonster]

I haven't gotten a straight answer for this so I figure I'll ask ITT, do you HAVE to be platinum for the option for the demo to appear at all whether you have a code or someone gave you one?

 

[0-bit]

Here's a small thing that I found in the demo. (It only works in Local Play though)

When you create a CPU and set it to random, it actually chooses what that "random" character will be immediately. You can even look at what character was randomly selected by cycling through the alternate skins. If the regular Link skin isn't available, then you know the CPU will be that Link.

I wonder if this is the same in the full version.

 

[Goesasu]

I haven't gotten a straight answer for this so I figure I'll ask ITT, do you HAVE to be platinum for the option for the demo to appear at all whether you have a code or someone gave you one?

you had to have been platinum last nintendo year, till july 31. then you get a club nintendo email with the code.

 

[Goesasu]

Anyone know if the coins you collect will transfer to the full game?

they will not, its on the faq

 

[ScottyWK]

they will not, its on the faq

They did in the Japanese version. That's how we got a picture of the Wolf trophy so quickly...the guy went straight to the store and bought it with his demo coins.

 

[Mr. Pants]

Just noticed that when you tap on a fighter's picture on the touch screen during a match it will place a blinking box around them in the game.

 

[Casey_Contra]

It's insane how low scoring the matches are! It takes a lot to kill people. I'm also not sure how I feel about the red lightning effect. I like that it feels powerful, but it's almost like a spoiler as to if someone is going to be KOd or not.

My favorite is Villager. He has a great combo of damage-accumulating moves (up smash) and KO moves (dat side smash!!!). He also has some good projectiles (fair and bair, side special). I like him!

Pikachu and Megaman are probably my least favorites. I think I just need to get used to Megaman, and Pikachu just feel anti-climactic.

Finally, I know a lot of people were complaining about Kid Icarus bias, but even the items from that game that were added are really cool and fun! I really don't mind that there are a lot since they all seem to add something new.

 

[Raider 88]

Really loving the demo thus far. I will say, I'm still having some control issues at times, especially when it comes to differentiating utilt/usmash and dtilt/dsmash. I miss my c-stick lol. I'm sure I'll get used to it though.

I'm really liking how all the characters play so far!

Surprised how much I like Villager, even though I don't care for this bair/fair. The tree is very satisfying when you can connect it while they recover, and his recovery options are pretty incredible.

Link is a beast, and I loved sniping one of Villager's balloons with an arrow while he was trying to recover. Maybe it's because I never played him extensively, but I don't remember his SHFF nair being so fast. It really surprised me. Seems like he has less lag all around too!

I like Mega Man, but he's definitely a different kind of character. It's weird that his jab, ftilt, and nair are just his shooting projectile. I also wish his fair had more knockback.

 

[ScottyWK]

Really loving the demo thus far. I will say, I'm still having some control issues at times, especially when it comes to differentiating utilt/usmash and dtilt/dsmash. I miss my c-stick lol. I'm sure I'll get used to it though.

I'm really liking how all the characters play so far!

Surprised how much I like Villager, even though I don't care for this bair/fair. The tree is very satisfying when you can connect it while they recover, and his recovery options are pretty incredible.

Link is a beast, and I loved sniping one of Villager's balloons with an arrow while he was trying to recover. Maybe it's because I never played him extensively, but I don't remember his SHFF nair being so fast. It really surprised me. Seems like he has less lag all around too!

I like Mega Man, but he's definitely a different kind of character. It's weird that his jab, ftilt, and nair are just his shooting projectile. I also wish his fair had more knockback.

The only thing that really bugs me about Link is the lack of l-cancelling on his d-air. If you miss it, you're toast. And his up+B still isn't back to Melee strength, but at least it recovers better.

 

[ChikoLad]

They did in the Japanese version. That's how we got a picture of the Wolf trophy so quickly...the guy went straight to the store and bought it with his demo coins.

In that case I'm playing the hell out of this demo (as if I wasn't going to already ). Gonna buy tons of stuff when the full game releases.

------------

I think it's safe to say Smash 4 will be my favourite Smash game in terms of raw mechanics and how the characters feel. Mario, Link, and Pikachu feel a lot better now. Just feel greatly improved all around, be it speed, combo potential, power, etc.

I was no good at all with Villager at first. His extreme floatiness threw me off and I just couldn't land hits with him. I felt his attacks weren't built for his floatiness. After a bit of practice though, I started to figure out how to play him, and I have a lot of fun with him, he's definitely very viable. And I think he's the best character against the Level 9 CPUs in this demo. I'm good enough to defeat them anyway, but for some reason, they act really silly when Villager grows a tree, so I use that to my advantage. He truly is the "Killager".

And as for Mega Man....OOOOOOH lawdy, I made the right choice setting my sights on him from the start.

To the people having trouble with him - you're not supposed to play him like an up close brawler. He's a marksman in the truest sense of the word.

My general play style for him is that I NEVER STOP MOVING and attacking. His rolls are nice and swift, and get you around faster than his dash. Alternating between Crash Bombs and Metal Blades really pressures your opponent well. As for Leaf Shield, it's situational, but still quite useful. It's a high priority projectile, and will cut through and destroy all of Mario, Link, and Pikachu's projectiles.

However, using short hop Flame Sword and Shadow Claw is a viable option, they have good range and can send your opponent flying. Basically you want to pressure opponents with projectiles and then approach with Flame Sword and Shadow Claw. You can afford to be relentless with this tactic, since the range is great. You can also start shooting pellets at the opponent afterwards, even at point-blank range, and can get grabs in from that if you're really quick.

Also Hard Knuckle is amazing. Takes some getting used to, but if you relentlessly follow people off stage with it, kills are easy. Mega Man's excellent ability to recover makes it feel like it isn't too big a risk either. Hard Knuckle is also useful for bouncing people off the ground when they are standing on the ground.

There are two things you have to be careful of with Hard Knuckle, however:

1) It can be reflected. If Mario uses his cape on it, it will go straight back up to you and hit you in the face.
2) If Hard Knuckle lands a direct hit on someone who has a Gooey Bomb or Crash Bomb stuck to them, that bomb will suddenly teleport to Mega Man and be stuck to him.

I haven't been able to see if it can be pocketed by Villager, though.

But yeah, I really love playing as Mega Man. Definitely one of the most fun characters in the history of the franchise, IMO.

 

[Reila]

Either that or the 3DS controls are just, meh.

The controls are fine. Why do people in this community have such a hard time adapting to new controls?

 

[Raider 88]

The only thing that really bugs me about Link is the lack of l-cancelling on his d-air. If you miss it, you're toast. And his up+B still isn't back to Melee strength, but at least it recovers better.

I feel like the lag is faster than it was in Brawl, and faster than a missed L-Canceled dair in Melee. That's basically improvement across the board when you think about it. Yeah I do miss the deadly upB though :|

 

[ScottyWK]

The controls are fine. Why do people in this community have such a hard time adapting to new controls?

Because hours and hours have been spent on a familiar set. I mean, HOURS.

I can get used to the special/standard attack switch, but the shield and grab buttons don't work at all for me on the 3ds. It'll be fine once the actual game is in my hands though.

I feel like the lag is faster than it was in Brawl, and faster than a missed L-Canceled dair in Melee. That's basically improvement across the board when you think about it. Yeah I do miss the deadly upB though :|

It is a hair faster, you're right, but even level 9's are able to punish it (along with a missed grab). If a level 9 can, you know for a fact a human being is going to punish it.

I can't decide if I like his new dash attack. It's stronger, for sure, but it's also easily punishable if it's shielded.

Also, I find it interesting that bombs don't crash into each other and blow up. You can just spam them in the air when you're ledge guarding if you want.

 

[InfiniteTripping]

The controls are fine, but to be honest, I'm not going to play the 3DS version much once I can play on the Wii U, and the controls are a big factor in that. It's just really hard on the hands playing it on an old school 3DS. It just doesn't match up to the GCN controller which is absolutely perfect for Smash Bros. I find grabs are really hard to do, I wish the grab and the shield button were switched around.

 

[TTTTTsd]

So, first impressions from a guy who's enjoyed every Smash game. Prepare for unabashed positiveness!

- First point, before I talk about the characters, the game feel. Controls are really good and responsive, it's a bit hard to get used to the 3DS layout since I'm not using an XL, so when I get the full game I'll likely switch off that ol' tap jump thing.
- Game speed is nice, I love the grounded movement speed and the air speed is ok too.
- Dashing grabs are amazing and I LOVE how fast they are. Finally, a legitimate option!
- Blast Zones are a bit high but I don't mind too much, I'll just have to git gud at edgeguarding, that's all.


- Feels amazing. He was the first guy I played and WOW did he ever just pop. All of his combos felt natural and I feel like he has a lot of freedom with his new amazing D-Throw
- Scoring kills was a bit hard and primarily reliant on powerful on-stage smash baits, or edgeguarding with Bair. Villager in particular is not so much harder for Mario to beat up, but killing is another story.
- Overall, feels great and I REALLY cannot wait to play Doctor Mario in the full version, as well as Luigi and some others!

- Messed around with Link here and wow did he ever feel really good. A lot less clunky than in Brawl, that's for sure. My main issue with him was how slow and unusable he felt outside of Melee, I'm glad that's changed!

- Didn't play with this lil fella enough yet, but I imagine I'll eventually go in depth...maybe?
- Feels alright to me but I'm sure better people could tell you more

- One of the two chars in this demo that I just know I can't use.
- Definitely incredibly unique and really fun concept though, I love how Villager is all about spacing, and stage control. His F-Smash is also the vertical edgeguard to end all vertical edgeguards. Drop that ball off.

- I could NOT get the hang of this. Not having a FTilt or a stationary DTilt, let alone a conventional UTilt, man this guy felt weird...but not in a BAD way
- Definitely going to be focused on using his various weapons to play keepaway, stack damage, and then go for a kill with some more bold decisions, maybe charge shot edgeguards or hard knuckle spikes, or perhaps D-Smash or even Utilt because if Utilt hits on its first active frame its ggs.

Overall, holy hell this game felt good! I really want the full version now, I want to mess around with my other main men!

 

[Reila]

Because hours and hours have been spent on a familiar set. I mean, HOURS.

I can get used to the special/standard attack switch, but the shield and grab buttons don't work at all for me on the 3ds. It'll be fine once the actual game is in my hands though.

I know what you are talking about. I spent hours and hours with the N64 controller, hours and hours with the GC controller and hours and hours with the Wii classic controller. I would love if the 3DS controls felt exactly the same as the classic controller, but... I know how to adapt. It is not a big deal. I have played the Smash 3DS demo for a couple hours and I adapted to the controls (not 100% yet, but I am sure I will once I have the full game and I can customize the layout a bit). I respect people preferring other control over the 3DS controls, but some people here (not you specifically) talk like the 3DS controls are the worst thing ever and Smash can only be played with a GC controller (which isn't even the best controller for Smash). Hyperbole get annoying after a while.

 

[ScottyWK]

So I've played at least 15-20 matches with each character now, playing against each character at least once. Here's my ranking thus far:

1.
Best combo ability of anyone in the demo. Tilts rack up damage and set-up aerials perfectly. N-air is a great approach, as is SH fireballing. D-tilt + F-air right by the ledge can lead to some quick spikes. Good speed too.

2.
Takes time to get used to, but good at racking up damage. The d-air spike is VERY good if you can get your opponent off-stage. Aerials are good, as is grab. Up-tilt is surprisingly strong, but lags a lot if missed/shielded against, so easily punishable. F-air + d-tilt worked well for me.

3.
Definitely buffed from Brawl, but still has a few short-comings. Lack of l-cancel hurts his d-air, but his other aerials are usable. The second smash on his f-smash is extremely strong, and juggling projectiles is still effective (though the gale boomerang does hinder him a bit not being a normal boomerang). Recovery majorly buffed. Biggest weakness is that he's easily punishable when missing attacks.
4.
His speed and quick thunder attack keeps him above the last spot. Can still control the stage by short-hop standard+B, but his tilts don't reach far enough to capitalize on this strategy like Mario's do. Also, his d-special no longer has the strong gravitational pull, forcing you to be really close to use it. Tough to combo on the ground because all of his attacks push his opponent away.
5.
I don't like putting him last because his moves are deceptively strong. However, they are extremely challenging to land. His most effective move, the slingshot f-air and b-air, is almost unusable out of a short-hop because the shot still goes over the head of a grounded opponent. His other only long-distance move, the Lloyd rocket, is strong but predictable. It takes a second for it to get going, and in that second, it is easy to adjust your course appropriately or simply shield it. Smash attacks require being nose-to-nose with your opponent. They're strong if you land them, but anyone can just tilt the Villager away to make his smash attacks not reach. This makes it tough to get your opponent off the ledge and utilize his good ledge-guard techniques (f-smash, tree, etc).

This is subject to change if I suddenly figure out some Villager technique that I couldn't figure out before, or anything else after more time playing the game.

 

[Sabrewulf238]

So the coins we earn carry over to the full game do they?

I've played a few matches and one thing I've noticed is that the gust bellows is crazily powerful. I must have gotten like 4 or 5 KOs in quick succession while using it and that was my first time using it.

Not going in any detail (at least not yet) but I'm really enjoying Villager, Pikachu and Link. I haven't really gotten the hang of Megaman yet.