BestTeaMaker
Smash Apprentice
A bit of a caveat here. All of my impressions are based on what I've been watching (ZeRo and Denti/Sethlon/Awestin streams). I have not personally played the Japanese demo. Also, because this is a demo, my impressions are only based on the 5 characters we currently have and other information given, so what I will say may be completely wrong for the other characters.
---
It seems that Smash 4 was built with a more aggressive meta in mind, specifically ledge and off-stage meta. Here are what I've been observing:
Ledge
---
First is the way that ledge mechanics work. The trumping mechanic and the slight ledge-grab delay points to the idea that ledge-stalling tactics are dead, or at least really diminished. The advantage of trumping the ledge is the ability to jump again to attack the opponent. Inversely, the person who was trumped is able to perform recovery abilities or even retaliate in turn.
We also really interesting options for edgeguarding. In particular, Villager has a lot of options for aggressive edgeguarding: f-smash (bowling ball), dash (potted plant), and d-special (TREE4) have the ability to drop projectiles off the edge. Similarly, Pikachu's d-special (Thunder) has some interesting change: a shorter height and meteor strike at cloud level. Before, Pikachu could use this move to help guarantee a star KO. However, now it seems to be build for off-stage use.
Recovery
---
Let me start by saying that Villager has insane recovery options, from s-special (Loid rocket) to u-special (Balloons). And this seems to be the theme for this iteration. We see a lot of characters given amazing recovery options, from Olimar's new u-special (Flying pikmin) and Pit's u-special (Power of Flight) to Palutena's u-special (Teleportation) and Rosalina's u-special (Star Launch). Even characters with sub-par recovery, keep in mind that custom moves can change the properties of recovery moves (see Mario's u-special, from multi-hitting to higher range).
This leads me to conclude that there is less risk in venturing off stage to aggressively chase down opponents off stage, give that you are smart about your recovery options.
Spikes/Meteors
---
I mentioned before about Pikachu's new Thunder mechanics. In general, spiking seems to have been given an interesting boost. They seem to have been given a lot more oomph in terms of spectacle and power, from Mario's fair to Link's dair. There also seems to be a sort of indication of whether or not you've sweet-spotted the move. Again, this seems to reward more aggressive modes of attacks.
In turn, spiking moves seem to have been given an interesting balance change, either from a slower start up as seen in Link and Mega Man's d-air or a random element as seen in Villager's d-air (and u-air since it's the same move).
Blast Zones
---
The biggest indicator for me, though, is that blast zones are much greater. This especially affects the flow of the game, specifically in that it will take more effort to normally KO opponents. A lot of games had characters go into 150+%. However, with the above stated changes to the off-stage gameplay, it seems that an aggressive mode of attack can lead to effective KO's.
---
In conclusion
There seems to be a lot more aggressive options in this game, at least from what I've been seeing. I hope that this will lead to more exciting matches to watch and give Smash 4 the competitive edge it needs.
---
It seems that Smash 4 was built with a more aggressive meta in mind, specifically ledge and off-stage meta. Here are what I've been observing:
Ledge
---
First is the way that ledge mechanics work. The trumping mechanic and the slight ledge-grab delay points to the idea that ledge-stalling tactics are dead, or at least really diminished. The advantage of trumping the ledge is the ability to jump again to attack the opponent. Inversely, the person who was trumped is able to perform recovery abilities or even retaliate in turn.
We also really interesting options for edgeguarding. In particular, Villager has a lot of options for aggressive edgeguarding: f-smash (bowling ball), dash (potted plant), and d-special (TREE4) have the ability to drop projectiles off the edge. Similarly, Pikachu's d-special (Thunder) has some interesting change: a shorter height and meteor strike at cloud level. Before, Pikachu could use this move to help guarantee a star KO. However, now it seems to be build for off-stage use.
Recovery
---
Let me start by saying that Villager has insane recovery options, from s-special (Loid rocket) to u-special (Balloons). And this seems to be the theme for this iteration. We see a lot of characters given amazing recovery options, from Olimar's new u-special (Flying pikmin) and Pit's u-special (Power of Flight) to Palutena's u-special (Teleportation) and Rosalina's u-special (Star Launch). Even characters with sub-par recovery, keep in mind that custom moves can change the properties of recovery moves (see Mario's u-special, from multi-hitting to higher range).
This leads me to conclude that there is less risk in venturing off stage to aggressively chase down opponents off stage, give that you are smart about your recovery options.
Spikes/Meteors
---
I mentioned before about Pikachu's new Thunder mechanics. In general, spiking seems to have been given an interesting boost. They seem to have been given a lot more oomph in terms of spectacle and power, from Mario's fair to Link's dair. There also seems to be a sort of indication of whether or not you've sweet-spotted the move. Again, this seems to reward more aggressive modes of attacks.
In turn, spiking moves seem to have been given an interesting balance change, either from a slower start up as seen in Link and Mega Man's d-air or a random element as seen in Villager's d-air (and u-air since it's the same move).
Blast Zones
---
The biggest indicator for me, though, is that blast zones are much greater. This especially affects the flow of the game, specifically in that it will take more effort to normally KO opponents. A lot of games had characters go into 150+%. However, with the above stated changes to the off-stage gameplay, it seems that an aggressive mode of attack can lead to effective KO's.
---
In conclusion
There seems to be a lot more aggressive options in this game, at least from what I've been seeing. I hope that this will lead to more exciting matches to watch and give Smash 4 the competitive edge it needs.