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Is Smash 4 at risk of being the most forgotten Smash game?

Yoshi_smash

Smash Apprentice
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Judging from what I’ve seen, I’m starting to think that Smash 4 is starting to fade away more quickly than any other smash game. Many players have moved on to Ultimate, and Ultimate right now has the most majors out of any smash game. I’m surprised that brawl has more majors than smash 4, and that’s a clear sign that the game is dying quickly. Most people will say that Ultimate is basically Smash 4.5, and I can agree that the online on Smash 4 is better than Ultimate.
I think you're correct. Still, the fact that there has been a 96% decrease in major tournament activity (for Smash 4) is pretty high. I know Smash 4 is considered obsolete now, but in the span of one year, most people now treat Smash 4 as if it never existed. Meanwhile, even older games like Melee still have plenty of tournaments.

Everything Smash 4 did Ultimate did better.
Except the online modes, which most people agree Smash 4 did better.
 
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Mario & Sonic Guy

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Everything Smash 4 did Ultimate did better.
That's highly debatable, especially since Ultimate's mechanics are different from what Smash 3DS / Wii U offered. And of course, Ultimate trashed a lot of the features from Smash 3DS / Wii U that could've had a great deal of potential if given the chance.

Heck, I was far more tempted to get Smash Wii U on the release date. As for Ultimate, not so much, and I still don't have that game right now.

With that said, it's just extremely baffling to see Smash Wii U get far less attention than Brawl, since the latter's balancing is very bad, AND the stale move mechanics are a huge hindrance to those who have very limited KO move options. Obviously, finding a good conditioned Wii U system is the main problem.
 
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Crazy Hand 2001

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That feels very ironic, considering that of all the Smash Bros. titles that exist right now, Brawl is arguably the worst for competitive play. Also, not all Wii systems have GCN support, so that ends up being a big blow to those who just can't adapt to a different control scheme.
aren't all wii's that lack the gc ports banned anyways because only GC controllers are allowed at tournaments?
 

EricTheGamerman

Smash Master
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Smash 4 will be largely forgotten and I'm completely fine with that. It was an incredible game that I played the absolute hell out of, but it was flawed in a great many ways and Ultimate has done a lot to fix those flaws across the board. There's a handful of stages that didn't make the crossover that I'll dearly miss (Pac-Maze in particular), a handful of character balance things like Rosalina and Luma being really good I'll miss, and Smash Run definitely was a lot of fun. But I have no problem leaving basically everything else behind in Smash 4. There were a lot of really frustrating things like Classic Mode, Smash Tour, the Target Blast, and so on that ranged from feeling meh to downright infuriating. Mechanically, I don't think Smash 4 was ever going to be able to support a particularly long lifespan either...

And most of all, I'm certainly not dragging my Wii U out when literally everything it could play has either been already ported to the Switch or has been surpassed by an infinitely better sequel/next game in the franchise except for like Pikmin... I might boot up the 3DS version some day, but I'm more than inclined to move on from those versions now and really, I don't have a problem "forgetting" them.
 

SJMistery

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Well, Smash Run will still be fun to play alone or with friends. And the 3DS is easier to play on the go than the Switch.
 

Yoshi_smash

Smash Apprentice
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Smash 4 will be largely forgotten and I'm completely fine with that. It was an incredible game that I played the absolute hell out of, but it was flawed in a great many ways and Ultimate has done a lot to fix those flaws across the board.
What about Ultimate's flawed online modes? The patches so far have not fixed the many problems associated with it.
 

EricTheGamerman

Smash Master
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What about Ultimate's flawed online modes? The patches so far have not fixed the many problems associated with it.
It's the one area where Ultimate does perform worse in my mind, but Smash 4 also always performed quite poorly online for me, so I don't honestly notice much of a difference beyond the very rare matches where I don't get close to my preferred rules. It doesn't feel like much of a difference to me, but I'm also much more apathetic to Online than most people. Smash lives primarily on its local play, so I can't be bothered to care about Smash 4 having a marginally better online.

It's definitely something that needs major work in Ultimate and I'm not sure if it will ever get fixed... but it's also the only part of the game that will just cease to exist one day in the future too.
 

Yoshi_smash

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With that said, it's just extremely baffling to see Smash Wii U get far less attention than Brawl, since the latter's balancing is very bad, AND the stale move mechanics are a huge hindrance to those who have very limited KO move options.
It is baffling, especially since there were 30 major Smash 4 tournaments last year (and now there is only 1 this year).

It's also worth noting that the entire "Smash for the Wii U" section of this forum has been almost entirely inactive in recent months. (It's like Smash 4 has been abandoned by the Smash community). So Smash 4 seems to have been forgotten both in terms of tournaments, and online.
 
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Mario & Sonic Guy

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It is baffling, especially since there were 30 major Smash 4 tournaments last year (and now there is only 1 this year).

It's also worth noting that the entire "Smash for the Wii U" section of this forum has been almost entirely inactive in recent months. So Smash 4 seems to have been forgotten both in terms of tournaments, and online.
Seeing Smash Wii U be abandoned just feels like a huge waste of development time, especially considering that the game did fix up a majority of Brawl's flaws, and its mechanics are different from what Ultimate offers (especially in terms of defensive play). But it obviously doesn't help that the Wii U's sales did not meet Nintendo's expectations.

Ironically, when you compare the Wii U to the Wii, the latter is flat out dead now, not just in the online department, but also because the Wii Shop Channel is closed forever; the Wii U still has some online functionality, despite of its Miiverse termination.
 

VodkaHaze

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It is baffling, especially since there were 30 major Smash 4 tournaments last year (and now there is only 1 this year).

It's also worth noting that the entire "Smash for the Wii U" section of this forum has been almost entirely inactive in recent months. (It's like Smash 4 has been abandoned by the Smash community). So Smash 4 seems to have been forgotten both in terms of tournaments, and online.
Most people who played Smash Wii U have moved onto Ultimate. There are many reasons, such as Ultimate is brand new with the largest roster, Ultimate already outselling Smash Wii U at 13 million to 5 million, but it also has a lot of the mechanics from Smash Wii U. I don't think Smash 4's community is dead per se, but it's size has shrunk dramatically, and I think it can only shrink from here on out.
 

Aquaflyff

Smash Rookie
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Tbph, I think it left the worst impression going out of it. The meta was staled, Bayo was arguably worse then any other top tier in previous games, etc. Ultimate felt like they took Smash 4 and heavily tweaked and built on it rather than creating a new game, and I don't get that impression going from 64 -> Melee, Melee -> Brawl or Brawl -> Smash 4.
 

REZERO

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Tbph, I think it left the worst impression going out of it. The meta was staled, Bayo was arguably worse then any other top tier in previous games, etc. Ultimate felt like they took Smash 4 and heavily tweaked and built on it rather than creating a new game, and I don't get that impression going from 64 -> Melee, Melee -> Brawl or Brawl -> Smash 4.
I get why they did it, seeing that the Wii U didnt sell well and they released Smash 4 on the Wii U to get attention. With the switch being released not too long after the Wii U, Nintendo had to release a Smash Game near the beginning of the Switch's lifespan (to maximize sales and sell dlc for characters) and seeing as how they have material they can recycle and upgrade they used that instead of upgrading the game from scratch so they can release it earlier which is what I'm thinking. They improved from Smash 4 as far as balancing and character roster goes.
 
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xoazi

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Honestly, looking back, I really enjoyed Smash4 during its run. Sure it wasn't getting any closer to Melee in terms of mechanics, but it was cool to play a Smash game being an adult for me, since the other games I played mostly as a teen/kid. That said, I didn't realize how much I actually don't like Smash 4 compared to the other games after going back and playing the other games again as an adult. And then eventually Ultimate came out and by the time it was out for a month, Smash 4 had become probably my least favorite smash game. As the case for it being the most forgettable? Probably not, but later down the line most likely as it's the only Smash game so far that I have zero reason to go back to.
 

Kold Pizza

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What Smash 4 has that is unique about it is its serviceable, fun, and free online battles! That is what I will remember most about it.

While I prefer Ultimate in almost every aspect over Smash 4, Ultimate’s online service is kind of a drag right now along with Switch online in general.

Smash Bros. 64 has the polygonic characters and the nostalgia, Melee has the competitive gameplay, Brawl has the amazing story mode the Subspace Emissary, Smash for the Wii U and 3DS had serviceable online battles, and Ultimate has “Everyone is Here” along with so many stages and gaming options with fun gameplay. That is what is unique about each game.

While I prefer Ultimate over Smash 4, I will still play it once in a while; but I will mostly be preoccupied with Ultimate.
 

Alicorn

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Smash four had better gameplay, and online experience, the custom moves were a nice touch but its main selling point is onlineplay yes it was toxic in forglory but it was fun.
 

Kold Pizza

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For glory and a serviceable online is what keeps it memorable still.

Otherwise, in most other aspects I prefer Ultimate.

I prefer the gameplay of Ultimate, plus it has “Everyone is Here” and put in some many heavily requested characters, including ones as newcomers.

Smash 4 is still a good game on its own, though it lacks a story mode, the gameplay was still good. It also at the time paved the way for many new franchises to be represented. It has great importance in Smash history, even though it may not be as memorable as some of the other Smash games.
 

SpaceCrystal

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Ultimate pretty much makes Smash 4 obsolete now. For one, Ultimate is now on a platform that's more popular than Wii U.

Second, Ultimate has all of it's characters & almost all stages from that game & the 3DS version, as well as almost all stages from Smash 64, Melee & Brawl. Plus they brought back all of the other characters from Melee & Brawl & have also added more newer characters & stages on top.
 

Aus0115

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I'll always still play smash 4 when it comes to online because For fun mode is better than quickplay imo. Idk like how everytime I just wanna play ffa I get stuck in team battles everytime on quickplay regardless of my preferred rules. Now for the 2 days that I can play ffa tourny i'll play ultimate but the lack of consistant ffa ruins ultimate online for me big time as well as not being able to change my fighter after every game either.
 

RetrogamerMax

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Some people might want to massacre me for saying this but I honestly like Smash 4 more than Brawl. Smash 4 got rid of Brawl's tripping mechanic which kind of ruin the experience for me a bit plus it brought Mewtwo back one of my favorite characters. Plus it added Smash Run and the horrible Smash Tour.

Here is how I would rank the games:

1. Ultimate
2. Melee
3. Smash 4
4. Brawl
5. 64
 

Pen does a thing

Smash Rookie
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Ehhhhh??????
Smash 4 was and still is to be frank
"funny"
It did so much for the series and in my opinion is the BEST smash game. Ultimate so far is great, it just feels so
empty? clunky? boring?
idk Ive clocked in over 700 hours and Ive lost all the hype I once felt because to be honest
ultimate isnt really
"new"
So much of it is just ported from 4 that it feels kinda ****ty
but idk this is just me man
 

Crazy Hand 2001

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I think that this might actually happen due to the Wii U's commercial failure and Ultimate continuing to get attention. Everything Smash 4 did Ultimate did better.
Aside from menu design and a few other things
  1. Must reselect characters after every match (doesn’t really bother me personally but others like my friend’s dad find it a nuisance)
  2. Replaced black Yoshi with a skin that looks barely different from regular, effectively reducing Yoshi’s alts to 7.
  3. Online became worse due to several reasons.
  4. Cannot change rulesets without exiting the CSS or having to save ruleset
  5. “Ready to fight” banner covers up about half of the CSS and it’s too easy to accidentally start matches.
  6. I forgave Smash 4 a bit for this as it was the first game where alts weren’t tied to team battles, but it should’ve been implemented too there. Team colors should’ve been changeable with L/R or X/Y.
 

Pokelego999

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Aside from menu design and a few other things
  1. Must reselect characters after every match (doesn’t really bother me personally but others like my friend’s dad find it a nuisance)
  2. Replaced black Yoshi with a skin that looks barely different from regular, effectively reducing Yoshi’s alts to 7.
  3. Online became worse due to several reasons.
  4. Cannot change rulesets without exiting the CSS or having to save ruleset
  5. “Ready to fight” banner covers up about half of the CSS and it’s too easy to accidentally start matches.
  6. I forgave Smash 4 a bit for this as it was the first game where alts weren’t tied to team battles, but it should’ve been implemented too there. Team colors should’ve been changeable with L/R or X/Y.
I always had an issue with Ready To Fight! in Smash 4. Though if you wanna deselect, just press the B button. That's how I fixed my problem.
 

Crazy Hand 2001

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I always had an issue with Ready To Fight! in Smash 4. Though if you wanna deselect, just press the B button. That's how I fixed my problem.
at least you went into the stage select screen afterwards, and the banner didn’t take up half of the CSS icons

I always get all settings I want before choosing my character but it doesn’t mean that the ready to fight thing isn’t a nuisance
 

SSb64champ

Smash Cadet
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dont worry, smash 64 is already the most forgotten smash game especially among younger players

it makes me cry when little kids who dont know anything about the depth of ssb64 call it a bad game or say the graphics are bad
 
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Bowser D.X

Brawl Player
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Apart from the obvious answer that people more or less see Ultimate as Sm4sh 2.0 thus giving them no reason to split their attention, the Switch has already outsold the Wii U by a mile. There's probably millions of kids and even adults who's first Smash game will be Smash Ultimate; or veterans that skipped the Wii U. Ultimate was always destined to overshadow Sm4sh just from the sheer userbase of the Switch alone.
 

Milo the villager

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Apart from the obvious answer that people more or less see Ultimate as Sm4sh 2.0 thus giving them no reason to split their attention, the Switch has already outsold the Wii U by a mile. There's probably millions of kids and even adults who's first Smash game will be Smash Ultimate; or veterans that skipped the Wii U. Ultimate was always destined to overshadow Sm4sh just from the sheer userbase of the Switch alone.
true
 
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