Princess Rescuer
Smash Apprentice
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2018
- Messages
- 119
Spam warning; we don't allow rant threads.
So, Minecraft characters. About time, right? Sure, they are non-Nintendo characters (they're from the PC for crying out loud) but they've taken another potential character away from a potential Xbox Smash-like game (and a huge one at that). And they're third-party characters that have actually been fervently requested about as often as some of the more fervently requested first-party characters! It's like Smash wants to be mainstream again!
I would be excited about this... if this were announced much earlier, like when the game was new. Actually, when the game was new AND included with the game and not a DLC character like what happened with Ridley and Inklings (Minecraft characters would have generated more passion than both, plus Minecraft was more popular a couple years ago). Paying $5 per character/stages/music or not, I'm fatigued. Smash's roster is big as it is. A lot of DLC characters have been hit and miss IMO. The character choices will feel more like rings on a tree as the installments go on (Does ANYONE still care about Terry?). And if you think Nintendo won't take the advantage to keep inventing new Fighter's Passes until the next Smash game comes out, I have a Bridge of Eldin to sell you. Although this choice is a step in the right direction, it's too little too late, and I doubt subsequent character choices will appeal to anyone besides people who have all the time to message the development team on social media constantly.
Plus there's gameplay problems. Even if every character choice were a varied, exciting, heavily requested winner whose moveset and appearance met their full potential according to just about everyone, there's still a huge problem- the Power Cycle.
Every time a new character comes out, they're overpowered to make sales more easily or because there was too much focus on "making an AWESOME moveset" and less on balancing the character and thinking about other ones. There's then a nerf to the character to make it balanced and also make players feel like they are being listened to- which makes the game better, until the next DLC character is announced shortly after. This usually has the effect of most memories of the character being bad, since the popularity of the character (who costs $5 remember) typically goes way down in favor of the other new ones and is quickly forgotten about except by fans of the franchise.
And there's also the problem of some characters being broken- not "overpowered broken" but literally broken as in "can cause the game to become unplayable". I don't recall any previous game having this problem. Ultimate has it though- with TWO characters already- one of whom is a DLC character (and not even one of the first ones). This can be good for a laugh initially- but once the laugh is over, it ruins the game to the levels of "Mario Kart 64 shortcuts". All I can think to solve this is "Have fewer characters". I feel like Nintendo feels uncertain about the future of their consoles, and are trying to hastily make these characters before the next one comes out with the possibility that they might have another GameCube on their hands (is that why Piranha Plant was download only instead of coming with the game? They just couldn't fit him in before the game went gold and made him a makeshift early adoption bonus?). Either way, I'm just not feeling confident about the promise and polish of future characters. They are almost always more disappointing when you get to play them.
Oh and speaking of the GameCube, the recently released Mario 3D All-Stars, a collection that has an actual GameCube game AND an N64 game you could play on Wii VC with the GameCube controller- yet the GameCube peripheral doesn't support it. WHY?
I'm more excited for new additions to the Switch Online VC than I am for new Smash characters. Not joking.
I would be excited about this... if this were announced much earlier, like when the game was new. Actually, when the game was new AND included with the game and not a DLC character like what happened with Ridley and Inklings (Minecraft characters would have generated more passion than both, plus Minecraft was more popular a couple years ago). Paying $5 per character/stages/music or not, I'm fatigued. Smash's roster is big as it is. A lot of DLC characters have been hit and miss IMO. The character choices will feel more like rings on a tree as the installments go on (Does ANYONE still care about Terry?). And if you think Nintendo won't take the advantage to keep inventing new Fighter's Passes until the next Smash game comes out, I have a Bridge of Eldin to sell you. Although this choice is a step in the right direction, it's too little too late, and I doubt subsequent character choices will appeal to anyone besides people who have all the time to message the development team on social media constantly.
Plus there's gameplay problems. Even if every character choice were a varied, exciting, heavily requested winner whose moveset and appearance met their full potential according to just about everyone, there's still a huge problem- the Power Cycle.
Every time a new character comes out, they're overpowered to make sales more easily or because there was too much focus on "making an AWESOME moveset" and less on balancing the character and thinking about other ones. There's then a nerf to the character to make it balanced and also make players feel like they are being listened to- which makes the game better, until the next DLC character is announced shortly after. This usually has the effect of most memories of the character being bad, since the popularity of the character (who costs $5 remember) typically goes way down in favor of the other new ones and is quickly forgotten about except by fans of the franchise.
And there's also the problem of some characters being broken- not "overpowered broken" but literally broken as in "can cause the game to become unplayable". I don't recall any previous game having this problem. Ultimate has it though- with TWO characters already- one of whom is a DLC character (and not even one of the first ones). This can be good for a laugh initially- but once the laugh is over, it ruins the game to the levels of "Mario Kart 64 shortcuts". All I can think to solve this is "Have fewer characters". I feel like Nintendo feels uncertain about the future of their consoles, and are trying to hastily make these characters before the next one comes out with the possibility that they might have another GameCube on their hands (is that why Piranha Plant was download only instead of coming with the game? They just couldn't fit him in before the game went gold and made him a makeshift early adoption bonus?). Either way, I'm just not feeling confident about the promise and polish of future characters. They are almost always more disappointing when you get to play them.
Oh and speaking of the GameCube, the recently released Mario 3D All-Stars, a collection that has an actual GameCube game AND an N64 game you could play on Wii VC with the GameCube controller- yet the GameCube peripheral doesn't support it. WHY?
I'm more excited for new additions to the Switch Online VC than I am for new Smash characters. Not joking.