The Super SmashBoards Hype Recap

The Smash Invitational, the first ever Smash 4 tournament. It gathered multiple top-level
players, such as ZeRo, Hungrybox, KoreanDJ, PPMD and aMSa.​

Almost three years ago, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U & 3DS was announced at E3 2013; that was the moment many Smash fans boarded the "hype train". The initially known roster included 7 of the 8 original characters from Smash 64, 1 from Melee, 1 from Brawl, and 3 newcomers, but by the time E3 2014 arrived, we already knew 20 characters. These characters formed the lineup for the first ever Smash 4 tournament held; however, it was a shocking surprise that the organizer for this early tournament was Nintendo itself.

The Smash invitational was a huge hype creator and a massive success, featuring top players from the United States, Asia and Latin America. But it was also the start of a new era. Almost six months prior to the game's release, Smash 4 had already started a competitive community endorsed by the Big N. Eight years ago, we saw Brawl, Sakurai's way to say that Smash was for having fun and not to compete. This time, they took a more friendly stance with Smash 4 being fun for casuals but still including the competitive players.

We joined three of our writers to give their opinions on the "hype train" and all the events that occurred over the last 3 years.

Notsuchabadguy​

When Smash 4's announcement hit, I think we all had somewhat mixed feelings. The first was excitement, of course--how could anyone not be excited for a new Smash game? But there was also a slight tinge of nervousness: the last installment of the franchise, Brawl, was a major split for the community, and it made Nintendo's anti-competitive stance awfully clear. Whatever Smash 4 would bring, it was clearly going to be a game changer.

A little bit over a year later, I think it's safe to say our concerns were ill-founded. After hundreds of matches and tournaments, a dozen patches, and the rise and fall of several community personalities, Smash 4 has developed one of the brightest competitive communities out there, and is still going strong beyond a shadow of a doubt. With only bigger and greater things on the horizon, I think it's safe to say that 2016 will be a great year to Smash.

Hyper Nova​

I didn't get into the competitive scene until much later in Brawl's life. So when Smash 4 was announced, I was hyped. It was my chance to start from the same ground as everyone else. Before the 3DS version came out, I'd already decided that Kirby would be my main. I just needed two more. When I saw the Greninja/Charizard trailer, I made up my mind. Even though they did not seem particularly good, I would use those two. To this day, I consider Charizard my secondary and Greninja a fun character to use.

Fast forward to the 50 Fact Extravaganza, just before the Wii U version launched. It was then that we learned about DLC. First Mewtwo, which was really hype on its own, then Lucas, Roy and even Ryu. Smash 4 was in the spotlight, and I was really happy with how the game was going. We got to watch and participate in hundreds of locals, regionals, and majors throughout the year, and we even made it to EVO. In the closing of 2015, we got one final surprise: Cloud, Corrin and Bayonetta would be joining Smash. It was a bittersweet announcement. On one side, we got three new characters to add to the already amazing roster; however, that update would be the last one we would be getting. Even then, with all the content we received over the course of two years, Smash 4 is looking to be a solid fighting game and a favorite for many, many years.

OniKirby​

When Smash 4 was announced I was just an enthusiast with an unused Wii U collecting dust, playing Brawl casually and trying to collect every trophy (I'm still not done...). For over a year, I spent every afternoon listening to GameXplain discussions hoping for a new character to be announced; obviously I was very bummed when the whole roster got leaked but even more hyped about the game. Three years before Smash 4 was announced, I played Brawl at a little local tournament and got eliminated in the first round. I chose not to attend tournaments until Smash 4 was finally released. I was still a very inexperienced player and I did not know the difference between a Forward Air and a Back Air (no joke). Yet, in a stroke of luck, I won a match against the best player in my community at a tournament. This was the moment that inspired me to follow the path I am currently on.

In January 2014, my Nintendo Network and Club Nintendo accounts were banned because of a misunderstanding, and as a result, I couldn't get Mewtwo on time. I solved the problem over a month after the character's release and still got the codes. You could say I received the last Club Nintendo Mewtwo in the world. DLC announcements were the last hype touches, and they were really good at making me feel excited.

Putting that aside, I have a bad streak of always getting 25th in tournaments, though I'm ranked #24 in Venezuela's Power Rankings. I have grown a lot over the last year and a half; in December 2014 I hardly knew anything about the game, and in September 2015, I became a TO and organized Tournament Mode, the largest tournament in Venezuela, with some friends. And just a couple of weeks ago, I became a SmashBoards Writer.

This game means a lot to me because of how much I have grown with it, and I am really glad that I'm now able to help people like me enjoy it by organizing tournaments and writing articles for the whole world.

Now that the hype train has ended, how do you feel about it? Do you feel satisfied with the final product? Do you think the approach Sakurai took was good? Let us know! Please also reply with a story you would like to tell; we want to know how this journey was to you.

 

The Smash 4 hype isn't over just yet. Evo is coming up as well as tons of other tournaments, the meta is now being rewritten with DLC characters in mind, and more smashers are playing Smash 4 than ever.

The hype train has no brakes.

 

While I feel that smash 4 was a success, it was not primarily directed at Melee players. The split from brawl still remains, people just aren't as hostile about it anymore. That said, it just goes to show why only the smash community can play two games on EVO's stage.

 

The Smash 4 hype isn't over just yet. Evo is coming up as well as tons of other tournaments, the meta is now being rewritten with DLC characters in mind, and more smashers are playing Smash 4 than ever.

The hype train has no brakes.

You know the hype train still isn't over? The train that went straight into the sun has now come out as it's true form. "Smash 2016 NX Hype Train" and now, W E H E A D E D F O R B E E T L E J U I C E B O Y Z

 

It sure has been an amazing journey. There's so much ahead, though. So many tournaments, so much metagame development, so many hype moments to be had. Smash 4 is so fun because the possibilities are endless.

There are always new funny moments. Each character lends themselves so well to combo videos and highlights. In my opinion, Smash 4 truly has mastered viewer entertainment.

It's fun to play, fun to watch, fun to discuss. I love Smash 4 for that. It'll definitely be alive for many years to come.

For me, this is really my first competitive Smash game, despite having played previous titles. I didn't feel like Brawl really did it for me competitively but Smash 4 is a different story. I think Smash 4 does a great job of striking that happy balance between competitive and casual play that Smash is so well-known for.

It's been great and I'm excited for the future!

 

On one side we got three new character to add to the amazing 55 roster;​

I don't care if you like how the character select looks when there's no mii characters on the system, they're in the game too! #FreeMii

 

It was fun.
I didn't got exactly what I wanted, there's so many things about Smash 4 that I dislike, but that's not the place to think about it.
I'll never forget how I imagined a very good Villager moveset in my head 3 years before the Smash4 trailer, while in a car with friends.
My friends said it was too crazy and he doesn't look as a figther.
Sakurai delivered a crazier and greater moveset and him as the first newcomer.We can't control every aspect of a game to be as we want, but we can accept this good moments. Amazing work with the hype and with most of the game, Sm4sh development team.

 

You know the hype train still isn't over? The train that went straight into the sun has now come out as it's true form. "Smash 2016 NX Hype Train" and now, W E H E A D E D F O R B E E T L E J U I C E B O Y Z

How come nobody had thought of that earlier? lolz

 

True its a success but as previously stated the hype train isnt done. I still see a lot of potential with Evo coming up.

 

I loved the game. Play team games with my friends online was crazy fun. I only dreamed of playing mega man and they mad it real even if he is not god tier.

Playing on my game boy is fun to because I get to play during lunch.

 

I might be misunderstanding what he meant in the first paragraph, but Sm4sh was announced in 2011

 

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SMASH 4 WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

All Smash 4 did was move Brawl players to a different game. If a Smash 5 ever comes out, Smash 4 will be forgotten like Brawl. If you're gonna have Smash 4 at EVO, of all games, you might as well have Brawl there too because there's hardly any improvement besides slightly faster falling, no random tripping when moving, and some new combo throws.

 

Not as entertaining as Brawl but just as massive in hype.


All those Direct and Presentations.

Also the best was and still is the April Smash Bros Direct in 2014.

 

There was roars of applause, there was salt. Happiness, and anger. Tears of joy, and tears of sadness.

But not matter how you look at these past 3 years, there's one thing we can all agree on.

It was one hell of a ride.

 

All Smash 4 did was move Brawl players to a different game. If a Smash 5 ever comes out, Smash 4 will be forgotten like Brawl.

Yeah, because Smash 5 will likely be a better game. Is there an issue with this?

If you're gonna have Smash 4 at EVO, of all games, you might as well have Brawl there too because there's hardly any improvement besides slightly faster falling, no random tripping when moving, and some new combo throws.

It also has:

• Far better balance. (Meta Knight nerfs alone make it far more balanced than Brawl, not to mention all the other tweaks.)
• A bigger, more diverse roster.
• Actual combos and follow-ups thanks to the removal of hitstun canceling.
• The removal of infinites such as chain grabs, which made for quite uninteresting matches. (And any infinites which are in the game are very hard to pull off, as they should be.)
• Better visuals / other aesthetics (making it more appealing to watch).
• Patches that fix bugs, balance issues, and add even more fighters to the roster.

Et cetera, et cetera. (There's also a bunch of non-tournament-related stuff that I didn't go into, but you get the gist.)

 

The DLC character hype was by far my favorite.
When Cloud got announced, my bro went insane as a fan of FF7 lol.

 

All Smash 4 did was move Brawl players to a different game. If a Smash 5 ever comes out, Smash 4 will be forgotten like Brawl. If you're gonna have Smash 4 at EVO, of all games, you might as well have Brawl there too because there's hardly any improvement besides slightly faster falling, no random tripping when moving, and some new combo throws.

The Melee scrubbiness is just oozing out of this one.

 

My continued hype for the game derived from DLC characters. Now that that is officially done, I'm afraid my hype for the game is at zero. Call me selfish, but I am having trouble truly enjoying a game where quite a few of the characters I want to play as are super mediocre (my favorite character having been godawful for 3 games in a row.) None of us are even certain if there will be continued balance patches, but even if there is they most likely will not fix these issues. Combine this with the fact that Smash Tour severely underwhelmed me when compared to the flawed but super fun Subspace Emissary, and altogether Smash 4 has left me feeling pretty empty. Apart from the roster diversity, it wasn't the experience I hoped it would be.

I'll be waiting for SSB5 to reinvigorate my Smash passion.

 

The Melee scrubbiness is just oozing out of this one.

Xandercosm Remember not to feed the trolls!

 

Years ago, I stumbled across the Invitational Trailer in a cave, and saw many Smasher's faces. Some I recognized then, some I only recognize now. The native symbols of Smashboards prophasized that these faces could create hype strong enough to vanquish Smash 4 doubters. With the haters defeated, Brawl's mistake could be reversed and Smash could be saved. This whole time I thought it was just superstition, but now I realize that it was destiny! Ken, the King of Smash. Milktea, the King's Sister. "Hmm, the Samus helmet. This one's unsolvable!"
And the Gravity Falls reference went on.

 

That invitational picture.........brings back memories...........

I'll be honest; Even though I like Smash 4 more than Melee, I think Melee still has more competitive attention from the community as a whole. Though, we eventually got things like patches making the game more balanced (good-bye Hoo-Hah) and more characters and stages, so I think Smash 4 will have a great future!

Well, assuming a. Another Smash game doesn't come out quite early on the NX and b. People don't bring up which Smash game is better (in which they've been far more quiet about that than brawl vs. melee.

 

Well the hype was worth it. This is my current favorite Smash game.

I loved 64 and Melee to death and played enough Brawl to give it a shot. But I like when things evolve. Rage and the new ledge mechanic are things I'd rather not play without at this point. When I see edge hogs it's pretty dull to me now.

And even though I'm able to happily play a text based game and graphics aren't everything to me... In Melee between the game breaking movements, chain grabs, etc. the game looks and feels a lot less like the characters they're supposed be, and that's something I really appreciate about the animators in smash 4. The game is sexy

DLC balance is the only concern I have. I can deal with it, I just don't get the long term logic behind some of the things they've added.

 

The Smash 4 hype isn't over just yet. Evo is coming up as well as tons of other tournaments, the meta is now being rewritten with DLC characters in mind, and more smashers are playing Smash 4 than ever.

The hype train has no brakes.

i always crack up at that video

 

All Smash 4 did was move Brawl players to a different game. If a Smash 5 ever comes out, Smash 4 will be forgotten like Brawl. If you're gonna have Smash 4 at EVO, of all games, you might as well have Brawl there too because there's hardly any improvement besides slightly faster falling, no random tripping when moving, and some new combo throws.

Thanks for telling me you know literally nothing about this game.

 

Interesting article, but one thing pokes at me.
Sorry if this seems nosy, but why did you get banned in the first place, Diosdi ?

 

*still waiting for Smash NX*

 

*still waiting for Smash NX*

Actually the NX isn't a game console... This time the gimmick is a replica cat inside of a goldfish bowl, with buttons on the side for an immersive experience. You can also take the cat out of the bowl and play with it, but make sure to put it back in!

 

I've got my complaints, but the hype was nice while it lasted.
It was cool to have something to look forward to, even if the final result wasn't what I wanted.

 

You know the hype train still isn't over? The train that went straight into the sun has now come out as it's true form. "Smash 2016 NX Hype Train" and now, W E H E A D E D F O R B E E T L E J U I C E B O Y Z

yes, let the likes roll in....

 

Interesting article, but one thing pokes at me.
Sorry if this seems nosy, but why did you get banned in the first place, Diosdi ?

Internet trolls giving away codes...

 

I might be misunderstanding what he meant in the first paragraph, but Sm4sh was announced in 2011

Smash was mentioned as a Wii U title in 2011, but the official announcement w/ trailer was in 2013

 

Internet trolls giving away codes...

Siiighhhhh

The worst