TheMisterManGuy
Smash Apprentice
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2015
- Messages
- 138
From first impressions of Smash Ultimate, many people would agree that it's a faster paced game than Smash 4 and especially Brawl. While it seems that way on the surface, I think people are using the wrong description here. Based on what I've seen, Ultimate isn't necessarily faster paced than Smash 4, however I would say it's better paced than Smash 4. By which I mean, there's more action happening in a match vs previous games. Sakurai explained this when he was talking about the game's re-worked physics, saying it's not necessarily about the speed rather the tempo. Basically, it's about making sure that stuff is always happening as much as possible in a single match. You can see this in every aspect of Ultimate's design. Balloon physics aside, things like significantly reduced landing-lag across the board, streamlined Final Smashes, snappier attack animations, options like the Smash Meter and Stage Morph, the ability to now have more than one assist trophy on screen at a time, and the fact that you can K.O. them. Every change made to Ultimate's gameplay is made so that the player spends less time waiting and more time doing.
A big problem with the physics of the older games was the amount of time it took away from fighting. Let's be honest, 30% of an average Smash 4 match competitively or otherwise, is waiting for your opponents to recover. This is a problem in all Smash games, but it was pretty bad with Smash 4. Brawl was especially bad with it due to that game's campy, floaty physics. Ultimate is the first game to actually try and address this problem by cutting down that time. I don't know if you've noticed this, but the speed of a character's knock-back in Ultimate seems to be linked directly to how much knock-back an attack deals. Depending on the percentage, the more knock-back a move deals, the faster the opponent will be launched, this is especially true for Final Smashes, where characters basically teleport to the blast zone upon getting struck at high percents. Basically, the faster a player can recover from a big launch or KO, the quicker they can retaliate.
By making sure that there's more action happening per match, the developers can ensure the game is exciting to watch even if the game itself isn't necessarily faster paced, that way even though matches or stocks may take as long to clear as Smash 4, it won't feel that way, because the players are always interacting with each-other.
TL;DR - I wouldn't say Ultimate is trying to be faster paced than Smash 4, rather I'd say it aimed to be better paced than any prior Smash game. Trying to make sure there's more action and fighting crammed into a single match, by cutting down on wait times for recovery, end-lag, Final Smashes, etc.
A big problem with the physics of the older games was the amount of time it took away from fighting. Let's be honest, 30% of an average Smash 4 match competitively or otherwise, is waiting for your opponents to recover. This is a problem in all Smash games, but it was pretty bad with Smash 4. Brawl was especially bad with it due to that game's campy, floaty physics. Ultimate is the first game to actually try and address this problem by cutting down that time. I don't know if you've noticed this, but the speed of a character's knock-back in Ultimate seems to be linked directly to how much knock-back an attack deals. Depending on the percentage, the more knock-back a move deals, the faster the opponent will be launched, this is especially true for Final Smashes, where characters basically teleport to the blast zone upon getting struck at high percents. Basically, the faster a player can recover from a big launch or KO, the quicker they can retaliate.
By making sure that there's more action happening per match, the developers can ensure the game is exciting to watch even if the game itself isn't necessarily faster paced, that way even though matches or stocks may take as long to clear as Smash 4, it won't feel that way, because the players are always interacting with each-other.
TL;DR - I wouldn't say Ultimate is trying to be faster paced than Smash 4, rather I'd say it aimed to be better paced than any prior Smash game. Trying to make sure there's more action and fighting crammed into a single match, by cutting down on wait times for recovery, end-lag, Final Smashes, etc.