Why doesn’t Smash have a tutorial mode?

[MG_3989]

Most fighting games have a tutorial mode to teach players the basics and some basic combos. A lot of people don’t even know things like short hopping, teching, combos and other basic game concepts even exist

Why doesn’t Smash do this?

 

[FartyParty]

I mean there is a basic tutorial video if you just sit on the title screen.

Also, I think short hopping, teching, and that other stuff aren't as "basic" of concepts as you think. They're only "basic" for 1v1 competitive play, but for the game as a whole, they're more "intermediate" concepts. Perhaps a tutorial that's split up into beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels would be nice.

 

[Orlando BCN]

You can just watch the tutorial video on the title screen or view the “advanced techniques” section on the official website. It doesn’t cover everything, but it shows the changed gameplay systems which obviously helps.

 

[MG_3989]

You can just watch the tutorial video on the title screen or view the “advanced techniques” section on the official website. It doesn’t cover everything, but it shows the changed gameplay systems which obviously helps.

Yeah but why not make it intuitive and interactive?

 

[Orlando BCN]

Yeah but why not make it intuitive and interactive?

I dunno, I guess Smash doesn’t take its own core concepts too seriously. I’d appreciate it if there was a tutorial in the style of Guilty Gear Xrd, which has the best tutorial in all of fighting games.

 

[Dr. Edgeworth]

Probably because smash regards itself as a party game. Some tutorials teaching players some concepts like teching, hitstun, or ledge mechanics would be nice but I guess nintendo would rather not.

 

[Xelrog]

It would make the game feel a lot less friendly, particularly if it keeps track of tutorial accomplishments like what combos you have and haven't pulled off. I hated that it had a list of combos I had to go through one by one in MvC3.

Also, Smash just isn't that complicated. The intro video is plenty. Anything beyond the basic mechanics you just tend to learn by playing. Frankly it's more fun that way.

 

[RepStar]

Lmao at this question. Whats the trial mode gonna be? Press b for neutral, press side b for side special, press down b for down special, press A A A for combo and, rinse/repeat for every single character. this game already has the tutorial video after the intro and, the character tips that are helpful. Youre seeing smash as a 1v1 game way too much, lol.

 

[Necro'lic]

Lmao at this question. Whats the trial mode gonna be? Press b for neutral, press side b for side special, press down b for down special, press A A A for combo and, rinse/repeat for every single character. this game already has the tutorial video after the intro and, the character tips that are helpful. Youre seeing smash as a 1v1 game way too much, lol.

Something similar to Rivals of Aether would be a start. You know, going through more nuanced and specialized moves and combos for the characters.

Just going down the list numerically, you could highlight some of these:

• Link's Remote Bomb techniques and double arrow usage
• Samus' Charge Shot and Grapple Beam
• Pikachu's Quick Attack combos/techniques
• Ness' PSI Magnet drift and PK Thunder recovery
• Jigglypuff's edgeguarding and Rest setups
• Peach/Daisy's float
• Bowser's tough guy and its uses
• Ice Climbers in general lol
• Zelda's Phantom
• Marth's tipper
• Young Link's bomb setups and Fire arrow combos
• Using Mewtwo's strange double jump
• Roy's hilt
• Mr. Game and Watch's wonky aerials and specials
• Wario's Bike
• Poke Trainer's switching
• Diddy's banana setups
• Lucas' PSI magnet drift and PK Thunder recovery
• Dedede's Gordo
• The uses of each Pikmin
• Lucario's aura and how it affects his combos and kill power
• R.O.B's Robo burner techniques and Gyro setups
• Toon Link's bomb setups
• Villager's Pocket and Tree
• Mega Man's...almost everything lol
• Wii Fit Trainer's multipurpose hitboxes
• Luma in general
• Little Mac's KO Punch and smash attack armor
• PAC-MAN's specials
• Robin's tomes, Levin's, and how to use them as items
• Shulk's arts
• Duck Hunt's can and clay pigeon
• Ryu and Ken's special inputs and light/heavy attacks and how to work with them
• Cloud's limit and its corresponding limit specials
• Bayonetta's combo ability
• Inkling's ink
• Simon/Richter's whip recovery and ledge guarding
• Isabelle's Lloid, Fishing Rod, and Pocket
• Incineroar's Alolan Whip and Revenge
• Piranha Plant's specials in general

It doesn't have to just be a move list only.

 

[Xelrog]

That's what the Tips section is for. Creating a whole playable mode for that would be a lot of work for minimal payoff. There are very few complex mechanics in Smash and the ones that are complex enough to benefit from a physical tutorial would be frustrating to attempt in a physical tutorial because they just take practice--often too much practice for a single session.

It just wouldn't be worth the programming, or even the menu real estate.

 

[UltimateXsniper]

It probably would go against the whole easy to play and hard to master they've built up around this game. For the controls being real simple to let everyone start playing, a tutorial mode would probably gear a casual out unlike a competitive player and would really negate a game to be considered to be for everyone in that aspect. Personally, I don't think we need a tutorial mode. The how to play is just enough information for everyone to know the basics.

 

[Arthur97]

Yeah but why not make it intuitive and interactive?

Because Smash at the basic level is pretty simple and easy to learn?

 

[MG_3989]

Everyone saying it would make it less casual friendly, they don’t have to use it. It should be there for people who want to learn techniques they put in the game for people who want to use it. It wouldn’t hurt anybody and it would benefit a lot of players who are interested. It’s not like it would be mandatory or anything. It just makes sense to me to have an intuitive tutorial to teach simple things like short hopping, teching, partying, bread and butter combos, b reversing, etc...

Nothing too in depth, just giving people the resources to learn these skills in a structured environment instead of searching the internet for guides on how to do things. Plus being an interactive tutorial would make sure you’re doing the inputs right and be a much better teacher than a video

I don’t see any downside to this. Casual players can and will completely ignore it or they’ll try it and have fun with it and actually learn a little bit. I really don’t see any downside and I don’t get how it would hurt the casual audience. Why not help new aspiring competitive players who often get discouraged at first?

Because Smash at the basic level is pretty simple and easy to learn?

It is but there are things that aspiring competive players don’t even know about like short hopping or teching that you’re only really gonna do by accident if you don’t know what they are. Why not make it easier and decrease the entry barrier to tourney level play for players who want to get into that?

 

[Xelrog]

It is but there are things that aspiring competive players don’t even know about like short hopping or teching that you’re only really gonna do by accident if you don’t know what they are.

We live in a world where four-year-olds are not only able to use YouTube, but operate channels for profit.

That's not a jab at anyone's intelligence, I'm completely serious.

 

[MG_3989]

We live in a world where four-year-olds are not only able to use YouTube, but operate channels for profit.

That's not a jab at anyone's intelligence, I'm completely serious.

I understand this but every other fighting game (yes smash at its core is a party game but it is a fighting game competitively and Nintendo has acknowledged that). It’s just something that would help the game and wouldn’t hurt anyone. A good tutorial mode can be really nice to learn some basic techniques because a video can’t interactively help you in the way a tutorial can

 

[RepStar]

I understand this but every other fighting game (yes smash at its core is a party game but it is a fighting game competitively and Nintendo has acknowledged that). It’s just something that would help the game and wouldn’t hurt anyone. A good tutorial mode can be really nice to learn some basic techniques because a video can’t interactively help you in the way a tutorial can

Smash is too simple for a tutorial mode. The things you're talking about is easily learned just by playing the game. The tips and guides in the vault section is definitely enough but to you, i dont know how it doesnt seem like it is. This game is not deep. The only thing worth tutorials were the DACUS in brawl and, wave-dashing in melee(y'know, actual inputs for executions that fighters have) but, unfortunately they were glitches. You would be asking the devs for too much with a question like this because, to this day what youre asking is out of bounds of their intentions that theyre trying to keep with smash. Despite the vocal minority that pressures them about their own project. I think they've done enough already. Ultimate is what youve always wanted, i seen your praise for it.

 

[MG_3989]

Smash is too simple for a tutorial mode. The things you're talking about is easily learned just by playing the game. The tips and guides in the vault section is definitely enough but to you, i dont know how it doesnt seem like it is. This game is not deep. The only thing worth tutorials were the DACUS in brawl and, wave-dashing in melee(y'know, actual inputs for executions that fighters have) but, unfortunately they were glitches. You would be asking the devs for too much with a question like this because, to this day what youre asking is out of bounds of their intentions that theyre trying to keep with smash. Despite the vocal minority that pressures them about their own project. I think they've done enough already. Ultimate is what youve always wanted, i seen your praise for it.

It is the Smash game I’ve always wanted and I really couldn’t ask the devs for much more, I just wanted to discuss it. They’ve done enough for the competitive scene and you can tell they put care into it. I understand what the game is and the audience it’s generally marketed for and that I am among the minority as a competitive player. It’s really just a simple nitpick. There are a couple things like wavebouncing and attack cancelling which could use tutorials but I don’t know if those techs were intended to be in the game. Plus mechanics like parrying and comboing generally get tutorials. Also this is very specific but Ness and Lucas have double jump cancels that are very useful but I know that’s only two characters

One thing for newer players that I think for casual players that I think would be beneficial is an interactive recovery tutorial. Also maybe a DI tutorial but that’s intuitive. That said a tutorial wouldn’t really help me at all but it might help newer players who want to play competitive cause it can be overwhelming at first. Yeah just playing will get you there eventually and talking to people will too but it wouldn’t hurt to have in game

All of that said I’m not actually upset there’s no tutorial. It’s just a minor nitpick I have and I thought it was a cool idea that people would like to have. I didn’t realize I’d get so much backlash on the idea of it and I’m not criticizing the game for not having it. It was just a discussion topic

Something similar to Rivals of Aether would be a start. You know, going through more nuanced and specialized moves and combos for the characters.

Just going down the list numerically, you could highlight some of these:

• Link's Remote Bomb techniques and double arrow usage
• Samus' Charge Shot and Grapple Beam
• Pikachu's Quick Attack combos/techniques
• Ness' PSI Magnet drift and PK Thunder recovery
• Jigglypuff's edgeguarding and Rest setups
• Peach/Daisy's float
• Bowser's tough guy and its uses
• Ice Climbers in general lol
• Zelda's Phantom
• Marth's tipper
• Young Link's bomb setups and Fire arrow combos
• Using Mewtwo's strange double jump
• Roy's hilt
• Mr. Game and Watch's wonky aerials and specials
• Wario's Bike
• Poke Trainer's switching
• Diddy's banana setups
• Lucas' PSI magnet drift and PK Thunder recovery
• Dedede's Gordo
• The uses of each Pikmin
• Lucario's aura and how it affects his combos and kill power
• R.O.B's Robo burner techniques and Gyro setups
• Toon Link's bomb setups
• Villager's Pocket and Tree
• Mega Man's...almost everything lol
• Wii Fit Trainer's multipurpose hitboxes
• Luma in general
• Little Mac's KO Punch and smash attack armor
• PAC-MAN's specials
• Robin's tomes, Levin's, and how to use them as items
• Shulk's arts
• Duck Hunt's can and clay pigeon
• Ryu and Ken's special inputs and light/heavy attacks and how to work with them
• Cloud's limit and its corresponding limit specials
• Bayonetta's combo ability
• Inkling's ink
• Simon/Richter's whip recovery and ledge guarding
• Isabelle's Lloid, Fishing Rod, and Pocket
• Incineroar's Alolan Whip and Revenge
• Piranha Plant's specials in general

It doesn't have to just be a move list only.

Exactly I don’t see how anyone could be against something like this

 

[Predatoria]

Adding an involved tutorial would add more work for the game's development team.

This means more artwork in form of user interface widgets and/or screens, potentially more sound effects, text in many languages (or voice recordings, even), more content to be tested rigorously and bug fixed, and last but certainly not least more content creation.

Players often underestimate just how much work goes into adding a new feature to a game. Most of the time, something is not in a game because it takes the developers a lot of time, energy, and effort to do and they see better returns on their efforts elsewhere.

 

[Xelrog]

As the only person in the world who regularly plays with spirits, I understand and sympathize with your feeling like the odd man out.

That said, the reason I would be against it is because it conflicts with the game's tone. Even if it's optional, even if it's only for really competitive players, the presence of such an advanced series of tutorials in the game alone would bring with it a certain competitive atmosphere, and that's just not the spirit of Smash games.

Imagine it's the 1980's. You're playing Super Mario Bros. for the very first time. You've never played anything like it before. You see something selectable on the title screen, and you select it and get a screen full of information on speedrun techs, accessing the negative world, jumping over flagpoles, etc. You think, "wow, this is a lot to take in. It must be important, though, or it wouldn't have its own section of the game like this. I don't know if I'm really up for this."

The tone of the game has immediately changed. This fun, exciting new world now feels like an insurmountable wall. Stuff of that level is better kept to outside resources, particularly in this day and age where the internet exists and no one has to pay Prima for a strategy guide.

 

[MG_3989]

Adding an involved tutorial would add more work for the game's development team.

This means more artwork in form of user interface widgets and/or screens, potentially more sound effects, text in many languages (or voice recordings, even), more content to be tested rigorously and bug fixed, and last but certainly not least more content creation.

Players often underestimate just how much work goes into adding a new feature to a game. Most of the time, something is not in a game because it takes the developers a lot of time, energy, and effort to do and they see better returns on their efforts elsewhere.

This response makes sense, I didn’t realize how much work it would be. They already have the training room as a perfect setup and wouldn’t need to add any new animations tho. The sound effects are already there and I don’t know much about game development but text and widgets seem pretty easy. The content to be optimized and tested rigorously I understand tho

I’ll trust you on this one because I don’t know anything about development really and I’d rather have what we have now then have less effort to into other areas of the game

 

[RepStar]

I didn’t realize I’d get so much backlash on the idea of it and I’m not criticizing the game for not having it. It was just a discussion topic

Lol, why are u playing victim. Im just disagreeing. Disagreeing/agreeing both keep the topic alive. Maybe im used to it because, nobody ever agrees with me, lmao.

 

[Predatoria]

This response makes sense, I didn’t realize how much work it would be. They already have the training room as a perfect setup and wouldn’t need to add any new animations tho. The sound effects are already there and I don’t know much about game development but text and widgets seem pretty easy. The content to be optimized and tested rigorously I understand tho

I’ll trust you on this one because I don’t know anything about development really and I’d rather have what we have now then have less effort to into other areas of the game

I'm a hobbyist indie game developer. Trust me, you have no idea how much work goes into pretty much even the tiniest thing. Add AAA / Nintendo polish to it, and it's truly amazing how much time and effort can be spent on something.

Think about if they wished to add the home run bat thing from one of the previous games. It'd probably be about on par with the level of effort required to add a tutorial, keeping in mind the scene, assets, and code required to make it happen.

I think at this point in the series' life cycle, the vast majority of players are returning from previous installments or had parent who loved the game showing them the ropes. They may be putting their resources into aspects of the game they think will better benefit the game long-term.

I elected not to add a tutorial to the game I created and published. We didn't do it because of the coding, testing, and debugging that'd be necessary to do it, especially since we were already scrambling to have everything ready for our release day.

Most game sales also look very much like exponential decays. It's quite possible Nintendo had a tutorial in mind as a "maybe if we have time" option that got taken out due to the inevitable release scramble that happens with game development projects. After release, even to this day, most the sales have probably already happened, and most people who would've benefited from a tutorial have already been thrown into the game without one. Their revenue stream has now shifted to DLC purchases and monthly online sub payments.

 

[MG_3989]

Lol, why are u playing victim. Im just disagreeing. Disagreeing/agreeing both keep the topic alive. Maybe im used to it because, nobody ever agrees with me, lmao.

Wasn’t trying to play victim. Just came out that way I guess

I'm a hobbyist indie game developer. Trust me, you have no idea how much work goes into pretty much even the tiniest thing. Add AAA / Nintendo polish to it, and it's truly amazing how much time and effort can be spent on something.

Think about if they wished to add the home run bat thing from one of the previous games. It'd probably be about on par with the level of effort required to add a tutorial, keeping in mind the scene, assets, and code required to make it happen.

I think at this point in the series' life cycle, the vast majority of players are returning from previous installments or had parent who loved the game showing them the ropes. They may be putting their resources into aspects of the game they think will better benefit the game long-term.

I elected not to add a tutorial to the game I created and published. We didn't do it because of the coding, testing, and debugging that'd be necessary to do it, especially since we were already scrambling to have everything ready for our release day.

Most game sales also look very much like exponential decays. It's quite possible Nintendo had a tutorial in mind as a "maybe if we have time" option that got taken out due to the inevitable release scramble that happens with game development projects. After release, even to this day, most the sales have probably already happened, and most people who would've benefited from a tutorial have already been thrown into the game without one. Their revenue stream has now shifted to DLC purchases and monthly online sub payments.

Thank you for all that info. Game development honestly fascinates me and it’s something I’d love to learn more about. I don’t understand too much about coding but I know enough to know the littlest mistake can ruin a game or area of a game and the optimization that goes into a AAA game like Smash especially in 2 years is insane. I’m honestly astounded they made this game in 2 years. You’re also right about profit margins and adding a tutorial now wouldn’t make much sense, it would be a minor quality of life boost

I’d much rather have them focus on the DLC, optimizing and balancing those characters and stages, and making them seamlessly fit into the game than a tutorial mode. Obviously that also makes finical sense for Nintendo which is what it really comes down to even with as much passion was put into this game

I’m definitely gonna do some independent research on game design though. I don’t think I’ll ever make a game (well at least code it, I could write and help with level and character design concepts) because I can barely code. You’ve gotten me interested in this subject now and I really would love to see what it actually takes to make a game, especially a game this big. I know a lot about making movies and the entire process and how the little things count so much and take more effort than it seems and game design seems to be even more pain staking from what you’ve said. Seriously thanks for your posts, they actually kicked off an interest of mine

 

[Predatoria]

Wasn’t trying to play victim. Just came out that way I guess


Thank you for all that info. Game development honestly fascinates me and it’s something I’d love to learn more about. I don’t understand too much about coding but I know enough to know the littlest mistake can ruin a game or area of a game and the optimization that goes into a AAA game like Smash especially in 2 years is insane. I’m honestly astounded they made this game in 2 years. You’re also right about profit margins and adding a tutorial now wouldn’t make much sense, it would be a minor quality of life boost

I’d much rather have them focus on the DLC, optimizing and balancing those characters and stages, and making them seamlessly fit into the game than a tutorial mode. Obviously that also makes finical sense for Nintendo which is what it really comes down to even with as much passion was put into this game

I’m definitely gonna do some independent research on game design though. I don’t think I’ll ever make a game (well at least code it, I could write and help with level and character design concepts) because I can barely code. You’ve gotten me interested in this subject now and I really would love to see what it actually takes to make a game, especially a game this big. I know a lot about making movies and the entire process and how the little things count so much and take more effort than it seems and game design seems to be even more pain staking from what you’ve said. Seriously thanks for your posts, they actually kicked off an interest of mine

No problem! Feel free to message me if you're curious about anything on the topic.

Once you've worked on creating games, you really start to look at them differently. You start looking at it and pondering how they did each and every detail. You notice things differently.

One thing I like to do in SSBU is watch replays frame by frame. I like to look at the characters up close. Their textures, the way the meshes stretch, observing and estimating the poly counts they used. How I think they built the rigs for the characters. The ridiculous amount of small animations and transitions the characters have that go unnoticed by the untrained eye.

One particular thing that really impresses me about SSBU is the vast amount of particle effects they've added to the combat. It's amazing. Look how many stars, flashes, streaks, lines, sparkles, and other flashy bits come out whenever characters hit one another. Do you have any idea how much effort they put into making this game's combat look explosive, invigorating, and easy for the viewer to see exactly what's going on. The moves are so well choreographed. It's like a perfectly engineered fireworks display.

Look at how the characters animate and react to the blows they're dealing and receiving. The facial expressions when someone gets hit by another move, especially a hard one like Ganondorf's punch. They shake back and forth for several frames, which looks odd in slow motion but perfect when played at regular speed. They then fly off the screen, emitting more sparkles and clouds of smoke all over.

The pauses in gameplay when hits are landed are spot-on. The fact that they took the time to actually add frame freezes, a mechanic I would have instantly dissed as irritating, and perfected it to where I'd have it no other way as a player.

This stuff is art, yet so many people don't even notice it. You have to play part in creating something to really understand what goes into putting it together.

 

[MG_3989]

No problem! Feel free to message me if you're curious about anything on the topic.

Once you've worked on creating games, you really start to look at them differently. You start looking at it and pondering how they did each and every detail. You notice things differently.

One thing I like to do in SSBU is watch replays frame by frame. I like to look at the characters up close. Their textures, the way the meshes stretch, observing and estimating the poly counts they used. How I think they built the rigs for the characters. The ridiculous amount of small animations and transitions the characters have that go unnoticed by the untrained eye.

One particular thing that really impresses me about SSBU is the vast amount of particle effects they've added to the combat. It's amazing. Look how many stars, flashes, streaks, lines, sparkles, and other flashy bits come out whenever characters hit one another. Do you have any idea how much effort they put into making this game's combat look explosive, invigorating, and easy for the viewer to see exactly what's going on. The moves are so well choreographed. It's like a perfectly engineered fireworks display.

Look at how the characters animate and react to the blows they're dealing and receiving. The facial expressions when someone gets hit by another move, especially a hard one like Ganondorf's punch. They shake back and forth for several frames, which looks odd in slow motion but perfect when played at regular speed. They then fly off the screen, emitting more sparkles and clouds of smoke all over.

The pauses in gameplay when hits are landed are spot-on. The fact that they took the time to actually add frame freezes, a mechanic I would have instantly dissed as irritating, and perfected it to where I'd have it no other way as a player.

This stuff is art, yet so many people don't even notice it. You have to play part in creating something to really understand what goes into putting it together.

I completely understand that as a writer, musician, and somebody who’s worked on indie films. It’s reallt a whole new way of looking at the medium. I’m gonna message you cause this thread is getting derailed lol

 

[FNUStory]

A tutorial mode would be nice. It would allow the player to learn basic techniques right out of the gate and allow them to become better with their character without needing to access the internet.

 

[Curious Villager]

There is a help section that shows you some short clips of characters performing certain moves and techniques as well as a description that goes along with them. Although their mostly very basic stuff, but if you want, you can save a screenshot of them with the Switch's screenshot feature and try them out on Training mode.

That's probably the closest thing to a tutorial mode that there is in the game. (That as well as the Tips section in the game)

If you want more advanced stuff, especially with any particular characters, you're probably better off looking around online or in the character boards here and see what the players have discovered and found out with these characters.

Just my two cent's here.