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Mewtwo may become premium DLC for Super Smash Bros.
Nearly one month ago, Nintendo revealed legendary Pokemon Mewtwo as a playable fighter for Super Smash Bros, available only to those that own both the Wii U and 3DS versions of the game. Expected to arrive in spring 2015, the downloadable character will be free to the dual-Smash players, but new information on Club Nintendo notes that all players may have access to Mewtwo down the road. While it's no guarantee, the promotion page includes a footnote that the "Mewtwo DLC may be available for purchase in the future," as corroborated by the game's Japanese site. To make the prospect of purchasing the Pokemon character in Super Smash Bros. cloudier, Game Director Masahiro Sakurai told Video Gamer this week in regards to paid DLC for the games that the development team isn't "working on anything at the moment." Those looking to guarantee that they'll get a download code for Mewtwo will need to register their copies of both Smash Bros. games on Club Nintendo by March 31, 2015. Super Smash Bros. will launch on Wii U tomorrow in North America and November 28 in Europe. For more information on the game, be sure to check out our review. [Image: Nintendo]
Super Smash Bros. 3DS patch nerfs Rosalina, hitstun cancels
CLASH Tournaments has released a detailed breakdown of the changes introduced in this week's Version 1.0.4 patch for Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, revealing a host of balance changes and tweaks affecting several characters. Notably, the respawn time for Rosalina's partner character Luma has increased from 8 seconds to roughly 13 seconds, putting Rosalina in greater peril when Luma is knocked out. Peach, Link, and Toon Link no longer have toss canceling abilities, and Diddy Kong and Mega Man are now unable to cancel out of a stunned state by using specific moves. The patch additionally blocks playback of replays recorded using earlier versions of Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. Other listed tweaks affect Falco, Greninja, Yoshi, and Mr. Game and Watch. Shoryuken details all of the discussed changes here. Our review of the upcoming Wii U version of Super Smash Bros. went live today, and we'll have a final score once online play activates. [Image: Nintendo]
Super Smash Bros. pre-loads on Wii U next Tuesday
As announced in late October, digital pre-loading on Wii U will start with the home console version of Super Smash Bros. Nintendo recently elaborated on how the pre-loading service will work for the upcoming fighting game. Starting on Tuesday, November 18, Nintendo will send a download code to those that pre-ordered the game through its online store. Redeeming the code will allow players to download most of Super Smash Bros. to their Wii U systems right away. Starting at 12:00 a.m. ET on the day of its official launch, Friday, November 21, a small update will be available to download that unlocks the game. Alternatively, players will be able to complete the same process by purchasing Super Smash Bros. for Wii U from the system's eShop directly, or by obtaining a download code from another retailer. Pre-orders for Super Smash Bros. surpassed that of Mario Kart 8 according to Nintendo, which expects "the impact on hardware will be similarly dramatic" to that of Smash. [Image: Nintendo]
Nintendo wants to sell you an NFC figurine subscription
Nintendo is evolving. Confronted with poor Wii U sales, it's slowly been embracing ideas introduced by other manufacturers years ago. Mario Kart's first major DLC (ignoring the Mercedes-Benz pack earlier this year) will arrive this Thursday; Super Smash Bros. will be the first Nintendo game to launch with digital pre-loads; it's said to be actively considering an end to region-locked hardware; and now it's teaming up with startup Loot Crate to try and market its amiibo NFC accessories in a new and fairly innovative way.
Mario Kart 8 update adds Amiibo support
A downloadable Mario Kart 8 update, meant to steady the game for the initial volley of DLC cars and tracks, will also enable simple support for Nintendo's Amiibo lineup. A select number of characters from Nintendo's new toy army will unlock corresponding outfits for your Mii racer. Tapping the Kirby statue on the Wii U gamepad, for instance, will unlock a pink puffball-themed outfit for your Mario Kart Mii, complete with a helmet designed to resemble Kirby looking back at you, smiling in the face of a blue shell coming up. Mario Kart 8 will also have unlocks for Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Link, Captain Falcon, Samus, and Fox McCloud. The Amiibo update will happen alongside the November 13 release of Mario Kart 8's first DLC - a pack of 8 tracks, 4 vehicles and 3 new characters, including Link and Tanooki Mario. The Amiibo toys, meanwhile, are coming out alongside the Wii U version of Super Smash Bros. on November 21. For more on the Amiibo and how they work in Smash, check out my impressions here.
You probably won't outlive this 136-year Smash Bros. ban glitch
Harsh, Nintendo. We know ledge-camping is considered unsportsmanlike, but being banned from Super Smash Bros. for 3DS for 136 years, like some unfortunate Reddit users have experienced, seems a bit extreme. Okay, so the 136-year ban is actually a glitch and not a purposeful sentence, but it stinks all the same, especially since there is (as of right now at least) apparently no way to fix it. The glitch can be avoided however, since it seems to be happening only to players who quit online matches early or excessively target an individual in the game's four-player For Fun mode. So, don't be a bully, don't rage quit, or if you're really worried about this happening to you, just don't go online at all, basically. Reddit user "rstevoa" theorizes the glitch is caused by the game's code counting ban time too low, which would in turn cause the code to loop around to the highest number of seconds it can assign to a ban. Of course, that's just a theory - who knows what dark sorcery actually goes on at Nintendo? [Image: Nintendo]
Super Smash Bros. Amiibo figures are part trophy, part protégé
Nintendo is getting into the figurine game with a lineup called "amiibo" (disregard for capitalization included). Set to cooperate with several different games, most prominently this holiday's Wii U version of Super Smash Bros., the Amiibo statues capture the company's fanciful characters in a cute, tangible form. "Capturing" might be too strong a word, though, because it implies more fiction than there really is.
How Nintendo rolls in 8-player Super Smash Bros.
Moments before attendees grabbed the controllers at a Super Smash Bros. press event, held in a hotel in San Francisco on Thursday evening, Nintendo had a pristine setup (above) aimed at 8 connoisseurs of clash. The configuration - 1 Wii U, 8 wired special-edition GameCube controllers, a token Gamepad and two controller adapter hubs – illustrates just one of the many options you have to exceed the traditional fight between 4 players when the game comes to Wii U on November 21. Each of Nintendo's GameCube adapters supports 4 controllers – add in another adapter and you open the possibility of 8 active, wired players. The adapter itself plugs into 2 USB ports simultaneously, so you'll be taking up all 4 of the Wii U's ports (2 on the front and 2 on the back) if you try to mimic this setup. If you have external storage hooked up already, you can also lessen the load via a powered USB hub. The result, though, is a responsive Smash Bros. experience which serves the true challenge of 8-player mode: finding out where the hell you are in all that delirious chaos.
Thursday's Nintendo Direct is all about Wii U's Smash Bros.
Nintendo is hosting a new livestream event on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. EST (3:00 p.m. PST), and this one is focused on Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. The publisher says it will reveal "50 new things" for the game, which will launch on November 21. It's possible the latest announcements for the fighting game will include the level editor and board game mode mentioned in an Amazon listing late last week. Thursday's Nintendo Direct may also show off poses for trophies in the game, which Game Director Masahiro Sakurai noted in a Miiverse post over the weekend. We're nearly one month out from our review of Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, which praised the fighter as "a game that every 3DS owner should play." [Image: Nintendo]
Strike a pose with trophies in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Say cheese, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U - you're getting a photo mode. According to a new post from Game Director Masahiro Sakurai on the Super Smash Bros. Miiverse, players of the console version of Nintendo's brawler will be able to pose the character trophies they've earned and take pictures in the game's Photo Studio mode. "Pic of the day. Zael from The Last Story grabs some Superspicy Curry from Master Hand. 'No...! You mustn't let that curry lure you in...!!'" Sakurai writes, describing the scene you see above. Photo Studio won't be the only difference between the 3DS and Wii U versions of Super Smash Bros. though; according to an Amazon listing, we can also expect a stage build mode and board game mode when the game launches on November 21. [Image: Nintendo]
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U features board game mode, says Amazon
Product details posted at Amazon today reveal new features and gameplay modes for the upcoming Wii U version of Nintendo's mascot brawler Super Smash Bros. Amazon's description reads: "Whether you're creating stages on the GamePad, competing in challenges crafted by Master Hand and Crazy Hand, or outwitting your opponents in a brand new board game mode, there's no doubt that the ultimate Smash Bros. game has arrived." The update suggests that Super Smash Bros. for Wii U will include a level-editing feature similar to the Stage Builder in 2008's Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The board game mode is another new addition, though further details regarding this feature are not yet known. Amazon's promised challenges featuring the Hand characters also coincide with a recent Miiverse teaser, and match up with hidden audio files discovered in the 3DS edition touting "Master Orders" and "Crazy Orders" modes. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U hits retail on November 21. [Video: Nintendo]
Super Smash Bros. Wii U Amiibo figures up for pre-order
Nintendo's Amiibo figures are now available to pre-order at various retailers. There are 18 total figures that players can pre-purchase through Target, GameStop, Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart, each tied to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Most of the figures are listed for release on November 21 as previously announced, the same day that Super Smash Bros. will launch for Nintendo's home console. Certain figures are paired with a December 31 launch date however, which may be a placeholder. Those figures are Zelda, Captain Falcon, Diddy Kong, Little Mac, Luigi and Pit, though release date listings may vary. Walmart is also offering a Super Smash Bros. bundle, which includes a copy of the Wii U game in addition to Link, Pikachu and Mario Amiibo figures for $100. The collectible Amiibo figures were revealed at E3 2014 in June, and given a price of $12.99 each two months later. Head past the break to see the full list of figures that are up for pre-order. [Image: Nintendo]
Super Smash Bros. hints that Mario's extra lives are clones
Descriptions for items within Super Smash Bros. for 3DS have already discussed Metroid protagonist Samus' inability to crawl. Another meme-referencing bit of text surfaced this week, this time providing a theory for Mario's extra lives. According to the description for 1-Up Mushrooms in the European version of the game provided by NeoGAF user SalsaShark, an extra life means "a whole extra version of you." The bit of text within Super Smash Bros. pondered the meaning of Mario's clones and whether "making more copies of yourself the real goal of any adventure" before imagining "a bunch of Marios getting together to discuss it." The North American version rephrases the same notion, which recalls a video of the double cherry power-up in action in Super Mario 3D World, found after the break. Do you have any favorite Easter eggs from Super Smash Bros. on 3DS? If so, share them with us in the comments! The Wii U version of the game will launch November 21. [Image: Nintendo, Imgur]
Tell us your secret characters, new Super Smash Bros. screens
Anyone hoping to avoid spoilers regarding the character roster for Super Smash Bros. should calmly exit the internet now. Nintendo has updated the official Super Smash Bros. website with a section dedicated to secret characters, and posted a slew of screenshots showing them in action on both the Wii U and 3DS versions. Abandon all hope, ye who proceed to the next paragraph: here there be spoilers. According to the updated page, it looks like we can expect to see some old favorites returning to smash it up and duke it out. Ness from EarthBound, Falco from the Star Fox series and Wario from ... uh, our nightmares(?) will appear in Super Smash Bros. when it comes to Wii U. You check out a gallery of the trio trading blows below. Of course, if you've picked up a copy of the excellent Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, these probably don't come as much of a surprise. Even if you haven't already unlocked them yourself, Japanese players began showing off the recently-announced fighters (and plenty others) last month. [Image: Nintendo]
Joystiq Weekly: The Cryptarch grows a heart, Alien: Isolation review, N64 turns 18 and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. Between the Nintendo 64's birthday and the Pokemon TCG iPad app reminding us that our childhood card games no longer have to be played with expensive, holographic pieces of paper, we're teetering toward a slight meltdown. When did we swap out our trapper keepers for a stack of bills? Why did we have to give up Saturday morning cartoons, again? What do you mean there's more to save up for in life beyond booster packs and video games? Sorry, we'll do our best to get a grip. This week brought more than a halting reminder of time's unstoppable march, though! Bungie tweaked a few loot-related settings in Destiny, we reviewed Alien: Isolation, Skylanders Trap Team and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, and we explored the weirdest stages of the N64's now-adult life. Those stories and more are waiting for you after the break!
New Smash Bros. feature boosts damaged players' knockback power
Super Smash Bros. has a concept quite different from most fighting games; rather than trying to deplete an enemy's life bar, you're out to increase their damage percentage and send them flying off the screen. The higher an enemy's damage percentage, the further they fly. And so it has been for generations. In Smash Bros. on 3DS however, the attacker's damage percentage factors in too - the more damage you have when you hit your foe, the further they'll get knocked back (or up, or down, or sideways). It's unknown if the feature is something unique to the 3DS version of the game. Just to be super clear here, this does not mean that the higher an attacker's damage, the more damage they'll do. The effect seems limited to knockback only. CLASH Tournaments, a Smash Bros. fan group, refers to it as "The Rage Effect." You can check out a video showing the new mechanic in action after the break.
Joystiq Weekly: Sony financials, Destiny review, Minecraft sale and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. What would you do with $2.5 billion? Sure, Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson isn't pocketing the entire sum from Microsoft's acquisition of Mojang, but something tells us he'll uh, be okay for a few years. Unless you're keen on buying small nations and playing a real-world game of Risk, it's tough to imagine spending your share of a massive buyout like that. There was loads more to this week than business deals involving yacht-sized bags of money, though. There's hope for a playable taste of Final Fantasy 15 in 2015, reviews for Destiny, Hyrule Warriors, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call, a full timeline of Minecraft's progress from day one and loads more, all awaiting you after the break!
Report: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U to be released November 21
A photo of a pre-order card for the Wii U version of Super Smash Bros., supposedly from retail store Fred Meyer, has allegedly pegged the date that Nintendo's brawler will arrive in North America as November 21. Twitter user BluesDriveBuster shared the photo last evening, accompanied by text reading, "Official Smash WiiU release." It should be noted however, that this is not an official release date, at least not one formally announced by Nintendo; we've yet to hear such a date from the big N itself. Even the pre-order card states that the release date supposedly printed on the label is subject to change. Still, considering that Nintendo hasn't yet backed off of its previously-announced "winter 2014" release window and that November 21 is a Friday - a day of the week which Nintendo is fond of releasing major games on - there's enough substance here to make this supposed leak at least somewhat believable. Not enough that you should take it at face value of course, but enough that it's worth acknowledging. [Image: BluesDriveBuster]
Nintendo streaming Super Smash Bros. for 3DS today, US demo imminent
Nintendo is hosting an official stream showcasing gameplay from its 3DS mascot brawler Super Smash Bros. starting at 1 p.m. PST today, giving an early look at the finished product prior to its North American launch on October 3. Super Smash Bros. hits store shelves in Japan this week, and a number of fan streams have already revealed its full roster. Nintendo is also offering weekly eShop sales highlighting games that feature its Smash Bros. stars. Nintendo is also launching a demo version of Super Smash Bros. in North America today for Club Nintendo Platinum members. Eligible players will receive an e-mail with download instructions once the trial is available. All 3DS owners will get access to the demo on September 19. [Image: Nintendo]
Super Smash Bros. supports new 3DS C-stick, not Circle Pad Pro
The portable version of Super Smash Bros. will not support the Circle Pad Pro accessory for 3DS, according to a support page on Nintendo of Japan's website, as translated by NeoGAF. With the recent announcement of a new 3DS and 3DS XL, the upcoming entry in the Super Smash Bros. series will reportedly favor the new devices' use of extra shoulder buttons and C-stick as opposed to the accessory that added a second circle pad and shoulder buttons to existing 3DS systems. This implies that players using a traditional 3DS or 3DS XL will be locked to using controls specific to those consoles without the extra buttons and joystick. The game will launch prior to the new hardware; Super Smash Bros. for 3DS is due out September 13 in Japan and October 3 in North America. The revised systems, which will be region-locked, will launch October 11 in Japan and won't make the calendar year in the west. The other version of the game for Wii U will arrive this holiday season. We've reached out to Nintendo to confirm the 3DS version's lack of support for the Circle Pad Pro and will update as we learn more. [Image: Nintendo]
