The release of Super Smash Bros. for 3DS is nearly upon us (October 3rd) and Nintendo has released a demo to the general public to give everyone with a 3DS a chance to play it.
I was lucky enough to spend a few hours over the last week or so playing the demo with my two sons. I wanted to give the game a spin to see whether or not Nintendo to make the Super Smash Bros. experience that I know and love work on a handheld system. I have spent several hours playing the game alone and with my boys and let me tell you… they nailed it.
The standard gaming experience with online games that are built around reaction time (fighting games and shooters are the primary examples) always involves at least a little bit of lag. I am by no means a professional Smash player, but I did not detect a significant amount of lag while I was playing. The experience ran smoothly and we were able to play the game from different sides of the room (or different seats of the car) without any problems.
The demo included five fighters out of the massive cast, but it included enough diversity within the demo group that every match was different. The five characters included in the demo are:
- Mario
- Link
- Pikachu
- Mega Man
- The Villager (Animal Crossing: New Leaf)
Three of them (Mario, Link, and Pikachu) have been regulars in the series since its inception back on the N64. My favorite of the two newcomers was Mega Man. It was fun just to use his various special moves and trying to figure out which of the original robot masters he got the attack from. My oldest son, however, enjoyed playing as The Villager. He particularly enjoyed being able to use balloons to save himself from falling off the edge.
The demo, once available to the public, is free and includes unlimited play with those five characters so there really isn’t any reason for a 3DS owner to NOT give it a spin unless you have players the franchise before and didn’t enjoy it. Sound off in the comments and let us know what you think!