Super Smash Bros (Wii U) review

If the grand 8-player battles weren’t enough to make Super Smash Bros for Wii U stand out from its handheld cousin, there’s also Smash Tour, a kind of Mario Party-esque board game mode that riffs off Smash Run from the 3DS version.

Like Smash Run, the aim is to grab as many stat boosts as possible to use in a final battle at the end of the game, but here you have a random selection of fighters and are playing against everyone else around you (or the CPU if you’re playing alone). You can also pick up additional fighters as you move round the board, but collide with another player and you’ll all be launched into a mini Smash battle to decide who gets to keep your hard-won prizes.

 There’s a lot to take in when playing Smash Tour, which can often make it less enjoyable overall

It’s certainly a lot more involving than Smash Run, but with so many different icons, colours and players onscreen at the same time, it can also be very confusing, particularly when the unrelenting timer rarely gives you much room to breathe. Everyone receives a trophy at the beginning of each turn, too, which all have different effects on the battlefield, such as laying traps or launching nearby foes on the board itself or letting you start a fight with a certain item.

However, everything happens so fast that several people we played with were left rather baffled by it all, and the sheer randomness of it left everyone feeling rather dissatisfied once it was over. When each tour can last between 15 and 25 minutes as well, the whole process ultimately feels very drawn out for what’s essentially a single fight at the very end.

Smash Tour does have some good points, though, as the unfamiliar character combos and different stat buffs provide a better test of skill for more experienced players compared with a normal game of Smash. There’s also plenty of potential for upsetting anyone who has an advantage, and this helps to level out the playing field if some of your friends aren’t quite as skilled at the game as others.

 We’re not big fans of Classic mode’s rather plain presentation, but we do appreciate the freedom to pick our own fights

Smash Bros for Wii U isn’t all about bringing people together, though, as its single player modes are arguably some of the best yet. While Classic mode’s static board game presentation is decidedly less polished than the branching pathways of the 3DS version, the ability to move your character toward whichever clump of opponents you like brings a welcome sense of choice to the mix, letting you move effortlessly between huge eight-player battles to single one-on-ones as and when you please. It also borrows the same risk and reward mechanics as the 3DS version, so you’ll get better rewards and prizes as you increase the difficulty level.

We’re also pleased to see the return of Event Battles, which challenge players to complete certain tasks under set conditions. We loved these in Melee as they were pure tests of mechanical skill, forcing you to dig deep into each character’s move set to see what made them tick. They remain as challenging as ever on Wii U, but crossing each one off your hit list is just one part of the puzzle this time round, as there are hidden routes and special rewards to unlock as well if you meet other battle conditions, giving you an even greater excuse to replay them on higher difficulties.

Super Smash Bros for Wii U may not be a complete home-run, with various modes either confusing new players or not providing enough for returning fans, but at its core, Smash battles remain just as excellent as they always were and the addition of eight-player local co-op really gives it the edge over previous entries in the series. It kicks the game up a notch that not only makes it more inclusive, but also a lot more fun. Nintendo music fans are also in for a treat, as the 320 plus soundtrack alone is more than worth the price of entry. We could probably do without Smash Tour, but this is still an excellent game and well-deserving of a place in every Wii U owner’s library.