Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/Nintendo 3DS

I have never owned a Nintendo Entertainment System, nor its Super variety. What few games I've played that originated on that system have all been emulated elsewhere, and when I mean few I quite literally mean maybe... between 3-5 games. While I also eventually became a proud owner of an N64 and GameCube, my nostalgia for Nintendo has never run especially deep.

Yet despite that, the Super Smash Bros. series has always proved to be a good time, right from the beginning with its debut on the Nintendo 64. The chaotic nature of it all, with so many truly unique characters to pit against amongst a huge number of stages, has been so inviting that I have invested hundreds of hours into Melee in particular simply on the merits of the gameplay alone. Getting a bunch of friends together and battling it out thatta way has also provided some of the most enjoyable local competitive play I've experienced at that. Suffice it to say, these games are fun, and they're undoubtedly one of my favourite Nintendo properties. It's weird to admit that I associate Mario more as a SSB character than I do for the number of his flagship titles, but there you go.

The latest in the franchise, and the first to be put on a handheld, carries a lot of what'd expect from a Smash Brothers release. While the eclectic roster and stages all flaunt a brilliant amount of variety, however, an utterly abysmal online portion unfortunately waters down a lot of the potential for fun I had hoped I would squeeze out of this series' latest.

Which is heartbreaking to have to go through, because the core gameplay itself is just intoxicating as ever. All of the many character's animations all have an outstanding flow and feel to them. The powerful, bruiser characters such as Bowser and Charizard feel powerful, and the more nimble, athletic types such as Captain Falcon (my personal favourite) and Sonic successfully give you the sense that you own the battlefield. There's such a huge roster here--including many standbys and a few new faces--that there's bound to be a favourite for everyone. The game even allows you to import your ''Mii'' and then select from three fighter presets--Brawler, Sword Fighter, and Gunner--to govern their attacks. You can then select their Special attacks, provide statistical upgrades, and even customise their appearance with a number of unlockable hats and outfits. That level of customisation also actually carries over into the main cast as well, with a number of attack modifications you can apply along with statistical alterations.

The stages and the way many will morph into something different as the match presses on also makes them come across as characters themselves. They will force you to constantly keep on your toes to make sense of the madness that will traditionally be erupting around you, and dear me is it fun.

Unless... you're playing online. Results may vary, but my own experience when tackling the opposition online has been greeted with nothing but extreme bouts of slowdown, input lag, and many matches where the game will go through frequent loads during the fight itself. At worst it's completely unplayable, but even at its best the input lag forever threatens to remove the necessary precision that is required for such a game like this.

Speaking for what's on offer, there are two separate venues for online -- one being ''For Fun'' and the other ''For Glory''. For Fun basically means you'll play some classic Smash, complete with all of the items and transforming stages. For Glory is intended for the hardcore, as it removes all items and limits every stage to a flat surface. While it removes a lot of the trademark personality out of the game, it also helps prove how versatile the fighting system Smash Brothers offers -- at least in theory. Take away all of the random nonsense and you still have a well thought out fighting game within. It's not for everyone of course, but it's respectable that they at least give players the option.

The For Glory also has available a 1 versus 1 option available, and while that typically proves to be more successful than the other modes--which consist of 4-player free for all and team modes--it's still less than ideal with input lag still forever prevalent. As of this writing, I'm sad to say that I have had little to gain from SSB's Online aspect besides endless bouts of frustration. I keep bloody well trying, though, because of the sheer potential it has to be a right lark.

Fortunately fighting against the AI is still as fun as ever. However while it does include a Classic mode that has you going through a variety of battles--including team matches, facing against a giant character variant and ect--while ultimately ending with you going against Master Hand (and Crazy Hand if you so choose), there's no massive-scale Subspace Emissary story mode here like in Brawl. There are some alternate modes available, such as a survival mode that has you fight against every character in order of their first video game appearance, but they mostly serve as distractions. You will be constantly attaining coins for one thing, but all you can spend them on are in-game, non-interactable Trophies. While they may be 3D, they're still on the same level of unlocking concept art really.

By virtue of being on a handheld, that also highly restricts your potential for local play as well -- a staple of this series. As such, I have spent most of my time simply fighting the AI. While that's still fun in itself, it only offers the bare minimum of thrills these games are renowned for. The small screen is at least able to compartmentalize a lot of the hallmarks of a traditional Smash Brothers battle, however it can also make it difficult to actually keep an eye on just what the Hell is happening. When the screen stretches out to accompany four different characters--one of which may be on the opposite side of the stage--I'm often forced to squint to try and focus on my character. Because of the importance of reading animations at that, it can sometimes force upon you a serious handicap against the AI. That it is able to keep it all running butter smooth with no dips to the framerate (against the AI that is) is certainly impressive all the same. It also looks fantastic, with many visual effects on display that perfectly replicate Smash Brothers of old.

Super Smash Brothers on 3DS is basically more of what you'd expect. While that in itself spells out a lot of potential for entertainment, I have found the online portion to be simply put unplayable more often than not. While the offline features certainly do a smashing (pun) job of reminding me why I was drawn into these games in the first place, they can't carry the weight of what a full-priced product should deliver in this respect. All I can hope is that the upcoming Wii U version will remedy some of the ails.

Note: Though I don't actually own a Wii U (yet) myself, so... But it'd be nice to see that when the time comes I'll be able to properly dig into more Smash and get more of what I want out of such a superb series as this.