I have long been a fan of the Super Smash Bros. series. From its inception on the classic Nintendo 64, through Melee on the Gamecube and Brawl on the Wii, the series has been well regarded, and for good reason. The combination of a deep roster of favorite Nintendo characters with a chaotic but incredibly deep combat system is something special. My family has spent countless hours playing Super Smash Bros. in all its various forms, and made many fond memories doing so. It’s a rare series indeed that is rewarding to hardcore gamers while still being accessible to the casual fan, or even non-gamers.
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U continues in the grand tradition of its forebears. It takes everything good about prior games in the series, and turns it up to eleven. The roster of characters is larger than ever, and pulls from non-Nintendo franchises like Sonic, Pac-man, and Mega Man. The nostalgia factor is through the roof, featuring an astounding amount of easter eggs and other fan service. You can even play with up to eight players now, which is both maddening and gleeful at the same time. To be honest, I feel as if I have only scratched the surface of what Super Smash Bros. for Wii U offers; there aren’t many games that are this robust, on any system.
Since Co-Optimus is mainly concerned with the cooperative aspects of games, we will spend most of this review looking at the various options in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U that allow for for co-op. There are many gameplay modes that allows you and a friend to team up in various ways. Keep in mind that the Co-Optimus definition of co-op does not include one human team working against another; this is considered competitive, even though it features teamwork. Of course, you can always make a human team and take on a computer-controlled team, but that’s really the weakest form of co-op in Super Smash Bros for Wii U (though it sure is fun to comp stomp).
Sadly, the highlight of the Wii version of Smash Bros., Subspace Emissary, has no equivalent in the sequel. Subspace Emissary was a full on campaign mode, which added some platforming elements to the Smashing. Two players could experience the story of Subspace Emissary, such as it was, and it was a rollicking good time. For whatever reason, there is nothing in the Wii U version that could be considered and campaign or story mode, and that’s truly a shame.
Classic mode does return, though it is modified, and allows for two player co-op. This works basically as a tournament, where the two-player human team takes on various other characters over several matches. Defeating your opponents rewards you with trophies and other collectibles, and culminates in a battle against a horde of fighting Miis, followed by a fight against Master Hand. Classic mode seems to last just long enough, and there is a sense of progression which gives it more of a cooperative feel than simply comp stomping over and over again.
All-Star mode is also playable in co-op, and is available from the beginning of the game. In All-Star mode, you have one life each, and are trying to defeat all the characters in the game consecutively. The foes appear in pairs, and after each pair, you have a brief respite to use a scarce amount of healing items and other power ups. All-Star mode is a real challenge, and requires careful planning and a high level of skill to complete; I have little of the latter, so even lots of the former left us far short of defeating all the dozens of characters available.
Our favorite co-op mode, by a large margin, is Events mode. These are short scenarios where you are assigned characters to use, and put in unusual, thematic situations. When you play in co-op mode, with two players available, the Events change to reflect this. One early event puts Mario and Luigi against Bowser Jr. If the Bros. foe isn’t defeated quickly, a titanic Bowser appears, making the whole affair more difficult. The next Event might put you inside a Pokemon battle, or in the boxing ring with Little Mac and the Wii Fit Trainer. Going through Events is quite fun, and feels very much like the campaign mode in Brawl.
Nintendo has a mixed reputation for online play, but Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is a step in the right direction. The focus is online multiplayer battles in the standard Smash, which is to be expected. However, there is an option for online co-op. Multi-Man Smash pits two players against several waves of Mii Fighters, very similar to the fight near the end of a Classic mode run. I was unable to test this due to my lack of online Wii U friends and generally terrible internet connection, but it’s nice to see the inclusion of even a limited form of co-op in the online offerings.
Just discussing the co-op options available in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U has taken many words, but there is far more to discuss. Eight-player matches are now available for the first time, which is either great news or bad news, depending on how many controllers you own. Still, you can sub in computer controlled characters, and doing so makes for an enjoyable, over the top session of Smash carnage. You can make custom characters, using parts obtained by playing through all the various game modes. There are even Skylanders-like Amiibos, which learn your moves, and can be used as AI characters in matches. You can even make custom levels! Like I said earlier, there is just so much to this new Super Smash Bros. that it’s difficult to adequately cover it all.
Suffice it to say that Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is the greatest version of the game yet. I believe it is the best game available for the system, surpassing even Mario Kart 8. It’s a very good reason to own a Wii U; there is quite simply nothing else like it out there. No other game even comes close. Even though co-op takes a back seat to the competitive Smashing, there is a lot to do when you want to work together instead of beating each other up. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is a masterpiece, and is so wonderful it will keep Wii U owners happy for many years to come.