Super Smash Bros for Wii U is the Game of the 8th Generation (Part 3)

Welcome to part 3 of my Smash Wii U article.  If you have not read part 1 or 2 of this article series then click HERE and HERE to get caught up.  In the last break down I talked about how this game nailed the characters, art style, and customization, now let’s move on.

The Music:

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This should go without saying, but when someone asks you what is your favorite video game soundtrack, this game is a cop out answer. This game has franchise music that lets you jam out in the menu. The best part is that you can actually pick the music you want playing in the background. So that way you enjoy your favorite tunes as you destroy your opponent. I also want to give a shout out for all the remastering the composers did to update the classic tracks. For example, Mega Man 2 and the electric guitar rift they do is awesome! I also want to say as a side note that I own the 2 disc soundtrack CD for this game. It was a reward given to me for being a part of Club Nintendo and registering my Wii U and 3DS copies of this game. It was worth it! And the Mewtwo DLC was a plus. Of course I don’t listen to the CDs themselves, but I did rip them into my iTunes library and very often I find myself in the mood to listen to the soundtrack. Now I do want to back peddle a bit to when I said that naming this song’s soundtrack is cop-out answer. Because if you were to remove the songs from other franchises, you are still left with excellent music composed for this series. Special shout out to the brawl opening theme and this game’s opening theme. When I listen to those tracks I get pumped and you will as well. Speaking of getting pumped, this leads me to my final point…

The Competitive Nature:

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Much like Pokemon indoctrinating us to be the best like no one ever was, this game lends itself to competition pretty easily. As far as fighting game communities go, I would say that the Smash community is a very friendly and welcoming. Often you will see top players having friendly matches with newer players. I’ve also seen first hand where veteran players give out tips and advice to rookie players. This is a Nintendo franchise, and Nintendo fans are less likely to be aggressive than say a competitive Mortal Kombat player. That franchise is built on the foundation of you trolling and disgracing your opponent with fatalities. That being said this game has the accessibility to played by a wide audience and in turn helps viewership of competitive Smash. Think about it, in order to enjoy competitive anything, you should have a decent understanding of the game itself and that in turn helps viewers appreciate and follow the game. I’ve seen this first hand at PAX South when a son brought his dad to sit and watch competitive Smash. The dad was able to get everything pretty early on and he didn’t have many questions other than asking about the players themselves. The last point I want to touch base on is that I have hosted two of my own Smash 4 tournaments in my house. I had about 30 people over and we made a day out of it. This past June was my second annual Smash tournament and this year my results improved greatly from last years. This year I did end up making the final 4 on all three brackets,  which was a nice accomplishment on my part and very consistent at that.

In Conclusion:

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I’ve spent this article praising the game but I never once compared this game to its contemporaries. So giving this game the title of “Game of the Generation” is a bit hyperbole. My only defense to this claim is that Super Smash is the sum of its parts. It’s a simple and elegantly designed game that tugs on your nostalgia. It is beautiful to look at, great to listen to, super competitive, and most importantly fun to play. The replay value of this game, in my opinion, is limitless because in the words of pro Smash player Mew2King “Just keep learning.” (M2K told me this during a friendly match at a tournament). The fact of the matter is there is always going to be something to learn, to improve, and to perfect, and that will keep people playing. For comparison the other games I played this gen, such as Uncharted 4 on the PS4, are games that I pick up and enjoy for a certain period of time and then move on to the next one. Where as this game makes me stay and come back for more. That is why this game is my pick for game of the generation.

The last thing I want to touch on is my stats for the game – this is my humble brag section. Do keep in mind the stats I am about to list off comes from my console alone and it doesn’t factor in the times I played at a tournament with someone else’s Wii U console. There was a total of 503 hours played on the game, 1,260 hours in combined multiplayer time with my friends and a total of 5191 matches played. I am sure these numbers will continue to grow, maybe even after the Wii U’s successor comes out (code named NX). It’s very well possible since there are still people who have their GameCube’s still hooked up to their TVs to play Melee.

TL;DR I love Smash 4, it’s an amazing game that I believe I will be playing long after this generation ends (assuming that there will be an official start to the 9th generation).

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