With Super Smash Bros. for Wii U all the rage, there's more demand than ever for Wii U GameCube controller adapters. Unfortunately, many of the listings from various online retailers and third party sellers veer well into "overpriced" territory. Ever the penny-pincher, I recently stumbled across a variety of affordable and thus-far well reviewed options from Play-Asia. If you've also been on the look out, you might want to consider one of the following:
The Duck Hunt dog is often considered one of the most annoying video game characters ever. After every failed shot, the little devil famously pops up on screen to laugh at your ineptitude. This two frame animation has haunted millions:
While the limited availability of various amiibo figures helped draw me towards the craze, staring at pegs filled with nothing but Mario is really starting to wear me out. Online retailers like Entertainment Earth and Amazon have helped pick up the slack, but I can't shake the preference of tracking down collectibles in person. It's a shame that there's no variety in my local stores right now.
I know amiibo figures are only two waves in, but there are plenty of characters that feel completely mythical at this point. I'm not only talking about the elusive Marth, Wii Fit Trainer, and Villager either. I've seen Peach and Pikachu around...and that's pretty much it. Otherwise, I'm drowning in a sea of Marios.
While Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS' visuals are bolstered by a dazzling array of stages, the Final Smash moves of each character bring the wow-factor to the forefront. Even four-player games can leave friends waiting for a turn, and a little cinematic flair keeps watching from the sidelines a lot more interesting. The chaos that unfolds during the likes of the Giga Bowser transformation or Ness' PK Starstorm keeps up the hype for all involved.
Even so, I quickly noticed that said hype levels are a bit inconsistent among each character's Final Smash. They all have a bit of "cool factor," but some of them really go above and beyond. Perhaps there's some character bias involved, but not all of them leave me wanting to shout "best thing EVER" levels of hyperbole from the rooftops. No, that's pretty much exclusive to Mega Man's Mega Legends move.
Hey now. Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS was finally released in North America and Europe today! I can't play it just yet, but I'm stoked that it's finally here. Between watching frantic early gameplay and admiring the wide variety of awesome stages, I felt inspired to check out the inevitable onslaught of new Smash fanart. Let's look through some examples!
From Karl Fan: Lucina from Fire Emblem.
With the impending release of Super Smash Bros. 4, I've been gearing up to finally purchase a Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. The handheld version releases first, so that's been my initial focus. I've been considering buying used or refurbished to save a bit of cash, perhaps straight from the online Nintendo Store if not eBay or Amazon. I'd just about made up my mind when I saw the shiny new 3DS XL NES Edition pictured above. Cue one of the greatest first world existential crises of our time.
Despite not being able to get my hands on it just yet, I've been looking forward to Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS far too much to ignore the onslaught of gameplay footage that's been coming in. I've even been lurking about in various Twitch streams to take in as much of an early look as I can. I'm loving what I've seen thus far, and I feel like I already have a nice sense of the game from a presentational standpoint.
With fighters, I think it's easier to take in all of the little details as a third party observer. I've actually found myself focusing on the scenery almost as much as the crazy slugfests taking place in the foreground. If you're interested, here's a collection of gameplay shots that show off a nice chunk of the game's stages:
Everyone reading this likely already knows that Nintendo has just confirmed Lucina, Robin, and Captain Falcon for the upcoming Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U. I'm unfortunately not as familiar with the Fire Emblem cast, so Captain Falcon does a bit more for me in the excitement department. If you haven't checked out the reveal trailer somehow, it's definitely worth watching:
July 13th brought us the final day of the Evo 2014 fighting game tournament. With the grand finals for BlazBlue, Killer Instinct, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, and Ultra Street Fighter all lined up, it goes without saying that there was an absolute barrage of intense matches on display. Here are a few key highlights:
The day kicked off with the BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma finals. Garireo (with Litchi) ultimately defeated Dogura (with Azrael) after a difficult climb out of the losers bracket. If fighting games have taught us anything, it's to never give up!
In a nice surprise, the Super Smash Bros. Melee finals at the Evo 2014 fighting game tournament were introduced by a video from Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime. I'm pretty sure it was a heartfelt message thanking the Smash community for supporting the series for so long, but I have to admit I was pretty distracted by the Twitch chat going absolutely insane at the mere sight of the guy:
In honor of the Evolution 2014 fighting game tournament (taking place this weekend, July 11-13), it seemed appropriate to showcase characters from some of its featured games in the latest edition of FanArt Frenzy. No need for flowery, silly text up front — let's just jump right in!
This gorgeous illustration of Jin Kazama from the Tekken series comes from DeviantArt's istdog.
I don't think there's any denying that Pac-Man is one of gaming's biggest icons. In the pantheon of video game mascots, he's right up there. And yet, after E3 2014's Nintendo developer roundtable brought us the news that Pac-Man is joining the cast of the upcoming Wii U and 3DS Super Smash Bros., there was plenty of hate amongst the vast sea of responses. Examples include "This is so dumb. I'm officially upset" and "Ugh, Nintendo is taking the easy way out with these characters." Shrug.
Naturally, Nintendo's E3 2014 Digital Event opened up with the highly anticipated 3DS and Wii U Super Smash Bros. The first reveal was a doozy: the Mii Fighter. Yes, you can use any of your Miis as a playable character in the game! If for some reason you absolutely hate characters like King Dedede or Fox, you can personally punch them right in the face.
