New Smash Bros. installment hopes to build on past successes

After a seven-year hiatus, the long awaited fourth installment to the Super Smash Bros. series is being released on two consoles: the Nintendo 3DS and the Nintendo Wii U.

It’s been a while since Nintendo, the successful Japanese gaming giant, has released an installment of the popular Super Smash Bros. Franchise.

Emerging in 1999, the first game, simply titled Super Smash Brothers, was an instant hit in Japan, prompting Nintendo to release copies of the game in English.

Since then, the game has become incredibly popular and had two more games released on the Nintendo Gamecube and Nintendo Wii, titled Super Smash Brothers Melee and Super Smash Brothers Brawl.

The premise of the game is a cartoon style fighting game showcasing different characters from many different Nintendo series and franchises such as Mario, Samus from the Metroid series, Link from the Legend of Zelda series and Pikachu from the Pokemon series.

Unlike their predecessors, which had a name like “brawl” or “melee,” the new games are simply titled Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/ 3DS. The games’ developers have released footage showcasing the new characters of the game that were not featured in previous installments, such as  Mega Man, Pac-Man and a villager from the Animal Crossing series.

In addition to the new characters, new stages from popular handheld games will appear in the 3DS version, as well as similarly famous and recognizable stages from console games appearing in the Wii U version. Some players complain that nothing really revolutionary has been done on this front, while others consider the new iteration just another take on the already near-perfect formula.

The Nintendo 3DS version of the game was released on Sept. 13 in Japan, just a few weeks before its American release date of Oct. 3. The game has already garnered several positive reviews, scoring nine out of 10 on a website called Computers and Video Games. Dedicated players will be judging for themselves this month and testing out the new games that are sure to make a lasting impression on the Smash community as a whole.