Go Download the Demo for Super Smash Bros for 3DS.

Well, Friday was the big day. It finally dropped. Wait, what? The iPhone 6? No no no no, I was talking about the Super Smash Bros. for 3DS demo being available to everyone on the E-Shop.

For the last week I have had the pleasure of playing the Club Nintendo Platinum Member early release demo, thanks to a good friend of the Gēks sharing one of his codes (Thanks Scott!). Anytime I could, I pulled out my original 3DS and squeezed in a solo match or two. This has made me realize how insane it is that I am playing Super Smash Bros. on a handheld device.

I had originally planned on getting both the Wii U & 3DS version because I love Nintendo (there...it's out) and I wanted both experiences, but I never had any real expectations that the 3DS version would hold up as well as it has -- and this is just a demo! 

Seeing as this is the demo and not the full retail release of the game, I won't go into the whole review process, but I do want talk a little bit about what the demo has to offer and why I've been waiting for it to release to the public.

Menus & Game Modes

As soon as your start the game up and get to the title screen you are hit by...a title with absolutely no music playing. Huh? What happened to epic soundtrack that Smash is known for? I suppose this is a small gripe, but when I turn on a Smash Bros. game, I expect to be greeted by an intense score and instead I got silence. 

On top of that, there is no intro movie! This struck me as the strangest part to exclude seeing as how there has been an intro movie since the original game. I suppose that we have had our fill of cinematics thanks to all of the character introduction videos that Nintendo has been treating us to for the last couple of years, but it's is still rather jarring to not be greeted by that intro video. There is also a chance that they're saving it for the actual game, though.

Main Screen

In the main screen you notice that Classic Mode is nowhere to be found, instead you have Smash (the most basic mode where you fight against a CPU or a real person), Smash Run, Online, and Challenge (as well as an option to connect your game to the Wii U and a street pass game). 

Only available option in the "Vault" is the "Tips" section, but this is where you go to find your trophies.

There is a button near the bottom that reads "Games & More" and this is where you can find the Classic Mode as well as the other mini games that have been in the series, your trophies, and the customization mode. It seems to me like they are really trying to push the 3DS-specific Smash Run mode because it is front and center while the better known modes are hidden in the menus.

Once you go into the only playable mode (Smash), you are presented with two options : Solo and Group. Unless you have a friend who is nearby, you will have to stick to Solo.

Characters, Stages, & Gameplay

Tried them all, but stuck to using Mega Man.

The demo only gives you 5 character options and they are: Mario, Link, Pikachu, Mega Man, and the Villager. I think this was a good idea because not only did they allow some of the classic characters that everyone is comfortable with to be playable, but they allowed players to try out two of the most highly anticipated characters as well. Allowing full access to the entire (non-secret) roster would have been a negative choice because it would have killed interest for the game, so the small selection was a smart choice.

You can fight against a max of 3 CPU characters like you always have been, with their difficulty ranging from Level 1 (easiest) to Level 9 (hardest). No other options are available just yet. You're given a 2 minute time limit and must knock out your opponents as many times as you can before the time runs out. Anytime you get knocked out, your score is subtracted by 1. The player with the highest score (number of knockouts minus number of times knocked out) wins.

Another good addition to the demo is that they only allowed you to play on the classic "Battlefield" level which is as basic as it gets. For those who don't know, it consists of a flat surface and 3 floating platforms. That is it. What some may miss is that they also give you option of switching the level into the new "Omega Form" which takes out all platforms and only gives you a flat surface to fight on. This is obviously meant for expert fighters. In reality they gave everyone 2 levels to play on.

The game itself is as fun as ever. One thing that I noticed is that knocking someone out takes a lot longer than it used to. My opponent will have a considerable amount of damage taken (let's say around 160%) and even if I hit them with a full-on smash attack (think of a charged-up punch from Mario) they will go flying off the screen, but will still be able to recover and make it back to the stage to continue fighting. This obviously means that the game has been slowed down, but not considerably. I have to assume that this decision was made to curve the amount of times expert players quickly knock others out of the screen.

Did I mention how fun some of the items are? No? Well, they are! One in particular that nearly made me cry tears of geeky joy was the Cucco from the Legend of Zelda. If you haven't played the games, just know that there are chickens that roam around the towns and if you strike them with your sword they summon a host of other chickens to come and attack you. Guess what the Cucco does in Smash Bros...THAT'S RIGHT, THEY BRING DOWN THEIR POULTRY FURY ON THE ENEMY YOU THROW THEM AT!

Sorry. I...I just love Zelda.

Let's Play!

Now, the reason I have been waiting eagerly for the demo to be released to the general public is because I want to play this game against actual people. Luckily, I had the pleasure of doing just that on Friday and it was fantastic. Nothing compares to a live opponent. We connected locally and I am pleased to say that there were no issues with the process. I essentially hosted the game, he joined, and we battled.  I'm curious to see whether the online match-ups will go as smoothly as the local multiplayer ones do.

This demo has singlehandedly proven to me that Smash Bros. fits perfectly on a handheld. What scares me now is that I'm not sure gamers will want to spend the extra money on the Wii U version. I'm hoping that Nintendo reveals that you'll be able to unlock extra characters if you link the two games together or something along those lines. They just have to give gamers enough of a reason to purchase both. Either way, I'll be picking both up and playing the hell out of each.

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS will be released in North America on October  3rd. No word on the final release date for the Wii U version.

Also, my analog pad is working just fine.