Super Smash Bros. (Wii U) -- Contender Chronicle #03

Well, it's been an annoying couple of weeks. Gee, I hope it's only been a couple weeks, or this would get embarrassing rather quickly, wouldn't it? Because as you might recall, we were still knee deep in quite the variety of old multiplayer content! Well, I mean... it wasn't getting any fresher as it was, so I guess it's not a problem per se... the real non-negotiable hurdles are the technical ones, what with processing and uploading, so it'd be most troubling if finding time to sit down and actually describe stuff became a bottleneck. (It happens a lot. A lot more than I'd like, anyway. Have you noticed? Stop noticing!) --- Match #1 -- Coliseum Villager (Yu-Gi-Joou) vs. Samus (RAD) vs. Erdrick [Link] Now, if you'll recall, this is way back in the days when Smash sans-subtitle was young and only very recently was the long-looming "for 3DS" and "for Wii U" distinction actually at all important, which translated into some minor familiarity with characters, but it would become clear with time exactly who would require more attention than others. Among the more notable learning processes was the Villager, because such a projectile-heavy approach was outright unheard of even in Brawl. I mean, really, it's faster to consider which of the Villager's moves are NOT projectiles in some fashion. An alarming proportion of your go-to moves are suddenly projectiles. And this is all WELL before you consider the really high-level thinking-boy-or-girl's activities like lining your pockets with fun stuff or doing a little gardening. Heck, old mainstays like Link and Samus, what with their formerly-remarkable "excessive" number and now-quaintly representative forms of charged and directionally-influenced projectile types are (hopefully) second nature going on four whole generations of getting used to how Smash works in the grander scheme of things... It means a whole new dimension of awareness, as suddenly unthinkable things will happen, and thus they MUST be thought of. What's in that kid's pockets? How long will that tree loom ominously over the battlefield? Will I get caught staring down a Lloid with no way to avoid getting blown up if I use this move? What about if a second one comes in while that one's exploding?! How cute that once one "only" needed to monitor the buildup of a Charge Beam, the critical level of which the game would always kindly note for all to see anyway. --- Match #2 -- Gaur Plains Greninja (Yu-Gi-Joou) vs. Peach (RAD) vs. Erdrick [Link] By comparison, Greninja feels vastly "simpler"... ... ...wait, what? Are you kidding me? A character with two vastly different projectile games tied to the SAME special move? Several ways to become invisible and attack with only minor warning cues provided before he vanishes and appears somewhere else?! "Simpler"? You've got some strange notions, friend. And yet, as long as you keep a paranoid eye on the shadows for every moment you remain engaged with our twitchy, protean pal, things should STILL be way less scary than what nightmares can be seen in the dull and expressionless eyes of the self-appointed "Mayor of Smashville." (In fact, I'd say the onus is quite on Greninja to force the various nastier ninja tricks to cascade forth. Never has an electric mouse had to worry nearly as much about precision changes of direction during a two-stage special recovery!) On the other hand, someone who IS entirely new to our mental calculations as battle is conducted is Metal Face. Everything from his entrance to his particular range of attack and how close before you draw his aggro... plus HOW he makes his exit, because even exploding and falling down isn't quite so simple as one might prefer, seeing as how he makes quite a spectacle of himself even then. --- Match #3 -- Wii Fit Studio Zelda (Yu-Gi-Joou) vs. Palutena (RAD) vs. Erdrick [Link] One thing I'll never remember is that Zelda has a new down special. This is entirely different to how Charizard picked up a new one and put his Rock Smash where his change of character used to go (but YOU try "forgetting" that Flare Blitz is a thing... good luck!), because I actually PREFERRED Zelda... by far. I confused the heck out of certain people by actually USING her and not switching to Sheik. (I became far less threatening with her more familiar ninja moveset, too!) So, for my purposes, everything I could have ever needed remained intact (and in many ways more magically souped-up than ever before!) and untouched and I had no reason to try the other special. Granted, I don't think the Phantom will turn Zelda's A-game on its head anytime soon, but a weapon unsharpened and left dull in its drawer serves to aid no one. --- Match #4 -- Halberd Mario (Yu-Gi-Joou) vs. Dr. Mario (RAD) vs. Erdrick [Link] Oh, and we've suddenly got a flavor of The Mario fresh from a time capsule and containing all kinds of artifacts that are two whole game iterations old. Hooray for packing extra complexity into disarmingly familiar packages!