Super Smash Bros. For The Switch: 5 Things We’d Like To See

Hello. It’s me again, standing atop my soapbox shouting at a video game company who would never listen to me in the first place. The new Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo Switch is due out at the tailend of this year, but very little is known about the game other than it’s happening, and the weird ink people from Splatoon will make an appearance.

With more details certain to be unveiled at E3 2018, the time is right for us to speculate on the things we’d like to see added to the game. You know, before all the details get confirmed and this kind of time sensitive content becomes obsolete. With that in mind, let’s run down the list of things we’d like to see added in Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo Switch.

 

1. Those Characters We Mentioned We Liked

A bit of a shameless plug, this one, so it’s one we won’t dwell on too much. About a week and a half ago, we published a list of 11 characters we’d like to see added to Super Smash Bros, which included some safe picks like Captain Toad, Spring Man and Ribbon, along with some more leftfield picks like Viewtiful Joe and Solaire. If even a couple of the characters on the list get confirmed, we’d be pleased. Anyway, check out the list, share it with your friends, do all that good stuff.

We need the ad revenue.

 

2. Significant Single Player Modes

Now for the meatier entries. Though Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U was a fantastic game, it’s fair to see that it lacked some content when compared to other games in the series, specifically Brawl. Though it’s arguably the least liked game in the series, which we’ll get into later, Brawl’s philosophy on single-player content was rock solid. Brawl has content coming out of its eyeballs, which is impressive when you consider that a game doesn’t have eyeballs.

Though your regular modes like Classic, All-Star and Event mode have carried over from Melee, Brawl introduced the Subspace Emissary mode, which gave Super Smash Bros. a story of sorts. Essentially, it was Nintendo fan service, combining everyone’s favourite characters and have them interact in ways that fans often thought impossible. You never knew you wanted Captain Falcon and Captain Olimar teaming up until you saw it.

Whilst it’s easy to gloss over this mode and head straight to the other modes, Subspace Emissary gave players who didn’t have friends or siblings they could bully in the multiplayer. It was significant, enjoyable and didn’t feel like an afterthought. A similar mode in Super Smash Bros for the Switch would be fantastic. At least, we think it would be, and it’s our list. Screw you.

 

3. Bolstered Online Support

Though Smash Bros. Brawl featured online support, the 3DS and the Wii U versions were likely the first time many players took their Smash skills to the internet. Suddenly, you didn’t have to rely on your mates coming round to get some multiplayer Smash Bros. on the go. Now, you could play against people from around the world, and come to a shocking realisation: you’re not as good as you think you are.

Whilst the online features in Smash Bros. for the Wii U were decent, there was certainly room for improvement. Players could matchmake using For Fun, which acts as a more casual, beginner friendly experience, or they could try their luck in the For Glory category, where all the good players were lying in wait to body you all the way into next week.

Though those two options, along with the prerequisite custom games with friends, are a decent bedrock for any online game, some new features wouldn’t go amiss. Two suggestions that immediately come to mind is the ability to create teams with your friends, matching with other teams to do battle, and the inclusion of Splatoon 2 style themed events, or Splatfests. Every weekend, a new game mode could appear that offers a unique Smash Mode, such as a Giant Metal Melee, which could offer unique rewards for competing.

 

4. Returning Features

We’ve already spoken about the Subspace Emissary mode, but there’s plenty of features that have popped up in the Smash Bros. franchise that deserve to come back in the Switch release. For instance, the introduction of 8 player modes in the Wii U version was a revolution. So long as you had the controllers for it, nobody got left out any more.

The introduction of Omega stages, which made each stage a flat platform without environmental hazards, whilst keeping the music and backdrop, was also a stroke of genius. It gave players who wanted to a means to settle their grudges through skill and not some Hyrule tornado bullshit.

The Wii U version also saw the inclusion of custom characters, which allowed you to equip new moves and items to characters that changed their stats and how they performed in game. It was Injustice 2 before even Mortal Kombat X came out. These are just a few examples of things that could and should return, but ultimately the message here is simple:

 

5. Don’t Fix What Isn’t Broken

We said we’d be talking about Brawl some more. After the amazing success of Melee, Nintendo had a tough job of creating a follow up. Brawl didn’t quite deliver, and the reason being was that it tried to fix what wasn’t broken. Things such as being able to airdodge out of hitstun, which practically killed combos, to that accursed tripping, ensured Brawl’s place as the worst game of the series.

Smash for the 3DS and Wii U righted a lot of these wrongs, and if Nintendo want the new game to have serious, long-term success, they’d do well not to tamper with that formula. Just look at how the competitive Melee scene is thriving over 15 years after the game came out, whereas Brawl basically dropped off the face of the world.

Regardless of what happens, we’ll still be picking up Super Smash Bros for the Switch when it comes out, even if none of these things we want happen. We just love playing Smash. Still, let us know what you want in the comments below.