It's safe to say that Super Smash Brothers 4 is highly popular. But the first version is often overlooked. A version that always gets the blame on for things we didn't get on the Wii U. Which is honestly fair to say because, yes, the 3DS isn't as powerful as an HD home console. But for what it is, the 3DS does a good job.

Most people stopped playing this game when it's other version came out. But to the few who still regularly play this game; this review is for you!

 
Graphics: 7/10

 
The stages in this game look great. Especially in 3D! Prism Tower, and Wrath of the Reset Bomb are good examples of the visuals the 3DS can pull off. Of course, when observed up close the individual textures are pretty low resolution, they still look nice when zoomed out. I got to hand it to the cleverness of the developers. Combining a bunch of low-res graphics together to make them seem like something bigger and much better when combined, and viewed from about 5 steps back.

 
The characters are a different story. In 3D, or just certain stages, it's really easy to lose track of where you are. The characters themselves look...eh. They look good considering the hardware limitations. They look better than in 64 and Melee for sure. But not quite as good as Brawl or WiiU's versions. A cool thing is that in gameplay the characters have lower resolution models. But if you pause the game it switches those out with models with much higher detail! I see a lot of gripes about that feature because "The 3DS is so underpowered guise.". But I see it more like this. The 3DS wasn't made to handle something like Smash Brothers. The fact it runs smoothly is really impressive if I dove into the hardware of both things. But I'm not doing that here or now. The fact is; some things had to be taken out to make it run smoothly. Because unlike some other developers, Nintendo prefers to release games that both work and run smoothly.

 
 
Sound: 10/10

 
The sound may be one of the best things about this game. Is has the same sound effects as it's Wii U counterpart. In just as high quality too! Although there's not TOO much in terms of voice acting. Only a few characters actually speak. But they are pretty well done. Although I don't give too many points to those who's lines are were just taken from Brawl. 

And the music, while pretty limited, is also great! It sounds as crisp and clear as the other version as well. And to hear such beauty through the speakers, or some headphones, is really satisfying. The sound test mode actually plays while the 3DS is closed. So it's like a Smash Brothers iPod almost. The only thing I'm not satisfied with is that all the stages have only two songs that play on them. Except for Wrath of the Reset Bomb. That one has about five tracks that play on it. 

 
 
Addictiveness: 8/10

 
This game is pretty addictive! But...Unlike the Wii U version; you can't exactly play with friends or family in your own house. Just with those with their own copy of the game. And most likely a wifi connection of their own. It makes normal battles against AI, or an amiibo, the only normal battle options.

But what this DOES have over the Wii U version is this. It almost has a single player mode! Smash Run is an incredibly fun minigame. It's what we all liked from the adventure modes of Brawl and Melee. Only with no story this time around. It's fun for a little while anyway. And Classic Mode feels much better than on the Wii U because it's not all forced 5+ player battles.

Online mode works great in this version as well. Although like on the Wii U, For Fun makes for a lot of lag. Leaving For Glory as your better chance for less lag. And the feeling of taking Smash Brothers out of your pocket and destroying someone while away from the TV feels amazing.

 
Story: 0/10

 
There is no story. Last time we got a story we put it on Youtube. This hurt Sakurai's feelings. And because his feelings were hurt we get no story mode now. And he only has his son, Dark Pit, to comfort him in these troubled times. This is the mature and honorable thing to do.

 
Please understand.


Depth: 4/10

There are a ton of characters, and a lot of stages too! Unfortunately they are almost all unlocked right from the start. What this DOES have over the Wii U version is; there are more locked characters here! There are 12 locked characters, and 4 that are for sale...There are also only 2 or 3 locked stages. But with all those characters and stages...You could honestly unlock most of them in one or two play sessions.
There are a ton of trophies too! Which all look pretty nice. But don't serve much of a purpose.
There are cool custom moves too! But they eventually become a pain to unlock. Plus they are mostly just tweaked versions of normal specials. Although a few are really cool while being just variations. The only characters with totally different custom specials are Palutena, and Mii Fighters. And they have them all unlocked from the start as well. Mega Man, Ness, and Luigi also have slightly different ones. Luigi can unlock an ice ball. And Ness has PK Freeze; complete with it's own line and everything! And Mega Man has the Tornado Hold, Beat, and Hyper Bomb which all behave totally differently to the moves they replace. And that's all the new things you're getting!


Difficulty: 6/10

 
The AI in this game is pretty tricky. They are generally a bit more aggressive than in the Wii U version. Amiibo AI is near impossible once it's fully leveled as well. It's like fighting a champion player, only their character choice wasn't decided by tier lists. (Well, I mean, you could play against Sheik, Rosalina, and Diddy amiibos if you looked hard enough.)

The Classic mode is a lot less difficult. It feels more like a Classic Mode in this version. Gone are luck based missions of taking on 4-8 CPU players that all team up on you. This version has you take on one or two CPU players at a time.

The All Star mode is significantly easier here too. You do more knockback, and there's less chances of the levels killing you. 

Online mode really is a mixed bag. You're randomly connected to absolutely anyone on earth with a copy of Smash Bros who's also online; so their skills vary. 

That's really all that there is to discuss on Difficulty.

 
 
Pros/Cons

 
I don't do this much, but this game warrants a pros and cons section.

 
Pro: You can play Smash Bros whenever you want

 
Con: The incredible limitations on the 3DS held back the Wii U version by a lot

 
Pro: Either out of laziness or limitations; Link's hookshot/clawshot doesn't drop. Giving him the longest grab out of anyone!

 
Pro: The game's speed the same as the Wii U

 
Con: All NPC's in battles run at 30 FPS. Which leads to Pokemon, Pikmin, and Assist Trophies being really choppy. Which can really take away from the overall feel of a battle.

 
Overall this game is pretty good. It doesn't quite surpass many other Smash Brothers games. But it's not exactly fair to have made a tiny portable system live up to the standards of a next gen HD console. For what it is, it's done a good job. I'm pretty impressed with it.

With both versions having an amazing lack of single player modes. This one comes the closest to having an actual single player experience. It's a trade-off from the Wii U. But remains faster than Brawl, overall better than N64, and characters who looked bizarre in Melee look normal here. Along with a better roster.

With a huge roster, and some very interesting and fun stages. You'll have a lot of fun if you've got a 3DS. Whether against the computer, or a friend or two. It's bound to have some good times. Just not as much as the Wii U.

 
Overall I rate this game: 7.5/10

This is a great and well-worded review User.

I am one of the users that owns both games and even playing the Wii-U version, I still haven't stop playing the 3DS version. There is a couple o 3DS only levels I really like that are not featured on the Wii-U (and vice versa).
Great review.

What a smashing review of a smashing game!

My friend has the demo of this game on his 3DS. He let me play it a few times and I love it. Maybe someday I'll get the full version. First I'm going to have to decide whether I want the 3DS version or the Wii U version. I don't want to get both and my parents would probably let me only get one version anyways. Most of my games were bought with their money.

Anyway, another great review by you! I like all the comparisons you made to the Wii U version since it's the same game with some differences between the 2 versions. Keep up the smashing work! (Yep I had to say smashing one more time )

IgorBird112: Thanks a ton! I like some of the 3DS stages over the Wii U ones also. lol

PacmanandMaiofan: Thanks dude! Both versions are pretty good. But if you want the most out of the game I'd probably lean more towards the Wii U version. They both play practically the same way.

m0ssb3rg935 :   Nigel Thornberry approves

ROFL I love what you did with the story category lol! Anyway, I think you did a really good job with this Smash Bros 3ds review. I especially agree with what you said about the character models. Again great job! BTW, I have both the 3ds and wii u versions of the game.

Broski, that was a super review! 
My brother got the 3DS game for his birthday (making it the only 3/DS game in our house that is his property instead of mine ) and has been playing it for crazy and when we were on vacation a few days ago he sometimes went on the internet to join in matches or watch them and put money on who he thought would win.
At one point we found a bunch of friends who were just trolling and did almost nothing but taunting, walking and jumping until Yoshi knocked somebody out of the field with a big club and since my brother had put his money on him we were surprised when Yoshi just walked out of the stage XD at some point it became a sudden death but Yoshi won thanks to overall points and the bombs that were dropping down. 

I haven't been playing the game a lot but still enough to understand what you said and I agree that it's really impressive for a 3DS game but that the Wii U version is still the prefered version, and it was spaced out well with a great pros/cons section. It's really cool though that both versions can get fighters like Lucas and Ryu though

A user of this : The title of this is "Super Smash Brothers...In Smashing 3D".

Was that pun intentional or did just type it randomly?

Other than that the review was well worded and the story section was hilarious because I didn't like the final level in Brawl.




 

kanta : It's a pun, don't worry.

juuldude : Thanks! Those internet matches get pretty crazy don't they? lol And both versions having the same fighters is pretty nice as well.

That's a very good review. Good structure, lots of details AND comparisons with previous Smash Brothers, which looks like a very prolific series. Can't wait for your next review!