Week 50 of Smashing Saturdays was more of a mixed bag. It started really strong, faltered a bit through the middle, and then offered an interesting reveal or two. It even added a couple more “secret” fighters for those of you who haven’t bought the 3DS version yet. Yes, I’m sure there are still some holdouts out there who want to wait for the Wii U version to bite. I only hope Sakurai has a ghoulish trick or two up his sleeve for the next couple of weeks of reveals. That said, let’s get Smashing!
Monday started out strong with a couple of downright gorgeous screenshots. No, Bass and Treble aren’t playable, but they are fantastic trophies in the Wii U version! Though I’m still holding my breath on the possibility of them being playable at some future date, it’s nice to look at them rendered in such loving detail. Monday also had this trophy to share!
Zero looks absolutely great as a trophy. I never expect him to be playable in Smash, since he was already in a couple of crossover fighting games, but a man can dream. Either way, I appreciate the Mega Man love.
Tuesday, Sakurai did his best Where’s Waldo impression – “Now here’s a challenge… Find Stalfos!! (Difficulty Level 3) This is a close-up of a specific area in the Trophy Hoard, but the search will be more challenging if you zoom out. You can change the alignment of these trophies by holding down a direction on the +Control Pad while you’re entering Trophy Hoard.” I personally couldn’t find him, but to be fair, there’s a LOT of stuff going on here.
Wednesday was another sneaky Sakurai day. This screenshot instantly makes me think this is just the Wii U equivalent of Classic mode, except for one thing — the blurred out segment. Sakurai’s quote didn’t clarify things except to say it is a new mode… How curious. I wonder if this might be the rumored new Tower of Smash mode I’ve seen floating around so frequently online… Only time will tell.
Thursday wasn’t super exciting, but still interesting. “Tips will display in three columns in the Wii U version. There’s more content, which includes descriptions of the original games. This game seems to never run out of easter eggs, even if you play it normally. Knowing that this will get translated into multiple languages, I shouldn’t go overboard with the contents, though….” The thing I like most is the nod to more content winding up in the Wii U version. Not that the 3DS version feels incomplete, but the more the merrier, I say.
This is the first time I’ve been super excited by a pic in a long time. Yes, part of that was due to the fact that for a brief, shining second I thought this was proof positive that Zael from The Last Story might be playable DLC. Then Sakurai clarified, but I’m still excited – “Zael from The Last Story grabs some Superspicy Curry from Master Hand. “No…! You mustn’t let that curry lure you in…!!” In the Wii U version, you can take photos of dream collaborations and funny situations with your trophies in the Photo Studio.” Photo Studio is a mode sadly absent from the 3DS version. Though you can take screenshots and look at them later, you can’t pose statues or even upload them to the Miiverse, which kind of defeats the purpose of taking them. Regardless, I like more modes in the Wii U version, and hope Sakurai has a few bigger surprises up his sleeve!
Once again, this week Sakurai officially unveiled a couple more secret characters on the site proper. If you don’t want to be spoiled, this is the point of no return.
I’m not sure if Sakurai could have picked an odder couple of returning Brawlers to reveal if he tried. Though I was a little sad initially that Ganondorf returned as a mere Falcon clone, I’ve since warmed up to him. Most notably cause I really enjoy his custom moveset, especially since he finally uses his sword! I was also not that excited about ROB’s return, but the tweaks to his speed and power have made him a more capable Brawler. Plus, his Final Smash has gone from underwhelming to bad ass. So there you have it for this week of Smashing Saturdays! Only a few more installments left until we wrap things up to coincide with the release of the Wii U version! Stick around, though. I promise the final episode will be worth the wait!
