Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

 Wii U
User Score
8.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2127 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,877 out of 2127
  2. Mixed: 123 out of 2127
  3. Negative: 127 out of 2127
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  1. linkamo
    Nov 22, 2014
    3
    First we had “Super Smash. Bros.” Then we had “Melee.” Then it was “Brawl.” And now, it’s “4.” Or, “WiiU.” Take your pick.

    Unfortunately, the lack of creativity in the title reflects a lack of creativity in the game, too. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this is the weakest of the Smash Bros. series. In a nutshell, here’s why (with more elaboration below): 1) No new Adventure    First we had “Super Smash. Bros.” Then we had “Melee.” Then it was “Brawl.” And now, it’s “4.” Or, “WiiU.” Take your pick.

    Unfortunately, the lack of creativity in the title reflects a lack of creativity in the game, too. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this is the weakest of the Smash Bros. series.

    In a nutshell, here’s why (with more elaboration below):

    1) No new Adventure Mode
    2) Old modes aren’t as fun
    3) Worst replay value of the series
    4) Way too gimmicky
    5) “Brawl 2.0” would’ve been an appropriate title

    1) First and most glaringly, there is no Adventure Mode like there has been in the past two games. The closest you get to an Adventure Mode is the “Smash Tour,” which is a super confusing game board that culminates in a regular Smash Bros. match anyway. Without that Adventure Mode, I feel like I’m meaninglessly playing the game over and over without any kind of real direction. Instead of slowly learning how characters work and unlocking players as the story goes on, the game starts with most of the characters already unlocked and you’re just supposed to play endless matchups until you get the hang of each character.

    2) As you would expect it to, Smash 4 offers most of the same game modes that its predecessors have. Except, this version has not only failed to build upon previous versions, but actually takes a step backward. Classic mode is clunky and awkward: why can’t I just go through a lineup of matches like in past versions? Adventure mode is okay (and I like the concept of fighting characters in reverse chronological order), but I still think Brawl takes the cake on this one.

    3) Saying that a Smash Bros. title has poor replay value is not what you would expect, but that’s what you get here. Part of this is because there’s no Adventure Mode. But mainly, this is because there are so many tedious events to do with each character – like home run challenge, endless smash, cruel smash, etc. – that there is no way I am going to set a record for each individual character as I have in Melee and Brawl.

    4) Throughout the game, you’re collecting these power-ups that are supposed to power-up your “create your own” character. The problem is, I have no interest in creating a character and having them get powered up. This is Smash Bros., not an RPG. Unless I’m playing an Adventure Mode (and not against other people), I want an even match every time. The thought that some obsessive player is currently focusing on powering up his character, and can someday play against me and have a huge advantage because of all the equipment they’ve found, is a very disheartening one. I feel that too much time was spent on gimmicks like these and not enough was spent on actual gameplay.

    5) The worst part about this game is that it’s basically another “Brawl” and not much else. They’ve taken away a few of the better characters (like Snake and Ice Climbers) and replaced them with 14 new characters. Except, most of those characters are minor revisions to other characters. (Seriously… “Dark Pit” couldn’t have just been a different skin of “Pit?”) Of all the new characters, I was only excited about 5 of them.

    The levels are perhaps the most disappointing part of this game. 21 of these game’s levels are identical versions of past games. Listen, everyone likes retro and to see new versions of old levels re-appear, but this shouldn’t be the emphasis. There are only 25 new levels, and keeping in mind that “new” often just means a platform with a new background. I would say there’s only about a dozen truly “new” levels being offered here.

    That’s not to say there wasn’t effort put into the game. The game is polished and doesn’t lag (unless you’re online), and the 8-player smash option is a great improvement. I am very pleased with the additions of Pac-Man, Mega Man, Little Mac, Duck Hunt, and the bosses that appear on some stages. Also, the Event Mode seems to be the best of the all the Smashes so far.

    Otherwise though, I just feel like all the effort was put into the wrong places. Here I am, on Day 2 of owning this game, and I’ve already lost interest in playing it much more because I’ve already unlocked all the characters and have just a couple stages left to unlock.

    So, go ahead and click “this review wasn’t helpful," but I am thoroughly disappointed with this title. I plan to return to Hyrule Warriors as soon as the new DLC is released this coming week, and maybe even sooner.    … Expand
  2. FaceDownDagon
    Apr 22, 2016
    3
    This game feels at first like it should be good, but for a game with emphasis on player-vs-player duels (the single player modes are absolutely anemic compared to Brawl or Melee), it's off in very subtle ways. Hitboxes, for one, are absolutely deceiving compared to the animations displayed on screen. It's hard to describe, but the more you play this game, the more unresponsive and clunkyThis game feels at first like it should be good, but for a game with emphasis on player-vs-player duels (the single player modes are absolutely anemic compared to Brawl or Melee), it's off in very subtle ways. Hitboxes, for one, are absolutely deceiving compared to the animations displayed on screen. It's hard to describe, but the more you play this game, the more unresponsive and clunky it feels. There are situations in *every match* where something happens to a player that no one involved can explain - and this is with items off!

    Nintendo (Namco?) has spent a lot of time trying for character balance, but they've missed the larger boat of a fighting game that feels responsive and satisfying. I wanted to like this game, but I just can't.    … Expand
  3. Tehemai
    Nov 29, 2014
    1
    I'd like to start off as saying I've been a die hard fan of the series ever since the first game came out. I have logged well over 300 hours on each playing it both as a party game and a serious fighting game. That's why it pains me to give this new entry such a low score.

    Smash bros has always been a series that went above and beyond expectations. This game however is barely able to    I'd like to start off as saying I've been a die hard fan of the series ever since the first game came out. I have logged well over 300 hours on each playing it both as a party game and a serious fighting game. That's why it pains me to give this new entry such a low score.

    Smash bros has always been a series that went above and beyond expectations. This game however is barely able to deliver enough to call itself a new game. It reuses so many resources from its predecessors. Never before has an entry reused so many old stages, character models or music. This alone would not necessarily be a bad thing if they used that saved time and money to introduce more new content than one would expect.

    Unfortunately they did not. They introduce just barely as much new content as you would expect from a smash bros that was built from the ground up (not one that reuses most of its assets). There's about a dozen new character (including clones), 2 dozen new stages, 2 or 3 small new modes, some online improvements,etc. Nothing wow, no huge numbers anywhere. Pretty standard stuff.

    Had the high amount of copy paste been the only thing to criticize from the game, I'd have given it a 8/10. The score of a solid game, just not one of a new or exciting one. That is not the case though as they removed so much content. They completely removed any semblance of the biggest single player mode of the game, adventure mode. That alone is like removing 20-30% of the games content. No more new monsters or familiar ones, no more huge expansive platforming stages with secrets, no more cutscenes, nothing. Just gone as if nothing. Not only that, they removed several characters. This includes possibly the most unique character of the game, the Ice Climbers. Another noteworthy one is the immensely popular Snake. These are huge losses.

    Given all this, it's hard to say if the exchange of content is even the least bit beneficial at time. Some of the new modes are not very fun at all. The 8 player mode is far too chaotic for even an expert to be able to follow and is very hard to get going with actual people. The Smash Tour just tries to mix two very different genres and yields very poor results. The rest are decent additions but nothing to write home about.

    The cherry on top that seals it's score is that they decided to sell a very cruel DLC for an already seemingly incomplete Smash Bros game. This DLC requires you to buy 2 copies of this game, one for each Nintendo platform, to gain access to a character that is not even new to the series. It is also pretty clear that they intend to sell even more dlc afterwards. For a game in which I cannot figure out where the extra effort from all these cut corners went, I cannot help but question their integrity when they chose to do this.

    Some have called this Brawl 2.0, but that statement to me sounds very generous. Luckily enough for it, it is still a solid game. Just not a solid sequel. I do not recommend it for people that owned brawl, perhaps even melee. Still, thanks to the solid foundation of it's predecessors, Smash Bros Wii U is still a solid title for those new to the series.    … Expand
  4. ninjamo
    Dec 5, 2014
    3
    Well, it's basically Brawl 2, for better or worse. Before I start; yes, I am one of THOSE people whose favorite Smash Bros. was Melee, so this review may be biased. If you played Melee even remotely competitively, you will likely not enjoy this game.

    First, I'll focus on the good. The HD graphics are very nice, and the FPS is surprisingly stable; even in 8-player matches. Hit effects    Well, it's basically Brawl 2, for better or worse. Before I start; yes, I am one of THOSE people whose favorite Smash Bros. was Melee, so this review may be biased. If you played Melee even remotely competitively, you will likely not enjoy this game.

    First, I'll focus on the good. The HD graphics are very nice, and the FPS is surprisingly stable; even in 8-player matches. Hit effects are flashy and satisfying albeit intrusive at times. The music and sound effects are well done and fitting as usual for a Smash game. They've also added a ton of characters, though some just seem redundant/pointless (Dark Pit).

    Now for the bad; the gameplay. This is where the game is like Brawl in a bad way. It seems Nintendo can't decide weather they want it to be a party game or a competitive game. Everything is so floaty and slow that it almost feels like I'm drunk. The input lag they implemented in Brawl has apparently become a staple, which is just godawful and basically ruins the game. 8-player matches aren't as awesome as they sound; it's utter chaos, and not in good way. At least they got rid of tripping. *shudder*

    While the stages look pretty, most are just a chore to play on. The blast zones are way too large and only serve to exacerbate the floaty slowness. Stage gimmicks and traps are in full effect here, some even worse than Brawl if you can fathom that.

    In the end, the game is just not that fun. I played it at a friend's for a few hours, and I doubt I'll ever play again. Sure, it's flashy and pretty and loaded with content, but lacks good gameplay; the most important feature of any game. I understand that it's a party game and not to be played competitively, but it falls short even in that category. Stick with the Mario racing/sports/party games. At least those are fun.    … Expand
  5. frankwest
    Dec 21, 2014
    3
    Another word for smash absolute crap in terms of playability!

    No more story why did they took it out? It was one way to unlock the characters period! They also cut out some of my best moves like Meta Knight he can't hover up any more like in brawl or Pit he gets a crap recovery instead! Also you can't save pictures as now this is an absolute joke as it says you need a sd in your    Another word for smash absolute crap in terms of playability!

    No more story why did they took it out? It was one way to unlock the characters period!

    They also cut out some of my best moves like Meta Knight he can't hover up any more like in brawl or Pit he gets a crap recovery instead!

    Also you can't save pictures as now this is an absolute joke as it says you need a sd in your wii u to do so that is pointless in brawl you can snap them and save in memory of wii.

    Boring roster too here's a check list of who;

    same boring link check
    same boring toon link check
    same boring falco check
    same boring fox check

    basicly its all the clones yet again and about 5 fire emblem member's why do I bother?

    if they like fire emblem then rename it to fire emblem smash

    sorry but this game reeks of lazyness (haha you see a name in lazyness)

    as ness he is the same too same moves as brawl, so if you plan on getting this for christmas don't bother its the same thing over and over.

    they ban people too for quitting the game I remember brawl we had players quitting the game and nothing is done about it so now you get 10 mins ban

    they changed kirby's voice to a low pitch one now so I am gutted about that too and no more cooking people in brawl so its a overrated game poor standards by Nintendo    … Expand
  6. Focaccia
    Feb 14, 2017
    2
    With the 3ds version, this is the worst entry in the series! What a piece of garbage! I loved the first 3 games but this one is terrible. The single player is empty: No adventure mode? No break the targets? The new modes are all mediocre and they even managed to mess up classic mode! Tons of useless characters were added: Wii fit trainer, Villager from Animal Crossing, Dark Pit (basicallyWith the 3ds version, this is the worst entry in the series! What a piece of garbage! I loved the first 3 games but this one is terrible. The single player is empty: No adventure mode? No break the targets? The new modes are all mediocre and they even managed to mess up classic mode! Tons of useless characters were added: Wii fit trainer, Villager from Animal Crossing, Dark Pit (basically a useless clone), Pac-Man (seriously Nintendo?), and taken away some awesome characters from Brawl (Solid Snake and Ice Climbers come to mind). The new stages (except the Skyloft stage, that was amazing) are unoriginal. This game lacks creativity heck there isn't even an intro unlike the first 3 games which all had incredible intros. The use of amiibos is pointless and boring and the DLC is stupid: Corrin and Bayonetta are overpowered ruining the game experience and WHY IS RYU IN THIS GAME HE BELONGS IN STREET FIGHTER! Do not get this game it's fricking crap!… Expand
  7. KevowOfRice
    Dec 5, 2014
    4
    This game's basically the same game as the last 3, but with new characters and a price tag of a triple A game. If you don't want to waste money on a game with barely any content. than play project M. Everyone loves this game just because its made by nintendo and they love the characters, not in the game, but for what made them "them". I cant justify this game being $60. Its really closerThis game's basically the same game as the last 3, but with new characters and a price tag of a triple A game. If you don't want to waste money on a game with barely any content. than play project M. Everyone loves this game just because its made by nintendo and they love the characters, not in the game, but for what made them "them". I cant justify this game being $60. Its really closer to the same game than call of duty is each year. And people hate activision for it. This game took 2 years to make, and its just sad. Really sad.… Expand
  8. NegativeJay
    Nov 22, 2014
    4
    The playability and the control are still the same, so nothing to complain about there. There is no single player campaign or adventure mode. The on-line fighting options are just as weak and limited as in "Brawl". No decent unlockables, the majority of good features are already unlocked. Unless you are playing at home with friends or have the time to do so, do not purchase this game.The playability and the control are still the same, so nothing to complain about there. There is no single player campaign or adventure mode. The on-line fighting options are just as weak and limited as in "Brawl". No decent unlockables, the majority of good features are already unlocked. Unless you are playing at home with friends or have the time to do so, do not purchase this game. I'll be trying to return my copy today. Very disappointing Nintendo, don't believe the hype. This coming from an avid smash bros. fan.… Expand
  9. Thebluehydra
    Nov 22, 2014
    4
    Only slightly better than the 3DS version in that the controls are actually bearable. Otherwise it's just more of the same; more tacked-on features that don't add anything new or screw up things that were perfectly fine in the first place. And yes, I'm still bitter about the Ice Climbers.
  10. SuperLuigiBrosZ
    Nov 21, 2014
    0
    Blast zones are too big so it takes a LOT longer to kill opponents, ledge mechanic is very frustrating as you can't edge grab anyone so if somebody recovers like a noob it will look really awkward because I can't punish that. Nowhere near as much content as Brawl so this is a step backwards. Very disappointed...
  11. JesusTheMesiah
    Mar 24, 2015
    3
    This game gets a 3 for single player. This game gets boring so fast. Characters like Wolf and Snake are cut while characters like Game and Watch and Wario remain. There is no story mode and the online is terrible most of the time. It has less content than Brawl.
  12. Linkfan
    May 18, 2017
    0
    Yet another wii u game that fails in a beloved franchise. The single player modes are utter crap, the gamepad is a terrible controller for smash bros, and they added so many awful characters (dark pit shouldn't take up a character slot, and villager wtf?) and stages (except the skyloft and windy hill zone). Even if you are a smash bros fan I don't recommend this game.
  13. Sorrybois
    Apr 1, 2019
    0
    This is by far the worst video game I have ever played. I don't care if NintendoBlackCrisis forces me to like super smash bros. or bully people over having a different opinion on the series than the smash fandom. This game has the worst replay value of the entire series, along with possibly the worst item spawning I have ever seen in literally any video game. There was one time where I wasThis is by far the worst video game I have ever played. I don't care if NintendoBlackCrisis forces me to like super smash bros. or bully people over having a different opinion on the series than the smash fandom. This game has the worst replay value of the entire series, along with possibly the worst item spawning I have ever seen in literally any video game. There was one time where I was playing on Classic on 9.0 and I was trying to attack my opponent while playing as Yoshi on Round 1 until suddenly I attacked midair while a bob-omb spawned on my foot and I got KO'd. Another example of terrible item spawning is one time in another battle, I was charging up my burning drop kick playing as one of my custom mii characters, and while I was charging it up a blast box spawned in front of me and once I finished charging up, I shot against it and got KO'd. The old modes in both versions aren't as fun either anymore. The stage creator has been downgraded in this game, and it has also heavily decreased the number of objects I can place on a custom stage. The new stage creator for the wii U version looks unfinished and rushed comparing to Brawl's stage creator. There is also no new adventure mode either, which was removed due to a pointless reason. The entire hunk of garbage is also way too gimmicky for a smash game. To me, Classic Mode is easily the worst part about the game because believe it or not, you have to spend gold to play classic mode. Another fun fact: if you quit classic mode and lose all of your progress recently made, your gold and customization parts get wasted. That's right, there is no property refunding in this so-called ''masterpiece''. You are forced to stick to your current gold amount and your current custom parts. In fact, when you have earned custom parts but then lose a match on 9.0, some of your custom parts get taken away. Even when it is rare, Sakurai doesn't care and counts everything that is unfair. I even completed Classic on 9.0 without losing a single life and you know what I got? NOTHING. No achievement completions, no prizes, nothing. So not only is one of the challenges in this game all a damn joke, but there are also more problems in this game than classic mode, which was just like wasting possibly 2 hours of my life trying to reach the most pointless achievement in this game. The rewards for the achievements you complete in this game are not enough. For example, I wasted like 20,000 gold trying to complete the achievement ''Complete Classic Mode on 9.0 without losing a single life'' and what do I get when I actually cleared that achievement? A useless protection badge that is barely any use for battle. The trophies and special moves in this game are also a waste of space on Classic Mode. Every time you clear something on Classic and you are hoping to get something good, sometimes, you get something you already have that is also a troll feature in the game that was never removed or fixed. The shield feature in this game is also useless as all hell because sometimes attacks pierce through your shield, so you have to hope that your shield doesn't tell you to buzz off and force damage on you or get you in a situation where you go dizzy.to me, that doesn't even make any sense. And also, why can't I play more than 4 players on Special Smash? The game doesn't even explain. Besides, comparing to ultimate, there would be no lag at all in an 8 player special smash, yet ultimate decided to limit the number of players on special smash too for aparently no reason whatsoever. By the way, it also recycles the code from the item spawning in Smash 4, meaning that all terrible item spawning is still present. The reason why I am not reviewing ultimate is because I don't want the SSB fandom to attack me and force me to like all of smash 4's terrible features. To be fair, however, Smash run and smash tour weren't as bad. But what does require explanation is why on earth can the wii U users play on 8 player but the 3ds users can't? To me, that is very hypocritical considering that Sakurai removed the ice climbers from Smash 4 due to it being unfair for the 3ds owners. I'd imagine that would have had no lag. And finally, some of the older stages that was once present in the smash bros. franchise have not been featured in Smash 4 due to no reasoning at all. If the developers of this game are seriously that bad at making games and they consider THIS to be their best work, then I'm worried about their other creations. Overall, this is a very unfortunate attempt to revive the smash franchise and continue to have its great recognition as Brawl v2 would have been a better title. I highly apologize if this review was not very good, but to me, this is possibly the worst game of the series. And it is also the 2nd most pointless video game that I have ever played in recorded video game history. 0/10. I do not recommend this rushed mess to long-time smash fans, especially when they are still hyped for future SG… Expand
  14. hirschlord
    Mar 16, 2019
    0
    bad street fighter parody . i cant call it even a fight , its only a pushing game to me
  15. PhantomThiefBoi
    Jun 2, 2019
    3
    This is probably the WORST Smash Bros game that I had ever played in my entire life! First of all, where in the **** is the campaign that’s what made the last game great?! Smash Tour what ever the hell its called, What a joke it’s literally just a Mario Party Clone a really bad one. I know the 3DS version has a Smash run which is pretty good I have to say. The roster of fighters is a damnThis is probably the WORST Smash Bros game that I had ever played in my entire life! First of all, where in the **** is the campaign that’s what made the last game great?! Smash Tour what ever the hell its called, What a joke it’s literally just a Mario Party Clone a really bad one. I know the 3DS version has a Smash run which is pretty good I have to say. The roster of fighters is a damn joke where’s Snake, Wolf, I understand why they couldn’t put the ice climbers in the game due to the 3DS limitations. Instead they put a lot of Fire Emblem characters in the game for **** sake we already have so many why not king. K rool Overall stay away from this one… Expand
  16. aditya1101
    Jan 26, 2018
    4
    There’s a lot to love about this game, but at the end of the day it gets demoted a lot in my ranking simply because it’s not melee. It’s a lot of fun to play, but it fails to reach the same heights as melee did.
  17. TreasureOrTrash
    Sep 8, 2023
    0
    Trash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best Wii U Game of 2014
1
#1 Most Discussed Wii U Game of 2014
5
#5 Most Shared Wii U Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
92

Universal acclaim - based on 77 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 76 out of 77
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 77
  3. Negative: 0 out of 77
  1. CD-Action
    Mar 4, 2015
    90
    It would not be easy to find another game that offers so much content. [02/2015, p.61]
  2. Hyper Magazine
    Feb 9, 2015
    100
    It's everything I wanted it to be, and Melee's true successor. [Issue#257, p.60]
  3. Games Master UK
    Jan 31, 2015
    93
    A sprawling ode to Nintendo and punching, this'll keep fans scrapping for years to come. [Feb 2015, p.66]
See all critic reviews »