Size generally plays a huge factor in fighting games. Traditionally, smaller characters have faster movement and attack-speed, but at a sacrifice of raw power. On the opposite end of the spectrum are the “tanks”- large characters who can absorb plenty of damage, as well as dish it out…at the cost of movement. While there’s always an exception or two- Rufus from Street Fighter IV and Painwheel from Skullgirls Encore come to mind- this is generally the unwritten rule across all fighting games.
While both fans and developers alike have debated whether or not the Super Smash Bros. series should be classified as a “Fighter”, almost all of the elements of a skill-based fighting game are present. Smash includes favorable and and difficult character match-ups, stages that favor specific character types, combo strings and animation-cancels, and an ever-evolving meta game. As with other fighting games, character size has always been a factor for the expansive Smash Bros. roster. Each of the three released titles has its fair share of “lights” and “heavies” within the cast, ranging from Pikachu to Bowser, Mewtwo to Ganon, and from Sonic to King Dedede. As Masahiro Sakurai revealed in a recent Miiverse post, size will also be a factor with created Mii Fighters.
One of the biggest additions to the Smash Bros. universe, Super Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS allows players to either import existing Miis, or create new ones to fight alongside the roster of Nintendo characters and 3rd-party guests. Mii customization extends well passed visuals, as each Mii can fight with one of three “styles”- Gunner, Swordfighter, Brawler. From these three presets, the player can then choose any four specials from a list of twelve, specific to that style. According to Sakurai, gameplay changes also occur when players adjust the size and height of their Miis. Keeping with fighting game tradition, smaller Miis will have faster strikes, and will act as “speed fighters”. Taller, larger Miis will become heavy-hitters, and will be “more akin to power fighters”.
Super Smash Bros. for 3DS was originally scheduled for a Summer 2014 release; due to extensive testing and the addition of even more content, the title has been pushed to the definitive release date of October 3, 2014. The Wii U version still lacks a release date, but has been changed from Winter 2014 to Holiday 2014, which suggests either a Thanksgiving or Christmas window release.
