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Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS - Sakurai ups Bowser's power, talks about balance

by rawmeatcowboy
30 December 2013
GN Version 4.0
Coming from Sakurai's bi-weekly feature in Famitsu...

“Now that Sunday’s day off is past, I’m currently working on the character adjustment for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. At the moment, Bowser is very strong. He’s really strong. Fans of Smash Bros. probably never saw him as too much of a strong character, but this time, his ability to knock others out is very strong!”

- Bowser’s Smash attacks, special attacks, and aerial attacks now have the ability to send opponents flying through the air
- Sakurai and the team are working on balancing characters so things aren't unfair

“Doing things like simply ‘lowering the performance’ can make games lose its fun. Additionally, making a strong attack weaker can take away from the ‘good feeling’. By making adjustments that get rid of all advantages and disadvantages, it can turn a game into a mediocre one without any challenge.”

- Sakurai compares this work as being similar to what goes on in RPG creation

“Rather than directly weakening an attack’s advantageous parts, we’re putting effort into keeping them strong, while adding other weaknesses to them. Like giving the attacks punishable openings, or weakening the character’s mobility or recovery rate. We’re making comprehensive adjustments to characters, even for parts that might seem completely irrelevant.”

- due to the differences in gameplay, some attacks like Captain Falcon’s “Falcon Punch” might work well when there’s more players, but might not ever hit during a 1-on-1 fight

“The game balance of Super Smash Bros. Brawl started six years before its release, and it most likely goes back even further during its time of development, and it’s never been reformed even through the updates afterwards. We’re at a stage where we’d like to release the new title as soon as possible, and offer something more enjoyable than ever.”

Link
 
Pinball FX on Nintendo Switch