I didn’t come into Super Smash Brothers 3DS without some worries. To me, Smash isn’t a fighting game. It’s a party game. It’s the kind of game I play with my friends in the same room, starting at 8pm and finishing somewhere around dawn the next day. It is a chance to shout and swear and curse the day someone allowed that goddamn shock rat in this round.

It brings out almost as much anger as blue shells for me, but it’s the best kind of anger because soon I’ll be able to break those bitches with a well-placed Falcon Punch.

But how can you have that same experience with a handheld? It’s the same reason I’ve yet to pick up a version of Mario Kart for the DS; I want my friends to be able to suffer at my hands rather than some machine. When I watch Donkey Kong land a devastating blow to Pikachu’s head, I want my friends to be on the other side. Because I love them and that’s the kind of happiness we should all share.

In a way, this has everything that you could want from a Smash Brothers game. Sharp, crisp characters that move across colourful worlds of various sizes beating the ever loving crap out of each other. It’s the kind of formula that could work well with original characters, but when you throw in the fact that you can play as some of the most iconic characters in video game history, suddenly you’re on to something beautiful. And the 3DS version of this game has everything you could want it to. You’ve got tons of new characters to choose from, from relative newbies like Lucina to old school classics Megaman and Pacman. There are some new items to play around with, like the dreaded Blue Shell of Swearing from Mario Kart (which is only slightly less annoying in this context), and new levels to have your epic gaming throwdowns in. All with the same great music, great controls, and great chaos of the previous entries in the series.

There are a surprising number of characters available at the start screen. Sure, the old standbys of Mario, Link, and Kirby are there, but there are also some new, somewhat more obscure faces greeting you, such as Shulk from Xenoblade Chronicles or the PC from Fire Emblem: Awakening. In fact, at first glance it feels like a full and diverse line up right from the start, made even more so by the surprise splitting of former duel characters like Zelda and Sheik or Samus and Zero Suit Samus. Apparently this was done due to the 3DS limitations, so maybe the Wii U version won’t have this. Oddly enough, I was a little disappointed in this veritable buffet of choice in characters. Just about the only part of the single-player mode that I really enjoyed in Brawl or Melee was the chance to unlock the different characters. I would spend hours trying to trigger that beautiful sound that told me there was a challenger approaching and they were going to mess my good feeling up. The fact that so many were already available was almost a letdown.

However, as much fun as Smash Brothers always is, I can’t help but feel like there is something missing from the 3DS version of the game. Yes, the action is fast paced and manic, causing you to be both elated at your smashing superiority and devastated when even that Final Smash ball remains just out of reach, but there is a sense of isolation to it. Unless you have friends in the same room as you and they all have their own 3DS and copy of the game, then there isn’t really a good way to beat the hell out of your mates as they gnash their teeth and swear eternal vengeance upon you. Sure, you can play online and if, like me, you have friends who live oceans away, you do have the option of playing with friends from a distance, but there is something a little bit isolating. The 3DS version feels like it has lost a little bit of the social aspect of the game.

So the question remains: does this game deliver on the expectations of the series? Is this handheld version a good stand alone port or is it second fiddle to the eventual Wii U version that is due out later this year? I think that’s something that depends on what you decide it is you enjoy about Smash Brothers. If you’re looking for a good, solid brawler to play against the computer or against people online, then Super Smash Brothers is a great instalment in this fan-favourite series. If, however, you prefer to play face to face when you’re beating a beloved childhood character in the face with another beloved icon, then you might find that, while the mechanics and the gameplay of this entry are solid and enjoyable, there is just something missing from the heart of it.

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