Super Smash Bros. 3DS due this summer, Wii U winter 2014
Charizard! Yoshi! Sheik! Zero Suit Samus! Greninja!
Super Smash Bros. 3DS will launch this summer, while Super Smash Bros. Wii U will arrive winter 2014, Nintendo has announced.
The new release information was revealed by Smash Bros. boss Masahiro Sakurai in an info-packed Nintendo Direct, which also included no less than five playable character reveals.
Charizard, Sheik and Zero Suit Samus have all been upgraded to independent playable characters, after appearing in earlier games as one of another character's alternate forms (Pokémon Trainer, Zelda and regular Samus, respectively).
Returning character Yoshi was also confirmed, while a surprise newbie was announced in the form of Pokémon X and Y critter Greninja - the fully evolved form of Froakie, the latest water-type starter.
You'll also be able to draw help from a number of new Assist Trophies, the series' NPC characters who you can spawn for help in battle. Newly confirmed were Skull Kid and Midna from the Zelda series, Dark Samus from the Metroid Prime trilogy and a Chain Chomp from Mario.
The 3DS version of the game runs in 60fps even with stereoscopic 3D enabled, although some NPC characters and items will run at 30fps. It'll also feature a handheld-exclusive Smash Run mode, a new 4-player dungeon crawler for power-ups followed by a bust-up with your loot enabled.
When playing offline you will be able to customise character movesets for the first time in both versions, while online you'll get to choose between playing with friends, playing with random opponents for fun, and a new hardcore "for glory" option without items and on basic "Final Destination"-style versions of each map.
An online code of conduct will also be enforced, similar to Miiverse, which will see griefers, cheaters and frequent quitters temporarily banned from play.
Watch the full conference below to see the announcements as they happened.
