(Image courtesy of Nintendo)So, you've got it. That thing. The demo of all demos so far this year, unless you count the "Destiny" beta. The Super Smash Bros. for 3DS demo is out in the open for all to enjoy, no longer beholden to Platinum Club Nintendo members. It's a surprising yet smart move by Nintendo to release one of these at all; it's not exactly known for demonstrations outside a store kiosk.
The Smash Bros. demo plays beautifully. Well, besides some slight issues with the slide pad.Despite that, it's fantastic and puts up a lot of good vibes about the upcoming full game. Is it a little meager? Well, yes — it is a demo. You've only got one stage, and five characters to play with: Link, Mario and Pikachu along with newcomers Villager and Mega Man.
However, there is a big difference between the Club Nintendo Demo and the one available on the eShop now: There's a limit. Club Nintendo folks have unlimited uses with the demo whereas those who grabbed the vanilla version are held to 30 uses. Kind of a ruddy move, but at least they're trying to get with the times, and 30 is pretty generous if you think about it.
So, you're probably thinking that despite the fun, this thing will quickly get redundant, or you're worried about that 30-use limit.
You've (hopefully) come to the right place. With the game just around the corner, here are a few tips on making the most of the demo before the game officially drops — whether you're trying to keep under 30 uses, or you need a few more ways to play with what you've got.
Let's get started.
Play Around with the Difficulty
The demo offers a range of computer levels for enemies (from 1 to 7) and the ability to choose how many fighters you want to throw down with. With no training mode, the best way to do some dummy training (if desired) is to dive the levels down to the minimum. But don't be afraid to jack this up a few notches just to see how far you can take your skill, and to see just how you can handle the tougher classes in the main game.Just like in previous iterations, level 9 CPU's are challenging, but the characters in the demo should play exactly the same in the full version, so cut loose.
Get a Little Nostalgic
You'll have a higher chance of hearing the theme music for the new game whenever you start up a fight, but veryrarely will the theme track to Super Smash Bros. Melee play on its own. If you're getting bored with the new music (and trust me, you will), hold down the "R" button when the Battlefield stage is highlighted, then hit "A" when you see a red border around the stage picture on the bottom screen. You'll get the "Melee" theme to fight with each time.
Fox Only, Final Destina...wait.
For those that want to excise the items (i.e. fun) from their fights, here's something different. Tap the "X" button on the stage select screen to switch the stage to its Omega form. Here, it's one straight flat surface and there's not an item to be seen, perfect for practice or throw-downs without distractions.
Mix it Up
Even if there's only five characters to toy around with, there's still a lot you can do with them. For example, set Link up in a free for all with three Villagers. Heck, make it two Villagers and a Pikachu. Take Mario through a mini Classic mode against the other smashers, turning their levels higher at each go or do a four man clone fight. That last one won't really apply to the Villager, but you get my meaning.
Finally - Go to Sleep
This one's common knowledge, but for the 30-use folks that aren't aware - putting the 3DS in sleep mode while in-game won't waste a use of the demo. If you plan on playing this from now until the full game, this should stretch it out long enough for you.
Reach the reporter at djulienr@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @legendpenguin.
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