Nintendo kicked things off early this morning with an announcement-heavy pre-E3 Smash Bros. event.
The first official E3 2015 conference begins this afternoon with Bethesda, however Nintendo decided to start today with an early morning Nintendo Direct broadcast. As with past Nintendo Direct features, today’s Smash Bros. related episode was streamed on Nintendo’s official website along with the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS.
Early leaks hinted at returning characters, but today’s broadcast confirmed that Fire Emblem‘s Roy is coming to both versions of Super Smash Bros. Roy made his Smash Bros. debut alongside Marth in Super Smash Bros. Melee, but was nowhere to be seen in Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii. His fighting style remains nearly unchanged since Melee, with the base of his sword holding the most offensive power in attacks. Roy’s “Critical Hit” Final Smash will nearly kill anything within a full 360° hit-radius, with the offset being its slow start-up animation.
In yet another cross-over between Nintendo and Capcom, Street Fighter‘s Ryu is now a playable DLC character in Super Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS. Styled after his appearance in Street Fighter II for the SNES, Ryu’s moves include techniques from Street Fighter II, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike and Street Fighter IV. To make the transition from a 6-button Fighter to the 2-button brawler, Ryu’s attacks have a Light, Medium and Hard version based on how long the attack input is held. Street Fighter veterans will find an extra touch of authenticity to the character, as Ryu’s Shoryuken and Hadoken can be performed using the traditional Street Fighter inputs- “down-forward-down/forward+A” and “down-down/forward-forward+A”.
Using “down+B” will activate his Focus Attack; just like Street Fighter IV, the Focus Attack can be charged, and is invincible for one hit. Another nod to Street Fighter IV‘s advanced tactics, players can “FADC” with a forward-dash.
Ryu is also the first character in the Super Smash Bros. franchise to have two Final Smash attacks; character-proximity determines which finishing move is activated. When standing next to an opponent, Ryu’s Final Smash is the “Shin Shoryuken” uppercut, however if activated at a distance, he will launch the powerful “Shinku Hadoken”.
Roy and Ryu will join Mewtwo and the previously revealed Lucas as DLC characters, all of whom are now available through the Nintendo eShop.
While an extra Fire Emblem stage will not be added for Roy, an updated recreation of the Suzaku Castle stage from the Street Fighter series will be available for purchase through the eShop. Three “classic” Smash Bros. stages have been confirmed with Dream Land now available, with Hyrule Castle and Peach’s Castle to follow on a later date. The previously revealed Miiverse stage is now free to download for both the Wii U and 3DS versions.
Roy, Lucas and Ryu are now available to purchase from the Nintendo eShop, with the first two listed at $3.99. Ryu and the Suzaku Castle stage are packaged together for $5.99.
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