Chapter 870: Are We Playing the Same Game?

For casual players, Smash Bros. was an incredibly delightful surprise, as it was perfect in every aspect. However, for some players who preferred fighting games and hoped Nebula Games would create a classic fighting game, they felt the game seemed overly simple after actually playing it.

This was because, in the past, fighting games were primarily based on input commands. But in Smash Bros., it was completely different.

Compared to traditional fighting games, the controls in Smash Bros. were simply too simplified. All of a character's moves could be executed with just the four directional buttons combined with the attack and special move buttons.

This created a characteristic where, after getting started, it felt very, very easy, with seemingly little room for complex controls.

Following the launch of Smash Bros., many players tried the game for several days. In some professional fighting game forums and communities, many players who loved fighting games engaged in various discussions and shared suggestions.

'Although the game content is great, it feels too simple for a fighting game, doesn't it?'

'Can't be helped. After all, fighting games have a high barrier to entry. Nebula Games probably did this to get more players into the game.'

'But if a fighting game lacks depth, is it still a fighting game?'

'It's a bummer, but honestly, as an entertainment game, Smash Bros. is really fun to play.'

'But that's not necessarily true. The game has only been out for a few days, and the chase system seems worth studying.'

'Indeed, saying it lacks depth now feels a bit premature.'

Some players who enjoyed fighting games also discussed this in the community. During this period, Smash Bros. had already generated immense popularity. After all, this was a game that brought together popular characters from various major IPs, and the game's quality and content were nothing short of explosive.

However, since the game had only recently launched, even some fighting game masters were unfamiliar with this unique title. There was no other way around it; compared to traditional fighting games, Smash Bros. had undergone radical changes in its game mechanics and modes. It's just that the fighting game player base was too small compared to the casual entertainment players, so their voices weren't very loud. Furthermore, this group was further divided into two factions: one believing Smash Bros. was too simple, and the other believing it was too early to judge the game's depth after only a few days of release, which further diluted the topic.

Nevertheless, for most players, while these discussions didn't cause much of a stir, they were of great concern to various developers and designers in the gaming industry. How could a game that brought together countless heavyweight IPs from Nebula Games and even collaborated with some well-known IPs in the industry not attract attention? From the perspective of its simple and easy-to-learn barrier to entry, Nebula Games had clearly succeeded. However, whether Smash Bros. could become a classic still remained a question mark, as deep content was still very important.

This was because it could very well determine whether the game would flash by like a shooting star. Although, currently, most ordinary casual players stated it was the most fun fighting game they had ever played, it's important to remember that if casual players find a game fun and want to keep playing it, they will slowly become core players. If the game's content isn't deep enough, these casual players might leave once they feel they've seen it all. Therefore, countless industry designers were also monitoring the game's subsequent performance.

However, something that completely caught many people off guard was that the discussion about Smash Bros.'s deep content hadn't even had a chance to heat up before it was directly stifled in its cradle by an official Weibo post from Nebula Games.

The content of the official Weibo post was simple: text information plus a short video.

'Link's High-Level Gameplay Tutorial, Have You Learned It Yet?'

This official Weibo post immediately caught the players' attention. Many Smash Bros. players who saw it were a little bewildered.

'What's going on? Is this an official advanced tutorial?'

'The video doesn't seem very long!'

'It looks like there's only one fighter. So, will this be a series, with tutorials for other fighters released later?'

'Speaking of high-level gameplay tutorials, Smash Bros. feels quite simple. How much more high-level can this control scheme get?'

'Why is it Hyrule's Old Rogue? This is The Legend of Zelda, why isn't Zelda showing off a bit!?'

Curious, expectant, or playing along with memes, many players clicked on the video in Nebula Games' official Weibo account, preparing to see what this so-called high-level tutorial was all about.

At the beginning of the video, many players immediately recognized the map: a flat, stair-less battlefield, set to a 1v1 mode with no items. For ordinary players, since the game had only been out for a few days, they were mostly playing the single-player World of Light mode, as well as 8-player random map and item modes.

However, some players who preferred traditional fighting game confrontations often chose 1v1 and these unchanging stage maps, as this was considered the fairest, without external interference. At the same time, Link was a relatively popular fighter among the player base. This wasn't because The Legend of Zelda IP was deeply loved by players, nor because Link was one of the starting characters, but because Link's moves were quite special.

The standard special move was the Bow, which could be charged to increase damage and range. The side special was throwing a boomerang, also a ranged attack. The up special was a spinning slash, similar to the Whirlwind Attack with two-handed weapons in Breath of the Wild. And the down special was taking out a Remote Bomb, which could be detonated at any preferred moment after being placed. However, if left for a while or hit by fire attacks, it would explode.

In multiplayer mode, throwing the Remote Bomb or hiding far away to shoot arrows and throw boomerangs was what many sneaky players loved to do. Similarly, the handsome Sephiroth and Pyra from Aegis of the Sky also had this kind of treatment. These characters shared a common characteristic: they could engage opponents from a distance and possessed extremely high kill potential.

But the scene that followed in the video utterly bewildered all Smash Bros. players who had played Link. In the video, facing a Bowser at approximately 75% damage, Link used a down special to deploy a bomb. Then, with a small jump forward, he swung his sword, launching Bowser into the air. This was followed by an infinite series of jump attacks, jump attacks, combined with a final forward smash, sending Bowser flying, and then throwing the bomb out to detonate it.

As the actions unfolded, the video also provided corresponding explanations and control instructions. Especially during critical phases, the video entered bullet time to allow players to see clearly. Jumping, then throwing the bomb down, followed by a back-air A. With the back-air A, the enemy would enter a stun-locked state, unable to act.

What followed was a loop of these actions.

This… this game can have infinite combos?

Countless players watched, dumbfounded, and this was just the beginning. As the video continued, Link's subsequent maneuvers became even more flashy. After knocking the enemy off-stage with his sword, he intentionally jumped off the cliff, used his up special's spinning sword attack to launch the enemy, then performed a forward-air A and used the bomb's shockwave to recover to the stage.

Watching Link perform all sorts of dazzling moves in the video, countless players were utterly astonished.

This… are we playing the same game?

And what was the title of this video again?

'Learned it yet?'

This is more like 'failed to learn'!

(End of Chapter) <>