Super Smash Bros for Wii U 101

This Friday marks the launch of Super Smash Bros for Wii U, a series that only ever appears once a console generation. Not only does Super Smash Bros for Wii U come out but Nintendo’s Amiibo figures launch their first wave on the same day. The Amiibo’s are small figurines of popular Nintendo characters, and cost $12.99 at most major retailers. Amiibo’s are a confusing bunch, mostly because they interact with multiple Nintendo games, both old and new. Primarily, they will be used with Super Smash Bros for Wii U by storing your custom character data, letting you transport it to a friends console and play with it there without losing any progress. In other games the figurines will also enable other features, such as in Hyrule Warriors, using the Link, or Toon Link, Amiibo, unlocks the spinner weapon from Twilight Princess. Amiibos will also work with Mario Kart 8, though specific details on how have yet to be released.

The first wave of Amiibo figures include: Mario, Peach, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Link, Fox, Samus, Wii Fit Trainer, Villager, Pikachu, Kirby and Marth. The second wave will launch in December and include: Zelda, Luigi, Diddy Kong, Little Mac, Pit and Captain Falcon. More characters such as Bowser, Ike, King DeDeDe, Lucario, Meta Knight, Rosalina & Luma, Sheik and Toon Link will come to Japan on January 22. Mega Man, Shulk and Sonic will become available sometime in February.

The Amiibos are greatly integrated into Super Smash Bros for Wii U. Scanning in an Amiibo figure creates them as a custom character, they are not directly controllable but are instead an AI fighter. As you use the Amiibo fighter, it will level up and learn to adapt to your playstyle. They can also be used in the 8 player matches that are included as an option in Super Smash Bros for Wii U.

Super Smash Bros for Wii U’s release date was the subject of much speculation prior to the official announced release date of November 21, just in time for Black Friday shopping. The game was originally set to launch in mid-2014, but was delayed along with the Nintendo 3DS version to “holiday.” Super Smash Bros for 3DS was released on October 3, and within the first month sold over 10 million units. Super Smash Bros for Wii U will allow you to use your Nintendo 3DS as a controller, as well as custom GameCube controllers. Super Smash Bros for Wii U is also the first Nintendo game that allows you to preload the game’s data onto your system, for easy access come midnight, November 21st. There are over 40 characters playable from the start. Movesets are the same as the Nintendo 3DS version and obviously the Wii U version will also be much better looking, with a much higher resolution. For more small facts about Smash on Wii U, check out Nintendo’s recent video.

And that’s all you need to know about Super Smash Bros for Wii U before its launch this friday, November 21.