@nate38 Ah, I forgot that the arenas can be public. That helps a bit, thanks!

@ploot Are taunts disabled? I'm pretty sure I saw someone I played with taunt?! It was a Dedede who like layed down on its side and like yawned or something? Is that a taunt?

@Zero Taunts are disabled in Quick Play but are active in Arenas.

@Zero Nope, that's just Dedede's crouch lol. He looks like he's taunting because he's perfect, and you know it, and he knows that you know it.

I was definitely taunting my cousin in some test matches earlier tonight.

I am to my cousin, as Ploot is to me.

Hmm, but all I've been doing is quick play? Would quick play send you to an arena sometimes?

Whatever the case I am bad at paying attention to what the rules for a match are. I spent this whole match wondering why I wasn't hurting an Olimar and I was like did someone hack the game already?! Then the match ended and it turned out it was a 2-on-2 team match, lol.

I don't really mind how online works (at least I can finally play stock with strangers on the fun courses!!!) I just wish I could hook up with friends easier. And that there was less lag.

I have yet to be online - but it’s 2am and played smash for like Three hours. playing in handheld mode seriously handicapped me compared to using the wave bird. I have to get used to it. I spent time unlocking some characters and then exploring the other modes. Gameplay feels more like Melee - that’s a good thing.

My online matches were all pretty smooth today. Mind you I only did a handful but it is a good sign. Luck of the draw I guess.

The World of Light mode can get pretty intense. I played a Fatal Frame character set in Luigi's Mansion and she gets that assist trophy that if it catches you in the photo frame it takes off massive damage. And you don't get much time in between before another one comes. You really need to plan for it and be constantly on the move and make sure you are nowhere near it. Took me like over a half hour or something to beat that one.

I'm honestly enjoying this mode more than the weird attempts to make Smash into a platformer and such.

My friend in California and I (Nevada) made a 6 person, four player Smash room and had tons of fun with minimal lag tonight. If you end up sitting a round out here or there, it's not terrible. It's a little clumsy to get going and not perfect, but I'm overall pleased with online. I hope they do continue to tweak and improve.

Well, I played this game for 12 hours straight today. Haven't done that with a game since Stardew Valley. It's good.

I'm just going to pop in here to say I love it, though it feels a little floatier than WiiU/3DS

World of Light seems really cool, and huge on top of that. It's almost like an RPG with an adventure game element (i.e. "can't get past this gate without [X] ability"). I'm also forcing myself to go for stretches using only the character I just unlocked. One of the things I did not do in the Wii U game was spend a lot of time with each character and try to master its move set. This time around, I want to avoid simply falling back into my comfort zone w/ Link.

(Speaking of...BotW Link has no hookshot...therefore, he's gotten a bit neutered. Sakurai, what'd you guys do to my boy??? )

One of the battles was a real pain in the butt, vs. Dr. Mario and a bunch of tiny Solid Snakes and explosive items everywhere. I kept getting killed right at the end by a stray mine. Got some nice loot at the end, though! :)

Gotta say, I really like what they did with Simon! He's not gonna be my main or anything, but he feels appropriately Castlevania, somehow. Maybe it's because I fell in a pit within the first fifteen seconds of trying him out.

@TheBigG753
In my opinion, the Hookshot was more of a hindrance...! I like Link's new straightforward grab. And remote bombs for that matter.

@Zero Ha ha, your teamie probably thought you were a troll.

@TriforceBun Probably, but I'm too used to it being the hookshot that it keeps whiffing!

Anyone have any impressions on the new characters?

I only have two unlocked, Squid Kid and King K Rool.

I wanted to like Squid Kid more but managing the ink is just a hassle? But I guess I haven't really done much with the character yet so I still don't totally understand it.

I usually don't like big characters but actually... King K Rool feels so nice! That freaking gun that can shoot AND suck people in is so much fun! And even his basic attacks and everything just feel *right*. I think I might actually... like him? He is slow though so ultimately I doubt he will become one of my mains or anything. But he's fun to play as. He is probably my favorite big character (we'll see how Ridley fares.)

@TheBigG753 You may finally have to acknowledge Young Link >>>> Adult Link.

I do like playing around with Adult Link's remote bombs though. But I'm not sure if they help me play any better.

I was playing against two really good players last night online with random character selection on while they stuck to their mains. I was predictably losing over and over, as I'm used to after all of these games, until Isabelle was chosen for me. Well, after learning to think of me as some minor nuisance not to be taken seriously and apparently never coming across Isabelle before, they weren't prepared for all of her tricks, and I finally won one... the victory screen of that cute, kind dog lady celebrating was one of my most glorious moments in recent years of gaming. I laughed heartily. Anyway, I picked her again in the next battle and they both made some sort of truce to team up and absolutely destroy me before fighting one another. I didn't feel welcome after that and left. :(

In other news, talking about the Joker DLC:

Reggie Chick-fil-A said:

It's emblematic of the approach that Mr. Sakurai and the team are taking with the DLC. He wants characters that are unique, different, to bring them into the Smash Bros. environment. So it's going to be tremendously exciting.

Mr. Sakurai, he's not only a student of Nintendo franchises, and obviously he's had his hand in a few, but he's a student of video games from a total perspective and so he's been the driver in really thinking about what type of character coming into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate would bring just a whole different level of fun and enjoyment for the player. That's been the approach. That's the thinking.

I really hope we get at least one big, important Western game series represented. You know, like a Doom Slayer, Lara Croft, Gordon Freeman type.

This strange pick for the first DLC character somehow makes anything seem more possible, and I love that.

I haven't scrolled through four pages, but how do people using the pro controller feel vs the Joycons? I'm OK with them, but I have to think I'd be better with full sized buttons

@Hinph

I would not expect any Western characters, tbh. Outside of “indies” like Shantae and Shovel Knight, but even then only as Assist Trophies.

@Ponderus

I’m cool with the JoyCons. I didn’t even stop to consider what size the buttons were. Just started playing and having fun!

The first character I had unlocked was Sonic. It was funny seeing him next to the original cast of Smash N64, like some kind of faked April Fools screenshot of the old days.

@Zero I've also unlocked the king! They definitely did a good job making him play like the combination of his boss battles from the DKC games.

Its cool that it seems characters get unlocked in random order. I had a chance to unlock king k rool but lost big time. I find going from the wavebird in tv mode to hand held mode jarring. It takes a bit for me to get used too. - I lost to bowser too but was able to get a quick rematch in the challenger mode and beat him. I think I’ve unlocked 5 so far.