After six years, the newest rendition of the Super Smash Bros. game was released for the 3DS on Oct. 3. With the game coming out for the Wii U Nov. 21, people now look forward to the fully released 3DS version to see if it’s worth the hype. This is the first time a Super Smash Bros. game has come out for a handheld device, and gamers have been skeptical as to whether the newest addition could work just as well on the 3DS.

For the few who don’t know, Super Smash Bros. is a fighting game that revolves around knocking your opponents off the stage. The more damage your opponent takes, the further they’ll fly when they are hit. The big twist is that all of the characters the player can choose from are Nintendo’s most popular characters. This means 49 Nintendo characters, all from completely separate gaming series and universes, get to battle each other on the same stage.

So how does the game deliver? From a mechanical standpoint, the new Super Smash Bros. holds up well. Lag-time is seemingly nonexistent. Gameplay animations are crisp, and landing a big hit on an opponent is as satisfying as ever. Its biggest shortcoming is that some of the hitboxes, the areas that the game registers as a hit, don’t always match with the attack animation, making some characters unintentionally more powerful.

Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS also has a slew of extra features. The newly refined classic mode is a single player mini-game that puts your chosen character up against a series of computerized opponents. In the previous edition, you faced the same opponents in a linear, repetitive pathway. This game mode now features alternative paths for the player to choose, allowing for much more replay value.

By far the most improved feature is the online gameplay. Its predecessor, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, had an infamously terrible online feature, possessing a painfully noticeable lag-time that made the entire game mode essentially worthless. The new 3DS has much better internet connection, making online play finally enjoyable. This enhancement also allows for more competitive players to put their skills against the test with the competitive online mode that keeps a constant percentage of your wins and losses.

Overall, the developer’s greatest achievement in the new Super Smash Bros. is the upgraded gameplay. Although the slow ground pace of brawl has been kept and some advance techniques such as “wavedashing” are not included, combos are still easily attainable and air dodging is much less potent. This allows the new Super Smash Bros. to retain much more of a competitive appeal, while the simplistic nature of the fighting game still appeals to those who just want to have fun. I strongly recommend Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS to all gamers.