The Super Smash Bros. Nintendo 3DS demo is now available to everyone, but Club Nintendo members with Platinum status have had access to the latest Nintendo brawler for a while now. After examining the game with a team of Smash scientists for the past few days, I've discovered the most effective tactics for two of the five playable fighters in the demo. Though the demo is limited to two-minute fights, local multiplayer, and one battle stage, there's a lot you can do with the tiny sample of the 49-character roster the final game will feature.

Three veterans return from past games—Mario, Link, and Pikachu—while two newcomers join the fray: Villager and Mega Man. Each brawler has its own share of strengths, weaknesses, and unique moves, and you can practice with them by fighting the CPU in Solo Mode. The AI opponents give you the pressure needed to get used to the controls and the new mechanics of each combatant. You can also practice with friends, of course.

For the sake of brevity, and because they've never been in a Smash Bros. game before, this tutorial focuses on Villager and Mega Man.

Before we break down each character, here is the control layout: Circle Pad handles movement and attack directions: Forward, Up, Down, and Back. You can also nudge the Circle Pad slightly to Tilt. A is Normal Attack, B is Special Attack, R is Shield or Dodge, L is Grab or Item Throw, and X and Y are Jump. The D-pad is for taunting your soon-to-be-downed foes.

Villager Battle Tactics

The creepy tenant from Animal Crossing lives up to his fan-embellished reputation: He is a monster with a lot of weapons at his disposal. Let's start with his Up + B move. It's a jump with ridiculous range. With it, Villager ties up balloons a la the NES classic Balloon Fight and stays airborne so long as you tap B. If knocked off the stage, he can recover from the other side by hovering below it. That alone makes Villager insane. However, beware of arrows or bombs from a character like Link who can take out the balloons and send Villager packing.

Next up is his Forward + B move: The Lloid Rocket. It's a weird projectile to shoot at enemies, and a missile that the Villager can ride. The Lloid Rocket can't be punished, because even if you get hit out of the attack animation, the rocket explodes in your opponent's face. You can spam it to pressure your opponent or ride it back onto the stage for yet another insane recovery.

Villager's best move, without question, is Pocket. By tapping the B button, you can make him pocket any projectile. Or anything! He is the worst nightmare to any projectile user, including other Villagers. He can Pocket Pikachu's Thunder, Mega Man's fully charged Mega Buster or Rush, health items to use when he needs them, or offensive items like the Blue Shell. In that way, Villager is a lot like Solid Snake in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Villager can water a sapling with Down + B. Water it again and it'll grow into a tree. Yes, a tree. If someone is next to the tree, it will wallop the enemy as it grows. Press Down + B a third time and Villager will take an axe to the oak. You can do your best Patrick Bateman impression on anyone by pressing Down + B so long as the tree stays standing. Hack at someone who already has 90 percent damage and they'll go flying. Once a foe knocks over the tree, Villager's axe goes bye-bye.

That said, Villager's very effective without it. All of his Forward + A moves are good for racking up damage. His Forward + A in the air, the slingshot, does decent damage, and his Forward + A on the ground, a bowling ball, will be your go-to K.O. move. Same for Down + A and Up + A, both on the ground and in the air. His Dash + A hits hard too.

In short: Spam that rocket and keep trees planted. When opponents get close throw out the Forward + A and Down + A attacks—his smash moves—and make use of his ridiculous recovery.

Mega Man

Mega Man Battle Tactics

Mega Man appears weak and awkward at first, but he's actually a capable fighter. You're either going to play a lot of keep-away with him or charge into battle with his great aerials and decent rushdown. He also plays a lot like he does in his classic games, which is really cool.

A lot of that has to do with his Normal Attack. Instead of being a melee move, Mega Man's Normal Attack shoots energy pellets from his Mega Buster. They're weak, but when combined with his Special Attack, the Metal Blade, they do a good job at keeping others at bay while applying some hurt. Press Forward + B and Mega Man fires a Crash Bomb that sticks to anyone, including himself if his target touches him. Though risky, it's a good opener and a good addition to the Normal Attack-plus-Metal Blade keep-away barrage. Keep in mind, projectiles aren't just for dealing damage, they pressure your opponent into rolling or jumping over your attacks which you can then punish.

By pressing B and quickly pushing Circle Pad in any direction, you can make Mega Man throw the Metal Blade just like in Mega Man 2. You can throw the blade backward, too. Tip: Shoot a blade down into the ground to pick it up. When Metal Balde is used as an item, it does more damage and allows for a faster, longer throw.

Let's look at the rest of Mega Man's ground game. His Slide, Down + A, is a great approach tool. It travels really far and does a decent amount of damage. Combine it with Dash + A, Top Spin, and you have a great way to inflict quick, successive hits. Add his fast uppercut, Tilt Up + A, and you get a nice little combo and the perfect opening for an air attack. All of Mega Man's ground smashes are powerful, especially Down + A, but if you whiff you're a sitting duck. His Forward + A smash, a charged Mega Buster, can be held for extra power and it even has a good range. It can also be shot quickly if you don't hold it. Unleash it when it's time to K.O., especially on ledges. His Leaf Shield, unfortunately, has little use (just like in Mega Man 2) except to add additional hits when grabbing someone.

Slam an adversary onto the ground and the foe will bounce into the air—the place where Mega Man really excels. You have several options. Forward + A is Mega Man's Fire Sword. It damages well, and sends foes with higher percentages flying. Back + A is Slash Claw. That's even better and it can finish a highly damaged opponent off. Up + Air sends gusts of tornadoes upwards that can push opponents up and out of the stage, even at a low percentage. Do it successively to really annoy. Then there's Down + A, which spikes Mega Man's fist downwards. Do it in the middle of any fray, when another character is trying to get back on the edge of the stage, or when coming down from Mega Man's Up + B, Rush Coil. It's a good way to clear out anyone below you and ensure you have landing room.

In short: Slide then launch your opponents up in the air where they're subject to tornadoes, fire, and claws. Pressure them constantly with Mega Buster, Crash Bomb, and Metal Blade. If they're hurting, spam charged Mega Busters until they're knocked off the stage.

Fight Mega Man and Villager, For Everlasting Pieces

And that's Mega Man and the Villager from Animal Crossing, two very interesting and welcome additions to the Smash Bros. series. The demo also includes Mario, Pikachu, and Link, who have appeared in the Super Smash Bros. games since the Nintendo 64 days. They're fairly close to their past selves, though Link has gained a number of improvements, Pikachu feels faster albeit with a nerfed Thunder attack, and Mario feels just as good if not better than he has before. All characters are viable choices to play with, and even more will be playable when the final game lands on Oct. 3.

Further Reading

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