Super Smash Bros. 4 News: Game Director Talks Balancing Character in 2014 Game

With Super Smash Bros. 4 set to be released in 2014, fans are eager to see how the latest entry in the series differentiates from the rest of the legendary franchise. Lucky for us, the man behind the game has now revealed new details about one of the game's oldest characters that reveals how the character will be different this time around.

In his weekly column in the Japanese magazine Famitsu (via Siliconera) game director for Super Smash Bros. 4, Masahiro Sakurai, revealed that Bowser will play a little bit differently than he has in previous games, and that the massive brawler will have to be feared by players for his sheer power alone. 

"Fans of Smash Bros. probably never saw [Bowser] as to much of a strong character, but this time, his ability to knock others out is very strong!" wrote Sakurai. 

While Bowser may be getting a facelift in terms of gameplay, Sakurai went on to say that his team is working to ensure all characters can be powerhouses while having distinct weaknesses that an expert player will be able to exploit.

"Rather than directly weakening an attack's advantageous parts, we're putting effort into keeping them strong, while adding other weaknesses to them...Like giving the attacks punishable openings, or weakening the character's mobility or recovery rate. We're making comprehensive adjustments to characters, even for parts that might seem completely irrelevant."

Sakurai also clarified that, while it took six years for the balancing for Super Smash Bros. Brawl to be completed, the new game will not take nearly that long, and that his team is working diligently to make the Wii U and 3DS game the best it can be. When asked about the release date for the game, Sakurai merely stated that he would like to "release the new title as soon as possible."

Super Smash Bros. 4 has 20 confirmed characters so far, with many of them returning characters such as Bowser. However, several new characters have been confirmed for the game, the newest of which is Rosalina and Luma from Super Mario Galaxy. Other new characters include the Wii Fit Trainer, The Villager from the Animal Crossing series, and Capcom's Mega Man. The game will have separate levels for the Wii U and 3DS versions of the game, which will reflect the platform the game is played on. For example, the Wii U will have stages based on console games, while the 3DS will have stages based on handheld Nintendo titles.