Super Smash Bros. 4 has had many updates concerning the characters that will be put into the game, but Nintendo has remained fairly quiet on any gameplay changes that will come to the latest game in the series. Now, however, the game's director has shown that one of the key aspects of the game for hardcore Smash Bros. fans has changed, allowing for new strategies for combat to come to the game.

Game director Masahiro Sakurai revealed on his Miiverse page a picture of Mario and Link fighting for the edge of the stage, and he revealed that in Super Smash Bros. 4 edge-guarding will work very differently than previous games:

"Pic of the day. There are many changes being made to attack and defense options for grabbing edges. In this picture, Link is actually trumping Mario's grab."

Before, players were able to grab the edge of the stage and prevent their opponents from being able to do the game so that they would fall and be defeated. Now, it looks as though this strategy may not work anymore, as players can fight it out for the edge and potentially steal the edge from the other player.

Sakurai also revealed other information about how the new edge guarding system will work. How much time players spend in the air and how much damage they have will determine how long a player will be invincible while grabbing on to the edge of the stage. However, grab controls will no longer be affected by if a player has above or below 100 percent damage during the match.

While it may be too early to know how this new system will change the way players play Super Smash Bros. 4, this new system should allow for a more even playing field when it comes to edge guarding. Now players have a chance of recovery by knocking the opponent off the edge, and the most perilous part of a stage has become even more of a contentious zone for matches.
Super Smash Bros. 4 does not have a release date yet, but Nintendo has set 2014 as the year that the game will come out. So far 21 characters have been confirmed for the game, and the complete roster for the game so far can be found on the game's official website. Nintendo updates fans almost every day with new screenshots for the game on the official website as well as Sakurai's Miiverse page.