Mystery Smash 3DS Patch Leads Players On A Hunt For What Changed

Yesterday, Nintendo released the v1.0.4 update for Super Smash Bros. 3DS, which, as they announced last week, adjusts balance in the mascot fighting game. Yet… nobody’s quite sure what they actually changed.

Yep, inexplicably, Sakurai and crew decided not to include patch notes in the most recent update for their handheld Smash game. Here’s the full changelog—and no, this isn’t a joke:

Adjustments will be made to balance the game.

Other adjustments will be made to make for a more pleasant gaming experience.

This is unprecedented, especially for a competitive multiplayer game—game developers are almost always totally open about what they’re tweaking and changing, in hopes of working with active players to get feedback and see how everything fits. With Smash, though? Players have to get together and figure out for themselves what changed.

Over at SmashBoards, for example, they’ve deduced that Little Mac got nerfed, Peach benefitted from some bug fixes, and almost all of Shulk’s abilities have been changed in ways both major and minor. (Check out the full SmashBoards post for a long list of granular changes they say they’ve found in the game.)

I know Sakurai likes his mini-games and modes, but “Figure Out What The New Patch Did!” probably shouldn’t be one of them.