Super Smash Bros. Wii U - Wii Fit Trainer Demo Impressions
Breathe in with the Wii Fit Trainer as she pummels the competition.
Published June 18, 2014, 4:10 p.m. about Super Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS
by Bryan Dawson
Nintendo went all out at E3 2014 with Super Smash Bros. Wii U playable on the show floor, an invitational tournament featuring some of the best players and Smash playable at quite a few Best Buy locations around the country. While none of these venues are as good as having the game at home, we did get a few more tidbits of information about the playable characters.
Our first character is the Wii Fit Trainer, who turned a few heads at the invitational tournament and will likely have more fans than most originally expected when the character was initially announced. While the Wii Fit Trainer has plenty of offensive abilities, she seems to perform exceptionally well as a zoning character. Her aerial volleyball and grounded soccer ball attacks allow her to maintain pressure from a distance. These are more effective in free-for-all battles against three other players, but they also work well for edge guarding after knocking an opponent off the edge of a stage.
In casual games, the Wii Fit Trainer's Final Smash is one of the easiest to connect with. While it doesn't have much of a rear hitbox, it covers a large portion of the screen in front of the Wii Fit Trainer. This makes it relatively easy to hit any opponents in the direction the Final Smash is attacking. It's not a guaranteed KO, even if you manage to hit an opponent. If the target in question has low damage, there's a good chance the Final Smash won't be enough to finish them off.
From a competitive standpoint, what could make the Wii Fit Trainer really stand out is her jab attack series. If you connect her jab attack string, the Wii Fit Trainer buries the opponent. This gives her ample time to set up a far more powerful attack. Taking it up another notch, you can use the Wii Fit Trainer's jab string as a hit-confirm. It's a safe attack that's difficult to punish, even if it misses completely. You can lead off with the jab string, and if it's blocked or evaded you don't have to worry about much. However, if it connects, the opponent is buried and you can set up a more powerful attack or combo series.
Couple all of this with the Wii Fit Trainer's ability to increase her attack power, and you have a formidable character on your hands. It's still too early to say if the Wii Fit Trainer will be top tier, bottom tier or somewhere in the middle, but what we do know is that she seems to have more offensive and defensive options than most assumed would be available. Of course, you can always switch over to the male Wii Fit Trainer for the same attack options, but with a slightly different appearance.