My Quick Thoughts on Mewtwo DLC (Super Smash Bros)

Wednesday saw the launch of Mewtwo’s long awaited return to Super Smash Bros. For those of us who took advantage of Club Nintebdo’s promotion, we got a CD in the mail last month as well as two codes of Mewtwo for both our versions of Smash Bros. before it went on mass sale. I was one of these fortunate individuals, and since I’ve been playing as him the past two days, I want to give you my quick impressions.

Even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of his character in Melee, I was hyped for this day. To me, no matter who ends up in Smash through the DLC wave, I’ll just be happy to have more characters to play as. Plus as a fan of Pokemon Gen 1, Mewtwo is a big part of my childhood. I got my code around 8 a.m. during school, so I waited until lunch to download my 3DS code via a hotspot on my phone. Several updates and a half hour later, I got him. Then I used my Wii U code as soon as I got home that afternoon.

After playing somewhere around ten matches with the character, I can safely say that he is an excellent addition to the fray. I’m not the best with him at the moment, but at my normal 7-8 level CPU setup I have lost very few matches with him. Haven’t tried him with Level 9 AI yet, but I’m just getting used to him at the moment.

Now for those who are stuck twiddling their thumbs for the next two weeks waiting for the DLC to go on sale, I would recommend catching up on Melee while you wait. Simply put, Mewtwo hasn’t really changed at all since then. Not that that’s a bad thing, but if you were expecting new tweaks to his moveset this may disappoint.

The main differences this time around are the addition of a final smash and the balancing to make him blend in with game’s engine. However, the one subtle difference exists when you are charging your shadow ball. Before, just being around the shadow ball while it’s forming would harm you. Now Mewtwo is vulnerable in this state. So keep that in mind while you train.

As for how they balanced him for this game, they were able to maintain his original floaty nature while not making him a freaking acrobat like he once was. To be fair, this is also due to the size of stages changing since Melee. He’s still a high jumper, and his aerial state can be manipulated much easier than most other characters. He is a bit faster now than he was in Melee. He ain’t no Sonic, but he can beat Jigglypuff in a footrace.

They’ve actually buffed him up this time around. You’ll notice that dark psychic moves do a lot of knockback here, like with his forward smash. His up smash has a lot of range now, hitting players not just from above but also to his immediate left and right. I have reason to say this is a tad broken, but you can still get around that. And remember when I was talking about his shadow ball? Well according to research, his shadow pall is actually stringer than both Lucario’s aura sphere and Samus’ plasma shot.

I think he is much better on the ground than in the air in terms of power. In the air it’s more about range than raw power, since his tail isn’t that strong. To make up for that, the tail actually makes a great combo-ender. Plus, Mewtwo’s neutral air is a great and devastating move to use in aerial combat.

Last thing I should bring up is his final smash. First off, Mega Mewtwo Y was an excellent idea for his final smash. Even as someone who hasn’t played X or Y, this was the best choice aesthetically speaking. Anyway, it’s one of the easiest final smashes to execute. All you have to do is have someone in front of you with some room on above and below him. In a 6-player battle (of which I used all the Pokemon characters) on Pokemon Stadium 2, I was able to hit 3 out of 5 of the opponents, killing each of them. It’s definitely a good final smash.

There is probably a lot you can say of him, but that’s all I can say. Overall he’s a fun character to use that I’m sure will become a favorite among current players. I haven’t stopped using him since I got him, so take that for what it’s worth.

What do you guys think of the DLC? Was it everything you were hoping for? Do the rest of you plan on buying him when the tome comes? I’d love to discuss this with you in the comments.

I’m SBox180. Thanks for reading!