General Tips
- Experiment with characters. One of the best things about Super Smash Bros. 3DS is the varied roster, so try a bunch of different characters to find one that suits your playstyle.
- Remember to use the shield bubble. It doesn't completely protect you, but it can prove vital in key situations.
- After enough time with the game, increase your aggression. Try to knock opponents off the edge and go after them as they're falling. Just be sure you can jump back to safety.
- Use your recovery special to get back to the level if you're on the verge of falling (up and B).
- Remember that combos in Smash Bros. work a bit differently from other games. The opponent's percentage is an important factor in stringing together certain moves, so be wary of that.
- Smash Attacks are done by holding the analog stick in a single direction and pressing A. Don't move the analog stick at all from that single direction or it won't work.
- Learn the stages. Your own fighting prowess is still the most important factor in any given match, but knowledge of level layouts is a close second.
- Don't be afraid to run away. A key part of playing defense is not getting hit at all, so avoid fights to gain better position and then go on the offensive.
- If you want to unlock new characters quickly, go to Smash (offline) and set your stock to 1. Then immediately fall to your doom as each match begins. Keep repeating that process until you have played enough brief matches to unlock all desired characters.
Guides
Unlockables
Unlocking secret characters in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS is a lot easier than in past games where special conditions had to be met in order to bring out the likes of now-standards Ness and Captain Falco. You won't waste any time unlocking characters if you play the game regularly.
Simply continue battling in the standard modes available from the outset and as you complete matches, your total number of battles will climb and bring about new characters in the form of challenge matches.
After you complete 10 matches, Ness will appear. 10 more matches and Falco will be ready to unlock if you can beat him on Corneria's stage. Here's the full list of unlockable characters with the number of matches needed to bring them to the stage. There are also alternative unlock methods listed next to each character, though for the purposes of simplicity we've left them in order of the matches required to unlock.
Character Unlock Guide
- 10 matches - Ness (Beat Classic Mode for the second time, any intensity)
- 20 matches - Falco (Beat Classic Mode for the first time, any intensity)
- 30 matches - Wario (Complete 100-Man Smash)
- 40 matches - Lucina (Beat Classic Mode as Marth, any intensity)
- 50 matches - Dark Pit (Beat Classic Mode for the fifth time, any intensity)
- 60 matches - Dr. Mario (Beat Classic Mode as Mario, intensity set at 5.0)
- 70 matches - R.O.B. (No confirmed alternative unlock method yet)
- 80 matches - Ganondorf (Beat Classic Mode as Link, intensity set at 5.0)
- 90 matches - Mr. Game & Watch (Beat Classic Mode with ten different fighters, any intensity)
- 100 matches - Bowser Jr. (Beat Classic Mode with Bowser, intensity set at 5.0)
- 110 matches - Duck Hunt Dog (Beat Classic Mode for the tenth time, any intensity)
- 120 matches - Jigglypuff (Beat Classic Mode for the twenty-fifth time, any intensity)
Stage Unlock Guide
Stages are unlocked through the Challenges screen wherein specific requirements will reward players with new items, some of which are entire stages (some exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS version). Unlocking some of the game's special characters will also unlock their stages.
- Magicant - Unlocked when you obtain Ness as a playable character
- WarioWare Inc - Unlocked when you obtain Wario as a playable character
- Pac-Maze - Use Pac-Man's final smash attack for the first time
- Balloon Fight - Use the Animal Crossing Villager in battle three times
- Dreamland (Game Boy stage) - Use Kirby's final smash attack for the first time
- Mute City (Game Boy Advance stage) - Win 3 Smash battles with Captain Falcon
- Flat Zone 2 - Unlock Mr. Game & Watch and unlock the 2nd page of challenges
Roulette Exploit (Classic Mode)
In Classic Mode, you can play the roulette to randomly win prizes after beating opponents. If you would like to do without the random factor, set the prize wheel to spinning and then press the Home button to pull away from the game. If you pressed it just ahead of the meter's halfway point, you can press and hold the A button as you return to the game, and you will receive the next item indicated. Or you can always just repeat the first part of the process as needed until the upcoming item is one you want.
