Alright, the game finally arrived today, but before I boot it up for the first time I want to put up my Friend Code:

4484 - 9009 8652

@mikhail: Thank you.

While I don't entirely agree with you, I definitely see where you are coming from and respect your opinion, as it is rooted in fact. I'll have to look more into this myself, but again, thank you I appreciate the sources.

@mikhail:

I'm more interested in watching this discussion happen than I am in actually being a part of it. Keep in mind that I'm definitely not trying to argue with you, but I do have a question that I want to ask in the most non-accusatory, and simply-curious tone that I can manage through text:

Could you please elaborate on who Milo is and what hateful, bigoted things he has done that indicates GamerGaters should distance themselves from him?

All of the important bits a highlighted like this, I'm sorry that I rambled too much in this post.

Well, I went into GameStop yesterday to buy the game after finally saving up enough money, but they were out of copies; so I just ordered a one to my home from there. The problem is, though, that according to the Order Confirmation Slip I have until the 21st-28th to receive it. So it will be a while until I can test the features myself. This leaves me with one important question:

Is the online really that bad? I'm hearing mixed things.

I've played 25 hours of the Super Smash Bros. for 3DS Demo and I'm loving it so far, but the demo has gotten stale and I'm honestly sick of the level 9 CPUs. Now that my enjoyment of the gameplay is cemented, I plan to get into this game competitively in whatever way I can and for as long as the scene lasts, and a decent online mode would be my opening. In anticipation of this, I was checking out a Smash Bros. board on another website and most of them had positive things to say about the online, and they generally didn't seem biased. In an attempt to keep a lot of the new features and changes fresh for my own experimentation, I have only watched gifs and short videos. In these gifs and short videos I have seen people playing really well in a way that would seem to require a fairly smooth online environment.

However, in this thread, there has been a mainly negative view of the online feature, and from people that I understand I can trust, at least from experience. Therefore, I would be grateful to get a few different user opinions on this, and maybe background information, such as, how many wireless devices are around you, which mode you usually play, and/or the distance you are from your router while playing online.

---- On the talking points presented in the OP----

I'm excited to get to play my main, Zero Suit Samus, again and from what I've heard, she has been improved this time around, which I thought was quite necessary. I'm also looking forward to playing Marth, Sheik, and Zelda again, enough to match my interest in checking out Shulk, Greninja, and Wii Fit Trainer for the first time.

I'm going to skip out on the Friend Code stuff for now. I don't own the game, and knowing my luck with shipping, I'm not sure this order will go well. I'll throw my Friend Code into the ring once I have the game in my hands.

If I could choose a Dark Souls boss to be sculpted into a full sized statue it would have to be either the Gaping Dragon or Artorias.

Please, don't take what I said the wrong way. As much as I suck at fighting games I still very much enjoy them and appreciate the changes, and like I said early I don't want them to go away. All that I'm trying to say is that there hasn't been a new take on what a fighting game is in a long time, again, for example: Bushido Blade. To create a clearer picture, using your Super Mario comparison: Metroid, while technically a platformer, added a lot of other elements to really distinguish itself in that genre, even enough to create a new genre. That isn't to say that Fighting games don't change, but we rarely get anything in the same vein that gives a new perspective.

@TheGuardian03:

Oh man! I need to get back to my second run of that game to do most of the side-quests and side-content, but whenever I think about doing that I think, "I still have to beat almost every other game I own", and then I don't play anything.

On a side note: after some of the specs posting I was tempted to post the specs of my 2004 stock desktop, it couldn't even keep a stable frame-rate on the free old-school Spelunky. That was my primary PC until it lost its IP address(?) due to my clueless tampering. The reason for posting that would have been to make anybody feel better about their rig, but I don't feel like looking into it. Now I'm borrowing a netbook which is even worse than that thing.

@zeroyaoi: I'd really like to start collecting more video game memorabilia and at the moment I only collect games. It probably won't happen though, I can barely afford games (which have a higher value to me).

There is nothing big-- or even interesting behind it.

I didn't care at first, but they look pretty good, and I do "need" to start collecting more than just games.

That isn't true. Side scrollers are not a genre. 2D platformers and 3D platformers are both platformers, God Hand is a beat-em-up, and Final Fantasy games are still Role Playing Games.