The title of Smash Legends is also a very good instruction manual for the game. The main thing you do there is break the legends. You smash them until their HP is low, then smash them from the edge of your floating arena. Smash Legends. Work completed.
Okay, so there’s a bit more to Smash Legends than that. While this fairytale brawler from LINE Games is a master class in streamlined and intuitive gameplay, it’s also true that knowledge is power.
Read this guide and power up.
The basics
There is only one Legend and one Arena Mode available when you start playing Smash Legends. The legend is Peter and the arena is Dominion, which sees you and your teammates trying to hold an area of the map.
You move with a floating joystick on the left of the screen, and attack and jump with a selection of virtual buttons on the right. There is a basic attack, a rechargeable skill, and a rechargeable ultimate.
The oft-overlooked jump button plays a huge role in Smash Legends, and you better get used to using it quickly. Not only does the jump allow you to re-enter the arena when you accidentally step out, it adds to your combat repertoire.
There are also jump boards and collectibles dotted around the arenas, giving you more options during these frantic three-minute battles.
Character growth
The main backbone of Smash Arena progression is the Medal Road. Every time you win a battle, you earn medals and move along this metaphorical road, unlocking various upgrades and items. These include new Legends, New Arenas, Coins, and Reward Boxes.
There is also another type of road. Each Legend has its own Legend Route, where you will unlock puzzle pieces, coins, skins and more by completing missions and earning medals with the legend in question.
Winning battles also earns you keys.
Reward boxes are gacha crates containing legends, puzzle pieces, and coins. Pieces and puzzle pieces allow you to improve your legends.
Captions
At launch, there are eight Legends in Smash Arena. As we have already stated, these are unlocked as you progress through the medal route or by opening reward boxes.
All except Peter. You’ve had it from the start, and for good reason.
Peter (Fighter) is the perfect legend for beginners, with melee damage over a wide area allowing him to take out multiple opponents at once.
Red (Assassin) is a fast-paced legend that deals high damage, making her perfect for harassing your opponent with short, sharp attacks.
Master Cat (Fighter) is another solid all-rounder, with a cat-like ability to string together aerial combos.
Alice (Supporter) is a more specialized legend. She drops land mines that her opponents can walk on and immobilizes her opponents with a powerful ultimate, but can’t move very fast.
Cindy (Vanguard) is perfect as a legend on the point, rushing over and kicking everyone before the rest of your party show up. She moves fast and has a wide array of devastating combos.
Hook (Marksman) is your typical sniper, which makes her ideal for large arenas where she can stand back and dominate from a distance. She’s got a few tricks up her sleeve, including a devastating ultimate, but she’s not much of a cop at close range.
Kaiser (Vanguard) is a tank, with HP to burn and a powerful knockback skill, but not much speed. An ideal candidate for Dominion.
And Ravi (Fighter) is another all-rounder whose specialty is control. His basic attack keeps enemies in one spot while his skill pulls them towards him. His ultimate damages multiple opponents at once.
The trends
Finally, a few words on the different modes of Smash Legends.
Dominion is the one you start with. This 3v3 mode allows you to occupy and maintain a capture point for a defined period of time. The team that spends the most time at the capture point wins.
Duel mode is for badass players who want to hone their skills. This sees you taking on another player. The winner is the one who gets three points first.
Harvest is a free-to-play, four-player mode that lets you kill mandrake to reap their rewards. These mandrakes come in different sizes and you get more points for taking down a big one.
Team Deathmatch is a 3v3 mode in which two teams compete against each other to get ten kills first. This one is very frenzied and fast-paced and calls for a balanced approach to protecting your teammates and taking out your enemies.
The Battle Royale mode is exactly what it looks like: an eight-player free-for-all on the largest map in the game. This map shrinks over time, forcing everyone to come together until there is only one player left.
Crown Guard mode allows you to target the leader of the other team. You only get points for regicide – not for killing standard commoners. The first team to win the other team’s crown three times wins.
Smash Legends is currently available in Europe and Canada via a phased launch on google play (and the App store) – as well as Steam Early Access. Other regions can pre-register through the game official site here, and via google play.