Fine-tuning a fighting game’s roster to be as balanced as possible is a complex and difficult job for game developers. It becomes even more complicated once gamers get their hands on the finished product, as they often find exploits that give a single character (and its player) an unfair advantage.

To combat this problem, game developers often release a multitude of adjustments in the form of patches or updates to smooth out the differences between playable characters and to squash exploits. Fans of Super Smash Bros. have been hard at work dissecting what went into the game’s latest update – which also allegedly leaked two new DLC characters – and have discovered that Nintendo has made adjustments of its own to one of the game’s most notoriously overpowered characters.

Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U recently received an update that added Mewtwo to the game as a playable character. However, what else was included in the update remained a mystery, as Nintendo doesn’t release any kind of information about what’s included in their updates and patches. Redditor DrWeeGee subsequently dug through the game’s data himself, and found that a multitude of adjustments had been made to Diddy Kong.

According to DrWeeGee, the nerfs to Diddy Kong are as follows:

Uair nerfed from 8% -> 6%, knockback reduced. CONFIRMED

Fair nerfed from 12%/10% -> 10%/8%, knockback reduced. CONFIRMED

Uthrow nerfed from 10% -> 8%, knockback reduced. CONFIRMED

Dthrow nerfed from 7% -> 6%, knockback unchanged but hitstun reduced.CONFIRMED

Monkey Flip (kick) nerfed 14%/12% -> 12%/10%, knockback reduced. CONFIRMED

Monkey Flip (grab) nerfed 12% -> 10%, knockback reduced. CONFIRMED

Banana (Throw) nerfed from 7% -> 5% CONFIRMED

 

Many players felt that Diddy Kong was severely overpowered due to his excellent airgame, high speed and strong attacks, so these nerfs are generally receiving praise.

What’s most surprising about this change is that Nintendo previously announced that no further balance patches would be made to the game’s existing roster. However, it’s not the only time Nintendo has recently changed its mind. The company also previously stated that there were no plans for Smash Bros. DLC beyond Mewtwo, yet they’ve recently announced Lucas and are inviting players to tell them what DLC fighters they’d like to see join the game. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata also explicitly stated that Nintendo wouldn’t enter the mobile market, but they’ve since decided to join forces with DeNA to do just that.

Unless you’re a Diddy Kong player yourself, it’s hard to see any fault with this update. Nintendo may change its mind a lot, but that shows that the company is flexible and willing to listen to its fans (and stockholders). Nintendo has had a lot of pleasant surprises up its sleeve lately, and it seems that updates to the game are far from finished.

Super Smash Bros. is currently available on the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.

Source: Kotaku