Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends (2015)

Not everyone can be Smash Bros. Other bigger studios have tried that with a bigger budget, bigger roster, bigger… everything, and have still failed to entirely recapture the magic that is to be found in it. However, what must be understood is that not all games need to be Smash Bros. in order to be good! What Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends tries to do exactly like it, it doesn't do it quite as well. What it tries to do differently from it, however, does feel remarkably good, which does seem to indicate that the great ideas the team does get on its own, are those that translate best in a playable form at the end of the day. This title can be enjoyed by very young fans of the movie because it's not a bad one, and it does offer some things that Nintendo's popular franchise doesn't - maybe not enough of them that would make anyone choose this one over the latter one, but even though it's lacking in more than one department, it can still provide some fun, under the right conditions.

Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends is a good brawler, but it's a shame that the development team at Vicious Cycle has only sought to draw inspiration from the leader in the genre and failed to introduce any truly innovative feature.

With the 3rd Kung Fu Panda movie just around the corner, we are greeted with the latest videogame instalment. Taking inspiration from the likes of Super Smash, will Legendary Legends offer the depth to satisfy both younger and olders alike.

Kung Fu Panda: SLL has many strong qualities, including a great amount of loyalty to the franchise and real thought for how the characters would fight and move, but suffers from an overall lack of gameplay content. The fact that it draws so heavily from the Super Smash Bros. series is both a blessing and a curse. It would be easy to think of this as a negative; if you want to play a fighting game of this type then there is no reason to choose this over Super Smash Bros. itself. But Kung Fu Panda: SLL isn't trying to compete with a genre defining game – it's bringing that style of play to a brand new audience. Fans of the film franchise that want this game purely because it has their favourite panda in it will be treated to an experience way beyond what is usually expected for a movie tie-in, and one that can provide a fun time.

There honestly is not a lot to say about Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends. It is a Smash Bros. clone through and through, so it does offer those without a Wii U the opportunity to play this type of game on a newer console. It isn't anywhere near as good as the Smash Bros. games, but represents the world of Kung Fu Panda rather well. It really does seem that for every good part of the game, there is a negative aspect that stops it from being truly great. It is a passable Smash Bros. clone, but to be honest, if you're that much of a fan of the Smash Bros. formula, surely you already have a Wii U.