My random matches went as well as everybody else's. I played two and they were both laggy at times. Looks like the ping distance is the critical factor, because all my local East Coast matches have been fine, aside from the occasional weird Wi-Fi drop.

We are such big fans of the Nintendog. Clark gets this huge smile on his face and jokes about how the puppy wants to get out of the TV.

I thought that was fun to have found a pause that made it look like a giant devil guy was sitting on the Halberd.

True story: I did not get the "Kat + Ana = katana" joke until just now, when I typed out the photo filename. And I'm like a huge WarioWare guy.

Just when I feel like complaining that there's not enough Assist Trophies and I've seen poor Samurai Goroh way too many times, Nintendo throws a new one at me. Here's Barbara from the Japan-only DS game Daigasso Band Bros (and apparently Master of Illusion, the DS game about card tricks, according to the Smash Notice screen)... and Jill from the overlooked GBA game Drill Dozer.

Are you ready for teh spoilers? Here they come...

I was moderately surprised to see Jigglypuff survive the cut from Melee (especially since Mewtwo was downcloned into Lucario), since he's no longer the Generation One fad character he used to be.

I was very happy - and genuinely unspoiled - to find Toon Link. It's great to see Nintendo honor the awesomeness of Wind Waker (and the memory of Melee's Young Link), with the cel-shaded Link, although "Toon Link" is such a painfully awful name. I have always hated the usage of the word "toon," because it was never a real moniker; it was manufactured for public consumption by Who Framed Roger Rabbit. (And don't think I'm crazy, Wikipedia backs me up on this.) So it really grates me to hear the announcer intone "TOON Link." I'm not sure why he couldn't have been just another "Link," but Nintendo could have gone with "Cel Link," "Wind Waker Link" or anything rather than pretending that "toon" is something real.

Still, great screen, right?