Nintendo has unleashed a deluge of information about Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, shedding some light on the console version differences including an eight-player mode that will have many eager fans salivating.

The news was announced through a Smash Bros. themed Nintendo Direct, where the game's narrator listed out a quite hefty list of upgrades compared to the already-available 3DS handheld version. Some of the bigger changes include the obvious resolution difference, the ability to play with up to eight players (on select maps though) and a range of new game modes exclusive to the Wii U.

Smash Tour: A fighting party game that looks like a board game. Players use items, spin a wheel and advance around the map. Up to four players can compete at once as they navigate the board and gain fighters and power-ups they can use in a final battle.

Special Orders: In Master Orders, the more difficult the order from Master Hand you undertake, the higher your reward – but you only get to try once. In Crazy Orders, you pay to enter and battles get harder the longer you survive. Will you know when to stop and reap your rewards?

Special Smash Mode: Players can customise battles and play any way they like.

Coin Battles: Players compete to collect coins from other players.

Stamina Matches: Players fight until their hit points reach zero.

Classic Mode: One or two players fight through a series of battles and advance as long as they survive. Many random events can shake things up, and players can adjust the intensity settings. The more difficult the game, the greater the rewards.

All-Star Mode: Unlike in the Nintendo 3DS version, opponents appear in reverse chronological order, and two players can battle through this mode together.

Event Mode: One or two players take on set character and theme-based battles. Clearing stages helps players see the way forward.

Alongside the new modes, the Wii U version will also include extended stages compared to its 3DS version. There is now an expanded version of the original Battlefield stage named Big Battlefield. The Great Cave Offensive, based on the underground labyrinth found in Kirby Super Star, challenges players to avoid potentially lethal danger zones – or throw their opponents into them. The Jungle Hijinxs stage, based on Donkey Kong Country Returns, features dual-plane battles with a foreground and background, and blast barrels that shoot players from front to back and vice versa. After launch, a new Miiverse stage will feature players’ posts from Miiverse, where posts will appear in-game to cheer on the fighters.

Also revealed were details regarding stage bosses Ridley and Metal Face. Both characters are more complicated and engaging than the ones found on the 3DS version. Metal Face appears appropriately on Gaur Plain – but only at night – and will attack all comers and destroy parts of the stage in an attempt to throw you from the battlefield. He's not as nigh-on immortal as he was in Xenoblade Chronicles, however, and you can KO him in order to stop his reign of terror.

Ridley is an altogether much more interesting boss. He behaves much more like a playable fighter than other bosses, and if you deal enough damage to him, he'll bow down to your authority and join you to take out the opponents. If a fighter manages to KO Ridley, they'll gain a point for their final score, even if Ridley is fighting for you at the time. Furthermore, if Ridley is able to absorb some energy from a particular part of the stage, he will transform into Meta Ridley and become even more powerful.

The list is extremely long, and we won't include the whole thing here so make sure to check it out in full at the official website. You can also catch a replay of the Nintendo Direct over here.