I began playing Super Smash Bros. for Wii U with the mentality of a SSB Melee player. I wanted total control. I wanted limitless potential for movement and attack. I have deep understanding of Melee's system mechanics, rules, and character abilities. Having ignored SSB Brawl and seen little current footage of the Wii U iteration, I began playing SSBU with a clean slate.
Immediately, I recognized the advanced techniques from Melee requiring high execution had been implemented in SSBU mechanically. Air Dodging in place is present but air dodging in a direction does not exist (neither does wavedashing, as a result). However, momentum from side jumping and short hopping is maintained while air dodging. Secondly, landing recovery is essentially immediate for many neutral, forward, and backward air attacks. Landing after an air dodge requires recovery, but this can be replaced by attacking out of a dodge. Gone is the need to L-cancel or shield-cancel your aerials. Incidentally, gone is the ability to cancel spikes, meteors, and other heavy air attacks. I feel this system change is ultimately for the better. L-Cancelling was admittedly an executional burden on many characters that compensated for attack risk with executional reward. Smash U makes it so fast aerials recover quickly or instantly and heavier air attacks like spikes and meteors carry an acceptable level of risk related to application. I notice this trend across the board in Smash U.
Ground movement is fast and offers variations on advancing and retreating. Dashes can be cancelled consecutively, and holding a dash translates into running. Turning during a run or after a dash requires much recovery, so cancelling a dash into another in the opposite direction (pivoting) offers an executional workaround. Your character travels slightly forward while recovering in place allowing you to attack as though your were neutral. Dashing and attacking out of the turnaround animation allows a side smash attack, side tilt attack, or grab to be performed immediately. If you are against a ledge, you can use this to dash around an opponent and attack facing him.
Note, though, the limits on attack options from each of these movements. Dashing does not allow one to shield or attack until recovery. Pivoting maintains character control but does not offer as much side movement as dashing. Running attacks are disadvantaged on block and punishable on whiff. Jumps and short hops must meet a height requirement before air attacks may be initiated. Wavedashing in Melee gave us ability to advanced toward our opponent while orienting our character for back tilts, down tilts, or attacks that hit behind-the-back such as Fox's up tilt. I have yet to discover such a technique in SSBU, although combining dashing and pivoting comes close.
This is the trend I mentioned earlier - execution being levied for risk. In Melee, dance-dashing (repeatedly pivoting in place) cancelled the turnaround animation and allowed players to start running in either direction. Dash-dancing is unnecessary in Smash U because I can dash in either direction from a standstill. I do not need to wavedash out of a run; instead, I should dash infinitely or pivot to create attack options. I do not need to L-Cancel aerials because most recover quickly. What players need to learn is proper implementation of movement and attack. I want to advance toward my opponent and access all my ground attacks, but perhaps that is not an option. Perhaps I should walk and not commit to a dash if I want to down tilt. Perhaps I need to reevaluate my air strategy as many attacks hold heavy recovery while many ground anti-air attacks have improved hitboxes and greater launch value.
Melee's ground game is incredibly vulnerable without the advanced techniques and favors the air game in conjunction. Smash U takes an approach to remove the execution demands on the player and weight the ground game and air game with appropriate risk. I believe these restrictions were designed not to remove control from the player (though they did) but to balance the ground, air, and ledge game in Smash U.
Speaking of the ledge game, the distance from which characters will grab ledges is incredible. It will look like you fell short and your character will latch. Characters will grab ledges even when facing the opposite way. Characters can climb, attack, jump, and roll onto platforms from a ledge. Characters may drop from a ledge hang, but this is where the primary change occurs. Releasing a ledge prevents you from grabbing that same ledge immediately, and doing so does not grant invulnerability as it did when grabbing that ledge the first time. Vulnerable hanging characters cannot hog ledges as in previous Smash titles. Characters attempting to recover will replace the ledge-hanging character. These changes leave no advantage to players guarding an edge, however the improved combo system does recovering characters no favors.
This is where I see balance between the three stages of a Smash match. The ground game is tense and neutral. The air game has its strengths and weaknesses. More attacks juggle opponents into the air and off the ground. It is possible to combo for large percent, to carry opponents across stages, to combo opponents off edges and for the bold to follow them off edges to assure KOs. Scoring KOs on every side of the screen is all about commitment and follow through. Make no mistake, Smash U requires precision and foresight to achieve victory.
Never mind the structure of matches in Melee. Look at Smash U on its own and recognize that with a less advantageous air game, the ground game becomes equally important. Look at how restrictions on movement require greater commitment to movement. Look at how attack recovery requires knowledge of attack application. Available options will be poor choices and rich options will be unavailable due to previous decisions. I believe they have maintained the speed of tournament Smash Bros. matches while shifting the strategic trends. This game is not a strategic sequel to Melee. It falls somewhere between that and Smash 64. Our brandishing of pitchforks was out of fear that the simplification of techniques would remove control. I argue that Smash U is a new game, and we are foolish to think strategic trends should translate from games familiar. Fighting games require effort on our end, the players. With this understanding comes enlightenment (and a God's powers

.
Further brief thoughts:
http://youtu.be/Uzv-fmiTH_M - Advanced movement guide that set my mind at ease.
http://youtu.be/eNw5i5mSCy4 - Introduced me to RAR, a Brawl technique made important with SSBUs movement options, dash-cancelled grabs, and toss cancelling.
http://youtu.be/YPQEaQmLGl0 - Older version of the above video again discussing RARs as well as Air Dodge Aerials
http://youtu.be/VmDkNkNPWYY - Talks in-depth about cancelling air dodges into aerials
http://youtu.be/iZPxLLaL4N8 - Highlights another element of launching properties
http://youtu.be/bSp885AxZss - Reports of C-Stick limits are greatly exaggerated. Jump as you please but return the directional stick to neutral before attacking with the C-Stick. Then, return the C-Stick to neutral if you wish to influence aerial movement. Returning to neutral resets command inputs in nearly all fighting games and is among the most important skills to learn if you want high level execution. In the case of Smash U, RARs allow forward advancing back airs. Backward falling forward airs are possible and really, a turnaround tilt or smash might be more advantageous because it keeps you on the ground. Evaluate your gameplan constantly and discard what does not work.
Until next time, folks...