Episode Mode
IGN reports that Episode Mode is aimed at casual players and uses an interactive comic-book presentation while still including playable battles.
Story Structure
IGN's account of the developer interview describes around 10 hours of total content, with story variations based on which of the five default teams the player chooses. Treat that figure as a reported overall scope, not a guaranteed completion time for every player or one route.
Villains
The campaign builds toward The Champion and his henchwoman Promoter. Teams of four battle toward a final confrontation intended to prevent the destruction of Earth.
How Episode Mode Works
Choose one of the five default teams before beginning an episode. The selected team changes story variations, while combat encounters remain part of the mode rather than the experience being only a motion comic. Complete one team's episode to see its route through the conflict.
The retained sources identify The Champion as the campaign's main antagonist, but they do not provide sufficiently clear official support for an unlock procedure. This page therefore does not claim that finishing a route unlocks a secret playable character.
What To Do First
New players should finish Startup Battle before Episode Mode so that guard, Link Attacks, assists, and switching are familiar. Episode Mode can then provide structured battles without requiring immediate ranked play. The full campaign is described as roughly ten hours across its content and team variations, not necessarily ten hours for one uninterrupted route.
Use How to Play for controls or the Beginner Guide before returning to the campaign.