Well folks, here it is. After almost a week of constant smashing and brawling, I think it's time to give you my insight on the new Super Smash Bros. Brawl. There's so much stuff in this game that it might break your Wii (literally). But seriously; Nintendo and the good people over at Sora Inc. brought us what we wanted. With an all new, ridiculously long adventure mode called The Subspace Emissary, you get a chance to play with almost every character in the game. Its very different than the adventure mode in Melee, where there are actually cutscenes that, surprisingly, look really good on the old 480p console. The story pretty much follows all the good guy characters in their quest to prevent their friends from being turned into trophies and hauled off by Bowser, King Dedede, Wario, or Ganondorf as, well, trophies. Along the way you meet allies such as Snake, Zero Suit Samus, Lucario, and Ike who help you defeat the before mentioned bad guys. But don't worry, you get to use all the other classic characters as the story progresses.
Now, the game pretty much plays the same as Melee. Because you can use the controllers from Nintendo Gamecube on this version, the buttons are laid out the same. You're also given three other control options: Wii remote held sideways, Wii remote and Nunchuk, and Classic Controller. One of the cool things, when using the Gamecube controller, is you can now use the C-stick smash moves in all modes, not just versus; which was pretty cool considering that was pretty much all I used and was most effective. Also, there seem to be less clones in this version, which means more unique fighters.
Assist Trophies is another cool thing added to Brawl. During the game they come up just like any other items except they fight for you for just a few seconds; I gotta say my favorite is probably Gray Fox from Metal Gear Solid. Nothing says 'you've been pwned' like a little ninja following you around the stage waiting for the perfect chance to hack you into pieces.
There are also all-new stages reminiscent of the new characters, and variations/sequels of the Melee stages. Snake has Shadow Moses Island, Link has a new stage from Twilight Princess: The Bridge of Eldin. There are also several new Metroid stages and also a Mario Kart stage where shy-guys race around at high speed and pummel you if you don't watch out.
The final smashes have got to be the coolest new addition to the franchise. Each character has their own, unique finisher that is uber-powerful. The only way to acquire this finisher is when the smash ball randomly appears on the stage. Its pretty much a blue smash symbol that floats around annoyingly until someone inflicts enough damage upon it to break it and unleash fury. I gotta tell you, its pretty funny when you're in the middle of a four player brawl and that floating smash symbol comes out. It's like the opponents don't exist anymore. Everybody tries to break it at once, and most of the time fall off the stage because they're not paying attention. It's hilarious.
Here's one little con. I was a little disappointed in the little things that were different; for instance: Samus. Samus' down-B is morph ball mines. Now, in Melee you are able to infinitely stay in the air by using these mines because they explode as soon as you expel them causing you to shoot up ward a bit while taking damage, therefore making for a fast recovery. In Brawl, it take a lot longer for the mines to explode, which threw me off completely. But I guess they put that in there because too many people were being cheap with Samus. Now if they could work on Pikachu's down-B.....
Honestly, what was mentioned above, was pretty much the only thing I didn't like about the game, and even that is really nothing that would hurt the score at all. Overall Brawl gets a 9.8 for the simple fact that not much changed; its still as fun as the previous titles, it never really gets old or boring, its a great party or solo game, and, hey, its Nintendo. I would pick this one up as soon as possible; just don't get the Prima player's guide, wait for the Nintendo Power version. Its not a mistake you want to make.
9.8/10
Thanks for Reading
-JD
Now, the game pretty much plays the same as Melee. Because you can use the controllers from Nintendo Gamecube on this version, the buttons are laid out the same. You're also given three other control options: Wii remote held sideways, Wii remote and Nunchuk, and Classic Controller. One of the cool things, when using the Gamecube controller, is you can now use the C-stick smash moves in all modes, not just versus; which was pretty cool considering that was pretty much all I used and was most effective. Also, there seem to be less clones in this version, which means more unique fighters.
Assist Trophies is another cool thing added to Brawl. During the game they come up just like any other items except they fight for you for just a few seconds; I gotta say my favorite is probably Gray Fox from Metal Gear Solid. Nothing says 'you've been pwned' like a little ninja following you around the stage waiting for the perfect chance to hack you into pieces.
There are also all-new stages reminiscent of the new characters, and variations/sequels of the Melee stages. Snake has Shadow Moses Island, Link has a new stage from Twilight Princess: The Bridge of Eldin. There are also several new Metroid stages and also a Mario Kart stage where shy-guys race around at high speed and pummel you if you don't watch out.
The final smashes have got to be the coolest new addition to the franchise. Each character has their own, unique finisher that is uber-powerful. The only way to acquire this finisher is when the smash ball randomly appears on the stage. Its pretty much a blue smash symbol that floats around annoyingly until someone inflicts enough damage upon it to break it and unleash fury. I gotta tell you, its pretty funny when you're in the middle of a four player brawl and that floating smash symbol comes out. It's like the opponents don't exist anymore. Everybody tries to break it at once, and most of the time fall off the stage because they're not paying attention. It's hilarious.
Here's one little con. I was a little disappointed in the little things that were different; for instance: Samus. Samus' down-B is morph ball mines. Now, in Melee you are able to infinitely stay in the air by using these mines because they explode as soon as you expel them causing you to shoot up ward a bit while taking damage, therefore making for a fast recovery. In Brawl, it take a lot longer for the mines to explode, which threw me off completely. But I guess they put that in there because too many people were being cheap with Samus. Now if they could work on Pikachu's down-B.....
Honestly, what was mentioned above, was pretty much the only thing I didn't like about the game, and even that is really nothing that would hurt the score at all. Overall Brawl gets a 9.8 for the simple fact that not much changed; its still as fun as the previous titles, it never really gets old or boring, its a great party or solo game, and, hey, its Nintendo. I would pick this one up as soon as possible; just don't get the Prima player's guide, wait for the Nintendo Power version. Its not a mistake you want to make.
9.8/10
Thanks for Reading
-JD
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This is our first double review. There will be more in the future, its basically a game that gets reviewed by two of us, big deal right? Anyway, I'm going to try and not touch on the same things as Josh. One thing I noticed after a week of pounding away at this game is that it blows all other fighting games out of the water. It may not be super violent or have fatalities, but it has everything else. 35 Characters, and some of those 35 have 2 characters within (i.e. zelda/shiek). Not only that but there are an obscene amount of stages and all bring such a different effect to what happens through the battle that it never really gets old. The reason I say it blows all other fighters out of the water is because there is no other fighter that you can play for 3 hours straight and still not be bored to death. I love this game.
The character list has been greatly improved but not only that, but even the clone characters are different. Unlike in Melee where Fox and Falco had nearly the same exact moves, they're actually a little different now. To the point where it's noticeable. A lot of the "cheap factor" has been removed from characters to. Samus can't be cheap with the bomb jump, and unlike what Josh said, I think they somewhat remedied pikachu's thunderbolt because of how so many of the stages have upper levels to block the lightning out.
There are multiple ways to unlock all of the characters, which is always good. I took what I felt was the easy route and had them all join me in the adventure mode "subspace emissary". The adventure mode is actually quite good, unlike what some might expect. It's also quite long too. I finished it today actually with the game timer at 6:07 but I need to figure out what is left for me to do because it says 91% complete. I also unlocked the final remaining characters today so I finally have the full cast. All of the characters have their strengths and weaknesses, so there isn't really a dominant character. The dominance factor comes from the individual being able to make up for and hide those weaknesses.
Apart from the usual brawls and SSE modes, the all star mode makes its return from melee and a new mode called boss mode. All-star mode is just like the one from melee, and I haven't gotten around to playing through boss mode yet. There is also a plethora of event matches (41 single player and they even have multiplayer ones now). Stadium mode has the return of home run derby, target practice, and the new training mode. The home run contest can now be done with 2 players as well. The SSE can also be done in 2 players (forgot to mention that earlier).
In the end, the game is phenomenal. The graphics are gorgeous and all elements of gameplay are fun and easy to use, I love it. I also give Super Smash Brother: Brawl a 9.8 out of 10.
9.8/10
-CA
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