Super Smash Brothers Brawl Review

Super Smash Bros. Brawl


Review by: King Zarthius

Year released: 2008| System/Console: Nintendo Wii






After many years of delays and eager waiting, Super Smash Brothers Brawl finally hit the shelves in the middle of 2008. Super Smash Bros. Brawl, also commonly abbreviated as SSBB, is the third game in the side-scrolling, beat-em-up, fighting series. It combines elements of nearly all of Nintendo's history into one great game.



From the start, Brawl is noticibly different than it's predecessor, Melee. There are loads of new items, characters, and features. While most gladly accept many of these changes, some changes may make competitive Melee players a bit disappointed. The removed exploits were removed probably due to the fact that most of the things removed were indeed merely exploits or glitches in the game, and not truly meant to be there. Brawl is made much more balanced, and a great deal more accessible to casual players, especially new players that have never experienced the series before.





The roster is also very different from Melee, having a nice blend of old-school and modern characters. There are two characters in particular which shocked almost all the people who had learned of them before the release. These are Solid Snake, and Sonic. Snake, from the Metal Gear series, was probably the more surprising of the two, because Metal Gear as a whole, is a series which is very different from all other Nintendo games. It almost seems as if Snake is a fish out of water, that he doesn't really fit in Brawl, but after further speculation one will find, he fits just as well as the Nintendo classics. As for Sonic, it was interesting to see SEGA's and Nintendo's representatives fight it out in the same game. There are also many unexpected characters, which are equally welcomed; Pit, King Dedede, Captain Olimar & Pikman, and R.O.B.. And with that we get a nice revival of some desperately-needed Nintendo favourites. Most characters will be unlocked by playing the single-player (or co-op) adventure mode, Subspace Emissary. This is the first time in the series that there has been a “true” single-player mode, and this time there’s also plenty of beautiful cut-scenes to go along with it. While the plot is simple, it follows exactly what Brawl represents. The Subspace Emissary mode is unusually long, and overall quite pleasing. Starting off slow, the Subspace Emissary mode picks up and becomes quite engrossing. This is quite possibly the most fun way to unlock characters, yet sadly it is the only way to unlock certain characters.




There has also been a great change to items. Many of the favourites are still available; The Baseball bat, Hammers, Pokéballs, and Bomb-Ombs. The two biggest additions to the items are Smash Balls and Assist Trophies. Assist Trophies are similar to Pokéballs, but instead of pokemon, characters from various series will come and help you out, or possibly hinder you and everyone else. Some of the more interesting ones include having Mr. Resetti cause a majour distraction (which indeed gets quite annoying). My personal favourite is Isaac from Golden Sun, he causes a giant hand to push anything in its way off the stage, resulting in death, this is very hard to avoid and very useful when obtained.





Now onto Smash Balls. Smash Balls are a floating item that must be attacked in order to obtain. Once it is attacked enough, it will break and your character will glow. You can use this attack by pressing the B button, but note you can save it for as long as you'd like, unless it gets knocked out of you by another player. There are several different types of Final Smashes, these include; transformations, instant K.O. moves, or a taking control of a LandMaster, by Fox and Falco. The LandMaster warping in, is argubly the most useful of the Final Smashes, and usually results in the most kills. The one which is most pleasing to the eye, is definitly Bowser's transformation into Giga Bowser. You are a giant machine of death for a limited amount of time, don't let your opponents make a fool out of you.





As if all of the different characters were not enough, the developers have also loaded up this game with a huge selection of game-inspired stages. Shadow Moses Island from Metal Gear Solid is pretty awesome, but if you're looking for something a little odd; search no further than Luigi's Mansion, Game & Watch, and Pictochat. There are also stages from Melee (direct ports with no changes) and a variety of unlockable stages. It is a bit dissapointing that they removed some great stages from Brawl, such as the original 64 stages, and some Melee classics.





For those creative gamers out there, the new stage creator mode will be a blast to fiddle with. Players start out with a few pieces, but more can be unlocked by creating stages, and playing on them. This mode is very addictive, most times, players will spend more time making stages then playing on them. It is a great feeling to get ideas of what a real Smash Bros. stage should be like, then being able to put that idea into work.

There are four different control schemes for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The simplest control scheme by far is the Wii Remote on its own, horizontally and played like an old school NES game.

All of the control options:

• Wii Remote (held horizontally)
• Wii Remote + Nunchuk (analog stick for movement)
• Wii Remote + Classic Controller
  
• GameCube controller
  

I personally prefer the GameCube controller because it offers the most traditional style of gameplay. I would also imagine that the Classic Controller would offer some appeal to players who don't own GameCube controllers. But I, personally, am not a fan of the Classic Controller. The least versatile control scheme is the Wii Remote by itself, but it is the easiest for beginners.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl is best with a group of friends, mainly because of the nature of the game. There is nothing more satisfying than the absolutely frantic battles, carried out simultaneously by four players. The game will gain even a higher level of madness when you throw in support items like Assist Trophies and Pokeballs.

One of the cooler features in the game is rotation. You can change this setting, if you have more than four people in order to ensure that everyone has an equal chance to play the game. Rotary supports up to 20 players in all and can see who remain and who gets to be swapped. If you prefer, there is also a tournament mode, to establish supremacy brawling among your friends.

The battle game-play mechanics are stellar. Because Super Smash Bros. Brawl does not really bring anything that all new to the franchise, everything they have done refines the best elements from Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee. This is not a bad thing, in fact, it is the exact opposite. I'm glad that they do not tinker with the recipe for success.

Finally, the feature which does not really affect the main game, but is possibly the greatest addition to Smash to date, Nintendo Wi-Fi compatibility. Through this mode we can play with random people around the world, or with our friends. Also you can sumbit your stages, replays, and screenshots. Friends are added via friend codes which is a majour downside, and only 64 people can be on your friend roster at one time. You can create four phrases which are activated as the corresponding taunt is pressed. These four phrases are sadly the only method of communication online, aside from a small status bar. Private games are fully customizable, but all random matches are 2 minutes long by default. There are a few other modes online, such as the Home-run Contest, and spectator mode allowing people to watch other players' games.

Super Smash Bros. brawl is not without fault - the Subspace Emissary and online play could use some work - but these mistakes are all secondary to the sheer awe this game brings to a gamer. Super Smash Bros.Brawl is the absolute best game on the Nintendo Wii today. If you have a Nintendo Wii, especially if you are a fan of fighting games you should head to the nearest game-store and pick up a copy.


This is a must-have for all Nintendo fans. Start Brawling!

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Pros (+):

• Huge Roster of characters
• Fighting Engine simple enough for beginners, yet complex enough for experts
• Endless replayability
  
• Fantastic Multiplayer
• Retro Masterpieces
• Smash Balls/Final Smashes
  

Cons (-):

• Online Play is a bit dissapointing
• Friend Codes and a limited amount of friends (64) are a shame
  
• Masterpiece demos are a bit too short
• Subspace Emissary could use some work
• Not really bringing anything new to the franchise (not really a con, could fit in pros as well)

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