"The Return of the King - Brawl is back and better than ever"

'Hype' can be a double-edged sword for a movie, a book, or a game. There is always the risk that the hype will be too much and tire people out before the thing comes out, or it simply won't live up to all the expectations. This is likely to be a problem for Smash Brothers Brawl, hands down, the best game available on Wii right now. Everything excellent from Melee is back and better than before, with new modes, new stages, a whopping sixteen new characters, and overall brilliant production standards. And yet, there will be haters. Many of them will be people who absolutely loved Melee. Many of them will be folks who just raised their hopes too much, or had false expectations. A game this big is bound to make waves and disappoint a few, but my position for the record is clear: Smash Brothers Brawl is flippin' awesome.

Gameplay

The fact that, along with the Wii remote and classic controller, one can play Brawl with a standard gamecube controller should be a clue as to how little fundamentally has changed. This is a good thing. The gameplay and mechanics were always the best part of Smash Brothers, so there was relatively little demand to make fundamental changes. What they've done is just added more. The new characters are all well balanced and will fit right in. My favorite rookies are Pitt, Diddy, and Ike, though there's bound to be a following for everyone. Sonic and Snake are both unique and take time to get used to (Sonic has no projectiles and Snake is just...weird, but awesomely so). The added final smash system is another great element to spice up the multi-player mode. Rather than using a charge bar, the game uses a floating colorful ball called the Smashball, which allows the character that destroys it to use their final smash technique.

Some folks may not like the semi-randomness of it, as the ball can appear anywhere and some characters can destroy it more easily than others. Outside of hardcore tournaments, recreational players will have no dilemma. There are also several new items and dozens of new stages, all of which pose unique threats. It would take ten thousand words to describe it all, but I'll just say that whatever you don't like, you don't have to use, but on the whole, the game offers so much variety and creativity that it's hard to complain.

That doesn't mean it's impossible though. Like many others, I have issues with the roster. I won't get into who I would cut and who I would add because its irrelevant; these characters all come from their own franchises, and the developers could not possibly have satisfied everyone. To those who wish there were more 3rd party characters, I would ask them which company do they think is making this game? Nintendo has a long history and in many ways, the Smash Brothers franchise is a sort of museum. It is as purely a Nintendo game as it can get. Snake and Sonic were added to appease a rabid fan base and to spice things up. Now that same rabid fan base wants more, clamoring for Megaman or Cloud or whoever. The word for this sort of "fan" is spoiled. You play because the game is well made and fun, not because of gimmicks. It's not a fair gripe. A more legitimate complaint, I think, is the cloning issue.

Wolf/Falco/Fox, Ganondorf/C. Falcon, Link/Toon Link, Ness/Lucas, Mario/Luigi - all of these pairings make for very similar gameplay. Thankfully there's no Dr. Mario or Pichu, and the C. Falcon and Fox clones have been tweaked a bit and play differently than in Melee. Still, they have most of the same moves from before and I think Nintendo should have gone further. These characters have evolved in their own respective series. Give Ganon a sword for crying out loud, give Luigi a vacuum, and give Falcon a Sniper Rifle. Even worse, Link/Toon Link, Ness/Lucas, and Fox/Falco/Wolf, - these combos all have the same final smash, which to me is just lazy, particularly the last set of three. The Link's are the same person and the Earthbound kids have the same powers. But Fox, Falco, and Wolf are three unique people with unique personalities, talents, and loyalties. Why should they all have exactly the same final move? Bad form on Nintendo's part, but still, a relatively small gripe when you consider all the other good stuff.

There are also bound to be complaints about the difficulty level, particularly with regard to unlocking characters, stages, and other secrets. Personally, I found several of the event matches tricky, at least on a hard difficulty level. The five difficulty levels, including extreme, should satisfy most casual to semi-serious players. To those who think that it should be much harder to unlock characters, I would refer them to the post before this one. Much as we forget it, Brawl is not like Virtual Fighter 5 or Ninja Gaiden. It's not a traditional fighting game and it's not really aimed at a serious gamer audience. The whole vibe of Nintendo Wii is user-friendly family entertainment. Nintendo has continuously announced and advertised Snake and Sonic as secret characters. Most certainly, they don't want to force people buying the game for the novelty of non-Nintendo characters to have to play thirty hours just to see Snake shoot Mario with a grenade launcher.

Finally, I want to mention the online mode. It's totally idiot-proof and requires little set-up. You can participate in random matches, team battles, or use friend codes to set up your own tournaments. There's also a spectator mode where you can watch people duke it out and even bet coins you've earned playing other modes. Since the game is only a few days old, many folks are still working out the kinks. There are some minor issues of lag depending on one's internet connection and the game's settings. Honestly, my impression was good for the most part, but it may change as I try playing with several friends at a time and doing longer sessions. For now, I'll say that it's very easy to use and perhaps the most important added feature in terms of the game's longevity.

Story

You'd think I would skip this for a fighting game but Brawl actually has a surprising amount to offer here. The expanded one player mode, aka "The Subspace Emissary," is quite a trip. It'll take an average player between five and ten hours to finish, and the depth and variety of the stages is much more than most people could have expected. Again, compared to Melee, this is a huge step up. With the ability to recruit new characters, create fight teams, and explore and re-explore huge stages again and again, Brawl has gone out of its way to offer more to the one-player audience.

The plot is not too complicated. It involves an evil robot turning Nintendo icons into statues. There are numerous cut scenes and genuinely funny moments when characters meet (Diddy and Fox make for an amusing pair). Still, it's not exactly Lost Odyssey or anything; talented Brawlers will fly through it in a few hours, and inevitably, some will complain. But for perspective's sake, let's remember that besides Soul Calibur, few fighting games have a one player mode this expansive and varied. And Smash Brothers isn't even really a one-player game. Certainly not Brawl, what with it's massive online mode and four player gameplay.

Graphics

Brawl doesn't reinvent the wheel in terms of graphics. It's a fine-looking game, but it doesn't stand out among the latest generation of consoles. Much of it looks like it could have been made on Gamecube. Nevertheless, the characters are more detailed, and there's more of them. Plus more stages, more items, more attacks, and, oh yeah, the final smashes, which generally look amazing. The character models are all smooth and move fluidly. Pause the game in battle and rotate the camera from time to time, and you'll really appreciate how meticulously crafted each moment of the game is. From facial expressions to costumes to character animations and taunts, it's clear to see that this game has been very carefully made. Could it look better? Probably, but I doubt much.

Sound

Generally excellent, with maybe a few things one can nitpick. Smash Brothers has always done a good job of retaining the sounds from each character's respective game. Sonic's jump sounds exactly like that bizarre pitch from Genesis, the pokemon all sound like their anime counterparts, and Snake's voice actor has returned to make him authentic. The fight noises are sharp and satisfying, particularly Ike, with his heavy sword attacks. The music is also marvelous. With such a variety of songs and composers, there's bound to be several stages people will always want to use. As I said, you can nitpick here a little bit: some of the Melee orchestrations and arrangements were better in my opinion, but others will disagree. Several Melee stages have returned and with the sound test and ability to unlock tracks from playing different game modes, there's definitely something for everyone here.

Conclusion

Brawl will be played, discussed, praised and dissed for years to come as old-schoolers and newcomers, casual gamers and tournament champions come together after March 9th to see what Nintendo has achieved. In my view, they've fulfilled all of their promises. With ten more characters than its predecessor, almost half of the total 35 being new, splendid graphics, gorgeous music, spectacular new stages, online play, trophies and stickers, new rules and tournament controls, a stage editor program, Sonic and Snake, a huge one player mode, final smashes, and...and...See my point? Even with the cloning issue and the potential imperfections in the roster and internet battles, the game is just too much fun to skip. As I said before, most of the complaints will wither away once people start enjoying it. That certainly was the case with me.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/12/08

Game Release: Dairantou Smash Brothers X (JP, 01/31/08)