"Not only the best game for the Wii, but possibly Nintendo's best game ever!"

Wow, it's finally here, the game every Nintendo fan has been waiting for. Super Smash Brothers Brawl is probably one of Nintendo's greatest games ever made, if not, it's greatest achievement.

This is the third installment in the Super Smash Brother series, the first being Super Smash Brothers for the Nintendo 64 and the second being Super Smash Brothers Melee for the Gamecube. Basically, the series is are fighting games where all of Nintendo's greatest stars come to duke it out. It's what you have always dreamed of eh? Except Brawl introduces new aspects to it that it's two prequels never had. One of the big ones is that Brawl is the first Super Smash Brothers to feature third party characters. That's right, two of the many playable characters are Sonic the Hedgehog (by Sega) and Solid Snake (by Konami). Unfortunately, these are the only playable third party characters in the game (sorry Megaman), but it's still something. Especially since everyone was dying to see Mario and Sonic duke it out since the early 90s.

This game also introduces many new stages, characters, items, and other great stuff. Also, this is the first Super Smash Brothers to feature an online mode. That's right, you can face people from all across the world. So you don't have to beat on a level 9 computer like you did in Melee to keep in practice.

Also a new feature, is that you can create a your own stage that you would fight on and you can even submit it to Nintendo, and if you are lucky, they will accept it and post it online for one day. Another new feature, is being able to record your matches and watch them over again. This also applies to online so if you save a match, you can watch it again. Although this takes up memory so you better be careful.

Overall, this game is definitely one of the greatest games ever created.

Gameplay: 10/10

This kind of goes without saying. It's gameplay is probably where Brawl shines the most in. This is very similar to Melee but not the exact same. Characters in this game aren't as fast as they were in Melee, which is actually a good thing because fast characters seemed to dominate in Melee, therefore slowing them down a notch would make it more balanced. Also, there is no wavedashing or L-Cancelling (which were basically minor glitches with character movement in Melee which many people used to their advantage). That's also good because when you play online, it will be more balanced for the casual players.

Nintendo introduced a new technique called the "Final Smash." Basically, you'll see a Smash Ball floating all around the screen (it has the Super Smash symbol and is flashing glowing rainbow colours, you'll know it when you see it), and even though it is considered an item, you don't pick it up... instead you have to beat it until it releases it's power into you. After it does this, you press your standard special move button, and you'll unleash your move. Each one is different with each character. Watch it though, because lots of people will be fighting for the Final Smash, and this can really turn the tide of battle.

This game even brings back event matches which are basically challenges you can do with different characters. It replaces the Fighting Wire Frames with Alloys which come in the colours red, blue, gold, and green and each colour has their own design and move set.

After beating Subspace Emissary, you'll unlock the boss mode where you basically fight the all the bosses with any character you choose. Also, instead of inserting coins in a lottery machine and wait for a trophy to come out like you did in Melee, you go to this coin launcher where you shoot coins out and you can defeat different enemies for stickers and you can shoot different trophies to earn them. There is even a section called "Masterpieces" where you basically play different classical Nintendo games for a certain amount of time. These are basically demos that you can try out and if you like them, you can download them in your Wii Shop Channel on your Wii.

When you play online, the gameplay will be so much better, and you'll have such a fun time beating someone from someplace else in the world. It always soothes my heart knowing I just beat someone from another country or another place in the country I live in.

So I'm giving the gameplay a perfect ten. Sakurai really has outdone himself.

Story 9/10

Normally a game like this wouldn't have a story mode, but Sakurai decided this will be the first Super Smash Brothers game to feature an actual story mode. In fact, it is called "Subspace Emissary." It starts off with Mario and Kirby entering an arena and you select which one you have to be, and after you do you fight the other. It turns out just to be a friendly match but after, a character named "The Minister" arrives and wreaks all sorts of havoc. Here is where the adventure begins, and as you progress you'll see more of Brawl's playable characters. Each of the own characters starts off on their own, but as the story enhances, all the characters' stories will eventually link to each other and they will all have one common goal. Included in this story, are bosses (yes, actual boss fights). Each has a health bar, so you have to keep attacking them and dodging their attacks until their health bar drops to nothing. Some bosses will seem familiar from other Nintendo games, while others will be completely exclusive to this game. There was unfortunately no voice acting, which could have made this mode a little better. Also, the levels might seem to get repetitive, but the cut scenes are gorgeous, and some are even humorous.
While not the perfect storyline, it is still well done, and a worthy addition to the game.

Graphics and Sound 10/10

This is probably the best looking Wii game up to date. Like I mentioned before, it has gorgeous cut scenes in Subspace Emissary. The characters also look awesome as well as some of the new awesome stages Nintendo has added. The backgrounds are simply terrific and the stages themselves look awesome. The music of this game is also amazing. Nintendo revived many classic songs and even remixed some. They also added a few more which were beautifully done. To be honest, I think this game has the best orchestrated music, quantity AND quality wise ever made in gaming. This part deserves a perfect score.

Controls 10/10

Yes, another perfect score. Brawl lets you play it through more than one method (four methods to be exact). You can play it with the Wii Remote and Nun chuck, Wii Remote on it's side (like you would for NES Virtual Console games), Classic Controller, and Gamecube controller. The best method is probably the Gamecube controller, mainly because if you were into Melee, switching to Brawl will not be that different, but if you want to try something completely new, the Wii Remote with Nun chuck controller is the way to go. Also, not only do you have many choices, you can also customize your controls. That means that you can change the commands for what each button does. Not only does Nintendo give you choices, they also let you change the controls for what makes you the most comfortable.

Online 9/10

The online is not perfect, but it's pretty darn close. Here you can either Brawl with your friends or brawl with anyone around the world. There is a possibility of lag depending on your's or other peoples' connection and/or the distance between the people brawling (someone in North America facing someone in Japan could result in a bit of lag).

When you decide to battle with anyone, they are always 2 minute matches on any map. There are three options:

1) You can watch a random match and bet coins on who you think will win.

2) You can do team battle where it is you and some other person versus two other people.

3) You can do a free for all with two to four other people. Sometimes it could be hard to find other people to Brawl with while other times it can be easy. You and the other people you are brawling with have a choice of item settings and stage preference, but when it starts it picks either yours or the other peoples' settings randomly, so you may not get then one you chose.

On the other hand, you can choose to battle with your friends. Here you have more options. You can set it for any amount of time or play a stock match (where you have lives and the last one standing wins). To get friends, you have to get your Friend Code and exchange it with other people to get their Friend Code. This is a much easier method to play online matches.

Playtime and Replayability 10/10

I can almost guarantee that you will be playing this game over and over again. It's multiplayer is terrific, and you'll keep wanting to play against people online. You might even want to play it's Subspace Emissary again. The Subspace takes about eight to nine hours to complete and you might need to add an extra hour or two to get one hundred percent.
For years to come, you'll probably still be playing this game. If you liked Melee, you'll love Brawl. This section also receives a perfect ten out of ten.

Rent or buy: If you own a Wii, I would definitely recommend purchasing this game. Even if you aren't into fighting games, I would give this one a chance as this might make you look the other way.

So I'm giving this game a perfect score. It definitely deserves it. Nintendo has really worked hard on this and it definitely shows. This game is awesome and definitely one of Nintendo's greatest hits.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/19/08

Game Release: Super Smash Bros. Brawl (US, 03/09/08)