"The best smash game ever"

Even though I've already submitted a few reviews prior to this, I can safely say that I have NO idea where to start with this one. And even though It's going to become cliche to hand this game a perfect score (or close to it), I can safely say that as a game, this is about as close to perfect as we're ever going to get. Whether it's your cup of tea or not, it's hard to deny the labor of love that is Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Game Play:

I'm going to make an attempt to cut to the chase here, so here we go. For the uninitiated, Smash Bros. is a fighting (note: fighting, not party) series that allows various characters from Nintendo franchises to duke it out in a battle to the finish. Unlike traditional fighters which use a life bar system, Smash breaks convention and introduces players to a percentage based damage system. The more damage a character accrues, the further back they'll fly from each successive attack. And ultimately, once enough damage has been inflicted, they can be knocked off the stage for the KO.

For this reason, a lot of fighting game purists (aka snobs) refuse to acknowledge Smash as a true fighting game series. But with a seemingly simple mechanic, Smash manages to inject a little bit of realism in an otherwise chaotic experience. As a fan of martial arts, wrestling, boxing and just fighting in general, I can safely say that I have seen more than enough fights where the losing party turns it around and wins in the end, despite getting trounced in the early goings of the fight. And while comebacks are possible in standard fighters, it doesn't quite provide the same feeling that a comeback provides in the smash series due to the length of the fights.

In another rather large change to the series, Brawl has taken a considerable step back in the speed department. Compared to Melee, Brawl moves at a snail's pace: And I LOVE IT. Just watch any videos of high-level Melee game play, and it's a blur of characters moving around at breakneck speeds, that's just as hard to watch as it is to play. Brawl brings it back to the basics, which is what every good fighting game series should do. Distance, priority, range, speed - it's all here, and the slower place allows for more methodical planning and strategy. So do yourself a favor and ignore all of the mental midgets who claim that slow is bad. Street Fighter II is a ridiculously slow fighter, but it's also one of the greatest games of all time. What appears to be a casual, party based experience at first, turns out to be much more in the end.

Speaking of the basics, each character has two attack buttons at their disposal, one for basic attacks, and the other for specials. While this might sound limiting at first, a simple tilt or smash in a direction will result in another attack for the character, allowing 7 basic attacks and four specials per character. And once the character takes to the air, they're given access to five unique aerial moves as well, with a few changes to their specials as well. Again, this might come across as a gimped experience, but unlike other fighters that are more heavily based on combos, Smash is geared more towards movement and one's positioning. And this is why the percent system is so rewarding.

A simple short-ranged uppercut might be effective when the opponent is in the low percentages, where they won't be knocked back as far, but as the damage rises (and with it the knock back), a wider, arced attack might prove to be more useful. So while Smash doesn't have combos in the traditional sense, it rewards players for learning the situational properties of attacks and linking them together. And seeing as how players can leap, roll, and fly through the huge environments, I think you can see why Smash is much more than a party game.

While the roster might be controversial to some, I am more than pleased with the 35 characters that were given to us. Iconic characters such a Link, Mario and Samus have returned, while many fan favorites such as Marth and Shiek/Zelda have returned. New additions such as Olimar and R.O.B. help to flesh out the roster as well, and you'll be hard pressed to find two characters that play identical to one another, "clones" be damned. What might appear to be similar at first, might end up playing completely different in the end. Play before you judge? What a concept!

Yet another huge upgrade to Melee are the stages. The first massive update you'll notice to the stages is the graphics (which I'll touch on later) and the second is the unique touch added to each one. The Wario Ware stage, for instance, infuses the classic mini-games that made the series famous in the heat of battle. And for successfully completing the mini-game, your character might receive a bit or health or an invincibility star. Or take the Luigi's Mansion stage, that allows combatants to destroy the very foundation of the building and bring it crashing down into a pile of rubble, which is later rebuilt - all done seamlessly within the fight.

Sure, the game play is tight and functional, there are a lot of characters, and the stages are neat. But what else is there? Many classic modes return as well, such as the aptly named Classic Mode, which functions as the game's "Arcade mode", if you will. Obviously, there's a versus mode (With online play, that unfortunately I was unable to play in time for this review, stupid wireless router!) and the Event Mode returns as well. There's also the Home Run Contest, Multi-man Melee, All-Star mode and Target tests as well. But the real icing on the cake when it comes to modes is the Sub Space Emissary, a new Adventure mode that could have made a damn fine stand-alone game if they wanted to. While it's not perfect, it'll definitely keep you occupied for about 7-8 hours each playthough, which compared to the 15 minutes it took to complete the previous adventure mode, is a pretty darn good trade-off if you ask me.

With a new physics engine, the addition of assist trophies, co-op modes, the collectible trophies and stickers, unlockable music tracks, online multiplayer - All in all, this game is jam packed with features, and how ANYONE could complain about it's quality is beyond me. To not like it's style is one thing, but to say that it's not good is completely ridiculous. I can barely keep track of it all in a review, can you imagine the people who MADE it? Give these guys some credit - this isn't a cheap cash-in sequel here, folks. Oh, did I mention that there's also a stage builder? Yeah.

Graphics:

Despite the fact that the jump from Gamecube to Wii isn't quite as large as some fans might want it to be, the graphics do the job, and quite nicely at that. The textures have been improved, but more importantly, the animations have been improved tremendously. I can't remember the last time I was mesmerized by a character jumping or standing in their idle stance, but small touches like these are what make this game so good. And just try to tell me that Mr. Game and Watch or Wario's movement isn't awesome.

Like I mentioned earlier, the biggest visual update was to the stages, more so than the characters themselves. Lylat cruise, for example, is simply stunning - it starts out aboard a starship that's blasting through asteroids, then comes burning in through the atmosphere, and cruises through the clouds for a moment before shooting back out into space, right in the center of a heated space battle. The first time I played that stage, I was more focused on what was going on in the background than the actual fight itself! And don't even get me started on the splendor that is Final Destination. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! Backgrounds shouldn't be allowed to look this good. Then there's the cel-shaded boat stage - You know what, I'm just going to stop here.

Stages are phenomenal, and even with all of the crazy things going on, it looks great. You might see some 2-D sprites running along the screen with Twilight Princess Link while fighting the flat Mr. Game and Watch while battling on the squiggly lined Wario Ware stage - and it all looks perfectly normal! And best of all - this is what stylized graphics are supposed to look like. Suda51, I love you man, but this is how it's done.

Sound and Music:

Now that I look back on it, I think that despite the MANY additions and improvements, maybe it's the aural category that's the most enhanced. First of all, allow me to say that one of the reasons why I gave this game a perfect 10 is heavily influenced by this category right here. Why? Because this has, hands down, the BEST video game soundtrack ever known to man. Seriously. First of all, there are over THREE HUNDRED TRACKS. That's disgusting. The next closest to that, would be the sand-box style games like Grand Theft Auto and Saint's Row. But unlike those games that simply yank songs that they liked from various artists, all of these songs are made FOR a video game, no licensed "pick and choose" garbage here.

A few of these songs seem to have been taken directly from the classic games, while others have been gloriously remixed for this title. And the remixes are very, very plentiful. But not only have they been remixed, SOMEHOW they managed to group together some of the most prolific composers in video game history, and convinced them to collaborate and create this gem of a sound track. Motoi Sakuraba, Yasunori Matsuda, Koji Kondo, Nobuo Uematsu, Yuzo Koshiro,and many, MANY more, all on the same sound track? Are you freakin' serious? Forgive me for sounding as unprofessional as I possibly can, but for those who care about original music in their games, this is seriously, hands down, without a shadow of a doubt, the biggest blessing to the musical world of video games that we'll probably ever have.

And even though the music is much more impressive, the sound effects work to perfection. Quite a few of them have been changed, and some disappointingly omitted from this title. What happened to the sound Ness' bat makes? But thankfully, nostalgia has been preserved in almost every other aspect. Mario's jump, Samus' bombs, Kirby's inhale - they all sound just how we expect them to, and crystal clear to boot. Let's not forget the voice work, either. I'm especially happy with Ike and DeDeDe's voices, and over all, the audio is a complete package. No major complaints here.

Closing Thoughts:

Seriously, this game is video game perfection. It might not be the best fighting game, it might not be the best adventure game, some might even hate it (or foolishly think it's nothing more than a party game). But to deny the staggering amount of effort, time, and content that went into this title is a complete and utter injustice, as is giving it any less than a perfect score. If I could, I would go back and knock down the scores on all the other games I've reviewed, because that's just how good this title is. Ignore the haters, and give this masterpiece a shot. You'll be hard pressed to deny it's excellence.

Pros:
*Excellent new physics engine and speed
*The most incredible soundtrack ever assembled
*Amazing graphics and animations
*Wealth of modes, options, and features

Cons:
*Tripping is annoying
*All of the content is somewhat overwhelming

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/21/08

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