"Super Smash Bros. Brawl is more aptly named Melee 0.5."

The Melee versus Brawl debate has been going on for long enough and some silence needs to be put to it. Some say that Melee is better because it is more technical, some say Brawl is better because it is more fun. Some say you can't compare the games because they're different games.

However, you can compare the two games. Brawl was supposed to succeed Melee and thus improve it, and after seven years it did not seem to do that at all.

Let's take a look at the improvement from Super Smash Brothers 64 to Melee. In two years this is what they added: airdodging, downthrows, upthrows, spotdodging (I think downsmashes too), forward special, chargeable smashes, tether recoveries, and lightshielding. That's just off the top of my head, and only the things that are immediately recognized from playing the game (Basically I'm excluding wavedashing and the like here).

What did they add from Melee to Brawl (which, by the way, was a span of seven years)? About nothing. They changed airdodges and they added stooljumping. That's all I can think of--and tripping, let's not forget that. Otherwise they just let you grab the ledge from both sides and there isn't much else.

Oh, let me not forget the oh-so important other additions that have no affect on gameplay. The choice of songs. A cool add-in, but what's the big deal? Why play dumbed down, unimproved game just because there are a few cool songs? The problem is that the focus was taken off of gameplay. Let me quote Sakurai in reference to Brawl's theme song, "It's such an important song, you could even call it the core of this game." Wow. The core of the game is a song. No wonder the gameplay leaves me bored.

We basically got bribed. They added some flashy stuff like better graphics, new items, better songs, and some new characters. With these flashy things let's look at what they took from us:

They took out lightshielding, l-cancelling, non-fastfalled d-airs with the c-stick, and I think the ability to let go of the edge with no DI by hitting the c-stick away from the stage. This I don't even understand. They actually removed some things from Brawl that were in Melee. Even on the simplest level, there are less options in Brawl. That's not me talking about wavedashing or whatever. I'm talking about with just the very basics, the game has less options.

Oh, and this one I absolutely hate about Brawl. They removed momentum. Yeah, that's right. Momentum is not in Brawl. Here's a little experiment for you. Go pop in Melee and go to training mode. Select Captain Falcon and go to a flat stage, preferrably Final Destination as it's a very big stage. First stand in place, jump, and move your directional influence to the right (basically hold right on the control stick when in the air). Note how far you go. Now, go to the left side of the stage and then run to the right side, as you're about to reach the right side, jump and keep the directional influence to the right. Did you see how far you went? Did you see that ridiculous amount of momentum? Now, try the same thing in Brawl. You should notice that Captain Falcon, the second fastest character in Brawl jumps the same length from a standing jump as he does from a running jump.

How stupid do they think we are? We know from real life that a person should jump farther if they run first. It's simple physics, the conservation of momentum. Melee has this in its engine, but Brawl does not. So tell me this, why should the successor of a game ignore basic physics programming when its predecessor does not? And especially when this makes the game shallower.

And to go deeper? No combos (almost), no wavedashing (I usually am really annoyed when people mention this one, but I have to admit it. After playing Melee again I do realize that wavedashing allows for just even more options), no DECENT chainthrows (realize that basically all of them in Brawl are absolutely ridiculous. Need I mention the release grab?), and no directional airdodging. While regular airdodging seems like it would make the game more realistic or whatever, it just detracts from the game. Directional airdodging made your approaches less predictable and added much easier wavelanding than the wavelanding in Brawl (which is basically just doing non-swordplant aerials on slopes. Big whoop). And approach strategies in general are lacking in Brawl (in quantity, quality, and depth).

Melee demands more of the mind. That's not my evaluation at the end of this--I actually feel that my brain is more involved and that I have to THINK more when playing Melee. I like to think, how about you? I don't want to play some mindless game. If it's not challenging mentally, why play? Let me even rephrase that. If it's not stimulating mentally, why play? They're about the same thing, really.

So we've heard the technical side. What about the 'casual players' ? I myself mostly only play among my friends, and let me say: I have a lot more fun with Melee. Because it gets me more involved I flip out more when I lose in ridiculous ways (which is part of the fun) and feel more satisfied when I win (Or when I, even, pull of combos ;p ). The game is just...better. I can still have fun with Brawl every now and then, and might even do a Brawl tournament or two for fun. But, I do have to say, Brawl leaves me dissatisfied and bored.

Some people say that Brawl has a better one player mode. Are you serious? I have way more fun in Melee's one player mode. Brawl's events are stupid, classic mode just has a bunch of stupid CPUs, and need I mention the fact that many complained about the length of SSE? Sure, Brawl is flashier, but in the end, Melee's 1 player mode is even more fun.

So, now I wonder, what are we still debating? I don't think there is anyone who can say and prove that Brawl is or ever will be more deep or more competitive than Melee. It's pretty easy to see Melee is even more fun than Brawl. As I said earlier, I still play the game, but I enjoy it far less than Melee (and this is coming from a guy who not only played solely Brawl for the first few months after it came out, but also didn't even want to go back to Melee even if it were more competitive).

I have more to say, but I think it doesn't even need to be added. Melee is an amazing game, and Brawl is a good game in its own right.

However, Brawl does not have the competitive level, the longevity, or the allure that Melee has retained for the full seven years it has been out.

I'd give Brawl a 3/10. It's a decent game to play for a month or so, but in the end is boring and doesn't even hold a flame to Super Smash Brothers 64, let alone Melee.


And with that, I'm out.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 07/01/08

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