"While it isn't perfect, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is a worthy sequel to it's predecessors."

Super Smash Bros. is a franchise known for its collaborative effort by pitting various Nintendo characters against each other. You have big name characters, such as Mario or Link, and you have obscure characters, like the Ice Climbers and arguably Pit. Each game expands on its predecessor in terms of characters and stages. But Brawl does more than just add stages and characters. The new features it has to offer are overwhelmingly huge. Brawl is a much more organized package that comes with much more. For example, the soundtrack contains nearly thirty times the amount of songs a normal game would have. With a whopping 287 full songs, Brawl is already able to appeal to both old and new fans of various franchises. This is just one example of the many new things that Brawl has to offer.

One thing that has been completely revamped was the Adventure Mode. It is now packaged with a fully-fledged storyline. While it does have its flaws, it is much better than the bore that was Adventure Mode in Melee. It has the same concept for the most part (go from Point A to Point B), but it's much less redundant, and it offers a Co-Op mode as well. Depending on the scene or area of the game you are in, you're given a specific cast of characters. You may choose who you want to play as first, second, third, and fourth (meaning, when you die as your first choice, you play as your second choice and so on). If you're aiming for Co-Op, then Player 2 make pick some other characters as well. Of course, you won't always be receiving more than four characters, but four is the maximum amount in any situation where there are four or more. Overall, it is an enjoyable experience, but it does have its flaws. The story, for example, isn't well-told. While it is your typical "hero vs. villain" type of thing, it does have a few unexplained details that lack an explanation. Luckily, Masahiro Sakurai was nice enough to provide a detailed explanation of the game on its official website (with spoilers, of course, so beware). Sometimes, but not all the time, it can also feel like a chore to play as well. With that being said, it's safe to say that regardless of its flaws, the Adventure Mode is a fairly enjoyable experience, and I'd highly recommend playing it if you want to unlock the characters easily.

The rest of Single Player Mode is virtually the same as Melee. Classic Mode however, isn't necessarily as random. This is a disappointment, as the matches become predictable and redundant. All-Star has also received the same revamp. While it has more characters, it's even more dull, as the order of characters you fight will stay the same every time you play it. However, it does make up for this by adding Co-Op mode (which is something added to a lot of things in "Single" Player Mode). The Events in this game are clever, and the added difficulty settings feature is a nice add-in. There are even Co-Op events (one might eventually think, "Is this really a single player mode?"). The Stadium is also enjoyable. We are given four different mini-games. Target Test, Homerun Contest, and Multi-Man Melee (now Multi-Man Brawl) have all returned. As for the fourth one, we are able to play Boss Battles from the Adventure Mode (a boss rush, basically). The game isn't too easy, nor is it too hard. It can get a little frustrating on Intense Mode in some cases, but that's basically a given. Overall, Brawl offers nice new features. Co-Op Mode is what really saved most of them though, as it just makes the experience more enjoyable. Smash Bros. is, after all, a multiplayer game.

Speaking of which, the multiplayer aspect of Brawl is simply phenomenal. That's really one word to describe it. Brawl has quite possibly one of the best local multiplayer games to date. It is very competitive, and at the same time, it's very fun to fool around (with or without items). Almost every stage is enjoyable. We were even gifted with third-party characters, Solid Snake from Metal Gear and Sonic the Hedgehog from Sonic the Hedgehog (and of course, they have their own stages dedicated to them as well). You are given various modes to play. Timed battles (whoever KOs the most people in the given time wins), Stock battles (whoever is the last to survive from a given amount of lives), Coin matches (beat each other up to receive coins; whoever has the most wins), and more. Players are also allowed to play in teams as well. One can change the amount of damage the have from the start of the match, the knockback ratio, what songs are to play on specific stages, and more. If anyone remembers Special Melee, then get ready for Special Brawl. It is much more varied (instead of picking just one option, you can mix things up a little. For example, you can play as giants, in metal, with flames coming out of you, and that's just one option). There is also a tournament mode in which you may choose a bunch of characters, create a bracket, and have a simple tournament. You are also given a mode known as Rotation. If you have more than four people playing, then the game will decide whoever gives up the controller to the extra players (depending on which option you chose: Loser Out, Winner Out, etc.). Overall, it is similar to Melee. The play style is drastically different though. Melee required more technical play, while Brawl requires strategic play. It's fairly obvious that Brawl will require different techniques for competitive players. It may turn off a few of the Melee competitive players (even though it didn't turn off this reviewer's opinion of the game), but it'll most certainly welcome newer players who will accept the slower properties of the game. The roster appears to be more balanced than the Melee roster, though that is subject to change later on as tier lists are being processed. The old saying "If it isn't broken, don't fix it." applies well to this situation. Smash bros. has some of the best multiplayer out there, and Brawl just makes things better with its added features and different play-style.

Brawl offers a multitude of features. As said before, there are 287 songs to listen to. Of course, you have to unlock these songs. To unlock them, you'll receive CDs during matches (they appear as items). Grab it quickly, and you'll get a song. Other songs require specific requirements to unlock. Speaking of which, Brawl now gives us a feature known as Challenges. You are basically given a board of blue windows that are broken when you complete a certain challenge. Behind each window is an award for your challenge (a trophy, sticker, song, etc.). For example, if you beat Boss Battles on Intense Mode, you will receive a trophy of a certain boss. Trophies and stickers are another thing. Trophies aren't new to Smash Bros., but Stickers are. They are enjoyable to obtain, actually. One option is to go to the Coin Launcher mode (an arcade-type game where you shoot things, basically) and shoot down the trophies yourself with the coins that you receive as you play the game normally. You are able to record certain matches and records on Single Player as well (though there is a 3-minute time limit), and you can take snapshots at any time as well (meaning, taking pictures is more accessible than it was in Melee). You are also able to create your own customizable stages. Unfortunately, this features is a bit limited in terms of design, and you can't play them Online. Speaking of Online, in this game, it is very limited when you're playing against random people around the world. You are only able to play through two-minute timed matches, and playing one vs. one matches is nearly impossible, as the game adds computer opponents when it can't find any other opponent. This is a disappointment, as most players tend to prefer stock battles or prefer one on ones. Luckily, items can be taken off if you really want them off, but you can only pray that your opponent has them off as well (or on, if you prefer items). Luckily, the "With Friends" feature isn't quite as limited. You can choose who you want to play and under any mode (though Special Brawl isn' available). This is good, but if you don't have many friends who play the game yet you crave to be competitive or anything like that, then don't get your hypes up. The only way is to go on Internet Forums and look for people there, and unfortunately some people don't always feel secure with that option. Display lag and input lag is another major problem involved with the Online portion of the game, and it can become very frustrating. The Online overall is a disappointment, but it's made up for by the Local Multiplayer.

The graphics in this game are one of the best among Wii titles. The backgrounds for some stages are simply beautiful (especially Final Destination's background). It has a nice artistic design to it that makes it very appealing. There are some major notable changes in terms of character design. Characters now look more appealing and interesting. While some haven't really changed much (like Kirby, though that's a given) others have received complete make-overs. For example, the Zelda characters have been updated to their most recent designs. Bowser more closely resembles his original look in the Mario games, but at the same time, he looks as ferocious as the Bowser in Melee. Fox has been given his Star Fox Command look. Overall, the graphics are very nice, detailed, and certainly will not disappoint.

Overall, Brawl is a very good Wii title, if not one of the best regardless of its flaws. Though it as an average single player mode, its multiplayer aspect should be its main focus. It comes with a ton of features, and is much less limited than the previous two. People criticize Brawl of essentially being Melee 1.5. This is a very shallow view on the game that doesn't give it a single chance. There are a plethora of notable features that have been added, and when comparing the two in terms of play-style, you will see a huge difference. If I were to give it a more detailed score, I'd have to give it a 9.4/10 rather than just a simple 9.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/14/08

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