Here it is. The review that is more than likely my most anticipated review ever. My review for…(drum roll please)…SUPER SMASH BROS. BRAWL!!!
Now, I will admit that, while I enjoyed its predecessor, Melee, very much, after about a few years, I got kinda bored with it. I’m not exactly one of those people who can play a game for seven years (actually about five, since I got it for Christmas of 2002). Now, with Brawl having pretty much the same gameplay, one would expect me to care little of it. That is actually not the case. Though Brawl has the same gameplay, it is still a fresh experience all around…or maybe it’s because there are things that are actually worth the time to unlock that I haven’t unlocked yet (unlike the Diskun trophy in Melee).
So, if you’ve played Melee or the original Smash Bros., then you should know that they’re not straightforward fighting games, and if you haven’t played any, this would be a great place to start. They actually make it into the category of party games because they’re more about getting a, oh, say…a ring out! Also, you’re not as closed in as you are in a fighting game; you can walk, run, and jump to your heart’s content with up to four players. Of course, how do you make people get a “ring out?” Well, the characters have a damage percentage that goes up as you own them. When it’s up high enough, bash them with a strong attack and they’ll fly off into the distance!
But who will you be playing as? Not Voldo or Ivy; you’ll be playing as Nintendo classics, as well as a few others! Wait, others? Of course Sonic is in the game (he was requested so much that it would have actually seemed that there was an anti-Sonic conspiracy at Nintendo had he not been in the game), as well as Solid Snake, but I, though I’ve only played with him once, feel that it’s safe to say that he does not live up to the hype behind his appearance. Sonic, on the other hand, has had his speed and signature attacks incorporated into the game perfectly (except for the Homing Attack, which is a little unwieldy), and Nintendo obviously knew that Sonic fans would enjoy several extras regarding Sonic. Though Sonic is the only character of his series who is playable, Tails, Amy, and Blaze (at least, those are the only ones I’ve got) appear as collectible trophies, and Tails, Knuckles, and Silver (from Sonic for 360) make cameo appearances in Sonic’s VERY OWN STAGE, the Green Hill Zone. That, not to mention every Sonic theme known to man is in the game (Live and Learn, Sonic Heroes, Open Your Heart, even Sonic Boom, Supersonic Racing, and His World), and the playable appearance of Super Sonic (as his Final Smash, and it inevitably leads to the temporary inability to die, no matter how far off-screen you go, and the ownage of everything you so much as touch), is just a wonder to behold.
But how do you get a Final Smash? There are Smash Ball items that will occasionally appear during a Brawl or during Classic Mode, which, if you hit it enough, you’ll be able to use a Final Smash. Unfortunately, there are some flaws. Rather than grabbing it, you have to hit it a few times to get the Smash Ball. The Smash Ball seems to have “health,” so someone can steal the Smash Ball from you, aaaaaaaand it’s pretty annoying.
But how do the Nintendo characters fare? Well, if you liked them in Melee, then you’ll like them here. Of course, there are Nintendo newcomers as well as third-party newcomers. This time around, we’ve got Pit (Kid Icarus), Ike, R.O.B. (yes, R.O.B.), Pokemon Trainer, Lucario…even alternate forms of characters, like Wario Man, Zero Suit Samus (her blue jumpsuit in Metroid Zero Mission), and Giga Bowser (It’s true!), although they are all playable only by using that character’s Final Smash, like Super Sonic. Also like Super Sonic, Wario Man and Giga Bowser are only playable for limited periods of time, but Zero Suit Samus will only put her suit on when you get another Smash Ball (you can also start out as Zero Suit Samus by choosing Samus and holding R until the fight starts, just so you know).
Yet, Nintendo seems to have a bit of a Poke-problem with Pokemon characters, as they’re never very good. In Melee the Poke-fighters were Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Pichu, and Mewtwo. While you could easily expect Pikachu, as he’s practically the star of the show (literally), Jigglypuff, Pichu, and Mewtwo? Jigglypuff and Pichu have no place in Smash Bros. Though I can SLIGHTLY see Mewtwo in the game (since he got his own movie). Jigglypuff seems to only be in the game because she was in the original, but she was in THAT game for the sake of noobifying the competition. After all, everyone probably agrees that Jigglypuff is the noobiest and most pointless character in the Smash universe…next to Pichu, that is. He was just in there to give Pikachu a clone, cause clone characters were all the rage in Melee (Ganondorf = Captain Falcon, as an example), but he was even worse than Pikachu. I mean, think about it: TAKING DAMAGE EVERY TIME YOU USE AN ATTACK?!! Stupid. Thankfully, (although I sadly can’t say the same for Jigglypuff), Pichu is NOT in Brawl.
Instead, he gets replaced by Pokemon Trainer (who I like to call Ash because he looks like him, and even has the same voice actor), who is ten times better. In fact, I like him better than Pikachu (come to think of it, I never liked Pikachu in the first place). He has three Pokemon: Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard. No, I don’t mean they come out of Pokeballs and attack like normal Pokemon; you actually get to PLAY with them! Each sports its own arsenal of attacks. How do you switch Pokemon? Just press Down and B. Squirtle is the best, followed by Ivysaur and Charizard (who is at least obedient to your button pressing…). Mewtwo gets replaced by Lucario, who is also only in the game because he was in the EIGHTH movie (yes, I know that there have been to many; that, along with the inability of Dragon Ball Z characters to STOP CRAPPING THEIR PANTS AND FIGHT, and the entire concept of Voltron, is one of the great enigmas of Japanese anime). Though he is SLIGHTLY better than Mewtwo (because of his Final Smash, which is a huge laser that you aim to own people), he’s otherwise just as crappy. The main Poke-problem, though? Jigglypuff reappears.
But I’m just dancing around the subject here. We need to get into the main modes of the game! Now, of course there is Classic Mode, in which you own people to progress from stage to stage. But if you crave more (as I’m sure you will), there are other single player modes as well. Sure, there’s still Event Mode, and All-Star Mode even reappears (like in Melee, you unlock it once you get all of the characters), but this game actually has a STORY MODE!!! It’s called “The Subspace Emissary,” and chronicles the adventures of the game’s characters as the fight the forces of Subspace! Many old Nintendo villains reappear, as well as those specific to Smash Bros., but I won’t spoil it. The story mode is actually a fully-fledged platform game, all its own, rendering Melee’s sub-par Adventure Mode to pure crap. It’s also an easy way to unlock most of the characters, because when you meet a character, he/she is yours!
Now, of course, unlocking everything will be no simple task. This game is PACKED to the brim with content. Every time you complete Classic or All-Star Mode (or Boss Battle, although I haven’t managed to beat that with anyone yet…) you get a trophy. Now, there are 35 characters to play those modes with. That means you will be going through those modes exactly 70 times combined. And you won’t be playing for trophies, stages, and characters alone; there are also Stickers and music CDs to collect. Once you get done with Subspace Emissary, Classic Mode, All-Star Mode, and Event Mode, there’s STILL more to do in Stadium. There, you’ll find Home-Run Contest, Multi-Man Brawl, Target Test, and Boss Battles. And even when you get done with all that, there will still be getting unlockables through playing Brawls on a certain map however many times, using a character however many times, etc. Heck, you can even unlock demos of Virtual Console games! I don’t really care for that decision, but whatever.
And on the off chance you DO unlock everything, you can continue to have fun playing with friends and online for years on end. Not to mention, you can make your own stage with Stage Builder. Though it is pretty limited (anyone ever heard of scenery and textures from the game’s normal stages?), I WAS able to recreate Scrap Brain Zone (from Sonic 1) using conveyer belts and a spinning Ferris wheel thing.
But it’s not all ponies that eat rainbows and poop butterflies in the happy little spec of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Now outside of the lecture about the “Poke-problem” Nintendo is dealing with, this is the most scathing part of the review. But note that it is only one paragraph (that is, the scathing part is after this).
For one thing, not only is the stage builder limited in scenery, but it is also limited in space. Evidently, Nintendo was too lazy to take the time for each object to take up only as much space as it needs. When you place a rather small object in your stage, there is a red box around it that represents space that it DOESN’T take up. Also, between battles in the Subspace Emissary and even when you boot up the game, you are treated to a 20-second load time. Don’t you think that with the ridiculous delays Nintendo would have had enough time to improve them? At least it doesn’t happen anywhere else. Also, when you start to run, your characters will occasionally TRIP. What was Nintendo thinking when they made it to where the characters TRIP?! “LOL, LET’S MAKE THE PEOPLE TRIP!!! THAT’LL BE TEH UBER 1337!!!” (Internet stereotype; not to be taken seriously) Whatever.
If it wasn’t clear already, you should immediately get up from your seat and pick this game up. It’s a nearly perfect game plagued only by some very minor flaws, and filled to the brim with unlockables, so buy it. Now.
So What’s Good?
+ IT’S FINALLY HERE!!!!
+ Sonic made it! YAAAYYY!!
+ New Nintendo characters are great, too
+ Several game modes, as well as a fully fledged platform game that serves as the story mode
+ A ridiculous amount of unlockables
+ Stage Builder is a nice touch
…But Then What’s Bad?
- Smash Ball thievery
- Jigglypuff and Lucario…
- Stage Builder is sort of limited
- Load times are kind of long
- I JUST TRIPPED?!! WHAT THE CRAP?!!
This Game’s Word: Pure Greatness!! OK, it’s not completely flawless, but no one can deny it’s a simply wonderful game.
Now, I will admit that, while I enjoyed its predecessor, Melee, very much, after about a few years, I got kinda bored with it. I’m not exactly one of those people who can play a game for seven years (actually about five, since I got it for Christmas of 2002). Now, with Brawl having pretty much the same gameplay, one would expect me to care little of it. That is actually not the case. Though Brawl has the same gameplay, it is still a fresh experience all around…or maybe it’s because there are things that are actually worth the time to unlock that I haven’t unlocked yet (unlike the Diskun trophy in Melee).
So, if you’ve played Melee or the original Smash Bros., then you should know that they’re not straightforward fighting games, and if you haven’t played any, this would be a great place to start. They actually make it into the category of party games because they’re more about getting a, oh, say…a ring out! Also, you’re not as closed in as you are in a fighting game; you can walk, run, and jump to your heart’s content with up to four players. Of course, how do you make people get a “ring out?” Well, the characters have a damage percentage that goes up as you own them. When it’s up high enough, bash them with a strong attack and they’ll fly off into the distance!
But who will you be playing as? Not Voldo or Ivy; you’ll be playing as Nintendo classics, as well as a few others! Wait, others? Of course Sonic is in the game (he was requested so much that it would have actually seemed that there was an anti-Sonic conspiracy at Nintendo had he not been in the game), as well as Solid Snake, but I, though I’ve only played with him once, feel that it’s safe to say that he does not live up to the hype behind his appearance. Sonic, on the other hand, has had his speed and signature attacks incorporated into the game perfectly (except for the Homing Attack, which is a little unwieldy), and Nintendo obviously knew that Sonic fans would enjoy several extras regarding Sonic. Though Sonic is the only character of his series who is playable, Tails, Amy, and Blaze (at least, those are the only ones I’ve got) appear as collectible trophies, and Tails, Knuckles, and Silver (from Sonic for 360) make cameo appearances in Sonic’s VERY OWN STAGE, the Green Hill Zone. That, not to mention every Sonic theme known to man is in the game (Live and Learn, Sonic Heroes, Open Your Heart, even Sonic Boom, Supersonic Racing, and His World), and the playable appearance of Super Sonic (as his Final Smash, and it inevitably leads to the temporary inability to die, no matter how far off-screen you go, and the ownage of everything you so much as touch), is just a wonder to behold.
But how do you get a Final Smash? There are Smash Ball items that will occasionally appear during a Brawl or during Classic Mode, which, if you hit it enough, you’ll be able to use a Final Smash. Unfortunately, there are some flaws. Rather than grabbing it, you have to hit it a few times to get the Smash Ball. The Smash Ball seems to have “health,” so someone can steal the Smash Ball from you, aaaaaaaand it’s pretty annoying.
But how do the Nintendo characters fare? Well, if you liked them in Melee, then you’ll like them here. Of course, there are Nintendo newcomers as well as third-party newcomers. This time around, we’ve got Pit (Kid Icarus), Ike, R.O.B. (yes, R.O.B.), Pokemon Trainer, Lucario…even alternate forms of characters, like Wario Man, Zero Suit Samus (her blue jumpsuit in Metroid Zero Mission), and Giga Bowser (It’s true!), although they are all playable only by using that character’s Final Smash, like Super Sonic. Also like Super Sonic, Wario Man and Giga Bowser are only playable for limited periods of time, but Zero Suit Samus will only put her suit on when you get another Smash Ball (you can also start out as Zero Suit Samus by choosing Samus and holding R until the fight starts, just so you know).
Yet, Nintendo seems to have a bit of a Poke-problem with Pokemon characters, as they’re never very good. In Melee the Poke-fighters were Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Pichu, and Mewtwo. While you could easily expect Pikachu, as he’s practically the star of the show (literally), Jigglypuff, Pichu, and Mewtwo? Jigglypuff and Pichu have no place in Smash Bros. Though I can SLIGHTLY see Mewtwo in the game (since he got his own movie). Jigglypuff seems to only be in the game because she was in the original, but she was in THAT game for the sake of noobifying the competition. After all, everyone probably agrees that Jigglypuff is the noobiest and most pointless character in the Smash universe…next to Pichu, that is. He was just in there to give Pikachu a clone, cause clone characters were all the rage in Melee (Ganondorf = Captain Falcon, as an example), but he was even worse than Pikachu. I mean, think about it: TAKING DAMAGE EVERY TIME YOU USE AN ATTACK?!! Stupid. Thankfully, (although I sadly can’t say the same for Jigglypuff), Pichu is NOT in Brawl.
Instead, he gets replaced by Pokemon Trainer (who I like to call Ash because he looks like him, and even has the same voice actor), who is ten times better. In fact, I like him better than Pikachu (come to think of it, I never liked Pikachu in the first place). He has three Pokemon: Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard. No, I don’t mean they come out of Pokeballs and attack like normal Pokemon; you actually get to PLAY with them! Each sports its own arsenal of attacks. How do you switch Pokemon? Just press Down and B. Squirtle is the best, followed by Ivysaur and Charizard (who is at least obedient to your button pressing…). Mewtwo gets replaced by Lucario, who is also only in the game because he was in the EIGHTH movie (yes, I know that there have been to many; that, along with the inability of Dragon Ball Z characters to STOP CRAPPING THEIR PANTS AND FIGHT, and the entire concept of Voltron, is one of the great enigmas of Japanese anime). Though he is SLIGHTLY better than Mewtwo (because of his Final Smash, which is a huge laser that you aim to own people), he’s otherwise just as crappy. The main Poke-problem, though? Jigglypuff reappears.
But I’m just dancing around the subject here. We need to get into the main modes of the game! Now, of course there is Classic Mode, in which you own people to progress from stage to stage. But if you crave more (as I’m sure you will), there are other single player modes as well. Sure, there’s still Event Mode, and All-Star Mode even reappears (like in Melee, you unlock it once you get all of the characters), but this game actually has a STORY MODE!!! It’s called “The Subspace Emissary,” and chronicles the adventures of the game’s characters as the fight the forces of Subspace! Many old Nintendo villains reappear, as well as those specific to Smash Bros., but I won’t spoil it. The story mode is actually a fully-fledged platform game, all its own, rendering Melee’s sub-par Adventure Mode to pure crap. It’s also an easy way to unlock most of the characters, because when you meet a character, he/she is yours!
Now, of course, unlocking everything will be no simple task. This game is PACKED to the brim with content. Every time you complete Classic or All-Star Mode (or Boss Battle, although I haven’t managed to beat that with anyone yet…) you get a trophy. Now, there are 35 characters to play those modes with. That means you will be going through those modes exactly 70 times combined. And you won’t be playing for trophies, stages, and characters alone; there are also Stickers and music CDs to collect. Once you get done with Subspace Emissary, Classic Mode, All-Star Mode, and Event Mode, there’s STILL more to do in Stadium. There, you’ll find Home-Run Contest, Multi-Man Brawl, Target Test, and Boss Battles. And even when you get done with all that, there will still be getting unlockables through playing Brawls on a certain map however many times, using a character however many times, etc. Heck, you can even unlock demos of Virtual Console games! I don’t really care for that decision, but whatever.
And on the off chance you DO unlock everything, you can continue to have fun playing with friends and online for years on end. Not to mention, you can make your own stage with Stage Builder. Though it is pretty limited (anyone ever heard of scenery and textures from the game’s normal stages?), I WAS able to recreate Scrap Brain Zone (from Sonic 1) using conveyer belts and a spinning Ferris wheel thing.
But it’s not all ponies that eat rainbows and poop butterflies in the happy little spec of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Now outside of the lecture about the “Poke-problem” Nintendo is dealing with, this is the most scathing part of the review. But note that it is only one paragraph (that is, the scathing part is after this).
For one thing, not only is the stage builder limited in scenery, but it is also limited in space. Evidently, Nintendo was too lazy to take the time for each object to take up only as much space as it needs. When you place a rather small object in your stage, there is a red box around it that represents space that it DOESN’T take up. Also, between battles in the Subspace Emissary and even when you boot up the game, you are treated to a 20-second load time. Don’t you think that with the ridiculous delays Nintendo would have had enough time to improve them? At least it doesn’t happen anywhere else. Also, when you start to run, your characters will occasionally TRIP. What was Nintendo thinking when they made it to where the characters TRIP?! “LOL, LET’S MAKE THE PEOPLE TRIP!!! THAT’LL BE TEH UBER 1337!!!” (Internet stereotype; not to be taken seriously) Whatever.
If it wasn’t clear already, you should immediately get up from your seat and pick this game up. It’s a nearly perfect game plagued only by some very minor flaws, and filled to the brim with unlockables, so buy it. Now.
So What’s Good?
+ IT’S FINALLY HERE!!!!
+ Sonic made it! YAAAYYY!!
+ New Nintendo characters are great, too
+ Several game modes, as well as a fully fledged platform game that serves as the story mode
+ A ridiculous amount of unlockables
+ Stage Builder is a nice touch
…But Then What’s Bad?
- Smash Ball thievery
- Jigglypuff and Lucario…
- Stage Builder is sort of limited
- Load times are kind of long
- I JUST TRIPPED?!! WHAT THE CRAP?!!
This Game’s Word: Pure Greatness!! OK, it’s not completely flawless, but no one can deny it’s a simply wonderful game.
About me
- I'm T-Man
- ...Yeah, that's me.
- My profile
Previous posts
- It Came From Public Television, Part 1
- Taking a Break From Eragon Has Never Been So Sweet...
- Sonic...?
- Greatness As Great As The Galaxies Themselves
- The Force of Dragons Wins Always
- A Prime Example of a Great, Yet Overrated Game
- Rock Battle--Guitar Hero 2 vs. Guitar Hero 3
- A Truly SUPER Metroid!
- Holes Falls Into Its Own Deep Hole of Greatness
- Take Me Down to the Paradise City...
0 Responses to “Simply Smashing!”
Leave a Reply