Super Smash Bros. Brawl Review

[Professor Layton]

This review is for the Sailing the LostWinds contest.


In January of 1999, Super Smash Bros. was released as a Japan-only Nintendo 64 game. Due to its huge success in Japan, Nintendo decided to release the game outside of Japan. Selling over 4.89 million copies worldwide, Super Smash Bros. quickly became one of the most successful Nintendo 64 games.   

In December of 2001, the sequel to the highly popular Super Smash Bros. was released. Super Smash Bros. Melee quickly became a success like its predecessor. Adding new modes, stages and characters, Super Smash Bros. Melee quickly became a hit worldwide. In total, Super Smash Bros. Melee has sold over 7 million copies worldwide since its release in 2001.

Now, over a half a decade later, another installment in the highly popular franchise comes along. Does this new installment in the Super Smash Bros. franchise live up to its predecessors or does it take everything that the franchise improved on throughout the years and ruin it?


1. Platform: Wii
2. Publisher: Nintendo
3. Developer: Nintendo / Game Arts
4. ESRB Rating: T for Teen
5. Release Date(US): March 9th, 2008

Like its predecessors, Super Smash Bros. Brawl takes almost every Nintendo franchise and puts them all into one game. However, unlike its predecessors, Brawl also includes two third party characters; Snake from Metal Gear and Sonic from Sonic the Hedgehog. Though two characters may not seem like much, they make great additions to the roster.

In the original Super Smash Bros., the roster consisted of 12 characters. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the roster contained 24 characters. In Brawl, there are 35 characters in the roster. Some characters that were in Melee have unfortunately not returned this time around. The characters that are absent aren?t huge loses since they were only clones of other characters in Melee.

The roster at the beginning of Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl allows you to play with one of four different controllers. These four different controllers are the Wii Remote(turned on its side), the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, the Classic Controller and the Nintendo Gamecube controller. Though many people prefer using the Nintendo Gamecube controller the most, I prefer the Wii Remote and Nunchuk simply because using the Nintendo Gamecube controller makes it seem like you're playing Melee again. Melee veterans will probably use the Nintendo Gamecube controller though since it will feel more natural to them.

The Wii Remote(turned on its side) is probably the most cost effective choice since it comes packaged with every Wii. However, trying to cram every move onto the Wii Remote is pretty small. Also, the absence of an analog stick will probably make a lot of gamers not use the Wii Remote.

The Classic Controller is probably the coolest looking controller but unfortunately, the control sticks are a little loose and the shoulder buttons are cramped together. If you can cope with this problems, the Classic Controller is definitely a controller worth looking into.

Finally, there is the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. This is my favorite type of controller simply because it makes Brawl feel a lot different than its predecessors. Despite some people thinking that this controller is a little too unorthodox for a fighting game, I think that it is definitely the best controller to use in Brawl.
                           

The controllers that are compatible with Brawl.

         
Like Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros. Brawl has one of the best(if not the best) game soundtracks ever created. With the aid of some of the best musicians in the video game industry, Brawl contains some of the most breathtaking orchestral pieces you?ll ever hear. Some of the musicians who helped create the soundtrack in Brawl are Koji Kondo, Kenji Ito and Akihiro Honda. In total, over forty musicians helped make Brawl?s soundtrack.

In Melee, the adventure mode that solo players could engage in was lacking in several areas. Rather it be through the repetitive levels or through the length of the mode, Melee?s adventure mode was a huge disappointment to many people. Brawl however tries to fix what Melee lacked through an eight-plus hour adventure mode known as The Subspace Emissary. Though many people were rather disappointed with The Subspace Emissary due to its repetitiveness, I absolutely adored it. From the moment I started playing The Subspace Emissary, I was captivated.

The Subspace Emissary is essentially a vertical and horizontal-scrolling platform game. Telling the story of all the characters in Brawl through mind-blowing animation sequences, The Subspace Emissary is definitely worth playing through just to witness the animation sequences. Though the story behind The Subspace Emissary is a little unclear at the beginning, it gradually becomes clearer. The main reason why it?s a little unclear is because you're constantly playing as different characters. One minute you may be playing as Mario and the next you may be playing as Zero Suit Samus.

Link Vs. Mario. Who will win this epic fight?

As you progress throughout the Subspace Emissary, you?ll encounter a wide array of characters. By meeting these characters, you?ll be able to play as them in all the other modes! By completing The Subspace Emissary, you can unlock all the characters without trying to figure out what you must do to unlock all the characters.

In The Subspace Emissary, you?ll be forced to engage in boss fights. My expectations at first were that the boss battles would be bland and repetitive but I was wrong. The boss battles are really fun and by completing The Subspace Emissary, you can unlock a mode where you can fight all these bosses. This mode is very enjoyable but it can get a little difficult if you don?t know what your doing.

Despite the storyline issues, The Subspace Emissary is very well done and it?s quite evident that the developers put a lot of effort into the creation of The Subspace Emissary. Though you?ll likely never play through it after beating it a couple of times, The Subspace Emissary is definitely a great addition to Brawl.
      

Petey Piranha is one of the many bosses you?ll fight in The Subspace Emissary.

Other then The Subspace Emissary, players can engage in a mode called Classic. In this mode, you clear stages as you progress throughout the mode. Essentially, you just keep on battling enemies until you reach the end. This mode only takes about ten minutes to complete so your likely to get bored of it after completing it a couple of times. However, completing this mode with every character will unlock something very special.

After unlocking all the characters, players will unlock another mode called All-Star. All-Star is very similar to Classic but in All-Star, you?ll have to fight every playable character in the game. Fortunately, if you die, you may have the option to continue. If you don?t have the option to continue, you?ll have to start all over from the beginning.

Probably my favorite single player mode, Events mode gives you certain objectives to complete with specific characters. Sometimes you?ll get to pick your character but that doesn?t happen too often. This mode is also a great mode to test your skill with various characters. If you can?t complete an objective, it probably means you have to work on using the character you had to use in the objective a little harder.

Besides these four modes, players can engage in a mode called Stadium. In this mode, you can player Target Smash, Home-Run Contest, Multi-Man Brawl and Boss Battles. Target Smash is essentially a mode in which you have to break ten targets as fast as you can. It sounds pretty easy at first but after awhile, things get pretty intense.

The Home-Run Contest is a mode in which you have to try to hit a Sandbag as far as you can with a bat. The technique to hitting the Sandbag really far is to deal a lot of damage to it and then hit it with a powerful attack.

Finally, Multi-Man Brawl is a mode that allows you to test your skill by putting yourself in different scenarios. Rather it be trying to beat ten enemies as fast you can or trying to endure a battle with an endless supply of enemies for fifteen minutes, only the most skilled players will complete all this scenarios.          

King Dedede is one of the many new fighters in Brawl.

Unlike Melee, Brawl runs in both 480p and 16:9 widescreen display for the first time. Brawl also runs in 60 frames per second with some interuptions though. The characters in the game are very detailed and composed of many more polygons that its predecessors. The levels in Brawl are also very well done. Unfortunately though, many of the backgrounds are kept fairly simple to keep the framerate up and character animations.

Like its predecessors, Brawl is a game that focuses on multiplayer more than single player. That being said, Brawl expands on everything Melee expanded on from the original. Fighters move incredibly fast and are highly responsive. When playing with a group of people, you're bound to have fun simply because Brawl is a game where anything can happen. One minute you may be in the lead and the next, you're in last because you got KO?ed too many times by your opponents.

To get as many franchises into Brawl as possible, Brawl includes assist trophies, trophies and stickers. Assist trophies are items that appear in a glass object. By picking it up, you?ll summon a trademark character to join the Brawl and inflict damage on your opponents. After a few moments, the character disappears. Some assist trophies, such as the Nintendog, don?t really assist you rather they out you at a disadvantage. The Nintendog jumps in front of the screen and blocks your view. Thankfully, this only lasts for a couple of moments.

Giga Bowser.

      
Like Melee, Brawl has unlockable trophies. There are numerous ways to unlock these trophies such as complete certain modes, complete certain objectives and play the Coin Launcher. Trophies represent different characters in Nintendo?s history as well as the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and the Metal Gear franchise. Though they only serve as models, trophies are quite fun to collect.

Stickers are essentially the same thing as trophies except that you can earn them in ordinary brawls by picking them up and you can stick them to the bottom of a trophy base to power up your character. Once applied, the sticker is used and cannot be used again. Remember to use your stickers wisely because you only get one chance to use them.

Final Smashes are a new addition to the Super Smash Bros. franchise. These are essentially a very powerful attack that sends your opponent flying off the edge if hit. To pull off this move, you first need to collect a Smash Ball. After collecting a Smash Ball, your free to unleash the attack. If you miss, you won?t get another chance to pull off the move until you collect another Smash Ball.

Is this Pikmin 3 or Super Smash Bros. Brawl?

One of the best features added to Brawl is the ability to take snapshots during a battle and saving replay data. You can then send your snapshots and replay data to Wii friends and Nintendo. If Nintendo likes your picture or replay data, they?ll distribute to everyone?s Wii if they are connected to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Speaking of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, Brawl also allows you to go online and battle friends and strangers. You can even view other peoples matches and bet coins on who you think will win.

The online mode in Brawl is mediocre, and you would naturally expect a lot more from one of the biggest Nintendo titles. Online leader boards and statistic tracking would have made Brawl a lot better since Brawl is a very competitive game. Also, there is also some lag in matches if you're opponents connection isn?t that good. This really takes away from your online experience since you?d naturally expect a lag free experience.

Another new addition to Brawl is the Stage Builder. This mode allows you to build your own stages. Though fairly simplistic, there is a lot of fun to be had making stages and sending them to friends and Nintendo. As with the snapshots and replay data, if Nintendo likes your level, they?ll send it to everyone?s Wii if they are connected to the Internet. After making your level, you can even try it out by battling on it.

Squirtle Vs. Diddy Kong

      
If you?ve ever wondered about the backgrounds of some of the characters in Brawl, you can finally find out some information on some of them. Through a mode called Masterpieces, you can play demos of certain games that are available on Virtual Console. Though most of the demos are short, you can surely benefit from playing them. If you're debating on whether or not to download a Virtual Console game, you can always try one of the demos in Brawl to see if you would like it in advance.

In addition to Masterpieces, you can also view the Chronicle mode. This mode allows you to view games published by Nintendo for various system. In case your wondering, not every Nintendo published game is on the list. It seems as though that only the games starring huge Nintendo characters are listed.

Finally, the last mode that I want to talk about is Challenges. Challenges is a mode that requires you to complete a wide variety of things to unlock hidden things in Brawl. After completing an objective, you?ll automatically unlock that item. Some things you can unlock are trophies, stickers, masterpieces and CD?s(hidden music in the game).

My biggest complaint with Brawl are the slow loading times. Sometimes you could be waiting for at least ten seconds for a screen to load. For a huge Nintendo title you?d think that Nintendo would try to speed loading times up a little but it seems quite apparent that they didn't put much effort into speeding them up.

Are you ready to Brawl?

In Conclusion...
   
Overall, Super Smash Bros. Brawl definitely lived up to the hype despite some minor problems I encountered with the game. If you enjoyed previous Super Smash Bros. games, Brawl won?t disappointment you. Even if you're new to Super Smash Bros., you're probably going to enjoy this game.

Though this game came so close to perfection in my eyes, I had no choice but to give it a 9.7 simply because of the loading times. Sometimes you?ll have to wait upwards of twenty seconds for the game to load. This is pretty insane in my opinion since the game is a huge title for Nintendo but besides this and the mediocre online mode, Brawl is definitely the best Wii game released so far in 2008.

Scores

1.Presentation: 8.5/10
   Lots of stages and characters. Simple menus and gorgeous cut-scenes. Slow loading times and mediocre online mode.
2.Graphics: 9.5/10
   Really impressive graphics but lacks detail in areas.
3.Sound: 10/10
   One of the best soundtracks ever created.       
4.Gameplay: 10/10
   Awesome multiplayer and single player modes. Very tight controls and balanced move sets.
5.Replay Value: 10/10   
    This game has infinite replay value. This game will be played by many people for years to come simply because of the amount of depth to the game.    

Overall Score: 9.7/10