Super Smash Bros. Brawl Reviews

• Mega-Title lives up the the Mega-Hype

  
  By A27P0MW8TE1JQP on 2008-03-09
  
  Even though I was Nintendo label die-hard and fan of their coin-op franchise from the beginning, Super Smash Bros or brawl titles in general haven't interested me too much.
  So the most anticipated title of 2008 wasn't guaranteed to strike my electric fancy. But, when you add WI-FI play for free online brawling and custom controls in order to configure anything from the Wii controllers to the old school (4 variations on play) you've got me curious. Add to that the longest list of cross-title cross-era characters ever produced (Thirtysomethings: remember "Battle of the Network Stars" ). Characters from `87s' Kid Icarus (Pit) and Metal Gear's Snake, Pikachu and various Pokemon. Loads of Mario characters including the man himself: Diddy and Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong dating from Mario's 1981 coin-op premiere of the title of the same name), Wario, Yoshi, Princess Peach, Bowser, and more. Other melee cameos include the Ice Climbers, Metroids' Zero Suit Samus, Kirby, King Dedede and his Meta Knight, Sonic, LINK & Zelda (from '86 and on), Star Fox, Lucas & friends from Mother 3... and lots of other unlockables. Some noteable, but Non-playable, assist trophies include Devil from Devil World, Star Fox's Andross, Mr. Resetti from Animal Crossing, Little Mac from Tyson's Punch-Out and even Excitebike ('85) is on the scene. What is particularly cool about these appearances is the consistency of style for each character regardless of genre or era of the characters. Nintendo has outdone itself on graphics on this one, even when they are "dumbing" down the graphics for cross-game effect. The sound effects are true to this as well, with as many retro SFXs as cool new ones.
  
  Options for play include Solo vs. PC, Multiplayer play vs. 3 friends or on-line options. Other options include the Classic game (you beat `em you advance) or a storyplay campaign which is surprisingly worthwhile. The variety of Brawl locations and is amazingly broad as are the detailing of each location gimmicks. From Yoshi's Island to a stadium to the exterior of a StarFox ship sailing the stratosphere, this alone will extend the life of BRAWL's replay longevity. Characters move satisfyingly fluid, and their variety per character is exciting.
  
  The Mini-games are fun and nice samplings of other titles, both new and old. If fact, many of these made me ready to seek out some games I hadn't looked at before. If anything BRAWL is a great sampler title.
  
  Super Smash Bros. Brawl is going to be top of the "4 player fighting" genre for some time to come, I think. Well worth the release push-back.
  
  
  

• Smashing Good Time

  
  By A3W4D8XOGLWUN5 on 2008-03-09
  During the past year, Nintendo really showed what it takes with the success of the Wii. Dominant games like The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess and the definitive Super Mario Galaxy, really proved the Wii with its ultimate gameplay. But, that success has also been as a dominant question with Super Smash Brothers Brawl. While its prequel, Smash Brothers Melee was the biggest-selling title from Nintendo's last home console, the Gamecube, many still had wondered if Nintendo was going to be able to top that outrageous game of madness and excitement. Well, Nintendo has done it, and taken the brawl to a whole new level of fierceness. Its time to brawl!!
  
  Super Smash Brothers Brawl for the Nintendo Wii, is one of the most anticipated games to be released this year, and it absolutely dominates the competition. The gameplay is very addictive as you play with all your favorite classics characters like Mario, the adorable Yoshi, Link, the fierce Bowser and many others. There are also a lot of new characters here to unlock too like Sonic The Hedgehog, Wario, King Dedede from Kirby's Dream Land, Diddy Kong and Olimar from the overlooked Pikmin series. There are also secondary characters which have been added as well, that come and assist you to the depth of the gameplay like the Nintendogs, which block the screen so you can't see where your opponents are during the game, and Andross from the Star Fox series. The graphics look great, and appeal to each and every level you can challenge on from the abstractism of Warioware, to the madness of racing along the Mario Raceway from Mario Kart. Each level is packed with excitement for gamers of all ages.
  
  The control is also new to some gamers, and traditional for veterans too, as you can manuver your favorite characters 4 different ways: the Wii Remote alone, the Wii and Nunchuck controller, the Wii's classic controller and even the Nintendo Gamecube controller. The Wii controller and nunchuck take awhile to get used to, but the classic and Gamecube controllers work very well, making it simple and addictive gameplay. On top of that, you also can now challenge against others not just in the living room, but you can now also play against other Brawlers online through Nintendo's Wi-Fi connection, which makes the gameplay even more addictive for anyone who wants to brawl farther than they've ever done before.
  
  All in all, Super Smash Brothers Brawl is a must buy for anyone who owns the Nintendo Wii. It is just great from start to finish and brings in every depth of excitment and gameplay for a super smash for anyone who has the need to smash the competition. It is definitely a great game all around and a great addition to your Wii video game library.
  
  Graphics: A-
  
  Sound: A-
  
  Control: A for Gamecube and Classic Controller; B for Wii Remote & Nunchuck
  
  Fun & Enjoyment: B+ for solo gamers; A for multiplayer action
  
  Overall: A-
  
  

• Spectacular, lives up to every bit of the hype

  
  By AJKWF4W7QD4NS on 2008-03-09
  The highly anticipated Super Smash Bros. Brawl is here, and it lives up to every single ounce of the hype that has been surrounding it. Make no mistake, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is one of the best games ever made for the Wii at this time, and the absolute best multiplayer game available for the system as well. Starting off with a massive roster of fighters (some of whom have to be unlocked) including stalwarts like Mario, Link, Donkey Kong, Samus, Kirby, Pikachu, and Star Fox's Fox McCloud; to new characters to the series like Kid Icarus' Pit, Meta-Knight, Zero-Suit Samus, Fire Emblem's Ike, and to top it all off, Sega mascot Sonic the Hedgehog (!) and even Metal Gear Solid icon Solid Snake (double !). Even with such an unorthodox roster of fighters, Super Smash Bros. Brawl manages to have a wonderfully balanced roster, no matter how ridiculous the game can get. Graphically, the game has some flaws in terms of the details of the characters and environments, but these aren't all that noticeable thanks to the fact that the game is so insanely fun. No matter if you play Super Smash Bros. Brawl online or offline, this is one of the most fun video games you will play on the Wii, or possibly any other system to boot. Four-player mode is where the game really shines, as things just get even crazier. Not to mention that you can also share game replays, screenshots, and even customized levels with others, which is a great little bonus feature in itself. The only real other flaws here are that the game's Subspace Emissary stages, while fun, could have been better, and there are some long loading times to be found too. Small flaws aside though, you simply can't go wrong with Super Smash Bros. Brawl. There is a reason you got in a Wii in the first place, and it's because of nearly flawless, first party games like this. If you own a Wii, you need to own Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it's just that simple.
  
  

• Solid title, but not the masterpiece it's been made out to be

  
  By A2LPJD19MGBNXJ on 2008-03-12
  Let me preface this by saying that I like "Smash Brothers." I don't love it, but the multiplayer goodness makes this one better than it otherwise would have been.
  
  The Good:
  1) I love the graphics in this. I mean, they are solid stuff. The attention is evident in every phase of the game, from the delightfully detailed main characters to the excellent backdrops. This is a joy to behold.
  2) The mechanics you know and love are back, which makes for some excellent multiplayer madness. It remains very easy to pull off big moves, and with the handicapping, you can get balanced gaming every time. I really like the "final smashes" - while not necessary, it is incredibly satisfying to pummel your cohorts by throwing them in a giant pot and cooking them.
  3) I really enjoyed the timeline and masterpiece sections. Of course, giving people trials of all the old NES and SNES games is just cheap advertising, but that's fine with me. I can't wait to get "Super Metroid" from the Wii shop channel.
  4) Trophy collecting is back, and I love it. Moreover, you can now collect stickers as well. Finally, you collect either of them by blasting them in a silly asteroids-like shooter. Good stuff.
  
  The bad:
  1) Subspace emissary stinks. I had high hopes for this after hearing the hype, but it is vastly inferior to the adventure mode in "Melee". Why, you ask? Because it's just as pointless, but now takes an incredibly long time. Very unenjoyable, IMHO.
  2) Control. The Wii has one of the most innovative controllers out there, and a game of this magnitude should utilize it to the fullest, right? Right?!? Wrong. In fact, this game is actually easier to play with the old GC controllers than the Wii nunchuk. I'm stunned that the developers didn't make an effort to incorporate the Wii goodness into the game. Well, stunned and disappointed. What a letdown.
  3) What is all this "friend code" stuff? Do people really like this? Not me (although i do think that the Wifi has been underrated in these reviews - I like it a lot).
  4) I agree with an early reviewer that there is something very fishy about Nintendo's insistence that the game read errors are the product of a "soiled lens". In any case, lenses get soiled. It shouldn't cause fatal errors in reading software. Thumbs down to Nintendo, who usually builds the most reliable product out there.
  
  In short, this is not the game it could have been, which is a surprise, considering the number of delays in its production. I think it is an unfair criticism for the game that it hasn't changed the formula in all these years - if I wanted "Final Fantasy," I wouldn't buy "Smash". However, it is perfectly legitimate to ask why the gameplay hasn't improved since the original "Smash Brothers" for the N64 (which still remains my favorite of the bunch). As far as Wii games go, this one falls well short of the standard set my "Mario Galaxy" and "Metroid Prime 3". It's still fun, but it just isn't the game it could have been.
  
  Addendum: Let's not forget
  The ugly:
  1) Reviewers who insist that any criticism of a Wii game is obviously an attempt by PS3 "fanboys" to subvert the Wii. If your life worth depends on someone liking or disliking a game you purchased, you should get out more.
  
  

• Super Smash Bros. Brawl is more aptly named Melee 1.1

  
  By A32M1WME7B7MFJ on 2008-03-09
  Super Smash Bros. Brawl, also known as Dairantou Smash Brothers X in Japan (which this review is based off of) is one of the most anticipated titles ever in the history of video games. It is often glorified to be Nintendo's representative game, the one masterpiece where all of its flagship characters and rich history all come together in one ultimate package. Unfortunately, beyond the shiny cover and massive hype, Brawl is a title that has evolved minimally in the past seven years, stripped away many good features, and taken several steps backwards from its predecessors.
  
  The core of the game is what you've come to expect: a four-player brawl featuring your favorite Nintendo characters, as well as two third-party newcomers, Snake and Sonic. Each character has an array of regular attacks, B-button Smashes, and a special move known as a Final Smash. The Final Smash is, essentially, almost an assured one-hit K.O. to one's opponents. The only catch is that in order to use it, one must break a rainbow-colored item called the Smash Ball. The Smash Ball flies around the arena, is hard to capture, and takes quite a few beatings before its effects can be applied to a character. In most cases, the Final Smash is a cheap, extremely overpowered item, except it takes even less skill to use than, for example, the Hammer in the original Smash. It's almost impossible to dodge a Pokemon Trainer's Triple Finish on a flat stage, whereas with a hammer, one actually has to chase after his opponents and make contact with them to take advantage of it. Final Smashes aside, the game plays largely identically to its two predecessors, with minor differences due to the new physics engine. While some E for All game show attendees have expressed concerns about the game feeling slower-paced than Melee, players will get used to it, and this should not be a major issue to non-competitive players.
  
  The Brawl character lineup features a total of 35 fighters, 21 of which are available from the start and 14 which need to be unlocked. The 20 veteran fighters have largely retained their original movesets, and clones still have not been done away with. While the lineup (which will not be spoiled here) has drawn massive criticism for its character selection, I will not dwell on that. My obsession over the lineup is actually quite limited, as I care more about what they have to bring to the table in terms of gameplay. Of these 35 fighters, only three have actually added any new strategic elements to the franchise: Zero Suit Samus, whose transformation adds a speed vs. power, long-range vs. short-range tradeoff; Pokemon Trainer, whose three rotating Pokemon, each with their own limited stamina, require thinking ahead to use effectively; and Captain Olimar, whose multicolored Pikmin all have their individual strengths and weaknesses. The rest, especially ones such as Sonic, were included in Brawl largely for fanservice and add little to the gameplay.
  
  There are 41 arenas to fight on, ten of which were taken directly from Melee. Disappointingly, they are nothing you wouldn't have come to expect: there are vertically-scrolling stages; there are horizontally-scrolling stages; there are stages with environmental hazards; and there are stages that move around various spots in a larger area. All of these ideas have been done before. Rumble Falls feels like Icicle Mountain redux. There's Norfair with its rising and falling lava, similar to Brinstar in Melee. The Mute City stage in Melee that takes you on around a giant F-Zero racetrack with several stops is now back again in the form of Port City. While there is a stage editor, it is quite restrictive and does not allow you to make elaborate arenas like the official ones: you're limited to a static 10x12 grid with limited interactive elements.
  
  The Wi-Fi battle options are far from flawless: searching for players can take up to minutes (though there is a Sandbag you can perform your moves on to alleviate the waiting time); tedious friend code-entering is required to battle your friends (though this is a global complaint for Nintendo's Wi-Fi titles, not just Brawl); and there is sometimes a bit of lag during battle.
  
  Subspace Emissary, the highlight of Brawl's single-player modes, is little more than a glorified, extended Adventure Mode. The gameplay still consists of long, sidescrolling sections interleaved with occasional brawls and, at the end of each world, a boss battle. These boss battles are taken directly from the characters' representative franchises and include favorites such as Petey Piranha from Mario and Rayquaza from Pokemon. These boss battles are the high point of SSE, but outside of these battles, the gameplay is still very limited and similar to that of its predecessors. You defeat enemies in your way, jump over obstacles, and collect fallen items along your path. The plot, written by Nojima Kazushige of Final Fantasy fame, relies on cutscenes instead of dialogue and is often times confusing and ambiguous, especially the resolution (which, again, won't be spoiled here.) Subspace can take up to 6-10 hours for a first playthrough, depending on the difficulty level, and doing so unlocks most of the hidden characters. After beating it once to 100% completion, there is little incentive to play through it again, unless you want maximize your high score or fight against CPUs with more hit points.
  
  Classic Mode may as well have been ported over directly from Melee. Once again, you have about 12 stages with bonus levels scattered once every few matches and culminating with the Master Hand's showdown. As you'd have come to expect, the stages are nothing new, consisting of the same old objectives: 1 vs. 1, 2 vs. 2, 1 vs. multiple, 1 vs. metal, and multiple vs. 1 giant character. Master Hand uses the exact same attacks as in Melee and even has the same hit points for each difficulty setting.
  
  This time, the only bonus level is Target Smash. Snag the Trophies, Race to the Finish, and Board the Platforms are nowhere to be seen, and the few Target Smash stages are now shared amongst all characters, instead of each character having his/her own unique stage as in 64 and Melee. The varied, sometimes wacky bonuses that appear upon clearing each stage in Melee (and whose collection led to unlocking the most prized trophy, the Diskun) have also been removed: one's score is now entirely dependent on the time remaining and damage dealt.
  
  Events are still largely the same old, with two notable changes. First, there are now 60 or so events, a third of which are designated as multiplayer "coop" events, which you complete with the assistance of your friend. Second, the events now have difficulty settings. Objectives include simply defeating one or more CPUs, defeating CPU(s) within a certain time, and racing to the end of a side-scrolling stage: in other words, nothing we haven't seen before. The coop seems tacked-on and unnecessary, and many of these 2P events could have easily been 1P events if you didn't care to do more fighting on your own.
  
  Similarly, the Home Run Contest and Multi-Man Brawl options are the same as in Melee, except now with coop. While coop in Home Run Contest has allowed for strategic combos and even greater records, the coop in Multi-Man does not really add much to the gameplay for similar reasons as with Events. Multi-Man consists of the same modes: 10-man and 100-man, speed tests in which the player tries to defeat a set number of CPUs in the fastest time possible; 3-minute, 15-minute, and Endless Brawl, endurance tests in which the player tries to defeat as many CPUs as possible in the allotted time limit; and Cruel Brawl, a mode that features CPUs at the highest difficulty.
  
  The rest of the Vault's features feel extremely tacked on. If you recall the weird trophy-unlocking requirements in Melee that no one would ever have thought of, they're now in their own Challenges section. The game now outlines the exact objectives you need to complete to unlock a certain trophy or collectible. Masterpieces, which are time-limited demos of Nintendo classics like Super Mario Bros. and Star Fox 64, serve little purpose except to advertise the Wii's Virtual Console. Chronicle is little more than a laundry list of titles Nintendo has released in its almost 30 year game-making history; you may as well head directly to Nintendo.com's game list for the most up-to-date and comprehensive database.
  
  The quality of Brawl's soundtrack is quite varied. There is the main theme, complete with vocals, which truly gives the game an epic feel. It appears on the menu and at least a dozen remixes of it exist, including a dark, sinister version of it on Final Destination. While there are a lot of selections in My Music to choose from, about half are just taken directly from old games, while the other half consists of remixes of dubious quality. Simply put, many of the remixes, while arranged by famed composers, do not really do their originals justice. The fast-paced, cheery-sounding Ocarina of Time medley would have sounded out of place in the original game. The Song of Time in the medley lacks the ethereal, somewhat sorrowful mood within the Temple of Time. Saria's Song, which should evoke a melancholy feeling of a lost friend, is strikingly unfitting when played at such a fast tempo. In addition, the transitions between the various ocarina songs seem forced and do not flow well. The slow, sinister castle theme from Super Mario World was converted into an upbeat techno track. Nearly all of the music appears to be synthesized, not recorded by a live orchestra, as was the case in Super Mario Galaxy. Brawl's soundtrack is a prime example where nostalgia or quantity does not imply quality.
  
  At the end of the day, it all boils down to one verdict: too much rehashing, and too little "new" content, filler aside. Of course, there's the old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," but personally, I couldn't help but feel a tinge of disappointment. Franchises are meant to evolve, especially a 10-year-old one like Smash Bros. For those who wanted a Melee 1.1, that's great, but I'd rather have stuck to the original instead of shelling out another $50 for a limited upgrade.
  
  
• Overrated and overhyped.
  By A3QAHWGT1VQHI0 on 2008-03-09
  It's essentially more of the same we've come to expect from Melee. Brawl features more characters, more stages, and new modes, but the core gameplay hasn't evolved in the least bit.
  
  The new 1P highlight is an adventure mode called "Subspace Emissary," which is essentially Melee's adventure mode extended by a factor of 20 with more of the same gameplay. Except Melee's Adventure Mode was never fun to begin with, and making it this long results in an even bigger chore. It's a sidescroller with monsters here and there, and there is a boss battle once every few stages. As a 2D platformer it's not great.
  
  The Wi-Fi can lag quite a bit and the Friend Code system is still as awful as ever.
  
  
• Does not use Wii-mote motion and the pointer features of Wii
  By A9DRS2GETQAZZ on 2008-03-16
  Save your money and get the Cube version. This game does not use any of the Wii feature like Wii remote control motion and the pointer. The game-play is like the Cube version, you just have to press buttons on the Wii control. Waving Wii control or pointing it to the TV features are not used. Very limited use of the speaker on the Wii remote control. This might well have been a Cube game.
  
  
  
• Most overrated videogame in the history of videogames.
  By A30LOH7J2O4G59 on 2008-03-10
  Dont get me wrong the game is silly fun with some friends over but all these perfect scores are a riot. After playing for a few hours I was wondering if I was playing the same game everyone else is but then again if I was judging this on whats available on the Wii I guess this is as good as it gets. I guess I just dont get it.
  
  
• The Only Review You Need to Read
  By A8OSGV4NVZX4V on 2008-03-09
  1. The low review scores on this site are from people who hate Nintendo. They are PS3 fanboys. On the internet, there are kids who set around all day, trying to get people not to buy things from companies they don't like.
  
  2. Super Smash Brothers: Brawl is the second highest reviewed game this generation, and in the top 10 games of all time list for Metacritic and Gamerankings. Those sites take ALL the reviews available for a game, and average them to a final score. Brawl is a 96/100. The highest reviewed game ever is 96.6 out of 100. Brawl is that good.
  
  3. The "Disc Read Errors" reported for Brawl haven't been seen in the US copy of the game, so far. There are no Disc Read Errors in the US or Canada. Even if there were, you can simply clean your lense yourself, or Nintendo will do it for you, for free.
  
  9.5/10 Gamespot
  9.5/10 IGN
  A on 1up
  10/10 from Famitsu
  10/10 from Thunderbolt
  
  People bought Wii's to play this game, most people, in fact. This is the best game on the Wii, tied with Super Mario Galaxy, and if you have a Wii, and don't own this game, you probably don't know much about Nintendo's history.
  
  Trust the fact that no reviewer has given this game below a 9/10, and don't trust the fanboy reviews on this website. Trust me, you would miss out on the best gaming experience of this generation, and the fact that you did miss out, makes the sony fanboys VERY happy, because they hate Nintendo, and the Wii. Jealousy is a terrible thing, and Wii sales beating the PS3 4 to 1, and the fact that the PS3 doesnt' have a single exclusive game with ratings over a 9 on most sites, and you'll understand why they are disparaging the Wii instead of playing and getting excited about the mediocre failure that is the PS3.
  
  Thanks for reading.
  
  
• Finally Finally Finally!
  By AO9DI9XIIMY5A on 2008-03-09
  I have been anxiously awaiting this game, ever since E3 2005 when it was announced. I personally wasn't a huge fan of Smash Bros Melee, as I never owned a Gamecube. I bought a copy when I got my wii, but really haven't played it much. The wii version, however, I couldn't wait for. I know for a fact that many people bought a wii specifically for this title. I waited in line last night to pick up my copy and subsequently play in a tournament at my local Game Stop. I had seen lots of info online and in the SSB Dojo, but was still anxious to see this game in action... and let me tell you: I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. This game has proven to be SO AWESOME that I wish that I had given other Wii game reviews that I did in the past fewer stars... since now a 5-star rating takes on new meaning with this title! Finally, a Wii game that got it right... all of it right! No doubt this game will get plenty of 5-star reviews, so I won't bore you telling you how awesome it is. Instead, here are some reasons I love it, and why you should buy it:
  
  1 - FREE ONLINE MULTIPLAYER: This takes the game to a whole new arena. The online multiplayer is done wonderfully. Also, there are several game modes available. I was able to connect and begin playing right away. Also, you can choose to play with people locally, nationally, internationally, or in your friend list. Nicely done! Also, one really cool feature for the online system on this game that differs from the other wii online titles is that more than 2 people can play online from your console at a time, rather than only allowing a single player to play online per console (unlike MX vs ATV or Call of Duty).
  
  2 - Multiple control options: I LOVE that the wii games are starting to incorporate this. Having to purchase 4 wiimotes and 4 nunchucks to play 4-player games would cost a hefty sum.... But if you are like me and own 2 wiimotes, 1 classic controller, 1 nunchuck, and several gamecube controllers, you are in the game! You can use ANY combo of controllers you would like. I personally opt for the wiimote+nunchuck, as I don't like the gamecube controllers. However, my friends can come over and play with my GC controllers, no problem. Also, when you create a profile, your control schema choice is saved, so you don't have to set it up each time.
  
  3 - Special Brawl: This feature seems really cool, though I haven't had much time to play around with it. Basically you can customize your character and game type. Lot's of potential here. Not to mention there is also a STAGE BUILDER! I think this there is a lot of potential here. Again, since I am writing this early in the morning on the first day I picked my copy up, I haven't had much time to experiment. That being said, it also seems like you can save your stage, and SEND IT TO A FRIEND to play on his console! As if that isn't enough, the rumor is that Nintendo will also be allowing you to submit your stage to them via wiiconnect24, and will, in turn, send certain stages out to subscribers via updates so you will end up with loads of stages to play on! Better upgrade that SD card, eh?
  
  4 - Finally! Co-Op Mode: Well done, period. Haven't had a chance to get much accomplished here, but it is simple and straight forward enough. For some reason, past Mario titles have been unable to fathom co-op. Even Galaxy has a weak co-op option at best, if it can even be called co-op. Smash Bros finally got it right.
  
  5 - Rotation Mode: Basically, this looks like it was built for controller hogs (like me). You enter the number of controllers that are connected (4 in most cases) vs the total # of players in the room.... And then WAMMY! Instant tournament in my living room! We played this for HOURS already, and it is pretty cool.
  
  Anyway, this game was obviously well done. It is simple enough to attract novice gamers and "button mashers", and content-rich enough to attract fans and more hardcore gamers. They have taken an already great game and made it even better. I plan to log COUNTLESS hours on this one. PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR: Buy it.
  
  
  
• Very disappointed!
  By A1YZKKQBD67Q5T on 2008-03-12
  I love the innovative controller for the Wii. I loved Zelda and Mario Galaxy, but this game doesn't even take advantage of the controller! I'm so used to swinging the control to swing Link's sword, and now it's back to pressing buttons the old school way.
  
  If I wanted to play a game with my gamecube controllers, I still have Smash Brothers Melee. It's faster too, and not many improvements were made to the Wii version. Major disappointment!
  
  
  
  
• ANOTHER LET DOWN...
  By A2NMIDKX4Z8HJ0 on 2008-03-13
  well good things first:
  1) i loved the controllers which were the most feared aspect of the whole game cause i for my opinion hate the control for the wii.
  2) improved graphics not much though
  now the bad things
  1) online is terrible, i knew this was not going to end good cause its nintendo, they dont know how to make good online games.
  2) online is going to start to be charged...this came from the president of nintendo. this is probably not going to be as much as xbox but still feels terrible
  3) single mode was badly planned out
  4) same as melee
  5) just a plain dissapointment
  
  if anyone has different opinions, that might be cause the wii has no games. and i OWN ONE. it was the worse 250 dollars i ever spend. all i wanted was paper mario(disapointment as well), and this.
  i now use my ps3 all the time cause that has great and fun lasting games.
  sorry nintendo
  
  
• Smashing
  By A29BQ6B90Y1R5F on 2008-03-10
  Pros:
  +Several New Characters
  +Still fast paced, addictive gameplay
  +Tons of levels to explore
  +Tons of new items to mess around with
  +Adventure Mode is more engrossing and structured
  +Four ways to play
  +Online Mode
  
  Cons:
  -Friend Codes make fighting with friends online a hassle
  -Without voice acting or written dialog, it may be hard to grasp what the story in Adventure mode is for a while
  -Long load times, especially in Adventure Mode
  
  This review may be a little long.
  
  After countless delays, Super Smash Brothers Brawl is finally here, and it goes above and beyond Super Smash Bros. Melee in almost every way possible.
  
  The improvements over the previous Smash Brothers game are quite abundant. There are now thirty five characters. Fourteen of which must be unlocked first, either through several matches, classic mode or the games adventure mode. There are also a plethora of new stages as well as a few classic ones thrown in from Super Smash Bros. Melee. There are also new items and a whole new slew of extras to be found within this game. Simply put, this game is huge and won't keep you busy for just weeks, but months on end. Perhaps even years.
  
  There are two big single player modes to trump through. First, there is classic mode which is not much different from the classic mode presented in Melee. You'll fight battles either one on one, two on two, three on one or a giant version of a character. There are also team battles and "Metal Menaces" to fight. You'll also see the return of Master Hand and Crazy Hand. Classic Mode can now be done with a friend instead of just by yourself as well.
  
  However, the real deal in single player is easily the Subspace Emissary. Brawl's own adventure mode. The adventure mode here actually includes a story. The story is a little confusing at first. Mainly because there's no voice acting or even written dialog between the characters. You'll eventually grasp on to it, though, and even come to like it. The story even comes off as somewhat epic. The adventure mode here is much more fleshed out than in Melee. You'll fight an abundance of characters and have an abundance of characters join your ranks. You'll fight through chaotic boss fights and intricately designed levels. And you don't even have to go through adventure mode alone. A friend can fight alongside and many moments in the story call for more than one character to go through a certain level. The other good thing about going through Adventure Mode is that it can be a different experience on a subsequent play. Even better, however, is that the Adventure Mode is not that short. It will easily take you anywhere from nine to ten hours to complete it the first time, and you'll end up having to play a second time just to snag all the trophies.
  
  Of course, the real treasure of any Smash Bros. game is the multiplayer aspect. Brawl doesn't disappoint. The matches are fierce and there are a ton of new things. As in the previous games, players go to a level where they battle against either other players or the computer. There are several new items added this time around. There's the sticky bomb, which sticks to a character until it detonates. There's the assist trophy which works a lot like the Pokeball and many more. The most important new item, though, is easily the Final Smash. The Final Smash is a devastating attack that usually serves as a one hit kill. You'll probably want to check out every character's Final Smash skill at least once. These aren't just the most powerful attacks in the game, they're some of the coolest looking as well.
  
  Super Smash Bros. Brawl also supports four different controller functions. The Wii Remote by itself, the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, the Classic Controller and the Gamecube Controller. All of these controls are decent, but the Gamecube controller is easily the best of the lot. The controls are mapped out exactly like Super Smash Brothers Melee. Anyone who played Melee to no end will easily find comfort in the controls here. Regardless of what control function you use, the controls are tight and highly responsive.
  
  The best part about Brawl, however, may very well be all the extras. You've got a series of trophies to collect and characters to unlock, but there's a lot more than just these things. You can also unlock soundtrack selections and new stages as well. In addition to all these things you can also save some matches and watch them again. Brawl also gives you the option of creating your own levels and saving screenshots. This is in addition to some of the things that returned from Melee such as Event Battles and the Homerun Contest. There's so much to be explored within this game. Brawl also goes online, and being able to fight people anywhere is amazing.
  
  Super Smash Bros. Brawl also looks and sounds incredible. The graphics being the best the Wii has yet. The stages themselves look absolutely incredible. The backgrounds are highly detailed. The music here is some of the best to grace the gaming world. Nintendo got some of the most famous composers in the industry to contribute music and the soundtrack doesn't disappoint.
  
  Is Brawl perfect? No. While it's nice to go online you'll still have to deal with friend codes and there's no way to voice chat or communicate with the people you're playing against online. When playing with friends, it'd be nice to be able to say something. The game also suffers from some fairly long load times. And while Adventure Mode is a treat, the last few hours of the run can become extremely repetitive.
  
  Despite all this, Super Smash Brawl is a must buy for Super Smash Brothers fans. If you enjoyed Super Smash Brothers Melee and the original title that started it all, Super Smash Brothers Brawl is a real treat to own.
  
  
• Nice but a let down
  By ACUOXOSWMTL21 on 2008-03-10
  I like Smash Bros, but if you've played one you've played them all. Again they have made some big mistakes with the game and there are things still not fixed.
  
  Firstly I will say that I'm glad it's 16:9. This is not a small screen game by far. I like being able to play on a big screen. However the graphics aren't really much improved. The character models are nicer but the stages and everything look, well, the same. Some stages look much nicer than others.
  
  The biggest complaint I had about this game was the CPU. It has always been vastly superior to any player. No matter how good you are at this game, the CPU will wipe the floor with you on any difficulty but easy. Even on easy playing against 3 CPU characters can prove to be very difficult. Since in adventure mode you are required to play against the CPU, some parts can be quite annoying in their difficulty level.
  
  The next biggest complaint is the disc. This gets a big "wow what a screw up" from me. First off it sounds like the Wii is bludgeoning my disc constantly. If a robot felt pain this is probably what it would sound like. It's like a constant scream of agony coming from the disc drive. Some matches, and I've timed it, it says "Ready, GO"... then you wait 9 seconds so the disc can load the characters you're supposed to be fighting. In fact in events where you fight 8 characters... if you knock out the two characters on the screen at once you'll have to wait about 5 seconds for the next one to show up because the disc is so painfully slow. Just trying to start a match you can hear it. The worst is playing adventure mode. The videos are laggy and take a bit before they play. Once they are done you have to wait a bit before the level starts. It's actually quite annoying on levels with a lot of cut scenes. It almost feels like I'm playing PSP.
  
  Now for wifi. It didn't even work when I bought the game, but at least it works now. However, any fun had by the game is cut by other people's lack of skill. I know this by the fact that every match I've played, people use cheap characters and they use the same moves over and over. Sad thing is, they can easily beat you like this. So any fun that could be had online is killed by the incredible unbalance of the characters. I can not yet say I've lost to someone good, no I've lost to people who are cheap.
  
  The major failure of this game is its lack of progress over the years. As fun as it is, the gameplay has never been tweaked. Though this might be a good thing to some it comes across to most of us as old and stiff. The only real new element is the smash ball. Otherwise, everything is the same as the gamecube version. I'm just glad wifi actually works.
  
  
• Even better than Melee
  By A1O4DB77UWK2SK on 2008-03-09
  35 characters! Very well done. Only big problem is the excitement of Sonic without Knuckles or Tails. Voice Chat Nintendo? No. Character downloads? Not anytime soon.
  
  Still, amazing soundtrack and endless multiplayer fun. Wi-Fi playing is handicapped; Nintendo friend codes strike again. The best part? You can use the Wii-mote, classic controller, or GameCube pad to play. Sweet.
  
  Best Character? Wind Waker Link. For sure.
  
  
• Glorified gamecube version
  By A18UKK8I5K6D1P on 2008-03-21
  Doesn't use any of the wii's features. I was expecting so much from this game and it did not deliver. Would have been a fine game 5 years ago.
  
  
• This game has issues
  By A2SG7ETQTKN602 on 2008-03-09
  Super Smash Bros has always been an amazing game for the Nintendo fan, but this version of the game "Brawl" has some serious issues. I believe that many Wii owners will experience Disc Read Error issues with the game, because it is one of the only Dual Layer disced game Nintendo has released. Nintendo says that it's a dvd lens cleaning issue, but it's beleived that's it's more then that. It's been suggested that if/when you send in your Nintendo Wii to be "cleaned", they're actually replacing the lens with a new one. If this was the case, I wish Nintendo would just be straight with the consumer, which I'm sure we would all very much appreciate.
  
  
• Lets Get Ready To Brawl!
  By A1AYN3IIUNQCIA on 2008-03-09
  I have always been a fan of the Smash Bros. series, ever since the first installment of the game (you know, the one with only 12 characters and eight stages?). And I became an even bigger fan with the release of Melee, which completly upt the antee on the whole series, with tons of playable characters and stages, even bizzarer items, and an upgraded story mode. So after that, I began to wonder, how will Nintendo top this?
  
  And so, nearly seven years after Melee, the creative team comes out swinging with Super Smash Bros. Brawl, one of the most addictive and enjoyable games since Melee. Forget Mario Galaxy or Metroid or any other flagship games, if you truley want to enjoy your Wii experience, you really need only two games. Twilight Princess and Smash Bros., thats all yuo need for hours of fun.
  
  Like before, the character count has been umped, with returning fighters like Mario, Link, Pikachu, and Samus along with new comers Ike, Pit, Lucas, and many more joining the fray, even third party players like Solid Snake and Sonic have been added to the already impressive roster. As for stages, we're given even more diverese terrain ranging from a castle battle to an upgraded Pokemon Stadium to the biazzare world of Pictochat. It shows Nintendo went all out for this game by trying to stuff as much characters into the game, which adds to an endless array of fighting.
  
  Now, there are a couple of new features added to this installment, the first notable being the Smash Ball. Once you grab this glowing orb of power, watch out for a devistating attack that can turn the tables of even the most hopeless fight. Also added is a new story mode, called the Subspace Emmissary. This surprisingly meaty game has you play as many of the characters as they fight to stop an evil Minister from taking over their world. Along the way, you can pick up trophies and stickers and a whole bunch of other cool collectibles for your gallery. Oh, I nearly forgot about stickers! Well, this little do-hicky's are much like trophies but unlike trophies, you can do a whole bunch of stuff with them like power up your player, make a scrapbook, even get a few added bonuses if your lucky.
  
  As for Wi-Fi, this game has a surprisingly good connection (as long as its within the continental US, mind you) and being able to play others from across the land can really add to the whole fun.
  
  So after you have experienced Brawl, there really is only one question left. How can they top this one?
  
  
• Seriously?
  By A1XYDYDH5PRPAO on 2008-03-22
  I got my two kids (ages 10 and 13) each to come and try to figure out the Super Smash Bros. game with me this evening and the unanimous opinion is that this game seriously blows.
  
  I absolutely cannot figure out what's going on and there's certainly no strategy beyond mashing every button separately and in combinations to see if anything seems to actually work. Once someone wins, I don't know why or how, other than maybe that player fell off the platforms the least. Maybe it's me, but I don't get it. That may be the worst game I've ever bought for my many different platforms.
  
  
• Doesn't work
  By A15MX8YJMBNDB0 on 2008-03-10
  Great. So I put the game into my Wii and get a DRE every time. Awesome. This is what I get for being fool enough to get a Wii at launch? Terrible. Had to go to a friend's just to play it, I was NOT impressed at all. Ended up giving SSBB to him, had my Wii sold for fifty dollars an hour later. Nintendo's done for as far as I'm concerned.
  
  
• 1 star, because Nintendo faulty equipment
  By A27UDIEI3HZMT4 on 2008-03-20
  Sure, I'd love to give this 5 stars, Hell I'd like to play it. After several months of teasing us with hope of there first exciting release since Twilight Princess came out at launch a year and a half ago, Nintendo disappoints. They have pulled a Microsoft, releasing defective hardware, to an unknowing public. The lasers in the original Wii's are defective and too weak to read their first release of a dual layered disc. You would have thought Nintendo could have tested this out before they released their most anticipated release.
  
  Overall, Wii have given up on this system.
  
  
• Brawl: 7 years in the making... really? Seriously?
  By A250DHEQZYR6DN on 2008-03-28
  Super Smash Bros. is the title that allows us to use great characters who usually never interact in video games, let alone fight one on one, or in a free for all to see who is the victor. Smash Bros. for the N64 introduced us to this title, and Melee set the new standard.
  
  I read another review titled Super Smash Bros. Melee v1.1. That is a really fantastic title for this game. It's fun when you first get it, but it gets fantastically old. Here is why you should wait until the price goes down if you feel compelled to buy this game.
  
  No.1 - When using the Wii Remote you can even use the normal function of pointing the remote to the screen to activate menu's while in the Brawl game channel. It's absurd. This game is for the Nintendo Wii, and it doesn't use the most basic Wii function - pointing at the screen. Sure you can shake the controller to smash, but the Wii Remote really isn't that fine tuned to accurately smash an opponent with the exact move. Stick to the Gamecube controller.
  
  No.2 - The Subspace Emissary. I heard so much on the DOJO! before this game came out about the Subspace Emissary would be the single player adventure game everyone's been waiting for. It's honestly just busy work. You have to fight each boss twice, and there is a TON of backtracking towards the end (The Great Maze, the level is called - more like great waste of anyone's time). It takes too long, and the videos are terrible. Why are they terrible - there is no dialogue, and you cannot discern what the hell is going on. Since I couldn't figure out what was going on, I really got taken out of the "Emissary" very quickly. Something about the Subspace and robots working for some non-existent character the Ancient Minister and Tabuu. Also, those bombs that seem to destroy areas of the world and the robots are all sad - well they shouldn't be, because when you go into those bombs (which you spend probably 5 or 6 levels simply running from) there is the other world where the final boss lies.
  
  No.3 - Unlockables gallore, to the point where its annoying and ridiculous. Beat the 100 man brawl under 4 minutes, unlock a trophy. Beat it again under 3 minutes and 30 seconds, get another trophy. Beat it with every character (there are 35), how tediously appropriate for a trophy. My beef with the trophies, is that the information supplied is purely basic. In Melee, when you won a character trophy it at least described the players special moves and what they were good at.
  
  No.4 - Items. I didn't realize that more items was supposed to mean more awesome-ness. I didn't get that memo. In Melee, my favorite levels were plain stages - Battlefield, Final destination, even Corneria and Pokemon Stadium - and I always played with items to appear, umm, NEVER! Melee didn't really have an item addiction, but this game has final smashes, which are gimmicks much like Mario Power Tennis (which ruined that game as well) and the Dragoon. Items which offer instant kills. Oh, and there's a golden hammer, which is like a better regular hammer. What happened to good old fashioned melee's and seeing who is the better fighter and player in the game? This game in it's single player modes becomes whether you or the CPU can get to the Rocket Propelled Grenade Launcher first.
  
  No.5 - Repetition and Re-Hashing. I don't really mind that Final Destination and Battlefield appear again with some minor improvements on the backgrounds, or that many other good and great Melee stages appear (I actually want to play on Saffron City from the original). But when this game creates new stages for DK that are exactly like Melee's Ice Climbers stage, that is only the start of it. Fox's final smash is getting in the Landmaster, his giant tank which fills up most of many of the stages. He can fire his cannon, fly into the air for a bit and spin to kill enemies. Guess who has the same final smash. Falco. Why? He's a bird. Wouldn't he jump in his arwing? The answer is that it was easier to make 1 final smash for 3 characters. I don't want to ruin who the final character from Star Fox is, but don't worry, it doesn't add anything to the game. By the way, Falco and Gannondorf are the two characters which they absolutely ruined for Brawl. I still don't know why Sonic is in the game. His B-Special moves are all the same. Spin dash this, spin dash that. Almost too fast to handle. Big Spoiler - instead of Young Link, you have Toon Link, who like Young Link is exactly like Regular Link except a little faster and has slightly different graphics. Pokemon Stadium 2 is a bad bad stage. The air field and the electric field ruin it completely. Why would you have treadmills at the edges spinning you off? It just doesn't make sense? Beat Classic mode with every character, all 35. Beat All-Star mode with every character. Beat Boss mode with every character. Beat Level 1 Target Smash with every character. Wash, Rinse, Repeat.
  
  Conclusion time: There aren't really any improvements to this game from Melee, and that's the simple answer. There is a lot of running around and doing the same damn thing, and the actually Brawl's aren't much different from Melee either. You have some different characters and some different stages, but everything is really there. Gimmicks are what sell this game. Just playing Brawl mode with friends is what this game is for, so if you want it for that, great. That's where the fun is. Not in the Subspace Emissary or Classic mode, or target smash. I still don't know why this game is for the Wii. Nintendo really missed the boat there. I rationalize the poor graphics of the Wii for spectacular gameplay and groundbreaking controller interface. I can't even use the wii remote to point to the screen? I have to use the D-pad?! The designer of this game is the creator for Kirby games. Big mistake. Wait until the game gets cheaper.
  
  
• Absurdly Ridiculous
  By A26KW750LLIEAT on 2008-03-25
  This game is so bad. It's basically a 2-D walkthrough you play by repeatedly pressing A. I bought it thinking it was going to be as good as Super Mario Galaxy, but it's ridiculous. It's for seven year old boys. The game play is monotonous and confusing. Many of the actions and moves are counter-intuitive. What a huge disappointment. Everything moves too quickly to feel as if you have any real control over the game. It feels like you are playing on autopilot. Especially peeving is the constant onslaught of video interludes, which are supposed to trick you into thinking you are playing something actually engaging or exciting, but really just substitute for a real story or real challenges. It feels like some ridiculous arcade game from 1987. Skip this one, don't believe the hype. This game is among the worst Wii has ever produced. I would never purchase this for a child. Boring. Lame.
  
  
• I Don't Like This Game AT ALL!
  By A3AKQHIR4X343V on 2008-05-10
  About myself, I've never been a Nintendo owner until the Wii. So I've never played any previous versions of this. It seems to me that this game is only fun for people who grew up playing other versions of this. There was so much Buzz about this game when it was coming out, I wanted to get it, which I regret. For me, it got boring really fast. It just seems like more of the same over and over again. I'd rather play Wii Sports Boxing, or even Punch-Out. My young son doesn't seem to like it much, either. He'll turn this game off in 10 minutes, where normally we have to force him to stop playing video games. Rent this one before deciding to buy.
  
  
• One of Nintendo's greatest ideas.
  By AQOV9OWXUHZTR on 2008-03-09
  A great game, fun for the entire family. This game features new characters, stages, Wi-Fi Connection to brawl online, and so much more! It even has the option to create your own custom stages! If you are planning to get a Wii and games, GET THIS ONE!
  
  Ignore the negative reviews, because they have no idea what they are talking about! This game is the BEST!
  
  
• The Best Game Ever Played
  By A1763EAP0BQORU on 2008-03-09
  This is for sure the best game I have ever played. The few other reviews that say this game is overated, bad, or just like Super Smash Bros. Melee are wrong. This game is packed with new players, such as awesome Meta Knight, a new feature: Build Your own Stage, the new co-op mode, and so much more. You can play this game for hours and never get tired of it. Though the release date was delayed until March, 9, it was worth the wait. I highly recommend this game to people of all ages.
  
  
• More of the same
  By A2HUVG4TKADLGI on 2008-03-11
  I eagerly opened this game, started up - and was almost immediately disappointed by what became a theme of the game: it wasn't designed for the Wii. Don't get me wrong - it works on the Wii - but why are we back to using the analog stick on the Nunchuck for character selection instead of using the pointing abilities of the Wii remote??
  
  As others have said here, it's a very slight improvement on Melee - if you own that and love it, just break it back out and keep playing. Save yourself $50. It reminds me a lot of the Madden franchise - slight changes every year, a little something new, but really not worth upgrading every single year.
  
  I'm thinking of trying to sell or trade my copy, too - total waste of money.
  
  
• Horrible, craptacular button mashing waste of time
  By A1F4ZER0W4CSD4 on 2008-03-28
  This game is awful. I'm just thanking my lucky stars that I rented this "game" from the local Blockbuster. Here we go....
  
  *It's all about how fast you can hit the "A" button
  *Doesn't use any of the unique features of the Wii remote.
  
  So if you have $49.99 + tax to waste on seeing how fast you can mash the "A" button on you Wii Classic Controller, go for it!!! Otherwise save your $$$.
  
  
• Quickly gets old...
  By A3PW1PM77RVMNS on 2008-03-11
  I have a copy on Craigslist for $40 if anyone is interested. Only used for 2 hours!
  
  
• 6 years apparently wasn't enough
  By A267AXZJAJVQPE on 2008-03-12
  To start out, I love this game. Its one of the few games on the Wii that I have played that make the system almost worth getting(anyone who thinks that Super Mario Galaxy makes the Wii worth it should go replay it. Worst game I have ever played). Brawls replayability makes it perfect for large groups of people to enjoy hours of play.
  
  Now you are probably wondering about the title to this review, "6 years apparently wasn't enough". For how fun this game is, some of the things that did make you wonder what the developers were doing all this time. Let's start with the online system. Some genius at Nintendo decided back in the day that Nintendo game consoles would use something call friend codes. These numbers have to be given to people who you want to play with online. There is a major flaw with this. If your code get reset you now have to give a new code to anyone you want to play with, and then get there code in. The second major problem with playing Brawl online is that there is no match making. All this time and delays they couldn't make a decent online system.
  
  The character choice in Brawl is very disappointing. Very few of the newly introduced characters were decent(Ike, Meta Knight, Sonic), and a lot of the old characters were ruined(Ganondorf especially). Olimar, R.O.B., and Snake add nothing to the game.
  
  The last problem with Brawl is sub space emmissary. Sub Space Emmissary gets old really quickly. Boss battles come from other boss battles with different characters(go battle the Purple dragon again and tell me thats not Master Hand).
  
  Overall, this game is great. Just stick to Brawl mode. The rest of the game is not worth it.
  
  

• Electronic Gaming Monthly
• Play
• Tips & Tricks Magazine
• Wii Wireless Sensor Bar

• Super Smash Bros. Brawl: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides)
• No More Heroes
• Okami
• Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
• Advance Wars: Days of Ruin