I did a writeup of the game for some people in my clan who were interested in how the game was, so I suppose I’ll copypasta it here as well. It’s a little rough, but it’s not like I’m getting paid to write it.
Brawl is the best installment yet. The game features 35 new characters and refines the old ones, turning clones such as Falco and Ganondorf into original characters. Every nuance about 64 and Melee has been refined, polished, and is now customizeable.
It lets you play with four controller configurations, including using the Gamecube controllers, so if you’re a prior owner of a Gamecube you should have no problem fielding the controllers for four players. Even if you don’t have nunchuks for your extra Wiimotes, you’re still in good hands as you can use it sideways, NES style. I personally haven’t played that configuration, but people are saying it’s more precise than the nunchuk configuration.
The new characters are excellent. Sonic controls completely unlike any other Smash Bros character there is, to succeed with him you actually have to control him like you would in the Genesis games. Snake adapts extremely well considering the rest of the characters and settings, and has an arsenal featuring grenades, a RPG, a Nikita guided missile launcher, a mortar, and remote detonated mines.
The Pokemon Trainer is probably the most versatile character, allowing you to switch between Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charizard with their own strengths, weaknesses, and fighting styles with the pressing of Down + B. All of the pokemon are extremely capable on their own, in fact I use Bulbasaur almost exclusively.
Brawl features two new recovery systems - gliding and grappling. Characters such as Pit and Metaknight are able to spread their wings and glide back to the platform. However, gliding is very difficult and makes characters somewhat vulnerable. The grappling system is pretty cool, allowing Samus, Bulbasaur, and some others to hook onto the edge of the levels and pull themselves back up.
The levels are great as well. Brawl has an amazing variety of levels, each with a unique style of gameplay. I’d venture to guess there are about 30 new levels, and most of them are never the same. There is a Super Mario Bros stage featuring the first level panning horizontally, forcing the players to fight whilst navigating the level. Occasionally upon picking the map it will switch to one of the underground levels instead, with its own unique soundtrack. Many levels are like that. Snake’s stage for instance, Shadow Moses Island, will sometimes have a Metal Gear burst through the background wall. It’s always a surprise, as it could be one of three different Metal Gears — Rex, Ray, or three of the new mass produced ones from Metal Gear Solid 4.
One new element to the gameplay in Brawl are items known as ‘Smash Balls’. These multicolored balls will sometimes start floating around the stage. Upon dealing enough damage to the ball, your character is granted a special character unique attack. Kirby will create a huge pot and cook all of the players in his general vicinity, Starfox will deploy a massive Landmaster tank and unleash hell on the battle. All of these attacks are devastating, and it keeps the game interesting as when the Smash Ball appears on the stage there is a fighting frenzy to get to the ball first and at the same time keep the opponents away.
The Smash Bros series is immensely successful and is still heavily played even today. It wouldn’t be an unfamiliar sight for me to be walking through a dorm hallway and hearing the sounds of Smash Bros emanating from rooms. With that said, Smash Bros Brawl is the best one yet, on all fronts. There is one feature however, that will keep Brawl played much longer than its predecessors — online play.
p.s. nya~ nya~ I have brawl and you don’t~
