Super Smash Bros. Brawl Review

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: HAL Laboratory Platform: Wii Players: 1-4 (Brawl), 1-2 (Adventure) Release: 2008 Genre: 2D Fighter / 2D Platformer Rating: 10.0 \ 10.0: Perfect

Wow. I can’t believe I underestimated HAL Laboratory and Nintendo (I mean, it's not every day I say that about Nintendo, but I was seven when I first played this game, and I didn't realize my controller was messing up just because it need new batteries)— this game is downright SMASHING! (That's a title based pun) There are several modes— the main attraction of course, is Brawl, which lets you battle with up to four players. You are able to do a KO-Fest, a Stock Battle that gives each player a number of lives, or a coin battle. Those playing on their own can practice in Solo, which lets you train against the character of your choice, or play stages in which you smash targets under a time limit, or pwn an  anthropomorphic punching bag in Home Run Contest. There's also All-Star Mode, in which you must defeat everyone on the roster. Longtime fans will have fun with Classic Mode, in which must compete in random brawls up until you fight the giant evil glove, Master Hand. This mode's name is due to the fact the mode was featured in the original SSB. If All-Star Mode is too much for you, a less intense survival challenge lies within Multi-Man Brawl. Here, you can do battle with Allovs, metallic beings in the form of specific characters. Best of all is Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary, an epic platforming-oriented quest in which you must save the universe from Tabuu, a massive blue humanoid extraterrestrial with amazing combat skills. The Subspace Emissary is so spectacular that I think it could have been it's own game. Short bursts of fun can be had in Events, in which you must fight  with specific objectives against a stage-specific character. Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection,  allows you to duke it out with up to three other Wii owners from around the world. However, the mode had been discontinued along with the console's online functionality, but it was not when I published the first version of this review. The combat is fantastic— every character has a wide variety of moves, and the new assist trophies are devastating, as well as fine references to Nintendo's past. My brother noted that you seem to have less recovery time than in later iterations of Smash, but this is difficult to notice. If there's ever a match you want to remember forever, you  can pause to take a screenshot or save the replay postgame. There are many weapons and power-ups from Nintendo games. Old favorites like the Pokeball and the Bob-Omb are present, and new items such as the Smart Bomb and the Golden Hammer. The graphics are gorgeous and have a unique gritty style also seen in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and the visual effects are incredible. In addition to many new battlegrounds, there are even Melee Stages— battlegrounds found in Brawl’s 2001 predecessor, Super Smash Bros. Melee, (available for the Nintendo GameCube. The original versions of these levels are also playable on the Wii, which is compatible with GameCube disks) and you can even create your own levels! If you really appreciate music in games, than you will be glad that you're now able to control the frequency at which a song plays in any given arena. There are also new characters on the roster, including Pit from Nintendo’s long-dormant Kid Icarus series, Donkey Kong's iconic nephew, Diddy Kong, Lucas from EarthBound, Mr. Game & Watch, Pokémon trainer, Captain Olimar from the Pikmin games, ROB the robot, and two third-party characters: Sonic from Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog series, and Snake from Konami’s Metal Gear series. With the addition of Sonic, it is now up to you to decide which company won the 16-bit console wars-- fisticuffs are a more effective argument settler than Olympic competitions. Another new and awesome addition to the series is the Final Smash, an extremely destructive power useable only by destroying a colorful Smash Ball. Each character has their own overpowered move, my favorites of which are Mario’s Mario Finale, a screen-clearing burst of fire; and Captain Falcon's Blue Falcon rundown, a homage to the Cap's obscure racing past that is hard to pull off but is almost guaranteed to result in your victim being launched off the screen. But the fun doesn't end there-- there are tons of trophies, music discs, and more to collect, and also useless stickers that are fun to pick up anyway. You can even unlock demos of Nintendo classics from the NES, SNES, and N64. There's only one thing that could have possibly made this game better-- the ability to play as your Mii (in fact, this was considered for the game, and it has since been featured in SSB for Wii U and 3DS)! From gameplay to replay value, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is as close to perfect as a video game can be. It's the ultimate Nintendo crossover and is not only one of the greatest fighting games ever made, in my opinion, but has a place in my heart beside Super Mario Galaxy 2 as pretty much the best game I've ever played. If you're at all a fan of Nintendo or fighters, than you simply must play this game-- I strongly doubt you'll regret it.

Ups
New characters and battlegrounds
Epic Final Smashes
Tons of modes
Awesome Adventure mode
Melee stages
Stage creator
The list goes on and on...

Downs
Too long a wait for a sequel!

ESRB: T for Teen Content: Cartoon Violence and Crude Humor Price: $24.99 (Retail)