Smash Bros: Brawl

[Pierrot Le Fou]

Okay, Leb you make good points. I didn't know the dynamics of DK/Battletoads/Rare.

And I've read into the tiers in the past, I just think they're bull.. Hell, if I spent as much time on any one character as those tournament people did, I guarantee I could hold my own with Bowser, Yoshi, DK, (maybe) Jigglypuff. Sure I use Roy and Fox a good deal, and I know they have a slight advantage when it comes to wavedashing, shuffling, L-canceling, and all those other "professional" tactics; nevertheless if you're good enough you can kick anyones butt with any character. People are just so used to the idea that only certain characters can be used in the tournaments that half of them don't even bother to try using the rest. While I've never played in tournaments I have a dozen smasher friends, and I beat all of them when it comes down to a one on one (not every character but still..)

I agree with Arenegath's last statement, only applying that to players as well.

[Tonberry]

I guess the clonage of Mario and Luigi is a matter of opinion. I think they are too similar.

The bad part about clone characters is that they could make them different instead, to make the game more interesting. By differentiating Ganondorf and Captain Falcon, there would be more to the game. Different moves, different playing styles. And besides, you can't really compare Super Smash Brothers to standard fighting games. They are different games in nature.

[Cedric]

New trailer out on IGN's site. This time around, they have some actual footage from the game.

http://media.wii.ign.com/media/748/748545/vids_1.html

If anyone finds anything noteworthy (after dozens of play-backs I figure) then please post it.

I'm looking forward to it. I heard that the developers of Brawl played Melee extensively and they were given directions to use the Melee Engine first and foremost. From this video, they at least held on to that idea. Aside from the crisper graphics, this game looks exactly like Melee!

What interests me are the attacks. This may be my eye playing tricks on me, but I swear that a lot of the Nair, Bair, and Fair attacks are L-Cancelled. This is especially convincing when I look at the Mario player. I play Mario as one of my characters in Melee and I know what an L-cancelled Fair looks like. The recovery time on the ground looks way too fast for a regular uncancelled attack. Either L-cancelling is now automatic (a la Smash Brothers 64) or they left that part of the advanced techniques in.

Then again, I could be seeing things. This is a trailer for the public after all, and there's no reason why they would show advanced tactics off the bat. It might confuse them. Still, L-cancelling wouldn't be counter-productive to the beginning trailer. Most people wouldn't even know what the L-cancel is, much less spot one.

If I had to venture a guess, the characters shown are the basic characters a player chooses right off the bat. Early trailers never show hidden characters. I do expect there to be more chooseable characters in the beginning of the game, though. These people were probably the main ones chosen for viewing.


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Random thoughts:


Mario - He looks exactly the same as Melee. I predict that his cape flip will be toned down though. It was way too fast and the lasting power of the reflecting move was too long in my opinion.

Wario - Looks like he has Bowser-like normal moves. He does pull them off a little faster though.

Zero-Suit Samus - Ehh . . . she plays like Sheik now, apparently. However, she isn't nearly as fast.

Meta-Knight - I never liked doing more than 4 hit combos on anyone. I feel that most people would break out easily. Not to mention that you're prone to attack while combo-ing in Multiplayer. Meta-Knight's attacks look sweet, but just try that in a multi-player. I'm not convinced just yet. He also looks light. But if he has a Kirby-like recover, he'll live.

Pitt/Kid-Icarus — Apparently, his dual swords are actually a Swallow; the same weapon as Kyril. That automatically makes him the closest character to any Suikoden personality so far. (Heck, we even have Winged Angels as a Suikox regiment) I call dibs on him!

In all seriousness, he looks fast which is my favorite type of character (Not Fox/Falcon speed though). I just hope he has some good range like Marth. I'm a Marth/Fox player at heart so a combination of both would be awesome.

Solid Snake - His moves look like a distant relative of Captain Falcon, but he doesn't seem that fast. He's probably one of the middle-heavy damage dealers while being on the slow side. I'm thinking similar to Roy. Interesting to note that he has a Rocket launcher move that looks like Melee Samus' down-smash. It could be a smash attack because it looks too lame to be a special.

Fox - No moves seen; how sad. At least he's there. Please don't tone him down! I need his Shine and quick moves.
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[Sialeeds]

Man I hope for some news someday.. I´m so excited of that game it´s gonna be the best brawler ever!! :D

[Ujitsuna]

I always used to play a game or two with my friends most weekends, it's a really addictive and social game, I look forward to this. My character was always Luigi, Luigi is the best thing to come out of Italy, ever. Even if he did technically come out of Japan.

[Sialeeds]

My favourite was Marth, even he was inferior to Roy I always kicked his butt when he faced my as CPU or human player :)
I also like to play Pikachu he is great too.

[Cedric]

It took forever, but the site finally opened.

http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/index.html

Like King's blog for Suikoden 5, this place will be updated consistently for new things, so fans be on the lookout for some neat things every week (maybe even every day, who knows?)

Right now, they only have some small screenshots. They also did a miniscule special about Brawl's version of the battlefield stage we've all seen in the game trailers.

But I think the most impressive thing about this particular update is the music composers participating in Smash. Check this incredible list of talent out!

http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/music/music01.html

A few highlights on that list:

Akihiro Honda (Metal Gear Solid 4)
Michiko Naruke (Wild ARMs series)
Motoi Sakuraba (Star Ocean 2 and Valkyrie Profile)
Noriyuki Iwadare (Grandia series)
Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, and Xenosaga Episode 1)


They even have a music sample on the bottom of the page. The menu theme, from Smash Brothers Melee, was recomposed by Sakuraba. And after listening to it, it really does sound like it belongs in Valkyrie Profile or Star Ocean.


The release date hasn't been mentioned although for sure it will come out this year according to the site. Start hording your friend codes now while we wait for this classic. (In my case, I need to fix my router so I can add friend codes again; sorry Firefly/Celes!)
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[Leb]

As someone said on another site, the composer list is a clusterfuck of epic proportions. This is going to become one of the most hyped games ever in the gaming community, and it's already a popular series in the mainstream. Seriously, if you're considering buying it, preorder now. I know I need to.

I really don't think they'll be able to live up to said hype, but I'm excited nonetheless.

[Gil-galad]

There's news on what types of controllers will be usable for Super Smash Bros: Brawl up on IGN. It would appear that Nintendo has gone out of their way to please pretty much everybody. The Wiimote is usable by itself, the Wiimote + nunchuk combination, the 'classic controller', and also the GameCube controller.

I think I may stick with the GameCube controller, since I'm most used to that, but I think it would be fun to dabble into what the Wiimote has to offer in a game like this. Personally, I think a more conventional style controller suits this game best, though.
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[Tonberry]

I agree, Gil. I'll be sticking to the GC controller, though it will be fun to try the Wii controller a few times.

[Ujitsuna]

I can't think of playing Super Smash Bros. with anything but a Gamecube controller really, the Nintendo 64's control was really awkward for the game to me.

[Fundertaker]

Well, then, considering I have Wiimote + Nunchuck and the Classic controller... I just need those 2 GC controllers from my cousin and it's four way all the way!
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Tinto: Kicking Asses is our Speciality


This post is officially Fundertaker Approved

[Leb]

A challenger has appeared--


Ike - Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance





"Wii's Game of the Year forever."

Also mentioned since the last time we all spoke, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Bowser, Animal Crossing Pitfalls, Assist Trophies (AI controlled partners from various Nintendo games that will perform a little special move to aid you), the return of the Bumper, and probably some other stuff I've forgotten. Either way, pretty spiffy stuff.

[Fundertaker]

Well, there were some stages revealed as well. The Zelda: Twilight Princess is so off the charts that I want to do a never ending brawl in that bridge. Oh, and Ike being there is great too (since I don't believe any more Fire Emblem characters will be playable).
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Tinto: Kicking Asses is our Speciality


This post is officially Fundertaker Approved

[Ujitsuna]

Doesn't that make three of them now? It looks like a great game, definately going to have some fun when fighting friends!