On the 27th of June, āSuper Smash Bros. Brawlā was finally released in the UK. I donāt know why Nintendo made us wait six months more than Japan, three months more than America and a day longer than Australia (nobody gets games later than Australia), but as soon as release day came round I really didnāt care. All I wanted to do was play the newest game in my favourite Nintendo series until my thumbs fell off.
The first thing I noticed about the game is the stunning graphics and music in the opening cutscene which, by the way, is superb. Graphically itās the best Iāve seen on the Wii, and the cutscenes in Brawl easily match up to the best looking games on the 360. With everything looking so sharp and colourful, each different cutscene is a joy to watch, and there are a few I will never get tired of watching. In game, while not quite as spectacular, is still very good looking with everything, from stages to characters, being unique. Itās a definite step up from the Gamecubeās āSuper Smash Bros. Meleeā, so I canāt really ask for much more than that.
The cutscene that this screenshot is taken from is so brilliant, I donāt even question what theyāre looking at.
As for the musical score, I have no criticism for it at all. Itās absolutely brilliant, probably the best on any game ever. I think Iāve unlocked around 150 so far, and even now thereās still bonus tracks popping up everywhere, so itās fair to say that the soundtrack is massive, and that itās guaranteed to have something to satisfy your inner nerd. Not only are there hundreds of songs but each song, whether itās an old favourite thatās been re-hashed or an entirely new song made specifically for Brawl, has been brilliantly composed. All that alone is absolutely brilliant, but when I found out that I could set different music to different stages, change the music in the main menu, and decide how often I hear different songs, I totally fell in love with the game. Iāve already said āloveā and Iām only on the second paragraph of the review. Says a lot, doesnāt it!
As a Nintendo game, the cast of Brawl is mostly made up of Nintendo characters. Some of them everyone is going to know (like Mario, Pikachu and Metroid), some of them nobody is going to know but everyone is going to use (Kirby), and some of them are going to have even the most hardcore Nintendo fan completely dumbfounded. Since Melee, there have been a few new additions to old Nintendo franchises, and some of these characters have been added to the Super Smash Bros line up, which I was looking forward to testing out (mainly Lucario who, by the way, is awesome in Brawl). The two big additions to the roster are Snake from the Metal Gear series, and Sonic, who by all rights should be in this game, since he is probably the second most popular game character of all time behind Mario. Apart from a few cringe-worthy lines from Sonic (thereās a reason Nintendo donāt rely on dialogue, and now we all know it), theyāre both brilliant additions, and I have to admit any doubts I had about Snakeās ability to āfit inā with a Nintendo crowd were squashed a few minutes after I started using him. Like Melee, all the characters are unique, in their moves, animations, and their powers (see āFinal Smashā below), and are a joy to use.
Sonic is a great addition to the Super Smash Bros team. Unfortunately, he sounds like a tool.
As well as the old āClassicā mode from the previous Super Smash Bros. games, Brawl includes a new campaign mode dubbed āThe Sub Space Emissaryā (SSE), which I think is a great addition to the series. While Classic mode can be a lot of fun, itās too similar to the multiplayer to give it any real longevity, but SSE is different. While you do end up in a few standard brawls, youāll also get to experience platforming and new boss battles. Itās a great way for new players to hone their skills and unlock new features of the game like characters and music, as well as some gorgeous cutscenes. Not only that, but the entire campaign is co-op, which hasnāt really been done before in many high profile Nintendo games, at least not in my experience, and playing it through with a friend is a great laugh. The friend can also drop in and out at their own leisure, which is a brilliant feature. However, there is one flaw with SSE, one teeny tiny little flaw that probably isnāt even worth mentioning but I feel like I should throw it out there anyway, and that is the story. Itās essentially, āVarious bad guys, who want to do bad things because they are bad, must be stopped by various good guys, who are good and much better looking.ā. While it may be about as shallow as storylines get, Iām not going to kick up a fuss about it, simply because everything else about the single player is great, and I still really enjoyed playing it.
So what youāve got a big f**king gun, Iāve got Kirby, bitch.
Apart from the SSE and Classic modes, there is also the āEventsā mode, where you play as various Nintendo characters and attempt to complete different objectives for unlockable extras (stadiums, music, trophies, and characters). This mode, without a doubt, is fantastic. The challenges will test just about every aspect of your gaming ability, and the satisfaction of completing the harder challenges is massive. Whether the unlockables themselves are worth it is debatable, but I had so much fun playing through them that, like with the storyline in SSE, I just didnāt care. The Events are a great feature, and an excellent extra in Brawl, and really gives the single player experience that bit more longevity.
Still, all that said, what attracted me most to Brawl was the multiplayer. I remember a few years ago, when Iād be staying up until midnight with mates, getting my ass handed to me on Melee, and absolutely loving it. Needless to say, I expected Brawlās multiplayer, online and off, to be brilliant, and it is. Iāve played all the big name fighting games like Tekken, Dead Or Alive and Soul Calibur, but for me, Brawl surpasses them all. Fighting is absolutely insane, fast paced, and wildly unpredictable, with a perfect balance of strategy and luck. Whether youāre button mashing or trying sleek combos and finishing moves, youāre going to have fun since you can do well with both systems, which makes Brawl playable for just about every demographic of gamers, something that Nintendo are very good at doing. A key feature of Melee was the items you could use during a fight, and that hasnāt changed in Brawl, with loads of new items added to the inventory. Some of the new items are older items with an update (for example, the PokĆ© Ball just throws out a few extra PokĆ©mon), but some are completely original and can have a massive impact on a fight, and these are the trophies and Final Smash orbs. As you collect trophies through the course of the game (youāll just happen to pick them up while youāre on your travels), you unlock them for use in brawling. When you pick up a trophy, it will send out a random Nintendo character to wreak havoc on your opponents or on the arena in general. The Final Smash orbs will appear randomly, and will unlock a secret, unique ability in your character, which is almost guaranteed to turn a fight to your advantage. Both trophies and Final Smashās tend to work in a similar way, itās always going to be a frantic dash as soon as anyone sees them pop up in the stage, and they really add to the pace of the brawls. That, and they all look fantastic, and are brilliant additions to the Super Smash Bros series.
Lucarioās spectacular Final Smash. Why canāt I learn THAT move in Diamond and Pearl?
Unfortunately, I donāt have the chance to really talk about the online service in Brawl. Donāt get me wrong, I did try and get into a few random brawls with people over Nintendo WiFi connection, but it just didnāt happen for me. I actually went downstairs, made a sandwich, forgot Iād left the game running and watched the news, and when I finally did remember Iād left the Wii running, it still hadnāt found me a game. This could be interpreted as a blessing in disguise though, because if you play an online match without using the Friend Codes, youāll have to play the timed games, which are a pile of dog mess. I donāt see why all the options that are available in local and Friend code multiplayer games arenāt available in random matches, it would have made the Brawl online multiplayer much more appealing, instead of the incredibly limited experience that weāre offered at the moment.
Before I wind up this thing, Iām going to have to point out some small features of the game which are, quite simply, ace.
Anyone who has played Halo 3 knows about the Forge and Theatre modes in the game, and ever since I used these features Iāve wanted them to be released with every game as standard. Brawl is, to my knowledge, the first console game to have done this since Halo 3, and the itās worked in these features brilliantly. Taking photos and recording can be done during any match, simply by pausing the game and pressing the ārecordā or ācaptureā button, and you have the ability to move the camera around as you please. Itās a very simple, but surprisingly sophisticated feature, and while itās not quite as sophisticated as Halo 3ās theatre mode, still a great addition to the game.
The Stage Builder is equally simple to use. After choosing the size, background and music (did I mention I love the music? Oh yeahā¦) you get to customise the map how you like, with as much or as little balance and detail as you like. At a first glance, the items seem a little limited, but when you come round to actually building a stage youāll find that theyāre more than sufficient for building a level. Again, itās not as sophisticated as the Forge mode in Halo 3, but itās much more user-friendly. Oh, and for those interested: Yes, you can build a big penis then make Mario and Luigi fight in it. Just thought itād throw it out there.
Some people choose to take stage building seriously. I am not one of those people.
I hesitate to dub Brawl āThe best game on the Wiiā because I havenāt played enough of the Metroid and Mario Galaxy games to make a fair comparison. But it is by far the best offline multiplayer game Iāve played on the Wii, and if youāre using Friend Codes youāll have an equally brilliant gameplay experience. With so many extra features, the fantastic musical score and the gorgeous graphics, as well as a solid single player, Brawl is a must-buy for any Wii owners. Go out and get this game, itās absolutely superb.
Oh, and send me your friend code if youāre up for a match sometime, but I call dibs on Lucario.
Oh, and if youāre wondering where the score is, Iām not giving them anymore. If youāve read the review, you donāt need a score to tell you what I think of the game/movie/whatever.Ā And Trod may/may not have confiscated my dice.
Images stolen from IGN. Because I can.
See the trailer here.