So, Super Smash Bros. Brawl has been pushed back to February. It's Nintendo, and it's to be expected. If there was on game I want them to get right, it's this one. With some games I would be left with a bitter test in my mouth, as past experiences have had delays and no updates for said game, so you never know what's going on with it! With Brawl, we get the daily updates on the official site. You can't help but feel a little love from Nintendo as they're really giving the fans something to smile about every Monday through Friday.
So I'm going to give some thoughts on the new game, what I'm hoping for, what I've seen, and what I'm liking/disliking. So, as Mr. Mario would say: "Here we go!"
#1) Sonic the Hedgehog - So yeah, Sonic's in Brawl. I would admit, I was kind of hoping he wasn't going to appear, as Sonic's recent offerings haven't exactly been stellar (ever since the original Adventure in my opinion). However, it looks as though HAL have treated the blue hedgehog with more care than Sega have. He looks like an awesome character, and I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on him. New favourite character? I doubt anybody could take the place of Fox, but anything is possible. Here's hoping Tails isn't in it. I doubt he will be. Though it would be awesome to kick his butt!
#2) Solid Snake - Old news, but knowing that Snake is going to be playable in Brawl is really weird, and exciting. They put some actual footage up of Snake kicking some tail, and he looks really cool doing it. I didn't really know how they were going to handle him, but it looks as though they've done it well. I wonder if his shield will be his box, like how Yoshi uses an egg? Who knows?
#3) Final Smashes - I'm mixed about this one. The thing I love about Smash Bros., is that no matter how good you are, the game can produce a very random outcome, what with items and all. Final Smashes look to further unbalance things. They look awesome (like how Fox uses a frikkin' Landmaster and Bowser turns Giga!), but at the same time, you're going to rack up a lot of deathes with these things, and I know people are going to scream "cheater". For serious Brawls, I hope this feature can be turned off, much like in Mario Power Tennis.
#4) The New Characters - When I had beaten Melee, there were three characters I wished were in the game. They were Wario, Meta Knight, and Diddy Kong. Seriously, I'm not just saying this. So I am really happy that these guys will be in Brawl, as well as more Pokémon (Squirtle, Ivysaur and bloomin' Charizard), Ike, Lucas and Pit. Lucas and Ike look very much like Ness and Marth/Roy, so I will pass judgement on these guys when more information is released or when I can actually play as them. Diddy Kong will no doubt be loads of fun to play with, and Meta Knight looks slick (I'm sure I will be this guy quite frequently). Pit also looks like a cool character, and I really love his new look. Here's hoping a new Kid Icarus game is released! The Pokémon Trainer looks like an interesting character, but I will probably play as Charizard for most of the brawls.
#5) The Subspace Emissary - This is something I am really looking forward to. I never really enjoyed Adventure Mode in Melee, because it just felt like something was missing. It had some serious potential, and I am over the moon to see they have taken it a step further and wrapped a story around the whole thing. Want to know what I am really excited about? 2 player co-op! From what they've announced, it sounds an awful lot like Kirby's Fun Pak/Kirby Superstar on the SNES, and that, in my books, is awesome. Can't wait to sink my teeth into this mode.
#6) Assist Tophies - Basically Pokéballs with Nintendo all-stars! Two characters they have announced I really wised were playable characters, those being Samurai Goroh and Lyn, at least they will get to kick some butt! Lots of it from the looks of things. Characters like the SNES Andross and NES Excitebike really tickle my fanboy test buds, as I just love all the retroness of their appearances (LOL what?). Assist Trophies are an interesting way to include more Nintendo characters into a game which is all about honouring those characters. Oh, and kicking the crap out of them too! :P
#7) Visuals and Audio - I am VERY impressed with the visuals in the game so far. I don't really care about good graphics in a game, so long as the game plays well, but SSB:B looks like it will make me drool. The characters look incredibly detailed, animate amazingly and just look friggin' awesome. The backgrounds and level designs not only look really cool, but they look really interactive too! The music in the game is sounding beautiful. The snippets they keep releasing sound amazing, I love the Pokémon Gym music (with kickass version of the evolution theme), and any Star Fox music is bound to get me excited! Basically, this game looks and sounds very polished!
#8) Wi-Fi - Online play. Do I need to talk about this? Basically, I can now challenge people from all over the world. I won't care about winning or losing, but having the ability to play against people instead of computer controlled opponents is awesome, especially whenever I want. I'm so happy they included this feature. So long as people don't drop out when they're having their behind served to them on a plate, I will be a happy-chappy!
#9) 4 Ways to Play - I will probably play this game with a GameCube controller. I've played Melee so much with my friends that playing this game with anything else will feel weird, but I LOVE the fact that they're included different control schemes. Many people who have a Wii may never have played Melee. So they probably won't have any GameCube controllers, and many people have sold off their GameCubes and such (not me!). So it's really nice to see Nintendo not taking advantage of their customers (like they do sometimes *cough Crystal Chronicles cough*).
#10) Super Smash Bros. Dojo - Most of this information I wouldn't even know if it weren't for the official site. I just want to tip my hat to Nintendo for actually taking a little time to update a website with information on a game many fans are looking forward to. I hate it when I don't hear any new information on a game I am REALLY excited about, and I'm sure many of you feel the same way. We don't want another Duke Nukem Forever on our hands. :P
If this game plays like Melee (which I think it will), it's gonna rock! Hope you enjoyed my thoughts on this, I'm sure I'll add to it whenever the site updates with some new juicey information! Till next time Smash fans!