The one game that finally had me scouring the internets to find a Wii to buy. Oh yes, it's that good.

We demand. They supply.

Jest

@phalanges: Congratulations, you just explained every single sequel known to man kind.

Brawl expands a lot on the formula and I've liked all the Smash games, just quit trying to act like all the sequels you play aren't just the same formula expanded. Go find a game on the 360 that offers all this game has to offer... oh wait there isn't one (sure 360 may have better online stuff, but the features this game has in everything pales in comparison minus the online) PS3 is going to have MGS4, the only game that truly can rival Brawl, in size of the team of developers and everything.

It's a no brainier, Brawl is good and the only people complaining are fanboys of other consoles/games and total idiots.

Shaoko

sse w/ great maze 4/10
sse w/o great maze 8/10
by the way if its too hard there are multiple difficulty settings, if you still cant beat it on easy then you are comatose >_>

homeskillet81

Man, I know how immature this "review" from Metacritic was, but I couldn't help laughing when I read it:
"I give this game a zero because you can't even see your own HP, wtf. I think that even if this game had Master Chef it would get an 8. Only because his shooting is awesome. the controls feel wierd and when i kept pushing up on the wiimote my man kept moving left? Worst game ever."

But yeah, Brawl is the game that's selling me a Wii.

Gelatin_Cube

I hate Captain Falcon, I really do.

Graham

SSE is pretty awful, poorly implemented and just doesn't fit. Smash bros is a fighter, always has been, hopefully always will be. A little platforming is ok, such as in break the targets mode, but 8 hours of of it is taking something that's cool in 30 second doses and spreading it so thin that it's almost unbearable. It's easy to confuse smash bros with a platformer, but to acurately describe it, it is a platformer/fighter hybrid, that only has a hint of platforming and is fighting and competition based at its core. When you take the fighting part away(its core element), you get a dull platformer. They try to make it a little more exiting by making mazes, adding enemies, trophies, and various other twists, but that just shows that smash bros needs to be drastically supplemented to even succeed as a platformer, and it barely does. The only reason I can see why nintendo chose to do SSE is because they wanted to appeal to the casual market with something simple.

I would mark the game down at least a half point for this mode.

fenderfuel08

Wow those are pretty great reviews. Makes me wish I was more of a Smash fan.

kupoporo

@Tarmac:
"So.. it's a fighter.. but it has no blood, broken bones, or death? Whats the point?"

Your joking right?? Cause if your not thats the stupidest comment I've ever heard in my life, Street Fighter didn't have death, blood or broken bones, neither does Virtua Fighter, Soul Calibur doesn't have it either

excel_excel

I also do not understand this whole idea of Nintendo being "worn out." You do realize Halo has the same number of games (3) that Mario has 3d games (3) and Zelda has 3d games(3) right? GTA is already to 4, yet during San Andreas I certainly dont remember all the belly aching of gosh this is exactly like gta vice city and 3 just more of.

Yeah I get that the main character have been in a lot of games. Different style of games. Yet nintendo keeps bringing out new IPs that seem to be insta franchises such as Animal Crossing, pikmin, and I assume now they will have a kid icarus game that will more than likely be a hit.

I guess there must be a lot of nostalgic saps then, because most first party nintendo games are always a huge hit, and most are the best reviewed games for a reason, they are at their core quality games.

auberondreaming

People who think nintendo releases rehashes are amazingly stupid. About a million trite un creative games come along all year, but just cause a company slaps a new name and face on it you don't notice how similar it is to everything else you've play before.

What nintendo does is use the same names and characters.. but uses them in amazing, new, fun and innovative ways. Or at least they put them in games about 10 times more original than anyone else could do.

You people are all so shallow to see past a name and character to actually see all the great GAMEPLAY inovations nintendo makes.

Jashan

@UltimatePancakeSensation: While it is fighting game, I usually put it in vein with other fighting games similar in style. In my own definition of fighting games, its what I would call, "chaos" fighting. As in, its chaotic. The focus is not on hand to hand combat but also use on terrain and random luck.

SSBB as my cousins put it, is fun because its completely chaotic and random as opposed to my controlled games of Street Fighter 2, 3, alpha. It's actually closer to Marvel vs. Capcom 2 than Street Fighter is to Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (in my opinion).

RPGr

@TalKeaton: Game Design Major:
actually when they are talking about the controls maybe they are thinking about the physics of the character they are controlling. that the character doesn't respond well enough or that he moves in a strange way which they don't like...
I for one actually have some trouble with turning in the game... but it's because I just mash the punch button constantly and the character will not turn instantly in the direction you move the control stick cause u are already punch in one direction. :)

Elrinth

I do understand the rant on Nintendo releasing old franchises, but to be honest it wouldn´t be Nintendo without Super Mario, Mario kart and SSBB.

Every time Ive bouth a Nintendo console I´ve taken for granted those titles.

Carylith

Oh FedEx, when will you arrive with my delayed copy?

A_Knothole_Resident

What is it with all these people saying they don't understand why this is so great? It's just one of those games that is...you can't put it down, you can't turn it off, for some reason you can't stop playing and for some reason you can't figure out why. For whatever reason, it's fun, just plain fun.

tshack

Well... the thing is... it doesn't improve upon its predicessors in every way. Infact, it really only does in two manners; characters and online play without hacks. Honestly it's like Melee for people who were born with slow thumbs. They took out all of the moves that made the game deep and added some characters that don't fit the spirit of the game, in relation to their play style, whatsoever. It's a horribly disapointing experience if you were a long time player of Melee, but if you ignore the previous game it's great. All-in-all I'm enjoying it, but I would have been happier with Melee: Online: Wii edition.

Anemone

1UP's A/A+ isn't a perfect score.

who8myrice

@yourenzyme: gee, then why even waste the time posting about a franchise you dislike?

frank0127

@Nickatiah: well SSE is just a MUCH faster way of unlocking the characters. besides, you don't buy Smash Bros for the adventure mode, do you? that'd just be stupid. you buy it for what it truly is: a fighting game. everything else is just delicious icing on the cake. me? i loved the SSE. LOVED, not liked. it felt great to play a 2D platformer with Mario again(let alone every other character). also, i truly got sucked into the storyline of it all, always wondering what would happen next, and who would enter the story next.

maybe it's because i actually take my games for what i'm given, and don't find the smallest little detail to bitch about. seriously, i've waited TWO YEARS for this game. i know a few of you probably have as well.

what flaws? lag, and that's all i see. "oh no smash bros has lag omgz" shut up. of course it has lag, this game is IMMENSE to play online like it does. it's free, piss off. if you had to pay for online matches, and you got lag, sure, your bitching would be warranted. but on Super Smash Bros Brawl? on the Wii? with FREE INTERNET PLAY?

complaining just makes you look like a total ass at that point.

frank0127

@iamnotdryad:

Uh oh. Is this the point where he starts to foam at the mouth with unadulterated rage and tell me yet again how I'm such a stupid motherfucker?

iamnotdryad

I wish I had to resort to insults and curse words to get my point across. It just sounds so intelligent when you call someone a "fucking idiot."

iamnotdryad

I find it silly when people say things about Smash Brothers like "It's a bad fighting game" or "X and Y don't work for fighting games", etc. I don't know why everyone considers Smash Brothers a fighting game just because you fight. While it has elements of fighting games (attacks, dodges, multiple characters) it is far from the average fighting game.

I can see how initially the game could be dubbed as a fighter. The original had little to do besides what we now consider the Classic mode of play, which is very much like a fighter (beat your opponent, progress, repeat). However, starting with Melee, the game started to evolve.

The game, which I already feel resembles a platformer much more than it does a fighter, gained a side-scrolling adventure mode. Unlike typical fighters that try to incorporate an adventure mode, none of the gameplay mechanics changed - toss in a long level and some enemies and you were done. At the core, I think Smash Brothers is a platformer that players use as a fighter. I would kind of compare this to calling Mario Kart's battle mode a fighter, when it's really a racer that's being used as a fighter. I'll admit that analogy is a bit shaky - SSB is much closer to a fighter than Mario Kart - but hopefully it at least describes my thought process.

I guess Smash Brothers at this stage in its life is kind of a blank canvas. It's a tool. It says, "Here, I can do this," and then it's up to the players to decide what to do with it. Do they want to treat it as a hardcore fighter? A party game? Are they all about adventure mode and consider it a side-scroller? There's no wrong answer except to try to pigeon hole it in a tiny genre when it's really so much more.

UltimatePancakeSensation

Funny seeing all these screams of "rehash, rehash!"

You mean like, every other successful I.P.?

It's little different from your Metal Gear Solid or your Devil May Cry. It's pretty much the same thing until you get really into it and find the differences/improvements/new glitches yourself.

Admit it, Brawl is awesome. I stopped playing CoD 4 for this baby.

The online is lackluster, but that's my only gripe, and I didn't expect much from Nintendo on that front, anyway.

Though, yes, it is an issue--like dangling a carrot in fanboy's faces and then taking everything away but the weird stemmy portion at the top. "Here's your online but oh! Look! It's the most half-assed portion of the game!" (Should have been the LEAST half-assed part.)

But as far as its other improvements over Melee, this game is pretty freaking sweet.

Xiatter

I LOVED THE SSE...hate me for that
its a blast on 2p mode, like kirby ss, just a little hard at the start

i got the feeling that all the hate is because they didnt include x character

thats just me there

greygecko

@jboze84: Something terrible must have happened to you 10 years ago, and you have been missing out on the fun ever since.

Can you play a game exclusively by button mashing? Yes. Can you beat someone with a genuine understanding of the controls and gameplay with this technique? Occasionally. But certainly not a significant amount of the time.

Anyone who uses the "button mashers beat me" excuse needs to grow a thicker pair of skin and try again. If an unskilled ball of randomness can consistently beat you and this fact upsets you, it's time to practice.

Or, of course, you could just shield yourself from the best fun anyone could ever have with 3 friends. That is to say, you could. Just like you could set yourself on fire, though I wouldn't recommend either of those things.

UltimatePancakeSensation

@SSJPabs: This is why.
[www.gametrailers.com]

@burningranger01: So is Halo by Microsoft fanboys. And God of War to Sony fans.Every big video game, movie, and book. Hype drives our society.It just limited to Nintendo.

Personally, I like SSE. The cutscenes are funny and the gameplay is pretty good. I probably have a good opinion of it because I play at two-hour intervals and then go to multiplayer. It's a much more enjoyable experience when you have something to fall back on. A game without that quality, is a horrible game.

KM91

I just beat SSE last night on Normal, and I have to say, the last stage was WAY too long and monotonous! Although, the final boss was a lot harder than the master hand in Melee. And the ending...song(?) was to me like WTF, yet it fit talking about friends and enemies.

Playing through SSE, I've unlocked most of the characters, my favorite being Mr. Game & Watch, making a return from Melee. I had never seen/unlocked G&W in Melee, and had first heard about this appearance last month on X-Play, so I was pleasantly surprised to be introduced to him in Brawl. I got to fight "Toon Link" from LoZ: WW & LoZ: Phantom Hourglass today, but unfortunately, he grilled me, so I didn't unlock him. :(

Also, I FINALLY got to play a string of several games online! It was from 5:00 to about 6:45 pm EST, where I was just playing game after game, an endless game wave! Only a few games had lag problems, and in one, it would seriously freeze every second. But, I was definitely impresssed with how good the experience was! I even won some games! The games I played varied from 2-4 players.

On one last note, I have to say, I don't really like Snake or ROB as Brawl characters. Sonic is pretty good, though. Snake's moves are hard to pull off, and he can't manuever real well, yet he definitely has the best Final Smash! On the other hand, ROB can manuever pretty well, and his special moves seem to have more of an impact, but his Final Smash seems weak compared to other characters. It can do damage, but it's not really the guaranteed Send-Your-Enemies-Flying kind of move.

I'm done!!

dawimp523

those perfect ten scores are too high in my opinion. This is because even though SSBB is the best game I've played on a nintendo console since Mario 64, the single player subspace emmissary mode sucks...really bad. I would rather play 400 brawl VS matches to unlock cartoon link then to play through 8 hours of that junk.

It's not just me either, as alot of reviewers, even though giving the game these high scores, have admitted Subspace emmissary is the SSBB's glaring weak point. I'd say a 9.5 is fair, as no one has to play that boooring, repetitive mode to unlock anything or to progress, but giving a perfect ten, when that mode is such a significant part of the game, is pretending it doesn't exist.

fenderfuel08

@TRT-X: Halo players ARE hardcore... AND they're gamers. You see, they play 1 game for months and months (and are still barely able to beat me)and refrain from supporting the rest of the industry that doesn't make FPSs, RTSs or MMOs.

That's what being a hardcore gamer is... buying and obsessing about 1 game, or (perhaps) 1 genre of game.

Personally, I hate "hardcore" gamers, especially when they start acting like gaming should be geared towards them, because if it's exactly like the last one they played, they'll love it.

People should play a wide variety of games for a wide variety of reasons.

RemyDuvalle

@irkedpenguin: I also enjoyed the SSE mode - honestly, it was a nice addition, had some great cutscenes (though I'm still iffy on the concept of the trophies), and was a nice alternative to just playing rounds and rounds of four player matches to unlock the hidden characters.

Redriadrum

@Korey: Flawed? We're not talking diamonds or collectible coins or stamps, champ. We're talking about an experience. Outside of the hindrances of online play (Which are now much less hindering thanks to that router fix stuff.) the game is better than I expected. It is indeed a tighter fighting game as a whole, which if I recall, was the main point of the game. Single player experience? It's the same as it was on previous additions, plus a lot more.

If you believe the game is flawed, then maybe you're just looking for someone to tailor a game specifically to your every whim and dream. Good luck with that. Is the game perfect? Again, no, there could certainly be a much more vibrant multiplayer online experience, more options, and much more friendly to routers the world over... but flawed? Get real. If the game isn't your thing, that's fine. You don't get Smash Bros? That's cool, some don't. Flawed? Hardly.

Ampillion, now with the hair stylings of TVs Frank

@KaneRobot: What fighting games single player story are you playing. The problem is you aren't. You instead compare it to Symphony of the Night and Metroid which is where you fail none of these have a primary focus which is a fighting game for which the developers had to spend considerable time on.

SSB is not and has never been a button masher. You obviously have never dodged and then batted or fireballed a person off the stage for those who would say that. The game requires more skill and thought then any fighter before it. It does have it's stock one hit kill items but even most those items require some skill to use unless you play the suckiest character who for balance got some god awful powerful smash attack to counter his oft countered normal abilities.

Here's what we got a good (pay attention) one player or two player solo type affair for a fighter. Please note this is not the main product just a side extra. It's not Contra 4 or SotN or Metroid Fusion but it is exactly what it is and then some.

A level editor.
Online. Not perfect but free and useful.
A couple of the classic minigames.
A ton of new stages.
New characters.

It's more then most other fighter.

I remember when a game being fun was good enough.

ziggy880

@Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.: can....can toss one..as in a salad...a really nasty smelly one

Tolerance for dumbness is on looooooooooow today. Forgive the typos.

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

@Korey: oh jeez, not you too...okay...so you ignore the fact that the reason I'm pissed is because I listed the negatives of the game but these geniuses ignored them and responded as if I said the game was perfect? I never once said the game was perfect and started this conversation with that mentality in mind.

but I read some of these other comments and people are just being stupid. It's not a matter of opinion, it's a matter of stupidity. One guy had the balls to actually say he's bored to death the Smash brothers series. does he even know that there are only 3 games total for the series and that's over the course of 10 years or so. then you have the people that obviously didn't play the game or they suck so bad at it it's laughable, they come out and say "it's a button masher"

Okay...then we have people that will be quick to point out SSBBs flaws but some of these same people have, in the past excused far worse offenses, such as RRoD.

All I said was SSBB is still a great game regardless of the negatives that I LISTED, RIGHT HERE ON THIS PAGE! The same as CoD4 is still a great game regardless of the negatives....or how Mass Effect is still a great game regardless of the negatives.

So these people that want to troll and toss one and when they're done you can get some too.

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

@Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.: Calm down, dude. Is it possible for you to participate in a discussion without resorting to expletives and name-calling? Look at yourself, you're the reason why publications are scared of giving flawed flagship Nintendo games the scores they really deserve. Jesus christ.

Korey

it's melee with a slight face lift and some other tweaks, but that's such a strong base to be building on that it's not a bad thing very fun, on the whole.

the flat score graphs are MUCH easier to read, much appreciated.

ubiquitous, remorseless

No... the online multiplayer kinda sucks.

When I have to boot up a competitor's system (XBox) to play the game online with my friends (Because who cares if you're playing with friends vs. robots with your friends' names if you can't CHAT with them)... when that happens, you know you've done something wrong with your game, Nintendo.

chipclip

@fallingdove: you and I see 10/10 differently. To you it's a whole number, 1, 100%, perfect, however it is you want to put it. For me, if a game gets 10/10, that means it's at the very top if it's game/genre/generation at the time it is released. Movies get five out of five stars relaly quite frequently; are they "perfect" movies? Nope. But they're the best movies out there at the time.

aelfin

This game isn't about nostalgia, is about fighting. if you win you sometimes get a bonus from the characters' background.

that's why you are in the minority. you don't get it, as you say.

VakeroRokero

@Korey: fuck you man...what's wrong with you people...are guys new to kotaku? You do know the site will list all of the previous comments of a member at the click of a button.

I listed the negatives of the damn game. It's even on this very page. I had to remind the last idiot of that fact. Why do you people have broken reading skills...selective comprehension? Like I said before the core gameplay is extraordinary. The online matches I've had (that were lag free) were a blast and the guys I played with kept rematching for 40 minutes in one session alone.

I SAID online was gimped but the game is still fun as hell online when you find a match or just play with people on your friends list.

So you come here talking this nonsense because you only read part of my comments? If you don't go away with that dumbass, idiotic nonsense after your points have already been made time and again AND still doesn't take away from the fact that the game is STILL THE BEST OF ITS TYPE BAR NONE. You will not find anything like it on any current console...PERIOD. No other company could pull off such a game with maybe the exception of Sega because they have the IPs but they'd fuck up the gameplay.

Can we learn to read people...really...can we do that... can we comment with understanding that "prior comments" do exist and not be damn idiots when we want to make retards of ourselves....

thank you

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

@comedy: Heh, sorry, forgot to preface my point with this personal maxim: Review Scores are Meaningless. They mean nothing. If I were forced to comply with them like a sad game journalist (not a happy one, like the ones who work for Kotaku), I would probably refrain from giving it a 10 as well. I just don't get why that even matters.

Would Super Mario Brothers/FF1/MegaMan2 get a 10/10 under the current system? Tons of little problems, glitches with all those games. No Online Play. Control Issues.

I think its early to call SSBB crappy/unoriginal/not innovative at all. You want to quibble over a couple of points on a review score one direction or the other, I just don't see that as important, personally.

@Ampillion, now with the hair stylings of TVs Frank: Thank you, I wanted to make sure I wasn't totally crazy. This gospel must be spread far and wide, that we may have lagless online become the general rule, rather than the exception.

So let me repeat:

If you are having online problems in Smash, make sure that ALL the ports on your router are pointing to your Wii, by setting up your connection Manually, (Nintendo has instructions Here, you have to choose Wireless and then click on Manual Setup. If you can setup a PC for manual IP on wireless, same principle. Then in your router, whatever static IP you assigned the Wii needs to be either the Default Host, the DMZ, or all ports should be routed to the Wii, basically. Unless somebody has identified a narrower port range, at least one Nintendo.com support Doc I saw said to give it 1 to 65535, crazy I know but thats basically what DMZ does on many Routers anyway, if you turn off Port Forwarding along with enabling DMZ.

Please let me know if that fails to help as well!

DaiMacculate

@Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.: Brawl is a great game, I think most of us agree with that. However, it is not a 10. It does not deserve a 10. I'm fully aware that no game is perfect, and I don't think games that get 10s are perfect. However, Brawl - fun as it may be - has a number of glaring flaws.

- A poor single-player experience.

- Barebones online play:

- No leaderboards or stat-tracking of any kind. No persistence or even an illusion of progress to motivate you to play.

- No way to communicate with friends. Not even a "Hey, I'm online. Let's play" or "it's getting late I gotta go." I have to actually call my friend to set up a game, and text him afterwards to explain to him why I suddenly disappeared from the next match.

- Lag is unbearable sometimes.

- 12-digit friend codes that both parties have to remember?

- No option to change rules in online play. EVERY game is a 4 player FFA with items on for 2 minutes.

Are all of these things simply extras compared to Melee? Yes. But in this day and age, it's not enough.

Nintendo gets a free pass when it comes to review scores. Other games you start at a 5 and get graded up. For Nintendo, you start at a 10 and grade down from there, being sure not to piss off the legions of die hard fans who will probably boycott your publication if you give it the low, LOW score of an 8.8. Brawl is an 8.5, and maybe a 9 at best, if you're being generous.

Korey

@iamnotdryad: you can bite me. Did you read my earlier comments? I'm guessing no because if you did you wouldn't have made these dumbass remarks. In my first post I said somes of the negatives were no voice chat , no leaderboards and friends codes.

I also went on to say that the core gameplay is the best of any game of its type. Period. No if, and or but about it. Now run along little boy you're starting to piss me off with your bullshit.

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

I didn't like the SSE, but it wasn't horrible. The cut scenes were great and a few levels were almost fun. Other than that, it had a lot of lost potential. If it was horrible though, I wouldn't have played all the way through it.

Squamden

@Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.:

What's the problem you ask? Some people like having a way to communicate with people and enjoy stat-tracking/leaderboards. It obviously doesn't bother you and that's great but I'm deeply sorry that we don't all think like you do.

iamnotdryad

@comedy: So you haven't played it. But you're obviously in a position to comment on its single and online modes. So explain why you're giving these opinions without having anything to base them on.

Jesus, everyone whines about a game they haven't played. Play the game for a month and THEN give it a review. You can't even judge lasting appeal without trying it for that long.

Tiger-Fever

I'll agree that the game earned the ratings when Play With Anyone actually starts to work.

iamnotdryad

@syrantking: Then why have a ten at all? Surely you realise giving a game 10/10 doesn't mean it's absolutely-cures-world-poverty perfect?

Although, I do completely agree that game ratings on the whole are pretty screwed up.

Ps: I'm not saying SSBB deserves a ten or not, and I probably won't know for quite some time, seeing as Nintendo loves to hate Europe.

EgoMonk

forgive me if this has already been said but again, I'm late to this party....

@Krackatoa: Agreed...dude these people that complain about the game being the same are hilarious. Especially since some of these people I know from past conversation, hate Nintendo. If those commenters (you know who you are) aren't trolling then I'd eat food from Rosco's Grits and Gravy. Great comments have been made so I'll keep it short...

SSBB is an absolute blast to play even with the friends code system, no chat and no leader boards. It's better than Melee, has even more options for customization and improves on a surprisingly deep fighting system. What's the problem again? I'm sorry if I missed something but, it's the best game of its type bar none and people are bitching ...why, exactly? Wii gets a fantastic game and people STILL want to bitch and moan...you people...sometimes I swear I'm at joystiq....

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

The SSE is still great fun for me. Most of you probably hated it because you had to approach it as a necessary evil - something that would unlock characters, something to grind through mercilessly in a few days to better compete in online matches. That's understandable, and it certainly wouldn't stand on its own as a game, but as a peripheral single player diversion, something you move through slowly and sporadically, it is shockingly fun, particularly the bosses. It's hard for me to take seriously any statement that puts SSE mode down there with any of the worst games release this year.

Sustenance

I hate how I'm seeing "Brawl isn't that great, it deserves a 9.". It just shows how screwed up the rating system is. No game should get a 10, and 9 shouldn't be "not that great".

Just putting it out there, nothing on Brawl personally.

syrantking

@Krackatoa: I'm fine with all the Final Smashes, and much to my surprise I find them to be a nice addition to the game.
Except for Yoshi's....holy shit that bastard is irritating. I still think he's hella lame without it though. XD

And yes, thank you for pointing out many changes to the game. I personally feel they nearly perfected the gameplay and characters this time around. So aside from a lackluster SSE and online issues, I feel this game exceeded expectations. Oh and map editing mode is okay, but didn't quite blow me away. Still a nice addition anyway. :D

Really, if you compare the effort put into this game compared to other fighting games, how does it NOT deserve these scores?

Furious_Liver

The hate is hilarious! There are no clone character save for toon link and link. The fighting system is much more robust this time around.

Ollivander

All the haters on here are doing a terrible job of backing up their story.

First off, smash bros is not a button masher. It's the complete opposite, in fact. You know what'll happen if all you do is mash in this game? You'll slowly rack up damage but never knock anyone off the stage. The only reliable way to get a KO in this game is an aerial, smash, or a few throws.

Second, how is this a rehash? It's only the 3rd game in the series. And if you played the other games at all, you'd know that the modified physics and different characters make a big difference. What exactly are you looking for? For it to change into the latest guilty gear 3d beat-em-up spinoff?

Furthermore, having the same characters doesn't mean you can write it off as a rehash. Just because mario kart has a lot of the same characters, doesn't mean you can say "SSBB is just like mario kart, but with fighting." That would just be stupid. Yet many of you are saying "SSBB is just another nintendo game, but with fighting."

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but most of you haters are brushing off this game because of pure bias.

kevko

@Krackatoa: Great review, but I find that I spent the first 4 hours playing multi.. then 7 hours unlocking all of SSE. Then unlocking the rest of the characters. I find that multi is only fun if your damage is set to 1.4.. You don't get the "RUSH" you get when playing Melee and I feel like I know exactly what each person is going to do and how it's going to hit before they hit it. King Dedede is very good I been playing with him and Snake mostly but so far I rate this at a 7.5 where I give Melee a 9. As a Marth/Jiggle/Peach person from Melee I find this game is missing that "JOLT". Online has played great for me.. a few laggy people but you just have to restart and they get dropped. When I'll reserve my finially rating until I unlock everything it's the least I can do for the series. F- them loading times BTW!!

xpnet

Event mode with Co-op is a nice addition that hardly anyone mentions.

I have to buy anything with co-op cause the wife wont play against me (even though on ssbm she'd murder me with shiek). The SSE isnt so bad if you are playing co-op for like, an hour at a time maybe? I dont find it death, course I'm not at the maze yet... and stop making me be crap chars on SSE! lemme just be bowser ok!

Derigor

Those who have played Melee up to the point where Brawl was released know that this game has subtly changed in a damn good way. Same old shit it is not.

Torusan

@EggmaniMN: I said cheap, not strong. They both have moves that undenieably give them an unfair advantage on quite a few boards. But there are quite a few characters that have special moves that given create a severe handicap for other characters, hence my comment about 'unbalanced characters'.

fallingdove

Thank you for th 2D charts.

ProfWho

Being a veteran smasher since Smash Bros. for the N64, and playing Melee up until this release, the graphical updates, changes to gameplay and additional content are BLATANTLY APPARENT. I almost guffaw'd when I read people posting that it's "the same old shtick", but to someone who knows little about the series and doesn't appreciate the intricacies of prior Smash titles this may likely seem like a hack update to Melee.

Those reviewers probably LOVED Smash Brothers in the past, played it unabashedly and cradled their cartridges and discs to bed with them every night as many diehard fans have done before them. When they reviewed Brawl, they saw familiar gameplay glitches removed, combat flow improved, entire new moves and strategies laid down and some much needed character balancing. People taking casual glances at the series don't care about these things, they want Wii-mote waggles and minigames and more characters and fluff not important to the core that makes up Smash Bros. appeal to it's more weathered fans.

To whoever said characters were unbalanced, it all depends on your skill level. Different characters trump others in different situations, and those situations change significantly with player skill and character selection.

In Brawl, the bruiser characters like Bowser and DK aren't garbage and useless anymore when in the higher echelons of player skill. I'm actually quite taken with King Dedede as of late, and he performs wonderfully, even though at first glance he seems like a horribly slow and impotent character.

So far I haven't had the chance to play Online, but I don't care, I'm having a blast playing Multiplayer with my roommates. It's even better than Melee. The controls are tight, the items are entertaining, the final smashes and the terrifying Dragoon make normal versus matches frantic and exciting, and the customization for the game modes is MUCH larger than Melee's.

Anyone not a fan of the Final Smashes can simply disable them. :P

This game is everything I had hoped for and more. You may feel differently, that's your opinion. Just as it's the opinion of the reviewers that this game delivers a deep, entertaining, whimsical multiplayer experience, with a neat single player mode to boot.

Krackatoa

Am I the only one that liked the SSE mode? It reminded me a lot of Kirby for the Super Nintendo. It wasn't the greatest 2D platformer in existance(that would be Megaman X4, stfu if you don't agree), the level designs were still clever and some of the enemies were as well(albeit, it would have been nicer to have more of them). Add all that with the cut scenes, it's something that I deffinatly don't want to see missing in Super Smash Bros. Tag Team in 2010.

irkedpenguin

Nearly every review out their is quick to comment on the visuals and online play, however very few point out that Brawl has significantly tighter controls and a more dynamic fight system then Melee.

That alone makes it a worthy successor. As far as I'm concerned, they improved on the most important part of the game, the fighting.

TaggarT6

"I absolutely hate these games. First of all it's the same damn game as the original which came out what like 10 years ago? Second, it requires no skill and in fact seems to award players who suffer from ADD and just button mash. Throw in annoying levels that move and lead to random unavoidable deaths and fun is just about the last emotion you experience."

Are you talking about smash or Madden/mortal kombat/Tiger woods/etc when you say same game that came out before?

Xlom3000

@fallingdove: See my comment on 10/10 up above.

Also, no, Pit and Kirby are not that strong. You are just not that great at the game yet.

EggmaniMN

@TalKeaton: Game Design Major: Because a 10 indicates perfection. Perfection is defined by excellence in every way. So how can a game be a '10' if the reviewers that gave it these scores but said things like 'some features can be a pain in the ass', 'story mode is less than stellar', 'compared side by side with melee it is hard to tell a difference'. Even if you are completely awed by one area and consider it to be perfect, unless all other aspects are perfect, it should not recieve a perfect score.

I have outlined in other threads why this isn't a perfect game as well. I will briefly touch on those insights again. Bear in mind, I am a huge fan of the original, and I consider Brawl to be one of the top 3 games on the wii; however, with that said.

1. SSE is a huge meh. A game shouldn't be given a 10 if its saving grace is solely multiplayer.

2. The controls are atrocious. Counter intuitive, uncomfortable, un-responsive. Yeah, I know there are multiple controllers you can use and multiple configurations but all I have is the wiimote and nunchuck. (I have heard that the gamecube controller is much nicer, but I shouldn't have to buy a new controller to play a game designed for my system) A game shouldn't recieve a 10 if the reviewer complains about the control.

3. Online is sub-par. I won't even play the online anymore because of the lag. A game isn't perfect if one of its features doesn't even work right.

4. The characters are unbalanced. Pit and Kirby are just two of the cheap characters in the games, whom have moves that are far stronger than other characters in the game.

Like I mentioned, I loved the first game, melee was great from what I played of it, and this is an 'outstanding' game overall, but in reality it is far from perfect and I have played games that were awarded 8s that were a much stronger video game experience than this.

Rant over.

fallingdove

Being honest, i never expected SMBB to be anywhere near as well packed as the game is. The game takes everything loved about Super Smash Bros Melee and adds more and more - which is hard to believe as this was a game already known for its hugeness.
Firstly, i have to say i am glad about the changes they have made to the gameplay mechanics. The game needed to be slowed down (fighting speed) to be speeded up, which i mean the more destructable enviroments and the final smash movies that are hectic.
This would be one of my perfect games if only they could pad out the online capabilities, make the matches last longer, and remove the friend codes from the game.

TheInquisitor

@Ninja-Z: Agreed with that. You've got it right on the head. Fighting games as a whole cannot change much, outside of creating an entirely new fighting title. You can tweak and add/subtract from that battle system, but if you start from scratch and overhaul every little aspect, you ruin what made a game a good game to begin with. If we were talking about crappy titles, that's one thing, but Brawl's always been fun. If you start playing plastic surgeon, you might end up with a Joan Rivers or Cher abomination in the end.

@DaiMacculate: That does fix most the problems. Before I couldn't even get into games, I could spectate all day long, but trying to join them just left me waiting with noone to brawl with. Once I did the DMZ fix, it's now working fine. Still the occasionally laggy game, but I'm going to again blame that on people trying to play the game Wi-fi over a neighbor's unsecured wireless router. (In other words, mostly net issues and not specifically the game. The game has shown it'll run just perfectly fine with four brawlers at once so long as they're connections are good, I've played a few like this.)

@everyone popping in to cry once more about Brawl: Please, grow the fuck up. I'm sorry if Nintendo molested your family or something, but it's getting really old hearing everyone complain in every news article about the game. Say your peace, and then MOVE ON. Some of you have been in every thread crying about it... is that contributing to the comments at all? Fuck no. So shut the hell up.

No, the game is not perfect, it's not some flawless diamond with a superbly written single player story experience. It's a fighting game. If you expected this, you obviously just wanted something to come in here and cry about. In the past twenty years, I can't remember a single fighting game story that I gave one crap about... and I doubt I ever will... because so long as the fighters have flair, the game requires skill, the combat is fun, nobody cares.

Ampillion, now with the hair stylings of TVs Frank

@comedy:
Actually I haven't been hating on it yet, but those are good valid points. I've still been skimming reviews looking for something to "grab" me, and I've noticed most of them mention that adventure mode basically sucks, and online is both a pain in the ass and broken badly, so it sounds like another 4 people in one room party game.

I've heard that some levels actually alter the gameplay like the Warioware ones, but other than that, I agree that if it were anything else, or maybe by anyone else, it would get slammed hard for lack of originality, but it's Nintendo, so it gets a pass. Just remember that this is only SSB 3 - coming to you from the people who licensed, promoted, and published Mario Party... EIGHT.

Namco tries to do the same thing through keeping the oldschool flavor alive and trying to push their old games as hip brands, yet it seems to come off as desparation even though I don't think things like Galaga, Mappy, or Dig Dug have been flogged to death as bad as the Mario family. (Not even Tekken is THAT bad for it!) Nintendo is in a very privileged position to be able to do this - and make an absolute killing in sales!

fuchikoma

@comedy: People are still harping on how 10/10 is impossible? Get over it. Review magazines/sites have all stated that yes, a game with a 10/10 does not mean it's perfect. It can have flaws but guess what? The main gameplay is so fun that any of those flaws are entirely forgivable. THAT is what a 10/10 is.

EggmaniMN

Any game with Metaknight (aka Tiny God, in the game) is alright in my book.

Eirias

I do not get why people are lambasting SSE. It had some problems, namely the backtracking, but it played a lot like a Kirby game. It was a game in a game, people!

RavingRabbid

@comedy: aye, SSBB is a good game, and thus far my favorite on the wii, bit its not perfect at all. SSE alone is a knock against the game, its not the worts platformer ever created but its by no means good.
then there are the controls, nintendo gets points for giving us options [if they did not I think the scores would have been much much lower], but man I can not use the default wii controllers.

Gadgetron

@SSJPabs: I don't play online games in public lobbies for this very reason. I'm not a sensitive person by nature, but when it gets into the heat of the game it really gets my blood pressure up to be trash talked by some stranger.

Trash talk amongst friends is fine, since it's clearly all fun and games. But when you're dealing with people you don't know...you can't tell where the line is drawn between playful banter and spiteful words.

Norellicus

@Xiatter: It's got kind of a Kingdom Hearts feel to it, only more Nintendo-ier and less Hot Topic inspired baggy pants with bazillions of zippers everywhere.

That's not a bad thing thing per se. Though Wolf would look pretty cool in a get up like that. Le sigh. My inner furry just cried out. Excuse me while I go shoot myself.

Redriadrum

@Korey: Agreed 110%. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who found SSE bad. That you need to finish SSE to get easy access to unlocking Wolf and Toon Link didn't help matters at all (everyone else has much easier methods of unlocking).

Actually, I feel that, given all of the trophies and music tracks and whatnot, that characters/stages/stage builder components should NOT have been locked at all. It is annoying that I can't be Wolf right when I power on the game for the first time.

Homard

First and foremost, I need a Wii...

Megiddo

It's a crime that "regular fighting game with a bunch of Nintendo characters" is cool to like, gets 10/10's, called "Game of the Year," etc., but when "fighting game with a bunch of Final Fantasy characters" comes out, it's going to be lambasted like hell. Hypocrisy.

creid

@DaiMacculate: i don't agree. if brawl got this criticism from reviewers too then there would be far fewer people feeling like they had to speak out. to me if you gave brawl an 8/10 i'd have something to say, 9/10 i'd agree... but 10/10.. that's 100%. aka: perfect. that's totally wrong.
i don't hate my wii. i am planning on getting ssbb. it's not hatred, it's just plain annoying that people are completely unwilling to accept that ssbb has flaws.

comedy

@KirbyMorph: There are motion controls, but even Nintendo knows that motion controls are tacky. They don't even use full use in most of their games. The people that feel like they "have to have to" add every aspect of the controls are third party companies that are making games for the masses and make people feel like they are doing something new.

Games need to either be fun, innovative or have a good story that is involving. As long as they have those they are a good game in my eye. Too bad SSBB is only fufills the first one.

ph15h

Although I believe Brawl is an excellent game overall, it has its disappointments, such as mediocre online gameplay and other factors due to the Wii hardware's lack of power.

RomeoDude

I respect your opinion, Wilson, but the "Greatest Hits" analogy is rather flawed. Sure, the gameplay is pretty much the same in its basic function (Knock guy off level by racking up damage), but you go and change that and you're destroying the basis of Smash Bros. Brawl. Change the gameplay of each new Street Fighter game or Guilty Gear Game or, hell, Soul Caliber, you end up with a lot of unhappy people (Soul Caliber Legends is a testament to this fact). With that in mind, Nintendo really can't change the core game, which to some might be a sign of growing stale but, as I said, matter of of opinion, and I respect that.

What Brawl does do to change up the formula is add new content, new characters, levels, Final Smashes, AT's, etc. For that reason alone, comparing it to a "Greatest Hit" collection makes it sound like absolutely nothing has changed. You don't have to like it, but it's definitely not Melee 2.

Ninja-Z

I guess this is like the Wii itself, the level of hate received by the game is directly proportionate to how successful it is?

Also on the online thing I'll keep repeating: Have you given your Wii a static IP and made it default host/DMZ yet? If you haven't even tried that yet, please do and report back, I'd like to know if it just magically fixed itself for me (the online) and you guys are still having problems or if you just haven't tried that yet.

DaiMacculate

@zztopp: I wouldn't volunteering brawl for that comparison.

It's like throwing a pre-schooler into collegiate physics classroom because he's really good at making structurally proficient LEGO towers.

Moonshadow101

@nxp3:
Right, you don't get it :P

diablodevil2

I don't know, I played the game, but to say I am impressed? No, not really. As someone else said before, its a 9 at best, and then only for catering to the fans, as all we are literally getting an update on a game better known as smash brothers melee.

I am not even enraged by the fact they used some lame excuse to stall smash brothers for an indefinite amount of time for Europe. I played it at school (Japanese version) when someone brought his modded Wii, and it was nice, but far from great.

Cridia

@zztopp: I've been saying very few games innovate and just improve graphics. But you shouldn't mess with a good formula. I still like Street Figther 2. Brawl just added the Smash Ball, not really and innovation, but it switched the pacing up.

@zztopp: I agree, but not all of us are Fanboys. We're honest on all points. Galaxy is truly a 3D platforming innovation. Ratchet and Clank did the sphere thing but didn't really add to it except through travel and make things look bigger. I still like Ratchet and Clank, though.

ph15h

@jboze84: I'm gonna assume you never played either of the sequels.

I think everyone just WANTS to hate SSBB. It's popular, and it got high ratings (not to mention for Wii). Therefore, everyone and their mother must hate it so they feel unique. It was the same thing with Halo, people complained how it was so crap, then secretly got on and enjoyed themselves.

That's just how I feel, though.

syrantking

Can anyone tell me what other fighting game has brought more to the table in its latest iteration than Brawl? Yes I am waiting to hear the names of series like Tekken, VF, Soul Calibur, Street Fighter, etc..lets have a comparison here people.

zztopp

I too am bored to tears by the Smash Bros. franchise.

I want something new...

yourenzyme

@majortom1981: I'll have to check it again now that I've gotten pretty much everything. It was the first thing I tried when I put the game in. If all it adds is more set pieces, I don't hold out much hope for it changing my original statement.

StartingAces

Are Sony/360 fanboys commenting here serious? Nintendo not innovative? Mario Galaxy is the first true revolution after Mario 64 for 3D platformers. The company has shaken the videogame industry with whacky and innovative titles like Warioware, Nintendogs, Brain Age and other titles in the past decade or so. The latest Zelda for DS is an example of exemplary innovative control implementation. Sure, Nintendo titles might rehash stories for their main titles, but no other company out there can compete with them when it comes to revolutionizing core gameplay mechanics. For what its worth, I agree that Brawl isn't overly unique or innovative, but its still a damn good game in a Halo-3 sort of way and was outsourced to game developer GameArts, not made inhouse.

zztopp

Am I the only one that thinks this game is overrated? Don't get me wrong, it's fun but I don't think it deserves the attention it gets.

kcorbo

SSBB is OK. A+ game? Hardly. Fanboygasm game? Definately.

IMO the game itself ranks at a B at the most. That is 70% - 79%.

It's a good game no doubt but to be honest, reviewers have given lower scores to better games that were just "rehashes" of older games. That's what SSBB is, it's a rehash. There is some new stuff but it does not warrant giving an A+, 90%+ mark to.

RPGr

@StartingAces: you have to unlock more level editing pieces .

majortom1981

@KirbyMorph:

So, haven't played it have you. It's either that or you're brutally retarded. You get to pick!

EggmaniMN

Also, having to deal with friend codes, not having online leaderboards/stats, and anonymous only random online play really sucks.

StartingAces

Smash Bros does not deserve those scores. It's the same game as the last one, which was the same as the N64 one. Only Nintendo gets a free pass with the rehash treadmill. If EA or Capcom made this game, everyone would bemoan it and demand it get 80-90 range scores for being derivative rehashing like the Madden series or various Capcom properties.

The Wii is so desperate for good games, they instantly give out high scores to the any decent game to come along. Brawl is a 8.5-9.0/10 game.

The moves have not chagned, there has been no change in gameplay and the only addition is a few new characters, most of which are clones of existing characters like Fox / Wolf / Falco, and some prettier graphics.

There are no Wii motion controls for this. It's a glorified Gamecube game and should have been judged as such, like it would have been on any other system or if it was produced by any other developer not named Nintendo.

KirbyMorph

i find it hard to believe a game which has such serious short comings can achieve '100' in reviews...
crappy 1 player.
crappy online. (i don't care if it's free, if it's not perfect it's not 100 material)
it's just 2 previous games reskinned...

i just think for reviewers and the general public there appears to be one set of rules for nintendo and a different set for everyone else. nintendo are doing amazing if they rehash the same old stuff, with little regard for change. same old story, same graphics, no story (bar the wafer thin crap accompanying sse and smg). But if they do this stuff they receive glowing reports.
if other developers and publishers do the same - EA - for example, they get slated.
it's not fair, and it's incredibly annoying. a game like uncharted is slated for being similar to tomb raider, gears of war... etc... but then this one is praised for being the SAME EXACT GAME as the previous one!!

people talk about how nintendo are making the games industry more mainstream etc, but they're the only ones not interested in making gaming grow.

having said that i really enjoyed melee and will pick up brawl when it washes up on the uk shores...

comedy

Review from a huge SSBM fan.

Level creation is a fun gimmick, but gimped overall (it seems like once you make the ten possible maps you can make given the tools... the only difference in the levels is the music). Subspace Emissary is a lot more fun than the adventure mode in SSBM, but it really turns into tedium as time goes on - and the problems with doing it two player make me only do this solo. Final smashes are an awesome addition, but way too powerful in short matches, plus they add that RANDOM INSTANT WIN element of Mario Party. There are also a number of balance problems and character gimpings that everyone and their mother have already discussed to death. I also have yet to get any multiplayer features to work, and I have tried it plugged, unplugged, and reconfigured my router. (On a side note, I'd gladly pay monthly for nintendo's online features to work correctly).

The event matches are great. Brawling with 3 other people is about as fun as it ever was. The new classic mode is really fun. Having an enormous amount of control over controller choice and configuration is great. I'd give these things a 10. Just because I feel this way about a part of the game, does not mean I would give the game that score.

This game highlights one of the issues I have with reviews in general. If the best movie, game, or album ever has a crap 20 minute portion/feature or mode/couple songs... it doesn't deserve a ten. You have to review the package on the whole. I'd give the game an 8.5, which I feel is generous considering the bad first impression with the online multiplay and weaksauce single player.

StartingAces

I think nintendo ca nstill do some great innovative games that have nastalgia. Heck a kingdom hearts rpg type game with all the nitnendo charecters would be a great game.

Just because it has nintendo charecters in it does not mean it will be repetitive or not innovative.

majortom1981

My only beef with brawl, is having to play the SSE crap as the easiest way to unlock the characters. I think I'd rather get my 450 VS. matches on.

ScottyF311

Considering this franchise only has a total of three games to date, Nintendo has done a pretty good job at creating a fighting game series that actually improves upon it's successors with every iteration produced. Companies that make fighting games have the annoying habit of relying too heavily on the "cut and paste" method when creating sequels to a series. Brawl doesn't change much in way of gameplay, but I'll be dammed if this game doesn't bring more to the table than it's predecessors.

Personally, this is the first Super Smash Bros. game I've ever owned (Played every other game via a friend), and I found this to be very enjoyable. Fun gameplay, great stages, diverse roster of characters, a ton of replayability, high nostalgia factor, and online play (when theres no lag). The more I play, the more understanding I have for why people eat this series up. Even I was a little excited at unlocking the Ryuta Ippongi - of Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan fame - sticker just the other day. For me, the game's nostalgia factor is it's strongest suit and one of the major reasons for what keeps me playing.

I have to disagree with Mr.Wilson's comparison of Brawl being Nintendo's equivalent to a band who keeps releasing compilation albums of their greatest hit's to play on peoples nostalgia without contributing anything new. Unlike the aforementioned band, Nintendo is constantly creating new games that can produce new content for whenever Nintendo decides to create another continuation to the Smash Bros. franchise, and if anything, Nintendo still has droves of nostalgia left to play on: Advance Wars, Custom Robo, Cooking Mama, Golden Sun, Drill Dozer, Eggerland, Baten Kaitos, Trade & Battle: Card Hero, Soma Bringer, Magical Starsign and many more I've probably never heard of. If you count second-party games along with first, Nintendo isn't going to be facing a shortage anytime soon.

Lastly, I sincerely wish that we might one day be graced with a Wii version of Jump Ultimate Stars, with all the trimmings attached to Brawl.

KeroseneClimax

@EmTeeZ: Yea. The Gameplay is deep. Many people just don't notice it and would assume the game is 100% button mashing.

I hate Friend Codes...

ph15h

But the thing about the Smash Bros. series is that it isn't just about nostalgia- it's got incredibly deep and varied gameplay that rivals the best of fighting games. Sure, it's definitely better that Jigglypuff is smacking Falco, but to say that Nintendo's just riding the nostalgia out would be ignoring the fact that it's just fun to play at its core.

EmTeeZ

@CHU BOI: Agreed. I bought it as a multiplayer game, and I admit that SSE is way more fun if you're playing it co-op. SSE is just a bonus to me, though I did enjoy it.

TalKeaton: Game Design Major

Sure, you can jump on the THIS GAME IS OVER-HYPED AND TOO MAINSTREAM FOR MY OBSCURE TASTES bandwagon, but unlike a certain Halo 3, this game actually exceeds expectations and delivered all it promised and more. Maybe It's just not your thing. Also, stop throwing around the word innovation, not every game needs to break the fucking mold. The gameplay wasn't stale in the first place, so I'm happy with the fact that they basically just took melee and added a metric shit-ton of new features.

The Cat With Two Heads

@TRT-X: Well, one isn't a hardcore gamer for playing Halo, but hardcore gamers still often play Halo. ;p

I can't wait to play this game. *swoon*

Cola82

Wow, do people really listen to themselves these days? The people trying to be negative don't even have any real points against the game. "The Wiimote control is annoying." So use the nunchuk with it. Has all the right buttons in spots where your figures naturally go. Get over it. "They didn't innovate." Oh hey something people need to bring up with literally every single game these days if it isn't OMG AAA TITLE NEW IP BUZZWORD #75. It doesn't innovate or whatever you'd like to call it but so much is actually changed from Melee it's ridiculous. "SSE sucks." In what way? I can only assume that no one here's actually played a Kirby game because they're ARGGGH TOO HARDCORE for that. It's not bad at all. Get over it. Also, the people complaining about no overall story in SSE are just laughable. What were you expecting? "It's unbalanced!" It's good to know you haven't played the game at all or are just really really bad at the game! "Too many clones!" Who? You mean Wolf? Whose moves work completely differently from Fox or Falco (who, in turn also have completely differently working moves). No wait, any character that shares a basic idea for a moveset has so many different properties that that's literally impossible to say without sounding like a jackass.

Yeah, the game was really hyped up. Guess what? It really is that good.

EggmaniMN

my biggest problems are

SE eventhough very long (took me 7 hours) it wasn't fun
the cg movie were cool but not having snake or sonic be more aprart of the story until the end not cool the Great maze gayest thing ever in the game gayer then the tingle assist trophy. There is no way to play with random people you have to be really lucky i had four matches at 2:00 am on team brawl before I was kicked out. The Fc is too long and you shouldn't have to exchange imo just add some one elses number and wait for him/her to accept you.Other then that its the best wii game out

king0v10GU

@CHU BOI: Good point there. Story modes in games are generally tacked on afterthoughts.

TitillatedOcelot

Yes, SSE wasn't the greatest experience, but it doesn't bother me. Why? Because SSE isn't the reason why I bought Brawl. I bought it to play mulitplayer with my buddies like Melee before it. SSE is just an extra to me, so I don't hold it against Brawl. How many fighters have good story modes anyway?

CHU BOI

okay...I'll throw my two cents in....

I love the core game. I understand where some people are coming from with the mentality of the "throw back" idea. But what many people seem to forget in my experience is that half of the roster on Melee was nothing but palette swaps which totally sucked. Now... all of the characters are relevant for good or for ill.

All of the positives I agree with from most reviews...awesome stages, final smashes, options, nintendo love...it's all good

the negatives are the "double edged sword" mentally that seems to haunt the best wii titles.

We get online play but no voice chat

Online play but we have to deal with gay ass friend codes

Online play but no leader boards

A single player campaign that's gimped

week friend's list options.

Overall though...I'm enjoying it. Now if they can just get the servers up....

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

@The Wreckard: Yeah it gets a little nuts. It's all mushrooms and lollipops in Mario World until someone questions it all, and then out come the fangs. 8.9 out of 10? If I brought home marks like that my parents would have baked me a hooker.

TitillatedOcelot

@Wyld: 'Cept not everybody agrees sodomy is wrong...

lordjoebill

@fallingdove: And that would be why? A lot of other lackluster games get 9s.

ph15h

Oh wow, a lot of people really don't seem to like SSE or even SSBB itself! I've waited YEARS for this game - playing it on the Gamecube for the first time was a magical experience which converted me into the gamer I am today. Back then, I said I would KILL for a slightly updated Melee and here we are.

My copy is probably coming in the mail tomorrow and then I'll play it with my Freeloader. But after reading these reviews I feel that all the trouble I went to get this game early, anticipating the Dojo updates and fantasizing the potential in the roster as has gone to waste.

I also personally loved the Adventure mode in Melee and played it over and over relentlessly. I really hope I don't feel the same as most when it comes to the SSE. I wasn't even expecting the SSE in the first place!

Wuffles

Given their reputation for innovation, I can't help but feel like Nintendo gets a free pass for failing to do so in their core games. I agree with a lot of people here - SSBB feels pretty stale, and I just don't see the appeal.

I can't help but games like this and, say, the New Super Mario Bros get great scores out of a genuine fear of backlash from the rabid Nintendo fans on the internet. Look at how many people freaked out when Gamestop gave Twilight Princess an 8.9.

The Wreckard

@fallingdove: I'll reserve judgement, as the last time I said that without actually having played the game, I got my dick punched in the forum thread. While I'm inclined to believe you are right, I hereby forfeit my right to comment. And just so we're clear, that means no one gets to punch my dick, ok?

TitillatedOcelot

@fallingdove: Why, exactly? You can't just throw that out there without explanation. :)

TalKeaton: Game Design Major

There is no way in hell this game deserves anything higher than a 9.

fallingdove

SSBB isn't that great. It's just fun. But like many other games, there aren't many true innovations or improvements (Glares at 80% of FPS.) Better Graphics! (Instead of shooting at sprites you're shooting at polygons. Graphics don't mean shit if it's just in the background and not pointed out to be enjoyed and taken in as an experience. I wish the Wii was HD, but too late now.) Yay new Guns (In SSB, Yay New items). Yay new Maps. (In SSB New "stages). Yay smarter Enemies! (In SSB, new enemies, new characters, new AI.) Better Story! (You Swear like anybody pays attention. I was the only person out of all my friends that noticed there were cutscenes in COD4 and that one of the playable characters died of radiation poisoning not from being "pwnd™" by a Taliban sniper. Those people weren't even in the game. Brawl, attempted to fles out Adventure mode by adding a loose story that did well, but was mediocre on presentation.) So what was the change? Just new characters and a Smash ball. Street Fighter and bigger combos. Yay! (Still playing the SNES SFII:Turbo!)

ph15h

@PapaBear434: Face it, man. We've become the old men of gaming. The new-fangled stuff just doesn't make any sense to us. Them crazy kids, and their blasted "Mario Everything"! When I was a kid, there was only 50 games with "Mario" in the title, and that was they way we liked it!

/curmudgeon

TitillatedOcelot

@Valaris:

LoL me too. Well like Kat Williams says:

"If you have 20 people hating on you now. You need to get that number up to 40 by the summer time."

F all the hate, Smash Bros. is a great game, sure the "core" is virtually the same, but playing with Snake, Sonic, Wolf, the levels (had me and my girlfriend like Wow, there's a lot of shit going on in the background), and the online? Definitly worth the price of admission.

I mean just the online, friends random or whatever makes this a good purchase, the fact that if you can't play with your peeps you can at least play with SOMEONE else.

I tell you I love this site but sometimes it seems like people get on here and need the stamp of approval from some of the writers. It's like if "so and so" says they Love or Hate a game people start dick riding out the wood work with the ME TOO!

To each his own,

FunKrusher

I don't know why the Subspace Emissionary is getting so much flak. The platforming is indeed rough but its a neato throwback to old school 2D fighting side-scrollers that I kinda enjoy. The cut scenes are fun touge-in-cheek moments that I think add to the game as a whole.

GrapenutsRobot

Yeah, hands down, core mechanics and innovation wise, this is like the rest of Nintendo's games for years!
SAME SHIT! DIFFERENT TOILETTE.
Good game? yeah its fun. Overrated by Nintendo fan boys? of course!

burningranger01

I really hate SSE. It's sometimes fun as hell, other times annoying as all-get-out. The rest I love, and loved 9 years ago, except now it's better.

I agree nintendo should innovate, though. New IPs, people. You even have the capital to take risks! Why only stick to 5 franchises when you can have 12! Plus then they could release cool stuff every quarter!

thefais

I'm kind of sick of people complaining about the controls.

A) There are FOUR different kinds of controllers you can use. You are free to use any or all of them.

B) The button mapping on ANY of those controllers is CUSTOMIZABLE. You can change it pretty much however you want to.

I've won games using all four default control schemes on all four controller types. The controls aren't broken. If you feel they are, use a different controller or remap the control scheme until it's right for you. That's WHY THEY PUT IT THERE.

:)

TalKeaton: Game Design Major

@shaselai: Who is a clone character?

Ollivander

This game forced me to buy a new gamecube controller, Nintendo is really the only company that can get away with that type of highway robery - making me buy a 3 year old controller for a new console.

Shocky

@Gadgetron:
I don't know an answer for your question, but if you want to unlock all of the characters quickly, you can set-up custom brawls and just have it as one stock and change some other settings and you have the ultimate way to add to your total brawl count. You just have to face off with the challengers as they pop up.

Lstormy10

I completely agree with M. Wilson on this one. I got sucked into the hype and bought this game and just cant get into it. I'd absolutely hate it if I didn't have a Gamecube controller to use.

Phenom88