Gamernode: Interviews - The Competitive Brawl: Hugs and Gimpy weigh in on Super Smash Bros Brawl

The Competitive Brawl: Hugs and Gimpy weigh in on Super Smash Bros Brawl

Before we begin, you need to prove that you're worthy of reading this article. This was written for the elite, the hardcore, and the competitive Smasher. It contains references and discussions of advance techniques that are practiced in Melee, so if you're unfamiliar with terms like DI-ing, SHFFLing, and Teching, this article is not for you. If you'd like to learn how to become an advanced Smasher, check out the forums at www.smashboards.com to get your ass-kicking started. (But don't worry, we'll have a casual-player-friendly article just for you later on.) Alright, are you still reading? Good, then let's Wavedash shine-spike right into the meaty stuff.

As most of you know, a gaming convention known as E for All was running from October 18th to the 21st. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend. However, we have straight-from-the-source information provided by professional Smashers who have been graced with the pleasure of demoing Brawl. I'd like to take this time to personally thank Tony "Gimpyfish" Dennis and Hugo "Hugs" Gonzales for their hard work in collecting new Brawl info.

Over the last few weeks, we Smashers have been given an epic amount of information that, quite frankly, is difficult to process. Some are filled with hope, while quite a lot are filled with doubt. Gimpy, first and foremost, would like everyone to know this: "Brawl is freaking fun!" With that out of the way, there are certainly a great deal of changes in Brawl that are sure to change the entire style of Smash as we know it.

If you haven't heard by now, Wavedashing is out. (As a Samus and Luigi main, I weep.) It's no longer possible to perform due to the new air-dodging system. Characters cannot directionally air-dodge; it's now based on their previous momentum, so if you're already flying to the right, air-dodging will continue to thrust you in the same direction. While the obvious downfall to this is a lack of Wavedash, it give the opportunity for innovative strategies to evolve.

In Melee, air-dodging to avoid an attack left you in a vulnerable free fall afterwards. However, this new momentum dodge will enable players already traveling towards the stage to temporarily dodge an attack while staying on their flight path back to safety. In addition to this tactic, momentum-dodging also allows for a second jump or attack to be performed after dodging. This is going to be great for mindgames, as a character can begin a dodge back onto the stage early, and lure their enemy in for an attack as they become vulnerable, only to jump at the last second and land a successful dair. Think of it as being able to jump/dash/attack right in the middle of a step-dodge.

Since Brawl is looking to be very focused on the aerial game, Sakurai found it necessary to make the character more floaty. Don't confuse this with the game being slower, because most movements and attacks are every bit as fast as they were in Melee. Characters now act more like 'Puff and Luigi in the air, which definitely makes aerials heavily emphasized. While short-hopping has been confirmed, the act of SHFFLing has been slightly nerfed because of the inability to land as quickly. L-canceling has also been heavily altered, as you no longer have to press L or R in order to decrease your aerial landing lag. As of now, the only way to L-cancel is to perform your attack after a fast-fall, which will certainly make SHFFLing difficult since many aerials are best performed right before the fast-fall. (I guess I'll say hello to "SHFFing.")

Advanced techniques like dash-dancing, teching, techrolling, and wall-techs are all back and just like they were in Melee. In fact, the game's core is similar to that of Melee's, while mostly the physics have been changed. Attack and landing lag, step-dodging, rolling, priority, and hit box concepts are all borrowed from Brawl's older brother, although almost every aspect has been reworked. All types of DI-ing have also returned, but are significantly easier to perform because of the increased hitstun in Brawl, which can actually be closely related to the hitstun in Smash Bros. 64. Personally, I believe Brawl will shorten the distance between the casual and competitive player, but like in any game, the casual gamer will still need the desire to learn any advanced tactics.

Fortunately, I was able to sit down with Gimpyfish (a Bowser main) and Hugs (a Samus main), two professional Melee competitors, and ask them a few questions about the Brawl demo they played. Here's what the two of them had to say.

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