Gamernode: Reviews - Super Smash Bros. Brawl

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Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Wii
Game Arts
Nintendo
March 09th, 2008

I've heard my fair share of Wii-bashing, especially when it comes to the raw hardware of the little white rectangle. It's no secret that the Wii simply doesn't have the graphical capabilities as the PS3 or 360, so this could be considered a concern to the gamers who like a bit of eye candy on their screen. At this point, though, I'm absolutely positive that Sakurai sold his soul directly to Satan in order to produce everything you see in Brawl. Artistically, it's one of the most in-depth games I've ever played. Each stage has its own visual personality and brings everything from its respective series to the playing field. The new Star Fox stage will tear up your eyes with an epic space battle and eventual reentry onto planet Corneria. The models and aesthetics of each character are greatly improved over Melee, and show that the Wii has much more potential than we give it credit for. While the Wii unfortunately doesn't support true high definition, Brawl was nice enough to include Progressive Scan and, for the first time, 16:9 widescreen. Brawl's artistic and visual composition rivals games native to even the 360, and never once did the framerate dip below a solid 60fps. Brawl is truly a gorgeous game.

So, when I used to stay up until 3am every weeknight to experience each Brawl update live on the Dojo, there was one particular category I hoped for more than any. Music. I have to tell you, I'm quite the audiophile, and when I first read the monstrous list of contributing composers, my inner music geek began doing cartwheels. Melee had around 40 song tracks, and they were arguably some of the best Nintendo arrangements I had ever heard. Of course, that is until I played Brawl. I'll say this right now; Brawl has the absolute biggest soundtrack of any standard video game, ever. Period. With just under 300 songs, most of which are brand new arrangements, any respectable music lover would be content with dropping their $50 bucks down just for the tunes alone. The obvious mixes, like themes from various Mario and Zelda games, are there, but in a stroke of either pure genius or absolute ridiculousness, Sakurai chose to throw in music that really has nothing to do with, well, anything. Certain songs hale from games that have zero influence on Brawl, such as the Japanese-only GameBoy game entitled "X." Other songs, like the infamous "Sonic Boom" from Sonic CD somehow made the final cut, as well. With so many contributing composers, the styles and genres of music are endless. Please, please release an official OST, Nintendo.

When you see everything Brawl has to offer on the surface, it's quite obvious how expansive the game is. However, Sakurai adds a magical touch by polishing everything off with small modes and bonuses that one might glance past. Brawl features an incredible amount of modes and options, such as the Classic single-player mode, as well as homerun contests and multi-man brawl, both of which can be played co-op online. If you're sick of standard 3-stock matches, change it up with the returning Coin Mode, or try your luck in Stamina mode, where each character has a specific amount of HP. With so many options at your disposal, you'll absolutely never get tired of playing.

Making a triumphant return to the Smash Bros. series are the collectible trophies. Once again, each trophy you snag will show up in a giant pile in your collection and provide some insightful, albeit useless, knowledge regarding Nintendo's history. This time around you can also collect stickers, which are more or less simply images of various Nintendo characters and icons. Though, the cool part about the stickers is being able to attach them to characters of your choice in order to beef up certain stats in the single player mode. Much like Xbox 360 achievements, stickers, trophies, songs, and more are unlocked by playing through the game and accomplishing specified goals. I can't say for sure, but I'd average the total amount of unlockables in Brawl at somewhere between 1000 and 1500, considering there are around 600 trophies, a plethora of stickers, and a vast amount of songs, which makes Brawl's metagame that much better.

It's clear what Nintendo has done with Brawl. They held a gun to Sakurai's head and told him that if he didn't create the best damn game Nintendo has ever seen, they'd be forced to shoot him and his family. I have to admit that I had more than my fair share of doubts, especially after being so in love with the Melee formula all these years, but in an unexpected twist, Nintendo and Game Arts really came through with this gaming legend. Ok, ok, I'm sure by this point you're sick of hearing the ridiculous amount of praise I'm giving this title. I should, by all rights, be able to point out at least a few flaws of Brawl, but that's just it: Brawl really doesn't disappoint in any key area. Sure, I could bitch about how stupid Friend Codes are and why I can't chat online via headset, or at the occasional loading time, but at the end of the day everything that makes a video game fantastic is more than abundant in Brawl. It's quite clear that if you already own a Wii, there's no reason why you shouldn't immediately drop the $50 entry fee to Brawl land. And if you're one of those gamers who simply isn't all about the Wii, I'm sure playing a few rounds of Brawl will quickly change your mind.

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(28)

Posted by ChristIllusion on 03/02/2008 at 09:42PM

its out already????

Posted by Vars on 03/02/2008 at 11:20PM

March 9th for North America but GN has the scoop. :D

Posted by Brendon on 03/02/2008 at 11:53PM

Billy, this isn't the 1920s.

Posted by Eddie R Inzauto on 03/03/2008 at 06:30AM

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Funny thing about Smash Bros is that, for all the fanfare, I've always thought it to be a rather, well, so-so game series. The aggregate score (GameRankings, metacritic) for the first Super Smash Bros (79-80%) is closest to how i feel about both games so far.

Maybe this one will be different...I dunno

Posted by hoboman725 on 03/03/2008 at 03:05PM

thank goodness for my pre-order and midnight releases.

Posted by Brendon on 03/03/2008 at 03:20PM

Am I the only person on this planet who doesn't really care about the game coming out? I'll try it and buy it (since my girlfriend seems to enjoy it), but I could just as easily never buy or play it and be happy.

Posted by Corvall on 03/03/2008 at 03:34PM

You're not the only one, Brendon. But the primary reason I don't care is that I don't have a Wii.

Posted by Garcian Smith on 03/03/2008 at 04:08PM

I've loved the series since the 64 edition, and this one will be no different. Now, if only Nintendo could confirm the UK release date...

Posted by Eddie R Inzauto on 03/03/2008 at 04:42PM

Exactly, Brendon...
If the series never existed, it wouldn't have made a difference to me.

Posted by Steve on 03/03/2008 at 08:22PM

Did you have an orgasm while playing this game? Because from this review it would appear that you did.

Posted by jambo on 03/03/2008 at 09:49PM

I've never actually played a Smash game, but this game does look like a lot of fun and I have kinda been looking forward to it.

Posted by Coyotegrey on 03/04/2008 at 03:30AM

I can't wait because it's a fighting game that people will actually play with me!

Posted by CUatTHEFINISH on 03/04/2008 at 03:59AM

Well so far metacritic is giving it an average score of 98/100. I loved the N64 version of this game, but hated the GC version, I'm really hoping Brawl brings me back to those old times.

Posted by Coop on 03/04/2008 at 07:16AM

I hope to god you are right, I can't freaking wait.

Posted by Tankcommander on 03/04/2008 at 09:44AM

Just gotta make it to this Sunday, then I'll be brawling like a madman.

Posted by Bigspfan on 03/04/2008 at 04:05PM

Quasar, you're wrong boy. Dead wrong. This is Nintendo's HALO 3, a stand-off to see what the future holds for Nintendo. If this game doesn't sell, Nintendo is doomed. I look upon the endless RACKS of DS and Wii games and think, this is the only game I think will completely be sold out.

Posted by siggs on 03/05/2008 at 01:04PM

Ditto Brendon. My bro will get it, and i'll play it, I appretiate that its a great game, but never really felt an urge to play melee much after its release, so i think this might be the same.

But still, looks great, i'll give it a spin

Posted by jambo on 03/06/2008 at 04:40PM

Are you joking Bigspfan? Nintendo is making so much money selling DSs and Wiis a the moment. Mario and Sonic at the Olympics alone has already sold 5 million copies.

Posted by Not_My_Style on 03/06/2008 at 04:57PM

Yeah, Nintendo is no where near "doomed" if this game doesn't sell. In fact, they're far from it.

Posted by Brendon on 03/06/2008 at 09:11PM

What's sad is I wouldn't be shocked if this didn't outsell Mario & Sonic at the Olympics. That has THREE big names in the title. This has zero.

Posted by Descender021 on 03/08/2008 at 03:33AM

Okay, Brendon, there is much loling to be had. I actually registered an account here, just to educate you.

"What's sad is I wouldn't be shocked if this didn't outsell Mario & Sonic at the Olympics. That has THREE big names in the title. This has zero."

Aye, it's true. "Mario", "Sonic", and "Olympics" are all big names. But to anyone who has owned a Nintendo 64, "Super Smash Bros." is as big a name as all three combined! Aside from that Smash is one of the biggest "fan service" games EVER. It has more characters from more games duking it out than any other game ever. This game could easily EASILY have over 20 BIG names represented in the game, and all you have to do to represent them is say "Smash".

This game will outsell Mario and Sonic. Period.

Posted by eight on 03/08/2008 at 11:49AM

o0o0o0o0o0 SNAP. It's on like Donkey Kong now.

Brendon and Descender021 dance off. It's the only way to resolve this conflict.

Posted by Brendon on 03/08/2008 at 01:22PM

My point Descender isn't that Smash doesn't have names in it or isn't popular. But the casual gamer (which you can't argue is the biggest crowd on the Wii) is going to see "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" and go "Alrighty." If they look at the game, sure, they'll probably like it. But at the same time, they can see the name "Mario & Sonic at the Olympics" and instantly know that it's an Olympics game with both Mario and Sonic. There's a reason Nintendo and Sega didn't call it something like "Olympic Showdown!"

I didn't say that it WOULD outsell Smash. I just said that if it ended up selling more copies than it, I wouldn't be surprised. When games like Brain Age, Wii Play and Wii Fit are your biggest system sellers, there's a lot more people playing than the people who owned an N64 and GameCube. The first Smash Bros. game sold about 4 million total, and Melee is around 6-7 million lifetime sales. Will Brawl beat those? Probably. But it's not going to sell as much as all those casual games people gobble up.

Posted by Steve on 03/09/2008 at 06:19PM

Brendon: if a casual gamer walks into a walmart, looks at Mario & Sonic, with just Mario and Sonic on the cover, then glances at Super Smash Bros with Mario, Sonic, Samus, Link, Kirby, Star Fox, and Pikachu on the cover..you honestly think they will pick up Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games over that?

And its not like Super Smash Bros is some no name game. It's the Halo 3 of Nintendo, and I'm sure alot of "casual" gamers have at least heard of the series.

Posted by Obsidian on 03/10/2008 at 01:41AM

From my point of view, a casual gamer when seeing Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario and Sonic in The Olympic Games, he/she says "Kiddie Games" or other (dumb) comment(s) and go buy something ridiculous like a skateboard game or something like that.
Brendon, nobody cares about what game outsells the other, the important thing is that we like the games.
I am not in your side or anyone else's, since I consider arguing about 'what game or console is better' is nothing but a waste of time. Just enjoy the games.

Posted by Brendon on 03/10/2008 at 02:34AM

People seem to think that I'm saying that Mario and Sonic will beat Smash Bros. I didn't say it would; I said if it somehow DID, I wouldn't be too surprised given the Wii's demographic.

Posted by Bigspfan on 03/11/2008 at 05:10PM

actually jambo, I was joking and got an epic flame war to start after my little joke. pretty cool eh?

Posted by jambo on 03/12/2008 at 12:59AM

Nice work =P

GamePlay: A solid combination of Smash 64 and Melee. The balanced fighting and easy-to-learn yet heavily in-depth controls will keep you striving for perfection.
Graphics: What the Wii lacks in polygon count it makes up for in sheer artistic value. Brawl looks absolutely stunning and completely appropriate at all times.
Sound: Hands-down the best soundtrack a video game has ever had. All of the sound effects are appropriate and vary enough that you won't grow tired of them. Also, Sonic Boom!
Replay Value: Infinite. Period. You will never stop playing Brawl, unless Sakurai decides to release a fourth installment on the Nintendo Us.
10	Final Word: I have never seen more effort put into a video game than what has been shown in Brawl. With unbelievable multiplayer fighting, an enormous single player mode, and collectibles that will last for years, there's no reason why you shouldn't buy it.