With a couple weeks and counting to go for the U.S. release of Nintendo’s third installment of the Super Smash Bros (or just simple SSB) series, fans all over have been hyped. Since its announcement late last year, I have found many sites speculating on what characters they wanted to see in this game. Some have even gone as far as making faked character screens, perhaps only to heighten the excitement of those SSB:Brawl fans anticipating the game’s release. For you that know nothing of this fantastic game, allow me explain its origin.
The first Super Smash Bros. game entitled “Super Smash Bros.” (Nintendo Orusuta! Dairanto Sumasshu Burazazu, translated as “Nintendo All Star! Great Melee Smash Brothers”), came out in 1999 on the Nintendo 64, featuring a small selection of Nintendo’s characters, and is an all out battle royale. Among the characters were the famous Mario Mario (Super Mario Brothers), Samus Aran (Metroid Series), and Link (Zelda Series), to only name a few.
In this game, players could fight head to head among friends or beat the in-game challenges to unlock hidden stages and characters among the 12 total available, and win trophies in Single player with five different difficulties.
When “Super Smash Bros. Melee” (Dairanto Sumasshu Burazazu Derakkusu, translated as “Great Melee Smash Brothers Deluxe”) was released in 2001, it featured 14 new characters from Nintendo’s infinitely growing video game roster in addition to the ones previously in the last SSB.
Secret Characters like Fire Emblem’s Marth & Roy and stages such as F-Zero’s Big Blue and Fountain of Dreams from Kirby’s Dreamland were among the many available to be unlocked. You can unlock these and others by completing Melee’s three difficulty modes in Single Player (Classic, Adventure, and All-star) or by completing the other modes.
The other modes included in the game, such as the Event, Target Test, Home Run Contest, Multi-Man Melee modes, were not featured in the last game. These have enhanced Melee’s gameplay, making the game more challenging. In addition, with the diversity of characters and their personalized skill set to choose from, players could fight for hours trying to unlock every secret character and board within.
Lastly, we have the upcoming “Super Smash Bros. Brawl,” (Dairanto Sumasshu Burazazu Ekkusu, translated as “Great Melee Smash Brothers X”), set to be released on March 9, 2008, featuring 16 new Nintendo characters. This includes third party characters such as Solid Snake from Konami’s Metal Gear Solid and the ever so popular Sonic the Hedgehog, whose fame rivals Nintendo’s Mascot, Mario. Those characters from Melee who did not return to Brawl were Roy, Mewtwo, Young Link, Pichu, and Dr. Mario. However, with the vast selection of characters that are available in this game, their absence would more than likely not be missed. Players could just play the previous installment if they wished to play with the latter. So do the math. At a total of 37 playable characters in SSB:B, fans could be duking it out with their favorites possibly for days to come!
Among the many new features in this game, what I’ve seen as a big accomplishment in Brawl is the incorporation of RPG elements in the Adventure mode. In this mode players can choose their characters to complete the “Subspace Emissary” story, concentrating on character development while simultaneously staying consistent with the “Smash Bros. Legacy” it has achieved over the years. The second is the Stage builder.
Yes, SSB fans, you can build your own stage and even share them among friends through the Nintendo Wii’s Wi-Fi Connections. Also mentioned about this addition are other custom built stages that can be sent to you each day from the Internet. These were made by other people who’ve created stages to share with other SSB Brawlers like you and me.
The last feature, but most distinctive in this game is the presence of the Smash Ball item. With it, SSB:B characters can perform a finisher, a type found in other fighting games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, although not as graphic as its competitors but equally as devastating.
In my review, I also must give my opinion to the overall rating of this game. I’d give it a 10/10. Being a musician myself, I have been astonished by the wide variety of composers who who have joined Sakurai Masahiro-san in the making of this game. Jun Senoue (Sonic Adventure series/Sonic Heroes), Noriyuki Iwadare (Grandia series), and Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger & Xenogears) are only a few of my favorite Video Game composers.
You’ve earned that perfect score of 40/40 Famitsu awarded you on this game-Arigatou gozaimasu (Thank you very much)!