Dairantô Sumasshu Burazâzu ekkusu (2008) (VG)

User Rating:

9.2/10   

Director:

Masahiro Sakurai

Writers:

Shigeru Miyamoto (characters) and
Kazushige Nojima (scenario)

Release Date:

9 March 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Get Ready To Brawl, 2007

Plot:

An update of the classic fighter that pits Nintendo's most famous characters against each other, for the Nintendo Wii.

Plot Keywords:

Very Little Dialogue | Villain Turns Good | Lava | Space | Theme Song

Cast

Pat Cashman	...	Narrator (voice)
Charles Martinet	...	Mario / Wario / Luigi / Waluigi (voice)
Makiko Ômoto	...	Kirby / Ness / Lyn (voice) (as Makiko Ohmoto)
Jim Walker	...	Fox (voice: English version)
Samantha Kelly	...	Peach (voice)
Eric Newsome	...	MetaKnight (voice)
Lani Minella	...	Pit / Lucas / Lyn (voice)
Alesia Glidewell	...	Zero Suit Samus / Krystal / Knuckle Joe (voice)
Jason Adkins	...	Ike (voice: English version)
Michele Knotz	...	Pokémon Trainer / Piplup / Torchic / Gardevoir / Jirachi / Manaphy (voice: English version)
Shinichirô Miki	...	Charizard / Staryu (voice) (as Shin-ichiro Miki)
Craig Blair	...	Ivysaur (voice: English version)
Dex Manley	...	Falco (voice)
Bill Rogers	...	Squirtle / Lucario / Bonsly / Weavile (voice: English version)
Jay Ward	...	Meta Knight / Wolf / Metroid Narrator (voice)

Also Known As:

Super Smash Bros. Brawl (International: English title)

Country:

Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:T | Australia:PG

Company:

Nintendo

Trivia:

When playing as Solid Snake in "Shadow Moses Island" if you make a "down taunt" very quickly you will activate Snake's codec, and a character from the Metal Gear Solid series (Col. Roy Campbell, Otacon or Mei Ling) will contact with Snake to give him information about the fighter or one of the fighters he is facing.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Ness refers to his magic attacks as "PK" attacks. This is supposed to be "PSI." (The Earthbound games use the term PSI to refer to magic, though an early beta version of the game used PK, and this is probably what caused the error.)

Quotes:

Roy Campbell: Snake, you know who that is?
Solid Snake: You're kidding, right? It's Mario.
Roy Campbell: Mario made his first appearance in 1981, and since then, he's become a worldwide phenomenon. There's probably not a single person who doesn't know Mario. He's that famous.
Solid Snake: Good thing I survived long enough to meet him on the field of battle, huh.
Roy Campbell: This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, Snake. Now get out of there and show him what you're made of. No regrets.
Solid Snake: Got it.

Movie Connections:

References Super Mario Sunshine (2002) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Live and Learn

As Good as the First, Plus It Has Sonic.

Being a huge fan of the first Smash Bros, I was interested in this game. Melee was good but I thought that it was a product of messing with perfection. Brawl, however, has tweaked the gameplay in ways that a sequel should, making it on the par with the first game. There are also additional chances of customization. Graphics are good, but not much better than the Melee version.

The game features many new items, such as the cracker launcher and others, which make fighting more fun. The Final Smash is a clever and welcome addition. It really mixes up the gameplay and can even up the playing field when a match becomes lopsided. A glowing ball will fly around the map, and the person who destroys it begins to glow. Each character has his own distinctive and devastating move, which is activated by the B Button. Unlike a fatality in Mortal Kombat, which is based on a cheat code and is little more of an execution move, the Final Smash move is decisive and can still be avoided by the other player.

One thing I love about the game is the addition of a stage builder. It can be of varying size with features like hovering platforms and spikes. Visual themes are limited, but I managed to create three Arrested Development-themed stages. The stages can be saved onto the Wii's hard drive. I actually enjoy my custom stages more than any of the official ones.

Music is good and is an improvement over last installments. Each stage can be customized so that certain songs are more likely to be played on certain stages. Music can even be turned off in this game.

The controls are very straightforward and easy. They use the same scheme as the Melee controls. Melee did add a forward B move which is either a detriment or benefit depending on who your character is. It is one of the reasons I don't play as Yoshi in Melee; it messes up your ability to aim the egg throw, but I digress. As with all the Smash games, the controls are based on simple to button combinations and reflexes, rather than convoluted codes like in other fighting games. I have heard from friends who have attempted to use the Wii controllers that the Wii-motes are not intuitive to the game. Fortunately, Smash is compatible with GC controllers.

Additional characters are all welcome, especially Snake and Sonic. The bafflingly controversial addition of the latter was actually one of the main selling points for me. He plays very well for players accustomed to quick characters, and his inclusion is long overdue in my opinion. Character color choices are now increased to over four colors.