Of all the games arriving on consoles this year, the game I was most excited for was the third entry in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. franchise. Something just always appealed to me about the series of all these characters coming together for the first time. With unimaginable hype, did Nintendo's hardcore gamer's game live up to the hype? To be honest (and a lot of publications don't seem to be these days) no, no it does not and let me explain why.

 

You're Too Sloooow!

 

     Nintendo's usual policy on the development of their games seems to be this:

1. Announce a Game

2. Announce Release date

3. Cancel Release Date

4. Repeat steps 2&3

5. ?

6. Profit!

 

Smash Bros. Brawl, or SSBB for short, is no exception but this time the extra development time seems to for nought. Yes, there is the typical Nintendo polish, but only for about half of the game. Compare a character like Ike to a character like DeDeDe and it is clear that not all characters were created equally and it is not just because of the art direction. 

 

I also wonder why, with nearly three years of development, Nintendo struggle to justify putting out yet another game in the franchise. Brawl doesn't really add features on, more like it expands upon the old ones. Like the adventure mode for example, back in Brawl's predessecor, Melee, it was an enjoyable experiment that struggled to last half an hour for seasoned players. Here in Brawl it easily exceeds seven hours, even for the hardcore, though here we learn that Brawl simply does not work as a single player adventure game.

 

 Let's-A-Go!

 

Allow me to elaborate on that. The reason why Brawl is not enjoyable in its Adventure mode is because it is repetitive and very bland. Despite the game's beautiful CG cutscenes (of which there are many), the game does not look that good in the Subspace Emissary (the title of said mode). The game constantly recycles the same environments over and over again, much to your chagrin.  The controls are the same as multiplayer which is fine for the hectic, small stadium type of play, but something just feels lost in translation as you go through the odyssey of the SSE. Another small quip, is the story. I know, "You play Smash for the story!? lolknothxgtfobye!", but it's not like that. They had one of the best writers in the industry come in and write something that is laughably bad, even by fanfiction standards.

 

All is not lost though. The Single Player has spots of brilliance with its boss fights, though the inclusion of hideous original characters (besides the end boss) is somewhat confusing. There are some "OMG" cool moments like when Marth, Meta Knight, and Ike team up, but these moments are ultimately overshadowed by the whole mode's ultimate failed attempt at capturing moments that made the source material so great. Had they had enemies from all the franchises, not just Mario, then the sense of nostalgia and immersion would have been so much better. Had the level design not of been so repetitive nor drawn out, this could of seriously been something great. The stickers, the mode's form of almost RPG-esque powerups, is a nice addition, but I plowed through the game on Hard by myslef with little to no trouble making their inclusion very arbitrary.

 

But that's ultimately what SSE boils down to, a series of what-ifs. This may be alright for rabid fanboys, but I am not going to let Nintendo have a free pass. The whole thing feels needlessly long and to be honest, the last level (which is the whole game done over again) could have been the entire mode and it would have been far more enjoyable. It clearly feels as if Nintendo made this mode needlessly long just to have another bullet poin on the back of the box.

 

 

 

STRIKE THREE!

 

In addition to the adventure mode, the single player contains many other modes. Classic mode is a nod to the original and consists of you versing semi-random oponnents usually with a few twists here and there. The Stadium provides you with many multi-man melee modes, the Home Run Contest, Boss Attack, and the classic Break the Target modes.

 

These are nice little distractions, but after a playthrough or two of the stadium modes, they will quickly bore all but the hardcore. The Classic mode is probably the best single player action there is as the game now is more streamlined to provide more unique experiences than before. Yet, it controls the chaos somehow.

 

While Brawl clearly has no shortage of options, many of them get tired after awhile and the single player definitely is starting to show its age.

 

 

The More the Merrier

 

All of the single player aside, let's get to the real point of Smash Bros, its multiplayer modes. While you can do all of the single player stuff with co-op, it only marginally increases the fun. Instead, you will want to actually play the game's multiplayer specific modes.

 

Let's get this out of the way first. I don't care how many rabid fanboys disagree, the online is absolutely abysmal to the point where it makes you wonder why they even bothered. No voice communication, no text communication, a lack of options, horrible lag, inclusion of friend codes, and many other hitches prevent you from having even the smallest morsel of fun. True story, My friend and I who lives less than a mile away, played a game that ran like a slideshow. This is just unexcusable at this point in videogames.

 

Offline, the game is excellent. Four players duking it out on over forty arenas with almost as many character, it is a blast. Like Melee, the only real mode you will be playing in multiplayer is the stock matches, but timed and coin matches are a nice distraction. Many of the new items as well as the old, feel more balanced this time around. Assist Trophies are an excellent addition (but why couldn't they make Lyn a character :( ) to the Smash Bros world, but the Smash Ball definitely steals the spotlight. Breaking one open will entitle your character to pretty much a one-hit kill, ahem, I mean KO. It is a cool thing to see and changes the gameplay from kill everyone to a race to break the ball open.

 

 

 WTF?

 

Other things about the multiplayer are less flattering however. The oft-used tourny mode has actually reduced its options with a complete lack of a 64 player component. Also, the inclusion of tripping officially takes its throne as the dumbest gameplay mechanics of all time and takes away skill and adds too much luck for the hardcore players.

 

Special Melee has returned, albeit in a different form. This time you make your own special Brawl Mode which is fine, but who really uses this mode anyway? The inclusion of a stage editor is nice, however it is extremely bare bones and the fact that you can't use them in the abysmal online mode is, again, unexcusable.

 

I will now take this moment to completely and whole-heartedly praise Brawl's sound. All games should learn from Brawl that this is how you do sound in videogames. With over 250 classic and new tunes, it is a breathtaking listen.

 

This Brawl Doesn't End Them All

 

Ultimately, the game I bought my Wii for is good. Is it amazing? No. Great? Maybe. Ultimately though, I regret purchasing it. I blew through SSE the first day I got it and because the game doesn't revolutionize the series, the multiplayer was too similar to Melee so we got burned out on that not long after. I still recommend  this game highly to less hardcore gamers and to the people who have yet to give the wonderful world of Smash a try, but if you have played Melee to death, don't expect Brawl to be the second coming of Jesus. Brawl, like Halo 3 before it, ultimately falls victim to the hype train, though it is still an enjoyable romp for a weekend or two.

 

Grade: C+