Greg Caggiano

For many, the release of Nintendo’s latest blockbuster game Super Smash Bros. Brawl on March 9 was the perfect end to Spring Break. Chester Kwan looks back at the Smash Bros. brand from its first launch over eight years ago.

The Initial Smash

With the release of the first Super Smash Bros., I was skeptical yet intrigued as an avid fighting game fan back in the day. It featured basic four-player bouts determined by knocking your opponents out of the arena rather than knocking them out cold. Graphically, it was on par with other games on the system, but that didn’t stop the game thanks to its charm and ideal of letting fans live out their dreams of finding out whether Mario or Link was the better character. Little did I know that this game laid the foundations for what would become one of the most acclaimed multiplayer game series in its generation.

Mayday, May-Lay

In typical Nintendo fashion, every console should have their own Mario, Zelda, Strikers and, well, the list goes on. Obviously, the next installment coming to the GameCube system was Super Smash Bros. Melee, bringing with it a host of additional features that knocked the original Smash Bros. out with 999% damage. This installment featured a true single player mode where you chose a fighter and ventured around stages based on various Nintendo worlds.

It also featured a host of extras such as various histories of Nintendo in the form of “trophies.” A staple in most home conversions of fighting games, it also offered challenges where you may have had to run from one end of the stage to the other, or fight an über-powerful opponent with a severe handicap. Other features included Homerun Brawl (where you tried to knock a giant sandbag as far as you can) and Multi-Man Melee (where you fought up to a hundred opponents with only one life).

It’s A Brawler!

Knowing the insane popularity of the series, and the phrase ‘third time’s the charm,’ Nintendo pulled no punches for the latest Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Metal Gear Solid series Game designer Hideo Kojima begged to have Solid Snake included, despite knowing that Smash is meant as a Nintendo-only game. Smashbros.com revealed that Sonic the Hedgehog had been invited, maybe giving closure for Nintendo and Sega fanboys from the NES and Genesis era as to who is the better character. The list of composers include many veterans who composed music for other games, including the man behind the famed Final Fantasy theme song.

The Adventure Mode has been blown up into its own little epic known as The Subspace Emissary. The overall feel of this mode is akin to the classic beat-‘em-up brawlers such as Final Fight or Streets of Rage. Since this is a relatively plot-heavy feature, you are limited to only characters who appear in the various chapters. There is also a King of Fighters feel to the game, because in some segments, you have no need to select your characters. You can simply put them in the order you want to use them in the event that one of them is knocked out.

A little has been taken out of Brawl, such as a few characters and stages, but overall, you gain a lot. You even have the option of taking pictures and posting them on the in-game Bulletin Board. There is also a simple program floating around the Internet that can convert the pictures you took in Brawl into JPEG image files, allowing the gamer to show off interesting shots taken in the game.

The major elements added to the game are the “Final Smash,” Super Combo or Desperation Move, as well as the Assist Trophies (which are like Pokéballs, but with other Nintendo characters like Punch Out’s Little Mac). Control-wise, Brawl is one of the few games which does not use the Wii sensor bar, so it plays very traditionally. There are also four different control types: the Wiimote (either alone or with an attachment), the Classic Controller, or the GameCube controller, all of which work very well. Other elements include online play and a stage creator.

Overall, is the game good? I can simply say this: it’s Smash and it’s fun. The basic formula and gameplay is consistent throughout the series, so newcomers can pick it up easily. It’s the best one in the series, as long as one of your favorite Melee characters wasn’t excluded.