First of all, let me get this out of the way. I am not a casual nor a hardcore gamer, thus being moderate (or in the middle). Okay.
*There are spoilers so continue to read if you are up to it.*
Once I popped in the disc into the drive and clicked the game channel, I was pretty startled. But the intro to the game was full of awesomeness!!!
GRAPHICS
There isn't a huge difference in graphcis in my opinion but it's nice to be able to play in widescreen (16:9) and at 480p at the same time. But by looking at Mario's overalls, I can see that it's been upgraded.
GAMEPLAY
During the first match, I immediately noticed that the game feels slower than melee. I had a hard time readjusting to the game speed because some of the characters felt slower and more "floaty." After playing a few rounds, I've got used to it and was able to pull some nice combos in midair and got a hold onto how the background of the stages were so vibrant. I was distracted at first because playing at Final Destination, the background was so serene and changed alot, it's truly a sight.
The mechanics I hate the most now is the fact that I keep tripping for some reason, maybe because I change direction alot or something. Final Smashes are pretty neat and I set the item settings to low because I was worried that they would pop up like every 30 seconds in a match. The new midair dodge is pretty good since I don't know how to wavedash.
CONTROLS
I think it's great to be able to customize controls because I prefered the GC controller but I hated the fact that by tapping up, it would jump. It's nice I am able to turn it off but I am not able to remove the C-Stick smash. I've only used the GC controller because I'm afraid the other options will feel awkward. When shielding, I found myself pushing the L/R buttons harder to shield than in melee. So it's something I'll have to get used to when it comes to dodging.
STORY
I immediately went straight to the Subspace Emissary to see how the adventure mode stacked up to the last one. Too be honest, the game is shorter than expected. So far I'm at 90% at 8 hours and 46 minutes. And about 3 of those hours I was either revisiting some of the past stages in the Great Maze, trying to complete the level by getting all of the hidden items (yellow boxes), or struggling to remove Samus' powersuit to become Zero Suit Samus. I don't really think I'll go back to play this mode other than unlocking characters, maybe getting 100%, or on a harder difficulty level.
It was pretty easy on Normal difficulty without a second player but it was pretty hard when it came to Tabuu, the final boss. I think it took about 8 tries to beat him by myself. The cutscenes in that mode are neat too.
SOUNDS/MUSIC
This is obviously the strongest part in the whole package. I've unlocked only a few and it's a great array of songs from Fire Emblem, Mario, Metroid, Metal Gear Solid, and Sonic. I'm in love with the Donkey Kong Country 2's Bramble Blast, it's the best song on there.
STAGES/CHARACTERS/BALANCING
12 to 25 to around 40 playable characters, Brawl gives a large amount of characters to choose from. But I'm disappointed that clones are still there. The trio: Fox, Falco, and Wolf have the same moveset minus different attacks. Young Link was replaced by Toon Link, Lucario is just like Mewtwo somewhat, and Gannondorf is basically the same just different attack animation. I'm disappointed that F-Zero only have one rep, where Samarai Goroh is an assist trophy and pokemon has about 6 reps. Metroid only have 2 but it's only Samus, with or without her power suit.
There are alot of stages and my favorite has to be Smashville because of the music (K.K Rider), the background, and the stage itself is simple flat with a moving platform.
I also have some beef in terms of balancing. First of all, Ike is overpowered. In a match, he can KO Metaknight at 15% with his fully charged front smash attack. Pit seems to be someone who's going to be overused because he has a great recovery on top of multiple jumps. He can also do some damage and has an annoying front b attack. And as always, Bowser is still a horrible fighter. Sbake is pretty hard to use because he's a funny fighter and all of his taunts involve the box. Marth is almost the same as Melee but his front b combo is easier to execute.
My primary character in melee was Samus. Power suit Samus has been given a definite downgrade with her projectile game. I can't even KO anyone at 80% with a fully charged shot or a super missile. She is basically heavier now and doesn't jump that high. Her recovery (up
is a little higher but the bomb jump recovery is harder to execute because when she drops a bomb, she goes in the direction where you are flying. I found that Zero Suit Samus is more suited for me. Though she may be underestimated because of the lack of power, she is amazing when it comes to doing soem damage. She has an initial jump that rivals Falco's and she can easily do some midair combos. Her paralyzer gun is something I might abuse along with her down smash. Her smash attacks lack the launching power but it's somewhat like how Marth's tip of his sword is where you do the most damage. Her front b attack is what will mostly be used to KO others. Not only that, she has great recovery with her down b that can be used to attack edge guarders.
ONLINE
Last but not least, online. I found myself being disappointed with this. Not only that there's no stat tracking or rankings, when you play with others online, on the "with anyone" option, you are only able to play a 2 minute brawl. Spectator mode is pretty fun and teaches you how to gamble and the rewards are pretty fun and random at times. Since it is pretty balanced outsite Ike, it really comes down to how the play so it's hard to choose based on who's fighting who. Even when I'm trying to play online, I still get error 85010 and can't even get in any matches. I've only been in four "with anyone" matches and it's been laggy at times despite winning all of them (I've saved the replay for proof). But I've played only one match with a friend and there was no lag and that's the only one I lost, it was Zero Suit Samus vs Pokemon Trainer.
MISCELLANEUS (spelling?)
Though not all online options are bad. I like being able to get a new stage a day but I can't save them or anything. I've only made 2 stages and sending them back and forth with others is pretty fun. Coin Launcher is pretty addicting and I went in once with about 3000 coins and spent them all. Trophies and stickers are great as always and collecting them is neat. I doubt I'll use stickers in Subspace Emissary and using the trophy stands in that mode is tedious and reminds me too much of pokemon (gotta catch them all?). I also dislike the loading times, especially in the beginning and in the subspace emissary mode when the cutscenes end, it's kind of a mood killer.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, I'd give this game a 9 out of 10. I'd give it a perfect score but the online mode is seriously lacking and the adventure mode is disappointing. I would love to see some sort of stat tracking like who's the smasher of the week or something. I want some recognition that I'm one of the best when using Zero Suit Samus.
Multiplayer gaming in smash is always the best and is very hectic even at a slower game speed. Definetely recommend getting it while you can but try not to be blown away by the subspace emissary or online.
I do believe that this will be the last in the smash series since Mashiro Sakurai said that he's done all he can do with it. If it does happen to be another smash, it would most likely be a platforming side scroller direction since it has a great start and Nintendo has done a great job with platformers (Mario and Metroid for example).
If you guys want to play me, add me. My Wii FC is 6047 2555 8167 9147. My smash nickname is LMFCE and FC is 3394 3245 8656. Please reply and see you on the battlefield.
