It's been a year since Nintendo's beloved fighting game was released. Our intern reminisces.
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By Sal Basile
Game: "Super Smash Bros. Brawl"
Platform: Wii
Developer: Sora
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: 03/09/08
What it was about: "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" was the next installment in Nintendo's brawler to end all brawlers. It was a compilation of Nintendo's favorite characters, thrown into familiar arenas to duke it out. Allowing four-player, no-holds-barred fighting kept even casual gamers coming back for more, while the more technical, no-items one-vs.-one matches were strategic enough to be the focus of tournaments.
What was cool about it: "Brawl" added an endless supply of bonus features which include a fully functional picture mode, stage builder, and online play. In addition to more modes, the game had new items, moves and -- best of all -- characters. The twelve new characters included third-party favorites such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Solid Snake.
What wasn't so great: The Subspace Emissary was promised to be a reason to buy "Brawl" all by itself. Unfortunately, the story mode turned out to be a lackluster, boring and repetitive game mode.
Features I neglected: I played around with the stage building feature but was never grabbed by it. Through creativity, many unique and interesting stages can be built (as seen here), but it was an aspect of the game that never really sparked my interest.
When I last played it: February 23, 2009. "Brawl" could possibly be my favorite game of all time, and I play it whenever I can. Even with so many new games to play this year, and games from 2008 to finish up, I always find time to smack Kirby in the face with a crate.
How long I played it: Many countless hours.
Great moments in fanboy service: Before "Brawl" came out, game designer Masahiro Sakurai used the Smash Dojo to keep up the hype. I know I'm not the only one who checked the site everyday awaiting a new character announcement. Some days we would get small announcements, like new items or stages. But nothing could have impacted the "Smash"-loving community more than when the most requested third-party character was announced on October, 10 2007; Sonic the Hedgehog was officially announced and video game forums were exploding with anticipation.
Worth tracking down? "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" gives gamers the best of both worlds. It's a great party game for people to just pick up and battle with their favorite Nintendo characters, but it's also deep enough to be the focus of tournaments for hardcore gamers. With the insane amount of extras and bonus modes -- like the Snapshot system or the inclusion of past games -- "Brawl" brings something for everyone to the table.
Related Posts:
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'Super Smash Bros. Brawl' Dojo Post-Mortem — Was It Worth It?
Top 10 Things Missing From 'Smash Bros. Brawl'
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