alright boyz here we go! super smash bros brawl first impressions!!

[MJ4H]

---SMASH BROS BRAWL FRIEND CODES---
MattJones4Heisman    3050-7237-5825
MikeVic              4854-6182-6536
kingnebwsu           4253-3177-4861 
Big Fo               0387-8583-2493
IMetTrentGreen       2406-4836-3540
huakrez              4854-6259-4399
Coffee Warlord       1633 4003 2443

Picked it up at Game Stop at the midnight launch and played several hours. Way better than Melee. The controls are so much tighter, the analog stick on the nunchuck is lots more precise feeling than the GC controller so I am going to stick with that.

Fox, which is the character I like to use most right now, feels almost the same. Has the same basic move scheme. Mario, who is another stand-by of mine, has the same moves except he can use the FLUD water thingy from Sunshine.

The final smash ball is amazing. When Fox gets it and uses it, he loads up into this enormous tank and blasts everything. It's pretty awesome.

The graphics are a big leap up from Melee. Everything has better textures, more polygons, and is just generally cleaner.

So far, I'm a big fan. I don't care much for the single player sub-space emissary mission mode, but I will say that the CGI cut-scenes in that mode are gorgeous.

Loving it. Who else has it? We need to swap friend codes!

[rowech]

My wife, as you know got her wii last night. What the hell is this game?

[MJ4H]

The craziest game ever. Smash Bros. is a hectic fighting game with a very approachable control scheme, tons of famous video game characters, and crazy platforming-style fighting. I will find you a video.



must watch and enjoy

[Big Fo]

I just got it an hour or two ago, played some of the Subspace Emissary and now going through the classic 1P mode. Captain Olimar is pretty cool, throwing the Pikmins at your opponent is great, especially if you connect while they're trying to make it back onto the stage and send them falling to their doom.

Tried to connect online to generate a friend code but couldn't, either the servers are being hammered or the Wii is too far from the router. I'll get one eventually.

[kingnebwsu]

I've played it for about 3 hours so far. The control scheme has small changes that take some getting used to (using the Cube controller). Throwing a weapon with Z instead of flicking the analog stick? Grrr...I've spent lots of time getting really good at Smash, and this will take some adjusting.

Does it seem like the percentages have to be higher to kill someone? I've noticed that it's really tough to get the kill unless people are 120-150% as opposed to 80-100% in Melee.

Final Smash can disappear now. Maybe my opinion will change, but the way me & my buddies play (stock game of 3 lives) it has a huge outcome on the game (even if the person who gets it doesn't win). Several games I got killed by a final smash when I had like 20% damage.

A buddy is coming over tomorrow and I look forward to taking it for a multiplayer spin.

Does the AI seem much improved? Or is it just the transition time that makes it seem better? I'm not seeing it do the awful stuff it did on Melee, and I've been playing against levels 3 & 4. I consistently whooped the lvl 9 AI guys from Melee. Hopefully this means they will provide some long-term challenge.

[Big Fo]

This is one of the best multiplayer games ever created, it's so much fun when you get a group of people together, played for hours last night with a few friends.

I actually like the Final Smashes, it's not that big a deal if someone gets a "cheap" kill or two with them, the games last 2-3 minutes (we used the default options) so if you're unlucky at one point the next match is right around the corner.

I've tried out most of the characters for a match or two at least and had a lot of success with Donkey Kong, Mario, Ike, and King Dedede (who I read on the Internet wasn't good but none of us are that good at the game anyway so I found the gigantic hammer to be quite effective). I got my ass kicked when using the smaller characters like Pikachu, Ice Climbers, etc. so it might be the style I'm using.

Pretty much every Wii owner with friends should buy this game.

[MJ4H]

No doubt. I've played just over 130 matches now (which is how many it takes to unlock Snake). My main character to play with is Fox. I find him much easier to control in Brawl than in Melee (for one, I like the wii remote+nunchuck controls better than the GC controller).

Incidentally, on the subject of the controls: One of the things about the controls that has always frustrated me was performing smash attacks. I was never very good at hitting the control stick in a direction and A at the exact same time so I would be trying to perform a smash attack and just do a regular attack quite often. With the customizable controls, I've mapped the directional smash attacks to the wii remote D-pad and it is like a totally new game. I love it. If you haven't tried that, I humbly suggest you do. Especially if you ever have trouble performing smash attacks on-demand. It has made me a much better player.

I don't care much for the sub-space emissary, after another bout of playing that. It just doesn't interest me. I could play the multiplayer brawl part for weeks at a time if I could do without the sleep though.

Seriously, this game is exceeding all of my expectations, and I had them set pretty high.

So, let's get some Brawl friend codes going in here. I'll throw mine down when I get home tonight.

[MikeVic]

I pre-ordered it and it should be arriving any day now, maybe even today.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm not usually a fan of fighting games, but when I went to my local gamestop today to pick up a DS game for my wife, I saw a few guys gathered around a Wii playing this. I've never seen any other Wii games on display at this store before. I was impressed with the look of the game, and the gameplay seemed to be interesting and a fair bit different from the typical fighting game. I went from not even slightly interested to considering this game. I want my wife to watch some videos to see if there is a chance of her playing it too.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

FYI......Pretty good deal over at Toys R Us online.

Guitar Hero 3 bundle + Super Smash Bros. Brawl = $108 shipped.

[MJ4H]

I have a student that has his Wii up for auction on ebay because he never plays it. He pre-ordered Smash Bros before he decided to do that, so he listed that on his ebay auction.

He went and picked up the game Sunday. One of his friends warned him not to even put the disc in the machine. He, of course, did. He no longer wants to sell the Wii. He is going to buy a new one after his auction ends (which I think was today).

I just laughed at this story.

Smash Bros. is one of those games that you just have to play to understand. Especially with a bunch of friends. It is a freakin blast.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

FYI......Pretty good deal over at Toys R Us online.

Guitar Hero 3 bundle + Super Smash Bros. Brawl = $108 shipped.

Wow. That's an awsome deal. I'll have to go check out CAG. And I still need to find a Wii.

SI

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

FYI......Pretty good deal over at Toys R Us online.

Guitar Hero 3 bundle + Super Smash Bros. Brawl = $108 shipped.

Aww wish I knew about this.

Anyway, why hasn't anyone mentioned page 6 of the manual? That so looks like it says "as if fucking."

[kingnebwsu]

Friend code: 4253-3177-4861

Still learning how the Wii online works since I mainly play on Live.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Wow. That's an awsome deal. I'll have to go check out CAG. And I still need to find a Wii.

SI

Looks like it's no longer valid for GH3

SI

[MJ4H]

Brawl friend code: 3050-7237-5825

Will add the king at some point tonight or tomorrow.

[kingnebwsu]

hxxp://supersmashbros.ign.com/

Not a fan of IGN, but damn if this works out. This would give so much more replay value to the game. It's silly how Nintendo only makes their daily "selection" available to play for 24 hours. They need to watch how Live does some of their stuff.

Hopefully we're able to get lots of great levels from this.

[MJ4H]

I unlocked ROB last night. Also successfully added a friend from another site and played online with them. Was a bit laggy, but tour connection had a red dot and it was still playable (red is the worst connection rating color). Hopefully I can get a better connection and it will be as smooth as Strikers is with a 4 star connection.

[albionmoonlight]

I have two wii-motes with nunchucks. I also have two controllers to fit in the gamecube controller slots.

Can I play four player with those four controllers, or do the four controllers have to be of the same type?

[MJ4H]

Yes and no to the two questions in your post, in that order. You can play with that controller configuration with 4 players.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I'm not usually a fan of fighting games, but when I went to my local gamestop today to pick up a DS game for my wife, I saw a few guys gathered around a Wii playing this. I've never seen any other Wii games on display at this store before. I was impressed with the look of the game, and the gameplay seemed to be interesting and a fair bit different from the typical fighting game. I went from not even slightly interested to considering this game. I want my wife to watch some videos to see if there is a chance of her playing it too.

I'm usually not either, but Melee is one game that I don't mind playing at all when my kids rope me in.

(I tend to prefer Zelda/Sheik and Peach myself...)

[LionsFan10]

Okay, so my girlfriend bought this game at midnight on launch day, brought it home and played it for a couple of hours before retiring for the night.

Now I admit, I have never played any Super Smash Brothers game previous to this one. After she goes to bed, I fire it up and start up the Subspace Emissary mode (I hope that's what it's called) and tried it out for myself .... and I have NO idea what's going on. Completely lost, I don't understand the health meter, I don't understand what determines how you win (or lose), I don't understand how you pull off the "finishing" moves.

This game is all the rage right now, and I'm not sure I exactly know why. Is it just because I don't know WTF I'm doing? I'm reading the manual right now (nice and thick, just the way I like it) and it's starting to clear things up a little bit. But is there any other sites I might be able to visit/read to help me get a better grasp on things? I read the reviews from IGN & GameSpot but those didn't really explain much other than "this game is teh awesumzzz"

Sorry if this is a long, off-topic post. Just looking for a little guidance.

[kingnebwsu]

hxxp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Smash_Bros._Brawl

Hopefully that helps.

To me personally, this game is all about the multiplayer. I don't play the single player stuff at all.

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by LionsFan10

Okay, so my girlfriend bought this game at midnight on launch day, brought it home and played it for a couple of hours before retiring for the night.

Now I admit, I have never played any Super Smash Brothers game previous to this one. After she goes to bed, I fire it up and start up the Subspace Emissary mode (I hope that's what it's called) and tried it out for myself .... and I have NO idea what's going on. Completely lost, I don't understand the health meter, I don't understand what determines how you win (or lose), I don't understand how you pull off the "finishing" moves.

This game is all the rage right now, and I'm not sure I exactly know why. Is it just because I don't know WTF I'm doing? I'm reading the manual right now (nice and thick, just the way I like it) and it's starting to clear things up a little bit. But is there any other sites I might be able to visit/read to help me get a better grasp on things? I read the reviews from IGN & GameSpot but those didn't really explain much other than "this game is teh awesumzzz"

Sorry if this is a long, off-topic post. Just looking for a little guidance.

Just keep playing it, there's only a few buttons and no complicated special moves you need to memorize like other fighters.

I still can't get online to generate a friend code, I read somewhere it could be my router and I have to allow port forwarding or something technical, I'll find out eventually.

Has anybody used one of these Thrustmaster GameCube/classic controller combos? Even if I could find Wavebirds around here these are $15 cheaper and can play more Virtual Console games...

[MJ4H]

Single Player in this game is a waste. I mean I don't mind playing the multi-player brawl against CPU opponents, but this game is all about having friends over and brawling in VS mode. I personally think the sub-space emissary single player mode is stupid. It has pretty cut-scenes though.

The way the game works is this: Your "health" meter is actually a damage percentage. The higher the amount of damage you have, the easier you are to send flying when hit with a "smash" attack. The goal is to KO your opponent by sending him off the screen in this way (you will see a little explosion graphic on the edge when that happens). To do a smash attack, you basically just hit a direction and the A button at the same time (though I personally prefer mapping this to a single button press--I use the D-pad on the Wii-mote in Wiimote+nunchuck mode).

The idea of the game is for it to be approachable by anyone: it basically has 2 buttons: attack, and special attack. No complicated motions and button combos to figure out like in Tekken, etc. So button-mashers can step right in and wail away. However, there is a surprising amount of depth to the game and competitive smash players are always finding advanced techniques that the average player doesn't even know exist (not really true anymore in a couple of ways) like "wave-dashing, L-cancelling" and crap like that.

[MikeVic]

Where can I download the user-created levels and the "level of the day?"

I'm actually enjoying the Subspace whatever mode. I love seeing the cut scenes.

I tried playing online vs random people, and was waiting 5 minutes... still no one connected. wtf?

[kingnebwsu]

So I was playing on XBox Live tonight with a buddy and I mentioned that I had Smash Brothers. He said that he also had Smash. We played some Call of Duty 4 and then switched to the Wii. Except we kept private chat active on the 360 so we were able to chat (on the 360) while we played Smash on the Wii! I know it may seem silly, but adding voice chat (with friends) makes online gaming much better. We played some 2v2 games against the AI and had a blast. It was pretty laggy, but it was a problem on his end. We're gonna try again tomorrow and hopefully there's less lag.

Lots of potential playing the Wii while using the 360 to chat (like all online games should have).

[Izulde]

I tried playing the original once I think... wasn't much fun for me, but then I play games SP, so that's probably why.

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by kingnebwsu

So I was playing on XBox Live tonight with a buddy and I mentioned that I had Smash Brothers. He said that he also had Smash. We played some Call of Duty 4 and then switched to the Wii. Except we kept private chat active on the 360 so we were able to chat (on the 360) while we played Smash on the Wii! I know it may seem silly, but adding voice chat (with friends) makes online gaming much better. We played some 2v2 games against the AI and had a blast. It was pretty laggy, but it was a problem on his end. We're gonna try again tomorrow and hopefully there's less lag.

Lots of potential playing the Wii while using the 360 to chat (like all online games should have).

Yeah I've been using my PC to chat with the friends I've played with.

[MikeVic]

I finally played in a couple of online games. First had no lag, but second had a bit. I won the first one and lost the second.

I also got a message saying there's new downloadable content. I'm guessing that's today's level.

Still liking the Subspace mode. Just over 50% done and it's getting quite hard compared to the beginning.

[MJ4H]

BRAWL FRIEND CODE: 3050-7237-5825

[MikeVic]

Friend code: 4854-6182-6536

Can we keep a list at the top?

[MJ4H]

Yep, will do.

[Coffee Warlord]

Friend Code: (Wrong code, I'll look it up later)

[MJ4H]

We need your brawl friend code. It is different from your Wii number. It is 12 digits.

[MikeVic]

I found that so dumb. I hate these friend codes anyway, and to have ANOTHER one? Geez.

[Coffee Warlord]

Bah.

[Big Fo]

Friend code: 0387-8583-2493

I've added everyone from the first post. Is anyone currently up for a game?

[TargetPractice6]

Originally Posted by MattJones4Heisman

Incidentally, on the subject of the controls: One of the things about the controls that has always frustrated me was performing smash attacks. I was never very good at hitting the control stick in a direction and A at the exact same time so I would be trying to perform a smash attack and just do a regular attack quite often. With the customizable controls, I've mapped the directional smash attacks to the wii remote D-pad and it is like a totally new game. I love it. If you haven't tried that, I humbly suggest you do. Especially if you ever have trouble performing smash attacks on-demand. It has made me a much better player.

You could do smashes on demand in Melee with the C-stick.

After playing a lot of Brawl at a friend's house I'm completely underwhelmed. To the point where I'm probably not even going to buy it. It plays almost exactly like Melee. I hate the direction they seem to be going in which all of the stages have to be moving or have some sort of random shtick to them. It totally ruins good competitive fights when you have to play against the stage as much as your opponent. The smash ball is silly, too.

So far Meta Knight, Snake, and the WarioWare stage are the only things I really like in this game. All in all, it seems more like an expansion to Melee than a new game.

[IMetTrentGreen]

I used Fox and Shiek in Melee so I'm kind of switching gears with Toon Link in this one. Different type of player but I like him so far. I'm having to shake off the rust, but I'm slowly getting back into it. I'm about even with an AI level 9 right now.

FC: 2406-4836-3540

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by TargetPractice6

You could do smashes on demand in Melee with the C-stick.

After playing a lot of Brawl at a friend's house I'm completely underwhelmed. To the point where I'm probably not even going to buy it. It plays almost exactly like Melee. I hate the direction they seem to be going in which all of the stages have to be moving or have some sort of random shtick to them. It totally ruins good competitive fights when you have to play against the stage as much as your opponent. The smash ball is silly, too.

So far Meta Knight, Snake, and the WarioWare stage are the only things I really like in this game. All in all, it seems more like an expansion to Melee than a new game.

Yeah, I realize you could use the C-stick but, for whatever weird reason, it didn't work in every mode. Like I'm pretty sure you couldn't use it in classic mode.

I don't think it plays anywhere near like Melee (and the tournament players will disagree with you quite strongly on that, as well). I think the stages have a lot less random stuff in them, and Sakurai is on record as saying he tried to tone that down on Brawl, I'm pretty sure. You can always turn off any items you don't like, I'm sure you know.

As for the stages, I love that there is a stage editor so you can make stages exactly how you want them if you don't like the ones that come with it. This months Nintendo Power as some great tips and pre-made levels. I recommend checking them out. Good stuff.

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by IMetTrentGreen

I used Fox and Shiek in Melee so I'm kind of switching gears with Toon Link in this one. Different type of player but I like him so far. I'm having to shake off the rust, but I'm slowly getting back into it. I'm about even with an AI level 9 right now.

FC: 2406-4836-3540

I was a Fox and Samus guy in Melee (with some Mario). I'm immediately drawn to Meta Knight in Brawl. He is probably going to be the one I learn to use as my main character. I still love Fox, as well, though.

edit to add: First post updated with new friend codes.

[TargetPractice6]

Yeah I was enjoying the custom levels my friend's brother had made. At least there we could fight without all sorts of stuff in the level trying to kills us.

Also, I really don't see how it plays all that differently. I mean there are some slight tweaks and all. Timings of the attacks are slightly different, do different damage, and you seem to be able to take a little more damage on average before dieing. But other than that I haven't noticed any major differences, especially when comparing it to the leap Melee made over the original. When playing on the Hyrule map from melee I could scarcely even tell it was different game except for the character portraits that take up a quarter of the screen (why?) and maybe a new character.

[Bonegavel]

i've played all of about 4 hours of the game and so far I really like it. This is my first entry into the series so I can't compare it to the previous titles.

Very frantic and yet easy to play. Makes you glad that you own a Wii.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by TargetPractice6

Yeah I was enjoying the custom levels my friend's brother had made. At least there we could fight without all sorts of stuff in the level trying to kills us.

Also, I really don't see how it plays all that differently. I mean there are some slight tweaks and all. Timings of the attacks are slightly different, do different damage, and you seem to be able to take a little more damage on average before dieing. But other than that I haven't noticed any major differences, especially when comparing it to the leap Melee made over the original. When playing on the Hyrule map from melee I could scarcely even tell it was different game except for the character portraits that take up a quarter of the screen (why?) and maybe a new character.

I think if they changed too much, people would complain. I know I would. Melee was so fun, that if they screwed it up, that'd be really bad.

[Fidatelo]

I just picked this up yesterday. I haven't played it yet, but am looking forward to it. I didn't have Melee for my GameCube, so this will be all new to me. I'll get my friend code thing on here if I can figure out how.

[MikeVic]

The first time you connect to the online part, it gets shown to you.

I played this on Saturday night with a few friends and it was super fun. The damn fan item is a killer. The slow-motion stopwatch is funny too. And Mr. Game & Watch is "LOL funny" to watch. His final smash is so useless on some stages, like on the Hyrule Castle stage. I had it twice and the last guy left would just stay on the bottom level. My stupid octopus thing would float left and right, jump, and that's it.

It was really fun though.

[Fidatelo]

WIll playing it solo give me a big advantage over my friends when they play? Or is this game really easy to pick up? I'm tempted to just leave it alone until I hang out with my buddies so that we are all on an even level.

[MJ4H]

Mr. Game & Watch is the best thing ever. I wish he didn't suck to fight with because I have more fun playing with him than anyone else.

I still have 3 characters left to unlock: Sonic, Toon Link, and Ganondorf. I'm halfway through Sub-space Emissary, too. I gave it another chance and it's alright. Not great, but ok when I don't have someone else to play with.

[MikeVic]

I think it's easy to pick up, but playing solo will get you used to characters. When my friends were playing, I tried to help them out by saying that special moves everyone has. But I have played Melee too, and won less than half the games. It's so frantic.