The 'Shroom:Issue L/Brawl Tactics

Brawl Tactics by

Hello, Brawlers! Welcome to the 50th issue of the ’Shroom! For Brawl Tactics this month, I will be covering the Shroomiest part of Brawl: Mushroomy Kingdom!

Mushroomy Kingdom is a side-scrolling level, but don’t think for a second that you can take your time like in Super Mario Bros. This stage will go by faster than you’re expecting, so always keep moving.

This stage has two different backgrounds. First, Level 1-1. This is the above-ground level. Like any good Mario level, it has a variety of item boxes that you can hit for items such as food, Assist Trophies, Pokéballs, and weapons. Because of the item blocks, items don’t drop from above as often as they do on other stages. So whenever you see an item brick, be sure to hit it. And, particularly with the blocks that have food, hit them more than once. Like in Mario games with boxes that contain multiple coins, the Mushroomy Kingdom item blocks often contain multiple items. The landscape isn’t very challenging, but be careful when the brick and pipes stack up, because it can be hard to get out of there once you’re stuck.

Next, Level 1-2. This is the underground portion. The landscape here is vastly different. There are bricks everywhere, and their layout can make it especially hard for larger characters like Bowser to get around. Some of these bricks are much harder than others, so if you’re playing with a character that doesn’t have a lot of power they will have a very hard time getting through all those bricks. The good thing all those blocks is that there’s a straight top layer that you can walk right on. If you can get your opponent up there, you can KO them easier. The higher row makes it easy to launch. So, if your favorite character has a Final Smash that has a lot of launch power, it’s a good strategy to corner your opponent on top. Even Final Smashes like Galaxia Darkness or Triforce Slash that need some damage done to the opponent in order to be an effective KO will work if you’re up top. I find that you can even hit your opponent right after they get off the recovery pad after losing a life, with no damage, and it’ll still be a KO. One other thing I must warn about are the lifts in the middle of the level. There are two girder lifts– one that goes up and one that goes down. They may not look like they pose a threat, but they move faster than is apparent. Additionally, where they go off the screen is a really shallow place, and you will be KO’ed faster than you can say “I’m-a goin’ to rescue the Princess-a!”

Hope this makes the Mushroomy Kingdom a safe place to brawl! Good luck and happy brawling!