The 'Shroom:Issue LXXV/Brawl Tactics

Brawl Tactics by

What's up, Brawlers? FunkyK38 here with this month's edition of Brawl Tactics!

This month, I'm stepping back in time to a retro-like stage of Mario Bros.!

This stage is modeled after the original Mario Bros. game. I remember playing it on my Super Mario Bros. 3 when I had it on my Gameboy Advance, the music, the not-too-complicated levels, and the simplicity of it all! They certainly don't make 'em like that anymore.

ANYWAYS. Back to the Brawl Stage. This stage is a medium-sized stage that can seem pretty big. Since it is an 8-bit stage, your pictures won't turn out well if you try to adjust the angle of the shot taken. Your character will be a line or a mess of flat pixels. Not so good. The sides and ceiling of this stage are not very deep, and you'll want to be particularly careful when battling near the sides. You will not appear out of the opposite side if you try to go through the walls like in the old game, so just save yourself the trouble of a KO and don't do it.

One of the most annoying things about this stage are the side levels that you take to get up to the top. They are not fall-though levels, and you can't jump on them from below to get up on them. This makes it incredibly hard to KO your opponent if they're hiding in the deeper parts of these shelf-like levels, and it's annoying to try to chase them out in the open to try to KO them out here. Your best bet is to try a side KO, since the sides are so shallow, and hope for the best. If you keep pressing, you should be able to knock them out, but don't go so deep as to knock yourself out as well.

Just like the original, this stage also has those meddling turtle-koopa-things, Shellcreepers, and those crabby little guys, Sidesteepers. You can't jump on them this time or you'll get hurt and launched. Also not so good. Instead, you will have to go at them from below, bumping the stage to get them to turn over, or instead use the POW block you are provided with at the beginning of your battle. This block, however, is only good once. Once you use it, it's gone. You will not get another, so make sure you use it wisely! Once you do get these little pests turned over, you can use their bodies to smack your opponents around with. This provides you with a good resource if you're looking to KO someone. Hit them with one of these, and they'll go flying off into the side where they won't be heard from anytime soon.

As far as Final Smashes go, I would say that those like Link, Zelda, or Meta Knight's work well here, but I'm usually too impatient to chase my opponents around on a stage like this where you can't fall though the levels. As usual, a beam attack like Mario's or Samus' will work fantastic here, even better than usual, actually, because if you corner your opponent then fire your beam, they will have no place to go. This is also true for Donkey Kong and Luigi as well. Their Final Smashes can be used in a corner, where the launch with send your opponent straight into the sides. I wouldn't recommend Bowser or Diddy Kong's Final Smashes here, though, as the extreme lack of mobility from the sides can make it a bit hazardous to control them.

Well, that's all for me this month, Brawlers! Keep remembering the glorious 8-bits, and see you next month on BRAWL TACTICS!