Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the title of an upcoming fighting game for the Wii. As the third iteration in the massively successful series, it has been confirmed that it will support some network features, Internet play (Wi-Fi), and will be released sometime in 2007, and thus will not be a launch title. It also marks the first Super Smash Bros. game that features a character from a franchise not owned by Nintendo in a playable format with the inclusion of Solid Snake from the Metal Gear franchise. His introduction in the E3 trailer was a humorous send-up of some Metal Gear Solid series conventions, and referenced the games' Codec communication system and the now-famous cardboard boxes that Snake often hides in. It also featured the first game's musical coda performed in the Super Smash Bros. style.

Masahiro Sakurai, former HAL Laboratories employee and creator of Kirby and the Super Smash Bros. series, has been announced as the director for the game.

An IGN article states that "as of May 2005, the game's development staff consisted of exactly one person, Sakurai himself" and that there is an office in Tokyo just for the development of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The article also states that an unknown company whose employees spent a lot of time playing the game is being brought into the development team, and the team will have access to all the original material and tools from the development of Super Smash Bros. Melee. The various Mario models that have appeared throughout the franchise.

On Wednesday, May 10, 2006, at the After-Hours Press Conference at E3 2006, Nintendo revealed that the next game's name would be Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Although unconfirmed, by images within the game's trailer it seems that new stages will include Meta-Knight's airship from Kirby Super Star and what appears to be a darkened castle, possibly from The Legend of Zelda or Fire Emblem series.

Miyamoto and Sakurai, who were there to make the announcement, also confirmed that the game would have full compatibility with the GameCube controller. Sakurai stated that the reason was because he did not want to "alienate those familiar with the pad." Whether or not it will take advantage of Wii's freehand controller's features has not been stated.

Joystiq.com has also revealed through screen captures that a puppy from Nintendogs will be an item in the game that will veil the screen for a few seconds. Videos also suggest new battle mechanics, such as "super smash" character moves that are triggered by the collection of emblem items.

The inclusion of Konami-created character Solid Snake may seem as a conflict of the Smash Bros. paradigm; to only include characters from games made by Nintendo and their second parties (ie. HAL Laboratory), but Sakurai stated that Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima "practically begged" for Snake to be included in the next Smash Bros. game (which, at the time of said "begging", was Super Smash Bros. Melee, but production of the game was already too far in to make the addition viable). And, according to some arguments on the internet, the inclusion of Solid Snake is plausible, considering the first two Metal Gear games were released on the NES and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes was released exclusively for the GameCube (and the latter featured cameo appearances from Nintendo icons Mario and Yoshi). According to Sakurai, discussions for possible other third-party character additions such as Sonic the Hedgehog are underway, but nothing has been confirmed. Also, fans can request characters if they wish on the Internet.

Famed Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu contributed the main theme of the game. It is unknown whether he will be composing additional tracks.

In an earlier issue of Nintendo Power readers were submitted a survey in a past issue regarding what characters they would like to see in the title, with characters like Eternal Darkness' Alex receiving a high number of votes. Whether this survey will be taken under serious consideration is unknown.

Japanese fans were asked to submit their desired characters and themes to Nintendo's website, the most popular of which would be incorporated into the game. It is currently unknown if this will eventually be opened for overseas fans as well.

Characters
Characters from the previous games are have been confirmed to return are:
 * Mario (of the Super Mario Bros. series) - Mushroom symbol
 * Link (of the Legend of Zelda series, this version is dressed like the Twilight Princess version) - Triforce symbol
 * Pikachu (of the Pokemon series) - Pokeball symbol
 * Kirby (of the Kirby series) - Star symbol
 * Samus (of the Metroid series) - Screw Attack symbol
 * Fox McCloud (of the Star Fox series) - Star Fox Symbol

Some new playable characters will include:
 * Meta-Knight (from the Kirby series) - Star symbol
 * Pit (from Kid Icarus) - Bow symbol
 * Zero Suit Samus (from Metroid: Zero Mission of the Metroid series; Variation of Samus without her Power Suit.) - Screw Attack symbol
 * Wario (from various Nintendo games, most notably the WarioWare and Wario Land series; wearing his WarioWare outfit) - W symbol


 * Solid Snake (from Konami's Metal Gear series), Sakurai claimed that he should make 3rd party characters unlockable - FOXHOUND symbol

Returning Character Speculation

 * Princess Peach - A large amount of fans hope that she will return, but with newer moves. Some people would like to see Perry as her main weapon.
 * Donkey Kong - It would be a huge surprise if DK didn't return. He is one of the main Super Smash Bros. characters, so it is very, very likely that he will return.
 * Bowser - Many people do not want Bowser to return, but it is unknown so far.
 * Yoshi - It is also very likely that Yoshi will return.
 * Luigi - Luigi will most likely be a hidden character of some kind in Brawl.
 * Dr. Mario - Many people did not like Dr. Mario in Melee, so it is unlikely that he will return in Brawl.
 * Jigglypuff - Though the character isn't very loved, it would be a surprise if she wasn't an unlockable character.
 * Mewtwo - The odds are pretty much even that he'll stay or get replaced.
 * Pichu - It is very unlikely that Pichu will be returning.
 * Zelda/Sheik - The odds are about even that she will return or she won't.
 * Ganondorf - Many people would like to see Ganondorf replaced with his usual form, Ganon.
 * Young Link - Again, many people would like to see Young Link replaced with a Cel-Shaded (The Wind Waker) Link.
 * Falco Lombardi - Unlikely that he will return.
 * Ice Climbers - The odds are once again even that they will return.
 * Ness - It is likely that he will return in Brawl.
 * Captain Falcon - It is also very, very likely that Captain Falcon will return.
 * Marth - Since a Fire Emblem castle is revealed and he is one of the most loved characters, many fans hope he will return.
 * Roy - With Marth a likely character, Roy will probably be replaced.
 * Mr. Game & Watch - The odds are again close to even that he will return or not.