Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Super Smash Bros. Brawl is an upcoming fighting/action-platform game for the Wii. It is the third game in the Super Smash Bros. series, the sequel to Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee. The game is being developed by Masahiro Sakurai, who also made the last two Super Smash Bros. games. After a planned release date of December 3rd, 2007 in North America, all regions had their release dates pushed back. It is now slated for release on February 10, 2008 in North America, and January 24, 2008 for Japan.

A demo of Super Smash Bros. Brawl was playable on the "E for All" media event in San Francisco in October 2007. The game will support the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, as revealed in an update of the Smash Bros. Dojo!!.

Story
The "Subspace Emissary" is the adventure and story mode of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It has been said that The Subspace Emissary will rely on character development, meaning that it involves the characters' individual backgrounds. The main antagonists are the Subspace Army, which is led by the Ancient Minister.

At the beginning of the story, Princess Zelda and Princess Peach watch trophies of Mario and Kirby fall into an arena and transform into their living counterparts. They proceed to do battle, while Pit watches from Skyworld, cheering them both on. After his defeat, Kirby is transformed into a Trophy, which Mario revives into its living counterpart.

However, Meta Knight's ship, the Halberd, flies over the main stadium. It sprays purple smoke into the arena, which then takes the form of a group of strange robotic creatures, named Primid. Zelda and Peach run down to assist Mario and Kirby. They fight the Primid for some time.

The Subspace Army then drops down a Subspace Bomb, which is activated by two R.O.B.s. The bomb then shows a detonation timer, indicating that it will explode in three minutes. Mario hurries to deactivate it, but is sent flying out of the stadium by a giant cannonball. Kirby ponders what to do, and notices that Peach and Zelda have been trapped in cages, being held by Petey Piranha.

Petey Piranha proceeds to attack Kirby, by swinging the cages at him. Kirby dodges, and starts to weaken the cages with his attacks. Kirby eventually defeats Petey Piranha, causing him to drop the two cages. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Wario drops in, wielding an unusual machine. He notices Kirby, but then turns around to Zelda, who had been flung farther away. He points his machine at her, and fires it. A black arrow shoots out of the device, and when it strikes Zelda, she is transformed into a Trophy, which Wario promptly carries away. It is then that Kirby and Peach ride a Warp Star and escape the stadium, which is drawn into Subspace seconds afterwards.

Meanwhile, in Skyworld, Pit gazes at the stadium, and notices the devastating effects of the Subspace Bomb. He is then called forth by Palutena, who gives him the Staff of Palutena. She sends Pit on a mission to save the world from the Subspace Army, and help out the others who are trying to save it. Pit then hurries off to the edge of Skyworld, and flies down to the world, to assist in saving it from the Subspace Army.

Meanwhile, in an island jungle, a Hammer Bro. and a Goomba pile Donkey Kong's Banana Hoard onto a hovercraft, which they proceed to drive away. Upon battling several of the Koopa Troop's minions (even smashing a Koopa Troopa into the ground, a la Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat), Donkey Kong readies to follow the Hammer Bro. and Goomba, and get his treasured Banana Hoard back. Both Donkey Kong and his friend, Diddy Kong, set off after them. It appears that after getting their Banana Hoard back (it is unknown where, when, or how), Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong encounter Bowser. He roars ferociously, and presumably he is fought. However, as to why Bowser has stolen his Banana Hoard is, as of yet, unknown.

In the meanwhile, Kirby and Peach on the Warp Star are chased by the Halberd. They are forced to land on it, but an Arwing appears. It is hit by the beams of the Halberd and flies downwards, knocking off Kirby and Peach on its way. Apparently, the Arwing is knocked out of the skies by the Halberd, and lands on the island Donkey Kong is on.

Afterwards, Diddy Kong then starts to swing through the jungle. When he reaches a pond, he notices a damaged Arwing near the lake. As he heads towards it, a Rayquaza emerges from the lake, and starts attacking Diddy Kong. As Diddy Kong stares in fear and awe, Rayquaza quickly grabs him, and flies back to the lake. As Diddy Kong continues to stare in terror, Fox McCloud ejects from destroyed Arwing, and uses Fox Illusion to swift pass the dragon's hand, causing him to release Diddy. As Rayquaza uses another Dragon Pulse, Fox uses his Reflector, which deflects the attack back at Rayquaza, causing him to retreat back into the lake. Fox then allows Diddy to accompany him on his journey.

The Halberd later appears over the space where Pit landed, creating more Primids. He defeats various subspace enemies, until he eventually reaches a platform. Looking across the clouds, he sees the trophy of Mario sticking out. Hopping over to a platform concealed by the clouds, he turns Mario into a living being again. Once Mario recalls the events that have previously happened to him, the two understand that they are working towards the same goal, and head off.

In screenshots of the Subspace Emissary, a Hammer Bro., Bullet Bills and Goombas were revealed as enemies. Additionally, Fox can be seen running away from a giant sheep-like creature, and several Primid imitate the moves of Samus and Meta Knight. For a list of known enemies, go here.

A few things can be interpreted from the videos of actual gameplay of the Subspace Emissary. Defeating enemies yields prizes, such as regular items, stickers, and strange golden balls that must be broken to reveal trophies. When an enemy is attacked, its picture appears in the corner, along with a health bar. After each cutscene, a freezeframe of any characters in the spotlight at the moment is shown, and the player picks who to play as.

Gameplay
A new battle mechanic will be the Final Smash, that is triggered by collecting a Smash Ball. Another new battle mechanic is that players will be able to walk and jump while using projectile-shooting items, like the Super Scope. Some characters have also been seen crawling. However, it is disputable whether all characters have this ability, as only a few were able to perform the Wall Jump in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Additionally, a new technique called the Footstool Jump will be in the game. It allows players to jump on an opposing player's head, and spring up by pressing the jump button at the right time. Players will be able to perform Meteor Smashes by doing this as well. The Tether Recovery will be a new tactic in the game. It allows players to grab onto ledges, using chain-like items, such as a Plasma Whip or a Clawshot. Gliding will also be a technique in this game, available only to characters with wings. When used, players will be able to glide across the stage, and be able to control the way they fly. They can direct themselves upwards, or downwards, depending on the Button Combination used. The game also features three different Taunts for each character.

The game will be controlled with one of the four controlling methods: There are a few differences between the controller methods. The Nintendo GameCube controller is the only one capable of the rumble effect. The Wii Remote turned on its side only allows one taunt of a total of three available in the other control methods. The Wii Remote + Nunchuk Attachment has a special feature, the Shake Smash, allowing the player to execute Smash Attacks into the direction they shake the controller to. The Classic Controller, Wii Remote + Nunchuk Attachment and the GameCube controller also have a function which disables the jump by tapping the control stick upwards. This makes it easier to execute attack moves upwards, but forces the player to use different buttons for jumping (C or D-Pad Up on the Nunchuk, or X/Y on the Classic and GameCube controller).

The execution of standard combos has been made easier; the A button does no longer have to be hit repeatedly, it is enough to hold it down for the character to start a combo attack.

Players will be able to set their own button configuration rather than have to play with the default configuration. The configuration can be saved on the Wii Remote's internal memory, allowing to take them to a friend's and play with one's own button configuration there. People will be able to type in names, like Tom or John, just like in the last two games. While names were only a gimmick in Super Smash Bros. Melee, they now also save the player's controlling options to avoid selecting the control method again each time.

Brawl
The Brawl mode which was playable at the October Nintendo event featured a simple two minute time match, but there are going to be other modes in the full game as well. In the demo, the players can select their characters, who also have alternate costumes, and choose the stage to play on. As the battle begins, each character appears with their specific entrance. For example, Samus comes out of a teleporter and Mario out of a Warp Pipe. These entrances were present in the original Super Smash Bros., but not in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

As in the last two games, Super Smash Bros. Brawl also has Handicaps to help beginners in battles. However, this time, handicaps do not make a player weaker the more times he/she is knocked out, but instead, change a players starting damage percentage. For example, one player can start at 0% of damage, but the other starts at 50%, even after he/she has been knocked out. This allows players to test their skills, or just to give them a challenge, as well as helping beginners learn the basics.

Subspace Emissary
The Subspace Emissary will make use of a team system. Two players can play in the Subspace Emissary at one time, with the first player being the protagonist, and the second player being an optional supporting character. Due to the camera following the main character, if the second character ends up off screen from the stage scroll, he or she will automatically warp straight back to the main hero. The main screen shows where to go next, and the character selection screen allows the player to choose his or her team. If Player 1 is defeated, and Player 2 is not, the game will still be over.

In single player, teams are still available. However, the second character will be a CPU, and if the main character is defeated, the player takes control of the second player, until he or she, too, is defeated.

Classic Mode
Classic Mode returns from Super Smash Bros. Melee, acting the exact same way. Players pick a character, and then continue through a barrage of fights. Each stage appears in a certain order, with a Legend of Zelda stage appearing first, and a Pokémon stage appearing third. Like the last game, certain conditions are set in a few matches. A few examples are the player and two teammates fighting a giant opponent, or the player having to fight a metal version of another player. A small heart will appear next to a teammates logo. When a level is finished, the score will be added up, and coins will be earned. The coins have some purpose in the game, but it is unknown what, at this point.

Special Brawl
A new feature is the Special Brawl. Using this, players are able to customize the battle themselves. This means they can attach items, set stats, and add appearance differences to all the players, right from the start of the battle, without having to collect the items themselves. The Special Brawl, thus, allows players to try a variety of settings such as Invisible Bunny Brawl, instead of the settings given on a certain type of battle (as seen in previous with the Special Melee modes in Super Smash Bros. Melee).

Tourney
The Tourney Mode from Super Smash Bros. Melee (then "Tournament Mode") will be returning, acting the exact same way as it did in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Players are able to brawl in a tourney, that can have up to 32 players, and will have to fight their way to the championship, eventually earning a cup if they win. It is possible to play with friends, or battle CPU characters. Nothing appears to have been changed from the Super Smash Bros. Melee version, however.

Wi-Fi
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was confirmed to be in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. However, similar to what happened with Mario Strikers Charged, the game tends to slow down and fail a lot more the further the players are. So, playing a game from Japan to America will slow the game down, and cause some problems in the battle. Regardless, the game is still capable of connecting overseas. The two modes are With Friends and With Anyone.

When playing with friends, players use friend codes in order to brawl with each other. They choose an emblem to represent themselves. Emblems can be the games' series emblems, the characters' icons or Miis. In this mode, players are able to send messages to each other in-game, using the Taunt command. Players can send four different kinds of messages, one for each direction; up, down, left, and right. Results are recorded only in this mode.

When brawling in the With Anyone setting, players are unable to send messages to each other in-game, and neither can they see the name or details of their opponent. Also, the results of the battle are not recorded in the With Anyone mode. While the game is loading, or while the players are waiting for other opponents, they can practice the game by attacking the Sandbag from Super Smash Bros. Melee. The other modes of play involved in Wi-Fi have not been revealed yet. However, it has been revealed that players can choose to be spectators of the battle, and even bet coins on who will win.

Stage Builder
A new unique gimmick is the Stage Builder. Using it, players can make their very own custom stages. When making the stage, players first pick the size of the stage, and then creating a background pattern, as well as the music that will play on the stage (with only the music tracks found on CD being playable). Once done, the player can start adding pieces to the stage, whether it be simple platforms to ladders to spikes. However, each of the four control types have different ways to move the pieces, however, they are all able to flip, resize, zoom, swap palettes and erase pieces of the stage. After building a fraction of the stage, it can be tested out before being saved. This can be done several times, if it is necessary. After the stage is finished, the name and comment can be chosen, as well as an option to change the music of the stage. It can be sent to other players via Wi-Fi Connection, but can also be sent directly to Nintendo using the "Submit" option on the Stage Builder screen. Every day, Nintendo will send a selected stage to every player with Wi-Fi and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, so they can try out the stages that other people have made. The stage gets removed after a day has past, and a new one is brought in the next day. This allows players to make and try out new stages for themselves every day.

Various
Another inclusion is a feature called My Music. Instead of restricting each stage to one music track, with some having an alternate music track, people can now choose which music track they want to play on the stage. For example, on the Delfino Plaza stage, players can choose between the Delfino Plaza theme from Super Mario Sunshine, the Castle Music/Fortress Boss from Super Mario Bros. 3, the Ending/Title Screen of Super Mario World, the main theme to New Super Mario Bros., and many more. Players can set how commonly the track may appear on the stage. To add more music to the collection, the player must collect a CD, which randomly appears across the entire game, in any of the numerous modes of play.

Trophies have been confirmed to be returning in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. They act the same way, being collected the same way, but there are now new trophies, and they are more easily stored, as an image of the trophy will be seen when selecting a trophy. They can also be displayed the same way they were in Melee. Another new feature, is that many trophies can be placed together on the same spot, making it seem like a "play". There are also more backgrounds, that can add to this new feature.

Throughout the game, players will be rewarded with stickers. Like trophies, these items reflect characters, objects, and places that have appeared throughout Nintendo's history. Unlike trophies, however, the items will be much easier to find and are simply pieces of 2D game artwork rather than actual new 3D models. Stickers will be stored in an album and can be used to decorate a screen in an extra mode.

Throughout the game, the player is able to take screenshots while pausing the game. In contrast to Super Smash Bros. Melee, there is thus no special camera mode needed. The screenshots are either saved on the Wii's internal memory or an SD card.

The Home-Run Contest returns from Super Smash Bros. Melee, with the same basic gameplay. However, there are quite a few differences. A shield surrounds the platform, preventing players from accidentally pushing Sandbag off the platform, which was a major problem in Melee. Two players can work together in cooperative play, with the two having to work together in order to set a good record. Two players can also challenge each other in two player alternating play, which features two characters taking turns to see who can knock Sandbag the farthest. Both these modes can be played in Wi-Fi Connection mode, under the With Friends mode.

Also available in the Stadium mode is the Target Smash!, a slightly altered mode of the Target Test from the previous games. There are five different stages each character can play on, and the results can be sent to other players via the Wi-Fi Connection.

Items
The Star Rod was seen in IGN videos of the same demo. The Thunderbolt from the Mario Kart series also appears. There has been recent sightings of an unknown item that shoots fireballs, and a ball with spikes. A stopwatch-like item was also seen coming out of a party ball. The Screw Attack was shown in a recent Famitsu magazine article. The Starman will also return. A Soccer Ball was seen as an item in a screenshot on the Smash Bros. Dojo!! What it does or where it is from is unknown.

Confirmed Assist Trophy characters

 * Advance Wars - Nintendo Wars series
 * Andross - Star Fox series
 * Devil/Demon - Devil World
 * Dr. Wright - Sim City for SNES
 * Excitebike - Excitebike series
 * Gray Fox - Metal Gear Solid series
 * Hammer Bro. - Mario series
 * Knuckle Joe - Kirby series
 * Jill - Drill Dozer
 * Lakitu - Mario series
 * Little Mac - Punch Out series
 * Lyn - Fire Emblem series
 * Mach Rider - Mach Rider
 * Metroid - Metroid series
 * Mr. Resetti - Animal Crossing series
 * Nintendog - Nintendog series
 * Saki Amamiya - Sin and Punishment
 * Samurai Goroh - F-Zero series

Confirmed Poké Ball Pokémon

 * Chikorita
 * Deoxys
 * Electrode
 * Gardevoir
 * Goldeen
 * Groudon
 * Kyogre
 * Meowth
 * Munchlax
 * Piplup
 * Snorlax
 * Staryu
 * Torchic
 * Latios and Latias

Music
The official Super Smash Bros. Brawl website lists a total of 36 composers to work on music for the game. 


 * A remix of Menu 1 from Super Smash Bros. Melee will be used for the stage Battlefield, which can be heard on the link just above.
 * The official website revealed a track called Yoshi's Story: Ending, which is a remix of the ending music to Yoshi's Story. It might be one of the songs that play on the Yoshi's Island stage.
 * A track from the original Metroid game was also revealed. It is called Metroid: Boss Battle Music or Ridley's Theme. It is the theme music of when Ridley appears in the Metroid game. It is unknown what Metroid stage it could possibly play on.
 * A medley from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was shown on the official website. It is combination of many music tracks from the said game. It also includes a remix of Saria's Theme, an alternate tune that played on the Great Bay stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Whether this track plays on Bridge of Eldin or not, is unknown, but most likely so, as the My Music feature determines the likelihood of certain songs playing in a stage whether or not it is from the same game the stage itself came from.
 * A Star Fox music track was revealed, titled Star Fox: Space Armada . It is a remix of the Corneria stage music from Melee. It is likely one of the songs to play on the Lylat Cruise stage.
 * A jolly remix of the Grim Reaper and Game Over music from Kid Icarus was put on the official site, title Kid Icarus: The Underworld . This remix sounds similar to the brand of music used for Green Greens. It is possible this plays on the Skyworld stage along with other songs. It was also heard on the part of the Subspace Emissary, titled Pit's Descent.
 * A remix of K. K. Slider's theme music from Animal Crossing was revealed by the official site, titled Animal Crossing: Go K.K. Rider! . It will play on Smashville, as stated by the official site.
 * A remix of the Gym Leader and Pokémon Evolution music was recently put on the official website, named Pokémon: Pokémon Stadium/Evolution . There is a very good chance it will be one of the songs for the Pokémon Stadium 2 stage.
 * Famed Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu contributed the main theme of the game, named Super Smash Bros. Brawl: Main Theme . It is done completely in Latin Lyrics, and will play throughout the game, making it the main music representation of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It is unknown whether he will be composing additional tracks.
 * A dramatic remix of a theme from Metal Gear Solid 4, titled Metal Gear Solid: MGS4 Love Theme (Super Smash Bros. Brawl Version), was put on the official site. It has been confirmed to appear on a Metal Gear related stage, very likely to be the Shadow Moses Island.
 * A remix of Ashley's theme from the WarioWare series, with vocals, can also heard on the official website, called WarioWare: Ashley's Theme . It features Ashley's voice as she sings her theme from WarioWare: Touched!.
 * A remix of the Fire Emblem theme, with Latin lyrics, was also added to the Smash Bros. Dojo!! . It will very likely play on Castle Siege. The official site also included translated lyrics in the update.
 * A jazz remix of Meta Knight's theme music from Kirby Super Star was recently revealed on the Dojo!!, being named Kirby: Meta Knight's Revenge . Sakurai even remarks how long it has been since he made that particular game.
 * Interestingly, Hirokazu Tanaka, the composer of several Nintendo games since the Game & Watch, has secretly joined the list of Brawl composers, creating a more modernized version of the original Donkey Kong theme music, aptly named, Donkey Kong . It can be compared with the music from the Flat Zone stage from Super Smash Bros. Melee.
 * In the first trailer, the game over music from Metal Gear Solid (likely Snake's victory music in Brawl) is heard at the end. In the second trailer, one of the altenate arrangements of the main theme is heard, along with music from the Corneria stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee, implying that music as heard in Melee will be in the game, likely through the "My Music" feature.
 * The Japanese site featured a music track for Kirby's Final Smash.
 * In the movie, Sonic the Hedgehog Joins the Brawl!, the theme to Sonic Adventure 2, titled Live & Learn, was heard. It will most likely play on a Sonic the Hedgehog stage.