Countdown to Ultimate Part 3: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

[SonicMario]

Part 3! Hard to believe we’re now close to about 2 months until the game’s release. And likely even less from knowing who all of the Newcomers for Ultimate will be! But for now it’s time to talk about our favorite characters from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. A big game in the series for sure even if it’s not exactly the competitive favorite. Still a good game through and through, but has some understandable misgivings depending on your view of how Smash is supposed to play.

I’m personally one to say that Brawl has our best all-around roster. There’s literally no one in the roster of Brawl that I dislike as an inclusion. If you had to put a gun to my head to say which one is my least favorite character, it’s Lucas. But I don’t hate Lucas at all. That’s just how strong Brawl’s roster really is. Though there can only be one real favorite, and for me of course it’s freakin’ Sonic the Hedgehog. He was my dream for Smash Bros. realized. There is literally only one character in the entire history of video games that could surpass my hype for Sonic being in Smash. And that’d be another Sonic character (Tails). The hype for the possibility that Sonic could get in Smash is what got me to join internet communities in the first place. Smash boards being my first ever forum. I joined the Summer 2007. And one faithful day months later on October 10th, 2007 (The date is still kind of a personal holiday for me 11 years later) Sonic was announced for Brawl on the website and the internet went crazy. Mario Vs. Sonic in Smash was possible. And Sonic has stayed ever since, and I couldn’t be happier about that. Sonic continues to be my most used, barring the small chance Tails ever gets in the series as playable. Sonic will remain my most used no matter what. Every character inclusion since Sonic made it is practically just more icing on the cake, and targets of my Sonic to fight. As strong as Brawl’s roster is overall nothings going to top Sonic for me. It is THE inclusion that puts Brawl’s roster on top for me.

 

[Moldomré]

I got Brawl recently, and I must say, I'm beginning to enjoy it more than Wii U/3DS. Squirtle is incredible, with Lucas at a close second.

Question: are you combining both versions of Sm4sh into one post?

 

[SonicMario]

Question: are you combining both versions of Sm4sh into one post?

Yes, they both have the same characters and they all play the same. So once November starts the next part will have both 3DS and Wii U in the title. December will be for Ultimate. (Might decide to post it before the game releases anyway and just allow people to change their vote then if actually playing the game has made them decide differently who their favorite newcomer is)

 

[Koops]

GEE, I WONDER WHO KOOPS OF ALL PEOPLE IS GONNA PICK!

In all seriousness, my love for the Aura Pokemon started with me just falling in love with his design, and Smash happens to be the first place when I saw him. Yes, I haven't played any Smash game before, and I regret that, but there's just no way around this one: Lucario still is... my boy. And then I started learning more and more... his aura mechanic in Smash, his personality, and especially the titular Lucario of his own movie, and the fact that he's also my main in Pokken Tournament and I adore the Bone Rush, which I wish was included in his Smash moveset... I guess you could say that even though my experience with him was smaller than most other characters I like, he somehow managed to hit me harder than anything else, over time.

I also think that aside Lucario, the Brawl line of newcomers really is the best in the series, unless Ultimate managed to top that. All of the three mains I have picked for Ultimate, aka Lucario, Ike and ROB, are Brawl newcomers for that matter.

If I had played Brawl, I would have lingered longer on this conversation but I haven't so I guess I've said enough.

 

[Weasel]

This time, I'm in the mood!

Getting Diddy in this was a big deal for me as a big DKC guy. I really loved how he had a pretty big role in Subspace as well. Shame that Rumble Falls was so horrible, though.

Despite what problems I have with Brawl, I still love what it brought the series, minus tripping. Really solid lineup of newcomers, third party characters, good stage selection, and a damn good soundtrack.

Also Project M.

 

[GalacticPetey]

While Brawl is a piping hot mess on the competitive side of things, you can't deny what an impact Brawl had. It's by far the best selling smash game. And for many people, myself included, it's also their first Smash. Subspace, despite having some massive glaring issues, was still fun and the cutscenes are absolutely iconic. I poured hours and hours into this game. Despite my love for competitive Melee, i can't bring myself to hate Brawl on the whole. It's an excellent game.

As for favorite newcomer, it has to be Lucario. He was my first ever smash main. He's already really cool in the actual pokemon games, but in Smash he was so much fun. Him, Meta Knight, and Snake also made a great team in subspace.

 

[YoshiFlutterJump]

Sonic the Hedgehog, definitely. Dedede's close, though.

 

[Alex95]

Ike quickly became one of my mains when I first played the game. He's not the fastest, but I've been able to work with his strengths and weaknesses over the years. And he's still one of my mains in Smash 4 and will likely still be one in Ultimate.

His inclusion in Brawl also made me want to get Path of Radiance :P

 

[Shyghoul]

first smash game i played. i actually had alot of fun with this one despite there not really being any online play (i mean there was but it was shit) thanks to the great solo mode, subspace. also had a helluva fun time making/playing stage creator stages designed to blow other fighters up while playing as snake and watching them fly around the screen while ricocheting off the walls for 10 minutes. never really had a main in this game but out of the newcomers i used wolf and meta knight alot. that said i did end up maining the edgey version of pit in Sm4sh so his introduction here was pretty neat (and it helped Kid Icarus: Uprising to happen which is easily one of nintendo's best games so that's cool). also HOLY FUCK I LOVE Brawl's soundtrack, the main theme and Fire Emblem theme for this were so good holy shit. like i know alot of people whine about Brawl's theme/Brawl in general trying to be too edgy or epic but i really enjoyed those aspects tbh and i'd love for the series to return to that format

 

[GalacticPetey]

Oh yeah, Brawl for sure has the best main theme.

 

[LeftyGreenMario]

Brawl is poopy and I still think it's poopy today. Brawls' existence prompted me to make a huge post back in August 2010 about how much I don't like it. I can't dispute that Brawl has a good line-up of newcomers (Wario! obviously), though we did lose Dr. Mario, Young Link, Roy, Pichu, and Mario/Ganondorf/Captain Falcon/Jigglypuff were reduced to a sobbing mess. Brawl controls like shit, the punches and slashes sound like shit, and it also looks like shit today. The CPUs are programmed like shit, Subspace Emissary was bloated shit, the dual layered disc was shit (gave me massive headaches back then), the online was a steaming mess, Stage Builder was shit, its stages are a ton of shit, Pity Final Smashes are shit, the Pokemon are shit, the events are a step back, no Parasol, the screw-attack is a step back, no Red Shell, shit item balance (looking at you, Bumpers), the crowd is obnoxious. Mario's teeth is stained yellow for some reason.

Brawl also started the trend of particular characters sounding like shit, but a lot of characters outside the select ones you know I'm talking about (Mario, DK, Bowser, Diddy, Luigi) do sound like shit and don't give me reason to really fight them if I can't derive satisfaction of KOing them.

At least it has good menus and the special mode features is a huge plus. I miss camera mode though, but it's no loss compared to a much improved camera. Its main theme is the best in the series. It has My Music which facilitated music hacking video game music variety per stage. Brawl's modding scene is also alive and thriving and I always highly encourage anyone to upgrade to modded Brawl. Its single player is also better than Smash 4's. I miss Classic Mode. The Blast Box, Deku Nut, and Smart Bomb make up for the motion sensor bomb nerf.

I probably like the Pokemon Trainer concept and I remember being most excited to use Ivysaur because Bulbasaur was my picked starter for LeafGreen.

It's also the last game where upper blast line actually meant star or screen ko and not some random blast ko and all stages allowed star kos. For whatever reason.

Boss Battles on Intense is sinful.

 

[Czario]

I know it sounds redundant with my Melee choice, but I have to go with Toon Link here for my favorite Brawl newcomer to play as (again, this doesn't mean actual most-deserving addition). I basically exclusively used him for a long period in Smash 4. Now that I've gone back to playing Brawl again (I love those Mayflash GCN adapters), I haven't been using him that much in Brawl itself, but because of the ridiculous degree I used him in Smash 4, I must go with him.

Brawl is the underrated one. I've already stated my reasoning for this before, but basically its main flaws are it's not good for competitive play and it has a poorly balanced roster. To me, these flaws are completely surpassed by all the improvements this game brought. It took all the features Melee had and turned them up to 11, even while adding new new stuff such as a full Adventure mode that could almost be its own game. It's absolutely packed with content, to such an extent that Smash 4 didn't really even add that much to it in terms of content volume. I'd go so far as to say it established what a Smash Bros. game is like for the later entries.

Furthermore, it has the best newcomer choices (though Ultimate's choices are looking pretty good as well), with virtually every character having a very solid argument for their inclusion. The number of characters is vast without feeling overwhelming, every series is well-represented, and it has tons of great music. I could go on, but I'll finish by saying that Brawl did a ton of good for the franchise even if it doesn't have the best fighting mechanics, and it's a great entry in the series.

 

[LeftyGreenMario]

I do respect your opinion, but I wonder about my stance that a big part of Brawl, the stages, are overall, with some stages being atrocious even for casual play. This is a major flaw for me as well as the overall "feel" of the game. Brawl has some of the worst goddamn stages in the series. Pac-Land is terrible, but it's only a rival to some of the reckless negligence the developers put into stage design. Mushroomy Kingdom underground is a cave of life, but an entire stage. 75m is camp-heavy, and it's not good for casual play because it's way too big and the one-way platform that extends more than halfacross the stage and near the upper blast line lends to a drawn out match where you just knock people up there, and up there is a hazard fest where springs kill you surprisingly early. Stage hazards that kill you ridiculously early is a feature in Brawl. We have the difficult-to-avoid fish in Summit, the thorn in Rumble Falls, the cars in Port Town Aero D(r)ive, the Chimera in New Pork City, the enemies in Mario Bros. (a camp fest), Spear Pillar, WarioWare Inc., Skyworld, Green Hill Zone (not a prime offender, but it's still obnoxious). Smash 4 does not have this same amount of bad, gimmicky stages. I'm that weird person who likes Wily Castle and Pac-Land is fun on 8-player Smash and I don't find Icicle Mountain that terrible (I prefer it over Rumble Falls) so I can't say it's that I dislike gimmicky stages.

I also argue that Adventure Mode is overrated and it's long and drawn-out. It doesn't help that Brawl controls like shit and it doesn't capitalize on the crossover feel nor does it tell a good story (and its story is a tryhard one that expects you to take it seriously), and it is plagued with Kirby bias.

 

[Czario]

Fair point about the stages, but I don't feel that there's enough rotten apples to ruin the whole barrel (or however that expression goes). The worst are probably Rumble Falls, Mario Bros., and 75m.

 

[YoshiFlutterJump]

Fair point about the stages, but I don't feel that there's enough rotten apples to ruin the whole barrel (or however that expression goes). The worst are probably Rumble Falls, Mario Bros., and 75m.

The expression was "one bad apple spoils the rest". Although I don't think that applies here.

 

[London Parris]

Snake, he was my main in my Brawl days, I'm glad that he has returned.

 

[Roserade]

Brawl is definitely a flawed game, there's no doubt about it. But I'm far from saying it's a bad game. Likewise with a few other people here, I poured hours into this game. Technically Melee was the first Smash game I played, but I actually owned Brawl, and so I played through all of Subspace, unlocked most of the challenges, and so on. Its gameplay isn't stellar, but I honestly almost prefer it to Melee. It's floatier, but I guess I'm just more accustomed to it. Melee is a tricky game to nail the mechanics of, and Brawl feels like the exact opposite to me, so it's a matter of pick your poison.

I'd also argue that Brawl has my favorite selection of stages in the series. You have the larger ones like New Pork City, and 75m, but also the quaintness of stages like Yoshi's Island, Delfino Plaza, and Luigi's Mansion. There are some trash ones, but what Smash game isn't without a few? There's enough of a variety that no matter what mood you're in, you can pop in and play. Plus, the soundtrack is godly. Stickerbrush Symphony and Unfounded Revenge are probably my favorite tracks in the entire series.

My favorite character, I'd have to say, is Lucas. Clone, sure, but his heavier feel and devastating PK attacks make him feel a whole lot more powerful than Ness. His down throw, up smash, neutral air, back air, they all feel so satisfying to use. There aren't any Brawl newcomers I dislike, though. Shoutouts go to Pokemon Trainer and Toon Link for also being high on my pick list for a long time.

 

[SonicMario]

BTW when I get to Smash 4's poll in November. I will probably split the Mii fighters to their own options unlike how you can choose the Pokemon Trainer in general. The main reason for that is unlike the Pokemon Trainer you can't obviously switch between the three mid-battle. As there's actually different ways you can play the Pokemon trainer (Like if you wanted to you can do your main damaging as Ivysaur, use Squrtle for a quick get away, and Charizard to finish them off as power or just one mainly even though in Brawl that can cost you because of the stamina mechanic)

But the Miis are there the entire battle so no sense in having Mii fighters in general as an option.

Also Dark Pit and Lucina will be retroactively placed as Echo fighters. So their numbers on the poll just like on the site will be 21e and 28e

 

[Toka Hebizuka]

Brawl is an underrated game that needs more love.

It added so much to the series, no matter how minor. My Music allowed you to choose which songs played on a stage, and allowed for more songs to be in the game then ever before, it even has an amazing soundtrack. Highlights include Yoshi's Island, Norfair, and Bramble Blast. Stage Builder allowed you to create your very own stages, it was fun, even if incredibly limited. The Subspace Emissary is the perfect addition for any crossover game, and I personally found it to be incredibly fun and enjoyable.

But for all of its successes, it also has a great number flaws. One of the biggest ones is that the focus on The Subspace Emissary caused everything else in the game to have less effort put into it, this is so bad to the point it affected game balancing, Meta Knight is prime example of this, but he also shows how incredibly unbalanced the newcomer were. With only seven veterans in the top half of the Tier List, and four Newcomers in the bottom half.

It may not be the best in the series, but it's still an incredibly fun game.

Oh, I almost forgot, Hanenbow is a good stage.

 

[Dr. Fire Luigi]

Brawl was my first smash game actually and looking back on it, I had some great memories with it. All the newcomers are great (Toon Link was my fav one) and the music is amazing and I loved subspace. I remembered making like 30 or something stages in custom mode haha. I spent a lot of time in coin launcher. The stages were good even if most of them were gimmicky. I loved WarioWare, Pictochat and Luigi's Mansion. It did have a lot of flaws though like meta knight being op (especially on the competitive side) and that horrible crowd, that high knockback cheer is ear-piercing to me and it doesn't help that when you ko two at once they do it again... And tripping of course but honestly it didn't affect me too much but I can see how much of a nuisance it is to others. Despite this it was still a good game and one of the biggest games at the time. It's only my 3rd fav (passing N64 which I haven't played that much) but it made some great memories.

Too bad that the game randomly stopped reading because it was double layer