Super Smash Bros. Brawl - A Fighting Game Masterpiece?

Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the third installment in the crossover fighting game series Super Smash Bros. Though the number of playable characters has been increased and it’s the first game in the series to have playable third-party characters, some characters that were first introduced in Super Smash Bros. Melee didn’t make it to Brawl.

The character selection screen, showing the 25 characters available from the start, and the additional characters that the player has unlocked so far. When all additional characters are unlocked, the player has 39 playable characters to choose from.

Like in the earlier games, your goal is to knock your opponents off the screen by using different kinds of attacks. What’s new in Brawl is the introduction of the so-called Final Smashes, character-specific super attacks that are far more powerful than the regular attacks, and, in some cases, basically impossible to avoid, as the blasts coming from the attack fill most of the stage.

Instead of a traditional health bar, all characters have a so-called damage percentage, which starts at 0% and has a maximum of 999%. The bigger the percentage, the further your character will fly when you get hit, and the greater the risk of getting knocked beyond the stage’s boundaries. Depending on the mode of play, getting knocked off the stage will result in the loss of either a point, coins, or a life.

Think you can collect more coins than your enemies? Good luck!

Compared to the predecessors, Brawl includes a much more extensive single-player/cooperative multiplayer mode that could easily be called a story mode, Subspace Emissary. This mode is heavily plot-driven and features cut scenes that explain the plot and introduce the characters showing up at different stages of the story. Brawl was originally the first game of its franchise to include online features as well, but those were later discontinued.

Screenshot of a cut scene introducing a new character

Super Smash Bros. Brawl has received praise centered on its entertainment value and its musical score, which was composed through a collaboration of 38 renowned video game composers. It has been named the Fighting Game of the Year by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and as of 2008, it’s the eight best-selling Wii game of all time. If you want to see what all this is about and find the battle system unlike that of any other fighting game fascinating, I strongly suggest giving Super Smash Bros. Brawl a try!

Game info

Publisher: Nintendo

Developers: Game Arts, HAL Laboratory, Sora Ltd.

Series: Super Smash Bros.

Platforms: Wii

Release date: January 31, 2008 (Japan), March 9, 2008 (North America), June 26, 2008 (Australasia), June 27, 2008 (Europe)

Genre: Fighting

PEGI: 12

Header image: “Front Cover.” Contributed by Servo. https://www.mobygames.com/game/wii/super-smash-bros-brawl/cover-art/gameCoverId,108708/

Picture: “The character selection screen”. Contributed by Opipeuter. https://www.mobygames.com/game/wii/super-smash-bros-brawl/screenshots/gameShotId,289618/

Picture: “Batter coins out of your opponent, he who holds the most wins. Would you really kill you friend for the prize inside?”. Contributed by Opipeuter. https://www.mobygames.com/game/wii/super-smash-bros-brawl/screenshots/gameShotId,289629/

Picture: “New characters are introduced with a cut-scene”. Contributed by Opipeuter. https://www.mobygames.com/game/wii/super-smash-bros-brawl/screenshots/gameShotId,289606/

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#fighting game #Super Smash Bros.#Super Smash Bros. Brawl #Nintendo