Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Gripes and Glees: One week with Smash Bros. Brawlhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/12/gripes-and-glees-one-week-with-smash-bros-brawl/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/12/gripes-and-glees-one-week-with-smash-bros-brawl/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/12/gripes-and-glees-one-week-with-smash-bros-brawl/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Oh Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Our blogging super-powers have given us an entire week with your dual-layered, nostalgia-filled awesomeness, where most gamers have only had the past few days. In spite of the nega-review, Brawl still seems to be pure gold in the eyes of most gamers and reviewers.

Of course, a game as massive as Brawl is bound that have hidden its imperfections somewhere. So let's go hunting, listing the game's many gleeful points, each followed by a gripe that may have been overlooked in our fanboyish devotion to the franchise. No facet of the game will go untouched here, so be warned that spoilers may abound. Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let's play Gripes and Glees!

Glee: The opening cinematic to Brawl is gorgeous as always, and even updates as new characters become unlocked.
Gripe: The initial load-screen for the cinematic lasts around ten to fifteen seconds, a wait time normally unheard of in first-party Nintendo titles. The unskippable load time feels even longer due to the lack of music and an almost entirely black screen.

Glee: Many of the new-to-Brawl characters have incredibly unique play styles. Playing as Olimar reminds us of how much we loved the Pikmin games, and the strategy of switching between Pokemon while using Pokemon Trainer is a faithful recreation of that classic RPG element.
Gripe: Far too many characters just feel like near-clones of each other. Pit, Link, Metaknight, Marth, Ike, Fox, Falco, Wolf. We love them all, but so many are just so darn similar.

Glee: We're pleased as punch that Nintendo saw fit to include a smattering of classic Melee stages in Brawl.
Gripe: We're a tad disappointed, however, that our favorite original Smash Bros. stages couldn't make surprise appearances. Where's the love for Dream Land, or Hyrule Castle? At least that horrid Kongo Jungle is nowhere to be found.

Glee: The demos offered in Masterpieces mode are a surprising and welcome addition to Brawl's compendium of nostalgia.
Gripe: The 1 to 3-minute demos force you to exit Brawl in order to play them, making it cumbersome to try out the "Masterpieces" back-to-back. Having to re-boot Brawl from the Wii menu after playing each super-short demo hardly seems worth the effort.

Glee: We not only get trophies, but STICKERS too? We love stickers!
Gripe: Collecting stickers in Brawl just makes us wish we had those stickers in real life, to adorn our Wii-motes and Trapper Keepers. Pretty please, Nintendo?

Glee: The Subspace Emissary's numerous cutscenes are amazing, with just the right blend of bizarre character cross-overs, action scenes, and humor.
Gripe: The cutscene menu in the Movies section is a slow-scrolling list, making it surprisingly difficult to find that one particularly awesome cut-scene that comes late in the game (or Peach's hilarious "tea-time" scene).

Glee: The controversial "toon-shaded" version of Young Link makes his appearance as a playable character.
Gripe: He isn't toon-shaded! Toon Link in Brawl is the lanky, poorly-rendered awkward teenage version of that bright and colorful Wind Waker Link we've all grown to love (or hate).

Glee: The Subspace Emissary blends character storylines together in surprisingly clever ways. Nothing makes us giggle more than the team-up of Samus Aran and Pikachu, and certain character introductions made our hearts go all a-flutter.
Gripe: Without ruining too much, we'll just say that Sonic is so poorly woven into the fabric of Brawl's story mode, it honestly spoiled the entire wild ride a little. We recommend low expectations for the Hedgehog's entry into the fray.

Glee: Attaching stickers to character trophies adds a surprisingly refreshing RPG-esque twist to the Subspace Emissary mode.
Gripe: Attaching stickers to every last character that you control in SSE quickly becomes a tiresome and repetitive process.

Glee: Brawl offers fickle players four possible controller options, with customizable controls on each. Hooray for options!
Gripe: Boo for not enough options! While the D-pad on the Wii-mote turned sideways is used for movement, D-pads on the classic controller or Gamecube pad can not be assigned to anything other than taunting. The sideways Wii-mote customization options are also woefully limited; if hitting 1 and 2 simultaneously can activate a smash attack, why can't holding 1 and B (or 2 and B) do something as well?

Glee: Melee haters will be happy to know that Brawl brings the speed down to a level more akin to the N64 original. Playing it brings back fond memories of 1999.
Gripe: Though slower, characters feel "floatier" as well, and the precision control of Melee seems to be missing somewhat in its sequel. What's more, using the basic attack of many characters feels like you left the turbo button on by accident; they kick and punch automatically at such a high rate that we're honestly wondering if it might be a [gasp] glitch.

Gripe: Brawl's dual-layer DVD has proven too much for certain dirty or banged-up Wiis, which won't properly play the game without being sent in to Nintendo first for an optical laser cleaning.
Glee: Ours was miraculously fine, even after being checked through baggage for an eight-hour flight to France (and spending an extra day as lost luggage at Heathrow Airport). Carrying cases and tender loving care FTW.

How about it, fellow Brawlers? Any other gripes or glees that we missed? Let them be heard in the comments.

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]]>brawlsmash-brossmash-bros-brawlsmashbrosssbbScott Jon Siegel2008-03-12T10:00:00+00:00Web services allow for easy Brawl stage sharinghttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/11/web-services-allow-for-easy-brawl-stage-sharing/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/11/web-services-allow-for-easy-brawl-stage-sharing/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/11/web-services-allow-for-easy-brawl-stage-sharing/#commentsFiled under: , ,

saffron city
Sure, the Super Smash Bros. Brawl stage editor is a great way to extend the value of the game, but it's only really valuable if you and your friend-code friends have the creativity to come up with interesting stages. Those of us with no creative talent and/or no friends are out of luck!

Enter the web, which has already filled in some of the stage-sharing holes Nintendo left in the game. IGN's recently launched Smash Bros. supersite already has a selection of over 100 user-created stages that players can download to their SD cards, while the Smash World forums Stage Browser currently has 85 or so stages available. Each site offers picture previews, easy instructions for uploading and a rating system to separate the wheat from the chaff. Now if someone could just hack a way to play these user-created stages in online matches we'd really be in business!

Visit - IGN's stage sharing clearinghouse
Visit - Smash World Forums stage browser

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]]>brawlonlinesharingssbbstage-builderstagesKyle Orland2008-03-11T18:30:00+00:00Boston wins Nintendo's Smash Bros. Brawl launch tournamenthttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/10/boston-wins-nintendos-smash-bros-melee-launch-tournament/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/10/boston-wins-nintendos-smash-bros-melee-launch-tournament/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/10/boston-wins-nintendos-smash-bros-melee-launch-tournament/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Representatives from Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York met in NYC for Nintendo's official Smash Bros. Melee Brawl launch tournament. Each of these finalists were going to walk home with a Wii and an insane amount of Best Buy gift monies. The victor, however, would get a brand new TV, sound system, and a customized crystal Wii. Boston's representative took home the gold with a stunning performance with Sheik (see video, above).

The Smash competitions went throughout the night, ensuring that patient Best Buy shoppers were treated to some entertainment while they waited for the game's obligatory midnight release. Many New Yorkers, after picking up their copies, rushed to the subway, undoubtedly rushing home to enjoy their spoils.

Update: Really -- seriously? Melee? Fixed.

Gallery: Smash Bros. Brawl NYC launch tournament

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]]>brawlnintendonycssbbsuper-smash-bros-brawltournamentAndrew Yoon2008-03-10T23:00:00+00:00Smash Bros. Brawl not working on some Wiis, Nintendo respondshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/09/smash-bros-brawl-not-working-on-some-wiis-nintendo-responds/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/09/smash-bros-brawl-not-working-on-some-wiis-nintendo-responds/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/09/smash-bros-brawl-not-working-on-some-wiis-nintendo-responds/#commentsFiled under: ,


While we're sure most of us would describe Wii fanatics as the most lighthearted of the console enthusiasts, we can only imagine that being forced to wait nearly two years for the most highly anticipated game on your console, only to come home from a midnight launch to discover you cannot extract the frenzied multiplayer mayhem stored on the disc you've purchased might incite one's dander to "get up". Alas, many a brawler-to-be recently found themselves in this lamentable situation, as Super Smash Bros. Brawl has reportedly had performance anxiety in a number of Wii consoles.

Nintendo has swiftly replied with a North American repair form, explaining that the double-layer disc can only be read by a squeaky-clean disc drive lens. They implore you not to try to clean said lens on your own, and to send in your crudely adhered Gamecubes to Nintendo HQ for a thorough purging. We're sure they'll get your newly spruced console back to you in a timely manner -- which will likely offer little consolation to a Nintyfan scorned.

[Thanks to all the unlucky souls who sent this in. Our thoughts are with you during these trying times.]

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]]>brawldiscnintendonintendowiirepairsmashbrossmashbrosbrawlssbbwiiGriffin McElroy2008-03-09T14:00:00+00:00Joystiq attends Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament in pseudo-Bostonhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/03/joystiq-attends-super-smash-bros-brawl-tournament-in-pseudo-bos/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/03/joystiq-attends-super-smash-bros-brawl-tournament-in-pseudo-bos/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/03/joystiq-attends-super-smash-bros-brawl-tournament-in-pseudo-bos/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Nintendo of America's official Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tournament finals occur this Saturday in New York City after qualifying events last month in cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles. This past Saturday an official qualifying event was held in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, a well-sized burg about an hour outside of Boston. And although Worcester does have its own distinct identity, don't tell that to the emcee of the Nintendo Brawl event who kept telling "Boston" to "make some noise." For those who need further explanation, that would be like attending an event in Newark, New Jersey and having someone awkwardly scream, "Manhattan, make some noise!"

So, how did such a must-attend event for gamers to get their hands on Brawl a week before launch end up being hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute? Turns out, it's a classic tale of who you know. Jaime Barriga, a senior at WPI who heads the Game Development Club, won a photo contest Nintendo held last year. Since that time he stayed in contact with the Nintendo PR team and kept trying to get some kind of event hosted at the school. As luck would have it, this Smash Bros. Tournament landed at their feet.

Gallery: Smash Bros. Brawl Tournament: Worcester



"We were looking at the venues when the press release came out about this tournament," said Barriga, still in shock at the 600 people in attendance even after a snowstorm hit Worcester the night before. "We saw the list of venues: New York, San Fran, LA and ... Worcester? That's actually when I found out they were officially coming here."

Jillian Daniels, former events director at WPI, said, "I can't believe this many people came through a blizzard to play Smash Bros."

The tournament had 256 participants who began lining up inside the campus center (while the snow fell outside) on the eve of the event. The main tournament room was equipped with over ten stations for competitors, with three stations outside for the general public. Obviously, there was a line to play the public machines from as soon as people could get their hands on it until the event ended around 7PM. It's also worth noting that at this official event every station used the classic controller.

It was pretty hard to escape how special an event like this was for the area, as the blasé attitude one could experience in a location that hosts such things all the time was clearly not present. "This is incredible. Nothing happens in Massachusetts for gamers," said Game Development Club Events Coordinator Steven Fanara.


After hours of gameplay, screaming, cheering and listening to the emcee say insufferable things like: "It's like they choose blindfolded when character select is on random." It was time for the final bout with a $500 Best Buy gift card and a trip to New York City for the finals on the line.

In the end Daniel Jung playing as Sheik bested Compton Durant using Lucas (video available at D-toid). On winning, Jung, who was overjoyed and out of breath, exclaimed, "Oh my god, it's so intense. The whole excitement and the rush."

The tournament concludes this Saturday in NYC, where the winners from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston Worcester and New York will compete for a crystal Wii, a copy of Brawl, art inspired by the game and a home theater system with an HDTV (ignore the irony). The event is at the Best Buy (NOHO), 622 Broadway, New York, NY and starts at 5PM. If you have the opportunity, it's absolutely worth attending. Super Smash Bros. Brawl not only makes a great gaming experience, it's one of the few titles that also translates well into an immersive spectator sport. Best of luck to the all the brawlers!

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]]>brawlnintendossbbsuper-smash-bros-brawlsupersmashbrosbrawltournamentworcesterAlexander Sliwinski2008-03-03T07:00:00+00:00GDC08: Super Smash Bros. Brawl: played it.http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/21/gdc08-super-smash-bros-brawl-played-it/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/21/gdc08-super-smash-bros-brawl-played-it/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/21/gdc08-super-smash-bros-brawl-played-it/#commentsFiled under:


So there's this fighting game coming out, and it's got, like, a bunch of Nintendo characters in it? They all fight each other in these wacky game-inspired stages, and there are items and things like that. It's called -- let me check my notes -- Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

I played it. I was lucky enough to have a friend who was holding a tournament for all the volunteers, which meant that my non-volunteer self was able to sign up and play a round (or more if I hadn't choked). If you're interested in hearing about this obscure indie title from an up-and-coming company called Nintendo, check out my post at Wii Fanboy.

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]]>brawlfightinggdc08nintendosuper-smash-bros-brawlJC Fletcher2008-02-21T02:45:00+00:00Nintendo announces North American Smash Bros. Brawl tournamentshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/14/nintendo-announces-north-american-smash-bros-brawl-tournaments/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/14/nintendo-announces-north-american-smash-bros-brawl-tournaments/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/14/nintendo-announces-north-american-smash-bros-brawl-tournaments/#commentsFiled under: ,


Impatient to get your Brawl on? Some of you North American gamers could get a chance to play Nintendo's all-star fighter as early as this Saturday, when Nintendo kicks off the first of four regional Smash Bros. Brawl tournaments across the United States.

The regional tournaments will take place in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and New York City, with a maximum of 256 participants at each location. The winners from each tournament will meet in New York for the finals, with the grand prize winner walking away with a crystal-coated Wii, home theatre system, and (of course) a copy of Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

The three finalists will win non-crystal-coated Wii consoles, extra Wii remotes, copies of Brawl, and Best Buy gift certificates ranging from $250 to $1,000. Regional tournaments register players on a first-come, first-serve basis, so we'd recommend getting there nice and early to compete. The first tourney is this Saturday, February 16 in Los Angeles. Full regional tournament details after the break.

The regional tournaments will take place on four separate days, in four separate locations:

Saturday, Feb. 16
Doors open at 3 p.m.
Orpheum Theater
842 S. Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90014

Saturday, Feb. 23
Doors open at 2 p.m.
Ten15 Folsom
1015 Folsom St.
San Francisco, CA 94103

Saturday, March 1
Doors open at 3 p.m.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Olden Hall
100 Institute Road
Worcester, MA 01609

Saturday, March 8
Doors open at 5 p.m.
Best Buy (NOHO)
622 Broadway
New York, NY 10012

The finals will also take place in New York on March 8, as part of Best Buy's Midnight Madness launch event for Smash Bros. Brawl. All tournament participants will receive $10 Best Buy gift certificates.

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]]>brawlnintendosmash-brossmash-bros-brawlsmashbrosssbbsuper-smash-bros-brawltournamentsScott Jon Siegel2008-02-14T11:59:00+00:00Smash Bros. Brawl sales exceed 1 million in Japanhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/12/smash-bros-brawl-sales-exceed-1-million-in-japan/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/12/smash-bros-brawl-sales-exceed-1-million-in-japan/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/12/smash-bros-brawl-sales-exceed-1-million-in-japan/#commentsFiled under: ,


And so the total number of Japanese people that we utterly despise rises to 1 million. Actually, it's 1.08 million, which is the number of Super Smash Bros. Brawl discs that have been sold since the game's launch on January 31st. Reuters reminds us that it took Wii Fit seven weeks to accomplish a similar feet feat, with even Wii Sports (sold separately in Japan) dallying for 11 weeks before crossing the 1 million mark.

There aren't many weeks left between us and the game's American debut, but by then it'll be our turn to become targets for an entire continent's hatred and jealousy.

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]]>BrawlJapanSmash-BrosSmash-Bros-BrawlSmashBrosSuper-Smash-Bros-BrawlSuperSmashBrosBrawlLudwig Kietzmann2008-02-12T09:49:00+00:00Readers pick best webcomic: "Falcon ..."http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/06/readers-pick-best-webcomic-falcon/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/06/readers-pick-best-webcomic-falcon/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/06/readers-pick-best-webcomic-falcon/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Falcon Winner! (Sorry, we couldn't resist.) The winner of this week's webcomic wrapup knows the meaning of a good Captain Falcon gag -- thank you, GamerPALs for also promoting educational values and loud screams in public places.

Second and third place goes to VG Cats (note: published before spoilers) and Penny Arcade, respectively. Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomics you stumble upon this week!

[Results are being finicky, will post later.]

Quick, to the archives!

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]]>brawlcaptain-falconf-zerogamer-palsgamerpalsn-europepenny-arcadesmash-brosssbbvg-catswebcomicRoss Miller2008-02-06T06:00:00+00:00Rumor: Resident Evil 4 to blame for no Capcom in Brawlhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/04/rumor-resident-evil-4-to-blame-for-no-capcom-in-brawl/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/04/rumor-resident-evil-4-to-blame-for-no-capcom-in-brawl/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/04/rumor-resident-evil-4-to-blame-for-no-capcom-in-brawl/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Before the deluge of Super Smash Bros. Brawl information following the Japanese release, we were still all hoping to see Mega Man, Leon Kennedy, or maybe even Ryu appear in the game's sizable roster. Now that the dust has cleared, with no Capcom characters in sight, the only question left to ask is: why?

Kotaku has reportedly spoken with insider sources at Nintendo, who claim that the lost exclusivity of Resident Evil 4 caused Nintendo to reconsider the inclusion of Capcom characters in Brawl. RE4 was originally meant to be exclusive to the Gamecube, but concerns over sales led Capcom to release the title on PS2, and later on PC, with additional content.

While Nintendo has the right to be peeved about the broken exclusivity agreement, the addition of Capcom's franchises to the Brawl lineup could have only benefited Nintendo, and created more hype for the title (if that's even possible). While we're a bit unsure whether to buy into this rumor, if true then we can only hope that Capcom and Nintendo kiss and make up in time to offer some new characters as downloadable content (hey, we can dream, can't we?).

Update: Slight factual error corrected; Capcom announced the PS2 version prior to the release of the Gamecube version. [Thanks, 2bit]

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]]>brawlcapcomnintendoresident-evil-4residentevil4rumorssmash-brossmash-bros-brawlsmashbrossmashbrosbrawlssbbsuper-smash-bros-brawlScott Jon Siegel2008-02-04T06:00:00+00:00Nintendo teases PAL regions with Brawl release datehttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/01/nintendo-teases-pal-regions-with-brawl-release-date/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/01/nintendo-teases-pal-regions-with-brawl-release-date/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/01/nintendo-teases-pal-regions-with-brawl-release-date/#commentsFiled under: ,


While Wii owners in Japan are feverishly playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and everyone in the States is biting their fingernails in anticipation of the March release, we forget our friends in the PAL region, who thus far haven't even been given a firm release date for Nintendo's franchise fighter. Wii Fanboy helps us catch up with all the drama.

A few days ago, Nintendo updated the Brawl page of their UK site, posting a release date of June 1st for the game. Once word had gotten out of the posted date, Nintendo quietly removed it, replacing it with the super-helpful time frame of "2008."

What's even weirder is Nintendo's denial of the slipped release, claiming the update is likely a mistake as June 1st is a Sunday. Keep in mind that the official Brawl release date in the US is March 9th: a Sunday. So either it's a flimsy excuse for an unannounced release date, or the date really doesn't mean anything. Either way, we'll keep you updated on whether Nintendo ever decides to "set a date" with our PAL pals.

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]]>brawleuropenintendopalsmash-brossmash-bros-brawlsmashbrossmashbrosbrawlssbbukScott Jon Siegel2008-02-01T12:00:00+00:00Smash Bros. Brawl shortages imminenthttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/29/smash-bros-brawl-shortages-imminent/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/29/smash-bros-brawl-shortages-imminent/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/29/smash-bros-brawl-shortages-imminent/#commentsFiled under: ,

ssbb
Japan is poised to suffer significant Super Smash Bros. Brawl shortages when the game is officially released on Thursday, reports Game|Life. Nintendo has failed to supply as much as 75% of pre-order units to retailers; likely due to production delays and oversights. Though the shortage would seem to pale in comparison to Wii hardware scarcity, a meager Brawl launch would underscore Nintendo's continued struggle to operate a functional supply chain.

Game|Life theorizes that Japan's expected shortages explain Brawl's delay in North America, as it will take until March for Nintendo to manufacture an ample shipment of units for the territory - not to mention, fulfill the rest of Japan's demand. Others speculate that Nintendo is intentionally withholding supply to give its WiFi Connection service a chance to adapt to the inescapable surge of online Brawl players. This isn't the first time Nintendo has been accused of such tactics, and - if someone don't fix that damn supply chain - it won't be the last.

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]]>brawlimportjapansmash-brossmashbrosssbbsuper-smash-bros-brawlsupersmashbrosbrawlJames Ransom-Wiley2008-01-29T19:00:00+00:00Japanese Brawl intro hints at unannounced characters, looks sweethttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/29/japanese-brawl-intro-hints-at-unannounced-characters-looks-swee/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/29/japanese-brawl-intro-hints-at-unannounced-characters-looks-swee/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/29/japanese-brawl-intro-hints-at-unannounced-characters-looks-swee/#commentsFiled under: , ,


With the Japanese release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl only two days away, the deluge of video content has really only just begun. Today, it's the full introductory cinematic to the Japanese version, showing off a mixture of pre-rendered cut-scenes and gameplay footage designed to make us bite our fingernails with anticipation.

Surprisingly, the game's intro sequence even reveals a couple of unannounced old favorites returning to the fray. We won't give away any names here, but suffice it to say that a lot of you will be happy. Check out the full intro after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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]]>brawlnintendosmash-brossmash-bros-brawlsmashbrossmashbrosbrawlssbbScott Jon Siegel2008-01-29T05:38:00+00:00Smash Bros. Brawl footage reveals story mode detailshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/26/smash-bros-brawl-footage-reveals-story-mode-details/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/26/smash-bros-brawl-footage-reveals-story-mode-details/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/26/smash-bros-brawl-footage-reveals-story-mode-details/#commentsFiled under: ,


We're (supposedly) nearing the release of what could arguably be considered the Wii's most anticipated title ever, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and we're all drowning in a deluge of information about the game. However, as much as we hate to add to the noise, you simply must watch the above video, which shows a few short, but sweet, gameplay clips from the Subspace Emissary story mode.

It looks like Nintendo has improved the side-scrolling gameplay featured in Melee, and has crafted personalized single-player (or co-op) stages for a number of characters in the game. With videos like this dropping regularly, and with only a month and some change until the game drops, we're going to need to invest in a fairly sizable drool guard to preserve our poor, saliva-covered computer monitors.

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]]>brawlnintendosmashbrossmashbrosbrawlsubspaceemissarywiiGriffin McElroy2008-01-26T14:00:00+00:00Nintendo accidentally confirms Lucario, Ness, Jigglypuff for Brawlhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/21/nintendo-accidentally-confirms-lucario-ness-jigglypuff-for-bra/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/21/nintendo-accidentally-confirms-lucario-ness-jigglypuff-for-bra/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/21/nintendo-accidentally-confirms-lucario-ness-jigglypuff-for-bra/#commentsFiled under: ,


A small slip-up on the Nintendo of Japan website has revealed three previously unannounced characters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Fan favorites Ness and Jigglypuff will be returning from the previous Smash Bros. titles, while the pokémon Lucario will also be joining the ever-growing ranks.

Nintendo of Japan recently posted a 5-minute video explaining the many features of Brawl. In one section of the video, the sticker-collecting feature is shown off. A small set of icons along the bottom shows which character can equip each sticker, and originally showed small icons depicting Ness, Jigglypuff, and Lucario.

Nintendo of Japan has since updated the video, conspicuously whiting out these icons and effectively assuring us that this is "for real." More than simply confirming new characters, this news also confirms that the Brawl roster will exceed those characters announced on the official blog, which is just good news for everybody. Check out the original, unedited footage after the break. The icons appear very briefly around 4:20.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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]]>brawlbreaking-newsbreakingnewsearthboundpokemonsmash-bros-brawlsmashbrosbrawlssbbsuper-smash-bros-brawlScott Jon Siegel2008-01-21T07:00:00+00:00Sheik returns in Smash Bros. Brawlhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/16/sheik-returns-in-smash-bros-brawl/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/16/sheik-returns-in-smash-bros-brawl/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/16/sheik-returns-in-smash-bros-brawl/#commentsFiled under: ,


Gamers concerned that their favorite gender-confused Zelda alter-ego would be absent from Brawl have absolutely nothing to worry about. The Hyrulian princess's down-special move will still transform her into Sheik, now re-imagined to match the visual style of Twilight Princess.

According to the official Smash Bros. Brawl blog, Sheik's look is based on an early design drafted during development of Twilight Princess, meaning that at one point Sheik was a shoe-in for Link's grittiest adventure to date. Sheik appears to retain the needle storm, chain, and vanishing moves from Melee, and shares the "Light Arrow" Final Smash with Zelda.

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]]>brawlnintendosmash-bros-brawlsmashbrosbrawlssbbsuper-smash-bros-brawlzeldaScott Jon Siegel2008-01-16T08:03:00+00:00It's worth the wait: Smash Bros. Brawl scores 40/40 from Famitsuhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/16/its-worth-the-wait-smash-bros-brawl-scores-40-40-from-famitsu/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/16/its-worth-the-wait-smash-bros-brawl-scores-40-40-from-famitsu/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/16/its-worth-the-wait-smash-bros-brawl-scores-40-40-from-famitsu/#commentsFiled under: ,


The good citizens over at NeoGAF have picked up the latest issue of Famitsu, and revealed that Super Smash Bros. Brawl has garnered a perfect score from the Japanese magazine. Well, at least we now know it'll be worth all the delays.

Brawl is only the seventh game in Famitsu history to receive a 40/40. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was the first back in 1998, followed by Soul Calibur, Vagrant Story, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Nintendogs, and Final Fantasy XII. Of course, Famitsu's score just represents the opinions of four reviewers, so we'll have to wait for more reviews to come out before we decide whether or not this is worth the purchase (yeah right).

[Via Game|Life]

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]]>brawlfamitsusmash-brossmash-bros-brawlsmashbrossmashbrosbrawlssbbScott Jon Siegel2008-01-16T06:00:00+00:00Pikmin and Captain Olimar join the Smash Bros. Brawl casthttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/09/pikmin-and-captain-olimar-join-the-smash-bros-brawl-cast/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/09/pikmin-and-captain-olimar-join-the-smash-bros-brawl-cast/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/09/pikmin-and-captain-olimar-join-the-smash-bros-brawl-cast/#commentsFiled under: ,


FINALLY, some new and interesting information arrives on the official Smash Bros. Brawl blog, this time announcing Pikmin's Captain Olimar as a playable character. According to the blog, Olimar fights by plucking Pikmin from the ground, and most of his attacks are done indirectly through the adorable little creatures.

Olimar brings the number of new characters announced in Brawl up to an even twelve, equal to the number of veteran fighters announced. With everything all neat and tidy, could this be the last announced character for the game before its release? Do we have more secret characters to look forward to once the game is out, or has Nintendo gone and spoiled all the fun? We'll find out soon enough.

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]]>brawlpikminsmash-brossmash-bros-brawlssbbScott Jon Siegel2008-01-09T06:00:00+00:00Nintendo: no plans for a Kirby Wii titlehttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/18/nintendo-no-plans-for-a-kirby-wii-title/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/18/nintendo-no-plans-for-a-kirby-wii-title/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/18/nintendo-no-plans-for-a-kirby-wii-title/#commentsFiled under:


Despite Kirby's prominent appearance in the Wii's megaton title Smash Smash Bros. Brawl, Nintendo has no plans of giving the little pink vacuum cleaner his own game on the console, according to the UK's Official Nintendo Magazine.

In the magazine's Q&A section, Nintendo's official response is: "There are no plans right now for a Kirby game on Wii but there are plenty of Kirby fans out there, so in the meantime look out for Kirby in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Brawl which will be released in 2008."

Though Kirby has always been best suited to 2D side-scrolling adventures, we're still a bit disappointed that Nintendo isn't considering any Wii love for the squishy mascot. We can't think of any clever waggle functionality, but wouldn't it just be fun to turn the Wii-mote on its side and let Kirby run free in a 2.5D adventure?

[Via Wii Fanboy]

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]]>brawlkirbysmash-brossmash-bros-brawlsmashbrossmashbrosbrawlssbbsuper-smash-bros-brawlScott Jon Siegel2007-12-18T08:00:00+00:00Smash Bros. Brawl dated for Europe ... at a 'later date'http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/07/smash-bros-brawl-dated-for-europe-at-a-later-date/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/07/smash-bros-brawl-dated-for-europe-at-a-later-date/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/07/smash-bros-brawl-dated-for-europe-at-a-later-date/#commentsFiled under: ,

ki'ya!
Since 'June 2008 or beyond' didn't exactly resonate with European Wii owners, Nintendo has quickly, albeit indirectly revised its update on the European release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In a statement responding to yesterday's concerns about Brawl missing from a tentative Q1/Q2 release list, Nintendo has said: "All Nintendo software titles launching in Q2 2008 have not been finalized or confirmed to date. Nintendo will communicate on all software titles launching in Q2 2008 for Wii and Nintendo DS at a later date" -- oh, except for Mario Kart Wii, that one's definitely coming Q2.

Nintendo can dangle Mario Kart in our faces all its wants, but that won't change the fact that its stance on Brawl in Europe remains as vague as ever. Europe's used to waiting, so c'mon Nintendo, either end it with a swift kick to the dome or just lay the bad news on us.

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]]>BrawlSmashBrosSuper-Smash-BrosSuper-Smash-Bros-BrawlSuperSmashBrosSuperSmashBrosBrawlJames Ransom-Wiley2007-12-07T13:51:00+00:00