Time for a beat down!

The wife preordered Super Smash Bros. Brawl for me for Valentine's Day a month ago, and I was able to pick it up this week. It is, as I expected, incredibly fun. It is also jam-packed with a metric ton of content. The disc contains over 200 full-length orchestral music tracks, dozens of stages, hundreds of collectible trophies and stickers, a level editor, and lots of different mini games.

But the main point of this blog entry (and probably a few others) is to catalog my thoughts on each of the characters. I've had the game for about 3 days now, and I've logged just over 10 hours of total play time. Between a limited amount of online multiplayer, a few matches of local multiplayer with some friends, and going through the game's lengthy story mode, I haven't had the chance to even play all the characters that are available from the start of the game. So I'll just comment on the ones I've played so far.

Captain Falcon (still slightly.. ok maybe more than slightly.. homoerotic) Plays virtually the same as her did in Melee, at least so far. I've only played him in one mission of the story mode. He seems a little weaker than he did in Melee.

Diddy Kong (ever since DKC on the SNES, I've always thought that he screams some of the most annoying sounds known to man) This is the character that I am honestly the most surprised about. When he was first announced to be a playable character some months ago, I was fully prepared to hate this little monkey with the complete and total passion that my soul is capable of eliciting. But he's actually pretty decent. He's fast (I find that I'm predisposed to liking the faster characters over the slower, more powerful ones), and seems to pack more punch than other fast characters like Pikachu. Although, I do hate his UP+B recovery. It doesn't get you anywhere, as it must charge as you fall.. and by the time it is ready, you have fallen too far. Also, his Super Smash attack is incredibly powerful if you are able to get the handling down.

Falco

(while he is a good guy... he still just comes off as a jerk most of the time) I haven't played with him much yet, but I do greatly appreciate that he is slower than Fox (see below). The first time I played against him was in an online multiplayer match, and he immediately grabbed a Mega-Mushroom as soon as the match began. It surprised me, and almost made me pee myself. Fox (just stay in your Arwing, buddy... it's the only place I like you) I hate Fox. I've always hated Fox. I hate playing as him, and I hate playing against him. He's too fast for me to control- he feels slippery, and his jump is more like a fast little hop. He's too fast for me to hit- I go to smack him in the face, but he's already teleported behind me. And don't even get me started on his reflector.. Oh yeah, his Super Smash blows.

Ice Climbers (my god... they look like they have Down Syndrome) I'm not sure if I dislike the Ice Climbers more than I do Fox.. I'll have to sit down and make a list of pros and cons for each. Either way, this is another character (set of characters??) that remain virtually unchanged from Melee. I hardly ever used them then, and the same goes for now as well.

Ike

(phallic? noooooooo....) Having never played the Fire Emblem series, I really had no idea what to expect from Ike. I had played with Marth/Roy in Melee, so I was figuring he'd be just like them. He generally is, except he is slower and faster. The game designers actually did a really great job with him- he actually feels like he has momentum and weight. When Ike winds that giant beast-of-a-sword up and raises it above his head for a smash attack, you can actually FEEL that he is about to deliver a world of hurt upon some poor soul. His special moves are generally good, and his Super Smash is really fun to watch. King Dedede

(he's supposed to be Kirby's arch nemesis... but he looks so happy and cute. this bothers me) I was also quite unsure of what to think about King Dedede before I cracked open the game case. I hadn't played a Kirby game in over 10 years, so didn't remember Dedede very well. Well, I now know Dedede quite well, and let me tell you-- this guy is a BEAST. What a freaking fatty. But what a freaking power house as well. Dedede has the capability of launching someone with a relatively low damage meter into outerspace. My first time playing with him, I charged up his hammer and knocked all 3 of my opponents off of the level with one shot. Holy. Crap. His Super Smash is kind of dull and boring, and virtually useless on the scrolling stages. Kirby

(singer of one of the greatest songs on the internets) Yet another veteran who remains basically unchanged from the previous game. I haven't played with him much, but my thoughts on him from Melee still hold to be true: he's too freaking floaty for me to use on a consistent basis. Link

(while Link is sometimes annoying, you have to admit that his sword and shield really look awesome)

Ahhh, everyone's favorite elf/boy/young man/slightly-androgynous hero of Hyrule. His moves, like Kirby's, are also basically the same as they always have been. Although, his boomerang is now the Gale Boomerang from Twilight Princess, and it pulls your enemies slightly closer to you. Not much to say about Link other than one of his alternate costumes is Dark Link, and it looks freaking SWEET.