Here, as promised, is the nineteenth portion (including my review and bonus characters) of my in-depth Super Smash Bros. Brawl critique for Rorschach’s contest.

After writing this all out, I realized it is way too long for a single post. I’ll break it down into two characters at a time and release them over the course of the week so you can read who you like at your own leisure.

The following will detail my impressions and thoughts of every character in the final roster, two at a time. So, if you haven’t finished unlocking the entire roster, or have been living under a fucking rock for a couple months, don’t read any further. There may be a surprise or two mentioned herein. I’ll also offer up one or two suggestions for additional characters that I feel should have made the roster or deserve a spot in the next iteration. Enjoy.

Toon Link

There’s not much that can be said about Toon Link that can’t be understood from playing regular Link. Although his art style is much more distinct, he pretty much plays the exact same way, with a few okay tweaks thrown in to make him feel quasi-fresh.

All I’ve really noticed is that he’s suitably more agile than regular Link. TL is a little lighter in the air and bit speedier. This carries over to his moveset, too, with his regular A and Smash attacks executing somewhat quicker than Link’s. Obviously this means he’s a little less powerful for balancing reasons, which makes sense. I actually appreciate this change. I felt Link kinda moved like he was walking in two feet of mud, so having Toon Link manages to give me another lithe sword fighter to enjoy, despite the fact he’s less powerful.


Does he ever use that little wand thing in Smash? Didn't think so. He should.

He retains all the same special moves that Link has, including a bow and arrow for distance (neutral B, chargeable), a bomb grab (Down+B) which according to the Dojo has a larger radius than Link’s but I couldn’t tell too much of a difference in the heat of battle, a spinning recovery attack (Up+B), and the move that is actually noticeably different, the Over+B boomerang move. Adult Link’s boomerang throws out a little tornado when it returns to you, which apparently flips enemies around and confuses them. I think it’s pretty lame. Toon Link loses the tornado aspect and simply has a boomerang that can be aimed much more easily. I was actually able to send this thing flying up and at angles, which is something I could never seem to manage with Adult Link.

TL’s Final Smash is the same as Adult Link’s. He does a series of sword slashes thanks to the powers of the Triforce. Personally I thought it was lame when Adult Link used it and I think it’s even more lame for Toon Link to have. I feel as though they could have come up with something truly unique from the Wind Waker game. I never played WW, but there has to be SOMETHING cooler than a sword slash somewhere in that game. Just look at TL’s stage. Gimme something, devs, come on.

Toon Link = Win. Surprisingly I like Toon Link. Although it may seem as though I talked trash on him, I feel he’s the quick swordsman that Adult Link deserved to be. I wholeheartedly prefer playing as TL before Link. While he may lack the power Link has, he makes up for it by being able to more easily connect and retreat for some quality hit and run tactics.

R.O.B.

There was a lot of “WTF?”s circulating the internet when it was revealed the old NES consoles add-on, R.O.B., was going to make an appearance as a playable fighter in Brawl. Well, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only person out there who uttered that same phrase when I played with him, not because I couldn’t believe why Nintendo put him in, but because of how surprisingly adept a fighter he proved to be. Props to Nintendo for not making R.O.B. as lame as he could have been (and likely should have been).


New school.

R.O.B. has a seriously well-rounded moveset at his disposable. He has a laser beam that shoots from his eyes (neutral B) that can end up being short or long range when utilized. I personally find using the beam more often makes it execute at short range more often, so I save it and use it more sparingly and get long range blasts with more frequency. Whether or not this has anything to do with it is unknown to me.

He also has a great crowd-damaging spin move (Over+B) where he whips his arms around and can do some pretty decent damage. Unfortunately, this can be spammed repeatedly. I try to mix it up personally, but be on the lookout for spammers of this move. It’s similar to Pit’s sword spin and similarly annoying, except R.O.B.’s can also attack behind him, so be extra careful.

His Down+B move whips out a chargeable disc from his NES days that he can throw sorta like a little spinning top. It can be picked up and thrown around by opponents, so make sure to know who has their hands on it.

Where R.O.B. really impressed me was his Up+B recovery move, wherein he activates jet motors on his base and can fly pretty damn effectively. I wouldn't go so far as to say it’s as effective as Kirby or Jigglypuff’s recoveries, mainly because R.O.B. can grow tired and the jets become less powerful after repeated use, but it’s way more effective than I ever imagined it would be. He has some serious skills when it comes to staying on the stage. Go you R.O.B.


Old school.

For regular A and Smash attacks R.O.B. has an okay arsenal. Where he really shines is in air where most of his smashes utilize his base jets, causing a good amount of KO potential with every attack. Most noticeable are his Over aerial Smash and his Down aerial Smash. Also impressive is his Up Smash+A while grounded, wherein he uses those same jets in a handstand position and blasts enemies skyward. He has some other okay smashes, but these are the best I encountered.

R.O.B.’s Final Smash is a mixed bag. It’s essentially a super version of his laser beam, only it’s perpetually short range, yet consistent. Sometimes long distance beams shoot out, but they aren’t consistent enough to use in a strategy for the move, hits with these are more luck than anything else. It’s best to get in someone’s face (or in a crowd) and just be unrelenting. Overall, it’s okay. Not the best, but what the fuck were they actually gonna do for a damned system accessory?

R.O.B. = Win. I was very surprised at how capable R.O.B. is. He has a good arsenal of moves and enough hand-to-hand potential to prove a menace in regular fights. His jet-fueled smashes should be avoided at all costs as they are real powerful and therefore should be utilized often. R.O.B. was a big question mark for me when he was announced, but he certainly has earned his spot on the roster. Good for him, here’s to hoping we see a repeat appearance next iteration.

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for my critique of Olimar and Captian Falcon!

Or read my review of the game!

Or, if you need to catch up on old critiques try these:

First Row:
Mario and DK
Link and Samus
Kirby and Fox
Pikachu and Marth
Mr Game & Watch

Second Row:
Luigi and Diddy Kong
Zelda/Sheik and Pit
Meta Knight and Falco
Pokemon Trainer
Ike and Snake

Third Row:
Peach and Yoshi
Ganondorf and Ice Climbers
Kind Dedede and Wolf
Lucario and Ness
Sonic plus BONUS Knuckles

Fourth Row:
Bowser and Wario

And my bonus characters who should have made the roster:

Mega Man
Bomberman
See Sonic's critique for Knuckles

Thanks for reading!