Note: This isn't quite a "review" or anything of the such, it's actually something more of an open question to the community here :) I've got a few burning questions, and glaring faults here that I'd like to bounce off you guys, your feedback would be great here!
Not a week ago, Nintendo finally released Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii, after much delay- you'd have to have been blind to miss it. There were a lot of expectations for it, and everyones hopes were very high. What comes next is a something of a mixed surprise to me.
Shortly after the Japanese release, we learned of a certian issue with consoles failing to read the disc, Nintendo gave it some fancy name, and blamed smoke, and other pollution for the issues- let's be honest. Nintendo shipped out dud drives, that aren't strong enough to read a Dual Layer disc, the least they could have done was be honest and admit this. I've had CD based products for a long time now, and have two Sega CD's (one first gen that sits under the Gen. and one of the side loaders), both of which have been under heavy use since I've had them (the second gen for over 10 years now...) and have had absolutely no issues booting up Snatcher, Shining Force CD, or Sonic CD. Hell- I have a 15 year old Laser Disc Player that has no issues reading my copy of Blade Runner or Char's Counterattack. Granted, neither of these technology depend on a dual layer reader, but for Christs sake- they're over 10 years old, and have been exposed to dust, and everything else my Wii has been exposed to. To add insult to injury- the Sega CD's lens is completely exposed, as opposed to the Wii, and I've not had a single issue with my Sega CD's lens. Nintendo shipped a bad product, and everyone seems willing to turn away just because it's Nintendo.
On the issue of "defective" systems, the Wii hasn't been exactly perfect, there have been accounts of early firmwares bricking systems (Mine bricked after the second one), Launch Titles not booting, sounds kinda like the Xbox 360 Launch, doesn't it? I remember people flipping shit over the later. Oh, and the Wifi Switch? The reason it won't work on populated channels is because of the fact that it's underpowered, I don't remember Nintendo giving me any reason that my Wireless Router needs to be on Channel 10-11 to connect to the Store in a timely fashion (granted it already ran on that Channel :P). I'd be lieing if I said that I didn't go and test the Wifi switch against different access points in my area that my PS3, PSP, 360 and Laptop can connect to in the exact same location. It found two, my home router, and my neighbors, wherein my 360 and PS3 found an additional 10 APs. Weird isn't it?
Let's actually talk about the game now. It's Smash Bros. what did I expect? It's a party game and nothing more to me. My real cup of tea are the King of Fighters series. That aside, let's look at the Story Mode. Firstly, putting aside that I feel that the story was stripped right from Fanfic.org, let's look at the core gameplay. The game trys to pass itself off as a platformer, by giving you incredibly wonky controls, and a camera that is too close to your character to actually see something. It feels like Megaman 7, you know, the Megaman game where the sprites were too big for the screen? Only Megaman 7's Multiplayer mode (yes, it has one) didn't punish me for trying to move. Trying to play this mode with two players is a huge pain in the ass, with the second player never safe from unnecessary damage from trying to move and go off screen. Oh- this is still the greatest game ever, isn't it? I'm sure if any actual platformer featured such a rediculous system they'd be reamed for it.
The other two issues I have are the controls and the Online Play. The control stick (on both the Classic Controller and Gamecube Wavebird) are entirely too sensitive, and I wish to god I had access to to map my D-Pad to move. This is a small issue, but let's compare it to Ratchet & Clank Future for the PS3, people wouldn't stand for it. Online Play, our first encounter with you was Jim Sterling's absolute disgust in the lack of any voice chat, and the limitation of preset text. This is the least of my concern, I would have to be able to connect to a game without lag for any of that to be in the least bit helpful, or hell- even connect to a game period. If Halo 3 was released with this much lag (which I can assure you it wasn't, because I was playing the game in Online Co-op an hour after I picked my copy up), there would be people seriously pissed.
But with Smash Bros. it's different? I've seen a sickening amount of "Oh, well... no one gets everything perfect!" in reviews for the broken features that other games would be absolutely destroyed by, and I fail to see how this game escapes that gravity. It's the same game that we got 7 years ago, with a few more characters and different textures (note how I said they weren't amazingly different.) Are people really content with changes that are as marginal as going from Madden 06 to Madden 07? Because as I see it, this game is nothing more than a roster update, with a few bug fixes that break the same amount of things in different areas. Did I fail to mention that the game was pushed back a few months?
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Are you playing Subspace Emissary on co-op like I was? Because that sucks hardcore.
so were comparing smash to KoF Madden and Ratchet and Clank now? My least favorite part of the game is the lack of detective solving. Phoenix Wright did it why can't Smash?
Seriously after the PS2 and the 360 is a few hardware issues that much of a problem from Nintendo? Both my ps2 and my 360 couldnt read ANYTHING and had to be repaired.
Smash controls great (except for the nunchuk imo), the adventure mode wasn't going to have everything in a new engine. They shoe horned it into the regular engine cause it is an add-on just like the old tekken beat em ups.
Smash showed us everything it had before it came out and didn't use hyperboles or industry words like "dynamic" and "nextgen". We got exactly what they have been showing us for months and I enjoy a company being that straight foward.
PLUS THE COIN SHOOTER GAME COULD BE SOLD SEPERATLEY AND I'D PAY $5.00 FOR IT
I'm having fun with Brawl.
See the difference between Madden and Smash is that Smash was fun. It was always fun, and will continue to be fun. Madden? Yech.
Do I feel the game is broken in any way? Nah not at all. People were not even expecting to be able to play the adventure mode with 2 players at all. (Which might I add is the saving grace of adventure mode, co-op.)
It's a little early and I'm not making the most sense. I can just tell you is that Brawl is a game that just makes me smile and I genuinely enjoy that. It's a feeling you simply just don't get much from games anymore.
I was comparing Madden to Smash Bros. in the sense that it is an update from the previous installment in such an increment, I thought that was fairly clear :(
jdub - Who said anything about a new engine for the adventure mode? I don't recall needing a new engine to zoom the camera out and prevent damage to a player whos off screen...
<-- BIG Smash fan... but you're right... the Madden thing... as much as the fan in me goes NO DONT SAY IT!!!... it sorta is just an upgrade.... But I still love it... and yea... I've yet to play an online match... its all like... you want on? NO!
But the Smash mechanics are such that the point is to STAY ON THE SCREEN. If they zoomed out to fit both characters, doesn't that make things a little too easy? It's not like a normal fighter where there's life bars and whatnot. Besides, partner chars can do the Kirby-style catch up, and through my entire co-op experience, it hasn't been a major problem.
And I don't know what you're talking about with overly sensitive controls. They seem just the same as Melee to me, which was perfectly fine.
I hadn't thought of that about the dual-layer disc thing. I did notice the Wii seemed to be working a lot harder than normal. And I definitely feel your pain about SE mode. I wouldn't even go near that piece of crap if not for the bad-ass cutscenes and the fact that as long as it is, it's still the fastest way to unlock a lot of the characters. It reminds me of Tekken Force mode.
I've yet to be able to connect to an online match with more than one person and even then, it's usually laggy. Usually it doesn't connect at all though.
All that said, I'm still enjoying it and don't regret buying it. If the online doesn't improve though, I feel like it's only going to be pulled out when (the right) friends are over. It'll be a while before that happens though.
ShawnKelfonne - Why, exactly, should it be a challenge to keep both players on screen? Why should I have to FIGHT with the game to do what it's trying to get me to do in the first place? Please, explain to me why in Co-op mode, why I should have to do this, I'm intrigued. Fuck- Streets of Rage had no problems keeping both characters on screen, why the hell should this? Also, yes- P2 will re-appear on screen. After he takes 10% damage, but once again, in Co-op why should I be fighting with the camera and be punished because the game gives me no room to work with? Your logic isn't clear.
And the controls are entirely subjective, I feel like it should register up, left, right, and down a bit more accurately (instead of UL UR etc etc.) it's entirely subjective.
I completely agree with you GuitarAtomik- It's not that I regret buying the game, it's that the game clearly has flaws, and I'm wondering why for this game particularly people are completely ignoring it and calling it the best game evar. I'm happy to see someone at least respond about the hardware issue, and it's absolutely garbage as far as I see (as far as the poor hardware that is).
Its true that the online is borked, and that there are flaws.
Best game evar? I think not. But its the exact same formula with more stuff, and I love it
It's not a challenge to keep characters onscreen in SSE. I played through it with my brother and we had no problems keeping each other on screen (even when I was Pit just flying through levels and he was someone heavy like Ike) through liberal use of the start button.
And your Streets of Rage analogy doesn't really make sense here, because it's an entirely different beast. SoR has set screen scrolls that force you to kill all the enemies before moving on. SSE is free form and you can skip most enemies entirely.
Honestly, while you have made some decent points, a lot of your biggest complaints are merely subjective. I find the controls to be fine and responsive. Also, Nintendo not shipping out the Wii with a good enough disc drive to read the game shouldn't mean docked points from Smash. Yeah it's a problem, just like it was a problem with the PS2, but it's a problem with the Wii in general, not with Smash. And at least Nintendo is adressing the problem and offering to fix it, unlike Sony.
Man, I'm not one to sound like a Wii fanboy--I've leveled a lot of criticism at the Wii. But seriously, this post just sounds like a lot of baiting to me.
What is with everyone critiquing SSE? We didn't buy the game to play a single player campaign. If they had never included it, we would have never known otherwise. To me, it is a complete bonus that they threw in, and, even though I may not like it as much, is irrelevant to the overall scope of the game. It is not like they sacrificed any aspects of the multiplayer to make it. If they did, then there would be some valid complaints. So, if you don't like it, imagine it isn't there. It still wouldn't affect how you viewed the game.
Secondly, if there is any game where I don't want the formula to change too much in regard to gameplay, it is in Brawl. There are some tweaks thought--the speed seems to be between SSB and SSBM, and some of the "regulars'" attacks have been modified. But, just because the core gameplay hasn't changed, doesn't mean how you play it hasn't. The new addition of characters has me rethinking who I want to play as. It definitely changes the strategy of the game.
And about the controls... I don't see any difference between this one and the previous ones. The only difference I see, is you can disable jumping by pressing up (thank god). I stick with the GC controller--I hate playing with the remote.
Why is it that SSBB seems to be getting the pass? Because, frankly, it is probably the only game we're going to be playing for the Wii long after the system's cycle is over. I've probably never played a video game more than SSBM (except maybe Starcraft), and for many of us that honor may be usurped by Brawl. Both in sheer playing time and in content, this game is worth more than $50. Despite reviews placing it lower than Mario Galaxy, if there was any game I would want to have on the Wii, it would be this one. That is something intangible that reviews really don't cover.
Gen Eric Gui - Welcome to a blog, I post my ideas and feelings here, if you don't like it than you can just not read it. Everything posted is subjective, and you can say that about any blog post. My streets of rage analogy is fair game, as I see it because the game pulled off co-op on one screen with no flaws whatsoever.
I also never claimed that the hardware issues were Smash Bros. fault, rather that they came up at the same time, and people are entirely overlooking it. Although, if the hardware does not work properly, does it matter if the software exists? Oh wait- I'm sorry, another subjective question.
Bluefusion - "We didn't buy the game for the single player campaign"? That's what you did. I bought the game to play every component of it, and damnit, I want what I paid for, I'm not flame baiting shit. I'm bringing up a topic and asking for oppinions on the subject. Who's trolling now?
My point about the single player is that they didn't HAVE to sacrifice anything from the Multiplayer experience to make the Single player experience with working CO-OP, they wouldn't have had to re-write a whole new engine to pan the camera out, or disable damage from offscreen. I don't recall anywhere that the formula should "change" either, quit putting words into my mouth please?
Your last paragraph is sweet and all, with some nice sentiment, but my opinion still stands. Also, why should you settle for Brawl being the only game that you play after the consoles death? Shouldn't you want more from Nintendo? Don't you want a good Mario Kart? Don't you want good 3rd party apps that you'll come back to?
well I can answer these pretty quickly....
I bought a wii a month after it was released... never game me shitknock on wood, and its been dropped or slammed... that being said I can agree that there may be defective consoles and Nintendo is trying to cover its ass, but NEVER say its as bad as PS2 or XBOX 360 in terms of flawed consoles thats just gross....
Subspace Emissary... on that, there is no co-op.... theres a main character and the second person is that characters bitch..... thats all, you are the nana to that persons popo if you get what I eman.... so staying off the screen seems natural, but hey if you press the (+) button youre automatically flashed onto where the 1st player is at...
and as far as smash being favored over other games.... well thats because nintendos shit doesnt stink and even it's flaws are perfect
Thank you, FuriousGeorge, for your riveting comment. I'll say whatever I damn well want about defect rates. Also, please don't put words in my mouth, never once did I claim that the Wii defect rate was as high as a 360, or PS2. Rather that it had similar issues, and that they used underpowered components.
Oh, so Subspace Emissary isn't Co-op now? Is that why when P2 dies he uses one of my lives? Give me a fucking break, you're being ridiculous.
your last sentence shouldn't even be worth replying to, but honestly if you're not going to actually add something to the discussion, and claim that no matter what Nintendo does, they're still better than EVERYONE else, don't post comments please. Their netcode is bullshit and the friendcode system is garbage. Nintendo isn't perfect, nor is any other company.
Whatever, I am definitely not a fanboy. You can read some of my past comments to see that.
You wrote "Also, why should you settle for Brawl being the only game that you play after the consoles death? Shouldn't you want more from Nintendo? Don't you want a good Mario Kart? Don't you want good 3rd party apps that you'll come back to?"
I completely agree. However, there are not many games that have that lasting appeal on any console. I definately won't be playing Mario Galaxy a few years from now. I won't be playing GoW a few years from now, but I see myself playing Halo 3 multiplayer a few years from now. I don't see a single thing on the PS3 right now that could merit consideration. But, I definitely see myself playing SSBB a few years from now.
In regard to my sentimentality: there are a number of games where the imperfections were finely detailed, and then the game was given a pass. For instance, Halo 3. Halo 3 was lacking in a lot of areas. The single player campaign--an integral part of the game--was horrendously short. It played very similar to the predecessors. So on... But, based on peoples' comments, you'd think it was the best thing since sliced bread. Is that wrong? I don't know. But, I understand why it happened, though. Once everyone applied the rule "stfuajpg" they just had fun...and the game has a long-lasting appeal. The imperfections are pushed to the side. Same with Brawl. It is fun, and has a long-lasting appeal, despite the imperfections.
In regard to the Wii hardware--for some reason, my fan on my Wii is really noisy. I had a friend over, and he paused the game wondering what it was. It is like those fans on the early 360s, and it is really pissing me off. Now, I would argue that Nintendo tends to design fairly stable consoles. They don't have hardware problems nearly as much as the others. However, with respect to the Wii, that's probably because they're working on older technology.
In regard to the technology: I know that it's subpar, that it wouldn't have killed them to make a more powerful console that can put out 720p when they're making $50 profit per console right out the door
@Ron
"They will never realize that Nintendo fucks people much worse than MS or Sony could and even the best days"
Oh they will the second the hinge on their DS snaps. They damn near charge the full price of the unit to repair it and absolutely refuse to repair free of charge due to it being physical damage. Regardless if the hinge is poorly made and will indeed break.
I had to go back and re-read the story after reading all these comments.
Anyway, yeah. I agree. Off to a bit of a rough start man. I hope none of you were unlucky enough to have the WFC options menu glitch out of existence the first time you started a gamesave. I didn't feel like waiting for an official word on the problem so I went ahead and deleted the save to start over since I only had a few hours in. It's there now, but it sucks it happened. Been seeing a lot of it. Hell, I had a real elaborate blog post about it, but somehow it got canned... It had pictures and links and all that cool shit. Oh well.
I agree, though. Sweet game, rough start.
@Tino No they won't... no they won't... they're probably on their 3rd DS Lite...
@TurboHyperFighting Thanks for actually reading my post for face value and not adding your own connotation to what I wrote :)
@Bluefusion you came out with your claws out, so I acted naturally :P I can see where you're coming from, but I'll be completely honest, the only game that I would honestly go back and play through on my Wii is No More Heroes as it stands... I really like going back and playing older games after I've had a few years to let them sit, hell- I've played Panzer Dragoon Saga, Snatcher, and Shining Force III more times than I can count. It sucks to me that we settle for these single games to define a consoles life, why not push for more? I can name so many Saturn games, so many Dreamcast games, PSX games, Xbox games all that I really would like to or have gone back and played. So far the Wii has one game that I feel is worthy of praise for some originality. Mario Galaxy didn't do it for me, and this is the same Smash Bros. I played on the Gamecube.