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Sep 24, 2014

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Retrospective Part 4: Veteran Fighters

Whew! Now that we’re past talk of subs and space, let’s get to characters! But uh…not before we pay respect to…the fallen. See, Brawl is the first game in which there are characters cut from appearing, after having been in a previous Smash game. Truly sad that not all can partake in glorious battle anymore….But most of them were clones, so forget them! HA HA HA HAAAAH! Ahem. Well then, Dr. Mario, Pichu, Roy, Young Link and Mewtwo won’t be joining us this time. In the case of Young Link though…well…you’ll see. Now, Mewtwo’s the only non-clone character that was cut which is surprising. Remember how I said that Mewtwo might have worked better in Brawl’s engine? GUESS WE’LL NEVER KNOW NOW.

Characters Part 1: Veterans and Cuts

For the most part, I won’t get into the “nerfs” (negative changes) or “buffs” (positive changes) that each character underwent in too much detail, but for the vast majority of people…they got a little slower. BUT! Everyone gets a Final Smash!

Mario is…well, he’s the balanced one so not much to report on this time! OR IS THERE?! Well, yes, actually. Mario’s special moves are mostly the same but this time he gains F.L.U.D.D from Super Mario Sunshine as a new Down Special move!

Pulling the water pack out, Mario “charges” up for a spray of water that can, as with most other charge moves, be rolled out of to save the current charge. When Mario lets loose and sprays with water, you’ll find that the water does…no damage. Or knockback. What it DOES do is push people away, which is useful for messing with a character trying to recover onto the stage. F.L.U.D.D is super situational and not many people like the move…it has its uses though. In case you’re wondering, Mario’s old Down Special, Mario Tornado…is now his down air move so there’s that, I guess!

Mario’s Final Smash is the Mario Finale, a giant stream of fire that spirals out of Mario’s hands. Straightforward, flashy and fairly effective, it’s not a bad super move.

Luigi returns, mostly the same as his Melee incarnation, so he’s a very light Mario clone. He KEEPS Luigi Tornado, by the way, so he has that going for him! There are not too many huge changes for Luigi, and then we get to his Final Smash….Negative Zone.

I have no idea what was going through Sakurai’s mind when he was coming up with a Final Smash for Luigi, but here it is! Luigi performs a bizarre dance and a “bubble” of dark energy emanates from him. Anyone caught in this bubble will have one of several statuses applied to them. They could do nothing but taunt, or fall asleep, or be slowed down…even get a flower planted on their head, causing continuous damage! While within this bubble, Luigi’s attacks will be more potent, especially when it comes to landing his Super Jump Punch’s sweet spot….even his default taunt can KO in the bubble! A bizarre super, but I love it. Oh yeah, and he FINALLY has his own voice clips! Rejoice!

Princess Peach is back again, and is not quite as strong as her Melee incarnation, but she’s still a force to be reckoned with. Her specials remain the same, mostly. I should note that when she connects with Peach Bomber, she’ll produce a pink heart instead of an explosion. Not the best change if you ask me! Also, I neglected to mention this last time, but with her Vegetable move, she has a VERY rare chance of pulling up certain items instead of a radish. A beam sword, a Mr. Saturn (character from Earthbound) or even…a Bob-omb! The odds of getting one of these are much higher here, but it’s still rare. I never remember ever getting an item when using the move in Melee…

Her Final Smash, Peach Blossom, is…not my favorite. Portraits of her appear on the edges of the screen and she begins to dance while all around her fall into a deep sleep. Healing items, specifically peaches, also appear. Peach or her foes can eat them to lower their damage. It’s very situational when it comes to working though; foes should have high damage so they’ll sleep longer…but then you’d just be able to KO them anyway, and if they stay in the air for the move’s duration, they won’t fall asleep. Maybe next time, Princess Toadstool. Why not something from Super Princess Peach?!

The Koopa King, Bowser is back…and slightly better than he was before. This is mostly due to the fact that he’s just a BIT faster. But really, the difference is almost night and day. Most of Bowser’s moves are about the same, aside from speed of course, but he gains a new Side Special! Flying Slam is a suplex move. Bowser grabs his opponent, jumps high into the air and they slam to the ground. Now…this move can (and SHOULD) be used to take your foe with you, making you both plummet to your deaths. Interesting thing to note here…since the opponent will be below Bowser, they die first…and if say, you’re both on your last life…you’ll get the win and won’t die. A fun move and a vast improvement from Koopa Klaw. His Final Smash…wait, what?! GIGA BOWSER?!

Yeah, he’s back too but not QUITE so scary. Being in control of Giga Bowser can be fun, but he’s not quite as strong as he was in Melee…for good reason. Still strong enough to tear the cast up though, and you’re immune to being launched from the stage in this state…though you can still be hit and have your damage increased. Use it carefully, or you might end up worse off…

Yoshi rolls back into battle! Now, Yoshi has a few changes to special moves that are kinda important. For one, Egg Roll doesn’t do JACK in the air now…I kinda wonder why you’re even given the ability to use it in the air, as you don’t have much horizontal movement and become helpless once the move ends. Egg Throw now gives Yoshi a very small, but appreciated, boost into the air with the first few tosses. Even if Yoshi’s double jump is ridiculous, the little boost is nice.

Dragon Yoshi is the green steed’s Final Smash, which seems to be a combo of powers Yoshi had when eating shells in Super Mario World. Yoshi will fly around on angelic wings for a time, breathing fire all the while. Pressing the attack button (either of them) will have him spit out a stronger fireball. Overall, it’s a fine super.

DK! Donkey Kong! Is here! DK’s still pretty tough and doesn’t feature many massive changes. He’s remained a solid character, for a heavy weight. His Final Smash on the other hand…could have used some more time under the hood.

Konga Beat has him take out his bongo drums! The player has to match the beat DK makes with button presses, creating musical shockwaves if you are on rhythm. Now…good luck using this online, with the lag and all. Yeaaaaah… DK is stationary when he uses this move too and if a stage is large enough, the move is pretty much useless. Oh well, better luck next time DK!

Link is back and…sucks again. His recovery is ultimately worse off than before, much like how it was in Smash 64. He’s just so damn HEAVY. He barely jumps at all and in general that REALLY hurts him. His moves are stronger, but he’s slower and can’t jump so it barely means anything. His specials have a few changes, here and there. His Boomerang is now the Gale Boomerang, from Twilight Princess. It is wreathed in wind, and can pull opponents towards Link on the way back, but I was never very good at using it. Link’s Up Special, his iconic Spin Attack may suck as a recovery but when used on the ground, he can now charge it up for more damage so…that’s something?

His Final Smash is pretty cool though: Triforce Slash. Summoning the power of the Triforce, a small glint of light goes straight ahead, and then the opponent is trapped while Link is free to slash away. Basically, if you’re in his line of sight….you’d best pray to the goddess Hylia!

Zelda is back too and a bit stronger to boot, even if she’s still slow. She, like Link and Ganondorf, boast her Twilight Princess look. Her moves don’t see very significant changes, though Din’s Fire now gets visibly bigger as you charge it. While her moves are a tad stronger, her low speed in general hurts her. But as was the case in Melee, her Down Special has her Transform into…

Sheik! Wait a minute, you weren’t in Twilight Princess! Yeah, fun fact, her design here is based on concept art from Twilight Princess’ development. Had Sheik been in that game, she woulda looked like this. Sheik is the foil to Zelda, fast and weak when compared to Zelda’s strong but slow play style. Her moves have been somewhat nerfed it seems, but she’s still pretty effective. Her Side Special, that chain, can be used as a Tether Recovery, so that’s a nice change. Her down aerial move is now a diving kick, which will send her down at an angle. One more thing to note…due to hardware limitations (possibly) whenever one Transforms, the Wii chugs to load in the other character and as such, it takes a bit longer to change…which can leave you vulnerable. Careful!

Both Zelda and Sheik share a Final Smash, the Light Arrow. It travels full-screen, straight ahead and can pierce several opponents. The difference between the two arrows? Well, opponents are launched in different angles depending on who you’re using.

Ganondorf graces us with his green skin and great…gait? Actually, his gait ain’t so great. He moves like an old man, and as such he’s like what Captain Falcon would play like if he ever aged. He’s still a strong character, such a heavy hitter, but his speed took a bit of a nosedive here and….well, he’s ranked low by the competitive tier list. His moves are still similar to Captain Falcon, though his up tilt move (the “Volcano Kick”) is quite different, an axe kick that after QUITE a bit of charging up, becomes quite explosive. His Warlock Punch features a change that also affects the Falcon Punch; if in the very first few frames of animation, one tilts the control stick in the opposite direction, Ganondorf will reverse direction and after some small delay, he’ll let loose a punch that is slightly stronger than normal. His Up and Down Specials are mostly unchanged (though he does a bit of a dark magic uppercut with Dark Dive if he doesn’t get the grab), though he gains a new Side Special like Bowser. Flame Choke has him dash forward slightly and if he grabs an opponent, he’ll let loose a burst of dark magic and they crumple to the floor. If used in the air, Ganondorf will slam them down to the ground…and go along with them so…watch out for needless sacrifices!

His Final Smash is Beast Ganon, a form he takes in Twilight Princess. He transforms, lets loose a roar that stuns all before him and then charges straight head. Scary.

Samus is not in captivity. The galaxy is not at peace. Samus is…well, kinda nerfed from Melee, which is such a shame. Some of her moves are better overall, but her overall KO power isn’t what it was. For the most part though, her moves function the same. Her Missile Side Special though will have visual differences between the stronger Super Missiles and normal ones. Plus, her Grapple Beam grab can be a Tether Recovery as well. Oh yeah, and she’s sporting her Metroid Prime look now.

Now, her Final Smash is interesting but I can’t quite get into why it is so interesting right now. The Zero Laser is a very powerful beam that can hit in a wide arc. After it’s over though…something…happens. (Mystery!)

He’s more than you think, he’s got maximum pink! Kirby Kirby Kirby’s the one! Ahem. Yes, here’s the puffball again and I’m happy to say that he’s buffed quite a bit and is a lot more usable similar to how he was in Smash 64. Kirby’s specials mostly function the same way, though the Hammer Side Special has a slight change. Now, when used in the air, its two horizontal swings, which can trip foes up that believe it’s like how it was in Melee. Overall, Kirby is stronger, has the Yo-Yo Copy Ability Break Spin as his dash attack now, and his throws won’t make him KO himself! His Inhale Neutral Special can now eat items too, disposing of them. If it’s an explosive item though…well, it’ll explode inside Kirby and do some damage to him.

His Final Smash is Cook Kirby, one of his stronger Copy Abilities. Kirby gets a boiling cauldron ready and clangs his pots and pans together. Anyone caught in its range (which is tough to figure out) will be sucked in and damage will be laid on, before being shot out of the cauldron at high speed. Kirby will also suck up most items in his range too, and once he’s done cooking, some Food Items will pop out of his cauldron, letting him or others eat and lower damage.

This is Fox, returning to base! Oh wait, no we have to cover you first! Fox is still pretty good, but most in the competitive scene agree that Fox has been nerfed a fair bit. Not that that mattered to me anyway, as I’ve never been super good with him. His specials and overall attacks are mostly the same, but due to a change in Brawl’s physics, Fox in general can get juggled or knocked away easier than in Melee, which means if he get hit hard, he won’t last as long as he used to. That and “shine combos” can’t be done anymore. Whatever that means! (I know what it means but whatever!) Fox is still speedy, decently powerful and his specials are solid, but now he gains a Final Smash in Landmaster.

A tank from the Star Fox series, you can do a few things with it. By pressing down, you can do a “barrel roll” and knock off anyone riding on you. Pressing either attack button will generate a laser blast from your gun, which hurts quite a bit. Lastly, you can “jump” with the Landmaster, and the jet boosters can carry you all the way up to a given stage’s vertical boundary! A good tactic is to rise up and get a vertical KO on anyone standing on the Landmaster, while you are unharmed. It’s a…uh, popular Final Smash. You’ll see why in a bit.

Falco prefers the air! And he seems to prefer being in Smash as opposed to not, so he’s back! Falco, alongside some of the returning “clone” characters like Ganondorf begin to undergo subtle changes here to better differentiate themselves from their sources. Several of Falco’s moves, like his forward air move and his neutral combo are completely different from Fox and all of his specials are further tweaked. His Blaster is blue now and just like before, it’s slower, but stronger and actually stuns on each hit unlike Fox’s Blaster. His Reflector is very different, and shows off Falco’s “style,” I guess. He’ll kick his reflector as opposed to just…activating it like a person would. This means it’s got more range as a pure attack, but he can’t hold it forever like Fox can, and since he’s kicking it away from him, his back is totally open to attack, as well as attacks from above once the Reflector is away from him. Like Fox, Falco is a bit nerfed but still good. Now, he also has a Final Smash in Land…master. Déjà vu, huh? But wait, he even SAYS he prefers the air and you give him a tank?! Not an Arwing or something? Oh well…It’s similar to Fox’s, but it can stay in the air longer at least. No picture for you though, Falco! We’ve seen it before! But uh…we ain’t done yet and you’ll see why in Part 2…

Pikachu, we choose you….I guess. It’s mostly unchanged, and it’s still pretty good, but it’ll NEVER be the monster it was in Smash 64, thankfully. Its specials aren’t really all that different, but it CAN crawl! Whoo!

Oh yeah, and it gets Volt Tackle as a Final Smash. In the Pokémon games, this is a very strong physical tackle that also does pretty good recoil damage to whoever uses it too. In here…Pikachu becomes a ball of electricity and hovers around the stage, shocking anything it slams into. It’s extremely hard to control though, fighting with you every step of the way. You can press the attack buttons to “discharge” periodically…if you can time it right. Really, the movement is based off of a pivot point, but it’s not easy to figure out. I get what they were trying to do here, keeping the move from being overpowered…but maybe they went too far…You can go through stage obstacles while its active too, though in its final moments you’ll slow down and won’t be able to phase through things anymore.

Jigglypuff! Puff puff! Wait, you’re back?! I mean, it’s cute sure but…surely its time in the limelight has passed? No? Well, OK then. Jigglypuff goes from being among the strongest characters in Melee to one of the worst in Brawl. It REALLY needed those combos. That and a few moves aren’t as strong as they used to be. Its specials remain mostly unchanged, with two exceptions. For Rollout, it can FINALLY recover from it when used in the air so you have a SLIGHT chance to save yourself. A slight one. Rest, however, is a whole lot weaker. The fire damage it used to do is replaced with a flower status, like the Lip’s Stick item. So…it’s almost like Leech Seed from the Pokémon games!

It’s Final Smash isn’t a move in the Pokémon games, made just for Smash Bros. Puff Up has Jigglypuff inflate itself to a ludicrous degree, and once it’s done, right before it delates it’ll cause anyone still touching it to fly far away, normally being a KO move. On a large enough stage though, you have nothing to fear!

Falcon…Character Breakdown! Captain Falcon is back! And…worse than ever! Like Jigglypuff, he REALLY misses his combos. His KO power is overall weaker as well, sadly. His moves feature a few changes though. Like I mentioned with Ganondorf, Cap can do a Reverse Falcon Punch if one tilts the control stick in the opposite direction right when it activates, and it’ll be a tad stronger too! Raptor Boost still isn’t my favorite move, but due to “auto snap” ledges in Brawl, at least if I use it to recover, there’s a better chance I’ll be able to grab the ledge when using it! All other specials are mostly the same.

His Final Smash is the Blue Falcon, his trusty racing machine! He summons it and if anyone is in front of him when the Blue Falcon drives by, a cut scene will play where Captain Falcon slams into foes and as the cut scene ends, there will be tremendous knockback, almost always a KO. It’s really the only super move in the game with a cinematic effect, which is interesting. Ride on, Captain Falcon. Ride on!

You don’t have to be a psychic to know that Ness is back! He’s got a few changes here and there, but is mostly the same. He has been made a bit stronger in the transitions between games, though. His specials are mostly the same, though PK Thunder is a BIT easier to hit himself with for recovery and PK Flash is stronger, but has a smaller hitbox and is a bit harder to control.

PK Starstorm is his Final Smash, and has him SUMMON METEORS to rain down on foes! Depending on the stage, this can be an easy Final Smash to dodge, or a very hard one to dodge. Of course, if it’s a four player free-for-all, it’s easier to hit with. Good to have you back though, you little scamp!

Ice Climbers return, which makes sense I guess. I mean, there’s clearly a lot of work put into them, so it’d be a waste to not bring them back again. Nana and Popo are quite a bit stronger this time around, being very high ranked on the tier lists. While they are easier to separate, they are a bit stronger by themselves when compared to them alone in Melee. I…still can’t use them worth a damn though. Most of their attacks are about the same, but Squall Hammer and Belay are improved. For one, Squall Hammer can be a good recovery tactic even when alone, and Belay also gives a solo Climber SLIGHT vertical height, which can sometimes be JUST enough to live. Belay also acts as a Tether Recovery if the AI Ice Climber hits the ledge, wherein they will quickly pull you up to the ledge. Both Ice Climbers can be on the ledge too, so that’s good. Really, they are much improved but they never “clicked” with me.

But I don’t have good things to say about their Final Smash, Iceberg. They SOMEHOW generate a giant glacier, which harms foes who touch it and in general it makes it hard to traverse the stage, depending on its size. However…the Ice Climbers can’t exactly scale the thing super easily and I feel it HINDERS more than helps sometimes. But that’s just me, I guess. Opponents can attack the glacier to shrink it a bit, but chances are they’ll still take on quite a bit of damage before the move ends.

Marth is back, and Fire Emblem continues to be a thing outside Japan! Still speaks Japanese though. But at this point, it’d just be weird if he spoke English, right?! Like if Link ever started talking… He’s overall a bit easier to use, but I question if he’s “stronger” or “weaker.” He’s got some nerfs, but at the same time it’s easier to use him so he seems to do better in tournaments, whereas before he was pretty damn technical. Some attacks have been altered so that it’s easier to hit with his sword’s tip, and his Shield Breaker Neutral Special is now a stab instead of an overhead slash. Dancing Blade is WAY easier to use, which is good. Counter now does 1.1 times the damage of whatever he counters, making it slightly better. One odd thing to note about Shield Breaker if it’s fully charged and used in the air. It gives TREMENDOUS horizontal distance when unleashed, which can really help with recovery. Not sure if it was intended, but there it is!

Critical Hit is his Final Smash, being a dash forward full-screen, and then landing a strong slash on the first person in his way. A health bar from Fire Emblem appears, and then is emptied in a flash! Beware using this in the air, as he’ll keep going until he hits something, whereas he’ll stop if he hits the edge of a platform on the ground. If no one intercepts the sword slash in the air…well, he’ll just die.

Rounding out our list of veterans, here’s Mr. Game & Watch! He’s back and better than ever before! He’s a tad heavier, while still being rather light, so he can survive a bit longer and a lot of his moves feel a bit stronger. His down aerial move, for one, will send him plummeting straight down and it’s much improved as far as I’m concerned. Oil Panic has a weird quality of halting just about all momentum when used in the air, regardless of whether the bucket is full or not. Fire is vastly improved. Now after he reaches the apex of his jump, he produces a parachute to make his decent safer. Furthermore, he’s not helpless after using the move and can even detach the parachute and attack as normal, but he can’t use Fire again until he lands.

Octopus is his Final Smash, referencing the Game & Watch game…Octopus. His Up Smash is also from that game but THIS time he takes the form of the octopus. Pressing the attack buttons has G&W extend and quickly retract his tentacles, which do good damage. You can jump in this form, but you can’t turn around so positioning when activating this Final Smash is VITAL. One more thing…maybe it’s me, but this move lasts a LONG time, doesn’t it?

Whew! With that, the veterans are taken care of but now…ONTO NEWCOMERS. We have some interesting ones to talk about too! Next time, of course.

-B

#smashbros #brawl #mario #pikachy #kirby #link

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