The Official SSBB Thread!- 14/4/08 - we mourn 11 months

[Darkwing Sykeduk]

My Wii and Brawl arrives either this friday or on monday. Sigh, keep waking up whenever I hear a car or something drive past thinking its the postman.
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[Michael Kontoudis]

I am loving the game so far, but I must say it feels like a Super Mega Expansion Pack.

The core mechanics are the same as Melee; in a sense, Melee was a far better 'sequel' to the n64 game than this is to Melee. Not too surprising when you consider how refined Melee was.

Anyhoo, this game is packed with content, the visuals are a step up, the music is godly, and some of the new characters are very interesting.

Pit, Meta Knight, and Diddy are some of my new faves.

Although Captain Olimar is great for 'humiliation' wins....it's so demoralizing to lose to a little space-man who throws pikmin on your head. Bravo.

Cannot wait for the localized release.

OH - just a note - you want a GAMECUBE controller for this, for sure. The wiimote is just not good enough, and the classic controller feels okay, but not nearly as sublime as the traditional GC pad. So get prepared.

[Joseph]

sidzed2, damn you and your mockery!!! Now that that's out of the way, does Meta Knight have a similar gliding distance as Peach? Or does his gliding have no limit, given he slowly falls to the floor?
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[Dare]

@ sidzed2: you've been hiding that you also have the game haven't you
Where have u been? We need more hands-on impressions, yourself and Darkwing Sykeduk are the only ones around here who have the game already... Look forward to seeing you around this thread more, plz

I plan to main Meta Knight & possible Diddy, can you give some highlights etc of those 2, potential combo's and the like?

[DancesInUnderwear]

[Michael Kontoudis]

^^^

Howdy. Well as for Meta Knight's gliding, imagine a slightly heavier kirby, rather than comparing him to the floatiness of peach. The heaviness is actually cool because he falls faster, and as such he doesn't seem as vulnerable to air attacks like kirby is when he floats about.

Meta Knight has really good jabs in all directions, but his actual smash attacks are fairly weak. His specials are kinda cool, especially his side-special (he lunges across the screen with his sword) because it is quick and covers heaps of ground.

His standard special is a cool tornado which sucks the enemy in and throw them in the air a bit - really good opportunities to spam it and drive someone mad, before up-smashing them into the sky

His up-special is annoying, because while it does alot of damage as he blasts into the air, at the end of the attack he kinda glides around a little bit and it's tricky to control. This means you can up-special, glide off the edge of the stage, and have no recovery time to up-special again. I'm not very good yet, obviously.


As for Diddy Kong, his jabs and 'a' button attacks and really cool, and he is fast and easy to maneuver. A real hit and run type. I am just starting with him, but he is very cool. His up smash is a chargeable jetpack blast, and it is really awesome.


I am also p'd off that they downgraded Samus a bit in terms of speed. She is suuuper floaty now, and her side-special missile attack is now super slow and you cannot control its trajectory! Lame, in my eyes, but I need to practise more.

Oh, and last note, Lucas (the Earthbound dude) is a friggin' awesome version of Ness. His specials are really cool, with his only notable weakness in my eyes being that dang recovery move (same as Ness') which is hard to get the hang of.

I cannot wait to unlock some more characters. I want Snake, dangit! (p.s the metal gear stage may be my new favourite...check out the "mgs4 love theme" on the official smash bros dojo site...its fantastic).

[Hyperworm]

... how did I never realise that Kat+Ana = Katana
Helirin's pretty interesting too, I love things that change the play area

I had thought that there'd be a ton of Assist Trophies, but I get the feeling we've basically seen all of them now. There's enough of them, anyway.

As for controls, I keep hearing stuff about the Wiimote-only control scheme, but I don't think anyone really thought that one was going to be for pro-players in the first place More importantly, what about Wiimote+Nunchuk?
Is it usable, and to some extent natural (remapping the controls if need be)? Having both rumble and wireless is important to me, so even if it's not so natural I'm prepared to spend a while getting used to it

Prefer not to use the wired Cube controllers I have...
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[Michael Kontoudis]

^^ Using the wiimote+nunchuk scheme is not fantastic either. Buttons are inevitably assigned to the d-pad, which is just....hmmm.

I hear there is an option for assigning smash attacks to waggle, but I have not tried that option yet (good luck trying to find it in the Japanese menus!)

[Dare]

@ DIU: regardless you know I don't like that g... thing

@ Hyper: In terms of the number of AT's there are 22 confirmed on the DOJO with another 5 at least on offer also (Infantry, Barbara the Bat, Isaac, Ray MK II + Shadow the Hedgehog), where as there are 20 pokeball-mon on the DOJO currently (but apparently there are another 23 or so as well), I hope there are even more AT's (matching the number of pokeball-mon would be nice)

Yeah i'd prefer not use use the wired cube controllers I have either, for one I have to turn my Wii on its side which defeats my wireless range (which is further enough away from the receiver as is, lucky to get 2 bars) but i have to move my couch closer and even then its not really close enough for the cords to reach those on the couch...
I want to see if I can get the Wiimote+Nunchuk combo to work, but english menu's would be a plus I bet

@ sidzed2:
Metaknight - is good to hear about his effective jabs, pity about his smashes though and his >B looks the most effective, what about his VB, how does that work?
Diddy - he does look like a hit & run character, and would have fast A's, thats ^Smash sounds like a winner

I though you could fire homing missile's with Samus this time round, never knew you could 'control' the trajectory though and I'm kinda p'd that she is more floaty this time too, she was floaty enough in Melee (trying to main her atm in Melee)

I really appreciate the hands-on impressions btw
I've heard quite a bit of praise for Lucas actually, I'm intrigued (after I Ness gaining 'PK Flash for Melee, I haven't found him as useful as in N64)
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(details: Wifi for Wii & DS + a fantastically crafted old sig {by döppel} are in my profile)

[Michael Kontoudis]

^^^ Meta Knight's down-B attack is kinda cool, but tricky to use effectively because it is such a defensive move. You basically disappear and reappear quickly, but you can sorta choose a direction, and if quick enough, slip in an attack.

It's one of those 'tricky to use properly but wonderful in the hands of a master' moves, I'd imagine.

Lucas is gonna be quite a powerhouse in the right hands, I'd imagine.

[admeister]

[Joseph]

Have you played as Sonic yet? What are your impressions? Sorry, we're going to be driving you crazy with all these Q's.
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[Michael Kontoudis]

I actually have not unlocked Sonic yet; the only characters I have unlocked are Ness, Luigi, and Marth. With work commitments and woman commitments I have barely had time to scratch the surface beyond a few vs. matches and such.

All I know is, you can't go three minutes in the game without seeing something new, like a new assist trophy, piece of music, unlockable stage, trophy, etc. It's so vast and detailed it boggles the mind.

It's like the got the mechanics refined in Brawl, so they spent a few years just generating stuff!

I must say, though, I still wish Ridley coulda made his way in as a playable. The Metroid series is so underepresented. The only two Metroid-ers are different versions of Samus! Very weak; if Charizard/Bowser can be in the game, then Ridley can too, dangit!

Ooooh, have to mention the Pikmin stage - it is graphically gorgeous.

It's one of those games where every twenty seconds you get a warm, fuzzy, Nintendo feeling and think "oh wow, there's toad, there's Samurai Goroh, there's X/Y/Z". Nostalgia overload.

[DancesInUnderwear]

[VOOK]

Tomorrow is the day mine arrives, won't be able to play straight away though
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I update this Signature once a year, I better make it a good one... no wait can't be bothered.

[?oe?oe]

Hey sized2, could you give a more in depth analysis on Olimar. I know it's real hard to find his groove and excel, so could you talk about his attacks and stragedy with and without Pikmin. I want to one of the few who masters Olimar .

Oh and... Tingle! Yay!
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[Michael Kontoudis]

First off, I should redact my comments re: Samus' missile attack. It may be a tad slower, but the homing missile still remains (why I thought you could steer the missile is anyone's guess. Geeze I'm a d-head).

So Samus isn't 'broken', just a bit different. Perhaps her attacks are a bit more powerful, not too sure. And besides, Zero suit Samus is really cool, quick, and has some great offensive and evasive moves at her disposal. Very reminiscent of Sheik, but her moves are more fun IMO.


ANYWAY, Olimar is a strange little beast, if only because aside from some weak-to-average smash attacks, his only form of attack is throwing pikmin around.

His b attack plucks them from the ground, his side attack flings them at enemies, his up attack makes them form a pikmin-rope, and his down-attack calls the pikmin back to his side.

So the strategy for me (I have only played him for like 15 minutes though) is to keep out of the fray and avoid direct contact until I can gather enough pikmin to toss at enemies. The little guys do reasonable damage and frustrate the movement of enemies, so you can be really sneaky and toss pikmin in orde to beat people to powerups, or disrupt their special moves. And basically, when the enemy's damage is high enough, or they are in a vulnerable place, you strike with a smash attack or item.

Gonna be a tough one to master, I reckon. I need to devote some more time to him!

[?oe?oe]

Thanks man. It's gonna be a challenge mastering Olimar. Hopefully I will come out on top with him. Your attacks also vary on the Pikmin, that's why when you want to do a normal smash attack, it'll be good to a have a red or purple Pikmin at your disposal, since they are the stronger Pikmin, plus white Pikmin poisons everyone.
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[Michael Kontoudis]

^^^ Haha Joejoe, you clearly know more than me anyway!

All I can say is that he is a total hoot to play as, and his final smash is just great. I call him the "fat, little assassin".

Can't wait to get home from work and SMASH. Grrrrr.

[Dare]

@ sidzed2:
Metaknight's VB - so its like Mewtwo's Teleport, but you can get an attack in with the correct timing? Cool
Lucas as a powerhouse - I can see PK Freeze being better than PK Flash thats for sure
Graphically gorgeous Pikmin stage - It does look absolutely beautiful on the smash site

@ admeister:
- Samus doesn't seem that floaty (she was kind of anyway in Melee) and the missile's don't seem changed, these 2 points plus she can change into Zero Suit Samus? I'm not complaining
And the second time you mentioned Ness, i think you mean 'PK Thunder' not PK Flash
Oh and speaking of Samus, you can actually start a match as Zero Suit: wink: (could you possibly test this when you get home sidzed2?)
(*HIGHLIGHT HERE*:To use Zero Suit Samus at the start of a match, select Samus on the character screen and hold the following button before the match starts with the corresponding controller that is being used:
Gamecube/Classic controller: Hold the R button
Wii Remote with Nunchuk: Hold the Z button
Wii Remote: Hold the Minus (-) button *TO HERE*)

@ joejoe: I'm sure you'll be great with him

@ VOOK: would you be able to give some more hands-on impressions like sidzed2 here does?

Guys and gals I've been doing some more looking around and came across these recently, hope this is new news to people:

* thunderboltgames.com does a review: 10/10
^ an interesting mention in there is that it took him over 8 hours to complete SSE and that was only at 82%

* Excerpts of Nintendo Power review which was a 10/10 also

* 2 new stages (+ footage)
FlatZone 2 (features 'fire', 'oil panic' and 'lion'; G & W games)
Donkey Kong's 75m (DK arcade version, also called the 'elevator level' by some)

* Unlockable 'masterpiece' games
Donkey Kong, F-zero, LoZ: OoT; Super Mario USA/2 and even Super Mario World


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(details: Wifi for Wii & DS + a fantastically crafted old sig {by döppel} are in my profile)

[Michael Kontoudis]

Dare: Yes, MetaKnight's Down-B is very much like Mewtwo (pooor Mewtwo!!!! Why couldn't they just paste him back in!?!?!). I had a bit more time with MK this morning, and I have to reaffirm my statement that his Up-B is really deadly (to MK) if you haven't mastered it properly and/or you do it near the edge of the stage.

Admeister: I take back my Samus missiles comment. They are a BIT slower, but they still home when you want them to. She DOES seem a bit floaty, though. But hey, she is two characters in one!


Oh, and as for Zero Suit Samus, she is indeed selectable by pressing the R button on the cube/classic controller. I really like her, but do not know how to use her yet properly.

Sidenote: Pit has an amazing recovery move...not only can he fly, but his Up-B propels him upwards quickly and he glides around for AGES. Seriously, I have been falling to the bottom, about to die, and by simply pressing UP-B i have been able to jet quickly back up to the top of the stage. I imagine that if you play defensively with Pit and dont take much damage, he will be very difficult to knock off. He MAY be my new favourite I need to test him out in some hardcore multiplayer first!

[admeister]

[Michael Kontoudis]

^^^Ad:

Yeah she's been Zelda-ified, but think of it this way; she gets all the variety and excitement of being 2 characters in one, but without having her down-B attack wasted like Zelda, or Pokemon Trainer.

So she may be a bit inflexible (having to wait for a final smash ball) but it spices up matches when someone is trying to be tactical against Samus (with all her projectiles) then all of a sudden they have to refocus and strategise for a lightning-fast, medium range brawler with an awesome whip and evasive maneuvers

[?oe?oe]

Smash Bros. sells over 820 000 copies in less then a week!
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=236610

Incredible, considering Mario Galaxy is just now creeping up to those numbers.
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[Dare]

@ joejoe: that is some extremely impressive numbers there my friend, its not surprising though considering how great it is

@ sidzed2:
- Lucario's pretty much like Mewtwo i've heard
- I'll be careful with that ^B for MetaKnight, thanx for the tip
- i don't know my feelings on Pit yet, but i know i hate the Japanese voice & sound he makes when he uses his >B
- So have you had much chance for online matches yet?

@ admeister: I am playing more and more with Samus atm, i could call her another of my mains very soon i think