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Super Smash Bros. Brawl gets release date
The day that the world will stop as Nintendo releases the megaton of all megatons: Super Smash Bros. Brawl. No new information was revealed, but we're pretty sure that's all you need ... for now.
Get ready.
Apt timing for Nintendo's pre-E3 downers
On Tuesday, we saw two announcements from Nintendo that we're sure caused a handful of fanboys to tear up: no online Metroid and no playable Smash Bros at E3. Why did the House of Mario decide to break hearts just one week before their E3 press briefing? It's just good business, as observed by Newsweek's N'Gai Croal.
Nintendo PR revealed their "damage control playbook" last year, Croal said, when they announced the then-distressing final name for the Revolution, Wii, just 12 days before E3 2006. (Check the linked post and its 593 comments for a look back at the announcement.) Of course, the oft-teased title change did little to waver its hype and Nintendo is widely regarded as having a stellar E3 showing that year.
Sony, as Croal noted, gave their bad news at the very end -- namely, the $600 price tag. And with it being their final note, they left a sour taste in all gamers' mouth. With Nintendo's bad news out of the way this year (hopefully), Iwata and company can end on a high note. We've illustrated this phenomenon on a chart above. (Note: all values are approximate)
Conjecture Countdown: 8 days to go
Even with a diminished E3, there's no controlling the wave of rumors that hit the Internet every year before the show. Why fight it? From now until E3 hits, we'll be posting one piece of wild speculation every day. Some may be patently ridiculous, and others just might turn out to be true. Even some of the ridiculous ones might turn out to be true! Rest assured, everything will be totally made-up and unfounded. Except, of course, when we speak about all the ass Reggie is going to kick. That part? Totally true.
Rumor: Having peeked into the distant and dystopian future of December 2007 through the mystic arts of augury and tea leaf reading, we've discerned several Assist Trophy characters that are guaranteed to appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Take care, young readers, as you pull back the curtain that separates your eager eyes from what lies beyond the post break. Once you've known the truths that destiny has planned, you can never unknow them!
Rumor: Having peeked into the distant and dystopian future of December 2007 through the mystic arts of augury and tea leaf reading, we've discerned several Assist Trophy characters that are guaranteed to appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Take care, young readers, as you pull back the curtain that separates your eager eyes from what lies beyond the post break. Once you've known the truths that destiny has planned, you can never unknow them!
Dojo update: a comedy classic
Today's Super Smash Bros. Brawl Dojo update actually revealed something new! Like, actually new, and not something that was also in Melee. We wonder if it was a mistake-- maybe this update was meant for September and they accidentally posted it instead of more about Fox.
Banana peels are the newest addition to the arsenal of items that serious players will ban. We look forward to the hilarity! Poor Kirby looks really annoyed, either because he slipped or because he didn't get to eat the banana and gain its Potassium Power.
Banana peels are the newest addition to the arsenal of items that serious players will ban. We look forward to the hilarity! Poor Kirby looks really annoyed, either because he slipped or because he didn't get to eat the banana and gain its Potassium Power.
Dojo update: Lylat Cruise stage revealed
Check out all of the new Lylat Cruise stage images in the gallery below.
Gallery: Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Smash Bros blog shows seasonal stages, sliding barrels, Samus
Since revealing -- but not detailing -- four ways to control the game, the Smash Bros. Brawl blog has continued with its Monday through Friday updates to show off itty-bitty portions of the game at a time. A snippet from the Metroid: Boss Battle music, a newly-dressed Fox, and an updated Yoshi's island stage that changes season during battle.
For the first time, shots of Samus Aran were shown. It's not really surprising to see a fan favorite from the last two iterations return, and the published images give no hints as to new or revised special moves.
Perhaps the most entertaining update concerns crates and barrels. The rugged item boxes of old will now have thematic skins based on the stage (e.g. they look like presents when playing on Yoshi's island stage), and crates have gained the ability to slide when thrown. "Be careful and make sure you don't get knocked for a loop by a box madly rushing downhill," said the entry. That has to add a few points for the game on the tried-and-true Crate Review System.
For the first time, shots of Samus Aran were shown. It's not really surprising to see a fan favorite from the last two iterations return, and the published images give no hints as to new or revised special moves.
Perhaps the most entertaining update concerns crates and barrels. The rugged item boxes of old will now have thematic skins based on the stage (e.g. they look like presents when playing on Yoshi's island stage), and crates have gained the ability to slide when thrown. "Be careful and make sure you don't get knocked for a loop by a box madly rushing downhill," said the entry. That has to add a few points for the game on the tried-and-true Crate Review System.
Four different controller options for Super Smash Bros.
- New information of any kind
- The controller the game will use.
We had cooled on the subject of Smash Bros., but now we're as excited as we were when we saw Snake pop out of that box. Not only is this going to extend the life of the game (by allowing players to master four different methods of control) but it is also going to allow for different styles of play, and therefore more variety in strategy and technique.
Wii Warm Up: SMAAAASH!
Smash Bros. Brawl update brings out fireworks [Update 1]
The Smash Bros. Brawl website has been keeping true to its promise of daily updates. Since the Final Smash post, the blog has shown a new map (Delfino Plaza), a new weapon (the unfortunately-named Cracker Launcher) and the ability to now move while shooting.One interesting note in the description of the Cracker Launcher, essentially a Roman candle, is how you can "aim the launcher at different angles by tilting the Control Stick up or down." The mention of the control stick sounds like a reaffirmation of series creator Masahiro Sakurai's statement at the game's unveiling to keep the game compatible with GameCube controllers -- then again, it could also be a reference to the joystick on the Nunchuk attachment.
The constant stream of a news, coupled with earlier comments from Hideo Kojima, indicate that the game is coming along well. Here's hoping we'll get a release date (and some hands-on impressions) at Min-E3.
Wii Warm Up: Super Smash Cho Aniki?
You know, except it sticks to people and blows up instead of being orbited by two beefy dudes in Speedos, while shooting lasers. Too bad. If we were designing Smash Bros.-- okay, if I were designing Smash Bros. (I don't think I can speak for Wii Fanboy in this case) it would be heavy on Cho Aniki content.
Now, something kind of looking like a thing from another game isn't strictly news, but Wii Warm Up is a discussion topic, and we can discuss whatever we feel like. And today we want to talk about the Cho Aniki series. So, if you've played any of the games, tell us why you loved them. If you haven't, go read about the series, then come back and express your shock.
Wii Warm Up: Safe for those with heart conditions
Everyone is expecting a massive flood of Nintendo megatons from the Nintendo Media Summit today (can you have a flood of megatons? Just go with it.) And, while we have a lot of great coverage of upcoming games to show you, there's nothing that could be called a "megaton." No exclusive new Mario Galaxy screens, no surprise game announcements, and no information about whatever the Wii download service is going to be.It wasn't as spanuuuund as we hoped it would be. We don't have an E3-level news day to give you. What we can offer you is a load of gameplay impressions of some highly anticipated new games. And delicious pie. And what's more, we can deliver on one of those offers!
On the one hand, we're pleased with everything we have to look at, watch, and talk about. But on the other, no Metroid. No non-Striking Mario. No Smashing. How do you feel about a media event that ignores the biggest games in Nintendo's lineup?
Wii Warm Up: The slow reveal of Smash Bros.
The whole development cycle has been like this-- we've gotten very little information of any kind about this game except what we already know (for example, the rules of Smash Bros.) It's kind of a tease. Of course, this just serves to build up anticipation of the final product.
Would you rather get a huge blowout of info all at once, or do you enjoy letting the excitement build as you're fed tiny little morsels of information one by one? If you don't feel like talking about that, we suppose we could talk about the Gooey Bomb. One warning, though-- we've heard enough about banning items from "serious play" for one lifetime.
Smash Bros. website finally updates
There is neat stuff to be found, though, most obviously in the form of a few screenshots that, while they still don't show any new or new-to-Brawl characters, do show off a day/night cycle. Also, the list of composers contributing to the game is massive-- a total who's-who of Japanese game music. Some of the composers, we're sure, are only credited for having created the music from Smash characters' original games. But Jun Fukuda and Masafumi Takada from Grasshopper Manufacture are on the list, and that is really exciting.
The website promises updates every weekday, so don't let the somewhat underwhelming first day put you off. Keep checking the site for the inevitable character announcements and control scheme explanations!
Gallery: Super Smash Bros. Brawl
[Thanks, Tigeron Starfire!]
FF Dissidia magazine scan reveals Smash-ing possibilities
Nomura's Kingdom Hearts-esque character designs are in full effect, and the title appears to have some console-quality graphics. It may not be what most of us expected, but we can't wait to find out more.
[Via NeoGAF; Thanks, Jamal!]
Readers pick best webcomic: tryouts
For the second week in a row, 2P Start has taken the top spot as the webcomic of the week -- they've come a long way since their start on Valentine's Day. Second place goes to Penny Arcade and Extra Life takes the third place position.Thanks to everyone who voted; be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomics you stumble upon this week!
