Remember that Assassin’s Creed/ MGS4 April Fools mash-up? Well, this is nothing like that. Okay, the warning screen is similar, along with the Kojima “Did you like it?” at the end. This trailer may contain minor spoilers, but for what it’s worth, I personally didn’t find it going too far into spoiler territory. I felt it was more of a hype-builder, and boy, did it build some hype. Those that are to remain firm, move along. Nothing fun to see here.

Check out the trailer on Youtube here.

If you’ve watched it, you more than likely know the implications of it. For those that are still on the edge of their seats debating furiously amongst themselves, it goes through a series of footage chronologically from Metal Gear Solid to a scene of Snake smacking down some Mr. Game and Watch.

Then, the climax arrives: “This year, MGS REvived?” and it proceeds to show what looks awfully familiar to one of the early scenes in the original Metal Gear Solid. And finally ends with “Is it possible to REplay MGS!?”

Touche, Mr. Kojima. Very cryptic indeed.

Ask anybody who had a hand in developing the original Super Smash Brothers for the N64 back in 1999, and they would have told you that they thought that the quirky brawler was destined for the bargain bin. Who knew that a game featuring a battle to the death between all of Nintendo’s famed mascots would become such a sensation? Nintendo fans, that’s who.

And make no mistake, Brawl is a phenomenon. Nintendo has done a masterful job of stoking anticipation for the sequel to the bestselling GameCube game of all time, and it’s backed up the hype with a bona fide system seller. Super Smash Brothers Brawl’s addictive mix of nostalgia, platforming and multiplayer party action is the kind of game that can keep Nintendo fans going for months, if not years.

It’s been said before, but for those picking up the controller for the first time, don’t go in expecting a traditional fighter. Super Smash Brothers will never be as deep as say, Street Fighter III or Soul Calibur, but it doesn’t want to be either.

At the core of the experience is entertaining platform brawling action that is meant to be easy for anybody to pick up while still providing depth for the hardcore fans. Call it the everyman fighter, the kind of party game that leaves even jaded players laughing despite themselves as they get blasted from the stage by a hammer or a well-aimed Pokeball.

Brawl maintains that experience, but also manages to significantly improve upon it, which is no small feat. The graphics in particular have received quite a face lift, with stages like Lylat Tour and the Fire Emblem Castle featuring brilliant pyrotechnics and dizzying (though sometimes distracting) vistas.

In many ways, the lovely stages are almost like characters themselves, with each one lovingly reproduced from the original source material while offering numerous cameo appearances from series appropriate characters.

The improved graphics extend not just to the stages and the more detailed character models (it’s fair to say that Samus has never looked better, perhaps surpassing even Metroid Prime 3), but the new Final Smashes. Designed to keep the game fun for players of all skill levels, Final Smashes will randomly float onto stages in the form of a colored ball at different points throughout the match, prompting all players to immediately drop what they’re doing to try and grab it. Being the closest is no guarantee that you’ll grab it, as even a few well-aimed kicks will probably just send it flying away, and even if you manage to snag it, it can still be knocked away.

After a few seconds of simultaneously laughing and cursing, one player will inevitably be able to activate the powerful attack, with varying degrees of success. Characters like Fox, Kirby, Olimar and Samus sport absolutely devastating final smashes that are simultaneously very pleasing to the eye, while others have somewhat less effective attacks (Donkey Kong, for instance).

Newcomers and casual fans will be pleased with the addition, but more serious players might be turned off by the random element of the attack. Luckily, those seeking a purer experience can off final smashes with the rest of the items.

Super Smash Brothers has traditionally been a multiplayer-centric experience. Melee featured a nice array of challenges and platforming stages in comparison to its N64 predecessor, but Brawl manages to once again up the ante with Subspace Emissary, an adventure mode featuring numerous levels and boss battles.

If you happen to have a friend around, it’ll even let you work together, though sadly not online. The story, which was penned by Final Fantasy VII’s Kazushige Nojima and is primarily told through cutscenes, is largely inconsequential, but it’s still fun to wander through the adventure mode’s expansive worlds in search of new secrets and other easter eggs.

After Subspace Emissary is cleared, players will still find plenty to do in the form of numerous challenge scenarios with differing objectives, the usual target practice and home run challenges and a new custom level editor. And if you don’t happen to feel like tackling any of those challenges, there’s still plenty of joy to be found in simply flipping through the game’s hundreds of trophies and stickers. All of this comes even before the multiplayer, which is guaranteed to represent the bulk of your Brawl experience.

Unfortunately, the Wii’s online functionality is notoriously obtuse, and fans aren’t likely to find Brawl a large improvement over other Nintendo games. Random online play is nice, but connections have a habit of dropping when you’re trying to organize a game, and the lack of meaningful worldwide rankings or ladders renders the whole experience a bit meaningless.

More fun is the ability to connect with friends across the Internet and play via friend codes, though the well-documented lack of a universal friend codes system makes it all a bit of a chore. It’s a shame that Sakurai didn’t devote the same care to Brawl’s online play when the upcoming Mario Kart Wii features everything from periodic online competitions to worldwide time trial rankings. For a game that revolves around multiplayer play, you would think that Brawl would naturally lend itself to such features, and they are sorely missed.

Still, despite the disappointing lack of friendly online play (what would Brawl be like on the Xbox 360, I wonder?), it’s a pretty meaty package, especially when compared to pretty much other Wii game on the market. Detractors, and there are plenty of them, are unlikely to find anything that will cause them to warm to the games, but returning fans will be thrilled to find that, after a few tweaks, the series mechanics remain fresh as ever.

It’s the exemplar of Nintendo’s franchise model, providing an experience that’s more of the same, but still manages to raise the bar in almost every way. Like Melee, Brawl will be a multiplayer mainstay for years to come.

In a move that should make those like me who hate to spend money happy, Super Smash Bros. Brawl will include trial versions of several classic Nintendo games.

Dubbed “Masterpieces,” the game disc will come loaded with timed demos of various virtual console games. It’s a brilliant idea, in my opinion. For the fans that haven’t been around since the beginning, now they can see where all their favorite brawlers came from – free of charge!

The confirmed titles so far are Ice Climber (NES), Super Mario Bros (NES), The Legend of Zelda (NES), Kid Icarus (NES), Kirby’s Adventure (NES), Super Metroid (SNES), and Star Fox 64 (N64).

Some of the titles will also come with existing saved data, so you can sample segments all throughout the game. Smash Bros. Dojo also confirms the existence of hidden titles, giving us just one more mystery to look forward to solving when Super Smash Bros. Brawl hits in March.

Today’s edition of Smash Bros. Dojo brings us a pokemon new to the series: Manaphy.

When used, Manaphy will swap two characters’ hearts, forcing the players to play as the opposite characters for a time. Your health will remain the same and if you try to get smart and leap off the edge, you’ll still lose a life.

After a while, you’ll switch back.

I don’t know about you guys, but I think this sounds super awesome. At least, I will until it causes me to play as a character that I’m terrible with, and then I’ll hate it with a fiery passion.

Last week, Smash Bros. DOJO!! revealed that stickers you collect in the single player campaign of Super Smash Bros. Brawl would act as power-ups when applied. However, the website may have inadvertently revealed something much, much bigger.

The stickers can be stuck to the bottom of a character’s statue to grant that character certain powers in Subspace Emissary, the single player portion of the game. When viewing the stickers in your sticker book, the bottom of the screen shows what the sticker does and who the power is applied to.

Last week on the Japanese Wii web site, a preview video of Brawl was released. During this video, they showed the sticker book screen and down at the bottom of the screen – where the characters applicable to the selected sticker appear – were the heads of two characters that have yet to be mentioned.

If this screenshot is any indication and what we know of the stickers is correct, it seems Pokemons Lucario and Jigglypuff might just be playable characters. Jigglypuff is a series regular but Lucario would indeed be a new addition.

Other reports have claimed that Ness’s face appears alongside Lucario’s, but the face also looks like that of the Pokemon Trainer, so I don’t want to jump to conclusions there. It could be Ness, of course, but I don’t think there’s currently any reason to think so.

What makes this all the more suspicious is that Nintendo quickly took down the video in question and replaced it with another. Sneaky, sneaky!

Story and image via Destructoid

Check it out:

Famitsu seems to know what’s what when it comes to good gaming. The other six games that earned themselves perfect ratings are – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Soulcaliber, Vagrant Story, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Nintendogs, and Final Fantasy XII. All great games, very deserving of – wait, what?

Nintendogs? What the hell? Are you kidding me? I mean, yeah, I enjoyed Nintendogs and I still dream about Doctor Scratches, but a perfect score?

Well, at least the rest of the list is solid, so I guess I’ll let it slide. As if I wasn’t already too hyped over Brawl. And now we have to wait until March.

Criminy.

Seriously, Nintendogs?

Via N4G, Vooks

Fans have been anticipating this one for a while. Today’s edition of Smash Bros. Dojo confirmed that the character of Sheik will indeed be returning.

Just like in Super Smash Bros. Melee, players using Zelda can turn into Sheik, her alter ego from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. This transformation is Zelda’s down special move.

Sheik’s special moves are as follows:

Standard special move – Needle Storm
Side special move – Chain
Up special move – Vanish
Down special move – Transform
Final smash – Light Arrow

Here’s an interesting tidbit: even though Sheik wasn’t in Twilight Princess, her appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl is based off of concept designs that were drawn up for that game.

Our balls are already bluer than a depressed Sonic the Hedgehog, but that sultry tease Nintendo is going to make us wait even longer for the climax. In a kinda-sorta-last-minute announcement, the game’s been pushed back roughly a week in Japan and a whole month in the U.S.

Straight from the horse’s mouth, the new dates are set at January 31st (Japan) and March 9th (U.S.). No real explanation can be given (and really, what satisfactory explanation can there be?), but according to Wired Game|Life’s Chris Kohler, here’s what Nintendo had to say:

The launch date for Super Smash Bros. Brawl has shifted a few weeks to March 9. The development is taking slightly longer than expected. As we’re sure you have seen on the Dojo site (www.SmashBros.com), the game contains an unprecedented number of characters, options and experiences. Be sure to keep an eye on the Dojo site for the latest information.

It’s hardly any consolation to fans, but the comfort that the game will be that much more perfect must mean something, right?

As so many third parties had planned to release their games in March already, this news must come as a bit of blow considering how easily official Nintendo titles seem to trounce their sales on a regular basis, let alone a juggernaut like Smash Bros. (Melee is still selling new copies to this day).

Though it’ll seems like a long drag, remember that there are other titles to stave off the traditional post-Holiday drought like Burnout Paradise and Devil May Cry 4. All is not lost, friends, we’ll just have to keep a handle on the ol’ pressure valve a little bit longer.

This week’s Smash Bros. Dojo update reveals the final smash move for the game’s most out-of-place character: Solid Snake.

When Snake activates his final smash move, he calls in a helicopter, grabs onto its rope ladder, and let’s loose with a grenade launcher. Players actual get to aim the launcher as the camera looks over Snake’s shoulder and a targeting reticule appears on the screen.

Other players can still control their characters like normal and they can attempt to dodge the grenades.

Snake’s final smash ends when he either runs out of time or shoots all twelve of his grenades.

Check out the screens below.

After a good while of lackluster updates, tonight’s is a real doozy. Captain Olimar from the Pikmin games has joined Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a playable character and with Pikmin in tow!

The Pikmin are more than just Olimar’s fans, however. You can pluck them from the ground, just like in the Pikmin games, and they’ll fight alongside you as your allies.

They’re even more crucial than you might think! Without them, poor Olimar can’t even do his smash attack. They’re useful little guys, to be sure. So make you hold on to them!

Along with the announcement of Olimar and his Pikmin, Super Smash Bros. Dojo has also updated with the song that will be played for the Pikmin level. To check out it, you can head on over to their site by clicking the link above.

The arena is getting pretty full. What other characters do you think will enter the fray?

When Solid Snake was announced as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, gamers didn’t know what to think. Months later, when Sonic the Hedgehog was confirmed, it became apparent that all rules were off. Then came the flood of speculation over who was going to show up next.

For a long time, Megaman has been the most hoped for character in Nintendo’s upcoming Wii fighter. Today, those hopes and dream were just about laid to rest, as Megaman man creator Keiji Inafune reported that no one has been in contact with him regarding the issue. In a recent podcast, Inafune remarked:

“Well, I really do love Super Smash Brothers. It’s a great series…but, Nintendo hasn’t asked me yet if they can use Mega Man in their game.”
There is some time left for this to happen, but the clock is definitely ticking. For those holding their breathe in anticipation, it’s probably safe to breathe. That is, if you’re a quitter.

Via Kotaku

Perhaps a downloadable demo of the game? They had demos for recent press events and at E for All, right? Surely such a thing would be easily done. Or maybe there would be a super-special update on Sakurai’s Smash Bros. DOJO!! (their emphasis) blog, which is updated five nights a week, despite several updates that some anxious fans felt were lacking.

If nothing else, maybe there would be a surprise release of the original Nintendo 64 version of Super Smash Bros. for the Wii’s Virtual Console. Any of the three would prove to be so easy a way to say “I’m sorry for the delay,” right?

Unfortunately, it just was not to be; the sun rose around the world on December 3rd, and Nintendo went about their business as usual. No Brawl demo. And while a little interesting, the Dojo update only spoke a little about the ability to create a Friends List within the game, to allow for online play using a numbered code system separate from the Wii’s standard Friend Codes.

And on Virtual Console? Not a single Brother to be Smashed, Super or otherwise. Instead, Nintendo opted for a trio of unrelated releases in the form of the E-rated NES shooter ZANAC, which features 12 levels that adjust their difficulty according to how well you play. From the days of the Genesis and a time when the 2D fighter reigned supreme, Eternal Champions has given rise to nine fighters who compete with one another to face the titular Eternal Champion, the ultimate fighter in the universe.

Last but not least, the TurboGrafx16 heralds an E-rated adventure that some may recognize and some may not… perhaps all at the same time. Dynastic Hero is but one of many titles given a franchise which features minor differences between its various iterations, including names such as Wonder Boy and Adventures Island, both of which have already made appearances on Nintendo’s Wii Wayback Machine.

Featuring a cast of insect-based characters in a land known as Tarron, Prince Dyna of Beetras goes to the insects’ aid against the invading forces of the evil Drilkor Empire. In addition to fending off foes, Dyna also engages in multiple-choice quizzes and ocarina sessions to continue along his journey.

So, despite nothing special happening (yet, anyway) to help make our Smash-less Christmas a little less painful, one might submit that there have been worse Virtual Console updates, and at the very least… they didn’t delay the game again.