Nintendo:Super Smash Bros. Brawl preview 1

I've decided that, since the game is about a month away (for America), I'll start making previews that observe the game and the news released in detail. This will be for those who don't check the daily updates and those who do, but want a more in-depth look at each one. My own thoughts of the updates and of the other news revealed through special events will also be given here.

I'm hoping to make one of these once a week, so please look forward to them. If you want to add your own thoughts, then please do so. Anyway, let's get started!

December 24 update - Overalls Wario This was an interesting update that hopefully gives other characters a chance for a clothes change. As you probably know by now, all characters are capable of changing their colors. For example, Yoshi can change his skin color while Mario can change the colors of his clothes. Wario, however, is the only confirmed character who is able to change his actual clothes, and who better to choose?

Once you go through all of Wario's standard color changes, he'll change his clothes to his classic overall style from the original video games. It's a great addition to the game, though there were a few words that caused everyone to be disappointed - "Wario alone is special". Yes, this probably means that he is the only one who is able to change clothes, though that won't stop me from including an idea of mine which has probably occurred in your mind - Dr. Mario. It seems as if the character won't be returning from Melee as a playable character, so why not just make him as an alternate costume?

December 25 updates - Sonic: Final Smash and Angle Island Zone music Bah, this wasn't a particularly great update, seeing that we already knew about Sonic's Final Smash - Super Sonic. The music wasn't that great either, but then again I'm not a big fan of the music featured in any of the games. I guess this did partially confirm a Sonic stage (Angle Island?), but that was pretty much it. Some nice images showcasing Sonic in his super form.

For those who didn't see the update, then I'll describe it to you - Right after Sonic comes in possession of the Smash Ball, he'll be able to transform into the invincible being known as Super Sonic. He's a golden character now, and he becomes Super Sonic using the power of the Chaos Emeralds. With this, you'll be able to plow through enemies.

Here's the basic information for the music -


 * Composition Supervisor: SEGA
 * Arrangement Supervisor: Jun Senoue

December 26 update - Trophy Stands I personally loved this update. Not only does it confirm even more replay value than ever, but it also pretty much confirms that every enemy in the Subspace Emissary will have a trophy, meaning we'll have a lot of trophies to collect that'll showcase the back story of each enemy, even if it's minor. Basically a trophy stand is an item that'll randomly appear on the stage (only in Subspace Emissary) that you can use to turn enemies into trophies, then catch them. This will only work if the enemies' heath is down, though if you happen to kill it, you've lost your chance and will either have to find another member of the species or go back later in the game (the latter is more for bosses than basic enemy species).

This update also confirmed that Rayquaza, the Pokémon from the third generation of Pokémon video games, will be a boss character. This was expected, though was never confirmed until now. And this update also shows that Boss characters can be caught with the Trophy Stand.

It should also be noted that a new enemy was shown called the Big Primid, along with a description -

''The biggest Primid of all. Its attacks are the same in form and function, but considerably more powerful than a normal Primid's. Watch out for its smash attack--it will launch you far. It also has jump and roll attacks. The bigger size means an increase in Shadow Bugs--does that mean it takes more Shadow Bugs to move bigger Primids?''

One more bit of information was revealed concerning the name of an enemy - the hog one that was revealed early on. Its name is Towtow.

December 27 - Coin Launcher One of the best updates of the month! The Coin Launcher will replace the "prize-dispensing machine" (as he calls it) from Melee. It's, in my opinion, a lot better, though my brother oddly thinks the contrary. It's essentially a shooting game in which you shoot the coins you've collected in the game at oncoming trophies, stickers, and offensive items such as missiles and bombs. If you shoot the stickers and trophies a certain amount of time with the coins, then they'll go in your collection, however a multitude of bombs and missiles (as aforementioned) will also rain down, and if they happen to hit the bottom, you'll lose a whole bunch of coins.

Trophies seen in the images include a Chain Chomp (Mario series), Zoda (F-Zero series), Pelly an Phyllis (Animal Crossing), Tortimer (Animal Crossing), Medli (The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker), Bob-omb (Mario series), Dragoon (Kirby series), Sir Kibble (Kirby series), and that elephant like creature from the Pikmin series whose name abandons me.

Stickers seen include Link from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and the Mach Rider, along with another one, though I it's too small to know fully who it is.

The trophies featured may also indicate some other that may be in the game - Since Medli is, it's easily assumed that Makar will. We've seen two trophies from the Animal Crossing series, and while Tortimer was a sure thing, I was surprised to see Pelly and Phyllis, meaning many of the more important characters will also probably be featured. I'm surprised to see the elephant creature as well. We've seen two Pikmin trophies as of yet, and with two minor species, it's almost a given that Captain Olimar will be a playable character!

December 28 - Dragoon and Share First let's discuss the Dragoon, which in my opinion is the better update of the two (but that's just me!). The Dragoon is a vehicle from Kirby's Air Ride for the GameCube, so it's great to see it in the game (even though I never cared too much for Air Ride). The attack that it unleashes is similar to a Final Smash, though it'll take a bit more effort in order to execute it. The reason? You have to find three separate parts of the Dragoon! Yes, but the reward is great - it's basically an instant K.O. no matter what!

As stated, there are three parts - the Dragoon Part A (The Nosecone), the Dragoon Part B (The Hull), and the Dragoon Part C (The Tail). If you see one of them, quickly get it before someone else does. If your opponent in fact gets it before you're able to, then, like the Smash Ball, you're able to pummel them a whole lot, thus making them drop it. Once you get all three parts, a short scene will occur similar to the one when you obtain a smash ball. You'll then have to aim it toward one of your opponents, then unleash the beast!

When you obtain a part of the Dragoon, it'll appear above your character's logo. If you're missing a part, check the other character's logos to see if they have it. It should also be noted that the update prior to this one showed off a Dragoon trophy in the coin launcher, so be sure to look for that!

Today was a double update, with the second update being titled "Share". Basically if you turn Smash Service on under options, you'll receive plenty of data from Nintendo such as new stages and images. It's unknown to what extent this will be, but it's sure to be a favorite among gamers. Eventually, the data will be overwritten by new data, so be sure to check every day and enjoy the gifts as much as you can - because soon enough they'll be replaced.

You can also receive data from your friends, which can be found in the Wii's message board. This particular data won't be replaced, so it's suggested that you delete the unwanted stuff so that you can get more data from friends. And like an e-mail, you're able to send your stuff to multiple friends at once. Oh, fancy!

THAT OTHER STUFF!!!!

There was also a bunch of information that was released elsewhere, or in other words not on the site. It should also be noted that for a week the developers went on new-years break, so there wasn't anything new to report over at the Dojo, though since the game's demo was at the Jump Fiesta, there was plenty of other info to be released, so let's get to it!

First off, we've got some information regarding the Jump Fiesta demo that is sure to make you happy! For one, Rosalina (from Super Mario Galaxy) is confirmed as an Assist Trophy, and she'll bring a whole bunch of Luma with her. They'll shoot out star bits towards the stage, and whoever gets them will regain some health! That seems like a good idea, because I just can't see Rosalina or the Luma attacking anyone.

It was also revealed that the Pokémon Trainer and Pit will shout things during the match, with the latter character only doing so during his final smash. The Pokémon Trainer will rightfully announce things both during his final smash and during the entire match, so that's sure to be exciting!

Duster from Mother 3 and a Pegasus Knight from the Fire Emblem series have both been confirmed as Assist Trophies, though what exactly they'll do hasn't been announced on any of the Japanese blogs as of yet.

Some new Pokéball Pokémon were also announced - Regigigas (will use Crush Grip), Metagross (Will use Earthquake), Onix (act in the same fashion as he did in the original Super Smash Bros.), and Garchomp (unknown what move he'll perform). It's great to see Onix in the mix, since he was taken out in Melee (he's also one of my favorite Pokémon!).

We've seen the Soccer Ball and Clock item before in images and movies, though their uses were unknown... until now! The Soccer Ball will be engulfed in flames when kicked, and your opponents will be unable to catch or counter the attack. The Clock will slow down all of your opponents, though sometimes it'll mess up and slow you down instead. The Sandbag has also been confirmed as an item, though what he'll do is unknown.

Some new character-related info was also released: Kirby seems to be more similar to his original Super Smash Bros. version than Melee's. Kirby's final smash will also roughly do 35% damage. Wario is quite powerful, though his attacks will take awhile to execute. Lucas' PK Freeze (standard B move) is easier to use than Ness' PK Flash from Melee. Snake's land mines are remote controlled, and Zelda's Din's Fire has been upped a bit.

A new song was also revealed from the Fire Emblem series called "The Kingdom of Bern".

Meanwhile, Prima opened up the pre-orders for their Super Smash Bros. Brawl strategy guide, which will be 208 pages long. Here's the summary they gave on their website -

Pick-ups: Learn what they do before you pick them up (or before they're used on you.)
 * Fight Roster: Fighting out of games across the years come many of your favorite characters. Each one is highlighted with a full move list, strategies, and more.
 * Moves list: Make smashing easier with a full moves list in an easy-to-follow format.
 * Hard Core Fighting Strategies: Don't just button mash! Turn to our elite expert author for the best strategies to achieve victory and bring your game to competition level!

The author, Bryan Dawson, seems to be the go-to-guy for fighting strategy guides. Other guides he's created include Dead or Alive 4, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon and Naruto: Rise of a Ninja''. The co-writer, Stephen Stratton, has also written the guides for Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars, Dungeons & Dragons Online, Geist, and Gun Valkyrie.

Now, the rest of the information regarding Brawl -


 * Bioshock creator ken Levine says that he's looking forward to Super Smash Bros. Brawl more than any other upcoming game for 2008.
 * Oddly, Brawl wasn't on Nintendo's game list for the upcoming World Hobby Fair, though they did include Super Mario Galaxy and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl goes gold! In other words - the game is entirely finished and they're currently creating the copies!

And finally, Gamedaily composed a list of their top 10 favorite new features of Brawl -

10. Stickers 9. My (Your) Music 8. Assist Trophies 7. Personalization 6. Tournament Mode (don't know why they added this, seeing that it was in Melee) 5. Stage Builder 4. Alternate Character Identities (note: This was made BEFORE Overall Wario was announced. This was also partially in Melee, though not to such an extent) 3. Final Smash Attacks 2. Co-Op Modes 1. Online Play

I'll see you next week in our second installment of the Brawl week-in review!