How on earth do you begin reviewing what has to be one of the most hyped games ever? After all, you only have to look at how well Super Smash Bros. Brawl has already sold in both Japan (one million in the first two weeks) and the US (1.4 million in just the first week!) to know that Europeans are going to buy it whether we think it's a good idea or not.
There's also the small matter of the game's innermost secrets being spilled all over the internet by rabid fans, avid users and even the game's own producer, Masahiro Sakurai.
So, where do we start? Probably by pointing out that Brawl has been well worth the wait.
Fight, Fight, Fight
One thing it's not, however, is a proper fighting game and we'll oppose anyone who suggests otherwise.The Smash Bros. games have never been beat 'em ups in the truest sense, which is probably why they polarise audience opinion. Many applaud the simplistic control scheme that makes every character's moves instantly accessible, the heavy focus on four-player action and the frantic brawls that can see even the most accomplished player beaten in the blink of an eye, while others hate it for exactly the same reasons. As cliched as it is to call it a Marmite game, Smash Bros. has always been exactly that - never quite enough of a beat 'em up to satisfy hardcore enthusiasts, but more than sufficient for everyone else.
Button Mashing
Not surprisingly, the formula hasn't really changed much for Brawl. The main focus of the game is still very much the multiplayer Brawl mode, every character's moves are still accessed by pressing one of four directions and then hitting A or B, and being skilled at playing still doesn't necessarily guarantee you victory. Ultimately then, this means one of the series' biggest flaws still remains. If you've never liked Smash Bros., Brawl will do very little to change your mind. It's a refinement of the franchise rather than a full-scale improvement; an already assembled pile of LEGO that's had extra bits built onto it instead of being broken down and recreated from scratch.
But oh, what a lot of extra building there's been. Looking at the entire package, Brawl is a giant vessel into which Sakurai and his team have poured not just ideas, but also a heap of Nintendo adoration until it overflowed. There's a whole heap of things to do in Brawl besides multiplayer fighting.
Only The Lonely
Admittedly, some are familiar and while that's nice, it might have been nicer to see something more original. We've smashed sandbags with baseball bats and broken targets countless times before, so doing the same again now is more of a means to a reward-based end rather than something we'd do by choice. Still, the other additions more than cover for this slight laziness.
Take the Subspace Emissary mode, for example, which we initially thought would just be single-player filler. Having played it through to its conclusion and racked up around ten hours of playtime in the process, we're impressed at how decent the experience was. Okay, so it's still quite simple and wouldn't hold up if released on its own but the combination of exploration, general combat, boss battles and treasure collection (not to mention the ability to play through it with a friend) really hangs together nicely.
I just got my copy this morning in the post! Good thing about working from home is being able to play Wii during my lunch break. Can't wait!!
Having imported back in March, I feel like I'm missing out but then I think I'd have exploded if I'd had to wait this long. Many people who waited it out will finally be pleased. Just don't expect to see them again in the next few weeks! Say your farewells now!
Looking forward to finally getting it tomorrow. ^^
I wish I knew whether or not the Gamestation I'm going to (Inverness) has a midnight release or not, though. It's a 2-hour journey there and I'd like to be prepared. XD
Still, I wish Nintendo would give us some kind of reward for waiting so long, namely having the more highly hyped characters and features be unlocked from the start, since folks in the States and Japan will already have that done, and naturally have an advantage over us.
ONM, what's with the poor quality pics?
Im so exited!
I'd like some sort of reward, but having bonus content already unlocked would detract from the fun of unlocking it. Apparently the content's fairly easy to unlock anyway, so I doubt that the USA and Japan would have the advantage for long.
Just got this a day early - with my limited edition sleeve.
YIPPEE!
So did I. You ordered online from Game, Eh?
I ordered two copies, one for me, and one for the girl I'm moving in with. We both own wiis so we'll play together AND online
So that'll rock.
I'll be selling my US copy also. Keeping the freeloader though (I've not updated to 3.3 yet, wink wink nudge nudge)
Can't get this game tommorrow...no money.
I'm missing the last day of school just to play this!
I'm here to do just that.
It has a huge level of competitive depth, more so that normal fighters. I could sit here listing techniques and strategies for ages, from shield grabbing to short hopping, but that would be boring. Just because you have the choice of playing a 4-way with all items on high on Warioware, doesn't mean it's the only way to play. 1 vs 1 on a fair stage with low/no items gets intense and competitive.
If you're still not convinced, play me and I'll prove it to you.
Are any of the people who got this today having problems with it?
95% ???
its far better than maerio galaxy and mario kart...
Time has flown fast, It still feels like April :L Anyhow this game will be in my wii tomorrow and It cant be waited long enough!!
You quite clearly did look at it with a cynical eye.
Why?
I cant wait for this game! I'm getting it on Saturday! I cant wait!
i too agree about feeling like i'm missing out. i've been playing it since it came out in march and i got my limited edition sleeved version today and i feel like i have done too much on my u.s version to start all over again. it's a fantastic game and my absolute fave of the series. enjoy it people.
Off school tomorrow.
The Wii is all prepared. Fresh batteries in the Wii remote. Internet is running smoothly. Friends awaiting my friend code.
This is goning to be an awesome weekend.
Bring On The Brawling!!!
OMG! OMG! OMG!
I think i'm going to faint! I've been waiting almost 2 years for this.... oh. Has anyone got 40 quid? I'm kinda out of money after buying wiiware games. 
I've completed mario galaxy
and now I've played ssbb I think it deserves more than a 95% mayby a 98%
Precisely. Why make it seem worse? It is one of the best games in the history of gaming, and deserves 98% AT LEAST! The idea that they rate it the same as MySims is... well... i'm not saying MySims is bad, just that brawl is better.
Long live the Brawl!
You're kidding me!
MySims got 95%?!?!?
I haven't got it yet
but my friend has! We played about 10 Brawls before I had to leave, it's just a shame that he only had the remote and Nunchuck combination 
Oh well, hopefully it'll come tomorrow...
95%...Dammit, ONM, where's the 98-100% score? I can tell that the game is far better than MySims and Mario Kart and maybe Mario Galaxy!
what a terrible review of the game... if you are giving a rating of 95% you have to explain why you like it. i read through about half way and then you get to the negatives section. you don't talk about the balance of characters, the special moves, the contrasting levels, the gameplay physics. you don't talk about a great deal.
I thought I would have to save up for another month for it but I managed to make £20 today. £10 from from my Granddad's friend "for the holidays," £5 from a guy who I gave my old mobile to, and £5 from my Granny for a good school report.
There is a God!!
Not literally.
Aw, I hoped for a 98%. Still, it's a Gold Award for Brawl.
The only thing I would add is DLC from here, if only because I really wanna fight as Ridley....maybe I'll get AR.
Anyway, I have £40 on a GAME voucher, and a NTSC Brawl and working Freeloader at home...
got brawl this morning a day early thanks to play.com who also delivered mario galaxy early. having spent all the hours before work playing it i can safely say its an awesome game but online play was a bit laggy. but still its very hard to fault this awesome game go and buy it, no one will regret it.
I was up the shops at 9:00am this morning, i was the first one to get it. i get home and
IT DOESNT WORK
i have been back to GAME and they can't fix it
I HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING
i was really looking forward to this, infact i said this morning that smash bros being out was more exciting than christmas. I AM EXTREEMLY ANGRY can anyone help?
You say we might never buy another iteration of it?
well what if they made it on DS
i had the same problem at first
it's not the game its the wii
if the disc reader gets dirty/dusty etc is can't read the disc because of it being a high density disc
nintendo have promised to repair/clean an wiis that have this problem so you just have to send it in
tohugh i cheated and got a feather and sloted it in where the disc goes while the wii was on i then simply moved the feather up and down slowly along the slot and then tried the disc and it worked
it is a very good game cause there is nothing wrong with it but i think its highly rated.
andrew
Yeah, I picked it up today from GAME and when I tried to play it i got the "Unable to Read Disk" message. i checked on the Nintendo website and found that if you have a Launch wii then there is a small possibility that your wii wont be able to read the game due to its dual layer format. Nintendo will, however, repair your Wii for free and pay for the postage and packaging. I tried swapping the disk for another at the shop, but it is the Wii System so this won't help! Use the Nintendo support area on the website to find out how to take advantage of the free repair.
I KNEW OF THIS PROBLEM MONTHS AGO,THEY HAD THE SAME THING HAPPEN IN THE USA
SO WHY DIDN'T "ONM" SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THIS THEY MUST HAVE KNOWN 
I DONT THINK IT WOULD KILL OFF SALES THAT MUCH OR WOULD IT 
.
]
And i just can't hide it
i'm about to lose controll and i think i like
I want to love you...
Mine don't work
!!
I just bought the game today and then found out that it wasnt working on my Wii. I tried another game and it worked. Can someone help me?
Brawl is good, I just don't know what to do first
hey. it was my last day at primary school today
but was cheered up to find my mum had given in! after months of tedious nagging to pre-order it, she had it waiting for me! i turned on my wii to play mk wii which i left i n and hey it was that! it rules!!! yay nintendo!
Over hyped. That's all I can say.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl is good. It isn't amazing, it's okay. Online is mediocre, the rest of the game is polished and enjoyable.
It improves on Melee in certain areas, but most of the new stages aren't memorable or enjoyable.
Buy it definately, just don't expect the greatest game ever made.
i got ssbbrawl theother day whent to play on it and it didnt work
what a great game, definitely one of the best games on the wii id say 98%
wow this was stupidly overhyped (well not really, the hype died down a lot when Nintendo decided to screw Europe over again and wait several months to release it here)
Anyway, its worse then the gamecube version, this game cannot be played without a gamecube controller, and im guessing that not everyone with a wii has one. Play with anything but the gamecube controller and it will feel clunky
The graphics are poor as well, on par if not worse then the gamecube version
oh and i swear theyve actually made normal Link crap now
Super Smash Bros. Brawl is awesome! And its got so much stuff on it, I'd give it 5/5! The only flaw though, is the repetitive enemies on the story mode. But it's definetly worth the money!
got to send in my wii
got it working for the second time but tried again today and it went back to not being able to read the disk
sent a e-mail to nintendo to see what i need to send etc
Hi...I`m new,I know! But anyway, SSBB is AWESOME! I can`t believe Nintendo could make this game!
Supet Smash Bros Brawl is awesome! I`ve played it for 10
hours non-stop!...Aldough I went to the toilet in half-time.
wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
best game ever
95%? Brawl kicks mario galaxy's ARSE!
Great game, but can't help thinking the online mode sucks!! Takes an age to link you to a game, when you do get going, the games drags sometimes freezes, ok it could be my set up...but when they put an excuse in the manual...saying this is normal, not impressed, especially when you compare Karts on line, very rarely have I experienced a problem with that!
yahoo ive had it 2 days now cant get off it but getting snake is such a ig pain but it was worth it now i play as snake, ike and pit who is mint
Hmm...
Yeah, played it, loved it...
It gets kinda boring real quickly.
of course it can be played without a gamecube controller. what are you on mate?
graphics are good man. maybe you are just saying this stuff to get a response? and link is fine. it's a balanced game.
basically, most of what u said doesn't make sense
This a great game.
got it couple of days ago.
Can get a bit boring if you don't know what to do or where to go.
All in all a great game, but like I said, can be a bit boring.
I got my mate to pay for mine coz I had no cash left
I owe him money now
Its the best game ive ever played! Love it love it love !11
On my Wii it can't read the disc properly and I have to send the Wii in for repairs.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl is Amazing!!! It’s got all the stuff and more on a game. It’s impossible to get bored while playing this. I think 95% is too low for this Game and should be more like 97%
OMG
this game is just so brilliant
so far ive played it for smn like
10 houres my mam told me to get off
and its the best game ever
just as good as mario link games
so far my favs is pit in his green out fit
JV
ONM you are so wrong about brawl... 95% ??? it deserves at least 101% plus it really annoys my stupid ps3 playing freind as me and my other mate keep raving about it
No, just expect the greatest beat 'em up ever made. If you're a long time gamer you will die with enjoyment at the nostalgia. It is amazing. Simple as. Best game on Wii.
the fighting game looks alout of consoles because thay got all the caracters from saga it looks amazing but alout of money lol. well i might get it christmas
Im just doing the subspace to unlock the characters and already I realsie the size of this game.
it's awesome but... Nein
Hi, I haven't been her for a while but since Brawl came out I've been compelled to come and find some guys to play with. But yeah, this is better than Galaxy, 97% at least and Galaxy 95% (overrated). I personally love Toon Link at the moment but still ahven't got Wolf or Jigglypuff (wtf is this doing ih here?).
Lots to do and possibly the best graphics I've seen on Nintendo Wii, great multi player and classic mode is great, the on-line mode doesn't work on my Wii.
I was one of the few people in my little town of nailsea (just below bristol) to get SSBB on its release date, sadly, i only managed 1 full day of its awsomeness before i was ripped away from my wii to go to france for a week
. it taunted me knowing at home, my sister was kicking peoples butts on Wi-Fi, like i had been doing since 7am on the saturday. my suffering was not wasted, as soon as i was home and rested, i was back on my wii, macking my parents regret they had ever bought it. 
ONM RULEs AND SO DOES SSBB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Zo-Za
i ADORE this game at the moment and i find it a great way to take out my anger.... imaginie your enemy then BEAT em to the ground. nintendos first great stress relieving game! BRILLIENT!
completed and now im bored of it... meh melee was better
yeah definitely mario kart wii is a quality game but Brawl beats everything
yeah definitely mario kart wii is a quality game but Brawl beats everything
yeah definitely mario kart wii is a quality game but Brawl beats everything
95%! 95%! 110% at least! The graphics are perfect, the story is perfect, the controls are perfect. Infact, everything about this game is perfect
This is a pretty average review, but why did Mathers say single player offered a great experience when really, it was worse than Melee's single player. The Subspace Emmisary is the most boring piece a s**t I've ever seen in a smash bros. game(slight exaggeration there). Still there score is about the same as what I would've given it.
ive got ssbb and soon i will have unlocked everything
what the hell is wrong with you i think the sse is great with great cutscenes i say you are a piece of s**t
what me?
I know online isn't as good as mario kart but brawl is too good for 95% higher please
I bought it yesterday to see what all the fuss was about but I was a little disappointed. I don't think it warrants the 95% what was given. I'd say 80% would be the score I'd give it. It's no Street Fighter 2 and could have done with a couple more moves that bashing the A or B button. Hopefully it will grow on me. Oh, and the cut scenes could have been a bit better too.
If u think its so rubbish then uv probably grown out of it.
I think its one of the best Wii games ever with eccelent graphics and single/co-op modes
I LOVE THIS GAME!!!!!
This game is cool and i love playing it with my mates (and kicking their asses
) but when i want to play ion my own my 5 year old brother wants to play and it gets boring beating him all the time also i have done subspace emissary its a pretty long storyline but i did it in 2 days
BEST GAME EVER!!!!!!!!!
100 PERCENT.
OWNAGE GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!
95 percent
No. Your saying that its the same as Melee and Mysims then 
who ever says this isworth 98% is completey....
right!!!
brawl is obviously one of nintendos finest games. 1 good thing about it is there are no cheats for example: unlock all players: 1,1,2,b,a,b,-. lol only guides on how to get the players. but the bad thing about it is the story mode is way to short. took me about 2 hour to do it (on easy). lol great game!!!!
How on Earth could one of the best games ever, next to OoT and Mario Galaxy get 95%. If I ruled the world, I'd make it illegal to say Brawl's bad. Flawless gameplay, stunning graphics, brilliant character roster, cleverly devised story mode and pure Nintendo nostalgia have earnt this game respect. It would've been nice for some more 3rd party characters, but it certainly deserves anything closer to 100% than 95%.
How can people say that a button bashing game that takes very little skill is worth 95%???? Come on people!!!! How?? I'm still trying to understand what people find so great about these games. Mario Galaxy was ok, No More Heroes was a boring 1st person button basher and I'd rather someone do a conversion of Street Fighter 2 and Double Dragon or possibly Golden Axe. There's no skill involved with this game. All you do is jump around bashing a button.. WOOOOO!!! Lets hope Star Wars: Force Unleashed is better than what has come out on the Wii so far. If not, I'm going to have to beg the missus to trade my Wii in for an Xbox/PS3!!
i actually found a problem with SSBB.
if you arent a hardcore nintendo fan and don't worship mario and the like theres not as much stuff here as for people who are absolutely fanatical about it sure its good for showing off some of nintendos gems but for me i actually didnt enjoy it i like mario kart wii SO much better oh and the storyline sucked what were they thinking 
Can any of you spell right?
looking forward to get it, oops got it already
looking forward to playing it, oops played it already
looking forward to the wfc, oops i won everytime
looking forward to being beaten, I DONT THINK SO!!!!!
I bought SSBB and played it all the time, then i had friends over and they played it and love it to bits!
and they haven't got a wii and after they played SSBB on the wii they all went out and bout a wii + SSBB,
so i have to say some people don't know how great the wii is and they should try it out
Super Smash Bros. Brawl deserves more than 95% because not only is is the best game in the series it's the BEST GAME IN THE WORLD!!! As well as some great Nintendo characters like Mario, Link and Fox there are also non-Nintendo characters like Solid Snake who is my favourite videogame character of all time! My opinion: 100% and no less!!!
PS: I have a crush on Princess Peach so she will be the first character I will play as when I finally get Brawl!
the best game on wii by far there is nothing wrong with it apart from the online play but at least it has online play 99%
my ssbb has a scratch on the back
can someone help me sumhow i dont wanr 2 buy a new one 
I just discovered a great character
PIKACHU
I just got it pre owned from Gamestation for £24.99 but can't play it until xmas cos thats when I get my Wii. My Wii is sitting in a closet waiting for me and brawl. LESS THAN 6 WEEKS TO GO!!!!
It was great! my fav charchter is Olimer and pikmin because I am a fan of pikmin and they are just funny (it is sad when they die fighting!)
defo da best game on da wii da controls are awsome and some creative game play so many things so little time.
SSSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Addictive!
What about the stage buider! That is one of the best parts in the game!
I've been begging for a Wii for nearly a year, if I get one I'm so getting this game. What's better then all of Nintendo's most lovable characters getting together in 1 game and beating each other up? Nothing!
Replace 'Online isn't completely polished with 'Online is completely crap' and it's an ace review.
am addicted to it as well.they could lighten up on cruel brawl though(just a little bit)to make it easy enough to actually get a chance.I'd give it 98%
95%? For the game that makes Mario Kart look average? Yeah right. I love Brawl so much, I dedicated my username to it
98% easily.
you are finaly right apart from the score better than mario galaxy 100% if not more
This is the best game ever. I love it. People say the online isn't great, but i think it's class brawling people in China or Australia or Wales!!!!!! I think 98/100!!!!
This is the best game ever. I love it. People say the online isn't great, but i think it's class brawling people in China or Australia or Wales!!!!!! I think 98/100!!!!
This is the best game ever. I love it. People say the online isn't great, but i think it's class brawling people in China or Australia or Wales!!!!!! I think 98/100!!!!
This is the best game ever. I love it. People say the online isn't great, but i think it's class brawling people in China or Australia or Wales!!!!!! I think 98/100!!!!
This is the best game ever. I love it. People say the online isn't great, but i think it's class brawling people in China or Australia or Wales!!!!!! I think 98/100!!!!
This is the best game ever. I love it. People say the online isn't great, but i think it's class brawling people in China or Australia or Wales!!!!!! I think 98/100!!!!
This is the best game ever. I love it. People say the online isn't great, but i think it's class brawling people in China or Australia or Wales!!!!!! I think 98/100!!!!
Woah! Whats the need of all tehm posts
brawl is a masive hit through out the world on wii
with tons more charaters and unlockables and new modes to play this should be way better than mario kart atlest i give it 98%
One of the top 5 games on Wii! Kept me playing for months... especially good fun when you beat frineds at it!
I now want a sequel, with EVERY SINGLE NINTENDO CHARACTER EVER IN IT. And a longer campaign. It was too easy. One thing I don't understand is why Mario is one of the worst characters on there. He's Nintendo's pride and joy! He should be the unbeatable one! At least they made Link good...
This is one of the games on my mental "must-have" list.
It looks so awesome.
I will be playing this game for months and months. It's so addictive. There's so much to do here too.
I still think that SSBB is the best game on Wii.
I still play this game to date. It is amazing in every way, and i don't know how they can improve on it.
I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT ALL THE FUSS ABOUT GALAXY AND GALAXY 2
IS THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THEM !!!!!
While this game is no doubt a truly groundbreaking multiplayer experience, the main problem is it's lasting appeal. Upon finishing Subspace Emissary with a friend, whilst it's fun while it lasts, you'll have no intent to go back through it. Also, as you mentioned, the online is VERY flawed, with lag being a common interference, and when you join the online 'extravaganza' a tad late, because you waited for it to get a bit cheaper (though i got it on release) the other players will be FAR superior to you and there's no place for newbies! 80% is a fair score in my opinion!
Dear lord Brawl's online lag is so bad they had to warn you of it in the booklet.
I'm gonna try and get everything there is in the game
got most of the challenges already
This game is HUGE, recently I unlocked all the characters and stages. But its going take my years to trying unlock all of the trophies, music and complete all the events.
I think I might be a pro at this just beat my friend with Olimar (rubbish character) and he was Pit(good character). Though I think my favorites are snake, toon link, meta knight and Sonic