Earlier this year, I oh-so-boldly predicted in a Soulcalibur IV preview that 2008 would be the year of the fighter’s return following an arguable spell of decline. Hardly the most audacious of predictions, given that at that time Super Smash Bros. Brawl had already kicked off the genre’s renaissance to great acclaim, with Street Fighter IV and Soulcalibur IV due to hit the shelves with heavy expectation. OK, so my soothsaying was a bit lacking in the chutzpah department, but five months on it remains correct. I’m currently reviewing Soulcalibur IV for a new website I’m helping out with (more on that soon), the new and out-of-left-field release of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe has shown well at E3, as has Street Fighter IV at many event promotions for many months, and King of Fighters XII will hit Japanese arcades at the end of the year. If this last month is anything to go by, the art form known as button-mashing has got a few years ahead of it yet.

With all those new fighters on their way, it may seem a little odd that this article is actually about Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but you have to remember that I live on a little island that is somewhat reluctantly part of Europe. Brawl only reached our fair shores last month, some five bazillion years after it was in the grubby mitts of Japanese and American Wii owners. Anyway, I’ve complained about that before, so let’s skip the usually relentless whining and move on to the game itself.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Super Smash Bros. Series, it’s best described as a platforming fighter that pits familiar (and some not-so-familiar) Nintendo characters against each other in 60s Batman-like ruckuses, except take away the KABLOW, BLAMMO and WHACK, and throw in mushrooms, hammers and lightsabers – sorry, ‘sword beams’. The backdrop to all this fighting is a celebration of all things Nintendo, be it the stage itself (for example the ship from Phantom Hourglass), the items you pick up and fight with (the Donkey Kong hammer and Super Mario invincibility star) or the characters you’re up against. Brawl is slightly different in that it borrows a couple of third-party characters as well, namely Metal Gear Solid’s Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog’s, er, Sonic the Hedgehog. As weird as it is getting used to watching Darth Vader thrust his sword beam – sorry –  ‘lightsaber’ towards Ivy’s pendulous frontage, it doesn’t compare to the sheer peculiarity of watching Solid Snake launch missiles as a floating yellow Kirby, whilst Animal Crossing characters play out a squeaky jingle in the background. The question is, does it actually work?

Before I answer that, I wanted to make mention of something that, like the fighter, has had a prominent month as well in the gaming world. I’m referring to nostalgia. Capcom are releasing Mega Man 9 in old-school NES design (an inspired idea by the way) and that seems to be in the news every single day. Bionic Commando Rearmed, the remake of the original, is hitting PSN and Live shortly, and then there’s also Braid, another 360 download, full of references to games of yore. Nostalgia and a longing for the games we grew up with has actually been at the forefront of the gaming world. In fact it’s even relevant to another fighter, Street Fighter IV, a point I breifly touched on. It’s also highly pertinent when discussing Super Smash Bros. Brawl. This game more than any before in its series feels like a celebration of all things Nintendo, old and new. The trophies you collect can range from the recognisable such as Wario, Pokemon’s Pichu and Mario Kart’s Lightning, to the somewhat obscure, such as Dr Wright from the SNES version of SimCity, Pyrite from Magical Starsign on the DS and, of course, who could forget the Action Helirins  from Kururin Squash!, a game only released in Japan. The original Super Smash Bros. and SSB Melee proudly displayed Nintendo’s rich tapestry of gaming too, but not to the length and diversity that Brawl has. It almost feels like Shigeru Miyamoto’s brain spilling out into a random, squishy mess, just so you can mess around with it some. Except less gross.

The issue that came up when this game released in America, and indeed has come up again with the direction Mega Man 9 is taking, is whether nostalgia’s enough. Sure, there’s a lot here for Nintendo’s hardcore fanboys to enjoy and get excited about, but what about relative newcomers who won’t get the in-jokes? Nothing’s less funny than a joke only you get, and I should know. So is Brawl just esoteric Nintedo-ism or is there a game everyone can appreciate?

First of all, regards Nintendo, just what qualifies as esoteric? There were 49 million copies worldwide of the Super Nintendo sold worldwide . The NES sold 61 million. The Wii has sold over 30 million already. The Game Boy and DS sales figures approach three figures in terms of their millions. Mario is one of the most recognizable faces on the planet. There are more than enough people there to appreciate enough of the depth here, obscure or not – not just the hardcore fanboys.

Secondly, there very much is a game underneath the nostalgia. Brawl is at heart an excellent fighter that retains the series’s own unique style and advances it superbly with remarkable creativity. The chaos that ensues. with characters flying around the screen the more they get hit until they fly off it altogether, is unlike much else out there, especially since fights are contested between (up to) four players. The items are not just diverse and referential, but have their own unique abilities that enforces strategical use, just as each character and stage is completely different and requires its own approach. Despite this, they all stay true to their roots. Mario’s moves are based on his former games; he’ll use the water gun from Super Mario Sunshine and his trademark fireballs too. However, that’s the standard for this series. What Brawl does is add to it by introducing the final smashes, special moves that can only be performed after the hitting the randomly-appearing Smash Ball until it activates. It may sound a little complicated, but in practice it’s not, and the special moves are so engaging and funny. Particular favourites include Snake hopping into a helicopter ladder and shooting missiles from the edge of the screen, Kirby cooking up all the other characters whilst they seethe in his boiling cauldron, and Sonic turning into Super Sonic and becoming a deadly yellow blur speeding around the screen. The moves are so powerful that when the Smash Ball appears it causes a huge skirmish around it as players depserately try to get hold of the floating multicolour sphere. It’s a nice change-up to the pace of the battle that gives the fights a completely different feel without diverging too much from the norm.Add to that a hugely-improved co-op story mode that contains beautifully-rendered cut-scenes and is a solid platformer in its own right, the addition of a online mode, a competent stage-building mode, and a whole wealth of customization options, mini-games and unlockables… well, there’s no doubt Super Smash Bros Brawl is a very complete game worthy of the great reviews it’s been getting. The only real letdowns is that, whilst Brawl is very pretty, its graphics are not that advanced from its predecessor, and the afore-mentioned online mode is so vulnerable to lag that it is not often an attractive proposition, unless you’re playing with nearby friends.

Even if you’re not getting the references, the multiplayer and story modes are so fun to explore and learn that there’s more than enough game here to keep you occupied, and it does an excellent job of fulfilling the party game role that fighters often do by being quite easy to pick up and play. If you need an introduction to the world of Nintendo, Brawl is an excellent tour guide. It’s well worth the wait whether you’re a fanboy or not.

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