Last updated: 07/10/2006 by Mike Gamin

Super Smash Brothers will make a triumphant return on Wii in Super Smash Brothers Brawl. Though Masahiro Sakurai, one of the key figures behind the first two Smash Bros. games, resigned from HAL Laboratory in 2003, he is still acting as both director and game designer for the new title. Brawl is not being developed at HAL. Instead, a team was built around Sakurai in Tokyo. This team includes some of the key developers from Melee, as well as an undisclosed team that was introduced to Sakurai by Shigeru Miyamoto himself. This studio has recently completed a large scale game, and that is all that is currently known.

Brawl will be compatible with the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, but the number of supported players is still a mystery. Two player games are definite, but the creators have expressed concerns with making a four player mode work online given the type of game Smash Brothers is.

In general, Brawl will feel similar to Melee in many ways. It is being developed based off of the same code. Controls are a big question, given how different the Wii controller is when compared to the GameCube. When asked about this issue, Sakurai hinted that we will in fact use a more classic controller, saying that we shouldn’t throw out our GameCube controllers just yet.

Below are lists of both confirmed characters and items for the game.

Confirmed Characters:

• Link – Link will make his return, only this time it will be the model from Twilight Princess. His move set will remain similar, including his down thrust and standard sword slashes. His bow and arrow will also return for projectile attacks.
• Mario – Mario will also make his return and this time his overalls have an even nicer texture. His move set will also remain similar including his punches and fireball projectile.
• Pikachu – Pikachu is also in the new game with a much higher polygon count model. Pikachu’s moves appear to be very similar to the old game, including the spark projectile, double quick attacks for returning to the stage, and fast jabs with its head.
• Kirby – Kirby will also be back, looking slightly more round. Many of his moves will make a return as well, including his block transformation, floating, and sword drop.
• Samus – Samus is back, and, of the classic characters that have been showed thus far, she has the most changes. You can still play as her in her suit shooting projectiles but, like Zelda in Melee, she will have an alternate form. In her other form she won’t be wearing the traditional suit, opting instead for the blue body suit from Metroid: Zero Mission. In this form her primary weapon will be a gun that can turn into a whip.
• Metaknight – From the Kirby games, Metaknight will be making his Smash Bros. debut. He will use a sword for most of his attacks and will be very fast, landing 3-5 hits consecutively in some occasions. He will also be able to pull a cape over his head, cloaking himself to near invisibility, as a means of defense.
• Pit – From the classic NES title Kid Icarus, Pit will be making his first appearance in the fighting series as well. He will use his bow and arrow for long range attacks and split his bow in two, forming two swords, for close range attacks. He will also be able to use his wings to guide himself back to the stage in a similar fashion to Kirby.
• Wario – Not much is known about how Wario will play other than the fact that at least one of his attacks will involve him farting. He is shown riding his motorcycle in the trailer, but there is no confirmation as to whether or not that will be part of the actual game.
• Snake – Snake will be the first non-Nintendo character to make an appearance in the game. He will use a series of explosives for his attacks as well as his famous cardboard box for defense.

Confirmed Items:

• Nintendogs – One of the new items in the game will release a Nintendog who will put its paws on the screen making seeing the action difficult. At times he can take up almost half of the screen.
• Smash Brothers Logo – Probably the most exciting new item will be the Smash Brothers Logo. This item will have a different effect depending on the character that picks it up, but each one will be a devastating attack.

  Confirmed Examples:

  • Mario – When Mario picks up the item, he will be able to unleash a barrage of fireballs covering about 3 times his own height as they travel across the screen.
  • Link – When Link picks up the item, he can perform a long sword combo consisting of around a dozen hits. During this combo a glowing Triforce appears around the victim.
  • Samus – When Samus picks up the item, she will have the ability to fire a beam twice her own height. It may also have something to do with her transforming into Zero Suit mode, but that might only be trailer theatrics.

Contrary to what was originally announced at E3 2005, Smash Brothers Brawl will not be a launch title for Wii, instead debuting sometime in 2007.