Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Super Smash Bros. Brawl (大乱闘 スマッシュ ブラザーズ X Great Fray Smash Bros. X), is the third game in the Super Smash Bros. series, released in 2008. Released for the Wii, it was one of the most anticipated games for the console, mostly due to delays in its release. Super Smash Bros. Brawl is is also the first game in the series to feature non-Nintendo characters, namely Sonic and Snake.

Brawl introduced Final Smashes, a powerful finishing move for each character that was going to be in the original Super Smash Bros. but was cut due to hardware limitations. Brawl brings back the Classic and All-Star modes, while Melee ' s Adventure Mode was replaced with the new Subspace Emissary story mode.

There are 39 playable characters in the game, including transformations, 11 more than Melee. Ness from EarthBound returns as a playable character, this time he is once again an unlockable fighter, and the Onett stage returns from Melee.

Brawl also introduced a new EarthBound series fighter, being Lucas, the protagonist of Mother 3, who is available from the start. Brawl also included a new EarthBound series stage: New Pork City, which is also from Mother 3.

Characters
Brawl features a total of 35 playable characters, 24 of which were carried over from Melee, though 5 Melee characters were removed. Bold denotes EarthBound series characters, while italics denote unlockable characters:

Veterans

 * Mario
 * Luigi
 * Bowser
 * Peach
 * Yoshi
 * Wario
 * Donkey Kong
 * Link
 * Zelda/Shiek
 * Ganondorf
 * Samus
 * Kirby
 * Fox
 * Falco''
 * ''Pikachu
 * Jigglypuff''
 * Ness
 * Captain Falcon
 * Ice Climbers
 * Marth
 * Mr. Game & Watch

Newcomers

 * Diddy Kong
 * Toon Link
 * Meta Knight
 * Zero Suit Samus(1)
 * King Dedede
 * Wolf
 * Pokémon Trainer
 * Lucario
 * Lucas
 * Ike
 * Olimar
 * Pit
 * R.O.B.
 * Snake
 * Sonic

1 Note: Zero Suit Samus can be playable by using a Final Smash as Samus, or by holding the Shield button when selecting Samus.

Stages
Brawl features 31 new stages and 10 returning from Melee, which total to 41 stages. Also added was the ability to create one's own stages, known as Custom Stages. Bold denotes EarthBound Stages, and Italics denote unlockable stages:

Brawl stages

 * Battlefield


 * Final Destination


 * Delfino Plaza


 * Mushroomy Kingdom


 * Mario Circuit


 * Luigi's Mansion


 * Mario Bros.


 * Rumble Falls


 * 75m


 * Yoshi's Island


 * Bridge of Eldin


 * Pirate Ship


 * Norfair


 * Frigate Orpheon


 * Halberd


 * Lylat Cruise


 * Pokémon Stadium 2


 * Spear Pillar


 * New Pork City


 * Port Town Aero Dive


 * Summit


 * Castle Siege


 * Flat Zone 2


 * Skyworld


 * WarioWare, Inc.


 * Distant Planet


 * Smashville


 * PictoChat


 * Hanenbow


 * Shadow Moses Island


 * Green Hill Zone

Melee stages

 * Rainbow Cruise


 * Jungle Japes


 * Temple


 * Brinstar


 * Yoshi's Island


 * Green Greens


 * Corneria


 * Pokémon Stadium


 * Onett


 * Big Blue

Game modes
Super Smash Bros. Brawl featured some modes that were unavailable in the last two games, in addition to the older modes. Classic Mode returns and is kept largely the same. The Adventure Mode, however, was redesigned into a new adventure called the Subspace Emissary, which featured all but three of the playable characters and an actual plot. Porky appears as a boss in this mode, while the King Statue appears as a hazard.

Another mode, known as Masterpieces, allowed players to play demos of games from previous systems, such as Super Metroid and Super Mario Bros. 2. EarthBound was a demo in the Japanese version of Super Smash Bros. Brawl but was removed from the English version due to being a commercial failure outside Japan at the time.

EarthBound representation
In terms of representing the EarthBound series, Brawl ' s main focus is on Mother 3. Super Smash Bros. Brawl adds numerous EarthBound-themed elements: Lucas was added as a newcomer alongside the New Pork City stage from Mother 3. Additionally, Jeff was added as an Assist Trophy.

EarthBound series trophies

 * Lucas
 * Ness
 * Jeff
 * Mr. Saturn
 * PK Starstorm (Ness and Lucas)
 * Franklin Badge
 * Porky
 * Porky Statue

EarthBound series stickers

 * Ninten
 * Lloyd
 * Ana
 * Teddy
 * Lil' Saucer
 * Psycho Car
 * Mad Truck
 * New Age Retro Hippie
 * Ness
 * Paula
 * Jeff
 * Poo
 * Mr. Saturn
 * Starman
 * Master Belch
 * Lucas
 * Claus
 * Flint
 * Hinawa
 * Boney
 * Duster
 * Kumatora
 * Salsa
 * Pigmask
 * Porky

Reception
Super Smash Bros. Brawl was the highest rated game in the series at the time of its release. It scored a perfect score on Famitsu, and has received further critical acclaim.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl