SSBB: One Year Later

Super Smash Bros. Brawl was probably Nintendo's biggest game release last year. The hype for the game was by far the biggest. From May 2007 until the games release on March 9, 2008 there were daily updates on the official website: Smash Bros. DOJO. The actual size of the game also makes it one of the largest ever released by Nintendo. There are 544 trophies, 700 stickers, 35 playable characters (including Sonic and Snake), 27 assist trophies, and 30 different Pokemon in Poke Balls. The game also includes probably the best soundtrack ever for a game. The number of game modes was also large; most notably, for the first time including a single player story mode: the Subspace Emissary. Brawl also added Wi-Fi play for the first time in the series.

All of this adds up to a tremendous game; the best iteration in the hugely successful franchise. However, one year later, looking back at the merits of the game, I think the game failed to be a great game. Despite being the largest game on the Wii, it doesn't have the replay value of other games. I play other games far more, and Brawl hasn't been turned on at my house for a long time.

The biggest problem for Brawl is the underwhelming online play. The quality of the online play was decent. I didn't have big problems with lag like others did. However, despite having robust options in the main game, the online aspect is limited to battles, home-run contests, and multi-man brawls. However, there is no stat tracking involved at all. If you beat up on your friends for hours the only record of it is in your memory. There are no online rankings, no stats, no replays. Mario Kart Wii, released one and a half months after Brawl features a much better online system with rankings, ghosts, and lag free play.

What Brawl really needs is an online ranking system. Tell me where I rank in the world, region, and against my friends. Tell me how many times I have beat my friend. Include rankings for the classic mode, home-run contest, Subspace Emissary. I spend hours racing around Luigi's Circuit in Mario Kart to try and beat my friends. Likewise rankings would make me replay the home-run derby and the classic mode over and over for bragging rights. Include online tournaments with different challenge objectives like Mario Kart and Tetris Party.

Brawl came half way to achieving this replayability with an awesome achievement system (one that I will likely never complete); but it would have been even better if I could compare my achievements with my friends. Unfortunately Wii Speak was also not implemented into the game. The lack of trash talking with friends also ruins the fun (Skype has served as a decent substitute though). Overall, Brawl is lacking a few characteristics that would have pushed the game over the top to be the game to play on the Wii.