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Wii Warm Up: The slow reveal of Smash Bros.
After a ton of buildup, the Super Smash Bros. Brawl website began updating this week, which is exciting in principle. The actual content of the updates, however ... well, let's just say we had already guessed that Mario and Link will be in the game. Today we get a small amount of news about a new item-- a Gooey Bomb that sticks to opponents.The whole development cycle has been like this-- we've gotten very little information of any kind about this game except what we already know (for example, the rules of Smash Bros.) It's kind of a tease. Of course, this just serves to build up anticipation of the final product.Would you rather get a huge blowout of info all at once, or do you enjoy letting the excitement build as you're fed tiny little morsels of information one by one? If you don't feel like talking about that, we suppose we could talk about the Gooey Bomb. One warning, though-- we've heard enough about banning items from "serious play" for one lifetime.
Smash Bros. Brawl site updates with some character profiles
The Smash Bros. Brawl website has updated again, this time giving us character profiles for two of the franchise's, as well as Nintendo's, oldest characters Mario and Link. Aside from that, nothing else appears to have changed from the first update we all saw yesterday. Which, we don't have to tell you, makes us sad.%Gallery-3347%
Smash Bros. website finally updates
After a day of wearing out our F5 key, the Super Smash Bros. Brawl webpage has finally made its promised update. Unfortunately, we have yet to find any huge megaton announcements. In fact, some of the content is a little too non-megaton-- like an explanation of the (unchanged) basic rules of Smash Bros.There is neat stuff to be found, though, most obviously in the form of a few screenshots that, while they still don't show any new or new-to-Brawl characters, do show off a day/night cycle. Also, the list of composers contributing to the game is massive-- a total who's-who of Japanese game music. Some of the composers, we're sure, are only credited for having created the music from Smash characters' original games. But Jun Fukuda and Masafumi Takada from Grasshopper Manufacture are on the list, and that is really exciting.The website promises updates every weekday, so don't let the somewhat underwhelming first day put you off. Keep checking the site for the inevitable character announcements and control scheme explanations!%Gallery-3347%[Thanks, Tigeron Starfire!]
Smash Bros. site now up, music detailed
So, Super Smash Bros. Brawl director Masahiro Sakurai is, as we were told, using www.smashbros.com as a blog to update on the game. His first couple of entries were a bit dull, just basic descriptions of the gameplay that you probably understand already. His latest post though is a little juicer, with an impressive list of the talent involved in making the music of SSBB. You've got (and this is just a sampling) Akihiro Honda of Konami, Hajime Wakai who worked on Pikmin and Star Fox, Kazumi Totaka of Animal Crossing fame, Kenji Yamamoto who did Super Metroid and Metroid Prime, Tomoko Sasaki of NiGHTS, Toru Minegishi who worked on The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and [insert your favorite on the list that we omitted here]. There's even a sample from the soundtrack. Sounds great ... now when will we get to play it? Its omission from this list probably means fall at the earliest.[Thanks to everyone for the heads-up!]
Smash Bros. countdown counts down to ... nothing?
This morning's speculation has come true, as the countdown that counted down to nothing has left the fine folks at Nintendo Power holding the ball and dare not drop it. Turns out, the countdown at the SSBB site counted down to nothing and while our report earlier was made as pure speculation, new pictures of the latest issue by forum user Ben_X_02 confirms that Sakurai will indeed be publishing a blog. Personally, we're kind of disappointed and were hoping for something a bit bigger in the news department.[Via Joystiq]
Brawl countdown reveals nothing, Nintendo Power picks up slack
That countdown at www.smashbros.com just concluded, revealing ... absolutely nothing, and we don't mean absolutely nothing in a GTAIV-trailer-crashed-our-servers way. The page simply reads "starting today (Japan time)."What's starting today? Since they're not saying anything, we'll turn to our friends at Nintendo Power, who happen to be really close friends with Nintendo. The "Don't Miss Calendar" in the latest issue -- #217 (pictures prove it's real) -- trumpets "Sakurai delivers the blow by blow." They continue, "Beginning May 22nd, Super Smash Bros. Brawl director Masahiro Sakurai will post a daily blog on smashbros.com regarding the title's progress and any other topics that tickle his fancy. Rumor has it that he'll be revealing Fabio as the next playable character."IronSword cracks aside (and that is a good one), is Sakurai's blog what all this hubbub was about? Sounds like it to us. Hopefully his first post, which should show up in the next 23 hours, will shed some light on why a title that Kojima described as "very complete" wasn't on this morning's release calendar.[Thanks, hvnlysoldr]
Super Smash Bros. Brawl site counting down to relaunch
Countdown sites are so hot right now. You know what they are? They're this season's ARG. If you've got a hot property coming out, but you haven't gotten your countdown site in order, don't ever bother: We're not interested. Luckily for Nintendo, they wised up and finally got our attention for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, taking their site from regular, old, boring homepage (how 2006!) to a countdown to one week from today.Now, as countdown sites go, it's kind of lackluster. There are no hours or minutes or seconds, so we can't stare for hours on end, watching each second peel away as we breathlessly contemplate how meaningful our lives will be when the timer reaches zero. But there is a logo there (not just a number) so we don't forget what game we're counting down to in all the hubbub. Very practical. We suspect that Nintendo might be spilling the beans on this and some other hot properties next week (thanks in no small part to a press event hinted at by Matt Casamassina), but to get too hung up on what the countdown is counting down to is to really miss the point. It's a countdown, man: Live in the now.
FF Dissidia magazine scan reveals Smash-ing possibilities
Here is Dissidia, the newly announced Final Fantasy game for PSP. Our less-than-infantile understanding of Japanese makes it difficult to decipher a recently leaked Japanese magazine scan. We understand that it's a one-on-one 3D "battle" game -- could this game be a fighting game, in the style of Smash Brothers? The pictures certainly allude to that. It isn't Ehrgeiz like we predicted, but we think it's pretty darn close. The game will reunite characters from across the franchise, including the Warriors of Light from the first Final Fantasy, and Zidane and Kuja of Final Fantasy IX fame.Nomura's Kingdom Hearts-esque character designs are in full effect, and the title appears to have some console-quality graphics. It may not be what most of us expected, but we can't wait to find out more.[Via NeoGAF; Thanks, Jamal!]
Readers pick best webcomic: tryouts
For the second week in a row, 2P Start has taken the top spot as the webcomic of the week -- they've come a long way since their start on Valentine's Day. Second place goes to Penny Arcade and Extra Life takes the third place position.Thanks to everyone who voted; be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomics you stumble upon this week!
Wii games to blot out the Rising Sun in 2007
Say, your Wii's looking a little dusty. No, no, don't brush it off on our account, ours has seen better days too. Good news though: If a list of Wii games set for 2007 in Japan holds up for America, we may both soon need to invest in some cans of compressed air.IGN unearthed this list of games that have been announced by Nintendo to be released in Japan this year; so many, in fact, that we broke a federal ban on 300 jokes to write our headline. So, we'll give you a few upfront, but you're going to have to jump to get the rest of the goodness. Super Smash Bros. Brawl Donkey Kong Taru Jet Race (DK Jet or DK Bongo Blast, US) Wii Health Pack Disaster: Day of Crisis
Report: Kojima feels Smash Bros. Brawl "very complete"
The next game in the Super Smash Bros. saga may be ready sooner than later. At a recent gathering of Japanese game developers, Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima reportedly got a chance to play a version of the game with Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai. According to Kojima Productions podcastee Ryan Payton, Kojima later said the game was "a lot of fun" and "already feels very complete." How complete? "You guys could put it out right now and it could sell millions of copies," Kojima reportedly said.Nintendo has been characteristically stingy with details about the highly-anticipated game, releasing no new information since a trailer last November. Could this be a sign the game will indeed make the 2007 release date promised way back at the last E3? Here's hoping.[Via 1PStart]Listen - Kojima Productions podcast (Smash Bros. discussion starts around 11 minute mark)
Super Gumby Bros. Brawl trailer
They haven't yet invented a number that accurately estimates how many times we've watched the Super Smash Bros. Brawl trailer that debuted at last year's E3 event. 15 bazillion? 32 robillion? 299 karmakarmakarmakarmakarma-chamelion? Nay, these numbers do not even begin to scratch the surface! Sgsugar's claymation remake of the trailer is more of a homemade project than a high-value production, but its stop-motion action is no less awesome. The misshapen models, amateurish sets, and inconsistent lighting only serve to increase the video's plasticine charm. Solid Snake's absence is disappointing but easily forgotten when the two-minute clip is filled with scenes like Pit firing an oversized arrow from his malformed bow or Wario's flatulent send-off. Jump past the post break for Sgsugar's clay-animated adaptation and Nintendo's original Super Smash Bros. Brawl trailer.See also: Super Smash Bros. Brawl gets hand-drawn and hilarious
"Marco" pasta is a good match for mushroom sauce, litigation
NeoGAFfer Chittagong found this bag of pasta in a Citymarket in Finland. The package is sending a very clear message, and that message is "It's-a not quite me, Maaaario!" Apparently when Mario and Luigi took off on their Mushroom Kingdom adventure, Mario's less-famous identical brother Marco stuck around and devoted his time to making delicious dried pastas. Either that or some unscrupulous company has shamelessly ripped off Mario's likeness. We'll leave it up to you to determine which is more likely-- that this is the work of an unknown relative of a fictional character or of real-world jerks. Hey, maybe Marco will show up in Good Smash Friends Battle for the Nintenco Wuu!
Nintendo playhouse returns us to childhood innocence
Fanboys (and girls) with enough cashflow and skill can certainly drop a few jaws with their heartfelt creations / collections, and while the Mac cathedral certainly holds a special place in the hearts of Apple freaks abroad, the Nintendo playhouse doesn't fare too badly either. While the production certainly isn't perfect from an architectural viewpoint, the creativity and sheer brilliance of such a domicile is worthy of applause, as the life-sized Game Boy, littering of characters, and barrage of retro inspirations are enough to make just about anyone show some respect. Unfortunately, we've absolutely no idea where in the world this palace is located, but until the quest to locate it finally concludes, be sure and hit the read link for homegrown Nintendo mania.UPDATE: We've been informed that this was a part of the spring carnival at Carnegie Mellon University, and we owe this honor to Sigma Phi Epsilon, who had the hand in constructing it. Kudos![Via NintendoWiiFanboy]
Today's hand-drawn video: Super Smash Bros.
It's cute, it's simple, and it's better than a slew of video games we've been playing lately. We give you Super Smash Bros., in hand-drawn animation. A sweeping cinematic score only underlines the awesomeness of this fine video.Nintendo, if you want to save some money, get someone on this project, pronto. Release it, rake in the dough, and we'll have something to tide us over until the real game comes out. Trust us. Make sure you watch until the very ... end?
Super Smash Bros. Brawl gets hand-drawn and hilarious
This fan-made video, which is available past the post break per our aggreement, is ... well .... it's just ... we're really having a hard time finding some adjectives to use. We like the video, don't get us wrong, it's good. It's just that, really, it's a sensory overload. All of the mental stimulation it provides, as well as the humor found within, make a potent cocktail. It's causing us to feel awfully inebriated ...We will comment, however, that Shin Akuma would NEVAR lose to Pokemon in a fight.
Wii puzzler drops GCN controller support
Mercury Meltdown Revolution, the only Wii title so far to hint at its former nickname, has dropped support for the GameCube controller as previously planned; however, using the classic controller is still just fine and dandy.Ed Bradley, studio manager for MMR developer Ignition Entertainment, told Eurogamer that "we've had to drop support for the GameCube controller as it's a very much 'at developers own risk' proposition and we're not masochists!" The context is not entirely clear, but our best guess is that, while a library of code for the classic controller may be provided by Nintendo, the burden of programming for GCN ports is on the developer and Bradley didn't feel like expending the resources.Here's our worry: remember when Smash Bros. Brawl producer Masahiro Sakurai revealed that GameCube controllers would be compatible, so as not to alienate those who prefer the traditional -- dare we say classic -- control scheme? What if Nintendo's beat-em-up only supports the classic controller attachment? The cynic in us fears Nintendo would nix GCN controller support in order to sell a few more attachments. Not that it's a bad attachment, mind you, but we already have so many GCN controllers lying around that we don't want them to go to waste.
New Smash Bros Brawl trailer flaunts combos, Fox
Nintendo has unveiled a new trailer for Smash Bros Brawl from Nintendo World 2006 that shows off less special move, more combo-driven gameplay. The footage is more than likely not in-game, but let's assume that similar ideas are planned for the final product. All the known characters get some screen time, and new stages such as "Mario Circuit," which is reminiscent of the F-Zero level from Smash Bros Melee. Solid Snake's stage, purported to be designed by Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima, is also revealed. One stage is shown as destructible.New characters Wario, Meta-Knight, Pit, Zero Suit Samus, and Solid Snake get their chance to shine. Snake, in particular, is shown sneaking in the prone position and pulling off some fast punches and kicks before pulling out a rocket launcher for the finale. The emphasis of combos and air combos should appease fans worried by comments made by director Masahiro Sakurai (and translated by forum posters) that hinted the title may be more simplified than its predecessor.After the title screen crawl, Fox McCloud is unveiled as another character in the Smash Bros Brawl lineup, bringing the known lineup to 10 characters.Continue reading for the trailer. A higher-definition version is available from GameTrailers.com.
WWE fused with Super Smash Bros: it ain't pretty [update 2]
What do you get when you stretch the skins of characters from Super Smash Bros. over wrestlers from WWE Smackdown!? A disturbingly compelling game along with a pimped out Mario, that's what. Watch as Mario and chums perform maneuvers from head slams to full frontal kicks in the face. There's even a Solid Snake cameo! Just don't show this thing to your kids, they'll never want to play a Mario game again. And yes, that pink fat dude is Kirby. Weiiird.Who's gonna be the next victim of pimp my video game?Update: the video has been removed from YouTube. Apparently it violated their copyright rules. If anyone can find the real video online then let us know and we'll update the post.Update 2: the video is back up, with no explanation as to why it went down. Check it out after the jump.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl video
Featuring more farting, fireballs, pink balls, elite soldiers, mythological boys, portly plumbers and space bounty hunters than you can shake a motion-sensing stick at, this video footage of Super Smash Bros. Brawl demands to be watched immediately. It's strange that Nintendo didn't blow the audience away with this during their initial press conference, but trite old sayings tell us that getting it now is much better than not getting it at all. Thank goodness for those.[Via Nintendo Gal]
