Super Smash Bros. Brawl

May 13, 2006

The sneak-preview trailer (which you can view here) began with four of Nintendo's greatest icons squaring off against each other on a floating ruin: Mario, Link, Pikachu, and Kirby. As the trailer continued, the action footage shifted from one locale to the next, showing off the different environments as well as some new attacks. You're getting a mix of detailed textures and realistic backgrounds that contrast nicely with the hallmarks of Nintendo's greatest adventures, like the simple platforms that make for unparalleled launching points for aerial attacks. An impressive shot was shown next of a medieval castle besieged by flaming arrows, until the camera zoomed in on the ramparts where the fight raged on.

Some standard attacks were shown, with Mario tossing a fireball, Pikachu calling down a lightning strike, and Link executing a downwards thrust. Things then began going completely crazy. A Labrador puppy from Nintendogs appeared on screen, in huge terrifying detail, paws on the glass and begging for attention. Mario picked up a Smash Bros. power-up, which made his eyes glow yellow, and surrounded him with an aura of flame, almost like he took on the powers of the Fantastic Four's Human Torch. He then hopped back and executed a fireball super move that filled the entire screen with a wildly kinetic burst of flame. Link's fiery move was shown next, executing a series of attacks on a hapless Mario, who was pinned between a pair of glowing force shields shaped like the Triforce. Kirby's humorous flame move was up next, as the adorable pink guy donned a chef's hat and merrily boiled Mario in a cooking pot. The mixed look of surprise and pain on Mario's face was absolutely priceless.

The new characters were introduced next, as the action moved to a hangar housing an immense warship of riveted steel, the Halberd. Atop this warbird was the cloaked figure of Meta Knight, Kirby's most popular rival. He showed off lightning-fast sword swinging attacks with his golden blade, and was able to take to the air by turning his cloak into a pair of fully functional bat wings. Meta Knight can also deflect projectile attacks by wrapping himself in his cloak and turning partially invisible.

Attacking the little armored guy at this point was the angelic Pit from Kid Icarus. Pit wields a bow, which fires arrows that leave a streaking trail of light in their wake. When the action went hand-to-hand, he could split his bow into two parts, turning his ranged weapon into a pair of curved blades. His wings will presumably allow for triple jumps, although the trailer footage showed him executing a quadruple jump.

Ever the opportunist, Samus was shown next, firing off a screen-filling charged beam blast that filled the screen with blue energy, similar to Ryu's immense fireball attack from Marvel vs. Capcom. Once her enemies were blasted, her armor peeled off, piece by piece, leaving Samus in her skin-tight Zero Suit, armed with a laser pistol. She then flipped up the barrel of her gun, turning it into a lightsaber.

Before she could engage Pit in battle, a rumbling sound was heard, and a cloud of dust appeared in the distance. Riding a heavy-duty motorcycle straight out of Easy Rider was Wario, decked out in a sleeveless jean jacket, a filthy blue shirt, and acid-washed pink jeans. The selfish villain lost control of his chopper and dusted himself off after careening into a rocky wall. Another rumble was heard, this time from Wario's belly, and his already formidable mid-section began to expand. Just when you thought he was going to burst, things got real ugly, with his belly button popping into view as his shirt slid up, straining to contain his rapidly growing gut. Wario then bent over, and a small flame poked out through his jeans, quickly growing in size and scaring the other present characters, who had no idea what was in store. The subsequent explosion and far away shot of a mushroom cloud rising above the landscape explained all.

The demonstration seemed to end at this point, but to our surprise a familiar font appeared on screen, signaling an incoming message from Colonel Roy Campbell to none other than Metal Gear Solid's Solid Snake. The big news was quite exciting: Snake was invited to participate in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros., yet another mission in a long line of absurd objectives, according to the superoperative. But he was one step ahead of the game, explaining that he was already on a reconnaissance mission. The trailer then showed a cardboard box discreetly tucked away behind the scenes as the other characters fought on. According to Snake, "knowing your enemy is the quickest path to victory." He then threw aside his corrugated hiding place, appearing in all his fully realistic glory, bandana swaying in the wind and determined look in his eyes.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl is one of the games we're looking forward to most at GameSpy, and we're determined to get our hands on it as soon as possible. We'll be waiting with bated breath until then, watching the trailer over and over to whet our appetites for what should be one of the most exciting releases for the Nintendo Wii.