May 11th, 2006 (1:07am) - Many gamers had been wondering where Nintendo has been hiding Super Smash Bros. for the Wii, well they finally unveiled it today at an after-hours press briefing where it revealed Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
As expected, new characters have made their way into the fold, including Pit from the Kid Icarus series, Zero Suit Samus from Metroid: Zero Mission, Meta-Knight from the Kirby series, the long expected Wario and Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series. Yes, Solid Snake is making an appearance in the Wii version of Super Smash Bros. We’re all surprised by this revelation but the evidence exists, Solid Snake will be in the game.
Series creator Mashario Sakurai is crafting the ultimate franchise fighter and those who expected to see a big change in gameplay mechanic should be surprised to hear that Super Smash Bros. Brawl will not feature the use of the Wii’s motion sensitive controller. In fact, the game will be completely playable using the standard GameCube controller, as well as the traditional-styled game pad Nintendo is releasing for the Wii.
"We found that trying to implement too much motion-sensory functionality can get in the way of the game. We’re looking at keeping the control simple, as it has been," said Sakurai. "The Wii hardware has sockets for the GameCube controller, too. So I’ll just say now that you may not want to throw away your GCN controller yet."
As expected, this new instalment in the Super Smash Bros. series will feature a slew of new items to unleash on your opponents, including the ability to unleash a giant Nintendog puppy to take out your opponents. And for those who have seen the trailer, Wario’s fart attack will be included in the game, and Snake will be able to make use of his cardboard box (How? We don’t know) as well as the other new over-the-top super moves seen in the trailer.
"We thought a lot about what to do with Snake and his moves in Super Smash Bros. Brawl," said Sakurai. "As you all know Snake walks around with a gun, but with Super Smash Bros. I didn’t want to bring in a lot of real weapons. So that was a real challenge. But conversely, if we could use things like rocket launchers and other explosives, not only would that be fitting for Snake, but it would work for the other characters. But who knows. Maybe Snake will exclusively use explosives throughout the game."
For those wondering why Solid Snake made it into the game at all, well, it was at the request of Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima, who is said to have practically "begged" to include Snake in the game. Kojima-san had originally wanted Sakurai to include Snake in the GameCube’s Super Smash Bros. Melee but by the time the request was made, it was too late in the game’s development cycle to do so.
When asked if other third party character like Sonic the Hedgehog would be included in the game, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto said the following: "There are probably possibilities for other third parties as well, and it maybe that even now there are corporate discussions going on about including some of these other characters."
Of course, as many fans were expecting, Super Smash Bros. Brawl will feature a robust online multiplayer mode. "My plan is to include Wi-Fi connection compatibility and online functionality. One of the primary reasons Super Smash Bros. Brawl was created was that Nintendo, when taking Wii online, wanted to have Smash Bros. to do that," added Sakurai.
The good news doesn’t end there, however. The game’s main theme has been created by the infamous Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu. Additionally, opera singer Ken Nishikiori has also participated in this project on vocals.
While it is unknown if Uematsu will compose the game’s entire soundtrack, it can be confirmed that all of the game’s music will be performed by a full orchestra. It will be a deluxe chorus complete with lyrics in Latin.
The only "bad" news to report is that the Wii’s Super Smash Bros. Brawl will not be a launch title as initially expected but it will be released sometime in 2007, but not too long after launch.
To view the game’s jaw dropping trailer and listen to its main title theme, please visit www.smashbros.com
We’ll keep you posted on what is likely to be the biggest of Wii killer apps.
