Games that allow you to watch others play the game you've just dropped fifty bucks on have become increasingly prevalent recently. This trend is something of a mystery to us, probably because we're twitchy, fidgety little monkeys who'd much rather roll our sleeves up and jump into the action ourselves.
Nevertheless, Brawl will also cater to those who don't mind taking in the action from afar. "Spectator" mode in Nintendo's scrapper is apparently "something that even people who aren't good at games can enjoy," (not us then, because obviously we rock) and will allow spectators to wager coins on the outcome of a battle. And even if you don't win any bets, you'll still get some free stickers just for watching. Because nobody ever really loses in Nintendo games.
Videogame music has come a far cry from the beeps of yesteryear, with amazing works coming from both studios and independent remixers alike. A musical score is now a critical component of game design, and the big names in gaming are some of the most forward-thinking pioneers in the musical world today.
Most classic Nintendo themes have been crafted by the well-known Koji Kondo, but Nintendo's consoles have been host to dozens upon dozens of brilliant composers. So, who's your favorite? There's a ridiculous list composing for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, found here (which interestingly omits the famed Nobuo Uematsu, who already composed the game's title theme). Which names stand your hair on end?
We've got a very simple question for you today: who's your favorite existing Super Smash Bros. character? Is it Ness, or one of the many inferior filler characters they put in so everyone wouldn't just pick Ness?
For those not compulsively checking the official Smash Bros. website daily for bare snippets of information, we here at Wii Fanboy have decided to perform the service of coalescing tidbits into tidbigs. Over the past week, a few interesting details have surfaced.
Most of the reveals are item-based: you may now move freely with projectile weapons (finally!), and as detailed earlier here, the new "Gooey Bomb" item was unveiled. The most interesting new item, however, is the Smash Ball, which activates character-specific "Final Smash" attacks. Mario's is entitled the "Mario Finale" attack, which unleashes a spread-fire explosion attack, and we've seen Link's Triforce blade attack in an earlier video. Since most competitive Smash Bros. players contend without the randomizing effect of items, it'll be interesting to see if this affects higher-level gameplay.
Also unveiled are some of Pit's (of Kid Icarus fame) attacks, which include a controllable arrow of light and limited flight capabilities (most likely the Up+B special). Brawl looks like it's coming together nicely ... do you guys agree?
Posted May 22nd 2007 9:50AM by JC Fletcher Filed under: News
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!
The clues are beginning to come together: there's a countdown on the official site of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and some rumblings of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption news coming around May 20th. In this month once reserved for the mighty E3, it's been quite some time since Nintendo has held a major press conference. Finally, good 'ol Matt has made it perfectly clear in a recent IGN Mailbag: he's on his way to Seattle next week for some mysterious reason, and it's not for Starbucks.
About freakin' time, Nintendo. For a company still claiming that the big three will release in 2007, they've been awfully tight-lipped about the impending trio. We look forward to bringing you some surely awesome news coming next week ... uh, you know, assuming that this actually happens.
Feeling that Super Mario Bros. lacked in user-generated content, the folks over at SelectButton decided to start randomly inserting text into the Mario ROM (yarrr) and see what happens. Apparently the game is stable enough to run decently with junk added to it, and the results are ... playable and strangely beautiful. Random invisible blocks, palette changes, bizarre sprites, Mario's freaking head is on upside-down, etc.
It's pretty significant that some minor shot-in-the-dark hacking can end up generating new Mario levels that instantly make a near-perfect game infinitely more fun. They should be doing this at I am 8-Bit. If only we could do this kind of user-generated level design on the Virtual Console,we'd have a compelling answer to Sony's LittleBigPlanet. Go ahead and argue with us on that point. We <3 Hacked Mario.
Wii Fanboy does not endorse the use of copyrighted ROM images. Just go gawk at the screenshots for a while; that should be enough entertainment.
Here's a bit of game history: when Super Mario Bros. was rereleased for the Japan-only Famicom Disk System, the "minus world" generated via a well-documented glitch changed along with the format. Instead of an infinite water level, players were treated to a whole suite of glitch-tastic levels, loaded with air-swimming and Princess Toadstool sprites floating in mid-air. This kind of classic minutiae is exactly what we want out of the Virtual Console. We'd seriously buy Super Mario Bros. again for a crack at this new minus world. Check out the video after the break!
Those lovable scamps from Mega64 are at it again! There's never a dull moment when these friends go on a wild,madcap adventure that you'll never forget. Join them, as they discover... the true meaning of friendship.
... what? Oh, we were thinking about a different movie. This one's just, you know, some dudes jumping around in Mario Bros. suits and stuff. But it's the patented brand of Mega64 funny-- video game characters accosting random (and not so random) people on the street-- that makes their work worth our few seconds of download time.
Please, click on the limited-edition post break, and watch the movie that your whole family is sure to love!
According to IGN, "According to German magazine Gamefront, "According to a Japanese retail conference" (translated from German)"", Nintendo has released a list of first-party games tentatively scheduled for release in 2007. The full list can be found after the break, but it's quite notable to see that the big three of Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl are still scheduled to be released in 2007.
Keep in mind, we still expect one of these games to be delayed into 2008, but the longer we go without hearing that news, the better. Also noted as that Disaster: Day of Crisis (recently screenshot-icized) is also slated for the Year of the Boar. Can it be true?
[Update 1: Holy crap. Melee came out six years ago, Jason, get a grip.]
As much as we want to believe that the Wiimote is the end-all-be-all for video games, we have to concede that there are several genres in which a traditional controller is a more appropriate choice. Nintendo has already noted that Super Smash Bros. Brawl will use a standard controller, but ... which is it? Though Gamecube controller support has yet to be officially confirmed, we have to assume a player may choose between the GC standard and their own classic controller, offered for twenty dollars.
What's the problem? Well, the classic controller sucks. If you want four-player Smash (and my God you do), you'll need to spend an additional eighty dollars on peripherals that you might never use again. Furthermore, as it plugs into the expansion port, you have to deal with the awkward Wiimote just sitting in your lap. On the flip side, how many retailers have been carrying copious quantities of Wavebirds? They're still out there, of course, but Nintendo may have to conduct a Wavebird relaunch campaign for those of us who don't already have the gear. What are you hoping for, and how do you think Nintendo can pull it off?
People have speculated for quite some time on what out-of-company characters would be joining Solid Snake in the upcoming Super Smash Bros: Brawl. Sonic was an obvious choice, of course, but check out the above picture, seen in the Swedish Nintendo mag +N.
Yes, readers, we know, it's still quite dubious. Still, we can't resist such a beauty of a rumor. Now we just need a NiGHTs 2 confirmation, Goldeneye on the virtual console, and the ability for the Wii to hack into our brains and overwrite our senses with direct input from the game.
Hold on to your mistletoe, folks, Nintendo is dropping all kinds of radiological bombs come Christmas morning. Let's skip the preamble and just head right on in:
Super Mario Bros. (NES) - Finally, is all we have to say. The defining "retro" title in video gaming history is finally up for grabs, and you might not have a soul if you don't pick it up.
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (SNES) - One of the most influential titles in the 16-bit era, Street Fighter II is revered by millions of angry, violent gamers worldwide. And Chun-Li is still hot.
Super Castlevania IV (SNES) - The beginning of the modern Castlevania games, this title features more hot whip action than your mistress on Friday night. And unholy werewolves, too.
Toe Jam and Earl (Sega Genesis) - We've been raving about this funkotronic title for weeks, and it's finally here come Christmas morn. Get your groove on and ignore your holiday dinner ... that's what we're doing, anyway.
R-Type (TG-16) - An apparently famous shooter that we ourselves have not played. We hear it's quite the hit, though. Any takers?
This is gonna be one hell of a Monday. Who said presents needed to be encased in paper and under a tree?
[Thanks, Benny!]
[Update 1: Also, on January 1st, Nintendo will be releasing both Baseball (NES) and Urban Champion (NES). Not that it'll matter. We'll be too busy playing these games to bother.]
[Update 2: And no, none of these games are free. Cheapskates.]
The guys in charge of Robot Chicken, adult swim's stop animation show featuring action figures that takes stabs at pop culture and the gaming world, have shown that when they set out to make something funny, they often succeed with ease. In last night's new episode, their next targets were the Mario bros. and they showed us a much darker side of the brothers than we are used to seeing. Check the video out, which has been embedded into the post after the break.
You know that game called Super Smash Bros. Brawl featuring Nintendo characters and Solid Snake duking it out across a wide variety of environments? No? Okay then ...
Well, all horrible attempts at being humorous aside, it turns out another new character is coming to the game and will be revealed in a new trailer, set to release this Friday during the kickoff of Nintendo World 2006. Time to let the speculation begin (we're assuming you all think it will be Sonic?) and the comments fly!
[Update: Turns out our translation of the page was inaccurate as 1UP says this will be footage of the new characters moving in-game, not the unveiling of new characters for the game. Bummer ... ]
Here's a bit of game history: when Super 
