I believe this topic doesn't fit specifically into one already existing thread, so take some time to consider the following.
Crawling is a technique we've known about since the second trailer, released nearly a year ago at Nintendo World. Since then we haven't yet received any official word on the topic, including how it's performed or what strategic uses it has. That said, we can reasonably assume it's still planned to be in the game.
Despite this, I have yet to notice any evidence of the technique present in any footage of the playable demo released a few days ago. This could be due to any of the following reasons:
- Firstly, it is not implemented in the demo version of Brawl. This is not too difficult to imagine, and seems like the most likely explanation to me. If this is true, the version people are playing in the demo is missing gameplay elements that will be in the final version aside from just characters and stages.
- Instead, it could be that the players simply failed to figure out how to crawl. Considering that a decent amount of the people at the media summit seemed to have little prior Smash experience, this is a possibility and shouldn't be overlooked, but it seems somewhat unlikely to me that this maneuver wouldn't be accidentally discovered. It seems like it would be a relatively simple technique to use, and the simple mechanics of single-wii-remote control make me think it would have been discovered by accident at some point.
- It has been removed from the game entirely, including the planned release version. This seems unlikely to me, but it is complete guesswork, so there is not much purpose in discussing this possibility further.
In addition to this, I was initially thinking that perhaps crawling is a character-specific move and we hadn't seen the characters who can use it. Supporting this is my view that it might not fit with certain characters' styles (Metaknight, Zelda for example.) At first I had only remembered seeing Snake and Wario with a crawl move, who were not present in the demo, but then I remembered that Pikachu was shown crawling several times as well. None of the media summit videos show Pikachu crawling, though this would narrow down the chance of no one discovering it a bit, though it still doesn't seem as likely as my first option.
What does this mean regarding the status of Brawl and the demo? If crawling is indeed in the demo, there is a possibility that we are looking at a final version of the gameplay mechanics. However, the absence of crawling would say with reasonable (while not 100%) certainty that the version we've seen is lacking elements of gameplay, rather than just characters and stages. This opens the door for the possibility that there are other not-yet-shown techniques waiting to be revealed besides crawling. As such, it would warn people against being prematurely pleased or disappointed with the lack of certain aspects of Brawl (wavedashing, l-cancelling, etc.) Specifically, it would tell us "There is more coming in all aspects, not just characters, stages, and items."
This isn't to say that all or any other Melee techniques are still there because crawling seems to be missing, but at least it would suggest not to let your expectations be guided by what you see in these videos.
I'd also suggest people who are going to E 4 All to test this out, especially with Pikachu, and see whether or not it's possible to crawl (and if so, how it's done.) This would probably give us a better idea of how close the demo version is to the in-development product.
Crawling is a technique we've known about since the second trailer, released nearly a year ago at Nintendo World. Since then we haven't yet received any official word on the topic, including how it's performed or what strategic uses it has. That said, we can reasonably assume it's still planned to be in the game.
Despite this, I have yet to notice any evidence of the technique present in any footage of the playable demo released a few days ago. This could be due to any of the following reasons:
- Firstly, it is not implemented in the demo version of Brawl. This is not too difficult to imagine, and seems like the most likely explanation to me. If this is true, the version people are playing in the demo is missing gameplay elements that will be in the final version aside from just characters and stages.
- Instead, it could be that the players simply failed to figure out how to crawl. Considering that a decent amount of the people at the media summit seemed to have little prior Smash experience, this is a possibility and shouldn't be overlooked, but it seems somewhat unlikely to me that this maneuver wouldn't be accidentally discovered. It seems like it would be a relatively simple technique to use, and the simple mechanics of single-wii-remote control make me think it would have been discovered by accident at some point.
- It has been removed from the game entirely, including the planned release version. This seems unlikely to me, but it is complete guesswork, so there is not much purpose in discussing this possibility further.
In addition to this, I was initially thinking that perhaps crawling is a character-specific move and we hadn't seen the characters who can use it. Supporting this is my view that it might not fit with certain characters' styles (Metaknight, Zelda for example.) At first I had only remembered seeing Snake and Wario with a crawl move, who were not present in the demo, but then I remembered that Pikachu was shown crawling several times as well. None of the media summit videos show Pikachu crawling, though this would narrow down the chance of no one discovering it a bit, though it still doesn't seem as likely as my first option.
What does this mean regarding the status of Brawl and the demo? If crawling is indeed in the demo, there is a possibility that we are looking at a final version of the gameplay mechanics. However, the absence of crawling would say with reasonable (while not 100%) certainty that the version we've seen is lacking elements of gameplay, rather than just characters and stages. This opens the door for the possibility that there are other not-yet-shown techniques waiting to be revealed besides crawling. As such, it would warn people against being prematurely pleased or disappointed with the lack of certain aspects of Brawl (wavedashing, l-cancelling, etc.) Specifically, it would tell us "There is more coming in all aspects, not just characters, stages, and items."
This isn't to say that all or any other Melee techniques are still there because crawling seems to be missing, but at least it would suggest not to let your expectations be guided by what you see in these videos.
I'd also suggest people who are going to E 4 All to test this out, especially with Pikachu, and see whether or not it's possible to crawl (and if so, how it's done.) This would probably give us a better idea of how close the demo version is to the in-development product.