So, here we all are, trying to enjoy Brawl as much as possible, without actually having the game, or even knowing as much as we want to about it. We enjoy discussing the latest & greatest Dojo or other reputable updates (or lack thereof), and either fanning or dousing the wild speculation that flares up in various pockets of Brawl. Characters, Final Smashes, Stages, Items, and the Subspace Emissary all reign supreme. What I would like to discuss though is independent from all this, and revolves around the general gameplay strategy of this franchise. Using Melee as my guide, I categorize increasing levels of effective gameplay and skill:
For everyone else, they should start in level 2. The hurdle to overcome (typical to most fighters) is the inclusion of blocking and grabbing in addition to pure attacks.
Level 4 can only be achieved by experience, by knowing what the effect of a given attack could be, for both you and your foe. This is around the time when tech skill can be developed, by noticing certain features which speed up one's gameplay, help one survive longer, or catch your opponent off guard (incidentally, these are the only kinds of techs there are - anything else is just a better understanding of gameplay).
Level 5 is a mastery of the game. It's knowing what moves your character (as well as your foe's) can do, and it's pressuring them without actually being on them, making them create the exposure, and do as much damage accordingly. It will be at least 2 months after Brawl comes out before anyone could even claim to be here, and that claim would only be true in that someone could be better than most other people, but in the long run, will find that they were far from this mastery.
Why is any of this relevant? It's certainly been discussed in Melee, right? Well, players have stressed how different Brawl is, and that it is (at least initially) slower. Wavedashing as we knew it is gone, and with it many staple techs and mindgames (such as dash forward -> wavedash back). Dash-dancing and pivoting are still in, and will be key to ground-based gameplay. The air has been enriched as well, with air-dodges not ending your flight, and other moves like gliding and toadstool jumping. I can't even imagine what the staple aerial equivalent to dash dancing will be, but it's just as important. But one thing is certian, and that's the importance of mobility and pressuring your foe without actually making the first vulnerable move.
All this said, the aspect of Brawl I'm MOST excited about, besides all the shiny new improvements and added functionality (like stage editor), is a drastic improvement on what made Melee the greatest game ever - and that is pooling of knowledge. For Melee, this was accomplished largely through on-line discussion communities. However, now we can do more than talk about the game and share what we know with people who care to look, now anyone who plays the game will be exposed to potentially everything, with no regional boundaries.
So to come full circle, this is the most fun I can have with Brawl without actually having Brawl - and that is, planning on how it should be played. Since Japan is going to have it first, hopefully we'll have a good understanding at that point of the basic gameplay, and the necessary unlockables (for people that don't want to be suprised). From there, experiment with your characters. Early button mashing is very healthy, and it's really how things are discovered, since we aren't sitting around making state charts based on the code. Play random matches, it's a great time to practice and experiment, and maybe open someone else's eyes. Share what you find! One of the biggest holdbacks to Melee was how slowly the concepts of DI were distributed.
What do you think is the best approach to Brawl? What is the most enjoyment you can get out of Brawl until its release?
- Mashing buttons with no comprehension of what's correlation between what's displayed and button inputs, much less what is effective
- Spamming attacks, with no general strategy beyond a focus on attacks which seem powerful
- Moving around and using defensive techniques, alternating with arbitrary attacks
- Playing with knowledge of what you and your foe are capable of, and planning your gameplay off this
- Staying mobile just outside your opponent's range, and starting a combo / techchase by punishing their actions, avoiding possible retaliations.
For everyone else, they should start in level 2. The hurdle to overcome (typical to most fighters) is the inclusion of blocking and grabbing in addition to pure attacks.
Level 4 can only be achieved by experience, by knowing what the effect of a given attack could be, for both you and your foe. This is around the time when tech skill can be developed, by noticing certain features which speed up one's gameplay, help one survive longer, or catch your opponent off guard (incidentally, these are the only kinds of techs there are - anything else is just a better understanding of gameplay).
Level 5 is a mastery of the game. It's knowing what moves your character (as well as your foe's) can do, and it's pressuring them without actually being on them, making them create the exposure, and do as much damage accordingly. It will be at least 2 months after Brawl comes out before anyone could even claim to be here, and that claim would only be true in that someone could be better than most other people, but in the long run, will find that they were far from this mastery.
Why is any of this relevant? It's certainly been discussed in Melee, right? Well, players have stressed how different Brawl is, and that it is (at least initially) slower. Wavedashing as we knew it is gone, and with it many staple techs and mindgames (such as dash forward -> wavedash back). Dash-dancing and pivoting are still in, and will be key to ground-based gameplay. The air has been enriched as well, with air-dodges not ending your flight, and other moves like gliding and toadstool jumping. I can't even imagine what the staple aerial equivalent to dash dancing will be, but it's just as important. But one thing is certian, and that's the importance of mobility and pressuring your foe without actually making the first vulnerable move.
All this said, the aspect of Brawl I'm MOST excited about, besides all the shiny new improvements and added functionality (like stage editor), is a drastic improvement on what made Melee the greatest game ever - and that is pooling of knowledge. For Melee, this was accomplished largely through on-line discussion communities. However, now we can do more than talk about the game and share what we know with people who care to look, now anyone who plays the game will be exposed to potentially everything, with no regional boundaries.
So to come full circle, this is the most fun I can have with Brawl without actually having Brawl - and that is, planning on how it should be played. Since Japan is going to have it first, hopefully we'll have a good understanding at that point of the basic gameplay, and the necessary unlockables (for people that don't want to be suprised). From there, experiment with your characters. Early button mashing is very healthy, and it's really how things are discovered, since we aren't sitting around making state charts based on the code. Play random matches, it's a great time to practice and experiment, and maybe open someone else's eyes. Share what you find! One of the biggest holdbacks to Melee was how slowly the concepts of DI were distributed.
What do you think is the best approach to Brawl? What is the most enjoyment you can get out of Brawl until its release?