In today’s Dojo update, Sakurai shows us another returning mode from Melee: Multi-Man Brawl (formerly, of course, Multi-Man Melee). Rather than fighting polygons or wireframes, though, this time you’ll be fighting scores of Alloys.
<p align="center"><img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/various21_080108f-l.jpg" /></p>
At a glance, this mode appears to be virtually identical to its Melee counterpart:
<p align="center"><img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/various21_080108a-l.jpg" /></p>
As a number of Smash fans know, these “Fighting _____ Teams” have a history of being heavily modeled off of playable characters. In Super Smash Bros., the polygon team had counterparts in each of the playable characters (even if they didn’t always resemble those characters closely–see Kirby, for example). In Melee, there were Male and Female Wireframes, whose models and standard attacks were modeled after Captain Falcon and Zelda, respectively. (Neither polygons nor wireframes had any special attacks.)
Bearing this precedent in mind, we can take a look at the different alloys and draw some comparisons:
<p align="center"><img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/various21_080108b-l.jpg" /></p>
The Red Alloy certainly resembles Captain Falcon, even though he hasn’t yet been confirmed as a playable character (not that I doubt he will be). The shoulder pads certainly make it look a lot like Falcon, anyway, and the alloy’s stance resembles Falcon’s model.
<p align="center"><img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/various21_080108c-l.jpg" /></p>
The Blue Alloy too still resembles Zelda, though a number of people seem to think it could also be Zero Suit Samus. I think the color might be making that the more obvious of the two to choose from, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they stuck with Zelda.
<p align="center"><img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/various21_080108d-l.jpg" /></p>
The Yellow Alloy looks a lot like Mario to me, based on his size and proportions. I would assume the horns are just aesthetic and don’t actually play a role in fighting it (also suggesting that the original model doesn’t need to have horns, either).
<p align="center"><img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/various21_080108e-l.jpg" /></p>
The last alloy you’ll have to fight is the Green Alloy. I think Sakurai puts it best:
<blockquote>Green Alloy! It may look like Kirby, but it’s not him!</blockquote>
Of course it’s “not him,” it’s a Green Alloy. But Sakurai doesn’t make mention of any of the model-analysis above, so it’s definitely reasonable to think that the Green Alloy, as its appearance suggests, is indeed based off of Kirby.
Sakurai is continuing the theme of co-op play with Multi-Man Brawl as well, as it turns out you’ll be able to play with a friend either in person or online.
<p align="center"><img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/various21_080108g-l.jpg" /></p>
One interesting tidbit here is that Sakurai reveals the “With Friends” menu for the first time. Although neat to finally see, it does seem to suggest that only Home Run Contest and Multi-Man Brawl will be available for online co-op play. Target Smash and Adventure Mode, though offering co-op play, are nowhere to be found on the menu.
<p align="center"><img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/various21_080108h-l.jpg" /></p>
Not a bad update on the whole; I think I’ll like the Fighting Alloy Team a bit more than I cared for the wireframes. It’s a bit of a shame to see that these are the only modes you’ll be able to play online, but thinking it through, Subspace with a friend over the Internet might get a bit too involved. Choosing whose game to play through, for example, could get complicated or confusing, but since you can do it in person it might’ve been nice to be able to do it online. Target Smash, though, could be treacherous, depending on how the game handles lag. Since the whole point of the mode is to break targets quickly, it would seem that accomplishing that in online play would be too much to ask for.
<p align="center"><img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/various21_080108f-l.jpg" /></p>
At a glance, this mode appears to be virtually identical to its Melee counterpart:
<p align="center"><img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/various21_080108a-l.jpg" /></p>
As a number of Smash fans know, these “Fighting _____ Teams” have a history of being heavily modeled off of playable characters. In Super Smash Bros., the polygon team had counterparts in each of the playable characters (even if they didn’t always resemble those characters closely–see Kirby, for example). In Melee, there were Male and Female Wireframes, whose models and standard attacks were modeled after Captain Falcon and Zelda, respectively. (Neither polygons nor wireframes had any special attacks.)
Bearing this precedent in mind, we can take a look at the different alloys and draw some comparisons:
<p align="center"><img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/various21_080108b-l.jpg" /></p>
The Red Alloy certainly resembles Captain Falcon, even though he hasn’t yet been confirmed as a playable character (not that I doubt he will be). The shoulder pads certainly make it look a lot like Falcon, anyway, and the alloy’s stance resembles Falcon’s model.
<p align="center"><img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/various21_080108c-l.jpg" /></p>
The Blue Alloy too still resembles Zelda, though a number of people seem to think it could also be Zero Suit Samus. I think the color might be making that the more obvious of the two to choose from, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they stuck with Zelda.
<p align="center"><img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/various21_080108d-l.jpg" /></p>
The Yellow Alloy looks a lot like Mario to me, based on his size and proportions. I would assume the horns are just aesthetic and don’t actually play a role in fighting it (also suggesting that the original model doesn’t need to have horns, either).
<p align="center"><img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/various21_080108e-l.jpg" /></p>
The last alloy you’ll have to fight is the Green Alloy. I think Sakurai puts it best:
<blockquote>Green Alloy! It may look like Kirby, but it’s not him!</blockquote>
Of course it’s “not him,” it’s a Green Alloy. But Sakurai doesn’t make mention of any of the model-analysis above, so it’s definitely reasonable to think that the Green Alloy, as its appearance suggests, is indeed based off of Kirby.
Sakurai is continuing the theme of co-op play with Multi-Man Brawl as well, as it turns out you’ll be able to play with a friend either in person or online.
<p align="center"><img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/various21_080108g-l.jpg" /></p>
One interesting tidbit here is that Sakurai reveals the “With Friends” menu for the first time. Although neat to finally see, it does seem to suggest that only Home Run Contest and Multi-Man Brawl will be available for online co-op play. Target Smash and Adventure Mode, though offering co-op play, are nowhere to be found on the menu.
<p align="center"><img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/various21_080108h-l.jpg" /></p>
Not a bad update on the whole; I think I’ll like the Fighting Alloy Team a bit more than I cared for the wireframes. It’s a bit of a shame to see that these are the only modes you’ll be able to play online, but thinking it through, Subspace with a friend over the Internet might get a bit too involved. Choosing whose game to play through, for example, could get complicated or confusing, but since you can do it in person it might’ve been nice to be able to do it online. Target Smash, though, could be treacherous, depending on how the game handles lag. Since the whole point of the mode is to break targets quickly, it would seem that accomplishing that in online play would be too much to ask for.
