Question about the competitiveness of Brawl

[Commando]

Hey, so I heard that Brawl is not a really competitive game compared to Melee, so I was thinking about getting Melee. What is it about Brawl that makes it non competitive compared to Melee? Should I get Melee? Or should I spend that money on Injustice (lol totally unrelated)?

I have no intention of getting ssb4 for a few years, as I don't have a Wii U or 3DS.

 

[I.S FoxMkloud]

I don't think Brawl is not competitive compared to Melee at all but different people have different opinions. I think devoted Melee crowd don't like Brawl because of it removed some techs and changed to "wonky" physics or something that's what I heard at least. And of course, there's tripping. I don't think it has happened to me as much since I played with competitive people which kinda re-configured how I move.
Anyways, the point is, if you want something technical (I suppose), get Melee. If not, get Brawl since I think two games are almost equal in competitiveness and in its attendance in tourneys most of the time. By the way, I think Injustice is fun but I don't know if I will be getting one myself. I mean, I played it on my friend's Xbox and had fun but I am not sure if I want to get it just because one occasion was fun. Blocking by moving backwards concept is little weird to me.

 

[TreK]

'More competitive' has no real meaning. Both communities are about equal in size and activity, but both games have really different playstyles, so you should know what you are getting into :

-Melee has an emphasis on offense due to numerous movement techniques, more than in any other game out there. Its combos consist in short guaranteed situational strings that you can link together given that you perform the correct guess. It is highly technical and thus it is advised to stay focused on one character, whereas in Brawl it is a viable strategy to compete with a main and a secondary character (this is tending to become false as players get better though). In fact it is so technical that it takes usually 4 years to get good at Melee, when it takes half that to get good at Brawl (exceptions happen of course). Offstage play is a legit thing in Melee, and it makes landing a killing move much less of a chore than in Brawl.
-Brawl has a better shield and you survive much longer, which makes it a much more defensive game. The hitstun is very low, which means that every single one of your moves is a reset (that said, most characters in the top tier have legitimate combos and that's one reason they are above the rest). Brawl is played in tournaments on much more numerous stages (6 for Melee, 11 for Brawl usually). Wifi is terrible, but it's there, so you aren't doomed to stay bad if you live far from any other competitive player.

As for Injustice, we can't really tell how it is going to grow. The positive thing is that unlike with smash games, the skill you'll earn in Injustice will translate into skill in other fighting games. So even if it turns out to be filled with infinites, stupid matchups and bad DLC decisions, dropping it won't be that bothersome.

 

[Vale]

A game is as competitive as the players make it. You could theoretically have competitive single-player Tetris tournaments. As stated by Teneban, Brawl is considerably slower and has fewer legitimate combos. If you have a community that is going to be playing with you, then you might find Melee a better option (of course, try to see what they would be more interested in, as the more players you can get, the better). Another question to consider is how far you are willing to go to play competitively. If you plan to be on a fairly local level, you'd need to get in touch with a TO to see what the stagelist looks like, as it can vary from a strict three stages (Battlefield, Smashville, Final Destination), to much more liberal lists that include stages such as Jungle Japes and Rainbow Cruise.

 

[Elyssa Xey Hexen]

Hey, so I heard that Brawl is not a really competitive game compared to Melee, so I was thinking about getting Melee. What is it about Brawl that makes it non competitive compared to Melee? Should I get Melee? Or should I spend that money on Injustice (lol totally unrelated)?

I have no intention of getting ssb4 for a few years, as I don't have a Wii U or 3DS.

I agree with the idea of “competitiveness”? Although, I think there is certainly a lot to be said about the games giving two completely different experiences.

From trying to play both games equally with devotion, melee ended up being much more satisfying. Pretty much you’ll be able to pick-up brawl and have all the tech skill you will ever need for years to come. The rest of the game is really just decision making and your ability to handle a human opponent. Melee was more rewarding because it was a long term challenge. It is not something you’ll be able to master in a number of months. Not only is there the opponent element to play against, but you play against yourself more often too than in brawl. Again, consistency is difficult to achieve in melee while it is pretty damn easy in brawl.

The actual reason for picking one or the other I would say should be whichever you’ll end up playing with other people more. If you honestly want to play a smash game for a competitive experience while still enjoying either one you should go with the one which you have access to other players. My guess is you probably do not know anyone in your general area will likely settle with brawl for wifi access lol The story of thousands.