Such a fierce, if ultimately trivial debate, I must partake.
I loved melee, I really did, but at times it got a tad predictable. These moves combo at these percents, this move kill at this percent. It seems to me that the players who mastered melee seemed to become masters of repetition. Since the engine was predictable you got predictability in character selection, play styles, and tactics. I am not claiming that these players lacked skill, in fact I think to be a top melee players requires disgusting dexterity. But melee tended not to challenge players in their adaptability or versatility.
I am fairly sure Nintendo's goal with Brawl was to provide more organic gameplay. Things like tripping and the reduced stun time are all designed to hinder what made top melee players so skilled and I think it is only natural that so many melee players feel angry about this. After all they spent days learning how to perfectly to reflector stun, wavedash, reflector stun, etc.
Instead Nintendo is encouraging new skills in players. First and foremost is memory. You now not only need to consciously remember what moves you have used but what moves your opponent used and factor this into your current tactics. The game as gained a stronger cerebral component and has a reduced autonomic element.
But as of yet people have yet to realize that a game can be deep in other ways besides have complex 'techniques'. The absurd amount of posts about this new move and that new move seem to demonstrate people are still stuck in this mind set.
And Alberta strikes again! *high five*
The thing is, it is true that the new elements in Brawl, such as memory, remembering what moves you did, factoring them into current tactics, and all the other fancy dancy words you put in (you're 100% right though) have the potential to be explored further in Brawl then they were in Melee.
The problem with some people though is that despite the new front of strategies and things to explore for Brawl, as a competitive game anew. Do people even
want to move on and try these methods over other tried-and-true formulas that have been in Melee? I wish I could say that a lot of people do want to give it a shot and put their heart and soul into it. But it's hard for some with the mindset of Melee and the legacy that's been established for seven long years to suddenly get a complete and total makeover with Brawl in our grasp.
That being said, I'm a Brawl supporter and will gladly accept the new style of play that needs to be implemented while playing Brawl. I have a LOT of fun and I have a feeling that once the game has settled in for a longer period of time and more people have gotten around to playing locally with others (not to say this is already happening, I'm not overlooking this) a lot more often then before, it'll get more fun, and there will be laughs all around. New strategies will form. In my mind, the development team catered to casual gameplay more.
However, they catered more to casual gameplay in Melee, and in 64 before it too. They weren't keeping the competitive aspect of the game in mind (competition to them, in my opinion, is still some multiman fights with items on and in their mind, "GETTING SERIOUS! Let's do this! I shall defeat you, Bowser!!!!"). And look what happened. LOOK at what we have been finding over the years, as a community who could make a competitive game happen if we tried hard enough. Look what we've made the Smash series into! Something competitive. Something exciting. Something absolutely intense. We as the community cater to the Smash Bros. games for TRUE competition and the mindset for it.
I disagree with tripping, but hey, I'm not the pickiest guy in the world either.
In my mind, Brawl's looking brighter then ever. We're getting some developments in tactics and mindgames already. Squirtle's unique shellshifting, the ability to practically super wavedash across the entire stage of Final Destination into an Up Smash with Squirtle, the methods of spacing air attacks while moving backwards, thus avoiding the punishment from shieldgrabbers and shield jabbing, auto cancelling, Dedede's chaingrabbing, and people can still pull off those precious Ken Combos that feel oh-so-good~ To name a few that have been created. Why have we been finding these tactics that are improving how we play?
Because we're a community who wants the best out of our competitive Smash Bros. games. Because we WANT to find new things to play with. This is why we have been discovering new things everyday! Even if some of us may have our doubts.
People, we're MAKING it happen, it's beautiful. But some of us haven't begun to open our eyes to what will happen! Yes, the tactics that gave Melee speed and Captain Falcon's nifty ability to wavedash off that platform on Yoshi's Story into a well timed Knee for the epic win are gone, but what Brawl left behind it's beginning to usher in new nooks and cranies that are just waiting to be discovered. Some of us try too hard, some of us think in the Melee mindset, and some of just don't think hard enough. It's not an
entirely new game. But it's an entirely new beginning as we work and give off that attitude of wanting to make it happen.
We wanted to make Melee happen and look what we've accomplished and established for seven years. I want to make Brawl
happen! So then I can look back at what we have all accomplished after seven long years!
It's a matter of if you guys want to make Brawl happen. Open your eyes. The journey with Melee isn't over if you don't want it to be. But now's our chance to give Super Smash Bros. Brawl an opportunity to walk the path.
Let the game march, I say.