Smash rocks. The game not only works amazingly well, but it has withstood the test of time. We all know how varied the stages/characters/items are, but what makes Smash truly work are sometimes the small “invisible” touches. I call these “The Little Things.”
Have you ever noticed that when you’re hit by an enemy, your character automatically turns around to face them? Why didn’t Sakurai make it to where the characters don’t flip around automatically so we can punish opponents by repeatedly attacking their backs? It’s all about balance and flow. Smash has a variety of counter attack methods such as shield grabbing. However, you can only shield grab in the direction you’re facing. If an enemy hits you from behind with successive attacks, after the first, you’ll be flipped around to face your enemy and you might be able to slip in a shield grab.
Though I think this “auto turn” was necessary for Melee, I see it changing somewhat for Brawl. Maybe with the new “shields” things will be a little more intuitive this time around. Maybe consecutively attacking your opponents backs will be added to make it easier to keep opponents off their toes. If Sakurai takes out shields and replaces them with more “natural” shields and defensive stances, the whole game will be opened up in an unexpected way.
<!--more-->For example. Link’s Hylian Shield in Melee automatically blocks projectiles. This shield is only active when you’re on the ground and you’re not touching the control stick. Why did they make it only block projectiles? Would it be too good otherwise? Well, Link isn’t exactly high tier. Perhaps they changed what his shield could block during the balancing phase of development. However, if Brawl is doing away with shields, then maybe we’ll see a return and upgrade of this feature. In the pictures below, the shield on links back should protect him in this stance.
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/basic04_070705d-l.jpg" title="basic04_070705d-l.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/basic04_070705d-l.jpg" alt="basic04_070705d-l.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/super-smash-bros-brawl-20070809084919556.jpg" title="super-smash-bros-brawl-20070809084919556.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/super-smash-bros-brawl-20070809084919556.jpg" alt="super-smash-bros-brawl-20070809084919556.jpg" height="331" width="402" /></a></p>
<p align="center"> </p>
<p align="left">What if when Link charged his forward smash and his sword would act like a small pointy shield? Doesn’t that only make sense? The sword is being held out in front of him is it not? Shouldn’t it be able to block something? If they add “little things” like this to Brawl, the game will be a lot more intuitive and interesting. This would give link’s forward smash a clear advantage over Marth’s. When Marth charges his sword, he doesn’t hold it in front of him defensively the same way link does.</p>
<p align="center"> <a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/ike_070807e-l.jpg" title="ike_070807e-l.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/ike_070807e-l.jpg" alt="ike_070807e-l.jpg" /> </a><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/pit_070809d-l.jpg" title="pit_070809d-l.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/pit_070809d-l.jpg" alt="pit_070809d-l.jpg" /></a></p>
<p align="left"> Going with this new shield idea, Ike’s Eruption attack should act like a shield as he pulls it out of the ground. This would make his attack very dynamic as it switches between offense and defense. If you think I’m taking things too far, just think about some of the moves from the best Melee characters. Fox’s shine has a hit box and a reflecting box. The normal hit box comes out first followed a few frames later by the reflecting hit box. This makes Fox’s move dynamic and effective in a wide range of situations. Fox can use his reflector to stall in the air, attack, defend, reflect, and spike. HOW AWESOME! So, I believe that Sakurai should make all moves (all B moves especially) as dynamic as some of the high tier moves from Melee.</p>
<p align="left"> Changing everything a little…well…. changes everything. It’s that simple.</p>
<p align="left"> </p>
Have you ever noticed that when you’re hit by an enemy, your character automatically turns around to face them? Why didn’t Sakurai make it to where the characters don’t flip around automatically so we can punish opponents by repeatedly attacking their backs? It’s all about balance and flow. Smash has a variety of counter attack methods such as shield grabbing. However, you can only shield grab in the direction you’re facing. If an enemy hits you from behind with successive attacks, after the first, you’ll be flipped around to face your enemy and you might be able to slip in a shield grab.
Though I think this “auto turn” was necessary for Melee, I see it changing somewhat for Brawl. Maybe with the new “shields” things will be a little more intuitive this time around. Maybe consecutively attacking your opponents backs will be added to make it easier to keep opponents off their toes. If Sakurai takes out shields and replaces them with more “natural” shields and defensive stances, the whole game will be opened up in an unexpected way.
<!--more-->For example. Link’s Hylian Shield in Melee automatically blocks projectiles. This shield is only active when you’re on the ground and you’re not touching the control stick. Why did they make it only block projectiles? Would it be too good otherwise? Well, Link isn’t exactly high tier. Perhaps they changed what his shield could block during the balancing phase of development. However, if Brawl is doing away with shields, then maybe we’ll see a return and upgrade of this feature. In the pictures below, the shield on links back should protect him in this stance.
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/basic04_070705d-l.jpg" title="basic04_070705d-l.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/basic04_070705d-l.jpg" alt="basic04_070705d-l.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/super-smash-bros-brawl-20070809084919556.jpg" title="super-smash-bros-brawl-20070809084919556.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/super-smash-bros-brawl-20070809084919556.jpg" alt="super-smash-bros-brawl-20070809084919556.jpg" height="331" width="402" /></a></p>
<p align="center"> </p>
<p align="left">What if when Link charged his forward smash and his sword would act like a small pointy shield? Doesn’t that only make sense? The sword is being held out in front of him is it not? Shouldn’t it be able to block something? If they add “little things” like this to Brawl, the game will be a lot more intuitive and interesting. This would give link’s forward smash a clear advantage over Marth’s. When Marth charges his sword, he doesn’t hold it in front of him defensively the same way link does.</p>
<p align="center"> <a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/ike_070807e-l.jpg" title="ike_070807e-l.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/ike_070807e-l.jpg" alt="ike_070807e-l.jpg" /> </a><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/pit_070809d-l.jpg" title="pit_070809d-l.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/pit_070809d-l.jpg" alt="pit_070809d-l.jpg" /></a></p>
<p align="left"> Going with this new shield idea, Ike’s Eruption attack should act like a shield as he pulls it out of the ground. This would make his attack very dynamic as it switches between offense and defense. If you think I’m taking things too far, just think about some of the moves from the best Melee characters. Fox’s shine has a hit box and a reflecting box. The normal hit box comes out first followed a few frames later by the reflecting hit box. This makes Fox’s move dynamic and effective in a wide range of situations. Fox can use his reflector to stall in the air, attack, defend, reflect, and spike. HOW AWESOME! So, I believe that Sakurai should make all moves (all B moves especially) as dynamic as some of the high tier moves from Melee.</p>
<p align="left"> Changing everything a little…well…. changes everything. It’s that simple.</p>
<p align="left"> </p>