Ok, first, a disclaimer-there is no one correct way to play Brawl. This game is about putting a smile on your face first and foremost, and if playing Super Sudden Death in the Temple with Motion-Sensor Bombs set to high is your cup of tea, then more power to you. Conversely, if you can't imagine doing anything but one-on-one matches on Final Destination, then go for it. I've seen incredibly high-level play manifest itself in every mode of this game, and as long as you're having fun, your playing it right.
That said, for my dollar, it doesn't get any better than four-player matches with all items on. For me, Smash has always been a game of constant improvisation-of taking what the environment gives you and constantly making split-second decisions you've never made before. My most satisfying KOs are not ones where I string together a 12-hit combo that I memorized in Training mode-they're the ones where I do ridiculous things I'll probably never see again. Just yesterday I planted a Pitfall just as a Party Ball opened and dropped four Bob-ombs. I managed to grab Link and throw him upward, then I bounced off a Spring and dunked him onto the Pitfall, which embedded him in the ground...just as the troop of Bob-ombs lit their own fuses, wandered casually over, and blew him into the stratosphere. Those spur-of-the-moment strategies, combined with the skill to bring them into fruition, is the heart and soul of the game for me.
Those technical skills are essential, of course-there's nothing worse than seeing what could be a brilliant string and lacking the ability to pull it off. First and foremost, you have to know your character. No, actually, scratch that-you have to know all the characters. Truly understanding your enemy begins with fighting a mile in his or her shoes, and the better you are with all the characters, the more deeply you'll understand their weaknesses. If you play enough with everyone, you'll know attack patterns, move speeds, and most importantly, hit priority. How you stack up in every situation-in midair, on level ground, on high ground, on low ground-is crucial, and knowing that your up midair attack will trump their down midair attack could be the difference between a successful juggle and an embarrassing KO. Knowing all your moves and utilizing them all is also vital because the game does not reward stale moves-if you use the same move too many times it does less damage and knockback, so it behooves you to vary it as much as possible.
There are also little things that you should master. Ukemi, for one-this is named for a judo move where you absorb the momentum of an enemy's attack by falling correctly. In Smash, this means simply pressing a shield button at the exact moment you hit the ground, ceiling, or wall. Instead of bouncing wildly around, you cancel all momentum and spring off the surface, reading to fight. You need to master air dodging too-while you're much more at the mercy of gravity than you were in Melee, you can air-dodge many times in a row, so use your frames of invincibility to maximum effect while recovering or while avoiding Final Smashes. You're not just invincible while air- air ground-dodging, either-you get many frames of invincibility while grabbing or climbing an edge, or getting up from lying prone. Master the timing of these, and not only will you break up people's attacks with invincible priority, but you'll even be able to survive dire situations, like a Gooey Bomb on your face.
I'd definitely recommend reading through the Dojo simply because Sakurai-san has basically set it up as a massive manual for the game, so you can learn a lot about the intricacies of each character there. Beyond that, just play, play, play. And dunk people whenever possible
