Hey.
I've been lurking around these parts for years now, but never officially joined until this thread popped up. It's too interesting to pass up!
Let me say first that Super Smash Bros. has to be my favorite game series, and I'm not at all worried about Smash Bros Brawl sucking. In fact, I'm completely pumped for it! It looks to be the best of both titles, and MORE!
With that out of the way, there are only a few things I am worried about:
(1) I want the characters chosen to be in the game to be cool, interesting, and most importantly, have great fighting moves! All the characters shown so far look awesome, and look even better in action. (There are, of course, certain characters that I hope will appear in the game, but I won't get into that, since there is already a separate board for character discussion)
I'm mainly hoping all of them have attacks that hit hard and very useful special moves. I'll admit, I was a bit dissapointed in some of Smash Bros. Melee's characters...Some characters were too heavy and slow, others were too light and weak, and many of the moves were too unwieldy or based entirely on chance. I hope that this time around, things will be more balanced, and every character will have a fighting chance.
(2) I'm a bit worried that sword-wielding characters may dominate the game, considering that in addition to moderate strength, they have an extra "reach" with their attacks; their swords allow them to attack foes at a little bit of an extra distance, protecting themselves and keeping the enemy at bay (See: Marth).
The lightning-quick blade attacks of Pit and Meta Knight (as shown it the game footage) may worsen the problem, allowing them to land a rapid succession of hits on the enemy without having to get too close. (Added with their extra jumps, they look like they could become almost unstoppable...)
(3) A more powerful glitch may be discovered present in the game, effectively stunting what could be a thriving online community, and "breaking" the game's balance, despite the best efforts of Mr. Sakurai and his dedicated studio...
Don't get me wrong! I'm not against the use of glitches, but I AM against a player's skill being judged based entirely on whether or not they use these glitches. Wavedashing and the other glitches seem okay, but from reading many of the posts here, it's giving me worries that glitches may dominate Smash Bros. Brawl much in the way "snaking" dominated Mario Kart DS, perhaps even worse...
It's much more interesting to play a game where each player comes up with their own unique combos and attack strategies with their character of choice, and use their own mastery of their favorite character's moves to adapt to any situation!
I don't want to be confined to using the same 3 characters on the same flat, eventless stage. I want to be able to win against ANY opponent using ANY character, on ANY stage!
In short, I want balance.
I'm not too worried about it, though. I believe in Mr. Sakurai and 'The Studio', and I'm sure they will come up with another hit!
As for Dylan, I'm thinking the reason you're so against Brawl is because you've spent a lot of time and energy honing your skills in Melee to get as close as you can to fighting perfection, and you aren't ready to give it all up and start from scratch. That's entirely understandable, but that's no reason to write Brawl off as inferior before you've even played it. You've go to stop looking at it from such a negative perspective.
The "slowed down" speed of the game gives it a more controlled pace, which I believe takes some of the emphasis off of speed, and will allow players more freedom to plan out their moves, and more control over the battles. Adding this with the "freeze-frames"(which adds that satisfying "crunch" to a move) will open the door for devastating combos and chain attacks. A 'slower' pace means players will be able to savor the action!
The roll seems to have been retooled so that is now lightning-quick, almost identical to wavedashing. You'll still be able to sweep around the stage, but now with a more convenient button command that anyone can access! This will help level the playing field, and will bring out healthier competition for those looking for a challenge. (Though the roll may seem to not cover all of wavedashings uses, the multitude of new moves and features should more than make up for it. We've only seen a small bit of the game, so there's no telling what other surprises may be in store...)
Don't forget that Mr. Sakurai has also mentioned a new focus on aerial combat. Something like that will undoubtedly add an all new depth to the gameplay. Just thinking of the possibilities is exciting! And to competitive gamers like yourself, it will be a new dimension of combat to master. Imagine mastering both air and land combat!
Just give Smash Bros. Brawl a chance. Melee isn't the end of the series. Otherwise, why would they be making another?
