Brawl Rant 2.0

Well, we now know everything. So what do I think? Well, feelings are mixed. I will say that I am quite pleased, for the most part, with the stage selection. Let's face it: it's HUGE!! 41 stages, a huge selection of new stages and a bunch of old favorites from Melee. That being said, I think they should have included some Smash 64 stages (Hyrule Castle and Saffron City, anyone?). Still, a great selection overall. Rating the stages (and characters) I will use a scale of common terminology from the interwebs: from EPIC WIN to UBER FAIL. I'd have to give the stages an EPIC WIN. Great stuff here, plus you can design your own.

Now, the part everyone wants to hear about: the fighters. There is uproar and anarchy in the streets over the "clones". Let me break it down for you:

Ness. No one expected Ness to return. I didn't. Even though he's back, he's technically not a clone. Yes, he's an unlockable character, but if anyone is the clone it's Lucas. Ness came first, therefore he can't be a clone. Stop complaining and deal with it. Technically, this time around there are no clones in the traditional sense. They are semi-clones. Cloned character's standard attacks are completely different, and special attacks have different properties. Lucas is basically Ness for the common man. Not many used Ness, and he's still plays the same, but Lucas is fairly easier to use.

Ganondorf is 95% more badass this time around, but unfortunately still a semi-clone. His special attacks have changed slightly to try and further himself from Captain Falcon. His attacks seem cooler this time around and his final smash is awesome (TP Ganon). I was both disappointed and relieved at the same time when I found out Ganondorf was still a clone. I was hoping he'd have new moves but, at the same time, I was relieved because I was kind of sad that my good 'ol Ganon would be different. Well, he's both. And I don't mind.

R.O.B. was a big WTF character that no one expected, but he actually looks like a rather good character. I'll go more in depth about him in later updates, but for now just know that he does not suck.

Marth is back and his attacks are slightly altered. For the better, as far as I know. He now stabs forward for his standard 'B' attack. He also has the most powerful final smash of anyone, known as the 'fatal strike'.

Luigi's back and hes been cheated out of his vacuum. He does, however, win the craziest final smash award. He goes on some kind of crazy shroom drug trip. It's awesome. You've just got to see it for yourself. But now is not the time. A later update.

Lucario is a semi-replacement for Mewtwo. He has similar attacks, but is different enough to be his own man. He actually looks more accessible and easier to play than Mewtwo was. He's got what I call a "final flash" as a final smash attack.

The bacon returns! Mr. Game and Watch is back! He seems more or less the same. G&W turns into a giant octopus as a final smash.

The most uproar has been caused by Falco and Wolf. While both "clones" of Fox, they actually have fairly different play styles. As I said before, they all have different standard attacks, but each one has varied special attacks (except, of course, when it come to the final smash- LANDMASTER!). Falco now has super badass twin guns. His reflector is also thrown now instead of activated on his person. He may also be slightly faster. Wolf, on the other hand, is more of a power character. His gun has very short range, but is significantly stronger. His up special is not fiery, and his side move sends him up at a 20 degree angle. People need to stop complaining and deal with it.

Then there is "Toon Link". Link from the Wind Waker. His attacks are the same as Link's old attacks and he has the exact same final smash as Link does. Also, for some odd reason, he's not cell shaded. WTF!? This seems to be the most unnecessary character to me.

Just for the record, Captain Falcon is back and for his final smash he runs over everyone in his racer.

So, what do I think? I'm not disappointed. People complaining about it bothers me. You don't have to use clone characters if you don't have to, and when you think about it, there are a lot of great new fighters. I mean, come on! Snake, Sonic, Meta Knight, Pit, Diddy Kong? Awesome. The thing that baffles me is the unlockables. If it was me, I would have started out with just the basic old roster with no new fighters. You'd have to unlock almost everybody. I'd probably have Mario, DK, Link, Samus, Kirby, Fox, Picachu, and Yoshi to start off. I think it would be a lot more interesting that way. There's not that many unlockable characters to begin with. Starting with the same amount of characters as the entire roster from the last game seems ridiculous to me. Overall, though, I think it's a pretty good selection with plenty of new fighters. People need to stop complaining about it. After everyone gets the game, no one will care any more. Five years from now, no one will care. Everyone should just have fun with it because, frankly, this game is going to be incredible regardless of how many clones there are. I give the roster a WIN.