Super Smash Brothers Brawl Character Review - Who's the Best Character?

With the eagerly anticipated release of the Nintendo Wii hit-game Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Smash Brothers fans lined up for the midnight release on the 9th of March, just a day ago. The American release had been highly anticipated and the few hours of game play and viewing that I have been able to fit in have yielded this character review.

No doubt there will be plenty of discussion in the weeks and months ahead about who the best characters in the game are. This article doesn't look at the gameplay (which is excellent), or the music (equally so), or the graphics (not amazing, but satisfying), but instead looks at basic things to look for in finding your best character. After all, you don't want to be embarrassed when you play your friends. Better to be the best.

Some former Smash players will naturally be inclined to play their former favorites. Others will be drawn to the new characters and their unique models.

As in Super Smash Brothers Melee and the previous Super Smash Brothers 64, speed and quickness are essential components to your character selection. Former players of Fox and Falco will be pleased to see that Fox, Diddy Kong, Sonic, and Squirtle (part of the Pokemon Trainer's team of pokemon, along with Charizard and Ivysaur) have the quickness and speed to perform well. Their moves are strong enough and their get-back moves good enough to be tough characters to beat.

Former players of Link, Marth, and Roy will be pleased to see these Brawl's Ike (from Fire Emblem), Pit, and Link continue the swordsman tradition. These characters are strong choices because of their melee ground range, and their relatively good quickness and speed.

The big and strong characters are in Super Smash Brothers Brawl as well. A slightly more agile Donkey Kong returns. Wario enters with his formidable farting attack and motorcycle. King Dedede (Kirby's nemesis) makes his first appearance in the Smash Brothers series. These characters have strong smash attacks but are generally slower. Timing and move-selection are crucial with these characters. If you connect a smash move, however, you can send your opponent off the map with one blow.