DigitalBattle.com

When Super Smash Bros Brawl control scheme was first discussed, it was hotly debated. The team was deciding to stick with the tried and true controller button mashing formula, and was steering clear of motion control. It seemed like you would have to own a Gamecube pad to play the game. Not that there is any issues with playing the game with a Gamecube controller (it was a wonderful controller after all), the lack of confidence in the wii remote was sending a bad message. The message was that Nintendo still wasn’t sure how the wii remote would be received, and weren’t sure if they would risk one of their biggest franchises on it.

Now here we are more than half a year into the console life cycle, and the Wii is preforming strongly. Sometimes it is still debatable whether the wii remote is properly utilized in all of the best scenarios. A lot of games have, for better or for worse, tacked on motion controls instead of really designing it from the ground up. In these situations all that is happening is wiggling (or waggling) the wii remote just replaces a button press, and that’s not really intuitive.

Smash Bros. is a great example, because as a fighter game, it’s all about button combinations and quick reflexes. The team must have been frightened about taking this sort of route, and making it just another game that has half-assed controls.

But we all know things have changed since then, the Wii is a market leader in every sense of the word, only dominated by the Nintendo DS. It’s not because of games like Smash Bros. that the Wii is where it is today, but because of the few good games (Wii Sports) that have properly implemented the Wii remote, demonstrating the full potential. The development team over at Smash Bros. has obviously taken notice of this, and has gone through a bit of a change perspective. It wasn’t a smart idea to limit the game to a gamecube pad, when a large majority of current Wii owners probably don’t have a set at hand. On the other hand, for the hardcore player, a gamecube pad might provide for a better experience, or it might not, depending on how things work out.

It’s great to see that all four control schemes will be usable in the game. It seems a little over the top, but it provides the type of option that Smash Bros. just screams for. People will have preferences, and options are good, as long as one of the control schemes isn’t considered broken. The biggest question mark will always be the Wii remote motion controller, as the button mashing is a tried and true formula. It’s wonderful though to see Nintendo’s new acceptance, and a solution that absolutely everyone can appreciate.