It’s finally here, and the wait was worth it. Super Smash Bros. Brawl has been teetering on the edge of release for the past few months, and for those who aren’t friendly with a game importer this is their first taste of what Japan has been lording over us for the past few months. This installment of the series plugs in a few new features, characters, and stages to make this the best Smash Bros. yet.

Yeah, there will still be those that hold onto the days of Melee and its glory, but it is time to move on and accept the beauty that is Brawl. There are a bunch of new characters to make this a nicely rounded out experience. Ike, from Fire Emblem, is basically a tank. He swings his big sword with ease and will make short work of most foes with a well placed smash attack. Solid Snake works his magic with an arsenal of rockets, grenades, and his trusty choke hold. While a bit slow, there isn’t a moment where he feels out of place in the game. Pit, from Kid Icarus, is a fun addition with his dual blades and his wings and can be effective in practically any fight. Meta Knight, my personal choice for best new character, is quick and a joy to use. He is very effective at being a nuisance in a fight with his lightning fast attacks and speed. Sonic is there, and is a pushover, plain and simple. His attacks can do their job, but when placed in the face of any of the other characters, with the exception of maybe ROB, he is simply useless.

These are the more major additions to the list. Diddy Kong and Wario finally make the cut, along with about 4 new Pokemon. Three of them are embodied in the faceless Pokemon trainer, who has the help of Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard in battle. There are of course more characters which have made the cut, but people like Wolf and the wussy Lucas are more clones of Fox and Ness than anything. Yes, Jigglypuff is back, and just as worthless as ever, and Olimar joins his ranks as quite possibly one of the worst additions to the series.

Gameplay thankfully hasn’t changed, which means this jump won’t be much of a shock to the veterans of the series. The best option for playing is obviously the Gamecube controller, which works the best with its comfortable control scheme. Using the Wiimote sideways, the Wiimote/nunchuk combo, and the classic controller are all of the other options, but they all feel rather awkward and require learning a new scheme to play, which is just annoying.