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| - Items are more than staples in the Smash series. You see - staples can easily be removed... yes, rather, Items are cemented permanently into the Super Smash Bros. series, and with each new installment, more and more outrageous though equally great items are included, with the most notable this time around arguably being the Assist Trophy. The Assist Trophy is basically a Pokéball that ejects non-Pokémon species. Instead, you'll find characters such as Little Mac, Gray Fox (Metal Gear), Jill (Drill Dozer) and a multitude of others that'll, as the name implies, assist your character. The effects vary greatly - Like the Pokéball Pokémon, the character that is released is random, though essentially everyone will help the player who threw the item. Some will be mere distractions to all, though, such as the Nintendog, though others will pummel your opponents dramatically such as Samurai Goroh and the Advance Wars army. It's sure to be engaging to unleash the multiple different powers that await, and probably more-so than the Pokéball to fans who don't care too much about the successful Pokémon series, but rather want helpers from other series to join the fray. It also gives minor characters a chance to appear, such as Waluigi. Although you can throw a Pokéball to activate it, you need to stand on a platform to activate the Assist Trophy. Another new addition is the Smash Ball, something that is desired among all players. While fighting, the Smash Ball will randomly enter the stage. It's almost imminent that every person fighting will notice the luminous sphere drifting slowly in the wind, and this will be showcased when the whole gang clashes to come in possession of what has been deemed as "the most powerful item in the game" - Bentendo. When it was first announced, you could easily get the weapon by just touching it, though they've included a much more demanding process - rather than touching it, you'll actually have to execute attacks that inflict damage upon the item. Once the item has been attacked enough times, the player who hit it last will start to shine. Following this, you'll be able to execute it..., oh the power! Each character has an exclusive attack that the Smash Ball will allow them to perform appropriately called a Final Smash. Some seem to be more vicious than others, and some seem to be more enjoyable to do. But it's a given fact that you should be afraid of whomever has a Smash Ball - as it's a sure thing that the ensuing attack will more than likely send you or one of your comrades/adversaries soaring off of the stage. Now, it's debatable whether or not the Smash Ball is the most damaging item, as while I was writing this article, another weapon completely abandoned my considerably tiny brain - the Dragoon. The name itself will probably provoke anyone, and that's certainly understandable. I've come to accept that Dragoons are powerhouses in video games - in the Final Fantasy series, they're a more than powerful class that I always want on my team, though this particular item is from the Kirby series; Kirby's Air Ride to be exact. Nevertheless, as incredible as the item is, it'll take a bit of effort to unleash its fury - you'll have to find all three parts of it. Once you do, however, just aim towards and opponent and shoot - it should be pretty clear by now that the attack that follows will essentially be an instant K.O. There are plenty of other new additions that are worth noting. The Gooey Bomb will stick onto enemies if thrown at them, though they're capable of passing it along by touching you. After awhile it'll explode, delivering damage to whomever it's stuck to. The Smart Bomb from the Star Fox series makes an explosive entry, and is a bomb that can be tossed at enemies. The Crates will now look differently depending on which stage it's on - on the Lylat Cruise, it'll be metallic, while on Yoshi's Island they'll look like presents, fitting in with the theme of the level. Sliding crates with wheels are also added to the mix and players can now stand on them. While you're probably most interested in the new additions rather than the returning elements, I'm sure it's worth noting the new Pokémon that are going to join the returning ones as well. Groudon and Kyogre, mascots of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and two of the best legendary species in the series make an appearance along with fellow 3rd generation legendary Deoxys. Newcomers of the fourth generation like Weavile, Piplup and Munchlax, and many others. It should also be remembered that Meowth is returning from the original Super Smash Bros. video game. It's a wonder that it was taken out of Melee, but nonetheless it's great that it's back! More items, or prizes to be specific, are also present that can't be used on stages. These include trophies, stickers, and CDs. Trophies were introduced in Melee, while the other two are new to the series. They can all be found by doing various challenges - the former two can be collected through a game called the Coin Launcher, in which you thrust coins you've found in the game towards on coming trophies and stickers in order to collect them. There are multiple other ways to get these items as well, such as through grabbing them in Vs. matches, beating Challenges in Challenge mode, playing the Subspace Emissary and using Spectator mode. These prizes immensely increase the replay value of the game. Trophies were a gold mine of Nintendo memorabilia in Melee and will return for a similar purpose in Brawl. Trophies are basically 3D models of various characters or elements from Nintendo with an accompanying description. As mentioned above there are several ways to obtain trophies but one very unique way is through the use of trophy stands. You see, in the Subspace Emissary all the characters are actually living trophies, so an item is included called a trophy stand that is used to capture enemies in a sense. When thrown at an enemy with low health the trophy stand turns the enemy back into a trophy which is much like death. However, grabbing an enemy after successfully using the trophy stand adds that trophy to your collection. This allows huge replay value to Brawl's story mode just to collect all the enemy trophies. Stickers were considered an odd collectible at first but their purpose is now known. Originally stickers were just shown to be, well, stickers of very specific Nintendo characters or elements that would not be seen anywhere else in the game. The stickers could be viewed in an album or set to a background and have snapshots taken of them. However a recent update on Dojo revealed the their actual purpose was to be equippable items of a sort for characters in the Subspace Emissary. Exclusively in the story mode the stickers can be attached to the playable characters trophy stand and give them power ups such as +5 damage for fire attacks etc. Music fans will be most pleased with the new My Music and Sound Test features in Brawl that lets players select what songs play on which stages and listen to music tracks freely. The CD, mentioned earlier, will add a music track to to these features allowing much variety in the songs played on stages. This is a welcomed addition to Brawl since there were usually only two tracks per stage in Melee.
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