SmashBros.com Roundup: 2/25 – 2/29

2/25/08: Master Hand

The original villain makes his return for Brawl, as the final boss of Classic mode. Nothing in the update indicates that he’s changed from his appearance in Melee, however. Crazy Hand, its left-hand counterpart, will also appear if you get to the final level in Hard mode, or in under 9 minutes. The only real new information from this update is that Master Hand makes an appearance in the Subspace Emissary.

2/26/08: Pikachu’s Special Moves

While Pikachu’s special moves also are not different from before, the update had a few interesting elements to note regardless. First off, Pikachu’s side-smash attack will initially do 20% damage – a very powerful hit. Immediately after, though, its strength will decrease to 17%, then 14%. The update also had a note regarding Quick Attack, Pikachu’s up+B special – if you want to do a second jump, you need to tilt the Control Stick in another direction that’s at least a 38 degree angle from the original direction; doing so can let you jump about this high. Lastly noted was that Pikachu’s Thunder attack (down+B) is most powerful if an enemy is touching Pikachu when it hits.

2/26/08: Samus’s Special Moves

Samus is one of a few veterans who’s had a slight change-up in her special moves, as can be seen above. In addition to regular Missiles, which will home in on enemies, Samus now has more-powerful Super Missiles; to perform this attack, you should "do a side smash move and hold the special-move button. If you’re using the Wii Remote held sideways, press and hold the 1 Button and the direction". The update also noted that Samus has no moves for launching enemies upward – be careful if playing on Shadow Moses Island.

2/27/08: Clear %

This element of the Subspace Emissary shows how much of the game you have completed, but there’s more to getting 100% than just beating all the levels. According to the update, in order to get 100%, you must clear all the stages, enter all doors, collect all the orange cubes, and get all the character trophies (which Sakurai declined to elaborate on). Any cleared stage will receive a flag; any completely cleared stage will sport a crown, as seen here. If you manage to get 100% completion, you’ll receive a bonus.

I like the inclusion of Super Missiles; I wonder how that’ll change playing as Samus.

Spoiler updates are ahead.

2/28/08: Lucario

Lucario is the first hidden newcomer to be shown on the Dojo; he is unlocked by playing 100 Brawls, clearing Target Smash on all difficulties, or getting far enough in the Subspace Emissary. He plays similarly to Mewtwo, but there are some key differences. The most notable feature about Lucario is his aura; the higher Lucario’s damage goes, the bigger his aura grows, and the more powerful his attacks become. Lucario also has a rather long reach.

Lucario’s standard special is the Aura Sphere, a large ball of energy he charges up then throws. The size of the fully-charged sphere depends on the Aura; it could go from medium-sized to quite large. His side+B special is Force Palm, an Aura attack that can be either a short-range or long-range attack. The down+B special is Double Team, which is a standard counterattack; use when an enemy strikes, and you’ll strike back. His Final Smash is Aura Storm, a large ray of energy that he fires from above; you can control where it’s pointing with the Control Stick.

2/29/08: Spear Pillar

Spear Pillar hails from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, and is the location where you find the respective legendary Pokémon; it consists of an upper level and a cave underneath. As you battle on this stage, Dialga (a time-warping Pokémon) and Palkia (a space-warping Pokémon) will occasionally appear, causing effects such as a giant horizontal or vertical laser beam, the destruction of the floor, the tilting of the stage sideways or upside-down, or the slowing of time. Occasionally, a Pokémon named Cresselia will appear instead of Dialga or Palkia, and there are occasional appearances from the lake spirit Pokémon Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf.

Lucario looks fun to play as, even if he’s partially derived from Mewtwo. His Aura could do some serious damage later on in matches.