This week, Basics wraps itself up completely, as two hidden characters, a hidden stage, and some new special moves are shown off.

2/19/08: Zelda’s Special Moves

Zelda hasn’t acquired any new special moves recently, though the update explains Din’s Fire in a fair amount of detail. By holding down the special move button and moving Din’s Fire about with the control stick, you can not only make it travel, but the explosion becomes more powerful. The timing is easier to dodge, however.

2/19/08: Ice Climbers’ Special Moves

Just like Zelda, the Ice Climbers have gotten little makeover from the previous game in terms of special moves; all four are the same as they were before, and the update points out the importance of keeping Nana alive, especially when using the Up+B special Belay. As seen above, though, the update pointed out that using Blizzard in the air results in the above double-strength attack. There also was a curious comment in the end about Nana wandering off.

2/21/08: Bowser’s Special Moves

Unlike the other two, Bowser has gotten one of his moves changed completely: the Koopa Klaw, which left you immobile and defenseless in the last game, has been changed to the Flying Slam. Upon grabbing your opponent, you do a high jump up in the air, then slam back down to the ground on top of your opponent in a very painful looking manner. The update also featured the Bowser Bomb, which was in Melee.

2/21/08: Meteor Smash

The last entry of Smash 101 shows off one of the most powerful concept in Smash Bros. - the fatal Meteor Smash. If an opponent is trying to get back onto the stage, you can jump in and use a midair attack (sometimes forward, sometimes down) to send them rocketing downward in a fall they cannot get out of - meaning a KO for you. This is a technique everyone will want to master.

It’s good to see them showing off Meteor Smashes, as those are really useful. I like how they buffed Bowser’s special for this game; I want to see more balance among the characters.

Spoiler entries begin here.

2/18/08: Luigi’s Mansion

The mansion makes an appearance in Brawl; you unlock it by playing as Luigi in three brawls. As far as hazards go, there’s nothing extra in the stage trying to harm you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t harm it. If you attack one of the main support beams in any room, you can bring that room crashing down; eventually you can reduce the whole mansion to rubble if you like. Though if you do, it’ll just rebuild itself after a period of time.

2/20/08: Falco

It appears that Falco hasn’t changed much from Melee either, though reports indicate he’s gotten a couple modifications here and there to keep him from being just a Fox clone; he’s unlocked by playing 50 brawls, completing the 100-Man Melee, or getting far enough in the Subspace Emissary. The updates warn that his attacks are a lot different than they used to be. It shows off that his Falco Phantasm acts as a Meteor Smash, and you can kick his Reflector away. Like Fox, Falco’s Final Smash is a Landmaster, but it’s not as powerful, or as maneuverable on the ground; its strength lies in its enhanced flight ability.

2/22/08: Captain Falcon

Thanks to Sonic, Captain Falcon is no longer the fastest, but he still brings all his awesome into Brawl; you can unlock Captain Falcon by getting far enough in Subspace Emissary, playing 70 Brawls, or beating Classic on Normal difficulty in under 12 minutes. He now sports something called the Reverse Falcon Punch, which you can use by tilting the control stick in the opposite direction as he winds up; it’s a bit more powerful this way. If you use his Final Smash next to some opponents, they’ll get hit by the Blue Falcon and thrown onto a track where, in a cinematic cutscene, the Blue Falcon runs them over once again.

I’ve been waiting for that Captain Falcon update for a long time, to see if he got himself buffed; I’m enjoying that Reverse Falcon Punch. I guess he’s a bit slower in this game and you need to play up his ground attacks more.