BRAWL CHARACTER REVIEWS

Listed below are reviews for each playable character in Brawl, new reviews will be added over time so stay tuned. Credit to SmashBros.com for the images.

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Lucas
Lucas is from the Japanese only game for the Gameboy Advance, Mother 3. Since Mother is not a well known series I’ll tell the back-story, Mother or Earthbound as it is called in the western world is the same series Ness is from as I’m sure you assumed. A new adaptation of the series was planned for the Nintendo 64 though due to countless delays production was canceled. Fans where then welcomed with news of Mother 3 for the GBA staring Lucas and his brother Claus. Lucas was going to be in the Melee roster to help promote the game but due to more delays the game was not ready in time and Ness was quickly chucked in Melee instead. However with Brawl Lucas finally got the chance to entire the world of Smash and he does so in a big way.
Lucas is an extremely well rounded character with speed and power; sure he is portrayed as an inferior baby in the Subspace Emissary compared to Ness but personally I think he has surpassed Ness is all fields as a character. Lucas is in no way a clone to Ness as some assume, their attacks are all different though the one thing they do share is their Final Smashes which I must say are not very effective. Since we’re on the subject Lucas’ Final Smash is called PK Starstorm and once again is spectacular visually though its effectiveness is somewhat lacking, all I can say is if you use Lucas and rely on Final Smashes try and pick a small stage.
Lucas’ smash attacks are very strong especially his Up+B which has some lag but is very powerful. Once an opponent is launched it is then a good move to send out a PK Thunder which is much more powerful then Ness’ yet slower which on the plus side makes it easier to control. Lucas’ PK Thunder has great knock-back pushing opponents already in the air even further and may result in a KO. PK Thunder is also very effective in Sudden Death matches if controlled well; if you miss your target however try to end the attack quickly since Lucas is vulnerable while using it.
Lucas’ standard special move PK Freeze is also much more efficient then Ness’ PK Flash seeing as it is easier to use, faster and freezes opponents. PK Fire does not trap opponents as it does with Ness; instead it creates a sort of fire wall which pushes back opponents. Finally to top it all off Lucas also has tether recovery with his Rope Snake.
Lucas is an amazing character and since I mained Ness in Melee, I knew from the day the Dojo revealed his inclusion that I (along with many other Ness fans) would make the switch. Lucas is everything you need in a character whether you’re new to the Smash series or have been there since the beginning and he is someone I’m sure you will enjoy using and will have plenty of exciting matches with.

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King Dedede
King Dedede is a new comer from the Kirby series and is one of the most fun new characters to play as in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Someone without any Smash experience will not be able to handle King Dedede at first due to his slow speed and heaviness. Timing is crucial when it comes to attacking since most of Triple D’s attacks take a while to perform though on the plus side most of his attacks are extremely powerful doing 30%+ per hit. One example is Dedede’s Jet Hammer attack (Down+B) two hits and light-medium weight characters are finished. Though this attack is powerful, the longer you charge it the more damage Dedede takes not to mention due to the sluggishness it can sometimes be avoided. Dedede is portrayed as rather lazy in Brawl with his crouch (down on the D-Pad) being him relaxing on the ground as seen on a few pictures on the Dojo. Another factor which contributes to this portrayal is Dedede’s Side+B move where he throws his minion to damage opponents for him. One of three characters could appear and they are Waddle Dees which walk around and might jump on your opponent hurting them, Waddle Doos who take a few steps then fire an electric beam out in front of them and if you’re lucky you might get a Gordo which does major damage.
Another useful attack is the standard Up+B whose main purpose is to help you recover. This attack causes Dedede to leap into the air and smash down hard onto the ground, landing near an opponent will hurt them since little stars fly out from the sides just like Yoshi’s Down+B but landing right on someone is where the most damage is dispersed.
Finally we come to Dedede’s Final Smash the Waddle Dee Army, here Dedede once again calls upon his underling to cause damage to (and hopefully KO) opponents while he just dances around. This Final Smash is quite entertaining though in the countless times I have used Dedede, his Final Smash often fails to actually OK anyone especially on bigger stages or when you are battling only one opponent, in these circumstances the Final Smash is actually quite easy to avoid. However it is enjoyable to witness and can be quite effective if used properly.
Overall King Dedede is one of the best new comers in Brawl and will be someone the advanced players are going to enjoy mastering and someone the newbie’s are going to have fun playing as. Level 9 King Dedede’s are quite the challenge so don’t take him lightly (did you get the pup?), what he lacks in Speed he more then makes up for in power.

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