My question is, does this mean we can no longer move past characters? Like, will we actually run into people now instead of just moving through them?

You should still be able to dash past them. Kinda happy to see a mechanics change here that is somewhat interesting.

I think we can still move around like in SSBM, since the post did specifically state that this will require a specific timing.

This is probably the biggest update by far up until this moment. I don't know how it will turn out though. This could turn out to be either a pretty nifty trick to one of the most abused moves in the whole game, since every character should be able to use it (omg, Pikachu finally gets a meteor smash). Still, I'm happy that they're adding someting new to the mechanics.

Knuckle Joe is an assist trophy.

http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/items..._070727b-l.jpg

His attacks look pretty crazy.

http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/items..._070727c-l.jpg
Vulcan Jab!

http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/items..._070727d-l.jpg
Smash Punch!

http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/items..._070727e-l.jpg
And the Rising Break.

When I think back to when they revealed Assist Trophies and that line "Some characters that didn't quite make it can still be summoned using Assist Trophies", I can't help but feel disappointed! Some of the characters shown for Assist Trophies had awesome potential. Samurai Goroh (as Falcon's rival), Dr. Wright from SimCity and now Knuckle Joe. :eagletear: SuX0rZ!!!

This week was, in general, pretty average. Maybe it's a trade off for last Friday's intriguing update.

Wow... at this rate, there will be millions of assist trophies. Hey, that's cool I guess. I wonder if you win more trophies by playing the game, kinda like the regular trophies from Melee only usable?

I'm almost sure that is how it will work, as Pokemon were similar. Randomly they would start showing up in Pokeballs.
I bet you start with a base few and collect others somehow.

That's actually a great idea, 'cause the hardest trophies to find could be the coolest ones on the battlefield. More bragging rights for when your friends come over :).

Exactly. I just hope they'll leave some surprises for us to find in the game, cause I can't help but look at the blog everyday!

The Pitfall from Animal Crossing is an item now. This'll be interesting.

http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/items..._070731b-l.jpg

Throw it at the ground, and it disappears.

http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/items..._070731c-l.jpg

And when someone steps on it, they will fall into the trap.

http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/items..._070731d-l.jpg

The person will also still go into the ground if the Pitfall hits them directly.

Also, you will fall through the ground if it is on a thin platform.

http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/items..._070731e-l.jpg

Also, Donkey Kong's final Smash (Konga Beat) has been posted on the website. It looks awesome too.

TOTALLY MOTHERFUCKING CALLED IT.

Well I called Animal Crossing items in general. =I

More like randomly guessed it.

I didn't know calling stuff was a status thing, do you get points for this? I call Super Mario items in general! :P

Anyway, someone else said it before, too, but I really hope they've at least got some secrets that won't be announced on the website. The way this is turning out, you'll have already known about everything before you unlock it. How fun is that?

We already know what's in SSBB: EVERYTHING.

You wanted more and you got it: A new challenger approaches.

Ike, from Fire Emblem!

Too lazy to copy and paste the entry, so yeah. GO there yourself, you lazy bastage.

I`ve never played the fire emblem games but I do like his design. Just hope he isnt a clone of Marth and Roy.

Hmmm, I think he's going to replace one or both of them, so I don't think you will need to worry about that. It did seem like he was the likely candidate to take over for those two, since he was/is the lead character in one of the recent FE. I like his design too, I think it's a bit better than Marth and Roy, so that's a good thing too :P.

I was thinking it was something big when the update was late....

Hopefully Roy and Marth are replaced, but I'm glad to see some more new blood. All hail this week!

Marth was broken in Melee. I hope they even out Ike for this iteration.

No more broken than Fox, Falco, Shiek, or Peach. But I don't intend to get into this discussion with you.

Hopefully Brawl manages to achieve a better balance than Melee between all of the characters, as opposed to hitting one or two.

The addition of Ike is nice. I personally see Marth returning, with Ike replacing Roy as the most likely scenerio, but that's certainly up in the air.

Getting a balance between all is probably impossible. There'll always be top tiers.

Of course, we all know the next announcement is that the Black Knight from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (same game Ike is from) is also coming. It'd be the most epic shit ever.

Even if that's not the case, Ike was a pretty cool dude, and the addition of another sword-based character is always welcome.

How so? I always preferred Roy over Marth for the simple fact that it seemed EVERYONE would always blindly walk up to me while I was charging Roy's B manuver to blast them off the map completely.

That was a mid-week BOMB. Guess it's probably downhill for a while . . .

Yes, I know eliminating tiers is impossible. Striving for a better balance, however, is not. And instead of "nerfing" one or two characters like the other guy suggested, and what happened to Kirby and Ness from the original to Melee, perhaps they should work on making the "lower tier" characters better. There will always be tiers but the gaps between them can become less pronounced.

Anyways, the castle stage looks to be a really great addition. I didn't see it pointed out, but someone tweaked the lighting on the last image:

http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/7...undadj3au5.jpg