Sadly, we think the "return" of the Smash Bros. Dojo will be very short lived and that it will be some time before we see another update to the site. Our European friends who have expertly avoided spoilers up until this point will want to steer clear of this latest update, as unlockable characters abound.

Snapshots Galore #3 [Smash Bros. Dojo - thanks, Kiriphii!]

Current - Super Smash Brothers: Brawl (Wii)

6:00 AM PDT - Yoshi's Island DS

8:00 AM PDT - The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo DS)

10:00 AM PDT - Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)

12:00 PM PDT - The New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo DS)

2:00 PM PDT - Mario Kart Wii

4:00 PM PDT - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii, presumably, though possibly Gamecube)

6:00 PM PDT - Mario Party DS

8:00 PM PDT - Pokemon Diamond and/or Pearl (Nintendo DS)

Check Amazon during the day to see if these predictions are true — and more importantly, just how low the deals go.

Eds Note: Slight correction: Mario Kart DS, NOT Mario Kart Wii and Pokemon Diamond confirmed, not Pearl as a choice.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl [Amazon Thanks, FitzRhapsody!]

The bracket-style tournament had the teams of two fight it out until Dannis Tighe and his son Michael were the last two standing. The two won a Wii, a copy of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a trophy and the right to rub their victories in the faces of all of those father/son teams who waste their training regiments on sack races and egg tosses.

Nintendo is hosting a Super Smash Bros. Brawl Wii Father's Day Tournament at the Nintendo World store in Rockefeller Plaza on the 15th from 1 to 4 PM, with the winners of the bracket-style playoff walking away with two Wii, two copies of the game, and a trophy commemorating the event. Photographers will be on hand throughout the event to offer framed father and son pictures so at least you come away with something if the tourney only drives home the fact that you and your father have absolutely nothing in common.

All in all, it's a good thing that Nintendo makes loads of cash on the Wii, Wii controllers and accessories for Wii controllers. Because even their traditional franchises are failing to inspire many of those who purchased Wiis in the first place.

New Wii Games Find a Big (but Stingy) Audience [NYT]

Using Super Smash Bros. Brawl as an example, Brandon tells us his brother, with little current gaming experience, utterly thrashed him. On a more complex game like Call of Duty 4, Brandon had the upper hand.

This makes me wonder if gaming skill operates similarly to language acquisition. Maybe my brother's early-life exposure to previous Smash Bros. games gives him a built-in advantage that my practice will never overcome. It could be that after age 12 our brains can't instinctively master certain gameplay styles that we weren't previously exposed to, hence my suckiness at newer fighting games. I'm not saying older people can't master new gameplay styles, but rather that there might be a developmental cutoff after which achieving such mastery becomes much harder.

Is there a "critical period" for videogame skill acquisition? [Gamecritics.com]

In Brian's words:

"I came home from work with the ring on Wednesday, and while she was attending her grad school classes, I got to work on a custom level that would successfully convey my intentions.

"I first tried spelling out 'Will You Marry Me?' but the limitations on the level's file size wouldn't allow it, so I then settled for the abridged version, "MARRY ME?" I set the match time limit to infinity, and then simply set up Mario, Peach, and Kirby (her favorite) around the level so that the camera was zoomed out as much as possible and the entire message fit on the screen. I then turned the TV off and just waited for her to come home.

"When she went to watch TV, the first image that appeared when the set powered on was my level. At first she asked, "Oh, are you in the middle of a game?" But after she noticed the small box in my hand, and I insisted that she give the TV another look, she figured out what was going on."

"Oh, and she said, 'Yes!'"

And, genuinely, best wishes from Kotaku for your new life together.

Update: Brian writes to say his fiancee's name is Allison, and your kind words and reactions mean a lot to them.

For the final, spoiler-filled wrap up, roll on.

Monday: Want to know the secret behind every unlockable everything in Brawl? Then read Revealing Brawl's Secrets.
Tuesday: A handy checklist of All Trophies is offered. More secrets!
Wednesday: A handy checklist of All Stickers is offered. Even more secrets!
Thursday: The Mysteries of The Subspace Emissary are revealed, providing insight into the single player campaign's story and ruining pretty much everything plot-wise.
Friday: Yay! Screenshot Collection #2 gives us more wacky snaps from Brawl games and absolutely no panty shots.

That's it! Thanks for taking part in the many Dojo Dump conversations, kids. See you next Smash!

Monday: Hidden character number twelve is Wolf, who not only looks like Fox, he plays a hell of a lot like him too.
Tuesday: The unlockable Pirate Ship stage just makes me want to play Wind Waker again. What a lovely little game that was.
Wednesday: We talked about the All-Star mode earlier this week, but it's all about character battles. Sakurai squeezes in a thinly veiled complaint.
Thursday: Want the Full Song List with Secret Songs? Print out your checklist!
Friday: The Dojo offers a good look at the Final Smash Trophies. They're rather attractive, no?

But wow. Online play. That's not working too well, is it? Last night, I finally decided to give online a spin. I gave up after trying to join several games and waiting 5 to 10 minutes a pop for other players that never showed. Later, attacking with more resolve, I finally I got into one match—felt like a lottery winner—only to find that lag makes the hyperactive game completely unplayable. So I just wanted to run a quick poll to catch reader impressions of Wii's online services and see if I'm the only one having issues:

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

Perhaps I should squeeze some Brawl time in this weekend, get some of those unlockable stages I hear the kids are into. This week at the Smash Bros. Dojo, Sakurai and crew talk about a few more precious hidden characters, plus talk about post-completion goodies. It's all in the Dump!

Monday: Beat the Subspace Emissary campaign yet? If not you won't be playing in the Boss Battles stadium.
Tuesday: The second pink puffball you'll play in Brawl is the unlockable Jigglypuff. Such a pretty voice.
Wednesday: Unlockable stage Hanenbow is from the Nintendo DS non-game Electroplankton. It's weird.
Thursday: Character Roll Call is less of an attendance survey and more of a point and shoot mini-game. Maybe you'll find Sheik's Special Moves a bit more rewarding.
Friday: Another hidden character, this time it's Toon Link who doesn't quite look... right without being properly cel-shaded.

Thanks, jkaccnt!

Monday: If you're still having a hard time with the adventure mode, perhaps you'll find value in these Boss Strategies. But I doubt it!
Tuesday: Secret character Ganondorf is explained. Why is he so angry all the time?
Wednesday: If you're above the age of twelve and don't know your Pokeymanz, the Pokémon Encyclopedia is solid reference.
Thursday: Why do only Snake and Starfox characters get Smash Taunts? That's a missed opportunity, Sakurai.
Friday: The Subspace Emissary: The Great Maze is a-maze-ing. Peach's Special Moves not so much, not an upskirt kick in sight!

The Brawl to End Them All... [Crystal Icing]

Monday: Secret character Mr. Game & Watch returns, attacking with nothing but the best Game & Watch attacks.
Tuesday: Mr. Game & Watch's stage, Flat Zone 2, has its own soundtrack in Game & Watch: Flat Zone 2.
Wednesday: A few Hidden Masterpieces are scattered throughout the game, essentially slightly different demos of NES and SNES games.
Thursday: Details on a few of the Secret Melee Stages are added. I used to be really good at the original F-Zero, perfecting my Death Wind I lap times for hours on end.
Friday: Some of the Latecomer Assist Trophies come from titles like Custom Robo Arena, Advance Wars and Daigasso! Band Brothers. Yay for fan service!

But after double-checking with the critics, it appears that I'm definitely in the minority. So hit the jump for our Frankenreview on Super Smash Bros. Brawl—what is pretty much a 5-chapter review of a fanboy wet dream.

GameSpy
From a visual standpoint, Brawl doesn't look much better than Super Smash Bros. Melee did on the GameCube. There is some slight improvement, as you can run the game in 16:9 widescreen format at 480p, and the difference is more noticeable on newer television displays. The real benefit is that everything runs at a silky-smooth 60 frames per second. But outside of the new characters and stages, you'd be hard-pressed to tell this game apart from its GameCube predecessor when viewed side-by-side.

NintendoWorldReport
Hands down, my favorite new thing about Brawl is its stages, which have been upgraded significantly for Brawl and are much more fun than those from Melee. Similar stages have enough differences so as to still feel unique. The levels pulled straight from Nintendo DS games—such as the frantic Pictochat stage—are some of my favorites. There is so much variety in the fighting locations that Melee's stages, some of which are included in Brawl, seem rather boring in comparison.

GamesRadar
Brawl's biggest addition...is Wi-Fi Connection support, and it functions... fairly well. If you're brawling with pals off your Friend Code list, the experience should be generally clean and lag-free. However, our attempts to play random opponents led to more than one unplayable choppy scrap that ended in disconnection. There's also no practical way to communicate with other players, and it's a total pain in the ass to share saved pictures. Apparently swapping 16-digit Friend Codes isn't enough, as you also have to share 12-digit Brawl codes. We'd say this'll get ironed out as the weeks wear on, but Wii's online "presence" has never seemed a priority.

1UP
I encountered some difficulty in putting a score on this game. Do I give it a B+ and say, "But if you're a huge Nintendo fan, add a point?" Or do I give it an A and say, "If you're a less committed fan, drop a point?" The answer was simple: This game was made for Nintendo fans. If you'd like to debate that fact, question whether Joe Schmo in Best Buy, who buys Madden once a year and maybe Halo cares whether or not Saki from Sin and Punishment is an unlockable trophy. As a Nintendo fan, I found great pleasure in unlocking all of the minutiae, in playing with characters that, to me, were unexpected surprises, and in reveling in what is clearly the greatest celebration of Nintendo culture around.

Kotaku
Super Smash Bros. Brawl improves upon its predecessors in every way imaginable - a truly worthy successor to the Nintendo fighting throne...[it] isn't just a game that will sit in your Wii for months, it's a game you'll actually play for months, if not longer. Alright, alright. I'll give in to the masses and pick up a copy.

Trying again is not working either, and I would imagine that once enough people give up and the service starts functioning as it should, the flood of players hopping online once the gaming news outlets reported it would just screw things up all over again. Perhaps we all should get together and work out shift assignments?

They had to have seen this coming. The game had similar issues when it was released in Japan, as Ashcraft reported back in January. If a smaller group of people situated on a much smaller piece of real estate had that much of a problem, how could the U.S. even have a remote chance at flawless online play?

It's frustrating as hell on this end, so I know you guys must be pissed off as well. My last successful online Brawl was yesterday morning around 9AM, so I am currently jonesing for a fix with no relief in sight. In the meantime I've been going through event mode in between trying over and over again to unlock Wolf, who keeps kicking my sorry Hedgehog ass.

We'll keep you posted as the issue evolves. For now, you might want to adjust your sleep schedule or call in sick to work for a chance to play online. Just not everybody at once please.

Sure, the rest of the Wii offerings may peak at Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, but it's not such a bad deal. Head on over to the official Toys R Us site to see if there's anything that strikes your cheap-ass(TM) fancy.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl [Toys R Us via Slickdeals]

FoxTrot [Thanks SAKY]

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

The results are plain as red and blue.

Loved:
* Tons of Characters: Impressive from the get go, once you've unlocked all of the characters that Super Smash Bros. Brawl has to offer you'll have one of the greatest assemblages of video game legends of all time at your disposal.
* Excellent Music: The musical talent assembled for the game reads like a who's who of famous Japanese game composers. Akihiro Honda, Koji Kondo, Yoko Shimomura - the soundtrack alone is worth the $50 price tag.
* Their Level Design, Your Level Design: As always, Masahiro Sakurai and his team have done an excellent job of creating fighting game levels that incorporate the elements of classic games. Rather than just being backdrops, the level you are fighting can determine how you play. Don't agree? Then see if you can do better, using the relatively simplistic level editor to create and share your own levels with your friends.
* Pretty Graphics: Some of these characters have never looked quite as good as they do in Brawl. Nothing too complex, but pretty enough while still maintaining a blazing frame rate.
* Extra, Extra: The game is filed to the brim with extra bits of fan service goodness. Trophies, game demos, music, and even a history of Nintendo game releases current as of December.
* Finally Online: Despite some issues with lag, online fighting via Nintendo WiFi is a dream come true for fans of the series. Extremely fun, while still quick enough to grab yourself a quick match before heading off to work or school. Potentially dangerously addictive. Even while not playing, I could watch Spectator Mode for hours.

Hated
* Wii Controls: If you don't own a GameCube controller, now is a good time to pick one up. Brawl just feels unnatural when played with the Wiimote/nunchuk combo, and the classic controller is too sensitive, which screws up jumping. It's odd when what could be the best game on the console does little to take advantage of the console's main selling point.
* Online Lag: A good quarter of the online matches I've participated in so far have suffered from extreme, stuttering lag, while a few times I had the game freeze in mid-bout and kick me out of the match. Even with a good group, the frame rate still suffers from time to time. Hopefully this is an area Nintendo can improve upon in future updates.
* Adventure Mode: Excellent cut scenes wrapped around 8 hours of poorly implemented platforming with repetitive enemies and some odd design choices. Remember the lesson of Tekken 5 - platforming and fighting game controls don't mix. The plus side? You don't have to play it to unlock characters - it's just a bit faster.
* Friend Codes: Screw the Friend Code system. Enough said.

Despite a few flaws, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the best thing the Nintendo Wii has going for it right now. With addictive multiplayer, tons of collecting to do, the ability to create your own levels and share them with friends, Brawl isn't just a game that will sit in your Wii for months, it's a game you'll actually play for months, if not longer.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl improves upon its predecessors in every way imaginable - a truly worthy successor to the Nintendo fighting throne.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl, developed by Sora, published by Nintendo, released March 9, for $50. Available on Nintendo Wii, story mode and several characters in solo mode played to completion. All characters unlocked except Wolf.

Celebrating the release of a big video game is starting to become a regular theme over there. If you recall, some pranksters dressed up John Harvard's statue to look like Master Chief when Halo 3 was released. The rather fuzzy pictures show a Mario hat, the Smash Bros. box, a Poke ball, a Smash ball, a banana peel. Not shown were some other power-ups hanging from the ceiling.

Ah MIT.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl utilizes a double-layer disc which has a large memory capacity. A very small percentage of Wii consoles may have trouble consistently reading data off this large capacity disc if there is some contamination on the lens of the disc drive. Nintendo has specialized cleaning equipment that can resolve this problem. (Please do NOT attempt to clean the lens yourself, as you may damage the system.)

Hit the jump for the mini FAQ on the issue:

"How can I get this fixed and how long will it take?"
If you are experiencing disc read errors, please utilize the form below to request a repair order. Nintendo is upgrading inbound and outbound shipping to expedite the total repair process. Specific repair times will be provided as you fill out the repair form below. There is no cost for the repair or shipping. Please note: returning the game to the retail store will not solve the problem. So we encourage users who are experiencing issues with playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl to utilize this repair order process.

"What if I have Virtual Console games or other stored data on my Wii console?"
Due to the nature of this particular issue, you should not lose any of your stored data. In some rare cases you may have to re-download your Virtual Console games from the Wii Shop Channel, but there is no cost to doing so.

Repair Form [Nintendo, thanks to everyone for the tip]

UPDATE - PRGuitarman failed to tell us that the picture was taken by Travisto and submitted originally to GoNintendo. If you're going to send us a picture from another site, just send us the link. Thanks!

GameStop's Brawl trophy is...well... [GoNintendo]

Monday: Yes or no? You decide! Secrets for Continuing explains how you continue, in case you aren't familiar with this system.
Tuesday: We're just now getting around to Donkey Kong's Special Moves? Guess so! And here's an unlockable stage known as 75m.
Wednesday: The exhaustive Item Encyclopedia! Very helpful for getting up to speed for Sunday.
Thursday: Spoiler alert! Spoiler alert! R.O.B. means Robotic Operating Buddy. Oh, and he's in Brawl!
Friday: Here it is, kids. Snapshots Galore is inarguably the greatest collection of odd, awkward and amazing pics from within Brawl. Look at creepy Snake! What the hell, man?

Sorry about that. It's cool. Everything's cool! I'm calm. Maybe I'll just have a few laughs packing up my Nintendo DS to ship off to be repaired. That ought to put me in a jolly good mood! I need some gin. Anyhoo! What are you playing this weekend?

GameStop to Host Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tournaments and Launch Events Nationwide

Players Prepare to "Duke It Out" in the Largest In-Store Tournament Event to Date

GRAPEVINE, Texas, March 6, 2008 - GameStop, Corp. (NYSE:GME), the world's largest video game and entertainment software retailer, today announced that it will host Super Smash Bros. Brawl video game tournaments at 2,500 of its U.S. GameStop and EB Games locations on Saturday, March 8, 2008. The tiered tournament program, which represents the largest in-store tournament event to date, is one of several events that GameStop will host surrounding the launch of Super Smash Bros. Brawl by Nintendo, available March 9, 2008.

Each round one tournament will provide players with an opportunity to "duke it out" one-on-one with other contestants in a single-elimination tournament to determine the 2,500 store winners. Many of the participating GameStop and EB Games locations will begin their tournaments at 10:00 p.m., local time; however, customers are encouraged to contact their local store to confirm the exact time of the tournament. All contestants must check-in at least thirty minutes prior to the start of play.

Store winners will advance to a series of District tournaments on March 15; winners of these competitions will advance to Regional tournaments, which will take place on March 29 (visit www.gamestop.com/smash for District and Regional tournament location details). The top eight scoring Regional winners will be declared the Semifinalists for that region and will advance to the Finals event, to be held on April 12, 2008, at the GameStop tournament store in San Jose, CA. Semifinalists will "brawl" against one another in a series of matches until one player with the best of three rounds score is declared the Grand Prize Winner.

The Grand Prize winner will receive one Vizio 37" LCD-TV, an entire Nintendo Wii Software Library, one Nintendo Wii console and selected accessories, and $5,000 in cash. Prize packages in the form of GameStop gift Cards will be awarded to the second and third place players.

For additional tournament details and to obtain a list of official rules, visit a local GameStop or EB Games retail location or www.gamestop.com/smash.

Midnight Brawl Events

To continue the Super Smash Bros. Brawl celebration that all fans can enjoy, GameStop will also host Midnight Launch Events on Saturday, March 8, 2008, at more than 2,500 locations. Most participating GameStop and EB Games locations will begin their countdown to launch at 10:00 p.m., local time; however, customers are encouraged to contact their local store to confirm the exact time of the event. Fans can also check out GameStop's inventory of special Super Smash Bros Brawl add-ons including extra controllers, charge kits, and skins.

Remember this horribly freakish Pikachu stand up? If not, his digital doppelganger is here to remind you what nightmares are made of. In this spoiler-filled clip of a hacked version of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the cast of the Wii fighter has their move sets swapped, resulting in some very odd animations and horrible disfigurements. For those who don't want to spoil themselves on many hidden characters, just re-imagine Brawl as if Chris Cunningham and Richard D. James had provided the game's direction and motion capture.

BrawlCentral's Videos [YouTube - thanks, Hanibal!]

This is a custom case for my copy of SSBB, it was crafted out of a blue foam to specific dimensions and has a tight seal. Watcha think?

So, yeah, Kirby's about the same.
Ninty Retro [Image Shack via Digg via Infendo]

Monday: This one's a bit wild. The Dojo gives in-depth details on Master Hand and Crazy Hand. If I were ever given a nickname, I'd hope it's not "Crazy Hand."
Tuesday: You know, Pikachu and Samus (regular suit version) have Special Moves too. Why not learn a thing or two?
Wednesday: Collector obsessives will want to pay close attention to the Clear Percentage in the Subspace Emissary campaign.
Thursday: Oh no! Unlockable character spoilers! This one is the dashing Pokémon Lucario.
Friday: Spear Pillar is a Pokémon thing that I don't understand. I got as afar as "it's a stage" and then got lost.

That bad news, which is apparently straight from Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime's mouth, may be one of those things one can chalk up to Wii allocations. That means there could be a strong Wii hardware roll out in the fall across the Atlantic, with a similar flood of Wiis hitting North America for Brawl's March launch. Good news for those still Wii-less, but Euro Wii fans will surely be rioting in the streets. Either that, or enjoying one of its many, many fine outdoor cafes.

Update: Hey, Europe! Put down your torches and rest your rock throwing arm. Nintendo wants to assure you that no official date has been provided for Super Smash Bros. Brawl in your region, a fact backed up by EGM's Shane Bettenhausen. He writes in his 1UP blog that Reggie gave him no such release date, only that Europe was getting Brawl after us Americans.

1UP Yours [1UP]
GDC: loose ends and clarifications [1UP]

If you want something spoiler-free, but still Super Smash Bros. Brawl related, make sure you read the liveblog of Masahiro Sakurai's GDC session on designing SSBB posted earlier today. It was pretty neat! Anyway, on with the Dump!

Monday: You may not necessarily have warm fuzzy memories of Luigi's Mansion on the Gamecube but it at least makes for a solid Brawl stage.
Tuesday: Both Zelda and the Ice Climbers get the special move profile treatment. Can't believe it took this long!
Wednesday: Oh man, another hidden character. This time it's Falco, who I believe is largely a Fox clone.
Thursday: Don't forget Bowser! He's got special moves, too. And speaking of moves, the Meteor Smash is worth looking into.
Friday: Falcon Punch! Yup, Captain Falcon is unlockable.