Since I just played this, I'll post impressions here.
Overall, the experience was a good one. 'Tis a blast to play as virtually anyone, stages are mostly good, and the voice acting isn't as lousy when you're actually playing the darn thing instead of listening to low quality Youtube videos.
Two problems I had, though. First was the controller. I was playing with the Wiimote + Chuck, and I had the darnedest time trying to get used to it. The sudden removal of some buttons and assignment to very awkwardly placed buttons ended up making my Melee/64 oriented brain do some interesting gymnastics as I tried to jump using the joystick, throw with two buttons, and use B as a trigger. Many times I ended up pressing Up + A trying to recover. Hopefully time (or a Wavebird) will remedy this.
This continues to reinforce my opinion of the Wii controller: If it works and responds, it's fantastic. If it falls short of that, or it feels unnecessarily tacked on, forget it.
My second problem is Norfair. I actually enjoyed the rising acid/lava Metroid levels from the past two games, but Norfair? Sorry, but that's just overkill.
Also, this isn't a complaint as much as it is a nitpick, but in a way, this game feels out of place on the Wii. Yes, I can understand Sakurai's reluctance to make the game's control scheme rely heavily on the motion sensing, IR receiving nature of the controller, but there are at least eight places it would have been welcome:
1. Menus
2. Snake's final smash
3. Menus
4. The Dragoon
5. Menus
6. Character and stage selection screens
7. Menus
8. Menus
Also, it would have been handy in the menus, but that's just a small thing. No biggie.
Less than pleasant about the whole thing was the situation involved in playing it. My roommate has the Wii, and he said i could go ahead and play it, which I did. I was playing against random, level 3 opponents on random levels so I could get used to things. After a while, he came in and asked me how it was.
I said, "I'm having a hard time getting used to it."
"What are you having a hard time with?"
"The controller."
There was brief silence, broken with, "So you're saying you hate the game?" He said this with some irritation in his voice. Obviously I offended him somehow.
"No, I'm saying I hate the controller." Which at that point I did. And probably still do.
"What are you having trouble with?"
"This setup just feels disjointed."
"Like how do you mean?" More irritation. Can't a guy have an opinion about a controller?
"Well, for example, I'm still trying to get used to using two buttons to throw."
"What are you doing to throw?" He actually had me demonstrate to him what I was doing. Okay...
"You know you can just use the D-pad to throw, right?"
"Really? Thank you." I honestly did not know this tidbit. Tried it briefly, but that D-pad really stinks for that.
Soon after this, a bat appears. I rush in to grab it and use it.
"Throw the bat." I didn't see any purpose to doing so, so I kept using it.
"Throw the bat." I just kept playing.
"Dude, throw the bat!" His continuing irritation was really getting to me now, but I responded as calmly as I could.
"I don't want to throw the bat."
"Dude, I just wanna make sure you know how to throw the bat!" More irritation.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, I thought to myself, what? You want to make sure that I know how to throw the bat? What the heck, man?! Who do you think you are, my Smash coach? Just let me freakin' play the freakin' thing, for Pete's sake! Not everyone is going to respond favorably to your favorite control setup! No need to be offended by any of this!
Our conversation repeated as follows for about a minute before he gave up:
"I just want to make sure you know how to throw the bat!"
"I don't want to throw the bat!"
Eventually I lost the bat, continued without it, and won the match. It was Falcon vs Luigi on New Pork City.
So, in the future, I just might head over to Gamestop to get me a Wavebird so I can play the game decently. And I'll make sure he isn't the only human I'm playing against. Goodness, that was annoying. >_<
Edit: To be fair, he probably thought I was being an intolerable jerk as well. Perhaps better communication will clear this up.
A hundred years from now, they will gaze upon my work and marvel at my skills but never know my name. And that will be good enough for me.
Ferret is from the manga