SSBB Brawl Modding/Hacking; Amazing Discovery, or Game Ruining?

[Shiku ZG]

When you think of hacking in general, you usually think of it being done for selfish reasons. Invincibility, Moon Jumps, Instant Speed Boosts, you name it. People use these to make them seem like kings; like nobody can beat them.

I'm pretty sure everyone is aware that modding/hacking games is entirely possible. People have used it for a lot of bad purposes. This statement is no different when it comes to the Smash Bros. I'm going to focus on the most modded in the series, Smash Bros Brawl.

Although there are many people who use hacking selfishly in Brawl, there are some people who actually use hacking to make the game more enjoyable. Take, for instance, the creators of the widely popular Brawl hack, Project M. Their main purpose for hacking was to make Brawl feel more like it's prequel, Melee. This included balancing all the characters, bringing back fan-favorite characters such as Mewtwo and Roy, and modifying many of Brawl's stages to better suit competitive play. It also included many new cosmetic additions such as HD versions of past stages, new costumes for almost every character, and amazing new menu graphics.

Brawl mods have also been used to make the game more than just a Nintendo crossover. Have you ever wanted to see Link having an epic battle with Sora, or Shadow the Hedgehog duking it out with Geno, Klonoa, and Zero? Crazy ideas such as these have been possible with the use of Brawl mods. Mods in the game have also been able to change some of the game's music, add new stages, give characters entirely new moves, change sound effects, add more characters to the roster, and even to increase the difficulty of CPUs!

Now, the question I ask is:
What is your opinion of specifically Brawl hacks/mods? Do you approve of altering the game to fit one's taste, or do you think it ruins the game's experience?

Also, If you want to check out Project M and the various other mods yourself, here are some links:
Project M: http://projectmgame.com/en/
Brawl Vault (Gallery for Brawl mods): http://forums.kc-mm.com/Gallery/BrawlView.php

 

[yorky97]

I think personally Brawl hacks can make the game more interesting than it already was. Personally, I have downloaded the Project M hack and play it on my Wii frequently. It makes it astonishing to know that Brawl was updated to a much quicker speed with more characters, stages, and edited moves for several characters. That's what interests me about hacks in general.

 

[Mirkobien]

The mods for Brawl (and 90% of the games too) are actually really well done. I can't really think of any downside to having mods/hacks for a game. And the fact that they have a big team (for just a mod at the very least) just shows how big can someone get. I mean, adding to a game, and for free? It's like DLC done right. They also have the option to cater closer to the fans, so who knows what could everyone make.

 

[Artisan]

Well I guess it's neat even if it is unfair based on the character you like to choose or the challenge just isn't there anymore (or there's more challenge). As far as hacking goes if it doesn't affect the characters besides adding ones, making them look different with better skins then they are the ones I would favor. especially if they give characters better representation like say a Rice Beach Wario stage or potentially a better incarnation of Pokemon Stadium 2 like they did in Project M. They are neat coming from a fanbase but I like my official stuff better because it's with more newer characters and not the same movements and only different skins. Sure it was neat to have veterans like Mewtwo in Project M too but it's not like I ever liked him that much as a character to begin with. He's really light and has a weird clunky feel compared to Rosalina, sort of like using Ness only he's taller.

 

[D4rkDragon]

First off, before I give my opinion: by "hack" or "mod", I don't mean anything related to illegal activities or such. Just to point that out, in case where it would be needed.

Just to say it, I think most of the mods are neat. The fact that the game's roster, musics, characters, almost everything can be changed is awesome. But there's just one thing that kills the fun: PAL Disks.
PAL copies of SSBB are some kind of mod-proof copies, and that's sad. If you have a PAL copy, you can't run Project M. And most of the hacks won't run too, and that will end up with your Wii going insane or crashing. And the worst part is that the modding community doesn't really focus on PAL copies of the game (well, a few guys does, at least), so, even as yet, while NTSC users are getting Project M 3.5, we don't even have a chance to play it. They just teased it, and since then, poof! No info.

So, I guess I'll stop messing around with SSBB's data, since SSB4 is near, and maybe DLCs will be worth it.

 

[yorky97]

You know what, maybe one day there will be a hack of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS or Wii U. It will be interesting to see what those hackers come up with. That's another neat thing about hacks. The possibilities that could come about are cool to think about.