The latest reveal on the Super Smash Bros. Brawl website is that this game will support Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. This means that Smash fans can enjoy linked battles if they connect their Wii to the internet.

Masahiro Sakurai commented that “We’re planning a number of services that make use of Wi-Fi, but we’ll reveal them gradually with the other modes.”

According to the official site, this form of commucation is affected by the distance that lies between you and your opponent. If you are really far apart your brawls may not run smoothly (for example you are in the US and your opponent is in Japan). According to Masahiro Sakurai, “The more distant you are, the worse your connection becomes, and the slower it feels. I apologize, but I hope you understand.”

With Friends

Gamers will be able to connect via two primary connection methods, namely ‘With Friends’ and ‘With Anyone.’ Each method features different menus and structures. If you are connecting ‘With Friends,’ Wii friends who have registered one another’s names can play together. You can also check each other’s status if you are registered as friends. If your friend is online and they consent, you can enter a battle. You can brawl any way you like with friends. There are also other modes in addition to free-for-alls.

Players will be able to change their icons and send short messages during a brawl. Enter the messages in advance and send them by taunting during brawls. There are four messages for the four directions on the + Control Pad: up, down, left and right.

With Anyone

If you are connecting ‘With Anyone,’ you can battle against people who are looking for brawls, people who you don’t know and people who you will never know because you will not know each other’s names. Masahiro Sakurai believes that “If you think of your opponent as a simple scarecrow, any psychological barriers may melt away.”

In this mode your opponent will not know any information about you, not even your name. In addition neither player can send short messages and no battle records will be kept so wins and losses do not matter.

Players can practice on Sandbag while they are waiting for a match to start.