Is it?
You can't use techniques and such developed with Melee in mind, but if Brawl's physics had come first, and people had developed the tourney framework for the series around that, how do you know that people wouldn't say the exact same thing about Melee?
Insofar as I can tell, Melee fans chiefly complain about Brawl not fitting their established framework for the series. But what if that framework had been built around Brawl instead?
I'm basically saying that a lot of the elements established by the hardcore in Melee were not a result of the game's design but rather the fans adapting that design to their own needs. I see a similar adaptation happening if Brawl comes first.
Tripping kinda sucked though.
EDIT: Also, I have a question. Do you consider Smash Bros. 64 to be a bad game, and if not, then why is Brawl?
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^Poorly disguised anti-caps sig