Heartwarming / Super Smash Bros. Brawl

For examples in the other games in the series, go here.

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As a Moments page, all spoilers are unmarked, as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

The Subspace Emissary

• At the very beginning of Subspace Emissary, Mario and Kirby are performing a friendly fight while Princesses Peach and Zelda watch. Regardless of who wins, the match ends with the two contenders shaking hands and smiling and being good sports. It's kind of sweet to know that they're both okay and that they have so much respect for each other.
  • Things go downhill immediately after this, with the baddies beginning their campaign of terror. Petey Pirahna grabs the princesses and throws them into cages, and as the fighting continues, Kirby realizes that things are about to go straight to hell. He has the ability to get himself the hell out of Dodge, but makes a point of taking one of the princesses with him—it's like he's determined to save someone, even if he can only save one person.
• The confrontation between Bowser and Donkey Kong; Bowser has a gun that transforms the characters intro trophies. Diddy Kong doesn't understand the danger he's in, so Donkey Kong performs a Heroic Sacrifice by knocking Diddy into the air, Taking the Bullet meant for Diddy. He gets himself transformed into a trophy, all to protect his buddy. Aw!
  • The moment where Diddy finally reunites with Donkey Kong also serves as a reminder of their bond, as they high five and do a little dance together.
  • In a brief moment after Donkey Kong frees himself, Diddy is clearly ecstatic to see his friend restored.
• The friendship that forms between Samus and Pikachu is sweet. Samus is the "I Work Alone" type; and since she's human and Pikachu is a Pokémon, it makes her look like Pikachu's trainer.
  • Especially her face when she sees Pikachu being basically tortured in the machine. She takes in about a second of seeing the little guy squealing in pain and promptly responds with a non-verbal Big "NO!" and smashes the glass.
  • And what does Pikachu do the second it's released from being tortured? Jumps in front of Samus with cheeks sparking, ready to defend its savior from the R.O.B.s attracted by the alarm.
    • Hmm, a Pikachu stepping up to defend a human because they did something selfless for it. Sound familiar?
    • Pikachu then returns the favour when they're ambushed by Ridley, saving Samus from certain death with a well-timed Thunder. Doubles as a Moment of Awesome.
• When Ness realizes the badges that revived him and Luigi belong to Dedede, he immediately decides to revive him. This for some guy he doesn't even know. On that note, there's also that moment before the heroes enter the Subspace Labyrinth, where Ness and Luigi help Dedede up after Wario attacks him.
  • Ness gets another moment before that, when he jumps in to save a kid he just met. Then he pushes him out of harm's way, not knowing if he'll be revived or not. Ness is a real sweet kid. And years later, when Nintendo wanted to show Lucas' return to Smash Bros, what did his reveal trailer depict? Lucas coming to Ness' rescue, repaying a long overdue favor.
• Luigi was first seen being afraid of a Waddle Dee and instantly turned into a trophy by Dedede. Initially it seems like a typical instance of him being a Butt-Monkey. But, no. When Tabuu turns everyone into trophies, combines the World of Trophies into a huge maze and there's no-one left to stop him? That's when Dedede's badges revive Luigi and Ness. When he and Ness revive Dedede, they set out to find the fallen fighters and revive them, slowly rebuilding the army. Luigi was probably terrified, but he ignored his fears to help his allies. Mario may have had more screentime, but Luigi played a pivotal role in defeating Tabuu. He was the sign that there was still hope.
• After defeating Wario in the Subspace Emissary, Lucas and the Pokemon Trainer high-five each other. Lucas becomes sad when he remembers what happened to Ness, but the Trainer gives him a reassuring pat on the back. That was pretty cute.
• Whichever scene you play ("Mario's Misunderstanding"/"Link's Misunderstanding") is kind of heartwarming in a way. Which of the two scenes plays out depends on which princess gets rescued by Kirby in the scenario mentioned above; the hero of the one he doesn't save is the one who has the misunderstanding. If it's Mario, he thinks that Peach has been attacked by Link, and rushes to avenge her. If it's Link, he thinks that Mario attacked Zelda, and tries to ram his sword down the plumber's head. Either way, it's nice to know how much they both care.
• Dedede! Boy, was he a surprise! First, he gathers up as many heroes as he can in one place to make a hero team. Then he gives up the one thing he knows can revive trophies for one of the princesses. Near the end of the game, he gives Kirby a Bear Hug. Pictured above.
• The friendship between Pokémon Trainer and Lucas, particularly their handshake after Lucas blows up Galleom's arm to save himself and PT. And Meta Knight swooping in and saving the duo from a deadly fall at the last minute, after Lucas frees them from Galleom.
• After defeating Tabuu, you see the entire playable cast (or at least, all those you saved) on a cliff, overlooking the ocean where the Great Maze area of Subspace was, with the main theme blaring full blast. Then, the credits cut in, with an epic medley of the credits theme of the original Smash Bros., the main theme of Melee, and a piano solo of the main theme from Brawl, all while bits of cutscenes that correspond to the mood of the music play in a little box on the screen.
  • The music is great, and now knowing the lyrics, its meaning is clear.
    Now, my friends are here with me.
    Some once heroes, some my mortal enemies.
    And now, as we face each other in battle, locked in combat,
    We shine ever brighter.
• The fact Diddy Kong forces Fox and Falco to help save his friend Donkey Kong is sweet. For Donkey Kong, at least.
  • The fact that neither of them even protest much indicates that they really don't mind helping. Falco's thumbs-up to Diddy is proof of that.
  • The second time around with Diddy dragging Falco, Fox follows behind giving Falco a "Just roll with it" expression that really helps to drive home that he (and Falco) are absolutely cool with helping the guy out.
  • Falco helping Diddy get to the skiff where Donkey Kong is held prisoner and after DK is rescued the chimp waves goodbye, thanking Falco for his help.
• When we first see Yoshi, he's napping peacefully in a quiet forest. And the first thing he does when he wakes up and sees Link about to fight a handful of strange assailants? Lend a hand.
  • Link walks right by Yoshi. This may not seem like anything, but he's has never seen such a creature before, but he avoids disturbing his sleep. And when Yoshi wakes up, he tilts his sword in front of him as if to say "Stay back or you'll get hurt".
• When Snake finally joins the party, he doesn't seem to know exactly what's happening, but he knows enough to know that he needs to lend a hand. First, though, his priority is to urge Peach and Zelda to stay where they are, so that they remain out of harm's way. They don't, of course, but considering that he's just met them both for the first time, it's very good of him to want to make sure they're safe. And it's not like he knows one of them's a freakin' ninja.
• Peach stops a fight between Sheik and Fox...by offering them tea. It's both a CMOH and a CMOF, especially when Fox glances at Sheik and sees her drinking tea through her face wrappings.
• When Link and Zelda find Ganondorf's trophy, they share a glance with each other before reviving him. Ganondorf is shocked by this, and while he considers attacking them the moment they turn their backs on him, he decides against it and instead follows them to fight Tabuu, knowing that the Subspace entity is the true enemy.
• Diddy Kong urging R.O.B. to escape before the area the group is in before it explodes, and Donkey Kong just straight up carrying R.O.B. out when he refuses to move.
• Like the Mario and Kirby fight before, Lucario and Meta Knight shake hands and join forces after their fight.
  • The Ice Climbers are delighted when Lucario and Meta Knight make peace.
• The concept alone of the many famous protagonists of several video game franchises teaming up together to defeat one great evil. Even better that even the antagonists, who were initially puppets of Tabuu, join our heroes in the very end to save the world, knowing that it's for the greater good.

Other Modes and Overall Game

• The reason behind Hideo Kojima asking Snake to be in Brawl? His kids are fans and they wanted to see one of their father's characters in the game. Kojima had also requested for Snake to be in Melee, but due to time constraints, his debut was put on hold until Brawl.
• During Snake's codec conversation about Luigi, Snake instantly argues in Luigi's defense when AI Colonel starts mocking Luigi.
• Another codec conversation, Snake sympathizing with Lucas' troubles and with the loss of a brother and mother is particularly heartwarming.
• In the codec conversation about Falco, Snake is actually rather friendly towards Slippy after the latter hacks his communicator to talk to him. After complimenting his weaponsmithing skills, which flatters Slippy, he expresses interest in having Slippy design something for him.
• One more codec conversation, namely the one about Olimar. After Mei Ling describes the frailty of the Pikmin, Snake observes that Olimar can just pluck out more at any time. At first it comes across as him being awfully dismissive of the point Mei Ling was raising, until he explains his point: no one's is truly alone on the battlefield, himself included.
• When the Pokémon Trainer wins a match, one victory pose for each of his Pokémon has him showing affection for them in some way, or them showing him affection. Squirtle bashfully rubs its head as the Trainer hugs it, Ivysaur glomps him and he hugs it back, rubbing its chin and patting its head, and with Charizard he hugs it before turning to the camera, leaving one arm around the back of its head. They're all pretty cute, especially Ivysaur's, and it demonstrates the Trainer cares for his team.
• The Nintendog hopping up to the screen and pawing at it is probably the cutest thing in the games. Even if it disrupts the fight.
• In a meta sense, Pit's relationship with Brawl. He was included despite not being too well-known, and was given a complete redesign as part of his inclusion. His new design, general attitude and role in The Subspace Emissary made him a quick fan favourite, leading to him getting a new game after years of being neglected. In other words, Brawl gave Pit and his series a second chance.
• Sonic's reveal trailer ends with a brief scene of him and a certain red-suited plumber going through a Subspace level teaming up to take down enemies, followed by a shot of Sonic and Mario striking their iconic poses together. The two may have long been industry rivals, but Super Smash Bros. has finally brought the two together, and not as enemies, but friends.
  • The reason the game was delayed to add Sonic? He was the most requested character. Sakurai truly does listen to his fans.
  • The Brawl DOJO showed off that despite them being far in the background, Tails, Knuckles, and Silver were given completely detailed models. Sakurai's reasoning?
    "Probably just because we like them so much."

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