Released seven years after the release of Super Smash Bros. Melee, the hype leading up to the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl was amazing. The third in the series, Brawl introduced many new concepts while building up on the previous games. The game has 35 playable characters, some new and some returning from Melee. It also introduced the cinematic Final Smashes, strong finishing moves that each character can utilize to turn matches around, and a stage building mode that allows players to create their own custom stages and choose music for them. Also of note is an original story mode called Subspace Emissary. Masahiro Sakurai, Kirby's creator, had a lot of influence on this game and it really shows.

This game includes Kirby, like the last two Smash Brothers games, but also introduces two more playable Kirby characters: Meta Knight and King Dedede! There is also a new Halberd stage to fight on, as well as the Green Greens stage from Super Smash Bros. Melee.