The characters are like the icing on the cake. The "ZOMG EVERY CHARACTER EVER!" worked on me when Super Mario Kart came out on the SNES when I was 9. It hasn't worked since. I keep coming back for the gameplay.
After Brawl, I'm seriously going to buy anything Sakurai touches, no matter who's in it. If he somehow makes a 360 or PS3 game, then I'm going to buy it for a friend with one of those, and play it at their house.












