brawl for me

Street Fighter IV. I've logged more hours on Street Fighter IV over the past week than I've logged on Brawl since it launched last year.

That's your loss.

Considering that Brawl is a beat 'em up game more akin to the Streets of Rage or River City Ransom I'd say that SFIV wins by default :P. I haven't had a crack at SFIV yet so I can't comment on which game is actually better though.

Brawl. It's easy to play and difficult to master as supposed to SFIV which is frustrated to play and mastery makes it no fun as you 'pwn nubz' left and right. In that way, the more you master the game, the less viable fighters to play there are for you to play against.

@Mise

Steep learning curves typically accompany depth. Complex fighting systems can never be as accessible as relatively simple ones.

@SmokedHostage

That's the best, no-nonsense reason I've heard for liking Smash Bros. over competative fighting games.

Brawl wins for me but Street Fighter IV is not that far behind. Also, going from past experience I'm pretty sure I'll like Tekken 6 better than SFIV (unless it somehow manages to disappoint like Tekken 4)

@bouzane

I was going for laughable bias. Seems I suceeded. :)

A fighter can be simple to learn and still have extensive depth.

For instance, simplification of button commands (ie. 90 degree turns+pp -> f+p) would go a long way in smoothening the inevitable learning curve without taking anything away from the games potential depth. I don't really think anyone considered Primal Rage to be a deep fighter just because its special moves had command sequences that required five hands to pull off. And I still don't understand why ANY fighter has move commands that include the UP button. Brawl at least allows you to turn tap jump off.

No you THINK it's my loss. Brawl isn't as good as SFIV in my eyes. If you feel differently that's fine.