item-less 3- or 4-stocker (like everyone should)
This statement is incredibly borken, but that is neither here nor there.
Game Title Vocalization
In Brawl, the announcer doesn't scream the title of the game on the title screen.
I couldn't agree with you more. As Kojinka said, that rush of energy upon hearing "SUPER! SMAAAAAAAASH BROTHERRRRRRS!" is just unbeatable.
This is absolutely unforgiveable in a modern fighting game.
Apparently it was forgiven in Soul Calibur IV. It was pretty disappointing to hear some guy murmuring "Soul Calibur Four..." after the epic win that was the intro to that game.
Anyway, back to SSB. I'm going to ride the fence here and say that Brawl and Melee are just about as good as each other. While Brawl was definitely not as awesome as I had anticipated, most of the annoyances I have with it are insignificant. Crappy trophies? Don't bother with them. Irrecoverably screwed up online play? Friends are only a phone call away. Poor choice of music? That's what My Music is for. Characters you don't like? Simple: Don't play as them. Don't like Final Smashes? Turn the freakin' things off, for Pete's sake!
Bird Person made a good point about Melee: After having played Brawl, the attacks just aren't strong enough. The game has a weak, almost wimpy feel to it. It lacks some of the great things about Brawl, specifically multiple music choices and a screenshot mode that's worth using. However, it plays well as a fighter in general, and hey, a challenging, shield-less Home-Run Contest is
fun.
To conclude, Melee and Brawl are equally fun to play. Heck, I still occasionally pop in Melee and play a couple matches just for the fun of it.