Friday’s update to the Smash Bros. Dojo website was the news of Masterpieces included within the game. Basically, Masterpieces are timed demos of classic Nintendo titles that you can unlock within the game. Sounds great, right? At first glance, sure.

Super Smash Bros. is the equivalent of a Nintendo all-star game, even including its own home run derby mini-game. It makes perfect sense to include some of the games it take characters from, and that’s where Masterpieces is right on the money. Smash Bros. is a celebration of all things Nintendo, and the game should embrace this idea as much as possible. The last edition of the series, Melee, included trophies that featured classic Nintendo character and items. Trophies return with the new edition, Brawl, but bring along with them stickers and the mentioned Masterpieces. So, what’s wrong?

As noted, Masterpieces are not the full games. This makes sense since Nintendo would like for you to buy the full game via its Virtual Console system. While some might belabor Nintendo over this choice, considering the GameCube Animal Crossing title had full games hidden inside, that is not the point here. Nintendo is not wrong in not giving away full games, but instead they’re wrong in giving away any of the game.

That may seem like a crazy statement, until one questions what is Nintendo’s motivation? Simply put, these demos are not bonuses within the game, but advertisements. Game demos included on a game disc might be a big deal for new games, but how many people have forgotten these games or are going to get endless enjoyment from playing snippets of them? The true target for this feature are gamers who have never played these games before-those too young to remember Super Mario Bros. as a new game.

A better solution would have been an original take on these classic titles. The adventure mode, retitled The Subspace Emissary for Brawl, appears to be this to some extent. Plus, the first two levels from the original Super Mario Bros. are included as an actual battle stage. Still, wouldn’t it have been more worthwhile to take gamers on a world hopping run through the original titles with some twists? With just a little effort the titles could have been given new graphic facelifts that would have both intrigued the uninitiated, while giving veterans something new to chew on. Look at the recently announced Bionic Commando remake as a suggestion. Instead, Nintendo crafted a short timing program and they have an instant playable advertisement. With everything else in Brawl seeing so much polish, this addition just seems so-cheap.

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