Cruel mode
Cruel Melee and Cruel Brawl are Multi-Man modes in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, respectively. Like the other modes, this game challenges the player to defeat as many opponents as possible. But in this case, the Fighting Wire Frames and Alloy Team have extremely high knockback in their attacks in their favour while the player has a handicap against them, essentially making this mode a complete reversal of what is normally encountered in other Multi-Man modes where it is much easier to knock out a team member.
The high scores of Cruel Melee and Brawl are recorded by the amount of opponents knocked out. Attaining very high scores in either game is considered one of the toughest actions in the game. Due to the relentless difficulty, players have to exploit the AI in both games to obtain high scores. In Cruel Melee for example, very high scores (such as in the thousands) can be obtained by exploiting an AI standstill bug, performed by standing absolutely still on the rightmost edge of the small right platform. This causes any CPUs, including the Wire Frames, to cease all movement and stand indefinitely unless the player is within attack range. Exploits with the AI in Cruel Brawl, such as by planking, or any other form of stalling under the stage, often cause the Alloys to self destruct when attempting to edge-guard the player.
Rewards
In Super Smash Bros. Melee
- Defeating five opponents in Cruel Melee will result in unlocking the Mr. Resetti trophy.
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- Defeating five opponents in Cruel Brawl will result in unlocking a trophy depicting the Red Alloy.
- Defeating ten opponents in Cruel Brawl will result in unlocking a sticker depicting Liquid Snake.
Trivia
- The Super Smash Bros. Melee incarnation of this mode is famous for its involvement in the Sonic and Tails Rumor spread by Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine as an April Fool's Joke. The rumor suggested that after defeating 20 Fighting Wire Frames in a single round, the player would be challenged to defeat Sonic and Tails of the Sonic series, where victory would result in unlocking the characters. The rumor also claimed that completing Classic mode with either character would give the player a "surprise". This rumor was proven false both in premise (such as how there's no data of either character in the game's data) and in practice (using strategies such as Roy's Blazer or Jigglypuff's Rest).
- In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the track Cruel Brawl that plays during a Cruel Brawl is the only track missing from the Sound Test.
Videos
Videos of characters in Cruel Brawl.
