And I'm here to tell you that I think they are and that in some way or form, something from Square-Enix will be in Brawl.

Now, before I continue as to what and why, please note the following: This report could be 100% wrong and is not official. With that said, it is also not done as a joke, and it was conducted with a serious breaking news story in mind. This report was conducted based on 3 weeks of legitimate research and has received no confirmation. Super Mario Legacy is a credible source for news, and this is the first investigative journalism that's been done. Obviously, this kind of news will not be confirmed until the companies actually release it themselves, most likely through Super Smash Bros. Dojo, the official Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Website. All Sources will remain anonymous except for a few that will be mentioned. This news story is first reported and was conducted by Super Mallow of Super Mario Legacy, www.supermariolegacy.com.

With that in mind, let's jump into the details and report.

first, let's start with some back-drop on the story. I started this research about 3 weeks ago. I'm a telecommunications major at a large university, and for those who do not know, the video game industry falls under the subject of telecommunications. Obviously, I will and have been studying it a bit, especially with what we learning at the time: Copyrights.

Well, there was a little project. Basically the idea was to take something in the Telecommunications field and do some copyright research on it. Super Smash Bros. Brawl seemed like a good thing to do, especially with references from Metal Gear Solid appearing in the game. I figured it would be an easy thing to do.

So, I did some research. By this time, I had already known that 2-3 more 3rd party characters would be in Brawl, as stated and reported my numerous other sites. For those who do not know, I also run Super Mario RPG Legacy (www.smrpglegacy.com) and really pushed the "Geno/Mallow in Super Smash Bros. Brawl" campaign. Obviously, Square-Enix owns all or at least part of the rights to these characters, as demonstrated by Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga's credits on Geno.

I've been hoping that Square-Enix would be involved with this game. I began looking at the official site for the game in their archives of past updates. Even though I had seen it before, their Musicians page caught my eye again, when I saw the name Yasunori Mitsuda. I knew he would be working on the game already from when the update was current, but I really was interested in the games listed he was credited for: Chrono Trigger and Xenogears, both Square-Enix games. The strange thing to me was why they would use those games for his description, especially when the company, PROCYON STUDIO CO., LTD,  he was part of was listed with him as well.

Now, that does not mean Square-Enix is involved with the game, by no means. I didn't think that at first either, but decided, what the heck. I have a project to do and can use this as a lead, despite how weak it was.

So, I began searching the US Copyright Database. I did not find a whole lot that I needed. There was some copyright statements for the original Super Smash Bros. game, but nothing related to Brawl. Square-Enix did not have any results either. I thought of checking the Japanese Copyright Database, figuring they had one, but did not do so

I then proceeded to shoot off an email both to Square-Enix and the US Copyright Database. Now, unless you're really high up, you'll never get anywhere emailing a gaming company, I've had plenty of experience with that. But I sent one anyways, simply asking if Mitsuda still worked with Square-Enix on anything or if there were any sort of contractual obligations or anything like that.

Really, that shouldn't have been a hard question for them to answer, especially since Mitsuda has ties with a different company, PROCYON STUDIO CO., LTD. Yet, they could not do so, so I thought that was kind of strange. It really made me think that they would want to disclose that information only if there was a reason, but I decided just to wait till the copyright database emailed me back.

I received an email a few days later from the database. In the preliminary email, I had explained the situation in detail to the copyright database, explaining that I could not find a result and so on. Of course, I only have access to the public records, so they wouldn't tell me if there was a record of Square-Enix and Super Smash Bros. Brawl anyways. I did though, get a response I was looking for.

They answered me with "The rights vest with the creator, unless stated in a contract, and can be transferred through a contract." Now, that doesn't mean too much, but the name of the composer and the music he created had appeared on an official website for another game. I began to think there was some sort of connection there, the statement just led me on a chase

I emailed some more sources (these will remain confidential and private) and started to get more and more of an idea of how it would work if Square-Enix was somehow involved. And I came up with that a contract may have been transferred, or that Square-Enix is currently contracted as a third party for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. That means something from previous games is either in the game, being reworked for the game, or is in the process of being added into the game.

What really helped me is a later update that occurred while researching. On September 7, the "My Music" feature was announced. One of the tracks was from New Super Mario Bros. and the composer for that is listed on the Musicians page on the site. It really helped my argument

As for what could be in the game, my guess if as good as yours to what it is. Geno, Mallow, Crono, or some Final Fantasy character is a good start for speculation. That, or something themed from the games, such as music, stages, concepts, etc. Something from Final Fantasy wouldn't surprise me at all, especially since all the older games are being ported to the Game Boy Advance, and that Final Fantasy III, which was never released in the US, was ported to the Ds and redone.

At this point, I do think they will be involved as a third party in the game. If I didn't, how much strength would that show in my report? Not much. As far as what all of you guys, the readers of this, think, that's up to you. This probably isn't the strongest report and journalism you've ever read, but it's what I've come up with.

Truth is, I did leave some stuff out, because I am not ready to report it. It only strengthens my argument, but is strengthens it greatly. However, if I cannot deem it's credibility or cannot claim it's falsehood and it is in question, I will not report it - I do think I'd have many more believers if it were in this report.

But remember, this is a report, it could be very, very wrong which would be my fault. We do strive to be a credible news source, and we are one; sometimes it's good to take a chance even if you're wrong. I just need to make sure my facts are backed up, which they are.. At the same time, if they are involved in it, remember who said it first!

I did not email Nintendo asking, nor Hal. I did not think it would be worth it before reporting this, because I knew ahead of time it would be a "No" answer. I do hope that maybe a confirmation can come from this report, whether it be positive or negative for Square-Enix's involvement in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Report by Super Mallow; www.supermariolegacy.com / www.smrpglegacy.com / www.smrpgsequel.com

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