Alas, Poor Scrappy: Red was disliked by some fans due to his naive and cheerful personality in a World Half Empty, and suspected by many to be the butcher (especially in regards to that Jigglypuff he was subtly hiding from Luigi). Then... "So, uh... was I any good?" Turns out he was training the Jigglypuff to sing for Luigi. Thankfully, Leaf uses it to finish off Wario, who killed him.
Kirby, as befitting the work's tone, is no friendly puffball, as shown by his nickname, "The Coral Cannibal". Having been arrested for multiple murders before the story starts, Kirby is quickly established to be a dangerously intelligent maniac who takes glee in tormenting his victims. Driving the powerful gang leader Mewtwo insane with his preachings, Kirby purposely disrupted the power balance of the Mushroom Kingdom, turning it into a desolate and poverty-stricken land, before manipulating children into killing Mewtwo when he's done with him. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that every major character has been harmed by him, and Meta Knight even goes so far as to devote his life to guarding Kirby's cell. A diabolical master of psychology, Kirby pretends to help Peach before she disappears, the finale revealing that he gruesomely killed her and left her body on display for the Mario brothers to find.
Olimar, known exclusively here as "End of Days", is reimagined as a fanatical lunatic who hopes to bring about the annihilation of all life. A farmer of Pikmin who butchers and experiments on the little creatures to turn them into weapons that are used to kill innocents, End of Days amasses a blood cult that he uses to sacrifice victims in a sadistic torture rite. After a failed attempt to subject Mario and Falco to this fate, End of Days uses a Smash Ball to transform Mr. Game & Watch into its Final Smash of "the Oldest Ones", laughing in glee as the monstrosity goes on a killing spree. End of Days proclaims joy that the Oldest Ones will wipe out all life in the Mushroom Kingdom, and happily pronounces himself the prophet of his namesake: the end of all things.
Squirtle's non-violent Dynamic Entry, scaring the hell out of Samus and Pit, deserves mentioning. Sure, Samus only flinched, but Pit ran off screaming like a girl.
Captain Falcon's "Falcon Punch" was just hilarious, as well as awesome. The way Those Two Guysscreamed as it happened really did help. This is followed immediately by both Luigi and Samus mouthing "Holy shit".
In the first episode, Peach tries to hide her identity with her usual pink dress with a hoodie over it, sunglasses, and her ginormous crown over her hoodie.
Harsher in Hindsight: Memetic Mutation aside, the portrayal of Kirby in this series seems pretty off from the happy-go-lucky puffball we all know and love. However, games that have come out since then, particularly Kirby Star Allies, have heavily implied that Kirby is an Eldritch Abomination in nature, an incarnation of "Astral Birth" Void, and that the only thing separating him from some of the terrifying enemies he has faced, such as Dark Matter, Zero and Void Termina, is upbringing and circumstance. In that optic, There Will Be Brawl Kirby may not be what the canonical Kirby is, but it's certainly something he could conceivably have become.
It is mentioned that in the news extras hosted by Lakitu that Mario nearly beat Tom Nook to death. As of November 2011, PETA is complaining that Mario is skinning Tanukis and wearing their skin.
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DSnewcomer Wii Fit Trainer appears on a billboard in Episode 1, and Rosalina has brief non-speaking appearances in Episode 5 and 10. Little Mac – the only Assist Trophy to be Promoted to Playable between Brawl and Wii U/3DS – also plays a noticeably larger role than the other assist trophies. Also, Leaf's appearence on the show can be viewed as this since Ultimate now has Leaf (the female Pokémon Trainer in FireRed and LeafGreen) as an alternate Palette Swap for Red.
Speaking of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, this version's darker incarnation of Kirby was the Big Bad, a manipulator who's willing to destroy everyone he comes across and was responsible for the Smash world's descent into madness. But in Ultimate and its main story World of Light, Kirby's role is completely opposite to There Will Be Brawl, being the only survivor of the apocalypse that affected all the inhabitants of the Smashverse, and the one who ultimately rescues everyone.
Over a decade after playing Ganondorf here, Matthew Mercer would revisit his role as the Demon King in a piece of official Nintendo media. Even better, that version of Ganondorf longs for the good old days of fighting courageous foes over Hyrule and expresses disappointment that the present-day people of Hyrule are too cowardly and weak to make his conquest feel satisfying, not unlike how There Will Be Brawl Ganondorf feels about Hyrule being unwittingly destroyed by economic collapse instead of a conquering warlord.
Ho Yay: There seems to be something between Samus and Barbara the Bat. It was originally believed to be just the product of Samus's flirtatious attitude in Episode 3, but they're seen holding hands, comforting each other at Red's funeral service, so there may be something to it.
Jossed: Depending on how strict or loose you are in deciding which ones count, there were somewhere around sixteen "___ is the killer" or "___ did it" Wild Mass Guessing threads, and not a single one of them got it.
Of all people, Princess Zelda crossed this when she stabbed Link in the back just as he was making a Heel–Face Turn, then in the next episode revealed that she had been working with Gannondorf the whole time. Not even attempting to take the bullet for Link redeemed her, really.
Even the scene-stealing Large HamWario goes too far, for his hands in killing Red.Waluigi was technically involved too since he was the one who delivered the bomb to Red, but he likely had no idea what he was doing.
Kirby crosses this even before the series begins when he massacres Dreamland and the Mushroom Kingdom, his last victim prior to being locked up being Daisy.
Kirby. Everything about this version of him is pure Nightmare Fuel, not the least of which is that he's also a homage to Hannibal Lecter. He's also revealed to be responsible for the creation of Ness and Lucas. And he is still alive, and going after Nintendo.
When Olimar brings Luigi back to his hideout, as he's talking he takes a Pikmin out from a pot, which is screaming mind you. Then he proceeds to chop it up into bloody bits, all the while keeping up his casual tone.
At the end, we see all the victims' bodies stuffed and made into trophies. While this is terrifying all on its own, the moment when Princess Peach's stitched up corpse move like a puppet, taunting Luigi before leaning over and spilling blood from its mouth is one that sticks out as being the creepiest part of the series.
Special Effects Failure: While most of the costumes and choreography are very good for a webshow, there are a a fair number of awkward moments:
The mouth on the actor playing Dedede is clearly visible while he's talking. This isn't helped by the fact the beak doesn't always move properly.
In Episode Eight, Link's sheath visibly flaps limply against his arm as he stands up after being knocked.
Link's ear prosthetics are obviously not part of his normal ears. Similarly, the bulbous fake noses are very obviously so, with the seams between the prosthetic and the skin being plainly visible. This is incredibly noticeable seeing how often we see Luigi and Mario.
Jigglypuff killing Wario in the finale. Sure the former is, in real life, a plush toy, but that doesn't excuse the fact that the scene looks really silly.
Squick: The series is FILLED with this, and there's something here for everyone:
King Dedede's comment to the stripper Malon: "You're on stage soon, go get Epona." Malon does not look very enthusiastic about this. Given the state of everything else, sure Epona may not be a horse, but that doesn't change the unsettling implications of the line...
Ganondorf bleeding from everywhere under the kids' influence, and then later his head being chopped off after already having been stabbed by a sword.
The final few moments, where it is HEAVILY implied that Kirby killed and ate Ness. How is it implied? Kirby is wearing a very familiar looking bloody baseball cap - just like he would be in Super Smash Bros if he'd swallowed Ness and copied his powers.
Zelda kissing Ganondorf grossed out some people. Most people agree that the second kiss after he stabbed her is particularly squicky, though.
Take That, Scrappy!: Link's glorious exclamation of "SHUT THE FUCK UP NAVI!" that all of us gamers attempted to do in vain while playing Ocarina of Time.
Red's death, and the song he plays in the same episode. The funeral and accompanying song — perfectly in sync with the rest of what's going on — makes it even sadder. Hell, the entire ending of Episode 9.
"So, uh...was I any good?"
The flashback right after the final battle, where Luigi remembers the very start of all the chaos, the day the whole mess began. They were still happy and still friends, even though some of them knew the horrors that were about to begin. "This is the last great moment of this kingdom," says Peach wistfully.
Surprisingly, the scene showing Wario taking care of Waluigi. Despite who he is, he still shows that he cares for someone.
The Woobie: Waluigi. Being a Manchild who Wario keeps locked in a pen would be bad enough, but Wario using him to deliver a bomb to kill Red, and Waluigi never realising what he is doing is wrong is what really clinches it.
