Smash fans were lining up hours before the event was scheduled to begin - people began lining up at noon to ensure their place in line for the first-come first-served gameplay sessions. The room quickly swelled past capacity, with people lined up out the door to get a peek at the newest iteration of Smash Bros.

The list of participants quickly was topped off, but even with the tight time constrictions, about 75 people got a chance to try out the game and stave off the pangs of sorrow that will stay with them until March 9th.

All of the characters and stages were unlocked at the start of the event, so those wanting to avoid spoilers were given fair warning. Although these die-hards have probably overdosed on YouTube clips of the Japanese version already, so they probably weren't too surprised at some of the characters on display.

Seats filled quickly - people were stuffed on the floor, standing on tables in the back... anywhere to get a closer look at the action.

So, what was the overall consensus? Each Final Smash was greeted with thunderous applause - fans cheered for their favorite new character, and you could hear the masters working out their strategies as the matches went on. Who was the biggest hit? Snake was clearly the crowd's most requested character, followed by Captain Olimar and Lucas, but some of the veteran players were anxious to try out their old standby characters to see how they made the transition (lots of Fox vs. Falco matches, for example).

Unfortunately, the time alotted to us was over quickly, with matches going on until the last possible second. You could feel the sorrow as the Wii was unhooked and carried back into the bowels of Pink Godzilla HQ, leaving Smash fans hanging until Nintendo graces American soil with the US release on March 9th.

To check out more pics of the event, hit up this Flickr set - to everyone who came out, thanks for coming, and keep an eye on this space for any future event announcements!