It may seem at ends in saying the following for a series that is all about beating each other up, but Super Smash Bros is truly a love letter for Nintendo's long and rich history. And it all began with the debut of Super Smash Bros for the Nintendo 64, releasing in the US on April 26th, 1999. For the first time ever in any Nintendo game, players could play as the likes of Mario, Link, Samus and more, together in a one-of-a-kind game. In fact, it dared to take a new approach to the typical fighting game genre, opting for a side-scrolling brawler with damage percentage and stage knockouts instead of your standard fare health bars and power meters. Each character also offered such a unique move set that reflected and celebrated each character's series. And this attention to detail carried over everywhere, from the battlegrounds in which characters would fight on to the items they would use in battle. With an easy to learn, pick up and play style, Super Smash Bros would go on to be a smashing hit and one of the greatest multiplayer games of a generation.
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| Where else can you play game as the Mario Bros, Pikachu, and Fox McCloud on Rainbow Cruise? |
Surprisingly only a little over 2 years later, Smash Bros saw its sequel, Super Smash Bros Melee, release for the launch of the Nintendo GameCube, releasing in the US on December 3rd, 2001. The game more than doubled the roster to a total of 26 playable characters, as well as loads of new stages, items, music, modes and more. One such notable new mode was the new single player Adventure mode, which allowed players a variety of fun and creative means to interact through the many Nintendo series. Players could jump through the Mushroom Kingdom, explore a puzzling labyrinth in Hyrule, escape an exploding space station on Brinstar, and so much more. While it was a short and simple arcade-like experience, it was still a welcome and enjoyable addition. Melee also introduced the new collectible concept that were trophies, which was just another means in which the game could celebrate and share its love of all things Nintendo and gaming. This particular entry would stay as a favorite for fighting veterans due to its tight controls and snappy mechanics.
The series was then teased to continue with its debut trailer at E3 2006. This next iteration would release in the form of Super Smash Bros Brawl for the Nintendo Wii, releasing in the US on March 9th, 2008. Once again, the ante was upped with more characters, stages, trophies and so much more. And even third-party characters outside of Nintendo were now making guest appearances, with Sonic and Solid Snake. At last Nintendo and Sega fanboys of the console war era could settle the fights of Mario vs Sonic, or have a good laugh about it at least. The most notable addition to Brawl though would have to be the their expanded, co-op Adventure mode that was called the Subspace Emissary. Players would play a tailored story mode, alternating from varied platforming segments to beautiful CG cinematic clips. It was such an unusual and yet captivating wonder to behold of so many Nintendo properties intersecting into a unique narrative experience. They also tried to include online play with this entry, but such has still to this day been a problem for unstable connections and poor matchmaking in the series.
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| Meta Knight and Marth team up to take down waves of strange beings known as Primids; Sounds cool to me. |
Lastly, Super Smash Bros for 3DS and Wii-U, or Smash 4 as fans call these entries, both saw release in 2014. The roster has now climbed to a staggering 58 characters if you include DLC. Aesthetically, I'd have to say this is the best looking game in the series, opting for a bright and vivid cel-shaded look that just exceptionally pop in HD at 60 frames per second. Unfortunately, the single player took more of a backseat in these entries in favor of a more simplified arcade-like experience, though not even to the extent that Melee was. Though this entry does include for a first in its series (and really a rarity for most games in general): 8-player multiplayer. The madness that ensues on screen is a sight to behold, but remains an enjoyable, chaotic affair and makes the game more accessible and perfect for multiplayer gaming than ever before.
With the recent announcement of Smash Bros heading to Nintendo Switch now, many fans are once again getting the Smash fever (myself included). The question remains, how will this next entry be presented? Will the bar be raised ever higher with more characters and everything else imaginable, or should we simplify the roster to focus on a return to single player and online features? Is it time to shake up the series with new mechanics, perhaps with the likes of tag-team battles with smaller, lesser known Nintendo characters and/or properties? Whatever this new Smash may bring, let's hope it carries on the spirit and love for Nintendo, and the joy that comes with smashing it up together among good friends.
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| May the fire burn on! |
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