Dominic Piacentini
The Super Smash Bros. video game series began in 1999 with 12 characters from a variety of franchises controlled by Nintendo. Nine years later, Super Smash Bros. Brawl was released with 39 playable characters. The popularity of the franchise rose exponentially through the years in between, especially with Super Smash Bros. Melee, which was released for the Nintendo GameCube. This summer Nintendo will be releasing the fourth installment for the Wii U. Creators have confirmed that the original 12 will be returning, as well as some later favorites like Zelda, Marth, and Sonic. Nintendo has thus far revealed six newcomers: Greninja from Pokémon X/Y, Rosalina from the Super Mario Galaxy series, Little Mac from Punch-Out!!, Mega Man, an anonymous villager from Animal Crossing and a Wii Fit trainer. While some of these may seem underwhelming (a Wii Fit trainer? Really?), I’m sure many felt the same way about playing as Jigglypuff 15 years ago.
The series’ ability to incorporate many different franchises simultaneously has been one of its greatest successes. As of now, 19 different franchises exist within the game, including some that exist outside of Nintendo (Sonic and Metal Gear). Soundtrack themes, platforms, items and other aspects of the game are drawn from these other franchises. Besides, all of these games coming together to play is still so much fun. Watching Link battle with Pikachu is very akin to every nerd’s imagined battle between Dumbledore and Gandalf coming to life. Although the heart of the game does seem to center around the Super Mario universe, franchises like Star Fox and Metroid continue to live on through Super Smash Bros.
More than anything, I enjoy Smash because of the social aspect. In fact, it’s one of the few games that makes me highly, highly competitive. I’ve been playing Super Smash Bros. since I was six — nearly as long as my education. Growing up, my brother and I would create elaborate tournaments with the characters and play for hours. This hasn’t stopped either. Nearly every Sunday that I’m home on break, my brother and I play Brawl for at least a few rounds. Fortunately, but also unfortunately, my older brother moved out recently, leaving me alone during the newest game’s release. Sure, the game and its predecessor offer the ability to play with people around the world, but it’s just not the same as playing with the person right next to you. I might have just gotten emotional, forgive me.
A more graphically primitive version of the game will also be released for the Nintendo 3DS with all the same characters but with a different design. This newest version will maintain the side quests, trophy collecting and mini-games of the older iterations, but the Wii U and 3DS will introduce customization. In addition to the already variable combo favoring movesets, players will be able to design their own personal movesets for the characters.
Call me mainstream if you want, but it doesn’t get better than Super Smash Bros., and if you want to play, call me up cause I’m always ready to smash.