Super Smash Brothers
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| Image from Smash Wii U Wikipedia page |
The series got started in 1999 with the Nintendo 64 iteration. It received more praise and garnered more popularity than what was initially expected by HAL Laboratory. Smash 64 was different from other fighting at the time. Rather than depleting and opponents health bar, you had to increase the opponents percentage by hitting them with attacks.
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| Opponent flies a short distance away at a lower percentage. Image from Smash Bros. |
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| Opponent flies a much further distance at a higher percentage. Image from Smash Bros. |
As you can see, the higher percentage your opponent is at when you hit them, the further they fly. This relation alludes to the goal in smash brothers. The goal is to send your opponents flying off of the stage so that they cannot make it back.
Super Smash Brothers Melee was the game that cemented the series as a hit. It included more characters, more stages, more game modes, and more items. The cool thing was that everything about the game was from or primarily related to Nintendo. The changes made from 64 to Melee were well received by everyone, Melee also influenced a huge influx of new players.
The best thing about Melee was that it spawned a huge competitive scene that still lives on today. There were tournaments run by MLG (Major League Gaming) that included Melee, among other games. Around 2007 Melee fell out of inclusion at MLG events. Melee resurfaced on MLG's roster in 2014 but was not held in high regard like previous events. As of the past six years, there have been large tournaments with a wide roster of fighting games including Melee. The tournaments are called Apex, run by Team Apex, and EVO. The popularity of Melee has lived on and even grown through the years. In fact, APEX 2015 held in January had approximately 1,000 plus entrants! EVO, which will be held July 17-19 is projected to beat that number.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl came out in early 2008 with an unprecedented amount of hype. The game was well received by almost everyone. The only people left out of that were the higher level competitive players of Melee. They felt that the game catered to those who don't want to play competitively. That was true for the most part. Masahiro Sakurai, The director behind the Smash Brothers series, said that he wanted to make a Smash game that is easily accessible to anyone who wants to pick up the game. Sakurai felt that Melee was too difficult to pick up for the casual gamer. (source).
Brawl was still a very good and enjoyable entry in the series. It received a score of 92.8 and 93 from GameRankings and MetaCritic respectively. It included even more characters, thirty-nine to be exact. Brawl had forty-one stages, including a custom stage maker for the more creative types. The biggest addition to the gameplay was the addition of the Smash Ball. The Smash Ball allows players to use a powerful Final Smash to send foes flying and often KO them. Another great addition to the game was the online play. You could fight up to 3 random people around the world online, or make a private room to fight your friends.
The latest entry in the series is Smash 4. It is a unique entry because it is the first of the series to be released on a handheld alongside a console. Smash 4 released for 3DS on September 13th in Japan, and in America on October 3rd. The Wii U version was released on November 21st in America, and December 6th in Japan. Smash 4 has a massive roster of characters. Fifty-three, including the Mii combatants, along with a myriad of custom moves for each fighter. Smash 3DS has a total of thirty-four stages while the Wii U version has forty-six. Both games differ in stage choice, they only have 5 common stages. I am wholly impressed at the amount of stuff that is packed into this game.
The game has been called a happy medium between Melee and Brawl. The game is easily accessible for newcomers and fans of the series, but is also deep enough to be played at a competitive level. The gameplay is much faster than in Brawl but not as technically demanding as Melee, yet has much better graphics and many different controllers to use.
In the past, Nintendo has been reluctant to sponsor the competitive scene. However, with the popularity of tournaments and the success of Smash 4, Nintendo has begun to support the Competitive Smash Community that helps garner interest in Smash and keep it alive. They even provided Smash Wii U setups for the APEX 2015 Tournament. Melee had over 100,000 viewers on Twitch, and Smash 4 also had a large number of viewers.
Super Smash Brothers is a series that I hope will live on throughout the years, as well as Nintendo. It is my favorite fighting game, and I do not think anything will ever top it.
Keep up the good work Masahiro Sakurai. We all appreciate it.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl came out in early 2008 with an unprecedented amount of hype. The game was well received by almost everyone. The only people left out of that were the higher level competitive players of Melee. They felt that the game catered to those who don't want to play competitively. That was true for the most part. Masahiro Sakurai, The director behind the Smash Brothers series, said that he wanted to make a Smash game that is easily accessible to anyone who wants to pick up the game. Sakurai felt that Melee was too difficult to pick up for the casual gamer. (source).
Brawl was still a very good and enjoyable entry in the series. It received a score of 92.8 and 93 from GameRankings and MetaCritic respectively. It included even more characters, thirty-nine to be exact. Brawl had forty-one stages, including a custom stage maker for the more creative types. The biggest addition to the gameplay was the addition of the Smash Ball. The Smash Ball allows players to use a powerful Final Smash to send foes flying and often KO them. Another great addition to the game was the online play. You could fight up to 3 random people around the world online, or make a private room to fight your friends.
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| fighting over a Smash Ball. Image from Smash Bros. |
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| Link using his final smash on Mario. |
The latest entry in the series is Smash 4. It is a unique entry because it is the first of the series to be released on a handheld alongside a console. Smash 4 released for 3DS on September 13th in Japan, and in America on October 3rd. The Wii U version was released on November 21st in America, and December 6th in Japan. Smash 4 has a massive roster of characters. Fifty-three, including the Mii combatants, along with a myriad of custom moves for each fighter. Smash 3DS has a total of thirty-four stages while the Wii U version has forty-six. Both games differ in stage choice, they only have 5 common stages. I am wholly impressed at the amount of stuff that is packed into this game.
The game has been called a happy medium between Melee and Brawl. The game is easily accessible for newcomers and fans of the series, but is also deep enough to be played at a competitive level. The gameplay is much faster than in Brawl but not as technically demanding as Melee, yet has much better graphics and many different controllers to use.
In the past, Nintendo has been reluctant to sponsor the competitive scene. However, with the popularity of tournaments and the success of Smash 4, Nintendo has begun to support the Competitive Smash Community that helps garner interest in Smash and keep it alive. They even provided Smash Wii U setups for the APEX 2015 Tournament. Melee had over 100,000 viewers on Twitch, and Smash 4 also had a large number of viewers.
Super Smash Brothers is a series that I hope will live on throughout the years, as well as Nintendo. It is my favorite fighting game, and I do not think anything will ever top it.
Keep up the good work Masahiro Sakurai. We all appreciate it.
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