Reposting in order to get it higher in the clogs because I typed the whole thing on here hours ago and didn't know about the timestamp.

I have heard this question asked so many times: "Why do people love Smash Bros. so much?" and "What's so special about it?" and "The game's not even deep!" Well, as a fan of Smash Bros., I want to try to answer this question for you all that keep thinking these things.

WHY PEOPLE LOVE SUPER SMASH BROS.



The first and foremost reason that people love Super Smash Bros. so much is because it involves a crossover of epic proportions with characters that many have grown (or are growing) up with.

For example, this has been an argument since my childhood days (and I'm sure MANY other people have had it too). "Sonic could be Mario in a fight!" or vice-versa. Another one I have actually heard in my childhood (seriously, before the first game even came out) was "Who would win in a fight? Pikachu or Samus?" Well, Super Smash Bros. allows people to live out those dreams of throwing down with their favorite characters from the classic Nintendo (and now Sega, and sorta Sony..) days. This is why people have been going so nuts over Super Smash Bros. Brawl's character roster. Because they want to know which ones of their classic favorites will be included in order to fulfill the player's dream match.

"It's easy to see why kids are so into the games, but why are ADULTS so ga-ga over it?"

Let me answer your question with a question of my own (assuming you're a nerd of SOME sort, mind you--why else would you be on a GAMING site??): "Do you have favorite characters from different series of comics/television shows/books that you would be curious to see battle each other in one way or another (be it wits or fists)?"

If your answer is no, then you must be completely shut off from all media and, therefore, this entire post is useless to you as you are incapable of understanding this concept.




This goes along the same lines, more or less, of "THE CHARACTERS." The environments the characters of old play in are from classic video game landmarks. People are given a chance to have a dream match between Pikachu, Kirby with Pikachu's ability, and Fox McCloud on Brinstar. The items (which I will also put under "THE ENVIRONMENT") are also mostly from these games and add even more to the mix. Not to mention the fact that the nostalgia grows with reworked classics playing through the speakers... Let me rewrite my earlier sentence:

People are given a chance to have a dream match between Pikachu, Kirby with Pikachu's ability, and Fox McCloud on Brinstar using Mr. Saturn as a projectile while listening to the classic Metroid theme song.

That statement alone would make any Nintendo fan figuratively (and possibly literally in some cases) "cream their pants" or so to speak.




Now the previously stated things are all fine and dandy, but it all means nothing if the game totally sucks when it comes to actually FIGHTING. And let me just state right now that Super Smash Bros. IS a fighting game.

"In a fighting game, players face off against each other or against computer-controlled characters in close combat. The main distinction between this genre and the beat 'em up genre is that players are of roughly equal power to their opponents, and fights are self-contained matches involving a small number of characters (usually between two and four)." - Wikipedia.com (I believe we can all agree with this statement despite it being Wikipedia)

Smash Bros. does exactly those things and involves one player punching another, so it IS a fighting game, let's not dwell on it anymore.

Now as I was saying, if the gameplay sucks, who would want to play it even if it DID have nostalgia over pouring in it? FANS, that's who. But even if they ARE fans, even fans grow tired of terrible gameplay. And this is Nintendo we're talking about. They are known for their high-quality games (if they weren't would they still be around?). This game has also been able to get non-gamers to play. Why? Because of it's simplistic surface.

The game has very simplistic controls. The A-button is for regular attacks and picking up items and the B-button is for special attacks. That's the basic knowledge needed to pick up the game.

However, it doesn't take long before the players begin to understand the more complicated points of the game. It starts with learning how to shield (block) and how to dodge. Then how to pull off a smash attack. Then it grows from there as the player starts to see how combos can be created from doing one move and switching over to another rather than simply mashing the A-button for a single, repetitive move. Once the player understands these simplistic controls, it doesn't take very long before they are quickly moving around the playing field without thinking about what buttons to press.

There are no complex button-combos to learn (example: Tekken--which I love, btw, I'm not bashing it) so the player is able to create their own combos through these simplistic controls (I am tempted to give a visual example of this, but I don't really think it would help to get my point across as you may not see, exactly, what I'm trying to explain).

Super Smash Bros. is the kind of game that is easy to get into but creates complexity as the player delves further into the game. The gamer begins by thinking, "OMG! I need to just press A and B to stop him! He's coming right at me! Aaaaah!" and, as they get more familiar with the controls begin to think, "Okay, he's coming at me... I'll let him come at me, roll dodge behind his back, grab him, hit him in the grab a couple times, use a down throw, follow it up with a down-b attack which will send him into the air, then jump up after him and to an upper air attack to send him flying!" between 3-5 seconds before performing the actions.

Now imagine one person who knows how to play playing against another person who knows how to play. That makes for a very fun time. Then throw in the occasional unpredictability of items** (which many hardcore professionals would rather do without to reduce unpredictability--though normal players may do the same for more intimate encounters) and that makes for a very rousing game that is a blast to play with...




The game is one that is meant to be played with others rather than alone. This is why Super Smash Bros. Brawl is being so hotly anticipated. Not only does it have the long-time argued and once-unimaginable possibility of Sonic vs. Mario, but it include online play and multi-play in EVERYTHING and it doesn't matter if they are alone! If you have not been able to play the game a lot with friends, you have been missing out. And if you have but didn't find the time entertaining, then that may have something to do more with how your friendship works, with your skill levels with the game, or with your personal feelings towards the characters (when I say this I mean you don't see the fascination behind crossovers or didn't think about it).




**Also, with the items on, it gives the new players a fighting chance against the better players. Granted, there is an argument that has spawned from this fact that it makes the game terrible as even the very best players can be beaten by new players, but I counter that argument by saying that the vet players are either taking their opponent too lightly, not actually that good, or are going easy on them to help give them a fighting spirit that allows them to get better (which is what I ALWAYS do with newbs--and they quickly get better at the game and put up a good fight when I'm not going easy on them).

I think I've covered everything I could think of. I invite other fans of Smash Bros. to add their thoughts and I also invite those who disagree with what I have said to post their thoughts as well. I will be happy to respond to them if I (or someone else) can.