Best community or bestest community?
I love fighting games. Well, I love pretty much all competitive games, but fighting games are some of the most satisfying. Pulling off combos (or kombos), discovering new “tech,” and watching the metagame develop are all super exciting! I’ve played and enjoyed plenty online: Super Street Fighter IV, BlazBlue, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, Divekick, Skullgirls, and even Smash Bros. Brawl.
But none of them have matched the enjoyment I’ve had in my short time playing Smash Bros. for 3DS online. Allow me to explain.
Prior to Smash Bros. for 3DS online, this was my favorite online fighting moment, courtesy of Super Street Fighter IV (I’m venusaurus):
Not only did I meet another Hakan player online, but THAT ENDING!! Still one of the most epic moments in my competitive lifespan. These memorable moments were very few and far between, however.
Playing Smash Bros. online provides me with at least one highlight in each session. Something either badass or goofy always seems to happen. Whether I’m kicking someone’s butt or getting my own handed to me, everyone is down for a rematch. The game doesn’t publicly display any sort of ranking or win/loss ratio, so no one really cares about losing. It’s all about getting better. Imagine that: playing a game of skill to get better at it and not inflate some arbitrary number!
Here’s some of my highlights so far:
THE BADASS
Sometimes you just have those badass moments in Smash; a clutch kill, an incredible meteor spike, whatever it may be.
I love weird characters. I have Villager, Game & Watch, Wii Fit Trainer, and Wario all in my main rotation. Some people don’t know how to handle things like Villager’s Tree. Most people know to avoid the chop down, but plenty of people fall for the old “plant’n’grow” technique I’m using here.
I particularly love this GIF because of how perfect the timing worked. One second later and Pikachu would have Skull Bashed me and probably killed me, because this guy was really good as Pikachu. Not pictured: the millions of times I tried to Pocket and use Thunder.
This Ike was pissing me off. This is probably our seventh match together. He won the first five in a row, and then I started winning. I figured him out, simple as that. He only had about three tactics that he rotated between, so it wasn’t too hard. The problem is that Ike hits so hard you barely have time to figure him out in a single match!
So anyway, I captured this moment as Samus because I felt so cool doing it. Most people’s early impressions of Samus are not that good, but I still love playing her. I know this GIF isn’t an actual combo, but it sure felt like one! Spike into the ground, then up smash as he tries to land an attack from above. GOTCHA!
THE GOOFY
The other times, you come across someone, even in For Glory Mode, who just wants to goof around!
The above sequence legitimately happened in a For Glory match. This Wario (Username: Wariuzzo) was one of the best players I’ve ever faced in Smash. In fact, we’re actually 3DS friends now! I found his username on Smashboards.com and sent him a message and boom! Now we’re friends for life. This was our fifth match or so together, so I was accustomed to how he played. However, I had an early death that was my own fault. Since Peach is probably my best character, I got really sad. But then Wariuzzo jumped off the side himself! When we both respawned we taunted for a bit, and eventually he was farting on me.
Only in Smash Bros.
I’m not sure if this is goofy or badass. This was, up to and after this point, a completely serious match between myself (Game & Watch) and this stranger (Samus) in For Glory. The uhh, the GIF speaks for itself here. I’m honestly impressed.
This was once again in a For Glory match. It’s a short story:
Pac-Man and Kirby have always been friends. Ever since they met as children in school, their similar shapes formed a natural bond. Even when the humanoid characters started to pick on them, their bond only became stronger due to their shared spherical nature. They trained together every day to get stronger and stronger. Kirby would practice with his weapons while Pac-Man would throw around pellets, hydrants, and even fruit. Pac-Man even let Kirby throw around fruit sometimes!
One day the boys were practicing with each other when a wicked hunger overcame Kirby. Being the bearer of many fruits, Pac-Man naturally offered him some, to which Kirby graciously accepted. However, things did not go as planned! When Pac-Man send the fruit Kirby’s way, it bonked him right on the noggin’! “Oh no!” shouted Pac-Man, as Kirby plummeted down into the abyss. Pac-Man walked over to the edge, hoping to see Kirby somehow hanging on. But when he peered over the edge, there was no Kirby to be found.
It was just then that Pac-Man heard a cute little noise, like some sort of puffball crouching over and over again. It was Kirby! His best bud had returned! Pac-Man jumped for joy at the sight of his friend in front of him, and they were happy.
Also we dicked around like this until Sudden Death and the asshole killed me with a forward smash.
And just because, I’ll leave you with an intense match between my friend Justin (Mega Man) and me (Villager). He’s really one of the only good Mega Man players I’ve ever fought against.
FYI I’ve gotten much better at Villager since. I use his tilts now!
