Tweet
Masahiro Sakurai was just 19 years old when he designed Kirby, the marshmallow-like blob that would become one of Nintendo's second-tier mascots, always straining for a look-in behind the front-row dazzlers like Mario and Link. Sakurai would be yoked to his creation for years (a time during which he created five Kirby games) before, by his own admission, he had to do something, anything else. His antidote was a fighting game, one in which Kirby was able to exact revenge on the rest of the Nintendo roster (or they on him). Sakurai worked on a demo in secret, without his employer's knowledge, believing that they'd never permit their most treasured characters to do battle. When he finally showed his workings, Nintendo agreed to fund Super Smash Bros., alongside the warning that it would likely never receive an overseas release.1999's debut for the series proved the management wrong: the game sold close to five million copies worldwide. Despite the success, that irreverent, desperate spirit that inspired Sakurai to create the game's blueprint has remained strong. In Super Smash Bros. 3DS, the first game in the series for six years, it is fully preserved. If Street Fighter is the well-oiled martial arts tournament of video games then Super Smash Bros. is the medium's wild-eyed bar-room brawl: chaotic, noisy, undisciplined. Moreover, with its shower of novelty weapons (flame-throwing sunflowers, explosive pokéballs, throw-able Steel Diver submarines) and vast cast of costumed fighters, it's a bar-room brawl at a fan convention. Sonic didn't like the way Kirby winked at him; Pikachu accused Falco Lombardi of spilling his drink; Wii Fit Trainer did an accidental downward facing dog on Diddy Kong's toe. Mayhem ensues.
The spectacle of these unlikely duels has always been the series' most appealing move. In Super Smash Bros. it's better than ever. Meet the Villager, an improbable émigré from Animal Crossing's sleepy town. He or she (both versions are available) can smack his enemies with a shovel, take to the sky (hoisted by a fistful of red balloons), ride an explosive rocket-powered gyroid into enemies and even erect a house as a devastating finishing move. Face Villager against, say, Pikmin's Captain Olimar, with his bite-happy minions, or Ness, the squat American teenager from the Mother series, or Super Mario Galaxy's Rosalina with her emo-sweep fringe and the joke hits even before the first punch is thrown.
Read more…
More...