2008 Woodie Awards
Video Game Review
924187343@gsc.edu
Mitch Blomert
Issue date: 4/15/08 Section: Entertainment
As Nintendo continues to strike gold over and over with every Wii-exclusive game they send to the United States, they've apparently been noticing a trend with us American gamers: we love new versions of classic games.
Luckily, we're getting another one.
Ask any Nintendo loyalist what series they've enjoyed the most over the past decade, and they'll give you the obvious: the Super Marios, the Mario Karts and the Legend of Zeldas. You get the picture.
When you ask them what their favorite fighting game has been in that same span and you're bound to hear the name "Super Smash Bros." a few times in there somewhere.
Well, maybe more than a few times.
In 1999, Nintendo released Super Smash Bros., the first of what would become a trilogy. Recognizing their status as arguably the most influential gaming developers in the history of gaming, Nintendo decided to veer off their usual "heroic adventure with one main character that will become a gaming icon saving the day" path and introduced all these heroes into a single game.
And they would fight each other.
Each character, easily distinguishable from previous Nintendo hits, had their own attacks and signature moves that they could use in various battle stages that mirrored that of levels from various Nintendo games. Among the endless nostalgia for Nintendo fans, hundreds of weapons, from laser swords to baseball bats, were available for use as they appeared in each stage.
The game made such a splash that a sequel, Super Smash Bros. Melee, was released for the Nintendo Gamecube in 2001. It improved on its predecessor's engine, adding more characters and creating new levels.
Of course, Nintendo isn't going to leave us hanging. On March 9, the third installment of series, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, was released on the Nintendo Wii. With 35 playable characters, all from Nintendo games, even I, a loyal fan for years, had to do some research to remember what game each character came from. Honestly, who still has a copy of the 1986 edition of Kid Icarus for the original Nintendo Entertainment System?
Luckily, we're getting another one.
Ask any Nintendo loyalist what series they've enjoyed the most over the past decade, and they'll give you the obvious: the Super Marios, the Mario Karts and the Legend of Zeldas. You get the picture.
When you ask them what their favorite fighting game has been in that same span and you're bound to hear the name "Super Smash Bros." a few times in there somewhere.
Well, maybe more than a few times.
In 1999, Nintendo released Super Smash Bros., the first of what would become a trilogy. Recognizing their status as arguably the most influential gaming developers in the history of gaming, Nintendo decided to veer off their usual "heroic adventure with one main character that will become a gaming icon saving the day" path and introduced all these heroes into a single game.
And they would fight each other.
Each character, easily distinguishable from previous Nintendo hits, had their own attacks and signature moves that they could use in various battle stages that mirrored that of levels from various Nintendo games. Among the endless nostalgia for Nintendo fans, hundreds of weapons, from laser swords to baseball bats, were available for use as they appeared in each stage.
The game made such a splash that a sequel, Super Smash Bros. Melee, was released for the Nintendo Gamecube in 2001. It improved on its predecessor's engine, adding more characters and creating new levels.
Of course, Nintendo isn't going to leave us hanging. On March 9, the third installment of series, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, was released on the Nintendo Wii. With 35 playable characters, all from Nintendo games, even I, a loyal fan for years, had to do some research to remember what game each character came from. Honestly, who still has a copy of the 1986 edition of Kid Icarus for the original Nintendo Entertainment System?
Be the first to comment on this story