Super Smash Bros.

"Fun and addictive, but a bit repetitive."

Two player mode. Versus mode. The core of this game. Take away everything but the one player mode, and you have one hell of a boring game after a few hours. That's not horribly surprising, but Nintendo could have put a lot more effort into the one player mode, as it's terribly linear and boring once mastered. You even fight the same enemies in the same order every time.

Nevertheless, the versus and two to four player modes of this game more than make up for its merely adequate one player mode. And in what other game do you get to see Nintendo characters beating each other up? While I grew tired of this game after a while, I have to admit that it's versus and two player modes are very addictive, and this game is definitely worth a purchase.

Graphics (9/10)- I can't find much wrong with the graphics of this game, other than the fact that the battlefield can look very small when characters are spread out in four player mode. Other than that, the graphics are extremely detailed. Characters, while polygonal, look very smooth, and most of their designs stay true to the game they come from. Each level is detailed, colorful, and smooth looking. Not a single sign of a jagged line anywhere in the level set ups. In addition, each level has backgrounds that, while a tad blurry, contain the same amount of detail as the actual level itself. From the clouds in Peach's Castle to the trees in Congo Jungle, everything looks great. Hell, they even threw in the 2D setting from the original NES Mario in one level's background! Nintendo truly did a terrific job with the graphics in this game.

Music/Sound (6/10)- So yes, the graphics are great, but what about the music? Sadly, the music of this game is one of its weak points. Some tunes are fairly catchy, but others fall flat on their face in repetitiveness.

First off, the menu tunes are terrible. They both consist of about four different notes, and loop about every five seconds. Luckily, you aren't going to spend much time on the menu anyway, so this shouldn't be a problem. Choose a mode, choose a character, and you're off.

Some tunes of the levels are catchy, but some are just plain repetitive. Most of the music in the levels directly relate to the game the level is from. For example, on the Hyrule Castle rooftop you have the classic Zelda overworld theme, and in Peach's Castle you have the well known Mario Brothers theme. Nintendo did a great job with this consistency, which was needed; it wouldn't make any sense if the Donkey Kong music took place in Sector Z, now would it?

Since these tunes are from earlier games such as Mario, Metroid, Kirby, and others, you'll probably get feelings of nostalgia. However, I find some tunes in this game incredibly hard to listen to, such as Kirby's Dreamland. It pretty much consists of a bunch of high pitched, fast, repetitive noises that may sound good at first, but get old after looping for the thirtieth time. Same goes for Yoshi's Island: repetitive noises. Fortunately, the music has some positive points: the tune straight out of the NES Mario is well composed, as is the Sector Z theme from Starfox 64. These tunes, like most, can get repetitive, but not nearly as much as the cutesy related tunes such as Yoshi's Island, Kirby's Dreamland, and the rooftops of Saffron City.

Sound in the game is pretty realistic. While some yelps of pain from characters might get grating after a while, the smashing of barrels and the shooting of laser guns are easy on the ears. The announcer isn't very annoying either, and you'll get used to him quick. Nothing wrong with the sound in this game at all.

Control (10/10)- So the game looks good and sounds OK, but how smoothly does it play? Luckily, the controls in this game are a cinch to master; you'll get used to them in ten minutes,
tops. Any of the C buttons or pressing up on the analog stick jumps, B, down B, and up B do specific character specials, and A is your standard punch/jab deal. There are other combos you can pull off depending on how you use the analog stick and A, but you'll catch on in no time.

Story (N/A)- Uh...a magic hand finds a bunch of toys resembling Nintendo characters, snaps his fingers, and they come to life. Suddenly they start fighting each other. But you weren't expecting a fantastic, deep story of struggle and war, correct? Ahem, moving along...

Gameplay (8/10)- Down to the heart of a fighting game. Sure, the graphics and sound might be nice, but what good are they if the gameplay bites? Fortunately, Super Smash Brothers fails to disappoint in this department, especially in two to four player and versus modes.

When you enter a battle, you pretty much just handle your opponent any way you want. Random beneficial or harmful items can be used to win battles even easier. The game is slightly different from your traditional fighting game, though: to win, you have to knock your opponent off the edge of the battlefield, and you have to wear them down a lot to do this, so they won't jump back.

Each character has a percent amount to show how much damage he/she has taken. The higher the number, the more likely you'll be able to knock the opponent off the battlefield, and they'll be hit harder by weaker attacks. Each character has the ability to use a certain number of jumps while knocked in the air, but if you use them up and can't make your way back to the battlefield, you're gone. While traditional style battles would have been nice, this format is fairly innovative and works fine.

Accomplishing certain tasks in one player mode allows you to acquire secret characters. Once you've mastered this mode, it gets boring quick, especially you fight enemies in the same order every time through. A plus to this mode is that you can customize how many lives you have and the difficulty, but this doesn't help one player mode much.

You'd better believe this game is a hell of a lot more fun with friends. Up to four players can play at once, and this provides a lot more of a challenge depending on how skilled your friends are. You also can't predict the outcome of each match accurately, as your buds will get more skilled the more they play. You can choose teams, gang up on each other, or just go every man for himself. A downside to four player mode is that the game slows down from its usual smooth pace; with that many characters on the screen, slowdown is very eminent.

I also find versus mode when playing alone much more fun and customizable than one player. You can adjust the AI of your opponents; level 1 if you want some simple practice, up to level 9 for a serious challenge. You can put as many as three enemies on a team against you if you really want to see how good you are! And of course, you choose the enemies, levels, modes, and lives, so versus mode can be a lot more fun than one player mode.

Replay (8/10)- This game is incredibly addictive when playing it with friends. Most will get hooked on it in no time at all. There are an insane amount of possibilities for customization in this game that you'll never grow tired of. Boredom won't be an issue.

Difficulty (5/10)- Of course, the easy modes are fairly simple even for newcomers, but setting AI levels to 9 and having a bunch of characters gang up on you won't be easy battles to win. The game can be tough on the tougher settings at first, but you'll become fairly skilled quickly.

Buy/Rent? Buy, definitely. Renting won't do much good, as you'll keep wanting to come back to the game again and again. You'd just end up renting it over and over, anyhow...

This game is an excellent result of an attempt at an innovative fighting game by Nintendo. Not surprisingly, linear one player mode isn't a highlight, but it will be forgotten once you start brawling in the highly customizable versus mode, and the game will keep you up late fighting your friends. Don't pass it up. Buy, invite some friends over, and be prepared for one hell of a game.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/03/01, Updated 06/03/01