Super Smash Bros.

"Party Game."

Traditionally, a game like Super Smash Brothers can be a hit or miss. And in this case it’s both. Though a commercial success, Super Smash Brothers has more in it to have been even more successful and if more time was spent crafting the fighting engine and the low challenge and options, then this game might have been for everybody.

The game is made by HAL Laboratory, a new and up-and-coming face in the video game industry – a company headed by the tough execs at Nintendo. Like most Nintendo 64 games, Super Smash Brothers began its life on the Super Nintendo and it was to be developed through the use of polygons, much like other games on the system like Star Fox and Killer Instinct. However, on a weak system like this the developers never could have pushed the game to their limits. So they waited for the Nintendo 64 and after thinking things through and a quick talk to Nintendo about their ideas, they finally released this long-delayed title.

The biggest draw to this game immediately comes when gazing at the intro and seeing all your favorite Nintendo characters of yore getting ready to duke it out. And this is basically what the game brings to the table. You can choose from 1 of 10 different Nintendo characters and then you fight against another Nintendo character, and so on. Characters include the memorable, pastime mascots of the company (Mario, Donkey Kong, Samus Aran, Link), recent additions (Kirby, Pikachu, Fox McCloud, Ness), and the ones thrown in between the years to go along with most of these characters (Yoshi, Jigglypuff, Captain Falcon, and Luigi).

After picking whichever one of these characters you want to use, you will then go through a tournament of sorts where this character of yours fights an opponent. However, unlike classic fighting games where you have a health meter that drains down as you get hit, Super Smash Brothers has a different twist. It uses a percentage system, which calculates all the hits you’ve taken. The more you get hit, the higher the percent. As it elevates more and more your character will start to get weaker and weaker. And this would be your (or his) cue for attack. I say this because in order to lose or win in this game, you must toss your opponent (or be tossed out of) out of the ring, or the level in which you are in.

And don’t worry, as this whole system of winning and losing isn’t even close to being as difficult as it sounds.

Rings include such places as a Pokemon Stadium, where these little midgets pop up to attack you, a jungle, filled with many Donkey Kong-related stuff (barrels, trees, et cetera), and a lava pit, in which a pile of rising lava rises below you. All of the rings will go along with the character who is going to be in them and all of them will try to serve as a memento from that specific character’s game (e.g. if you’re fighting Fox McCloud then you will appear on top of a spaceship, Fox’s spaceship, which will serve as a throwback to Star Fox).

The single-player campaign would last for about 10 matches. In each of these you will start by fighting an easy opponent, the first one of which is Link, and as you progress you will fight much harder enemies, from the fictitious Master Hand, to Metal Mario, to even a Jumbo-sized version of Donkey Kong, everyone’s favorite primate. As you win you will gain points and points can lead to different things. It all depends. There are even mini-games thrown into the mix to break up the monotony. Unfortunately, I would have liked a few more mini-games (as well as ones that depended on new, or innovative, things).

The controls and fighting system are simplistic. Basically you press the A and B buttons, some shoulder buttons, and move the control stick and you will then be ready. It doesn’t take much and it can all be mastered right away. Basic character attacks include such things as punches, slams, and even specials, which will mostly vary depending which character you are using. Also available to you will be weapons, of which you can pick up and use right away. Some of the weapons can be helpful, others dangerous. Weapons include such things as Poke’ Balls, which release Pokemon to the arena to assist you, flamethrowers, which release a steamy pile of fire to your opponent, and mallets, which send your opponent wandering to the land of make-believe. Surely, the addition of weapons is a great thing and it can actually lead the fighting to be more fun at times. A few more weapons would have been nice, but what’s here is good enough to round out a package.

Multi-player is another huge asset to this game. It makes this game last – all becomes never-ending and really fun; you feel as though you never want to stop playing. Up to four players can play and each player can decide on where they want their match to be held (or simply, of course, you can just allow the computer to do this for you). During multi-player you will be offered the same options as in single-player, except that now there is a time limit. (The time limit is about four or so minutes.) Once the clock ticks down and then no time is left, the match will end. Once it ends the computer picks the winner (the person who fell down the ring the fewest number of times). If it’s a tie then Sudden Death will commence, and here one blow is more then enough to send the opposition flying.

But though it is a very fun title to play with friends, Super Smash Brothers just leaves you wanting more. There are some great innovative things here, but I just want and need more. Four extra characters is, simply, just not enough. Also, single-player just doesn’t go, or extend far enough. It needs some pizzazz, some flavor. (If you take out all the Nintendo characters, this game, as a whole, is pretty much ******.) It’s all just too simple and without friends or the needed accessories, you would not be getting much “bang” for your buck. It could be mastered in a very short time if you’ve got the patience, and it can be beaten in an even shorter time. It’s too simple (on the hardest difficulty level it will still feel like you’re playing the game on easy).

The graphics are also not as impressive, but, compared with other Nintendo 64 titles that suffer bad Z-buffering and texture problems, I guess they could impress. At times, so much interaction is happening on screen and the game still remains the same. No slowdown, no graphical glitches of any sort, and so on and so forth. Details abound in the levels and the characters, but many things tend to come out very blurry (no surprise, especially since it’s being played on an Nintendo 64 console). Many of the effects could have also been better, but there not too bad when compared with other games of the genre on the console.

The audio is also a mixed bag. I actually seem to enjoy the themes that play in the background (some of the songs come from the games that those specific characters represent from – if you fight in the Pokemon Stadium area then the Pokemon theme will play). But as good as the themes are, I expected more from the sound effects. Nothing’s really extraordinary here, basic explosions and other metallic-sounding chimes. The characters will even say a word here and there, but it’s really nothing to get too excited about.

Finally, Super Smash Brothers is a game that will stick to some, but will detach for others. Meaning some will enjoy it, others won’t. For me, and my half-assed opinions, I seem to be going with the latter. To me multi-player saves this game from total mediocrity. I would’ve preferred more things on different levels. More characters, more hidden extras, more single-player levels, more options, these would have saved the game. So to be short and blunt, this is just a simple party game.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 12/13/02, Updated 12/13/02