VG Review - Super Smash Bros.

Like I said in my review of Primal Rage, the 90s were always the best years for fighting games in my opinion! More so than today, which they're okay, but could've had some nostalgic effect to it instead of having graphics in the picture! Since when are graphics a necessity to video games? Never!! But let's all move on to what started the change in traditional fighting video game series: Super Smash Bros! Yes, that series has a lot of fans, and I mean, A LOT! To many, Brawl is one of the greatest Smash Bros. titles every released, and I can see why... But to be perfectly honest, the best one for me will always be Super Smash Bros for Nintendo 64: a staple for other games that later borrowed its likeness, including the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series. So here's the 411: Super Smash Bros was released originally as "Nintendo All Star! Dairanto Smash Brothers" on January 21, 1999 in Japan, and later made its way to North America on April 26, 1999, and then November 19, 1999 in Europe. This is the one game that lead me to be a hardcore fan of fighting games (well, Mortal Kombat II started that hype, but I never really considered it as that). Shigeru Miyamoto was that badass when he made this monster, having a lot of originality: like four-player action and this being a crossover! Honestly, why is Brawl the only recent game in the series to have been released? A nostalgic sequel would be nice, HAL! Go do it at your own risk! This is probably the only entry in the entire series to be at a well-balanced area (Brawl may be an awesome game, but some balance issues are deep inside areas one should never look) as well. Everything about this game is near perfect: the opening cinematic, the box art, character roster, gameplay physics, and most importantly, NOSTALLLLLLLLLGIA!!!!! Even the music and announcer were great at this time (I like Melee, but to be fair, I like the Tekken 2 announcer and music over that one's... well, the Playstation port, anyway). I remember at 5 years old when I played this SOB and flopped like a moron! (ROFLMAO) Those graphics, that fighting engine... Who came up with that, anyway?! None other than my man, Miyamoto! With help than Satoru Iwata. One other thing I really wanna put out there is the music, it just kicks ass in my vast opinion... Some of the tracks on that installment really should've made a bit of a comeback on Super Smash Bros. Brawl, in their original forms (Not remixed, you malfunctioned morons!). It would make me cry in honor of what was so intense back in the day, and what's fine today, but really lacking in originality. The main single-player mode in this game was well-made, but I must say that for the sake of others, this wasn't really much of a formidable obstacle, now was it? Melee and Brawl both amped up the difficulty... I do must say that the "Race to the Finish" and fighting against metallic characters thing was really BOSS, and I really miss this! Did it get taken out of Brawl or somethin', 'cuz to me, that's what it looks like!! Just one Target Smash stage was necessary enough, not two! But criticism aside, Hirokazu Ando with this amazing and unique musical skills, HAL's idea and creation for a perfect non-traditional fighting game, and then last but not least, polygonic (or maybe 3D?) graphics makes Super Smash Bros. one of the greatest fighting game installments that have ever came out! And I guess I forgot the character roster, didn't I? Yes, in this entry of the series, there are only twelve, well-balanced fighters a player or two can choose from (some of those characters were getting the overpowered "treatment" in later games, and others got "downgraded"... WTF?!). When first playing this invincible machine, you are with eight characters from their respective series and where they originated: Mario from Donkey Kong (that's where he originated, anyway), Donkey Kong from Donkey Kong (I said that twice, gimme a break!), Link from The Legend of Zelda, Samus from Metroid (I once thought Samus was male, but I found out it was a girl during my times playing Melee! What a shocker!!), Yoshi from Super Mario World, Kirby from Hoshi no Kirby (wanted to use the Japanese title there, folks!), Fox from Star Fox, and then Pikachu from Pokemon. With playing under certain aspects of the game, four more characters are unlocked at will: Luigi from Super Mario Bros., Captain Falcon from F-Zero, Ness from Earthbound, and finally Jigglypuff from Pokemon... Whew! A nice set of characters if I do say so m'self! Overall, this is the one fighting game I will give no hate on, whatsoever... Truly a millennium of the ages and what a child may say, "YEA!! Smash Bros! YEA!! Uh oh, gotta go potty, gotta go potty, gotta go potty!!!!" (LOL). I'll give it a perfect score of 10 out of 10. And to be honest, I love the Ultimate Ninja series, but for me, it gives no nostalgic factor, yet a little original, so some credit like that can be excusable

Pros

 * Great for multiplayer and insane for playing alone!
 * The music gets an A for effort and uniqueness! What Brawl should've have... :(
 * Fighting engine has raw talent and power
 * Nostalgia everywhere! Everywhere, I say! EVERYWHERE!!!!!
 * A beautifully made crossover with tight characters, sharp graphics, and overall responses.

Cons

 * The single-player mode isn't much of a challenge.