Welcome back to Throwback Thursday, where we take an older game and examine it and revel in our most cherished childhood memories. While the previous weeks have focused on the original PlayStation’s two major series, this week’s throwback will focus on Nintendo’s series of mascots all in one game: the original Super Smash Bros.

 

One reason the original Super Smash Bros. is interesting is  the fact that it was originally not tied into the Nintendo mascots. It was an unrelated game that had the same unique fighting mechanics. This was changed because Nintendo felt like no one would recognize the characters and that the unique fighting mechanic would not be able to bring in enough players. So, the game was given a Nintendo coat of paint.

 

I recall playing this game at my friends’ houses because I personally didn’t own a Nintendo 64–by that time in my life, I was already a PlayStation guy. However, even at college parties 10 years later, this game was constantly brought out with a friend’s N64.

 

 

The reason this became a success is not only due to the mascot power of the roster, but also the four-player fighting style. Whether players were strictly Final Destination or just playing for fun, the game was a staple for the system, aside from other games like Mario Kart.

 

Personally, I loved it. Even though Super Smash Bros. had not much in terms of story, it was the gameplay and the idea behind the gameplay that was great. It plays on the idea that people play with different action figures and want to know what would happen if Mario got in a fight with Samus Aran. The answer, of course, it Samus. However, the point is that different mascots came together to settle disputes.

 

 

Even though the gameplay was innovative, the graphics haven’t held up as much as I hoped. The figures of the characters worked most of the time, but some of the models are not as good. For example, the Donkey Kong and Captain Falcon character models haven’t help up at all. The backgrounds are similarly hit-and-miss, with some of the backgrounds being awful like the Saffron City stage.

 

The music, on the other hand, was amazing. Hearing some of the greatest music from all of the best Nintendo franchises was mind-blowing. Where else can you hear the Super Mario Bros. theme, Metroid music, the Star Fox theme and other nostalgic music in the same game? These are presented with amazing 64-bit glory.

 

 

All in all, the game is known for its innovative fighting style. With the usage of percentages or the “floatiness” of the characters, it was a nice change of pace from the other fighting styles at the time. Even though it took some getting used to, the right choice was ultimately to be innovative and to show something that hadn’t been seen before.

 

The sequels have done this concept better with a much larger roster that represents many more franchises, the original still holds up for the mechanics alone. It started a new subgenre of fighting games, and it is still the master of the genre. I am looking forward to seeing the fourth iteration of the series, but I still believe that college parties without a N64 and Super Smash Bros. will be lacking something special.

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Shawn Richards studies games to understand how they work. Follow him on Twitter or Facebook.