SonicMario
Star Spirit
With less then a month away from the Japanese release of the 3DS version of Smash 4, and less then 2 months for us. I thought it'd be now a good time to start having our reflections on the past games. This is going to be similar to Magikrazy's thread where we made reflections on each of the Mario Kart games daily. Only this time, this will be Weekly. Because all the Smash Bros. games are just too big for just one day. Here's the current schedule of each week:
From today/the day this thread was posted (August 18th) to August 24th, it's Super Smash Bros. 64 week.
From August 25th to August 31st, it's Super Smash Bros. Melee week
From September 1st to September 7th, it's Super Smash Bros. Brawl week
And from September 8th and beyond, it will be reflection on what has revealed for Smash 4 thus far. As sometime before, exactly at, or after September 13th We'll know the Full Roster of Smash 4. This is also why I'm not starting this in September and having each of the four weeks planned just run through all of September until we're at the North America release of the game like how Magikrazy's Mario Kart thread was done. Because the full roster of Smash 4 being known would overshadow what would be Brawl week. And most people will either be A. Discussing/Debating (Cause I assure you SOMEONE's going to complain no matter what, even on our relatively small forum compared to the rest of the internet.) what they think about the full character roster of Smash 4 or B. Off the internet because they want to remain unspoiled at least until they have the game.
If you'd like, but it's only optional. Go ahead and play the game that is currently being featured on the same week. I might even do something like that myself. But for now, let's start with the good ol' Original game on the Nintendo 64.
Now first of all, I don't think it's appropriate to start a reflection of the first Smash Bros. game without showing the famous commercial that aired in the Americas. Which I think can be credited itself with bringing quite a bit of people into the Smash Series alone:
The hilarity of seeing the characters in Mascot type costumes at first getting along happily until they start beating the hell out of each other was hilarious and perfectly showed what the appeal of Smash Bros. was. Your favorite Nintendo characters, beating the stuffing out of each other in a fun and cartoony fashion. I don't think anyone could of made a more perfect advertisement if they tried, the soundtrack dissonance of having characters fight each other while an old, happy-go-lucky song plays was just perfect. And I even added a BRSTM to one of the custom stages that I have built-into with my Project M build. Whenever I hear that song, I think of Smash Bros. I doubt that's what the Turtles long ago wanted you to think about when you listened to that song. But nonetheless, So Happy Together became more sarcastic to those who associate the song with Smash Bros.
But enough of the commercial, with the game itself. Super Smash Bros. 64 was actually one of the first games I ever owned. I got it for Christmas at pretty much the same day I got my N64, which is also the first game console I ever owned. So right then and there, Smash Bros. holds a special place in heart because it was part of what made me the gamer I am today. I feel like I grew up with the Smash Bros. series. Though while it was so far back I don't exactly remember everything I did in the first days with the game, I do remember playing the game with my Dad who would always play as Link. I even watched him go through Classic Mode (Or well back then it was just simply 1P Mode basically) a few times and fight Master Hand. Those memories along when I used to play Mario Kart 64 with my dad as well will always remain some of my best gaming memories (Part of why I just can't bring myself to hate Mario Kart 64 no matter how many people criticize the game that it's aged terribly. You don't know how special any game can be when you've played a game with your parent(/s) at 5/6 years old. If you want to point fingers at me and say "Nostalgia Glasses" fine, but they're Nostalgia glasses worth wearing because of how special those memories can really be.)
Anyway, what else besides the normal gameplay and what would become called as Classic Mode there were two things that people still clamor to return in future games. Board the Platforms and Race to the Finish. Ok, so the latter did kinda return in Melee though it was quite different. And usually on your first playthrough you run into that door that's the absolute closest to you because you're not aware that there's more instantly. It wasn't like the four floors in Smash 64 where there was a clear Point A and Point B. Board the Platforms wasn't overall too important because unlike with Target Test, you don't unlock anything substantial for really completing it even if you beat it with every character. But for many regardless, it was still fun. And quite challenging at some points, I remember Ness and Samus's being particularly difficult. While I doubt it will make any kind of big return in Smash 4. It just goes to show you how much people remember of the original Smash game that even a simple mode that didn't really do too much but be like an additional target test has been occasionally wanted to return again in every future game.
But I think there's something far more important from Smash 64 regarding returning in future installments that has indeed left untouched and has so far always been a constant in the series: The Original 12 themselves. If you spent any amount of time in Smash Speculation. You should be familiar with the Original 12 argument. It's practically been made gospel to the majority of the Smash Community, that the Original 12 are practically assured to return in any Smash game regardless of the character's franchise having no new games or they feel irrelevant at the current moment. We're already at 10 out of the 12 characters confirmed for Smash 4 already. It feels like there is no ifs, buts, or maybes in regards to the characters of the original game. It's when, will, and of course. Personally I love how the Original 12 feels like it's set in stone, it gives a sense of tradition to the Smash series that even some of the most established fighters don't always follow. I think we're at the point where if even just one of the Original 12 regardless who they are is ever removed from Smash game. That's the equivalent of the developer of the game, or even Nintendo itself committing an unforgivable sin that people will never forgive even if it leads to backtracking with DLC. There may be a point where Smash rosters can't get too much bigger because of how long it takes to properly balance each and every fighter without having to spend an extra two years with a roster above 60 characters or so. But if it ever does come to that, there should be a clear level of priority regarding potential returning veterans. And for the sake of tradition, the Original 12 should be left untouched.
Let's say a Smash 5 is coming out another 7 years from now and we're about 5 years in. I think as much as i would disappoint some people who really liked a lot of the Newcomers, they should be the ones who are on the Chopping block before any of the characters that have been in more then one Smash game. I'd even say I'd rather have Jigglypuff back in Smash 5 then most of the currently known newcomers for Smash 4. I don't care how much anyone says they think Jigglypuff should have never been playable in Smash Bros or how she's so irrelevant now and should be replaced with so-called "better" and "cooler" Pokemon. I'm sorry, but Jigglypuff is part of the tradition. Unless you beat Classic Mode in Smash 64 quickly enough on your very first playthough (Which in which case would of gotten you Captain Falcon.), Jigglypuff was the first character you ever unlocked. She was the first character that you saw with "Warning! New Challenger Approaching!". Even if in both Smash 64 and Brawl, Jigglypuff is more like the character that you humiliate your friends with by beating them with her and gloat "You just got beat by Jigglypuff! That's just how good I am at this game compared to you!" that still becomes kinda part of the tradition. Even in Melee where it actually turns out that competitively Jigglypuff is one of the best characters in the game, the ability to make your foes underestimate you because you're using the cute pink puffball and then seeing their faces when you're beating them to the ground with who they'd thought they'd be walking all over you. There's something about that, it just makes Jigglypuff fit in because so many people not in the know tend to underestimate Jigglypuff from the get go when even in the games that she is one of the weaker characters, there have been people who have demonstrated great skill and aerial mobility that can wow newer players. And similarly, Jigglypuff also shocks people by continually reappearing in every Smash game to date. Much like how people underestimate Jigglypuff prior to a fight before being beat down by someone skilled with her, she continues to shock her detractors who underestimate her connection to the Original 12 as if she's the weak link and that there's instead an Original 11 and not a 12 just because of what Jigglypuff is to some. I think as of her reappearance in Brawl, any reappearance's even from those who dislike her should boil down to "*sigh* I knew it all along even if I don't like it I can handle Jigglypuff another 7 years I guess " only for the cycle to repeat. And to be honest, even if the Jigglypuff haters did get their way. It would piss off more people then many realize. Some haters of Jigglypuff don't understand the anger that can come from people who experience "They don't know what they had, until it's gone". There are people who have played Jigglypuff since the first game and continuously look forward to seeing Jigglypuff show up in every other game of the series. A moveset that's been apart of Smash Bros. for close to two decades that some people really like enough to play the most with. And if you take that away permanently, you're angering the people who most of them played Jigglypuff in Smash more then half of their lives playing with their main. People get upset with any cuts regardless, fans of Mewtwo from Melee know this quite a bit. But that's all from just one game, imagine the anger of about three different generations of Smash Bros. players (Those that began with SSB64, Melee, and Brawl respectively) that chose Jigglypuff as their favorite character to play as in comparison to just one character which while he was cool, I doubt Mewtwo's disappearance from Brawl could have ever cut nearly as deep into as many people's hearts as if Ness had indeed been replaced by Lucas in Brawl, and yes even if Jigglypuff were to not be playable anymore.
By now, it's just a smarter decision to keep Jigglypuff and the rest of Original 12 for as long as the Smash series is still going. Which is likely for as long as Nintendo is making games. The roster of the original game by now are all pillars of Smash Bros. that should not be tampered with. They all have their place, even if some got in through lucky circumstance. Even if they didn't get in through the same means as Mario, Link, Kirby, or Donkey Kong. They make their own merit from within the Smash Bros. games themselves, that's just how special the Smash Bros. games can be. Appearing more then once endears the character to both old and new fans alike. And thus perpetually gives the character the merit needed to remain a permanent fixture in the series. The way I think it goes is: appear once in Smash Bros., you're interesting enough. Appear twice, you become a beloved part of the series. Appear three times and beyond, you become a pillar of the series, That's just what the Original 12 has done, and the Melee characters that returned in Brawl that are also coming back in Smash 4 have also achieved. Even if Dr. Mario (as a separate character, mind you), my least favorite inclusion in the entire series, had returned in Brawl, and he was once again confirmed for Smash 4. I would be mad, but at that point Dr. Mario would be a staple of the franchise regardless how much I dislike the inclusion and there would be a decent amount of players who want him back. And I would understand that, what's more is that no matter who's in each Smash game. Even with inclusions like Dr. Mario, I pledge myself to complete Classic, Adventure (In the case of Melee anyway), and All-Star with every playable character in the game. So even if I dislike a inclusion, I always promise myself I'll play them enough to receive all the trophies for that character just because I care that much for the Smash series where I'd tolerate playing as any character that the Smash series throws at me for a decent amount of time. The urge to experience everything a Smash Bros. game has to offer is just too great to let my gripes with an inclusion get in the way of that. I don't feel like I've truly fully played a Smash Bros. game until I've defeated Master Hand with every playable character in a Smash game. That's just the way I've been conditioned to approach the Smash Bros. series. A conditioning that began with the first game, when I was watching my own father do it with Link. Smash 64 is the smallest in content in terms of playable characters, things to do, and is inferior on almost every level to the future games. But that doesn't mean it can't hold a special place, as it was the very humble beginnings of a franchise that has become the game series I can never resist to be excited any time that a new Nintendo console comes out with news that a new Smash Bros. is coming to that very console. I would not be the passionate Nintendo fan I am today without the Smash Bros. series. And I can't wait to continue with this 3-4 week retrospective, as we countdown to not just one, but two versions of Smash each guaranteed to have their own set of memories that will be released by the end of the year.
From today/the day this thread was posted (August 18th) to August 24th, it's Super Smash Bros. 64 week.
From August 25th to August 31st, it's Super Smash Bros. Melee week
From September 1st to September 7th, it's Super Smash Bros. Brawl week
And from September 8th and beyond, it will be reflection on what has revealed for Smash 4 thus far. As sometime before, exactly at, or after September 13th We'll know the Full Roster of Smash 4. This is also why I'm not starting this in September and having each of the four weeks planned just run through all of September until we're at the North America release of the game like how Magikrazy's Mario Kart thread was done. Because the full roster of Smash 4 being known would overshadow what would be Brawl week. And most people will either be A. Discussing/Debating (Cause I assure you SOMEONE's going to complain no matter what, even on our relatively small forum compared to the rest of the internet.) what they think about the full character roster of Smash 4 or B. Off the internet because they want to remain unspoiled at least until they have the game.
If you'd like, but it's only optional. Go ahead and play the game that is currently being featured on the same week. I might even do something like that myself. But for now, let's start with the good ol' Original game on the Nintendo 64.
Now first of all, I don't think it's appropriate to start a reflection of the first Smash Bros. game without showing the famous commercial that aired in the Americas. Which I think can be credited itself with bringing quite a bit of people into the Smash Series alone:
The hilarity of seeing the characters in Mascot type costumes at first getting along happily until they start beating the hell out of each other was hilarious and perfectly showed what the appeal of Smash Bros. was. Your favorite Nintendo characters, beating the stuffing out of each other in a fun and cartoony fashion. I don't think anyone could of made a more perfect advertisement if they tried, the soundtrack dissonance of having characters fight each other while an old, happy-go-lucky song plays was just perfect. And I even added a BRSTM to one of the custom stages that I have built-into with my Project M build. Whenever I hear that song, I think of Smash Bros. I doubt that's what the Turtles long ago wanted you to think about when you listened to that song. But nonetheless, So Happy Together became more sarcastic to those who associate the song with Smash Bros.
But enough of the commercial, with the game itself. Super Smash Bros. 64 was actually one of the first games I ever owned. I got it for Christmas at pretty much the same day I got my N64, which is also the first game console I ever owned. So right then and there, Smash Bros. holds a special place in heart because it was part of what made me the gamer I am today. I feel like I grew up with the Smash Bros. series. Though while it was so far back I don't exactly remember everything I did in the first days with the game, I do remember playing the game with my Dad who would always play as Link. I even watched him go through Classic Mode (Or well back then it was just simply 1P Mode basically) a few times and fight Master Hand. Those memories along when I used to play Mario Kart 64 with my dad as well will always remain some of my best gaming memories (Part of why I just can't bring myself to hate Mario Kart 64 no matter how many people criticize the game that it's aged terribly. You don't know how special any game can be when you've played a game with your parent(/s) at 5/6 years old. If you want to point fingers at me and say "Nostalgia Glasses" fine, but they're Nostalgia glasses worth wearing because of how special those memories can really be.)
Anyway, what else besides the normal gameplay and what would become called as Classic Mode there were two things that people still clamor to return in future games. Board the Platforms and Race to the Finish. Ok, so the latter did kinda return in Melee though it was quite different. And usually on your first playthrough you run into that door that's the absolute closest to you because you're not aware that there's more instantly. It wasn't like the four floors in Smash 64 where there was a clear Point A and Point B. Board the Platforms wasn't overall too important because unlike with Target Test, you don't unlock anything substantial for really completing it even if you beat it with every character. But for many regardless, it was still fun. And quite challenging at some points, I remember Ness and Samus's being particularly difficult. While I doubt it will make any kind of big return in Smash 4. It just goes to show you how much people remember of the original Smash game that even a simple mode that didn't really do too much but be like an additional target test has been occasionally wanted to return again in every future game.
But I think there's something far more important from Smash 64 regarding returning in future installments that has indeed left untouched and has so far always been a constant in the series: The Original 12 themselves. If you spent any amount of time in Smash Speculation. You should be familiar with the Original 12 argument. It's practically been made gospel to the majority of the Smash Community, that the Original 12 are practically assured to return in any Smash game regardless of the character's franchise having no new games or they feel irrelevant at the current moment. We're already at 10 out of the 12 characters confirmed for Smash 4 already. It feels like there is no ifs, buts, or maybes in regards to the characters of the original game. It's when, will, and of course. Personally I love how the Original 12 feels like it's set in stone, it gives a sense of tradition to the Smash series that even some of the most established fighters don't always follow. I think we're at the point where if even just one of the Original 12 regardless who they are is ever removed from Smash game. That's the equivalent of the developer of the game, or even Nintendo itself committing an unforgivable sin that people will never forgive even if it leads to backtracking with DLC. There may be a point where Smash rosters can't get too much bigger because of how long it takes to properly balance each and every fighter without having to spend an extra two years with a roster above 60 characters or so. But if it ever does come to that, there should be a clear level of priority regarding potential returning veterans. And for the sake of tradition, the Original 12 should be left untouched.
Let's say a Smash 5 is coming out another 7 years from now and we're about 5 years in. I think as much as i would disappoint some people who really liked a lot of the Newcomers, they should be the ones who are on the Chopping block before any of the characters that have been in more then one Smash game. I'd even say I'd rather have Jigglypuff back in Smash 5 then most of the currently known newcomers for Smash 4. I don't care how much anyone says they think Jigglypuff should have never been playable in Smash Bros or how she's so irrelevant now and should be replaced with so-called "better" and "cooler" Pokemon. I'm sorry, but Jigglypuff is part of the tradition. Unless you beat Classic Mode in Smash 64 quickly enough on your very first playthough (Which in which case would of gotten you Captain Falcon.), Jigglypuff was the first character you ever unlocked. She was the first character that you saw with "Warning! New Challenger Approaching!". Even if in both Smash 64 and Brawl, Jigglypuff is more like the character that you humiliate your friends with by beating them with her and gloat "You just got beat by Jigglypuff! That's just how good I am at this game compared to you!" that still becomes kinda part of the tradition. Even in Melee where it actually turns out that competitively Jigglypuff is one of the best characters in the game, the ability to make your foes underestimate you because you're using the cute pink puffball and then seeing their faces when you're beating them to the ground with who they'd thought they'd be walking all over you. There's something about that, it just makes Jigglypuff fit in because so many people not in the know tend to underestimate Jigglypuff from the get go when even in the games that she is one of the weaker characters, there have been people who have demonstrated great skill and aerial mobility that can wow newer players. And similarly, Jigglypuff also shocks people by continually reappearing in every Smash game to date. Much like how people underestimate Jigglypuff prior to a fight before being beat down by someone skilled with her, she continues to shock her detractors who underestimate her connection to the Original 12 as if she's the weak link and that there's instead an Original 11 and not a 12 just because of what Jigglypuff is to some. I think as of her reappearance in Brawl, any reappearance's even from those who dislike her should boil down to "*sigh* I knew it all along even if I don't like it I can handle Jigglypuff another 7 years I guess " only for the cycle to repeat. And to be honest, even if the Jigglypuff haters did get their way. It would piss off more people then many realize. Some haters of Jigglypuff don't understand the anger that can come from people who experience "They don't know what they had, until it's gone". There are people who have played Jigglypuff since the first game and continuously look forward to seeing Jigglypuff show up in every other game of the series. A moveset that's been apart of Smash Bros. for close to two decades that some people really like enough to play the most with. And if you take that away permanently, you're angering the people who most of them played Jigglypuff in Smash more then half of their lives playing with their main. People get upset with any cuts regardless, fans of Mewtwo from Melee know this quite a bit. But that's all from just one game, imagine the anger of about three different generations of Smash Bros. players (Those that began with SSB64, Melee, and Brawl respectively) that chose Jigglypuff as their favorite character to play as in comparison to just one character which while he was cool, I doubt Mewtwo's disappearance from Brawl could have ever cut nearly as deep into as many people's hearts as if Ness had indeed been replaced by Lucas in Brawl, and yes even if Jigglypuff were to not be playable anymore.
By now, it's just a smarter decision to keep Jigglypuff and the rest of Original 12 for as long as the Smash series is still going. Which is likely for as long as Nintendo is making games. The roster of the original game by now are all pillars of Smash Bros. that should not be tampered with. They all have their place, even if some got in through lucky circumstance. Even if they didn't get in through the same means as Mario, Link, Kirby, or Donkey Kong. They make their own merit from within the Smash Bros. games themselves, that's just how special the Smash Bros. games can be. Appearing more then once endears the character to both old and new fans alike. And thus perpetually gives the character the merit needed to remain a permanent fixture in the series. The way I think it goes is: appear once in Smash Bros., you're interesting enough. Appear twice, you become a beloved part of the series. Appear three times and beyond, you become a pillar of the series, That's just what the Original 12 has done, and the Melee characters that returned in Brawl that are also coming back in Smash 4 have also achieved. Even if Dr. Mario (as a separate character, mind you), my least favorite inclusion in the entire series, had returned in Brawl, and he was once again confirmed for Smash 4. I would be mad, but at that point Dr. Mario would be a staple of the franchise regardless how much I dislike the inclusion and there would be a decent amount of players who want him back. And I would understand that, what's more is that no matter who's in each Smash game. Even with inclusions like Dr. Mario, I pledge myself to complete Classic, Adventure (In the case of Melee anyway), and All-Star with every playable character in the game. So even if I dislike a inclusion, I always promise myself I'll play them enough to receive all the trophies for that character just because I care that much for the Smash series where I'd tolerate playing as any character that the Smash series throws at me for a decent amount of time. The urge to experience everything a Smash Bros. game has to offer is just too great to let my gripes with an inclusion get in the way of that. I don't feel like I've truly fully played a Smash Bros. game until I've defeated Master Hand with every playable character in a Smash game. That's just the way I've been conditioned to approach the Smash Bros. series. A conditioning that began with the first game, when I was watching my own father do it with Link. Smash 64 is the smallest in content in terms of playable characters, things to do, and is inferior on almost every level to the future games. But that doesn't mean it can't hold a special place, as it was the very humble beginnings of a franchise that has become the game series I can never resist to be excited any time that a new Nintendo console comes out with news that a new Smash Bros. is coming to that very console. I would not be the passionate Nintendo fan I am today without the Smash Bros. series. And I can't wait to continue with this 3-4 week retrospective, as we countdown to not just one, but two versions of Smash each guaranteed to have their own set of memories that will be released by the end of the year.
