Super Smash Bros. (computer game)
| Super Smash Bros. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio | HAL Laboratory , Inc. | ||||
| Publisher | Nintendo | ||||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
 January 21, 1999 April 26, 1999 November 19, 1999  |
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| platform | Nintendo 64 , iQue Player | ||||
| genre | Fighting Game | ||||
| Game mode | Single , multiplayer (1–4) | ||||
| control | Gamepad | ||||
| medium | 128 Mbit - play module | ||||
| language | German , English , French | ||||
| Age rating |
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| PEGI content rating |
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Super Smash Bros. (short SSB , ニンテンドウオールスター!大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズ, Nintendo Ōrustā! Dairantō Sumasshu Burazāzu for "Nintendo All-Stars! Riesenrauferei Smash Brothers") is a video game for the Nintendo 64 and the first part of the Super SMASH Bros. -Line. The game was developed by HAL Laboratory and first published by Nintendo in January 1999 in Japan. While the game was also released in North America in April 1999, it didn't make it to Europe until November 1999. Also in 2009, it appeared as download available for the Virtual Console of Wii .
The game is assigned to the fighting game genre and is a crossover from various Nintendo game series , including Super Mario , The Legend of Zelda , Metroid and Pokémon . As such, the game contains characters from the various game series with which the player can compete against each other.
Super Smash Bros. received critical acclaim and was also a commercial success with over five million units sold. The game founded the Super Smash Bros. series and the first successor appeared two years later with Super Smash Bros. Melee for the Nintendo GameCube .
Gameplay
Super Smash Bros. is a two-dimensional fighting game . The player fights against other characters in various arenas with a character from the side. In order to defeat the opposing figures, they must be removed from the picture. To do this, the player must weaken the opposing figures with punches, kicks and other attacks, which increases a "damage display" given in percent and results in opposing figures being thrown through the air by attacks and thus easier to remove from the picture.
| character | Game series | Playable from the start ? |
|---|---|---|
| Mario | Super Mario | Yes |
| Donkey Kong | Donkey Kong | Yes |
| link | The Legend of Zelda | Yes |
| Samus Aran | Metroid | Yes |
| Yoshi | Yoshi | Yes |
| Kirby | Kirby | Yes |
| Fox McCloud | Star Fox | Yes |
| Pikachu | Pokémon | Yes |
| Jigglypuff | Pokémon | No |
| Luigi | Super Mario | No |
| Ness | Mother | No |
| Captain Falcon | F-Zero | No |
At the beginning the player has the choice between eight different Nintendo characters, in the course of the game an additional four additional characters can be unlocked. A character's attacks are mostly taken from his game series. For example, Link from The Legend of Zelda fights with sword, bombs and boomerang, while Mario throws fireballs around. For each series of games from which a character comes there is also an arena that picks up on a certain location from the series of games. In addition to the eight arenas for the characters unlocked at the beginning, a ninth arena can be unlocked. During the fights in the respective arenas, music from the respective game series plays. Items appear randomly in the arenas, which are often based on items from various Nintendo games.
Super Smash Bros. is playable in both single-player and multiplayer modes. In single player mode, the player plays with a chosen piece against a fixed order of opponents. This sequence is interrupted with mini-game-like tasks, such as reaching a goal in a certain amount of time. At the end of this mode, the player fights against an oversized, white, floating hand called the Master Hand. Unlike other opponents, this one is defeated by reducing its energy meter to zero with attacks. In addition to this main mode for one player, you can directly select some of the mini-games for each character: In one of them you have to hit a fixed number of targets as quickly as possible in specially designed levels, in others you have to enter all the platforms provided with the character. Another mode is the training mode, in which you can practice controlling the characters and dictate the behavior of an opponent as you wish.
In multiplayer mode, one of the nine battle arenas is played either for a fixed period of time or with limited attempts for each of the maximum of four players. Missing players can be replaced by AI-controlled characters. A grouping of the players in a maximum of three groups is also possible.
Development and publication
Super Smash Bros. was developed by HAL Laboratory, an external first-party development studio owned by Nintendo. A first prototype of the game was initially developed exclusively by Masahiro Sakurai , a former employee at HAL Laboratory, who took care of the project planning, modeling, design and animation, and by Satoru Iwata , the then President of HAL, who was the programmer . According to their own statements, the two developed the prototype outside of working hours and in addition to their everyday work. This first prototype was called "kakutō-gēmu-ryūō", later then "Dragon King: The Fighting Game" ( English for " Dragon King: The Fighting Game "). The prototype did not contain any Nintendo characters, but in order to differentiate the game from other fighting games, Sakurai asked to be allowed to use Nintendo characters.
The development of Super Smash Bros. then began in 1998. Various characters, including Marth, Bowser, King Dedede and Mewtwo, were planned during the development of the game, but did not make it into the finished game. These characters were then added in the sequels.
Super Smash Bros. was released on January 21, 1999 in Japan and - three months later - on April 26, 1999 in North America. In Europe, the game was released only on 19 November 1999. In January 2009 appeared Super Smash Bros. then in Japan as a download for the Virtual Console of Nintendo Wii in Europe, the game was released in June of 2009.
reception
| Video game magazines | ||
|---|---|---|
| publication | Rating | year |
| IGN | 8.5 / 10 | 1999 |
| nintendolife | 8.1 / 10 | 2009 |
| GameSpot | 7.5 / 10 | 1999 |
| Meta-ratings | ||
| Metacritic | 79% | - |
Contemporary reception
Super Smash Bros. was almost exclusively praised by critics: The game on Metacritic achieved an aggregate rating of 79 out of 100 points. The successors of the game could still improve in the aggregated ratings and thus Super Smash Bros. has the lowest metascore of the series led by Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Brawl with 93 points.
Peer Schneider from online magazine IGN called Super Smash Bros. an excellent choice for gamers looking for a multiplayer fighting game. He praised the game especially for the multiplayer mode, in the single player mode the variety is lacking mainly due to the small number of fighters and arenas. Schneider wrote:
"[...] I have to admit that I spent most of the time playing the multiplayer modes. It's not that the one-player mode is bad - HAL tried to add a bit of variety by offering bonus stages and team fights, but the order of your opponents never changes and you'll find yourself playing just to get the hidden stuff. [...] As it stands, Smash Bros. is an excellent choice for gamers looking for a worthy multiplayer smash 'em-up. Players looking for a Tekken -killer on N64 will have to wait a bit longer. "
“I have to admit, I spent most of the time playing multiplayer. It's not that the single player mode is bad - HAL has tried to add some variety by offering bonus arenas and team battles, but the order of opponents never changes and you'll find yourself just playing around to earn the unlockable stuff. As it is, Smash Bros. is an excellent choice for players looking for a worthy multiplayer brawl game. Players who are looking for a Tekken killer on the N64 have to be patient. "
IGN praised Super Smash Bros. in a created in 2000 list of top 25 games for the Nintendo 64 11 as a place Additionally the game as the third best multiplayer game was recognized for the Nintendo 64, behind the two Rare -Shootern Perfect Dark and Goldeneye 007 and thus before Mario Kart 64 .
Retrospective reception
Lisa Zander criticized in a test published on ntower.de in 2018 on Super Smash Bros., above all the outdated control system from today's perspective and the very small scope in retrospect. She wrote:
“Your gaming fun gets a damper especially when you control it with the Nintendo 64 controller. [...] the Nintendo 64 controller generally does not [allow] the sensitive control that would be necessary for precise aiming in fights. Anyone who has played the following titles in the series, especially Super Smash Bros. Melee , will appreciate the precise control of these. Even the few game modes and the then still small selection of characters with a maximum of twelve fighters can no longer really inspire today. "
According to Zander, fighting is still fun, especially with other players, but the game cannot keep up with the newer parts of the series. Therefore, Zander recommends Super Smash Bros. nowadays rather the "fans [...] of the first hour": Players who have not yet had contact with the game series are "perhaps better served with newer titles."
Sales figures
Super Smash Bros. has been estimated to have sold around 5.6 million copies in total. If you add Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS together, each of the successors could increase in sales and thus Super Smash Bros. is the worst-selling part of the series. Of the 5.6 million units sold, approximately 2.93 million units were sold in the United States and approximately another 1.97 million units in Japan.
Web links
- Official German website at Nintendo.de
- Super Smash Bros. at MobyGames (English)
- Super Smash Bros. in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ iQue.com : Game site for Super Smash Bros. for iQue Player
- ↑ Satoru Iwata and Masahiro Sakurai: Iwata asks | 1. Dragon King: The Fighting Game , In: Nintendo.de ; accessed on July 23, 2020.
- ↑ a b Clark Boinis: Super Smash Bros. 101: Beginners Guide , In: LineUps.com ; from July 2, 2020, accessed on July 23, 2020.
- ↑ The Definitive List of Unused Fighters in Smash , In: SourceGaming.info ; dated April 29, 2016, accessed on July 23, 2020.
- ↑ Josh Romero: N64 Super Smash Bros. on Japanese Wii Virtual Console in January 2009. Rest world to follow soon? , In: VidogamesBlogger.com ; dated January 2, 2009, accessed on July 23, 2020.
- ↑ Raul Valle: Super Smash Bros. 64 Released on Wii Virtual Console , In: PixelatedGeek.com ; dated June 12, 2009, accessed on July 23, 2020.
- ↑ a b Peer Schneider: Super Smash Bros. N64 Review , In: IGN .de ; dated April 28, 1999, accessed on July 21, 2020.
- ↑ Marcel van Duyn: Virtual Console Reviews Super Smash Bros. Review (N64) , In: nintendolife.com ; dated June 13, 2009, accessed on July 21, 2020.
- ↑ Jeff Gerstmann: Super Smash Bros. Review , In: GameSpot .com ; dated February 18, 1999, accessed July 21, 2020.
- ↑ a b Super Smash Bros. Nintendo 64 , In: Metacritic .com ; accessed on July 21, 2020 (English).
- ↑ Top Results for "Super Smash Bros." , In: Metacritic .com ; accessed on July 22, 2020 (English).
- ↑ The Top 25 N64 Games of All Time: # 11-15 , In: IGN ; dated June 15, 2000, accessed on July 22, 2020.
- ↑ a b Lisa Zander: The beginning of the Super Smash Bros. series , In: ntower.de ; dated November 27, 2018, accessed on July 22, 2020.
- ↑ William D'Angelo: Super Smash Bros. Sales - Nearly 60 Million Sold Combined, Switch Version Top Seller , In: VGChartz.com ; dated June 3, 2020, accessed on July 21, 2020.
- ↑ US Platinum Videogame Chart , In: The-MagicBox.com ; dated December 27, 2007, accessed on July 21, 2020.
- ↑ Japan Platinum Game Chart , In: The-MagicBox.com ; accessed on July 21, 2020 (English).