*LONG POST ALERT*
Back in the late 2000s, I was walking down the Nintendo aisle at Target when I noticed the box art for Brawl. I was very confused at what the game was all about. I knew it had something to do about Mario considering the title, but what were Link and Pikachu doing there, and why wasn't it as colorful like other Nintendo games? (Since I was little kid at the time, I expressed my displeasure about Pokémon being in the game rather than Bakugan.) Never really cared for the series until a few years later when the new neighbors moved into my community. I became fast friends with one of the kids partly because we both owned Wiis, and he invited me over to his house to play some games. I noticed that Brawl was one of the games he owned, and so I requested we play that instead. The last thing I expected the game to be was a fighting game (I was expecting something like Super Mario). The first stage I remember playing was Final Destination, and seeing all these Nintendo characters fight mixed with the awesome music and background scenery gave me goosebumps of astonishment. After doing some research on the game in my spare time, I finally decided to get my own copy of the game. One of my fondest memories was waking up early on a Saturday morning to play Classic mode for the first time as Meta Knight and unlocking Marth. Eventually, I purchased Smash 64 from the Wii Shop Channel along with a Gamecube controller, since I knew I would get around to playing Melee eventually (I had played it at another neighbor's house and it was love at first sight). In fact, I was so crazy about playing Melee that I only played on the past stages in Brawl and only selected Melee tracks in My Music. I had good memories of playing Brawl and 64, but I would consider Melee to be my favorite. The music, the characters, the stages feel so nostalgic despite me playing it practically a decade after it released.
The neighbors moved away around the time Smash 4 was revealed, so that helped lift my spirits during a sad time. I would always check Miiverse to see what Sakurai posted as the "pic of the day" during development, and mostly the exciting stuff, like character announcements, were saved mostly for Fridays. I was hyped at every character reveal except Robin's, since I never played FE and didn't have a clue who he was. When October 3 rolled around, I went to Target first thing in the morning to buy the 3DS version, and I ran into a friend of mine who was there for the same reason. That was the only thing I played all month, and I unlocked all the characters in a couple of weeks. In fact, I was so addicted to it that I didn't even play the Wii U version all that often, even though I bought that game on launch day as well. I was contemplating Smash 4 being my new favorite Smash game, but I felt like it was missing something. At least it brought back Dr. Mario from the depths of Melee, to my surprise. I was also ecstatic about Mewtwo's confirmation during the 50-Fact Extravaganza, which happened at the same time as my great-grandmother's passing, so that helped cheer me up as well.
2015 was a very fun year mostly because of all the DLC hype. Besides Mewtwo, I was very happy at seeing Lucas and Roy return, and Ryu's reveal was downright legendary to me since I was just getting into Street Fighter around that time. Cloud and Bayo's reveals were also pivotal because they introduced me to their source material, both which I still have a blast playing. I also have the most fun playing the DLC characters in Smash Run. Oh yeah, and then there was Corrin.
By the beginning of 2018, I gave my undivided attention to Street Fighter V and Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite, only playing Smash 4 as a pastime for when I didn't feel like playing scrubs and manchildren online. Needless to say, this was some drastic character development for me. I never cared about getting into the competitive Smash scene since I had to worry about things that seemed alien to a SF player, like DI and L-canceling. I actually found it much easier to get the hang of SF than Smash, despite the former having a much more complicated control scheme. I still had an appreciation for competitive Smashers, especially Melee players, since the stuff they do is like magic. So when the March Nintendo Direct came along, I had this weird urge to watch it. I hadn't really cared for Directs ever since Smash 4 ended development, mostly because the games felt like irrelevant trash. I even deduced right off the bat just by looking at the Inklings that this was a new Smash game, since they were using the Splatoon 1 designs. I wasn't all that surprised when I saw the Smash logo reflected off Inkling Girl's eye; I literally just said "Called it!" and that was it. It was as if my history of Smash from the past no longer meant anything.
Now that a new Smash game was on the horizon, I started getting back into the series little by little. During E3, I was staying over at my grandmother's house with my brother and I told them many times beforehand not to disturb me as I watched the presentation. I knew Sakurai was gonna blow my mind in some way, but I didn't really understand how, considering how Smash 4 was almost perfect. And then...the roll call began. I was surprised that Spear Pillar came back from Brawl, how Bowser had a new Final Smash, and how Mewtwo was a relevant character now. I screamed with joy when I saw the Ice Climbers. I went bonkers at seeing Ryu and THEN OoT/Melee Ganondorf. I shouted at Cloud's return. I nearly destroyed my voice upon seeing Snake, the text "Everyone is here!", and then Pichu right after. After that, I stopped thinking straight; I just kept on shouting "OH MY GOD" through my earbuds like I was Joseph Joestar (although I do remember saying "Nerf this!" when Bayo showed up). Through my last few brain cells, I thought about whether Young Link still had a chance, and when he did show up, I was on the verge of breaking down into tears. I used up the last of my energy by shouting at Wolf's comeback. Then, when the "Ultimate" appeared under the game's logo, I let out a big sigh. I was exhausted after seeing all that. It truly is the ultimate Smash game. I had always wanted a Smash game where everyone would return, including the 3 Links, and it happened right then and there. Since my dream came true, I'm back to being an avid Smash player again. Though I would've been fine with Ridley out of the picture, since my first words upon seeing him were "But he's too big!" Also, it wasn't until later that I found out my brother had recorded my hype outside my door...
Smash is the reason why I play fighting games. Although I don't play it as often as SF, I still consider it a staple of my childhood, as I have many good memories with the series. Now, I'm being more open to learning how to play competitively ever since joining the gaming club at my school, which houses some pretty dedicated players. Although I don't have a Switch, I'm still pretty damn excited for Ultimate since it's basically my dream Smash game. So yeah.
TL;DR: I got into Smash because a friend introduced me to it, I still play it because it's a fun crossover fighting game, it means so much to me simply for what it is, and I'm excited that every playable character is returning in Ultimate.
