letsgetsmashing
Smash Apprentice
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2018
- Messages
- 183
Super Smash Bros is jam packed with iconic characters. But what's just as important as these characters are the series of games they come from. In some cases, the series in which these characters come from are more popular than the fighter themselves. How many times has an uninformed video gamer thought Link was Zelda because of the title of the series? Or only known Pit by the name of Kid Icarus? Obviously these series are an important part of the character's identity. And with each Smash installment, more and more franchises are introduced into the fighting crossover we've all came to love. Super Smash Bros Ultimate has already brought in Splatoon, a fresh new video game shooter, and Castlevania, an old school NES action-adventure classic. So, with all of that in mind, I thought it would be a fun and difficult task to rank the Smash Bros series from your favorite to least favorite. Here's a few things you should no before making your list.
- The retro franchises can be excluded from your list, as most of them only consist of one game (Duck Hunt, Ice Climber, R.O.B., Game & Watch)
- You may choose to only rate the franchises you have played, as most of the ones you haven't would be at the bottom of the list anyways
- Cultural impact, legacy, or personal opinion can all be considered when making your list
- At the end of every week, I will tally everything up and post which franchises are in the lead for being the most popular
- Ranking them numerically will be most convenient for me
1. Super Mario: It's cliche to put this series first, I know, but I have the most experience with it and the most memories. From playing Super Mario 64 for the first time at my grandmas house on Christmas, to purchasing my first 3DS game Super Mario 3D Land, going to Target an hour early to wait in line for Super Mario Galaxy 2... There's so many moments I've shared with not only the games but the lovable characters in them, such as Mario, Luigi, and Toad.
2. The Legend of Zelda: Another predictable pick. The Legend of Zelda was actually a contender for the #1 spot, but I just have more history with the Mario series. Anyways, the series arguable first garnered critical acclaim and widespread attention after the release of the first game, but things really took off when Ocarina of Time released for the N64. It was different than any game that had ever been released at that time, and revolutionized gaming forever. Stand out titles would follow after that consistently, including Majoras Mask, Twilight Princess, and my personal favorite, Breath of the Wild.
3. Kirby: A lot of people consider the big three of Nintendo franchises Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon. Some might consider Metroid or Donkey Kong or even Splatoon to be apart of that category of "big name" Nintendo titles. But to me, the big three was always Mario, Zelda, and Kirby. Maybe it's the cuteness of the series, or the fact that it has been consistently producing fun and entertaining titles for a long time. With an ever expanding library of games, with recent additions like Planet Robobot and Star Allies, Kirby's adventures don't seem to be stopping anytime soon.
4. Animal Crossing: New Leaf completely changed how I played my 3DS. Before that, I would get on it every couple of days, but there was no ambition to play it ever single day. But, when I picked up the Animal Crossing title for the 3DS, I suddenly had a reason to pick up my portable every morning and check on my town. I was mesmerized by the gameplay, which was different than anything I had ever played. Getting to constantly improve my town and work towards no goals is something I still find fun today, as this is still a title I pick up every once in a while.
5. Donkey Kong: Choosing this spot was hard, but then I remembered how much fun I had playing the Donkey Kong Country trilogy, and I knew that the DK series just had to be in the top 5. One thing this franchise has going for it is a great cast of characters. Dixie Kong is one of my personal favorites, with other standouts being Diddy, Tiny, Cranky, and King K. Rool. While the series took a turn for the worse after DK64, it rebounded after the releases of both DKC Returns and Tropical Freeze.
6. Yoshi: This series is imo underrated. I think it gets a bad rep because a lot of the titles are extremely similar, and they kind of did Yoshi's Island to death, due to the release of Yoshi's Island DS and Yoshi's New Island. But that's not to say the series as a whole is not enjoyable. Yoshi's Woolly World was one of my favorite Wii U titles, and the upcoming game on the Switch looks promising. And Yoshi's Story is to me a hidden gem of the N64. Oh, and did I forget to mention Yoshi is my favorite video game character?
7. Star Fox: If reputation was everything, this series would be a lot lower. As of right now, the future of this franchises seems to be up in the air due to the failure of Star Fox Zero. This is a shame, because when done right, Star Fox games are a blast. Just look at Star Fox 64 and Star Fox Adventures. Both entries not only showed off the unique gameplay the series has, but also the beloved characters that exist in the Star Fox universe. If the series does get another title, it's gotta be a hit, or sadly it might be the end of Fox, Falco, Slippy, Peppy, and the rest of Star Fox's adventures.
8. Punch-Out!!: Sometimes the simplest of ideas can be the best ones. Punch Out is quite straight forward in the sense that it is a boxing game created in a time when boxing was quite prominent. While I haven't play much of the series, I did get the chance to beat Punch-Out!! Wii and I thoroughly enjoyed what I did play. All of the boxers have great personalities that are really easy to connect to. Overall the series takes a simple concept and turns it into something that feels quite special. It would be higher but as I said I haven't played much because there's only three games in the series.
9. Pac-Man: Nothing against the series, it's just that... it's Pac-Man! It's super fun, super iconic, and super simple. There's not much to it. It's kind of like having to rank Pong or Frogger. They're fun games that were a huge part of the genre's boom, but it's hard to compare them to the likes of Mario, Donkey Kong, and The Legend of Zelda. That said, I've played more of this series than most, with Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man VS, Pac-Land, Pac-Man World, and Pac-Mania.
2. The Legend of Zelda: Another predictable pick. The Legend of Zelda was actually a contender for the #1 spot, but I just have more history with the Mario series. Anyways, the series arguable first garnered critical acclaim and widespread attention after the release of the first game, but things really took off when Ocarina of Time released for the N64. It was different than any game that had ever been released at that time, and revolutionized gaming forever. Stand out titles would follow after that consistently, including Majoras Mask, Twilight Princess, and my personal favorite, Breath of the Wild.
3. Kirby: A lot of people consider the big three of Nintendo franchises Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon. Some might consider Metroid or Donkey Kong or even Splatoon to be apart of that category of "big name" Nintendo titles. But to me, the big three was always Mario, Zelda, and Kirby. Maybe it's the cuteness of the series, or the fact that it has been consistently producing fun and entertaining titles for a long time. With an ever expanding library of games, with recent additions like Planet Robobot and Star Allies, Kirby's adventures don't seem to be stopping anytime soon.
4. Animal Crossing: New Leaf completely changed how I played my 3DS. Before that, I would get on it every couple of days, but there was no ambition to play it ever single day. But, when I picked up the Animal Crossing title for the 3DS, I suddenly had a reason to pick up my portable every morning and check on my town. I was mesmerized by the gameplay, which was different than anything I had ever played. Getting to constantly improve my town and work towards no goals is something I still find fun today, as this is still a title I pick up every once in a while.
5. Donkey Kong: Choosing this spot was hard, but then I remembered how much fun I had playing the Donkey Kong Country trilogy, and I knew that the DK series just had to be in the top 5. One thing this franchise has going for it is a great cast of characters. Dixie Kong is one of my personal favorites, with other standouts being Diddy, Tiny, Cranky, and King K. Rool. While the series took a turn for the worse after DK64, it rebounded after the releases of both DKC Returns and Tropical Freeze.
6. Yoshi: This series is imo underrated. I think it gets a bad rep because a lot of the titles are extremely similar, and they kind of did Yoshi's Island to death, due to the release of Yoshi's Island DS and Yoshi's New Island. But that's not to say the series as a whole is not enjoyable. Yoshi's Woolly World was one of my favorite Wii U titles, and the upcoming game on the Switch looks promising. And Yoshi's Story is to me a hidden gem of the N64. Oh, and did I forget to mention Yoshi is my favorite video game character?
7. Star Fox: If reputation was everything, this series would be a lot lower. As of right now, the future of this franchises seems to be up in the air due to the failure of Star Fox Zero. This is a shame, because when done right, Star Fox games are a blast. Just look at Star Fox 64 and Star Fox Adventures. Both entries not only showed off the unique gameplay the series has, but also the beloved characters that exist in the Star Fox universe. If the series does get another title, it's gotta be a hit, or sadly it might be the end of Fox, Falco, Slippy, Peppy, and the rest of Star Fox's adventures.
8. Punch-Out!!: Sometimes the simplest of ideas can be the best ones. Punch Out is quite straight forward in the sense that it is a boxing game created in a time when boxing was quite prominent. While I haven't play much of the series, I did get the chance to beat Punch-Out!! Wii and I thoroughly enjoyed what I did play. All of the boxers have great personalities that are really easy to connect to. Overall the series takes a simple concept and turns it into something that feels quite special. It would be higher but as I said I haven't played much because there's only three games in the series.
9. Pac-Man: Nothing against the series, it's just that... it's Pac-Man! It's super fun, super iconic, and super simple. There's not much to it. It's kind of like having to rank Pong or Frogger. They're fun games that were a huge part of the genre's boom, but it's hard to compare them to the likes of Mario, Donkey Kong, and The Legend of Zelda. That said, I've played more of this series than most, with Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man VS, Pac-Land, Pac-Man World, and Pac-Mania.
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