What is Super Smash Bros?

[Lenidem]

This a debate that often comes back. During the 64 and Melee days, this was not even a question, but since Brawl and the "guest stars", this is not so obvious. So, what do you think? What is Smash Bros? A Nintendo crossover with some guest from other companies, or a gaming crossover with lots of Nintendo? Don't forget to explain your choice, and please, be courteous.

 

[meleebrawler]

The game is made/published by Nintendo with lots of their characters, therefore it is a Nintendo crossover. Just because a lot of hubbub is raised when third parties join doesn't change the fact the cast and content is largely Nintendo. Just look at all the miscellaneous Nintendo content.

Also, can't the poll have an "all of the above" choice? It isn't wrong to call Ultimate a celebration of gaming history, it's just the Nintendo crossover part has and will always be the core of the series.

 

[Frizz]

The game is made/published by Nintendo with lots of their characters, therefore it is a Nintendo crossover. Just because a lot of hubbub is raised when third parties join doesn't change the fact the cast and content is largely Nintendo. Just look at all the miscellaneous Nintendo content.

Also, can't the poll have an "all of the above" choice? It isn't wrong to call Ultimate a celebration of gaming history, it's just the Nintendo crossover part has and will always be the core of the series.

I agree with this. It’s always been a Nintendo crossover first and foremost, with a sprinkle of third parties here and there. Ultimate can be considered to be somewhat close to the “celebration of gaming” description, but that’s about it. It’s called Super Smash Bros. Special in Japan, so it’s more of a special edition of the Smash series where there’s an abundance of third parties in the game compared to other entries.

 

[UserKev]

Its a Nintendo crossover that eventually shaped up to be "Gotta rep em all" Most current represented third parties barely want anything to do with Nintendo anymore, honestly. If third party stayed heavily ignored, no one would be bothered to argue if otherwise. Third party in Smash literally became over exaggerated.

Personally speaking, Smash has become gimmicky to me, it lost what made it unique.

 

[Tortfeasor]

At its heart, it's a Nintendo crossover first and foremost. However, that doesn't mean there can't be any third party representation, especially where the third party character has a substantial connection to Nintendo or importance to gaming as a whole.

I wanted since Melee, for the reason that he largely appeared on Nintendo consoles and is pretty much an icon of the 8-bit era. The only games appeared on were on the N64 and are synonymous with 3D platformers of that era. The Dragon Quest games had a tremendous impact on the spread of JRPGs, so was a natural choice (f anyone recalls, Nintendo Power gave out free copies of Dragon Warrior to subscribers as a way to push JRPGs in the west). , , and all appeared on Nintendo consoles, especially the SNES, and the former two helped pave the way for 2D fighting games. and to a lesser extent appeared on Nintendo consoles and their legacy is inseparable from the evolution of 2D platormers.

When Brawl came and introduced third party characters for the first time, it seemed like and had no connection to Nintendo. At least with , you could say he had a profound impact on gaming and even Nintendo wouldn't be the same without its rivalry with Sega back in the day.

Really, there are only a couple choices that I find a bit baffling:

- Undoubtedly there are people who are more familiar with the Persona series who can correct me, but from what I understand, the series has only a couple fairly recent entries on Nintendo consoles. Most of the series has been on Playstation. If anything, Joker should be added as DLC for Playstation All-Stars.

- There was Metal Gear on the NES ("I feel asleep"), but other than that, Snake has been absent from Nintendo including even after his appearance in Brawl.

- I'll be blunt. I really do not like Cloud as a representative for FF or even as a character. He signifies to me the point when FF and Square as a whole went downhill. But, that is a long and off-topic conversation. Anyway, FF got its start on Nintendo consoles and I'd argue that FF6 was one of the finest games on the SNES, so having some FF representation is great. But, Cloud? He's never been on a Nintendo console, so why not have Terra, Cecil, or even just a generic Fighter or Black Mage? Seems like we only got Cloud because Square is obsessed with him. Even then they only grudgingly agreed to lend Cloud to Smash.

 

[Perkilator]

It's not just a celebration of Nintendo, but gaming as a whole, bringing in some of the most iconic gaming figures out there along with many of Nintendo's own characters.

 

[toonito]

Smash is a celebration of gaming, quite frankly its become bigger than its origin as a nintendo-only crossover and IMO its better for it

smash is an evergreen title where character reveals are gaming events with companies from all over wanting their IPs to be included in this massive crossover which became bigger than anyone anticipated, both casually and competitively

 

[meleebrawler]

Its a Nintendo crossover that eventually shaped up to be "Gotta rep em all" Most current represented third parties barely want anything to do with Nintendo anymore, honestly. If third party stayed heavily ignored, no one would be bothered to argue if otherwise. Third party in Smash literally became over exaggerated.

Personally speaking, Smash has become gimmicky to me, it lost what made it unique.

If it's gameplay, well it's not really Smash's fault for spawning imitators.

If it's about the characters, wait until other companies start making games with copious amounts of Nintendo characters, then we can talk about Smash losing it's uniqueness. Nintendo guest appearances in other games are very scarce, usually just costumes. Only crossover game that has more than one Nintendo property in it is Project X Zone 2, with Fire Emblem and Xenoblade.

At its heart, it's a Nintendo crossover first and foremost. However, that doesn't mean there can't be any third party representation, especially where the third party character has a substantial connection to Nintendo or importance to gaming as a whole.

I wanted since Melee, for the reason that he largely appeared on Nintendo consoles and is pretty much an icon of the 8-bit era. The only games appeared on were on the N64 and are synonymous with 3D platformers of that era. The Dragon Quest games had a tremendous impact on the spread of JRPGs, so was a natural choice (f anyone recalls, Nintendo Power gave out free copies of Dragon Warrior to subscribers as a way to push JRPGs in the west). , , and all appeared on Nintendo consoles, especially the SNES, and the former two helped pave the way for 2D fighting games. and to a lesser extent appeared on Nintendo consoles and their legacy is inseparable from the evolution of 2D platormers.

When Brawl came and introduced third party characters for the first time, it seemed like and had no connection to Nintendo. At least with , you could say he had a profound impact on gaming and even Nintendo wouldn't be the same without its rivalry with Sega back in the day.

Really, there are only a couple choices that I find a bit baffling:

- Undoubtedly there are people who are more familiar with the Persona series who can correct me, but from what I understand, the series has only a couple fairly recent entries on Nintendo consoles. Most of the series has been on Playstation. If anything, Joker should be added as DLC for Playstation All-Stars.

- There was Metal Gear on the NES ("I feel asleep"), but other than that, Snake has been absent from Nintendo including even after his appearance in Brawl.

- I'll be blunt. I really do not like Cloud as a representative for FF or even as a character. He signifies to me the point when FF and Square as a whole went downhill. But, that is a long and off-topic conversation. Anyway, FF got its start on Nintendo consoles and I'd argue that FF6 was one of the finest games on the SNES, so having some FF representation is great. But, Cloud? He's never been on a Nintendo console, so why not have Terra, Cecil, or even just a generic Fighter or Black Mage? Seems like we only got Cloud because Square is obsessed with him. Even then they only grudgingly agreed to lend Cloud to Smash.

Metal Gear also had some games on the Game Boy, and the Twin Snakes, which Smash pulls most heavily from, was a Gamecube title. Some time later Snake Eater would come out on 3DS.

 

[Tortfeasor]

Metal Gear also had some games on the Game Boy, and the Twin Snakes, which Smash pulls most heavily from, was a Gamecube title. Some time later Snake Eater would come out on 3DS.

Ah, thanks for letting me know. Honestly my only experience with the franchise is the NES version. Showing my ignorance there.

 

[Arthur97]

I'd say there wasn't much true reason to question it up until Smash 4's base game. Sonic, Mega Man, and Pac-Man were still treated as guests and all was well with the world. Then DLC happened. Specifically, Cloud. Admittedly, most could be passed off as some Nintendo relevance, but Joker (still won't put P5 on Switch) is a big glaring spot. Snake, ironically, is also one of the worst offenders, but he was apparently a personal favor which I also have issue with. It doesn't help that the "community" seems to keep pushing for more and more out there choices, and Sakurai seems to want to use it to work with stuff he normally wouldn't be able to.

That said, no matter what they're calling it, it's still a Nintendo game. Try and tell me that in the grand scheme of gaming, Earthbound is deserving of two fighters and four stages or F-Zero one fighter and three (?) stages. There has been a lost of focus, but it should be remembered that Smash could exist with none of the third parties, but without Nintendo, it's dead. (Literally, they own the brand.)

 

[Dinoman96]

It's a celebration of video games hosted by Nintendo. That's basically it.

 

[MrGameguycolor]

An action game about smashing beloved game characters off the screen.

THE END
(Just kidding.)

 

[Oddball]

- There was Metal Gear on the NES ("I feel asleep"), but other than that, Snake has been absent from Nintendo including even after his appearance in Brawl.

The Metal Gear series actually owes it's existence to Nintendo.

The first game was created and that was going to be it.

Because of it's popularity, a sequel was developed for Nintendo, Snake's Revenge. One of the developers on the sequel happened to run into Kojima and talked about it, which inspired Kojima to directly continue the series.

 

[Lenidem]

The game is made/published by Nintendo with lots of their characters, therefore it is a Nintendo crossover. Just because a lot of hubbub is raised when third parties join doesn't change the fact the cast and content is largely Nintendo. Just look at all the miscellaneous Nintendo content.

Also, can't the poll have an "all of the above" choice? It isn't wrong to call Ultimate a celebration of gaming history, it's just the Nintendo crossover part has and will always be the core of the series.

Changing the options would reset the votes, wouldn't it? For "all of the above", I suggest you pick "something else".

 

[Gryphon827]

At this point, it's a fire emblem spinoff.

 

[Capybara Gaming]

At its heart, it's a Nintendo crossover first and foremost. However, that doesn't mean there can't be any third party representation, especially where the third party character has a substantial connection to Nintendo or importance to gaming as a whole.

I wanted since Melee, for the reason that he largely appeared on Nintendo consoles and is pretty much an icon of the 8-bit era. The only games appeared on were on the N64 and are synonymous with 3D platformers of that era. The Dragon Quest games had a tremendous impact on the spread of JRPGs, so was a natural choice (f anyone recalls, Nintendo Power gave out free copies of Dragon Warrior to subscribers as a way to push JRPGs in the west). , , and all appeared on Nintendo consoles, especially the SNES, and the former two helped pave the way for 2D fighting games. and to a lesser extent appeared on Nintendo consoles and their legacy is inseparable from the evolution of 2D platormers.

When Brawl came and introduced third party characters for the first time, it seemed like and had no connection to Nintendo. At least with , you could say he had a profound impact on gaming and even Nintendo wouldn't be the same without its rivalry with Sega back in the day.

Really, there are only a couple choices that I find a bit baffling:

- Undoubtedly there are people who are more familiar with the Persona series who can correct me, but from what I understand, the series has only a couple fairly recent entries on Nintendo consoles. Most of the series has been on Playstation. If anything, Joker should be added as DLC for Playstation All-Stars.

- There was Metal Gear on the NES ("I feel asleep"), but other than that, Snake has been absent from Nintendo including even after his appearance in Brawl.

- I'll be blunt. I really do not like Cloud as a representative for FF or even as a character. He signifies to me the point when FF and Square as a whole went downhill. But, that is a long and off-topic conversation. Anyway, FF got its start on Nintendo consoles and I'd argue that FF6 was one of the finest games on the SNES, so having some FF representation is great. But, Cloud? He's never been on a Nintendo console, so why not have Terra, Cecil, or even just a generic Fighter or Black Mage? Seems like we only got Cloud because Square is obsessed with him. Even then they only grudgingly agreed to lend Cloud to Smash.

Persona Q and Persona Q2 are 3DS exclusives, and the Shin Megami Tensei series from which it's spun off from has been on Nintendo since the beginning.

Metal Gear had two games on NES, a Gamecube exclusive remake of the first game (The Twin Snakes), and the third game (Snake Eater) was ported to 3DS after Brawl.

Cloud appeared both in the GBA and DS exclusive Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts re:Coded prior to being included in Smash 4, as well as in Final Fantasy crossovers and spinoffs, such as Theatyrhythm Final Fantasy and it's sequel Curtain Call, as well as Final Fantasy Explorers, which was unveiled just before Cloud's advent in Smash.

Sonic had lots of games on both the Game Boy Advance, DS, and Gamecube prior to Smash, including remakes of his Genesis-era titles, the Sonic Advance series, updated ports of both Sonic Adventure titles, Sonic Heroes, Sonic Rush, and the then soon to be released Sonic Unleashed.

To say they had no connection to Nintendo prior to joining is foolish.

 

[Tortfeasor]

Persona Q and Persona Q2 are 3DS exclusives, and the Shin Megami Tensei series from which it's spun off from has been on Nintendo since the beginning.

Metal Gear had two games on NES, a Gamecube exclusive remake of the first game (The Twin Snakes), and the third game (Snake Eater) was ported to 3DS after Brawl.

Cloud appeared both in the GBA and DS exclusive Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts re:Coded prior to being included in Smash 4, as well as in Final Fantasy crossovers and spinoffs, such as Theatyrhythm Final Fantasy and it's sequel Curtain Call, as well as Final Fantasy Explorers, which was unveiled just before Cloud's advent in Smash.

Sonic had lots of games on both the Game Boy Advance, DS, and Gamecube prior to Smash, including remakes of his Genesis-era titles, the Sonic Advance series, updated ports of both Sonic Adventure titles, Sonic Heroes, Sonic Rush, and the then soon to be released Sonic Unleashed.

To say they had no connection to Nintendo prior to joining is foolish.

Fair enough, looks like I stand corrected.

 

[crazybenjamin]

Smash is a game featuring "Nintendo and friends," it's in the process of evolving into a celebration of Japanese gaming. (I added the qualifier "Japanese," because Western characters tend to get the short end of the stick, such as Cuphead ending up as a Mii Costume or Rayman being stuck as a Spirit)

 

[Oddball]

Smash is a big Nintendo party and they invited some of their friends.

 

[MarioMeteor]

Not what it once was, that’s for sure. I believe at one point Smash was marketed as a celebration of Nintendo All-Stars or something along those lines. At this point, it’s a MUGEN game with a really big budget.

 

[Perkilator]

Not what it once was, that’s for sure. I believe at one point Smash was marketed as a celebration of Nintendo All-Stars or something along those lines. At this point, it’s a MUGEN game with a really big budget.

That also works for what it is now. Whether that's good or bad is all a matter of opinion.

 

[Mogisthelioma]

Smash is a celebration of Nintendo with characters from other non-Nintendo IPs joining as honored guests. It's not a celebration of gaming as a whole, otherwise the roster would be spread much thinner between many more different franchises. Mario would have 6 characters at most and there's no way Fire Emblem would have more than 5. On the other hand, we would have series like Halo, Dark Souls, Crash Bandicoot, Doom, Fallout, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, and probably more Indie representation within the roster. Even then there are at least 10 game series that would (arguably) be necessary in order to constitute a "celebration of gaming." 90% of the content in Smash is Nintendo. The other 10% Are other companies throwing their two cents in.