Super Smash Bros.

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File:Ssbtitle.jpg

Super Smash Bros. Title Screen.

Super Smash Bros., known in Japan as Nintendo All-Star! Dairantō Smash Brothers (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, Dairantō meaning "Great Melee"), is a fighting game for the Nintendo 64 created by Nintendo and HAL. It was commercially successful, and had two sequels: Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. All fighters are famous Nintendo characters from the company's various franchises. Players must defeat their opponents multiple times in a fighting frenzy of items and power-ups; an original health system; and on unique, Nintendo-themed stages.

Although Super Smash Bros. is not a part of the Mario franchise, the game is heavily influenced by the Mario series, more so than any other franchise

Gameplay

File:SSBFall.jpg

Here, Samus is seen falling at the upper right corner of the screen, while Fox is awarded a point for his KO and Samus is losing a point.

Super Smash Bros. has a considerably different fighting style than other fighting games such as Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. Rather than each player having a life gauge that begins full and gradually decreases with each attack taken, Super Smash Bros. has a unique system. Each player starts at 0% damage and with each hit he or she takes, the percentage rises depending on how powerful the attack is. As the player's percentage gets higher, the player is blown further away with each attack. The objective of the game is to knock out the opponent from the screen so he or she cannot return to the stage or knocking out the opponent so hard the opponent turns into a star. Getting defeated by an opponent is called a "TKO." In time mode, this results in a loss of one point, while in stock mode this counts as a loss of one life. The player respawns on a descending floating platform at the center of the stage unless the player has no lives left. The player can exit by either moving, jumping, or waiting a few seconds. The player is invincible for a short amount of time after he or she exits the platform.

Items are also an important component of the game. Depending on the settings set in the menu, the frequencies and types of items appearing can be altered. Some items are more powerful than others, while some are used to heal the user rather than attack an opponent.

Below are specific rules and differences between the two fighting modes: Time and Stock.

Time

File:SSB.jpg

Mario and Kirby shown fighting in Time mode, with the timer shown at the upper right of the screen.

In Time mode, TKOs count as one negative point for the player that is knocked out of the screen. The player that caused them to fall receives one positive point and is recorded as a "KO". If a player accidentally or intentionally falls off the stage without being influenced by other players, he or she lose one point while nobody gains a point. At the end of the time period, the player that has the most points is declared the winner.

If there is a tie, there is a Sudden Death. The two or more players tied have a quick stock battle with one life, both starting with 300% percent damage, which will usually cause an instant KO when hit. Also, after a certain time, Bob-ombs will start falling at random places on the stage, making survival harder. The winner of the Sudden Death wins the match.

Stock

File:SSBStock.jpg

Samus and Fox shown fighting in Stock mode. Fox has three lives while Samus has two.

In stock mode, there is still a point system, but wins are focused on number of lives left. Each player begins with a set amount of lives. Each time a player is defeated, he or she loses one life. Unlike Time mode, the number of kills are irrelevant to the results because it is a game of survival. This also means that matches could theoretically be endless. However, there is an option that sets a time limit to stock matches; in this case, the player with the most remaining lives at the end of the time period is the winner.

If there is a tie, a tiebreaker called a Sudden Death match occurs, where all players begin with 300% damage and one life. The last one standing wins.

Players can fight alone or in teams. Allies usually cannot be hurt by other teammates unless team attack is turned on. Also, if a player manages to defeat an ally, he or she gets a point while the ally loses a point, unlike in the succeeding games where both teammates lose a point (or the player that defeated the ally loses 2 points if the penalty is adjusted in Super Smash Bros. Melee). If a team wins, the player in the team with the most KOs gets the first place honor.

Playable Characters

The default cast of characters.

There are 12 playable characters in Super Smash Bros. Three are from the Mario series, one is from the Donkey Kong series, one is from The Legend of Zelda series, one is from the Metroid series, one is from the Kirby series, one is from the Star Fox series, two are from the Pokémon series, one is from F-Zero and one is from the game Earthbound part of the Mother Series.

Legend:

Special Moves
Standard Special Move
Up Special Move
Down Special Move

Default Characters

Artwork	Name	Series	Description	Special Moves
File:MarioSmash.PNG	Mario	Mario series	Mario has average speed and weight, but has very good jumping abilities and strong attacks. His Fireballs are bouncy, similar to most Mario games.	Fireball
				Super Jump Punch
				Mario Tornado
File:DKSmash.PNG	Donkey Kong	Donkey Kong series	Donkey Kong is one of the strongest characters and is a heavy-weight character. When he picks up a character, he can carry them for a short distance.	Giant Punch
				Spinning Kong
				Hand Slap
File:LinkSmash.PNG	Link	The Legend of Zelda series	Link is a character with medium weight, strength and speed. Most of his attacks center around his sword, and Link also has a number of projectiles in Bombs and Arrows.	Boomerang
				Spin Attack
				Bomb
File:SamushSmash.PNG	Samus Aran	Metroid series	Samus is a slow and heavy character with powerful attacks. Her Grappling Beam allows her to grab characters from far away.	Charge Shot
				Screw Attack
				Bomb
File:YoshiSmash.PNG	Yoshi	Yoshi series	Yoshi is a fast and middleweight fighter with strong smash attacks. Unlike other fighters, Yoshi's shield is not an energy bubble but a green-spotted Yoshi Egg. He does not have a third jump.	Egg Lay
				Egg Throw
				Yoshi Bomb
File:Kirsmashone.PNG	Kirby	Kirby series	Kirby is a light, fast character. He can multi-jump in the air. His special Swallow move allows him to copy other characters' abilities.	Swallow
				Final Cutter
				Stone
File:FoxSmash.PNG	Fox McCloud	Star Fox series	Fox is a fast and light character with average strength. His blaster can stun opponents, thus stopping them in their tracks. He can use his Reflector to reflect projectiles, including thrown items.	Blaster|Blaster
				Fire Fox
				Reflector
File:PIKAsmall.PNG	Pikachu	Pokémon series	Pikachu is fast and light. It uses its electric attacks to damage other enemies. Pikachu has Strong attacks for a lightweight.	Thunder Jolt
				Quick Attack
				Thunder

Unlockable Characters

	Name	Series	Description	How to Unlock	Special Moves
	Luigi	Mario series	Luigi is a character with average weight and speed but with above average strength. His moves look similar to Mario's but they function very differently. His Super Jump Punch can be very strong if he uses it while adjacent to an opponent, but otherwise it is a very weak attack. His Luigi Cyclone makes opponents fly away. His fireballs float in a straight line instead of bouncing. He also jumps higher than Mario, but he is also slower and lighter than Mario.	Complete the target test with all Default characters	Fireball
					Super Jump Punch
					Luigi Cyclone
File:JiggSmash.PNG	Jigglypuff	Pokémon series	Jigglypuff is weak and light. It has the ability to multi-jump in the air. It's rest attack can be lethal if it uses it adjacent to an opponent. Unlike most characters, it does not have a recovery move, but it can use Pound to gain distance while floating in the air. If its shield breaks, it flies up and gets KO'd.	Complete the 1-Player Game with any character	Pound
					Sing
					Rest
	Ness	Earthbound series	Ness is a fast and light character. He uses a homerun bat and a yo-yo for his Smash Attacks. He has to direct a PK thunder into himself in order to utilize his third jump. Ness can use his PSI magnet to convert most projectiles to heal himself.	Play 1-Player Game with any character at normal difficulty or above with 3 lives	PK Fire
					PK Thunder
					PSI Magnet
	Captain Falcon	F-Zero series	Captain Falcon is the fastest character in the game. His special attacks are all fiery, and the Falcon Punch is the strongest one-hit attack of any character.	Complete 1-Player Game in less than 20 minutes	Falcon Punch
					Falcon Dive
					Falcon Kick

Non-playable characters

Pokémon

• Beedrill
• Blastoise
• Chansey
• Charizard
• Clefairy
• Hitmonlee
• Koffing
• Meowth
• Mew
• Snorlax
• Starmie

Enemies

• Fighting Polygons
• Kirbys
• Yoshis

Bosses

• Giant Donkey Kong
• Metal Mario
• Master Hand

Arenas

Default Stages

	Stage	Description
File:SSBPeach'scastle.gif	Peach's Castle	A stage with one large platform, two mid-air sloped platforms at the side, and a moving platform towards the bottom. There are two Bumpers in the upper right and left-hand corners of the stage.
File:Melee Yoshi's Island N64.jpg	Yoshi's Island	A stage slightly sloped on either side, meant to look like a book. There are also three mid-air platforms, two of which are also slanted. Clouds on the sides of the course can be stood on, but they will disappear if the player stays on the platform for a period of time.
File:Melee Kongo Jungle N64.jpg	Kongo Jungle	A stage sloped towards the middle, with platforms on either side. There is also a Barrel Cannon moving side to side at the bottom of the stage. If a player were to fall into it, the barrel would start rotating and when the player presses the A button, they would be launched in whichever direction the arrow is pointing.
File:Ssbstagessectorz2.gif	Sector Z	A very large stage, set on the Great Fox. Occasionally, an Arwing enters the screen and fires blasts of beams at the players. The stage is the second largest of the game after Mushroom Kingdom.
File:Ssbstagesdreamland2.gif	Dream Land	A flat no frills stage, with Whispy Woods at the center. Whispy sometimes blows air that pushes players in the direction he is facing.
File:SSBHyrulecastle.gif	Hyrule Castle	A very long stage, and the first stage of the single-player mode. It does not have many gimmicks, except for a whirlwind that appears every 30 seconds. The tornado sends players flying with a percent cost, and it can turn unlucky players into stars depending on the location and percent. The tornadoes appear in 4 places in this stage.
File:SSBPlanetzebes.gif	Planet Zebes	A small stage that is easy to get blasted off of. The only other feature is the lava, that rises up about every 30 seconds. The lava hurts players and turns them into a star if the percent is high enough. The lava also makes it nearly impossible to score a KO in the bottom part of the stage.
File:SSBSaffron City.gif	Saffron City	A large stage that features the most gimmicks. It is the home stage of Pikachu and Jigglypuff. Various Pokemon emerge from the building to the right, having effects on gameplay.

Unlockable Stage

	Stage	Description	How to unlock
File:SSB Mushroom Kingdom.jpg	Mushroom Kingdom	The largest stage of the game, featuring some gimmicks, moving platforms, Warp Pipes, and others. This stage later reappears in the game's sequel, Super Smash Bros. Melee.	It is unlockable by beating 1-Player mode with the eight original characters, and by playing on each stage in VS. Mode.

Items

There are many items throughout the game that help fire up the battle. All items will disappear after a period of time it is unused or if it is used to a certain extent. The following is a full list of them.

	Name	Series	Description
	Crate, Capsule, Egg, and Barrel	Super Smash Bros. series	The Crate is a wooden box that contains a random item, which can be released by breaking it open or throwing it to the ground. Barrels are similar, but can roll along the ground if hit. Capsules and Eggs are lighter than Crates and Barrels. Sometimes these items will explode.
	Bob-omb	Mario series	The Bob-omb can be thrown at another character to cause an explosion. If left on the ground for a few seconds, it starts walking around. It then explodes after a certain amount of time. It can be picked up right before explosion, and thrown.
	Fire Flower	Mario series	The Fire Flower is used to blast fire at other characters, in a conic shape. It is similar to Bowser's Fire Breath. It can also be thrown at players to deal damage.
	Green Shell	Mario series	The Green Shell can be thrown, and then slides along the ground, being able to hit multiple characters. The Green Shell will disappear after being used a certain amount of times.
	Hammer	Mario series	A massive hammer from Donkey Kong. If picked up, the player will frantically swing it up and down, but the player cannot double jump, nor can he or she drop the item.
	Red Shell	Mario series	Similar to the Green Shell, but does less damage and homes in on characters.
	Starman	Mario series	The Starman makes the player invincible for several seconds. Players with this item do not take damage from their enemies and cannot be hit or grabbed. However, they can still fall off the stage and self-destruct.
	Beam Sword	Super Smash Bros. series	A powerful weapon that can be used to hit other characters. While it has a large range, the reaction time is rather slow. It can also be thrown at other characters for a considerable amount of damage.
	Home-Run Bat	EarthBound	When a Smash Attack is performed with a Home-Run Bat, the hit character is knocked out instantly in most cases. However, the preparation for the smash attack is very slow and the range is not very great.
	Motion-Sensor Bomb	GoldenEye 007	When placed on the ground or on the side of a ledge, the Motion-Sensor Bomb stays on the ground and explodes when someone touches it. The Motion-Sensor Bomb is weaker than the Bob-omb.
	Bumper	Super Smash Bros. series	The Bumper can be placed on the ground. If someone throws the bumper, the character who gets hit will receive 6-7 damage. If a character walks on the bumper when the bumper lies, he/she will receive 1 damage. In both cases the character will be sent flying for a short distance. A Bumper can be found in Peach's Castle, floating mid-air and moving left to right.
	Fan	Super Smash Bros. series	The Fan is used to smack other characters. The fan is swung very quickly to score multiple hits, but they do not do much damage per hit. The fan is very capable for destroying opponents' shields.
	Poké Ball	Pokémon series	A random Pokémon appears when thrown at the ground. The Pokémon usually helps the player. There are, however, certain exceptions.
	Star Rod	Kirby series	When the Star Rod is used, stars come flying out of it, hitting other characters. If used with smash, a large star will fly out. The Star Rod has only a limited amount of large stars it can shoot.
	Maxim Tomato	Kirby series	When the maximum tomato is eaten, the player restores 100% damage (100% is subtracted from the current amount).
	Heart Container	The Legend of Zelda series	The Heart Container fully reduces the player's health to 0%.
	Ray Gun	Super Smash Bros. series	A gun that that can fire 16 shots and can be used to juggle opponents.

Modes

Single-Player mode

One-player Game

File:SSBClassic.jpg

The Stage progression screen for the Final Stage with Fox as the player's character.

In single-player mode, before a player starts the game, a character, difficulty level, and number of lives is selected. The difficulty levels range from Very Easy, Easy, Normal, Hard, to Very Hard. The number of lives can be set anywhere from 1 to 5 lives. The number of lives carries over from the previous match, which means any lost lives are not restored each level. Once the player loses all lives, he or she gets a Game Over and must restart from the beginning. However, there is n option to continue for a price of points.

All stages work with the stock system and opponents and allies have one life each. There is a time limit of 5 minutes per match.

One-player Game Stages
Stage 1	The player fights Link at Hyrule Castle.
Stage 2	The player fights a team of 18 Yoshis in Yoshi's Island. The player fights three Yoshis at a time. When one is defeated, another one will take its place, until all are defeated.
Stage 3	The player fights Fox in Sector Z.
Bonus Stage 1	Break the Targets! The player has to hit the 10 targets within a time limit of 2 minutes. Each character has a different arena for his target test. Dying in the target test causes the failure of the test, but not the loss of a life.
Stage 4	The player fights Mario and Luigi on Peach's Castle. The player also gets a randomly chosen ally.
Stage 5	The player fights Pikachu in Saffron City.
Stage 6	The player fights Giant Donkey Kong in Kongo Jungle. The player gets two randomly chosen allies.
Stage 7	The player fights a team of 8 Kirbys in Dream Land. Seven of them already have abilities from the other 7 default characters. The last one is either the regular Kirby or one with an ability of one unlockable character. The player fights two at a time.
Stage 8	The player fights Samus on Planet Zebes.
Stage 9	The player fights Metal Mario at his personal stage.
Stage 10	The player fights a team of 30 Fighting Polygons on the Battlefield stage. The polygons are fought three at a time.
Bonus Stage 2	Board the Platforms! The player has to land on all 10 platforms within 2 minutes. It is similar to Break the Targets!!; the player can get KO'd and fail the test, but it doesn't constitute towards the loss of a life.
Final Stage	The player fights Master Hand. Unlike the player, the Master Hand does not have a percentage of damage, but 300 hit points. The battle takes place on Final Destination.

Training Mode

File:SSBTrain.jpg

The player is controlling Mario while the CPU, Luigi, is set to "Walk."

Training mode is, as the name suggests, a mode primarily used to practice and simulate battles for improving skills or for beginners to learn controls and moves. There is no time limit nor set number of lives, and nothing that happens is Training mode is recorded.

There are multiple adjustable factors within the mode that are not available in regular Vs. mode. Firstly, the computer players actions can be set to any of: Stand, Walk, Evade, Jump, or Attack. In any case, if the computer player is about to get knocked off the stage, they will make an effort to recover. Another ability available from the pause menu is to be able to make any item spawn. Up to four items can be on the stage at once. The speed of the game is also adjustable. Besides normal speed, it can be set to 2/3, 1/2, or 1/4 speed. Lastly, the camera view can also be changed from normal to close-up; close-up view follows the player at a close angle.

Unlike Super Smash Bros. Melee or Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the computer player cannot be controlled using a controller, and only one computer player can be present at a time.

Bonus Practice

File:SSBBonus.jpg

Yoshi playing in the Board the Platforms mode of Bonus Practice.

The final mode in single-player mode is Bonus Practice. There are two games, "Board the Platforms" and "Break the Targets." Both games appear as bonus stages in the One-player mode.

Board The Platforms

Each character has a unique stage that has 10 platforms of various sizes. The objective is to land on each of the 10 platforms in the least amount of time possible. Some platforms move while others must be jumped on with the correct timing or the player gets damaged. If the player falls from the stage, it is a Failure, and the player will be sent back to the character selection screen.

Break the Targets

Similarly to Board the Platforms, Break the Targets has a unique stage for each player. The objective in this game is to break 10 targets placed throughout the stage by hitting them with an attack. Like Board the Platforms, some targets move, while others are stationary. There are no extra lives, so once a player falls, the trial is a failure, and the player will be brought back to the character selection screen.

VS Mode

File:SSBSelect.jpg

The Character Selection screen with all four players having a character selected.

In VS Mode, the player can pick up to four fighters to fight in a battle. A fighter selection screen is seen, and the players are able to pick which fighter he or she wants. The player is also able to set rules for this match, such as in a time match, the player can pick the amount of time that can be played, and in a stock match, the players can pick the amount of the stocks they and the computers have and also pick the items that will appear in the match (not in an order, as they are picked randomly), and set the handicap for the fighters. The next screen is the stage selection screen, where players pick the stage to play on before the battle starts.

Besides the default Free-for-all mode in which players fight each other, there are also team battles. Players can divide into up to three teams and fight against the other team(s). Also, lives are shared, so if one player is eliminated from a team, given that another team mate has 2 or more lives remaining, the eliminated player can recover by borrowing one ally's life by pressing the Start button. Teams are distinguished by costume color of each player, which is either red, green, or blue.

In Super Smash Bros., VS Mode is notable for being the only multi-player mode in the game.

Reception

Super Smash Bros. was commercially successful, and quickly became a Player's Choice title. In Japan, 1.97 million copies were sold, and 2.93 million have been sold in the United States as of 2008.

Super Smash Bros. received mostly positive reviews, with criticism mostly directed towards the game's single-player mode. GameSpot's former editorial director, Jeff Gerstmann, noted the single-player game "won't exactly last a long time". Instead, he praised the multi-player portion of the game, saying that it is "extremely simple to learn". He also praised the game's music, calling it "amazing". GameCritics.com's Dale Weir described Super Smash Bros. as "the most original fighting game on the market and possibly the best multiplayer game on any system". There were criticisms, however, such as the game's scoring being difficult to follow. In addition, the single-player mode was criticized for its perceived difficulty and lack of features. It was deemed one of the ten best Mario games of all time by ScrewAttack from GameTrailers. It was given an Editors' choice award from IGN.

Development

Super Smash Bros. was developed by HAL Laboratory, a Nintendo second-party developer, during 1998. It began life as a prototype created by Masahiro Sakurai and Satoru Iwata in their spare time titled 'Kakuto-Gēmu Ryūō' (格闘ゲーム竜王 ?, lit. "Dragon King: The Fighting Game"), and originally featured no Nintendo characters. However, Sakurai hit on the idea of including fighters from different Nintendo franchises in order to provide "atmosphere" which he felt was necessary for a home console fighting game, and his idea was approved. The game had a small budget and little promotion, and was originally a Japan-only release, but its huge success saw the game released worldwide.

Voice Cast

Character(s)	Voice Actor
Mario, Luigi	Charles Martinet
Link	Nobuyuki Hiyama
Kirby, Ness	Makiko Ohmoto
Yoshi	Kazumi Totaka
Fox McCloud	Shinobu Satouchi
Pikachu	Ikue Ohtani
Captain Falcon	Ryo Horikawa
Jigglypuff	Rachael Lillis
Donkey Kong	Kevin Bayliss
Announcer, Master Hand	Jeff Manning

List of Bonuses

For a list of this game special bonuses, see here.

Beta Elements

For a list of this game beta elements, see here.

Glitches

For a list of this game glitches, see here.

Staff

Main article: Super Smash Bros./Staff

Gallery

Official Artwork

• MarioSmash.PNG

  Mario
• DKSmash.PNG

  Donkey Kong
• LinkSmash.PNG

  Link
• SamushSmash.PNG

  Samus
• YoshiSmash.PNG

  Yoshi
• Kirsmashone.PNG

  Kirby
• FoxSmash.PNG

  Fox
• PIKAsmall.PNG

  Pikachu
• 

  Luigi
• 

  Captain Falcon
• 

  Ness
• JiggSmash.PNG

  Jigglypuff

Boxarts

• 

  Japanese boxart.

• 

  European boxart.

• 

  U.S. boxart (Player's Choice version)

Trivia

• Super Smash Bros. is the only game in the Super Smash Bros. series to receive an ESRB rating of E for Everyone. Its successors are both rated T for Teen.
• When the player chooses a character, the character will do a short animation in the player's box; so far, this is the only game in the series that does this.