Super Smash Bros.

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Fandom
Name: Super Smash Bros., 大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズ
Abbreviation(s): Smash Brothers, Smash Bros., Smash
Creator: Nintendo, Masahiro Sakurai
Date(s): January 21, 1999 - December 7, 2018
Medium: Video Games
Country of Origin: Japan
External Links: Smash Bros. official website
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Super Smash Bros. is a series of crossover fighting games published by Nintendo, that primarily features characters from franchises established on its systems.

Overview

The gameplay objective differs from that of traditional fighters by aiming to knock opponents off of the stage instead of depleting life bars. The series features many characters from Nintendo's most popular franchises, including Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Fox McCloud, Link, Kirby, Samus Aran, Pikachu, Captain Falcon and Ness. The original Super Smash Bros. had 12 playable characters, and the roster count has risen to 26 characters in Melee, 39 in Brawl, 58 in 3DS/Wii U and 75 in Ultimate. In Brawl, two third-party characters were added, Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog. Additional third-party characters Mega Man, Pac-Man, Ryu, Cloud Strife and Bayonetta appeared in 3DS and Wii U. Even more third-party characters appeared in Ultimate for the Switch.

Games

  • Super Smash Bros.
  • Super Smash Bros. Melee
  • Super Smash Bros. Brawl
  • Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
  • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Fandom

The fanbase has been divided on several aspects: Which game is the best of the series, and whether the games should be played casually or competitively, which leads to divisions regarding the use of items and which stages to play with, creating Character Tiers, and of course who should be on the roster. Many unofficial Super Smash Bros. themed boards and forums, for example Smash Boards or r/smashbros, generally have a large divide between casual and competitive players, with the most vocal being seen as the stereotypical fans.

Introduction to Fire Emblem

Many western fans were first introduced to the Fire Emblem franchise in 2001 via Super Smash Bros. Melee, two years before Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade would be the first game in the series released outside of Japan, as Marth and Roy were both playable fighters. This has lead to some jokes within the fandom, Marth is sometimes referred to as "Marth from Smash Brothers" and whenever a new Fire Emblem game was announced, many would jokingly ask if Marth and Roy were playable or make an appearance.

Fanon and Tropes

  • It is very common for SSB fanfiction to envision the game as a tournament with all characters living in the "Smashers' Mansion". While the "mansion" has no basis in the games, the Animal Crossing scene at the beginning of the SSB4 trailer as well as Snake's conversation with Colonel from his E3 reveal trailer lends credence to the "tournament" idea.
  • Some SSB fanworks may or may not also include characters and franchises that aren't in the games. It's not uncommon for fans to make lists of characters or such that they want to see in a future SSB game, the advocacy of which is its own fan activity known as Smash Campaigning.
  • Since the playable characters are merely imagined versions based on dolls/trophies in-universe, some fans interpret that the Smash universe is similar to Toy Story where the characters are literally dolls or trophies that spontaneously come to life.
  • It is often believed that the crowd cheer for Ganondorf is him possessing the crowd to cheer for him since the chant for Ganondorf often sounds rather lifeless and dreary.
  • Isabelle & Snake are considered fanon friends.

Crossover Pairings

Super Smash Bros is often used as a setting for crossover pairings, as it easily explains why two characters from different series' may interact. Some of the popular pairings include:

Notable Fanworks

Fanfiction

Archives & Fannish Links

Resources

References