Smash Brothers by NINTENDO - Miscellaneous - http://maxpages.com/theskank/Smash

Let's start off by saying that Super Smash
Bros. is not really a fighting game. Yeah,
we know. It says "fighting" in our
categories box to the right -- and in a way,
this HAL-developed beat 'em up bears all
the signs of a traditional fighting game. But
unlike the Tekkens or Mortal Kombats
of this world, Smash Bros. does not rely
on complex button combinations or a ton
of moves to bring the game to life. To
figure out what this game is all about,
imagine a hybrid of Mario Bros. (the
original, non-scrolling game) and Street
Fighter. The outcome is a refreshing
multiplayer battle game that won't fix the
gaping hole in the N64 fighting game
lineup, but delivers a ton of fun and heavy
dose of nostalgia.

Features

3D graphics with 2D-style
gameplay.
12 Nintendo mascot characters.
More than nine battle stages.
Each character possesses his/her
own appropriate fighting skills and
techniques.
Multiple opponents on screen.
Four-character simultaneously
fighting possible.
Team mode.
Usable items and weapons,
including Fireflower, Striking fan,
Bob-omb, Pokeball, beam sword,
DK's hammer, and more.
Unique bonus stages break up the
action.
Saves directly to cart.
Rumble Pak support.

Gameplay
Players pick from eight Nintendo
characters (plus four hidden) and square
off in nine famous Nintendo locations,
ranging from Zelda's Hyrule to Planet
Zebes from the Metroid series. These
stages, each based on a different game
franchise, are basically condensed,
platform-based versions of familiar
locations from the respective games that
range from twice to about six-times the size
of the screen. The viewpoint is fixed
(making this game a 2D fighter with 3D
graphics) and the stages scroll to the left
and right as well as up and down.

Both characters and stages have their
unique abilities and features. For example,
a floating barrel in Donkey Kong's stage
can prevent characters from falling off the
stage, whereas a rising acid lake threatens
to scorch the contestants on Zebes if they don't move quickly enough.
Other obstacles include a laser-firing Ar-Wing in the Star Fox stage,
blowing trees in Kirby's Dream Land and randomly appearing Pokemons
in Saffron City.

The game's premise is simple. Kick, punch or throw the other
character(s) off the platforms to score points. This is easier said than
done, since each fighter can pull off multiple jumps (most can do two,
plus a special move that prolongs the jump even more) to return and to
safe ground. But each character also has a damage meter that increases
with every hit. The higher your damage, the further you get thrown when
someone picks you up or knocks you off the platform. Fighting is mostly
handled via the two A and B Buttons (attacks vary depending which
direction you press the stick in) and the R Button (grab or kick in the air).
C Buttons make you jump, L triggers a finishing pose (do this for extra
points at the end of a match) and Z triggers the shield. Each character
can punch, kick and throw and has his/her own signature moves:

Mario: The Italian plumber's famous fire ball and tornado attack
are here, as well as a coin-scattering super punch.
Donkey Kong: The lumbering gorilla can pull off a spin attack as
well as some Earth-shaking punches.
Link: Can launch powerful attacks with his sword. Also rather
handily wields two other weapons to great effect: bombs and his
boomerang.
Samus: Long-distance attacks (charge beam) and air attacks a
specialty. Can roll up in a ball, launch a screw attack and lay
bombs.
Yoshi: Capable of very high jumps. Can catch hold of enemies
with his tongue and change them into an egg. Can also spit them
off the platform and do his famous butt-stomp.
Kirby: Has the ability to mimic his opponents' killer attacks by
sucking them in. Can also fly for a short time and slam down hard
by changing into a brick. Also does a great E. Honda impression if
you tap A repeatedly.
Fox: Has the advantage of speed and lightning-quick mid-air
attacks. Can also use his blaster, reflect attacks and do a
scorching Fire Fox launch.
Pikachu: Can move and turn on a dime very quickly. Can also
inflict damage with his electric shock attack and teleport to safety.
One of the strongest characters in the game.
Luigi (hidden): The often neglected green brother features Mario's
moves.
Jigglypuff (Purin): A super-cute Pokemon with big eyes. Good for
kicking… Sings its opponents to sleep.
Captain Falcon: F-Zero X's super-fast racing stud dishes out
devastating Falcon punches.
Ness: The boy from Mother (EarthBound) fights with magic, a
yoyo and his trademark baseball bat.

The amount of moves is rather limited when you compare Smash Bros.
to a traditional fighting game. Don't. The game's small, but enjoyable
selection of moves makes it possible that everyone and their little brother
can get into the game. The real challenge lies not in learning complex
button combos, but in mastering the art of kicking the other players off
the platform. By using special moves to great effect, opponents can be
knocked off, but following up the easily executed move with a
well-aimed item-toss or aerial kick that sends the other player tumbling
down with no chance of rescue is key to scoring points.

In addition to the each character's special attacks, Nintendo and HAL
have also thrown in a variety of items:

Motion Sensor Bomb: Stick to surfaces and will blow up anyone
who steps on them. GoldenEye flashback, anyone?
Bob-omb: Mario's walking bomb adversaries explode on impact
or start to walk around if left alone.
Bumper: This pinball bumper can be thrown at opponents to bump
them off the stage.
Poke Ball: A random Pokemon will pop out and either provide
power-ups or attack your opponents (Onyx, Snorlax,
Charmander, Chansey, Beedrill, Goldeen, Staryu, Koffing and
Mewtwo).
Beam Sword: Nintendo's version of the Star Wars lightsaber.
Hammer: The famous Donkey Kong hammer. You can still jump,
but only once.
Fan: Quick attack, but doesn't do much damage. Good for
throwing.
Home Run Bat: Hit your opponents Griffey-style.
Fire Flower: Another famous Mario item. Will cause fiery breath.
Ray Gun: The Star Fox blaster can fire 16 shots.
Star Rod: Clobber your opponents or shoot 20 stars.
Maxim Tomato: Recovers up to 100% on the damage meter.
Heart Container: Link's heart power-up returns your damage
meter to 0%.
Star: You'll be invincible for as long as the music plays.
Green Shell: Slides around and damages everyone.
Red Shell: This one bounces back and forth to home in on players.
Crate: Throw it at opponents. Shatters on impact
Barrel: Can be thrown at opponents. Will roll around.
Chansey Egg: Contains power-ups.
Capsule: Throw at opponents for extra damage or open to find
items.

While the different items add a lot of variation to the fighting experience,
we wished the number of stages and characters was a little higher.
Including the hidden classic stage, there are a total of nine different
fighting environments (plus a few additional ones in the one-player
mode). Nintendo owns such a wealth of characters that even a handful
more locations and stages would have added much more depth (bring
back Kid Icarus! And where is the Rare bunch?). This isn't really a
problem in the multiplayer mode, but the one-player experience is much
too limited. Although the game features unique (and sometimes very
tough) bonus stages for each of the 12 characters as well as a few group
battles against multiple enemies, the opponents' order of appearance
never changes. Playing through the game with different characters turns
into a routine act to unlock hidden stuff more than anything else. Luckily,
Nintendo added a few nice touches, such as a unique scoring system that
awards bonus points for fighting style, speed and perfection, as well as
on-cartridge record keeping of Wins, KOs, TKOs, Self Destruction
Rate, Time, Use of character, Average number of opponents, ranking,
attack total and damage totals. A training and bonus stage attack mode
as well as character bios and custom settings (handicap, team attack,
stage select, damage, time, stock, difficulty, etc.) round off the number of
options.

Multiplayer
This is, of course, the game's main selling point. Thanks to the fixed
viewpoint, HAL managed to create kicking four-player brawls that never
seem to get old. Players either fight in a set time limit or until they get a
certain number of "kills" and can even divide up in teams. Once you
figure out the moves and the play controls, Smash Bros. quickly turns
into one of the most addictive two-, three- and four-player N64 games
out there. Think Mario Kart. The multiplayer mode's only limitation is that
it's sometimes hard to follow the action when the camera zooms out all
the way.

Graphics
Smash Bros. doesn't really break new grounds in the visuals department.
The character models are simple, low-poly approximations of Link,
Mario, Donkey Kong and co. Although they look much too angular
during the close-ups, most of the game is played from a zoomed-out
perspective, so the polygon fighters look pretty close to their
sprite-based 16-bit incarnations. The characters are well-animated and
the game's framerate is silky smooth, with minor slowdown in the
four-player mode. The stage graphics are a mixed bag. Peach's Castle,
Congo Jungle, Hyrule Castle and Sector Z are all beautifully drawn, but
the pastel color-heavy Yoshi's Island, Saffron City or Dream Land take
some getting used to, especially since some of the textures are dreadfully
low-res. Samus Aran's Zebes stage is a minor disappointment and fails to
recreate the moody caves and space environments of the Metroid series,
but the hidden Mushroom Kingdom will almost bring tears to your eyes
with its nostalgic 2D look and familiar patterns and pow-buttons.

Sound
All you favorite melodies and character sounds are here -- from Mario's
hollers to Samus's bomb sounds. Although none of the characters
actually talk, each features plenty of familiar voice effects, including
hilarious "death screams" from Pikachu ("Pikaaaaa Piiiiikaaaaa!") and the
one-word chatter from the NPC Pokemons. Sadly, Nintendo of America
decided it had to fudge with the game's great punch and impact effects to
make it more "wacky." Unlike in the Japanese version, hits now sound
like a bowling ball striking pins. Even worse, NOA also got rid of the
lightsaber hum that accompanied the weapon in the Japanese version --
probably to play it safe with Lucasfilm licensing... As minute as the
changes are, they do have an impact on the feel of the game if you've
played the Japanese version before getting the US one. Luckily, all the
excellent melodies are still here. In addition to a few new tunes, battles
are accompanied by re-mixes and slightly beefed-up versions of the
Overworld theme from Zelda, the original Star Fox theme as well as
music from the NES Mario, Donkey Kong Country, Pokemon cartoon,
Metroid and more. Nintendo fans will also love the old-school sound
effects for the Donkey Kong hammer, the crowd chants accompanying a
winning streak and the "star" theme. Good sound, all around, from HAL
and NCL -- bad changes by NOA.

Peripheral Support
The game supports the Rumble Pak to great effect, but the Expansion
Pak is not supported. Smash Bros. features a built-in S-RAM chip to
store all the player data without the need of a Controller Pak.

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Page Updated Thu May 27, 1999 6:20am EDT