First there was Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64, and it was good.
Then came Super Smash Bros. Melee for the Gamecube, and it was very, very good.
Next was Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii, and it had its problems, but it was pretty good too.
Now, on the Wii U, we have the creatively titled Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and it’s pretty much consuming my life.
For those who don’t know, the Smash Bros. premise has remained unchanged from the first iteration: you take a bunch of characters from all different Nintendo games – like Mario, Link, Kirby, and Pikachu – and you make them all playable characters in a fighting game. So you can play Starfox vs. Yoshi, or Donkey Kong vs. Jigglypuff, or pretty much anything your twisted heart desires.
It’s fun single-player, and even better multi-player. When four friends are united by Smash, a good time is had by all.
And while the basic mechanics are basically the same after fifteen years, what we have gotten are options, options, options.
The original twelve-character roster has grown to an incredible forty-eight, including Bowser, Ganondorf, Sonic, Mega Man, the Duck Hunt Dog (!), Wii Fit Trainer (!!), and Pac-Man. The original nine stages are now forty-seven. And there are more game modes, items, trophies, challenges, minigames, customizations, and unlockables than I have the patience to describe.
Smash Bros. isn’t just a great game. It’s a tribute to the entire history of Nintendo gaming.
But it is a great game too.
Anyone else picked it up? What are your thoughts?
Brian D. Buckley 
