If you're looking for a Mortal Kombat or Killer Instinct clone, you'll be disappointed when you play Super Smash Bros. Not only is it unlike these, it almost creates a whole new genre. You choose from a set of eight characters (twelve if you include secret characters) and use your arsenal of special moves to duke it out in one of the levels from each character's game. It's more like a platformer/battle game, somewhat like the original Mario Bros. Up to four players can battle together in teams or all for themselves. You can jump from platform to platform and the whole bit, almost like a platformer, only the goal is different. You can't defeat a character by beating them up alone, you must throw them or knock them off of the arena. As you fight them, however, their energy percentage goes up. The higher their percentage, the easier it is to knock them off the edge of the arena. Each time you throw them off they lose a life, and when they lose all of their lives you win. During the battle you can find various weapons and items from each character's game. You can find Mario's fire flower, Link's sword, Kirby's tomato power-up, Fox McCloud's laser gun, and more. Any weapon or item can be picked up and used by any character, making the game all the more challenging. In addition, there is a level from each character's game that you can battle in. The initial characters that you can choose from include Mario, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, Kirby, Pikachu, and Fox McCloud, but you can choose from four more by meeting certain conditions when playing the game. You can choose to play a one player game versus the computer player, as usual, or a one to four player game with four human players. You can also choose to play with three human players and one computer player, or any other combination. You also have the option to play in teams. Things can get quite exciting in the four player simultaneous mode. The four player mode is the best reason to play Super Smash Bros. This all sounds great, but what about some of the flaws? Well, mostly the controls take quite a bit of practice to get the hang of. It's somewhere in between a fighting game and a platformer, while having its own control setup at the same time. It definitely takes some getting used to before you are able to pulverize your opponents. The graphics? Good, although nothing new. Maybe "appropriate" is a better word to use. Mario looks like he came straight out of Super Mario 64, and Link looks like he came straight out of his recent game on the Nintendo 64. Fox McCloud's Sector Z stage looks like it came straight out of Starfox 64 as well. I could go on, but I'd rather not risk sounding redundant. The music and sound effects are equally appropriate. In Link's level, the classic Zelda tune plays in the background. If Mario's level, the same happens. The same with the Fox and Samus level. Seeing Samus in 64-bit graphics makes me wish there was a Metroid 64 all the more. To sum it all up, I'd have to say that I think the designers accomplished what they wanted in Super Smash Bros. It turns out to be a definite party game, but mostly that's all. Sure there's the one player game, but it's not worth having just for that. The four player mode makes it worth playing, so how much you'll enjoy this game depends on how many friends or fellow gamers you can challenge at Super Smash Bros. If you can find some buddies to compete against, definitely rent this one over a weekend. If not, it may be worth a rental after all, and perhaps a purchase. Just give it a try, and see what you think.
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