Developed by HAL Laboratory and released exclusively for the Nintendo 64 in 1999, Super Smash Bros. is a ground-breaking cross-over fighting game featuring many of Nintendo‘s most famous characters, duelling it out to the death!

The eight main characters are: Donkey Kong (Mario games), Fox McCloud (Star Fox games), Kirby (Kirby games), Link (Zelda games), Mario (Mario games), Pikachu (Pokémon universe), Samus (Metroid games), and Yoshi (Mario games).

Other characters make special appearances, like Captain Falcon (F-Zero series), Jigglypuff (Pokémon universe), Luigi (Mario games), and Ness (Mother/EarthBound series), and can be unlocked as playable characters.

The aim of the game is to knock your opponents off the stage and be the last fighter standing. Or variations along that route. There are two play modes initially: 1P and VS. “1P” is a single-player fight through a succession of fighters. “VS.” is the multiplayer side to the game.

The single-player game has 14 different stages to beat, plus a boss fight with a giant hand at the end (a prototype of the final boss battle of Super Smash Bros. Melee on the GameCube). The controls are analogue-based, with different moves executed depending on the direction and distance the stick is pushed. The environments are themed (based on the different characters), and are fully-3D and interactive; there are weapons, bombs, and healing items to find and use if you search for them. There are occasional bonus rounds too. These differ, but they’re mainly platforming minigames based on the main game, where you have to collect certain items before the clock runs down, or until you fall off the stage.

The 3D models in Super Smash Bros. are primitive by today’s standards, but the gameplay, presentation, animation, detail and depth are all still unmistakably Nintendo.

This was the first game in the Super Smash Bros. series, and it paved the way for many more sequels to come… The next game in the series – Super Smash Bros. Melee on the GameCube – was to really boost the Super Smash Bros. idea into the stratosphere, with even better graphics, sound, features and gameplay.

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