Super Smash Bros.
Developer(s)	HAL Laboratory, Inc.
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Masahiro Sakurai
Released	Nintendo 64: January 21, 1999 April 26, 1999 November 19, 1999 iQue Player: November 15, 2005 Virtual Console: January 20, 2009 June 12, 2009 December 21, 2009
Genre(s)	Crossover Fighting game Platforming Party
Mode(s)	Single-player,multiplayer (2-4)
Ratings	ESRB: E PEGI: 7 OFLC: G8+
Platform(s)	Nintendo 64 iQue Player Virtual Console
Media	128 megabitcartridge 256 megabitcartridge (Europe) Flash Card (China)

Super Smash Bros. (ニンテンドウオールスター! 大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズ,Nintendo All-Star! Great Fray Smash Brothers), also calledSuper Smash Bros. 64, often shortened toSSB orSmash 64, is the first game of theSuper Smash Bros. series.

The game released in Japan on January 21st, 1999, in North America on April 26th, 1999 and in Europe on November 19th, 1999 for theNintendo 64. Subsequently, it released on theiQue Player in China on November 15th, 2005. It was re-released on theWiiVirtual Console on January 20th, 2009 in Japan, a day before its 10-year anniversary, and later that year in Europe and North America, before becoming unavailable after the Wii Shop Channel shut down on January 30th, 2019.

Super Smash Bros. received positive reviews, with most praise going to its multiplayer mode, while its single-player mode received some criticism.

Opening movie[edit]

Theopening movie inSuper Smash Bros., unlike later games in theSuper Smash Bros. series, completely lacks pre-rendered footage. It instead opts to use the game engine to render everything in real-time.

When the opening movie starts, two randomstarter characters are placed byMaster Hand on top of a desk, which shortly transitions to a scene resemblingPeach's Castle. This process is repeated every time the opening movie is played.

Thestarter characters are then introduced one-by-one, then it proceeds to show several clips of the fighters in action.

As the opening movie concludes, the figures of the fourunlockable characters are flashed against a white background. If a character hasn't been unlocked, they will simply be shown as a silhouette; conversely, they will be revealed once unlocked.

Finally, the opening movie segues into the title screen, a trend which would be followed by future installments, along with theannouncer calling out the game's title.

Fighters[edit]

Official artwork of the default cast ofSmash 64.

The character-selection screen ofSuper Smash Bros. (all characters unlocked).

There are twelveplayable characters inSuper Smash Bros., eight of which are available from thestart and four of which areunlockable.

The highest amount of character slots are given to theSuper Mario andPokémon universes with each receiving two fighters:Mario alongside his brotherLuigi, andPikachu andJigglypuff respectively, with the latter characters in both universes being unlockable.

Two more slots are given to reoccurringMario charactersDonkey Kong andYoshi as starting fighters from their sub-universes of the same names,Donkey Kong andYoshi.

The other starter characters areLink,Samus,Kirby andFox fromThe Legend of Zelda,Metroid,Kirby andStar Fox universes, respectively. The final remaining characters, as with Luigi and Jigglypuff, are unlockable:Ness ofEarthBound andCaptain Falcon ofF-Zero.

Starters (8)
Mario	Yoshi	Donkey Kong	Link
Samus	Kirby	Fox	Pikachu
Unlockables (4)
Luigi	Jigglypuff	Captain Falcon	Ness

Stages[edit]

The stage select screen ofSuper Smash Bros.

The game features nine stages derived from each character's universe, exceptions beingEarthBound andF-Zero. While most universes receive a single stage,Mario uniquely has two instead:Peach's Castle and the only unlockable stage in the game,Mushroom Kingdom. The other stages consist ofCongo Jungle,Hyrule Castle,Planet Zebes,Yoshi's Island,Dream Land,Sector Z, andSaffron City fromDonkey Kong,The Legend of Zelda,Metroid,Yoshi,Kirby,Star Fox, andPokémon respectively.

Versus mode stages[edit]

Versus mode (9)
Peach's Castle	Mushroom Kingdom	Yoshi's Island	Congo Jungle	Hyrule Castle
Planet Zebes	Dream Land	Sector Z	Saffron City

Shown inbold, Mushroom Kingdom is the only unlockable stage inSuper Smash Bros.

1P Game-only stages[edit]

1P Game-only
Break the Targets	Board the Platforms	Race to the Finish	Yoshi's Island*	Meta Crystal	Duel Zone	Final Destination

These stages only appear in the1P Game.
*The 1P Game-only Yoshi's Island lacks clouds and has closer blast zones.

Non-playable stages[edit]

Non-playable
Small	New	Tutorial Stage

These stages cannot normally be unlocked or played on in any way without hacking.

Modes[edit]

1-Player[edit]

• 1P Game
• Training Mode
• Break the Targets
• Board the Platforms

Multiplayer[edit]

• Versus Mode

Development[edit]

After development onKirby Super Star wrapped in 1996, creatorMasahiro Sakurai wanted to create another property. He developed two different prototypes concurrently: a stealth and exploration based RC robot adventure game, and a four player free-for-all fighting game with no health bars. A long-time fan of fighting games, particularly games developed bySNK, he was interested in making a beginner friendly fighting game for four players. A specific inspiration for such an idea came from an experience at a local arcade where he had a winning streak onKing of Fighters '95 and felt pleased with himself, only to feel guilty upon realizing his opponent was a beginner and their partner. This inspired Sakurai to design a game that would be fun regardless of skill level.^[1] He also was concerned about combos pervading the fighting game genre and felt they invalidated the skills of those subjected to them.Command-input moves were also becoming increasingly complex, and Sakurai wanted controls that tested speed and reflexes instead of muscle memory, which culminated intilt attacks andsmash attacks that can be performable with a wide range of skill levels while still having a level of depth and strategy.^[2]

His initial design for the game was calledKakuto-Geemu Ryuoh (Dragon King: The Fighting Game),^[3] which featured simple characters. After presenting the game to co-workerSatoru Iwata, he helped Sakurai continue on with the project. Realizing that the RC game would take much longer to develop, he shelved the concept and went all in on this fighting game. Understanding that many fighting games did not sell well, Sakurai strove to make his game original.^[3] After presenting a pre-alpha demo to HAL Laboratory, he was approached by a fellow employee who suggested the game should include famous Nintendo characters as a way to market the game.^[3] Initially hesitant about the idea, he was later convinced and began retooling his demo.

Sakurai has since claimed that filling a game with preexisting characters is more welcoming to new players instead of bombarding them with many original characters they are unfamiliar with. Knowing full well that he would not receive permission to include their characters, Sakurai created a prototype of the game without sanction from Nintendo and did not inform them until he was sure the game was well-balanced.^[3] Full-scale production on the project began in September 1997 and the prototype was presented to Nintendo by the end of the year.^[4] The prototype featuredMario,Donkey Kong,Samus Aran, andFox McCloud as playable characters. The idea was later approved.^[3][5] Although never acknowledged by Sakurai or any developers behindSuper Smash Bros., third party sources have identifiedNamco's 1995 fighting gameThe Outfoxies as a possible inspiration.^[6][7]

HAL Laboratory was assigned as primary developers, as Sakurai was employed by them at the time. While Sakurai and Iwata were initially the only developers, as other projects in HAL Laboratory either were finished or fell through, more employees were brought on the project to assist them. Multiple characters, includingMarth,King Dedede,Bowser,Mewtwo, andClefairy were planned to be playable at one point, but were all cut for various reasons.

Super Smash Bros. features music from Nintendo's most popular gaming franchises. While many tracks are new arrangements for the game, some songs attempt to directly emulate their sources. The music forSuper Smash Bros. was composed by Hirokazu Ando, who later returned as sound and music director forSuper Smash Bros. Melee. Acomplete soundtrack was released on CD in Japan through Teichiku Records in 2001.^[8]

Marketing teams and wholesalers were initially skeptical on the market viability ofSuper Smash Bros., as they were unsure how the public would respond to Nintendo characters fighting each other. Resistance from fighting game players were also met during the launch period, as they had many preconceptions of what a fighting game is and were uncomfortable with a wildly different product labeling itself as a fighting game. To alleviate this tension, Sakurai created theSumabura-Ken website that delved into the game's different concepts.

To promote the game's launch, Nintendo of America staged an event calledSuper Smash Bros. Slamfest '99, held at the MGM Grand Adventures Theme Park in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 24th, 1999. The event featured a real-life wrestling match between costumed performers dressed as Mario, Yoshi, Pikachu, and Donkey Kong, as well as stations set up for attendees to preview the game. The wrestling match was live-streamed on the web via RealPlayer, and was available to be re-watched for several months afterward via a downloadable file from the event's official website. Despite this, no video footage of Slamfest '99 is known to survive, and the broadcast is currently consideredlost media.

Reception[edit]

Super Smash Bros. was a commercial success, selling 5 million copies worldwide with 2.93 million sold in the United States and 1.97 million copies sold in Japan. It was the 5th best selling game for theNintendo 64 and the single highest-selling game to have never been bundled with the console. Reviews were mostly positive, with many critics praising the game's addictive and fun multiplayer gameplay and simple controls, but it was criticized as well, mainly due to the game's lower amount of content and somewhat limited single-player mode.

In competitive play[edit]

Smash 64 has always had a small, niche competitive scene relative to future entries. Unlike those entries, particularlyBrawl andSmash 4, the scene has increased in popularity over the years instead of falling off when the next entry releases. This is mostly due to the scene embracingemulation and other unconventional methods of play quicker than the others, which allowed them to smoothly transition to online play, especially during the 2020 pandemic. While dedicated tournaments are still sparse,Smash 64 is more frequently becoming held as an event in major tournaments alongside future entries with gradually increasing entrant counts. The scene was also the first and currently most popular to run theCombo Contest due to the game engine allowing for great amounts of freedom in that department. The scene is also kept alive withmods such asSmash Remix, which expands on the game's content while keeping core elements intact.

The community has constructed a set ofstandard tournament rules to regulate tournament play. While rulesets may vary between different tournaments, generally universal gameplay rules include all matches being played viatimedstock (four stocks and eight minutes), and restrictions on legalstages. These regulations are enacted to ensure that gameplay at the highest level remains fair and interesting.

Gallery[edit]

Staff[edit]

Trivia[edit]

• This is the onlySuper Smash Bros. game to:
  • Have more playable characters than stages (if counting both versions ofSuper Smash Bros. 4 as one game).
  • Use the phrases "Game Set" and "Time Up" for matches in all regions.
  • Not featurespot dodges,air dodges, chargedsmash attacks,side special moves,pummels,up throws ordown throws, all of which were added inMelee and retained in subsequent games.
  • Be rated "E" for Everyone by the ESRB.
• If the player earns at least 1,000,000 points at the end of the1P Game, the announcer will say "Incredible!" instead of "Congratulations!" on the victory screen.
• DespiteSuper Smash Bros. having its own Australian version, the European version was used for Australia's Virtual Console.
• A message in Chinese exists dictating that the controller is not plugged in, even though the only Chinese release of the game is on theiQue player, which has a built-in controller.^[14]

External links[edit]

• Official JapaneseSuper Smash Bros. website
• Official EnglishSuper Smash Bros. website (archive)
• Official Japanese Virtual ConsoleSuper Smash Bros. website
• Official EuropeanSuper Smash Bros. game page
• Official North American Virtual ConsoleSuper Smash Bros. game page (archive)
• Official ChineseSuper Smash Bros. website

References[edit]

This page uses content fromWikipedia. The original article was atSuper Smash Bros.. The list of authors can be seen intheir page's history. As withSmashWiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under theCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

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