Super Smash Bros. (Ohga Shrugs)

Super Smash Bros. is a series of fighting games from Nintendo. Rather than starring an original cast, the series features characters from other Nintendo franchises, both well known and obscure.

Gameplay
The Super Smash Bros series is a departure from the traditional Fighting game. The goal, rather than depleting an enemy's health bar, is to knock one's opponents off of the stage. Damaging an opponent makes them knock back further in reaction to an attack, but it is possible to either defeat an opponent while inflicting minimal damage or lose despite inflicting the most damage.

The controls of Super Smash Bros are also somewhat different from a traditional fighting game's. Forgoing the multi-button combos of games like Street Fighter, Smash Bros instead uses a combination of one button and which direction the analog stick is moved in order to execute unique attacks. This system has minimally less depth at the benefit of being very simple to execute.

Other elements Super Smash Bros is known for include dynamic stages, picking up and using items mid-stage, and combat that can support up to four players at a time, either in a free-for-all or in teams.

History
The original Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64 was created in 1998 by HAL Laboratories. Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of Kirby, served as the director. The game was released in January 1999 in Japan and later in the year in the West. The game was an immediate success.

Development of Super Smash Bros. Melee began in 2000, and lasted for more than a year. Melee was meant to showcase the power of the GameCube, and came out within the first months of the system's life. In general, Melee was a much bigger game than its predecessor, having over double the characters and many more modes, options, and collectables. The game was ultimately released on November 21, 2001 in Japan, with an American release the next month.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl began development well before the Revolution's launch, in late 2005. However, the game would not come out until March 13, 2008. Brawl was notable for its online play, a first for the series. Otherwise, the game added more characters and content, a new single-player campaign inspired by the Kirby series, and HD graphics.

Development of the fourth Super Smash Bros. game was confirmed to have begun in early 2012.

Characters
The Super Smash Bros. series has featured dozens of playable characters who debuted in other games.

Debuted in Super Smash Bros

 * Captain Falcon
 * Donkey Kong
 * Fox
 * Jigglypuff
 * Kirby
 * Link
 * Luigi
 * Mario
 * Ness
 * Pikachu
 * Samus
 * Yoshi

Debuted in Super Smash Bros Melee

 * Bowser
 * Falco
 * Ganondorf
 * Ice Climbers
 * Lucas
 * Marth
 * Mr. Game & Watch
 * Peach
 * Zelda/Sheik

Only Appear in Super Smash Bros Melee

 * Dr. Mario
 * Mewtwo
 * Pichu
 * Roy
 * Young Link

Debuted in Super Smash Bros Brawl

 * Banjo-Kazooie
 * Bomberman
 * Conker
 * Diddy Kong
 * Ico
 * Ike
 * King Dedede
 * Lucario
 * Meta Knight
 * Olimar
 * Pit
 * Pokemon Trainer
 * Toon Link
 * Wario

Reception
The Super Smash Bros series is one of the predominant Fighting series in video game history. The first three games in the series have sold over 27 million units, and both Melee and Brawl have received extremely high reviews. Almost as importntly, the series has introduced generations of gamers to Nintendo franchises, helping to reinvigorate or internationalize various series. For example, the appearence of Fire Emblem characters in Melee helped raise enough intrest in the series to lead to its localization in the West. Also, the appearence of characters such as Pit and the Ice Climbers in these game kept interest in their franchises alive while fans were waiting for sequels, sometimes decades after the original games.