Super Smash Bros.

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Super Smash Bros. (known in Japan as Nintendo All-Star! Dairantō Smash Brothers ニンテンドーオールスター！ 大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズ) is a fighting game and the first installment in the Super Smash Bros. series. It was released for the Nintendo 64 created by Nintendo and HAL Laboratory. Players must defeat their opponents multiple times in a fighting frenzy of items and power-ups, a health system, and on unique, Nintendo-themed stages.

Although Super Smash Bros. is not a part of the Mario franchise, the game is heavily influenced by the Mario series, more so than any other Nintendo franchise.

Gameplay

The English game's title screen.

File:Super Smash Bros. 64 (JPN).GIF

The Japanese game's title screen.

Donkey Kong is turned into a star, while Mario is awarded a point for his KO and Donkey Kong has lost a point.

Super Smash Brothers has a considerably different fighting style than other fighting games such as Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. Rather than each player having a life gauge that begins full and gradually decreases with each attack taken, Super Smash Brothers has a unique system. Players starts at 0% damage and with each hit they take, the percentage rises depending on how powerful the attack is. As players' percentage gets higher, players are blown further away with each attack. The objective of the game is to knock out opponents from the screen so they cannot return to the stage or knocking out opponents so hard, opponents turn into a star. Getting defeated by an opponent is called a "TKO." In time mode, this results in a loss of one point, while in stock mode this counts as a loss of one life. Player regenerate on a descending floating platform at the center of the stage, unless they have no lives left. Players can exit by either moving, jumping, or waiting a few seconds. Players are invincible for a short amount of time after they exit the platform.

Items are also an important component of the game. Depending on the settings set in the menu, the frequencies and types of items appearing can be altered. Some items are more powerful than others, while some are used to heal the user rather than attack an opponent.

Below are specific rules and differences between the two fighting modes: Time and Stock.

Time

File:Hyrule Caslte Battle.png

Three Donkey Kongs and Mario shown fighting in Time mode, with the timer shown at the upper right of the screen.

In Time mode, TKOs count as one negative point for players that are knocked out of the screen. Players that caused them to fall receives one positive point and is recorded as a "KO". If a player accidentally or intentionally falls off the stage without being influenced by other players, or if the player hits a wall before being KO'd, the player loses one point while nobody gains a point. At the end of the time period, a player that has the most points is declared the winner.

If there is a tie, then the match will go to Sudden Death. The tied players have a quick stock battle with one life, starting with 300% damage, which will usually cause an instant KO when hit. Also, after a certain time, Bob-ombs start falling at random places on the stage, making survival more difficult. The winner of Sudden Death wins the match.

Stock

A Stock Match with four players and three teams.

In stock mode, there is still a point system, but wins are focused on number of lives left. Each player begins with a set amount of lives. Each time a player is defeated, he or she loses one life. Unlike Time mode, the number of KOs are irrelevant to the results because it is a game of survival unless it is a team match. This also means that matches could theoretically be endless.

If there is a tie, a tiebreaker called a Sudden Death match occurs, where all players begin with 300% damage and one life. The last one standing wins.

Players can fight alone or in teams. Allies usually cannot be hurt by other teammates unless team attack is turned on. Also, if players manage to defeat an ally, they get a point while the ally loses a point, unlike in the succeeding games where both teammates lose a point. If a team wins, players in the team with the most KOs gets the first place honor.

This is the only game that shows who KO'd whom during a stock match.

Playable characters

Super Smash Brothers features 12 characters, eight being default and four of them unlockable. Four of the characters are from the Mario universe: Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, and Yoshi.

The default cast of characters.

Legend:

Special Moves
Standard Special Move
Up Special Move
Down Special Move

Default characters

Artwork	Name	Series	Description	Special Moves
File:MarioSmash.PNG	Mario	Mario Series	Mario has average speed and weight, but has very good jumping abilities and strong attacks. His Fireballs are bouncy, similar to most Mario games.	Fireball
				Super Jump Punch
				Mario Tornado
File:DKSmash.PNG	Donkey Kong	Donkey Kong series	Donkey Kong is one of the strongest characters and is a heavy-weight character. When he picks up a character, he can carry them for a short distance. He can also charge up his Giant Punch to make it more powerful.	Giant Punch
				Spinning Kong
				Hand Slap
File:LinkSmash.PNG	Link	The Legend of Zelda series	Link is a character with medium weight, strength and speed. Most of his attacks center around his sword, and Link also has a number of projectiles in Bombs and a Boomerang.	Boomerang
				Spin Attack
				Bomb
File:SamushSmash.PNG	Samus Aran	Metroid series	Samus is a slow and heavy character with powerful attacks. Her Grappling Beam allows her to grab characters from far away, and she can power up her Charge Shot for a stronger attack.	Charge Shot
				Screw Attack
				Bomb
File:YoshiSmash.PNG	Yoshi	Yoshi series	Yoshi is a fast and middleweight fighter with strong smash attacks. Unlike other fighters, Yoshi's shield is not an energy bubble but a green-spotted Yoshi Egg. He does not have a third jump, but his second jump gives him a knockback immunity to make up for that.	Egg Lay
				Egg Throw
				Yoshi Bomb
File:Kirsmashone.PNG	Kirby	Kirby series	Kirby is a light, fast character. He can multi-jump in the air and his special Swallow move allows him to copy other characters' abilities.	Swallow
				Final Cutter
				Stone
File:FoxSmash.PNG	Fox McCloud	Star Fox series	Fox is a fast and light character with average strength. His blaster can stun opponents, thus stopping them in their tracks. He can use his Reflector to reflect projectiles, including thrown items.	Blaster
				Fire Fox
				Reflector
File:PIKAsmall.PNG	Pikachu	Pokémon series	Pikachu is fast and light. It mostly uses its electric attacks to damage other enemies. Pikachu has weak attacks as well.	Thunder Jolt
				Quick Attack
				Thunder

Unlockable characters

	Name	Series	Description	How to Unlock	Special Moves
File:JiggSmash.PNG	Jigglypuff	Pokémon series	Jigglypuff is weak and light. It has the ability to multi-jump in the air. Its rest attack can be lethal if it uses it adjacent to an opponent. Unlike most characters, it does not have a recovery move, but it can use Pound to gain distance while floating in the air. If its shield breaks, it flies up and gets KO'd.	Clear 1-Player Game.	Pound
					Sing
					Rest
	Luigi	Mario series	Luigi is a character with average weight and speed but with above average strength. His moves look similar to Mario's but they function very differently. His Super Jump Punch can be very strong if he uses it while adjacent to an opponent, but otherwise it is a very weak attack. His Luigi Cyclone makes opponents fly away. His fireballs float in a straight line instead of bouncing. He also jumps higher than Mario, but he is also slower and lighter than Mario.	Clear Break the Targets with all default characters.	Fireball
					Super Jump Punch
					Luigi Cyclone
	Captain Falcon	F-Zero series	Captain Falcon is the fastest character in the game. His special attacks are all fiery, and the Falcon Punch is the strongest one-hit attack of any character.	Clear 1-Player Game in 20 minutes or less.	Falcon Punch
					Falcon Dive
					Falcon Kick
	Ness	EarthBound series	Ness is a fast and light character. He uses a homerun bat and a yo-yo for his Smash Attacks. He has to direct a PK thunder into himself in order to utilize his third jump. Ness can use his PSI magnet to convert most projectiles to heal himself.	Clear 1-Player Game on normal difficulty with 3 lives without continuing.	PK Fire
					PK Thunder
					PSI Magnet

Non-playable characters

Pokémon

• Beedrill
• Blastoise
• Chansey
• Charizard
• Clefairy
• Hitmonlee
• Koffing
• Meowth
• Mew
• Onix
• Snorlax
• Starmie

Enemies

• Fighting Polygons
• Kirbys
• Yoshis

Bosses

• Giant Donkey Kong
• Metal Mario
• Master Hand

Stages

Default stages

	Stage	Description
	Peach's Castle	A stage with one large platform, two mid-air sloped platforms at the side, and a moving platform towards the bottom. There are two bumpers in the upper right and left-hand corners of the stage. The challenger match against Luigi takes place here.
	Kongo Jungle	A stage sloped towards the middle, with platforms on either side. There is also a Barrel Cannon moving side to side at the bottom of the stage. If players are to fall into it, the barrel would start rotating and the players press the button, they can launch in whichever direction the arrow is pointing. This stage is the home stage of Donkey Kong.
	Hyrule Castle	A very long stage, and the first stage of the single-player mode. It does not have many gimmicks, except for a whirlwind that appears every 30 seconds. The tornado sends players flying with a percent cost, and it can turn unlucky players into stars depending on the location and percent. The tornadoes appear in 4 places in this stage. This stage is the home stage of Link.
	Planet Zebes	A small stage that is easy to get blasted off of. The only other feature is the acid, that rises up about every 30 seconds. The acid hurts players and knocks the player out of the stage if the percent is high enough. The acid also makes it nearly impossible to score a KO in the bottom part of the stage. This stage is the home stage of Samus. Also, the challenger match against Captain Falcon takes place here, as the game features no stages from the F-Zero series.
	Yoshi's Island	A stage slightly sloped on either side, meant to look like a book. There are also three mid-air platforms, two of which are also slanted. Clouds on the sides of the course can be stood on, but they will disappear if the player stays on the platform for a period of time. This stage is the home stage of Yoshi.
	Dream Land	A flat stage, with Whispy Woods at the center. Whispy sometimes blows air that pushes players in the direction he is facing. This stage is the home stage of Kirby. Also, the challenger match against Ness takes place here, as the game features no stages from the EarthBound series.
	Sector Z	A very large stage, set on the Great Fox. Occasionally, an Arwing enters the screen and fires blasts of beams at the players. The stage is the largest of the game, considering the length of the blast lines. This stage is the home stage of Fox.
	Saffron City	A large stage that features the most gimmicks. It is the home stage of Pikachu and Jigglypuff, and the challenger match against Jigglypuff takes place on this stage. Various Pokémon emerge from the building to the right, having effects on gameplay.

Unlockable stage

	Stage	Description	How to unlock
	Mushroom Kingdom	A large stage, featuring some gimmicks, moving platforms, Warp Pipes, and others. This stage later reappears modified in the game's sequel, Super Smash Bros. Melee.	Clear 1-Player Game with all default characters, and playing each stage in VS Mode.

Items

There are many items throughout the game that help fire up the battle. All items will disappear after a period of time it is unused or if it is used to a certain extent. The following is a full list of them.

	Name	Series	Description
	Crate, Capsule, Egg, and Barrel	Super Smash Bros. series	The Crate is a wooden box that contains a random item, which can be released by breaking it open or throwing it to the ground. Barrels are similar, but can roll along the ground if hit. Capsules and Eggs are lighter than Crates and Barrels. Sometimes these items will explode.
	Bob-omb	Mario series	When grabbed and thrown at an enemy, this item explodes, but if left alone, it will start walking around until its timer reaches zero.
	Fire Flower	Mario series	The Fire Flower can be used to blast opponents at close range with fire.
	Green Shell	Mario series	The Green Shell can be thrown, and then slides along the ground, being able to hit multiple characters. The Green Shell will disappear after being used a certain amount of times.
	Hammer	Donkey Kong series	A character that obtains the hammer will start automatically attacking with it (much like the original Donkey Kong arcade game), causing significant damage to opponents hit.
	Red Shell	Mario series	Similar to the Green Shell, but does less damage and homes in on characters.
	Star	Mario series	The Star makes the player invincible for several seconds. Players with this item do not take damage from their enemies and cannot be hit or grabbed. However, they can still fall off the stage and self-destruct.
	Beam Sword	Super Smash Bros. series	This is a sword that can be used to attack opponents with greater attack power.
	Home Run Bat	Super Smash Bros. series	This item can be very powerful; although it can't be thrown far, the player can use it to attack opponents and inflict a large amount of damage.
	Motion Sensor Bomb	GoldenEye 007	When thrown, these will activate wherever they land. The first character to approach an active bomb wil take damage and be sent flying.
	Bumper	Super Smash Bros. series	When thrown, this item remains in the same spot. If any character, including the user, touches it, they will take damage, and be pushed in a single direction.
	Fan	Super Smash Bros. series	Because it is light, this item is good for quick attacks. But it doesn't do much damage and can't be thrown very far.
	Poké Ball	Pokémon series	When thrown, the Poké Ball opens up, and a Pokémon pops out. The Pokémon that appears is random; it performs its special skill and leaves.
	Star Rod	Kirby series	When the Star Rod is used, stars come flying out of it, hitting other characters. If used with smash, a large star will fly out. The Star Rod has only a limited amount of large stars it can shoot.
	Maxim Tomato	Kirby series	This is a healing item that restores up to 100% of damage.
	Heart Container	The Legend of Zelda series	The Heart Container fully reduces the player's damage to 0%.
	Ray Gun	Super Smash Bros. series	The Ray Gun can hit enemies from a distance with its long-range laser shot.

Modes

Single-player mode

One-player Game

File:SSBClassic.jpg

The Stage progression screen for the Final Stage with Fox as the player's character.

In single-player mode, before a player starts the game, a character, difficulty level, and number of lives is selected. The difficulty levels range from Very Easy, Easy, Normal, Hard, to Very Hard. The number of lives can be set anywhere from one to five lives. The number of lives carries over from the previous match, which means any lost lives are not restored each level. Once the player loses all lives, they can choose to continue, but will have their current score cut in half. Alternatively, they can quit, which will result in a Game Over.

All stages work with the stock system and opponents and allies have one life each. There is a time limit of five minutes per match, but players can choose to disable it.

One-player Game Stages
Stage 1	The player fights Link at Hyrule Castle.
Stage 2	The player fights a team of 18 Yoshis in Yoshi's Island. The player fights three Yoshis at a time. When one is defeated, another one will take its place, until all are defeated.
Stage 3	The player fights Fox in Sector Z.
Bonus Stage 1	Break the Targets! The player has to hit the 10 targets within a time limit of 2 minutes. Each character has a different arena for his target test. Dying in the target test causes the failure of the test, but not the loss of a life.
Stage 4	The player fights Mario and Luigi on Peach's Castle. The player also gets a randomly chosen ally.
Stage 5	The player fights Pikachu in Saffron City.
Stage 6	The player fights Giant Donkey Kong in Kongo Jungle. The player gets two randomly chosen allies.
Bonus Stage 2	Board the Platforms! The player has to land on all 10 platforms within 2 minutes. It is similar to Break the Targets!!; the player can get KO'd and fail the test, but it doesn't constitute towards the loss of a life.
Stage 7	The player fights a team of 8 Kirbys in Dream Land. Seven of them already have abilities from the other 7 default characters. The last one is either the regular Kirby or one with an ability of one unlockable character. The player fights two at a time.
Stage 8	The player fights Samus on Planet Zebes.
Stage 9	The player fights Metal Mario at Meta Crystal.
Bonus Stage 3	Race to the Finish! The player has to reach the white door at the end while avoiding three Fighting Polygons, bombs, and bumpers within one minute. Like the two previous bonus stages, failure does not result in the loss of a life.
Stage 10	The player fights a team of 30 Fighting Polygons on the Battlefield stage. The polygons are fought three at a time.
Final Stage	The player fights Master Hand. Unlike the player, the Master Hand does not have a percentage of damage, but 300 hit points. The battle takes place on Final Destination.

Training mode

File:SSBTrain.jpg

The player is controlling Mario while the CPU, Luigi, is set to "Walk."

Training mode is, as the name suggests, a mode primarily used to practice and simulate battles for improving skills or for beginners to learn controls and moves. There is no time limit or a set number of lives, and whatever happens in Training mode is not recorded.

There are multiple adjustable factors within this mode that are not available in regular VS. mode. Primarily, the computer player's actions can be set to either Stand, Walk, Evade, Jump, or Attack. In any case, if the computer player is about to get knocked off the stage, they will make an effort to recover. Another ability available from the pause menu is to be able to make any item spawn. Up to four items can be on the stage at once. The speed of the game is also adjustable. Besides normal speed, it can be set to 2/3, 1/2, or 1/4 speed. Lastly, the camera view can also be changed from normal to close-up; close-up view follows the player at a close angle.

Unlike Super Smash Bros. Melee or Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the computer player cannot be controlled using a controller, and only one computer player can be present at a time.

Bonus Practice

Yoshi playing in the Board the Platforms mode of Bonus Practice.

The final mode in single-player mode is Bonus Practice. There are two games, "Board the Platforms" and "Break the Targets." Both games appear as bonus stages in the One-player mode. Unlike other modes, if the player waits after selecting a character, the game automatically starts.

Board the Platforms!

Each character has a unique stage that has ten platforms of various sizes. The objective is to land on each of the ten platforms in the least amount of time possible. Some platforms move while others must be jumped on with the correct timing or the player gets damaged. If the player falls from the stage, it is a Failure, and the player will be sent back to the character selection screen.

Break the Targets!

Similarly to Board the Platforms, Break the Targets has a unique stage for each player. The objective in this game is to break ten targets placed throughout the stage by hitting them with an attack. Like Board the Platforms, some targets move, while others are stationary. There are no extra lives, so once a player falls, the trial is a failure, and the player will be brought back to the character selection screen.

VS. mode

The Character Selection screen.

In VS. mode, the player can pick up to four fighters to fight in a battle. A fighter selection screen is seen, and the players are able to pick which fighter he or she wants. They can also select the costume color for each character. The player is also able to set rules for this match, such as in a time match, the player can pick the amount of time that can be played, and in a stock match, the players can pick the amount of the stocks they and the computers have. Also, after playing a certain number of VS. matches, players can choose which items will appear during matches (not in an order, as they are picked randomly). There's also a handicap setting, which allows human players to adjust their attack power and knockback resistance. The damage setting allows players to adjust how quickly fighters can get KO'd at low damage; ranging from a minimum of 50%, to a maximum of 200%.

The next screen is the stage selection screen, where players pick the stage to play on before the battle starts.

Besides the default Free-for-all mode in which players fight each other, there are also team battles. Players can divide into up to three teams and fight against the other team(s). Also, lives are shared, so if one player is eliminated from a team, given that another team mate has 2 or more lives remaining, the eliminated player can recover by borrowing one ally's life by pressing the . Teams are distinguished by costume color of each player, which is either red, green, or blue.

In Super Smash Bros., VS. mode is notable for being the only multi-player mode in the game.

Options

In the options mode, players can adjust a few game settings. They can adjust the sound to be mono or stereo. Super Smash Bros. is currently the only game in the series where players cannot adjust the music or sound effects volume. The next option is screen adjusting. Super Smash Bros. is also the only game in the series to have this option. The next option is the backup clear, which removes the game's data, which cannot be restored.

Records

The VS. record of Fox.

The last menu, the records shows the profile of each character (and any unlocked characters), which is very similar to trophies in the later game, Super Smash Bros. Melee. The next part is the VS. Records, where players can see how many KOs, TKOS, and SD's are recorded. By pressing , the player can see how each character is ranked by KOs, SDs, Win Percentage, etc. By pressing the button again, players can view the character's record in detail, showing how much damage was given or taken and the ratio of KOs to TKOs to a certain character. It also shows the character's share of total playtime by percentage.

The last of the records is the unlockable Sound Test. Players can hear sounds effects, voices, and/or music from the game. Players can unlock the Sound Test by completing both Break the Targets and Board the Platforms with all characters.

Reception

Super Smash Bros. was commercially successful, and quickly became a Player's Choice title. Super Smash Bros. is the fifth best selling game for the Nintendo 64, selling 5 million copies worldwide; 1.97 million copies were sold in Japan, and 2.93 million have been sold in the United States as of December 31, 2009.

Super Smash Bros. received mostly positive reviews, with criticism mostly directed towards the game's single-player mode. GameSpot's former editorial director, Jeff Gerstmann, noted the single-player game "won't exactly last a long time". Instead, he praised the multi-player portion of the game, saying that it is "extremely simple to learn". He also praised the game's music, calling it "amazing". GameCritics.com's Dale Weir described Super Smash Bros. as "the most original fighting game on the market and possibly the best multiplayer game on any system". There were criticisms, however, such as the game's scoring being difficult to follow. In addition, the single-player mode was criticized for its perceived difficulty and lack of features. It was deemed one of the ten best Mario games of all time by ScrewAttack from GameTrailers. It was given an Editors' choice award from IGN.

Development

Super Smash Bros. was developed by HAL Laboratory, a Nintendo second-party developer, during 1998. It began life as a prototype created by Masahiro Sakurai and Satoru Iwata in their spare time titled 'Kakuto-Gēmu Ryūō' (格闘ゲーム竜王 ?, lit. "Dragon King: The Fighting Game"), and originally featured no Nintendo characters. However, Iwata hit on the idea of including fighters from different Nintendo franchises in order to provide "atmosphere" which he felt was necessary for a home console fighting game, and their idea was approved. The game had a small budget and little promotion, and was originally a Japan-only release, but its huge success saw the game released worldwide.

Voice cast

Character(s)	Voice Actor
Mario, Luigi	Charles Martinet (listed as Charles Martinee)
Link	Nobuyuki Hiyama
Kirby, Ness	Makiko Ohmoto
Donkey Kong	Grant Kirkhope
Yoshi	Kazumi Totaka
Fox McCloud	Shinobu Satouchi
Pikachu	Ikue Ohtani
Captain Falcon	Ryo Horikawa
Jigglypuff	Rachael Lillis (US) Mika Kanai (JP)
Announcer, Master Hand	Jeff Manning

List of bonuses

For a list of this game special bonuses, see here.

Super Smash Bros. features many special bonuses the player can receive after completing a certain type of task. Note that unlike Super Smash Bros. Melee, these bonuses cannot be gained in multiplayer matches, only in single-player mode. Bonuses are not required to achieve, but are purely for high-score setting purposes. Earning all bonuses in this game does not earn the player any reward of some sort, and no list is kept in the game when a bonus is achieved.

Pre-release and unused content

Main article: List of Super Smash Bros. pre-release and unused content

Bowser, Mewtwo, and King Dedede were planned as playable character, but they were cut. Peach's Castle initially lacked the sign, bridge and sliding stone block present in the final version.

• 

  Early version of Peach's castle.

Glitches

Main article: List of glitches in Super Smash Bros.

Template:Conjecturaltext

All 4 players must be Link. At hyrule castle (or any place with a straight wall) all four links should walk to the right, fall into the place with the canopy, and run left against the wall so they are inside each other. Then let the game push them all apart. After this, all 4 links must simultaneously throw bombs upwards weakly, quickly. After just a few throws, the bombs will hit each other and continuously stay, trapping the players within.

Template:Conjecturaltext

Only 2 players are required for this glitch. One should be Ness, the other should be Fox. Choose a stage with a direct line between Ness and Fox (ideally, Hyrule Castle or Sector Z). PK thunder against Fox's reflector so that the PK thunder is in direct line back to Ness, and quickly bat the PK thunder away. The thunder should have 2 tails, and if it reaches the edge of the screen, the game can't handle it and will freeze.

Template:Conjecturaltext

The player must be Mario or Luigi and go to the hyrule castle stage (or any stage with a straight wall) and keep rolling into it. If the player does it correctly, Mario or Luigi should move toward the screen or away from the screen, giving the game a 3D effect.

Staff

Main article: List of Super Smash Bros. staff

Director

• Masahiro Sakurai

Chief Programmer

• Yoshiki Suzuki

Programmers

• Kouichi Watanabe
• Yasuyuki Nagashima
• Yoshimi Takahashi
• Katsuhiro Sakoda
• Yoshiya Taniguchi

Gallery

• 

  Mario

• 

  Donkey Kong

• 

  Yoshi

• 

  Luigi

• 

  Mario

• 

  Yoshi

• 

  Donkey Kong

• 

  Luigi

References to other games

• Super Mario Bros.: The Mushroom Kingdom stage refers to the original game with a flagpole and a castle.
• Super Mario 64: Mario's moves and voice clips were taken from Super Mario 64. Although Luigi was absent in Super Mario 64, his moves and voice clips are identical to Mario's, but sped up.
• Pokémon Red / Blue: Saffron City was one of the locations in the Kanto region.

References in later games

• Later Super Smash Bros. games: Most of the gameplay elements will return. Also, the three-second countdown to the start of the match returns in Brawl and Smash 4.

Trivia

• Super Smash Bros. is the only game in the Super Smash Bros. series to receive an ESRB rating of E for Everyone. Its successors are both rated T for Teen while the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U versions is rated E10+ for Everyone 10+.
• When the player chooses a character, the character will do a short animation in the player's box; so far, this is the only game in the series that does this.
• This is the only game in the Super Smash Bros. series where the characters are not trophies. They are dolls and the stages are dioramas brought to life by Master Hand.