Super Fan Bros.

To take a page from Chris Stuckmann, “I grew up on the Smash Bros. games”. I was 9 when Super Smash Bros. came out, and I played it at my cousin’s house regularly. I remember being blown away when I first saw Super Smash Bros. Melee in action, and I remember waiting for new updates on Super Smash Bros. Brawl at The Smash Dojo. And while I’ve only had a WiiU for about a year, my short time with Super Smash Bros. WiiU was enough to make me happy. In short, Smash Bros. is a big deal, and I’m anticipating what Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has in-store. How could I not?

I’m a little concerned, however, by the game’s developer mindset. Masahiro Sakurai, bless him, has announced that he wants to “make a Smash Bros. game for everyone”, and I respect his ambitions. At the same time, I can’t help wondering if he’s overreaching. Especially since “everyone” seems like code for “competitive gamers”, and they’re not the kinds of people who’d be interested anyway. But let’s back up and give some context.

The Smash Bros. games have a reputation amongst gamers. There’s a hierarchy in how the games are generally ranked, with Super Smash Bros. Melee being way up at the top. It’s been this way since 2001, and nothing’s changed. I get it: Super Smash Bros. Melee was a game-changer for the franchise. It expanded the roster, added various modes, upped the difficulty curve, introduced a competitive feature for tournaments and even tweaked the controls to make the gameplay more hardcore. There’s a lot more I can say here, but I’ll save my rants for another time.

Regardless, Super Smash Bros. Melee was a big deal, and nothing can top its legacy. Which is why no future Smash Bros. entry has been able to: it’s not possible to “out-perfect perfection”, no matter how hard you try. You can have the best of everything, even a more-polished end-product, but if the immediate wow-factor’s not replicated…

Which is why I’m concerned that Sakurai is overreaching. Not only in how expansive this new entry is, but also in how he wants to make everyone happy: casual fans demand easily-accessible gameplay? It has it. Hardcore fans insist challenge? It has it too. Old-school gamers request call-backs to old franchises? People wish to choose between a standard Adventure Mode and Subspace Emissary? To quote Oprah Winfrey: “You get a car, and you get a car…”

That’s no exaggeration: for one, the game has over 100 stages to use. And many of those are returning stages from previous entries. Also, every fighter in the franchise, including a few that were DLC, is now playable. That originally added up to 65 fighters, and more have been coming since. So yeah, everyone gets a car!

However, I’m worried that Sakurai’s extending an olive branch to people who don’t want it. Or, rather, who don’t care to want it. Tourney gamers are extremely picky about what they do and don’t play, and they’re not subtle about it. All you need to do is go online for their opinions.

This is the frustration in trying to appeal to people who, quite simply, can’t be appealed to. Try all you want, but if it’s not Super Smash Bros. Melee, it’s not worth their time. Believe me, I’ve gotten into enough fights back when Super Smash Bros. Brawl was still new to know where they stand, and that was 10 years ago! Based on recent accounts, they haven’t changed much either.

I’m also worried because Nintendo’s tried the “everyone will enjoy this” approach before. Remember The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword? Remember how it was marketed as “the everyman’s Zelda game” following the lukewarm response to The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess? Remember how it was going to revolutionize Zelda games as we knew it? And remember how the game came out, and people were even more lukewarm to it than its predecessor?

The “everyone” approach doesn’t work for a simple reason: because you can’t appease everyone. Nor should you try to, as it’s a waste of time and resources. Besides, if there’s one lesson I’ve learned from past experience, it’s that not everyone’s going to be satisfied with your work. You shouldn’t attempt to be all-encompassing, but rather make something unique. Because people will respect that more than if you try pandering to their sensibilities. Trust me, it happens a lot more often than people would want to admit.

Maybe I’m jumping the gun too soon here. Maybe Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will stick the landing and make everyone happy. And maybe it’ll pay off and not be wasted effort, who knows? I’m only hoping that, in the end, Nintendo recognizes their nigh-impossible gamble here, and that they stop trying to placate to a group of people who, at the end of the day, simply don’t care what they do.