Just like Luigi's Mansion, this is another one I've been wanting to re-review as this is a game that is important to me and since it is review 195, I figure I'm at a good number to do so.

In terms of starting my video game collection, this is the one that started it all. As I previously mentioned in my review for Kirby 64, I got that game and this one several years ago with a regular colored N64 (I wanted the Ice Blue one, but I didn't end up getting one until several years later). While it wasn't the first Smash game I played, it was the first one I owned so I played it pretty much every day for months until I wanted to get Brawl. For a game as small as this one, it is a solid first entry to one of Nintendo's most popular franchises. Before I get into it I think its worth summarizing the history of how Smash came to be.

Super Smash Bros started off as a game called Dragon King: The Fighting Game and was going one of Nintendo's newest franchises. However, they eventually came to the conclusion that instead of making it a game with completely original characters, they'd choose Nintendo characters. This lead to the creation of Super Smash Bros. It also was going to be a Japan exclusive, but they eventually localized it as it was a smashing success in Japan.

Smash 64 has a total of 12 characters and 9 stages which for a game franchise with a humble beginning isn't bad at all. Each character is unique and fun to use, the stages are neat, and there are a variety of items that add to the chaos of Smash's gameplay. There is also classic mode which is pretty much just like your standard arcade mode in a fighting game and even has a final boss fight too in the form of Master Hand. The last notable additons are that each character has an individual level where they break targets or jump on platforms. These modes either get dumbed down or outright removed in later entries down the line which saddens me as I liked the individual levels in this game & Melee. With all of the different content there is available, it is a blast to play, especially with friends.

As far as downsides go, the game does have some of that N64 jank and they should have added the classic mode stages in addition to the available 9 stages. Aside from those issues, there isn't really much else to say as it does everything that it could have possibly done given the amount of time it took for them to make the game and the circumstances surrounding it.

When you compare this game to what we currently have with Ultimate, the series has come a long way since its inception. Not only did Super Smash Bros become a flagship franchise for Nintendo, but it popularized an entire sub-genre of fighting games known as platform fighters. For as abstract as the concept of Mario, Pikachu, Samus, and Kirby all coming together to beat the ever loving shit out of each other is, Nintendo and the series director Masahiro Sakurai managed to make it work.