Super Smash Bros. series

The ***Super Smash Bros.* series** (Japanese: **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-Stars! Great Fray Smash Brothers*) is a series of cross-over fighting games, featuring characters from many Nintendo franchises, and several from non-Nintendo franchises. The series was originally developed by HAL Laboratory, before series creator Masahiro Sakurai left the studio on August 5, 2003. Since then, Sakurai founded Sora Ltd. in 2005 and has continued developing *Smash Bros.* games under that studio, with Namco Bandai assisting in the development of the recent entries. The series has appeared on every Nintendo home console since the Nintendo 64, as well as an entry on the Nintendo 3DS.

## History

The first game in the series, *Super Smash Bros.*, was released for the Nintendo 64 worldwide in 1999. The game features 12 playable characters, two of which are Pikachu and Jigglypuff. A stage based on Saffron City is playable, and is also the main stage for Pikachu and Jigglypuff. The music that plays on this stage is a remix of the main *Pokémon* theme, often heard in the openings for the core series titles. Twelve Pokémon also appear in the form of Poké Ball Pokémon, which can be used to either help or hurt players during a match.

The second game in the series, *Super Smash Bros. Melee*, was released for the Nintendo GameCube in 2001 for Japan and North America, and 2002 for Europe and Australia. The game greatly improved upon its predecessors in every aspect, while still retaining core elements from the original game. Pikachu and Jigglypuff return as playable fighters. In addition, Pichu and Mewtwo joined the game's roster. While Saffron City did not return as a stage, Poké Floats and Pokémon Stadium made their debut as playable stages. The theme that plays on Poké Floats is a medley containing themes from Generation I and the theme that plays on Pokémon Stadium is an orchestral version of the main Pokémon theme. There is also an unlockable medley containing themes from Generation II on this stage. There are a total of 29 Poké Ball Pokémon. The new event matches feature three events that are Pokémon-themed. Additionally, there are 58 collectible trophies that are Pokémon-themed.

The next game is *Super Smash Bros. Brawl*, released for the Wii worldwide in 2008. This is the first game in the series to feature a story mode, and it also includes other new elements, such as Final Smashes, Assist Trophies and stickers. Pikachu and Jigglypuff return, while Pichu and Mewtwo are cut from the roster. In their place, Pokémon Trainer (who controls Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard) and Lucario are added to the roster. Rayquaza appears in a boss fight during the game's Subspace Emissary story mode. Pokémon Stadium is the only stage from past games to make a return. In addition, Spear Pillar and Pokémon Stadium 2 are added as playable stages. Unlike past games, multiple pieces of music can be played in a stage, thus increasing the amount of *Pokémon* songs present in the game. A total of 11 songs from the core titles are available, as well as three returning from *Melee*. There are a total of 31 Poké Ball Pokémon and 75 Pokémon-themed trophies. There are 38 Pokémon-themed stickers, with an additional 30 non-Pokémon stickers have effects for Pokémon characters.

*Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U* was released for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U respectively in 2014. The 3DS game is the first handheld *Smash Bros.* entry. The games featured the same playable roster, but vary greatly when it comes to stages, trophies, modes, music, etc. Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Charizard and Lucario return in the base game. Greninja was added to the game's base roster. While Pokémon Trainer was cut (along with Squirtle and Ivysaur), Mewtwo returned from *Melee* as paid DLC in 2015. On the 3DS, Prism Tower and Unova Pokémon League were playable stages, each containing two songs from their respective games. The Wii U version saw the return of Pokémon Stadium 2 and the addition of Kalos Pokémon League, each containing a large number of songs from the Pokémon series. A total of 24 songs from the core titles are available. A total of 42 Pokémon can appear from Poké Balls. These entries added Master Balls, which are only capable of containing Legendary Pokémon, Mythical Pokémon, Zoroark, and Goldeen. The 3DS introduced an exclusive mode called Smash Run, which features five Pokémon as enemies. There are 55 *Pokémon*-themed trophies that appear in both versions, 23 that only appear in the 3DS version and 34 that only appear in the Wii U version.

*Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* was released for the Nintendo Switch worldwide on December 7, 2018. All previously playable characters have returned, which means that Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, Pichu, Pokémon Trainer (with Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard), Lucario and Greninja are back. Incineroar is a new playable fighter. Every *Pokémon* stage from past games except for Poké Floats appears in the game, with stages originally appearing in *Melee*, *Brawl* and *Smash 3DS* receiving major graphical upgrades. This is the first *Super Smash Bros.* game to not introduce a new Pokémon stage. All songs from the *Pokémon* franchise that were in previous *Super Smash Bros.* games return (except for a remix of the Diamond and Pearl Wild Battle theme from *Super Smash Bros. for Wii U*), along with new songs from recent games. This brings the total number of *Pokémon*-related songs to 33. Also, unlike past games, music is now tied to a whole series as opposed to specific stages. A total of 55 Pokémon can be summoned from Poké Balls, with the new additions being exclusively from Generations I and VII. Master Balls return, functioning exactly as they have since their introduction. A new element is introduced in this game, known as Spirits. A total of 156 spirits feature *Pokémon* characters in the base game, with an additional six being added in post-launch updates.

## Gameplay

This series is a 2.5D action fighting game, in which the objective is typically to knock your opponent off the stage. Unlike most fighting games, the player does not use a typical health bar. Instead, the player will have a percentage, which goes up as more damage is sustained. The more damage a character has, the easier it is to launch that character off the stage. In timed matches, the player who gets the most KOs wins, whereas stock matches are decided by the player who does not lose all of their lives.

## Trivia

* The *Pokémon* franchise is the only franchise to add at least one new playable character in every *Super Smash Bros.* game.
* Counting each of the Pokémon Trainer's Pokémon as separate fighters, the *Pokémon* franchise has the most playable characters, being 10.

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