From the Nintendo 64 to the Nintendo Switch and onward, people have been spending their time on Super Smash Bros, making long-lasting friendships, enjoying time with siblings and family members or competing with one another either for fun or for glory.
Many individuals have fond memories of this game and want it to be more than it already is, making it part of something greater, a community that anyone can join and have fun, making new friends or new rivals.
Events set up to emphasize those factors helped spark and make the Smash Bros community what it is today: a subculture.
What makes this series so fun is that many people in the subculture would want to keep playing for years or just to go back to it, as well as their experience and history with the subculture.
Mathew Rodriquez, a Cal State Pomona architecture major, said his first Super Smash Bros. game was “Super Smash Bros. Brawl” on the Wii.
“I actually bought it without really knowing what it was, I just saw that it had a bunch of Nintendo characters in one game, and that was the reason it hooked me,” he said.
Sebastien Rosita, a Rio Hondo theatre arts major, said, “I found out about Smash Bros. when I was very little, like four. My brother introduced me to the game. My first Smash Bros game was “Super Smash Bros” for the Nintendo 64.”
“When I first played it, the reason I was intrigued was that Pikachu was in it. I was a fan of Pokemon at the time so when I saw Pikachu I wanted to play the game. [Since then] I play it as a way of having a last single connection with my brother.”
Mathew Helm, a casual Smash player, said “I found it from my brother and I believe my first game was Brawl.”
With the series spanning six games, and with many fans of it being young, it is tough to consider if the series fits players who are both casual gamers and only play games for fun and with family, or for fans who grew up playing them on a Nintendo 64 or Nintendo GameCube.
“[It’s] definitely for both young and old alike. I’ve seen so many families and people of different ages playing this series. It may be a bit difficult to pick up at first, but once they get the hang of it, they get hooked,” Helm said.
“In my opinion, I think it’s [because] the number of characters you can choose that you like and also how chaotic it can get in a battle with items. Also its somewhat easy to learn to play casually,” Rositas replied.
Helm added, “Well what I love is that it kind of brings multiple different franchises together so that if anybody that loves that specific franchise will come in and try this game out and or would like to bring friends and family over to get together to have fun.”
Smash is even loved by many professional players who play other fighting games, and they tend to play Smash a lot like how they play “Street Fighter” or “Mortal Kombat” a lot.
It makes one wonder what makes Smash different from most fighting games.
Rodriguez answered, “I think it’s the variety, there are so many characters and stages to choose from in comparison to other fighting games- not to mention, many of those characters are pop culture icons.”
“Smash is basically ‘video games the game.’ The number of references and homages to other franchises that people know and love would make any die-hard fan cry. I also love how Smash transcends what a fighting game is because of how different it feels,” Helm responds.
Rositas said, “Honestly I think it comes down to how the play-style is on Smash. Most fighting games have you facing your opponent constantly while Smash you can move around freely. The one Smash game that had unique features was Melee. Melee had a lot of mechanics that made it hard to learn and very unique to other fighting games.”
Even though some people prefer newer or older titles, they still come together and hang out even with different views.
“I think it’s the fact that so many people enjoy playing it and it’s a great party game for everyone to play! So many other people know about this series and are always willing to give it a shot at get together’s,” Rodriquez said.
Rositas replied with, “Character reveals, that’s almost the biggest feature that keeps people excited. Everyone wanted a lot of characters in Smash. It some times so scary since people post fake leaks of what is to come of the future game and it builds suspense.”
He also explained that the characters are what make the community. Whenever an old or new character comes to Smash, it is always fun to talk about the character whether if he’s in the game or not.
Helms said, “Ultimately that [the roster] is what makes a fighting game good.”
Many simply love the subculture due to how nice and welcoming its community is, with people easily able to consider themselves a part of the group.
“I do! Although I don’t play it the most out of all the games that I play, I definitely feel welcomed and ready to play whenever I get the chance to play the game with others,” Rodriguez answered.
“I do since that’s where I met a lot of friends of mine. Great friends, that met mainly because of Smash, that I call my family. You’d be surprised that people care so much for others at that time,” said Rositas.
“Yes [I consider myself part of the community] because I love when me and my brother get together and watch the franchise grow as well as the community,” Helm said.
This is what the Smash culture really is: a group of young teens, kids, adults and young adults getting together to play one of the most influential fighting games of all time.
This is the Smash Bros. subculture.
