Daniel Colon's review of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Review

Date last edited: 12-06-2024 at 08:38PM

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Rating: Everyone 10+

Review:
Nintendo has been for nearly 50 years one of the largest video game companies in the world. They are known for their many classic games such as Mario Brothers, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokémon. Years after Nintendo's initial success with gaming, several classic titles have come and gone to cement themselves in gaming history along with the games created by the gaming titan. In its inception, the original Super Smash Bros. in 1999 was created to celebrate the history of Nintendo's icons by having characters from several Nintendo games fighting each other in a platform style of fighting game. Beginning with the third installment of the franchise, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the game went from celebrating Nintendo's history to celebrating gaming history as a whole. This was evident by including third-party characters such as Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series and Sonic the Hedgehog from Sega, who before was considered the main rival of Nintendo's Mario, and 19 years after the original, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate releases with the largest roster of any Super Smash Bros. game, including every character to have ever been in a Smash game before and more. The game has become not only one of the best-selling Nintendo Switch games of all time but also one of the staples in gaming history and of the fighting game genre.

First Media Key: Balance

Dr. Gan says, "There really is so much we can gain from the media, but if we don't approach it with balance, there's also so much we can lose" (pg. 31). When you have many good things, it's not right to just stick with one good thing. You need to open yourself up to experience all that's good. Each good thing presented in front of you is a new experience, but by sticking with only one thing you'll never be able to discover what you're missing out on.

As per every fighting game, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has a large roster of characters to pick from. Not just that, Ultimate has the largest roster of characters out of every fighting game, with a total of 86 characters to choose from, all being unique from the others. Not one character is the same as the other, which makes the roster very special. There's nothing wrong with sticking with one character while you fight, but getting to experience that vast roster of characters allows you to completely understand the complexity the game's combat has to offer. Some characters work best in close combat, others in ranged combat. Some characters rely heavily on combos and lighter hits, others are heavy hitters who work best by dealing big damage at once. There's something for everyone to enjoy on the roster.

Second Media Key: Attitude Awareness

"We can't control what messages media makers send out. But we can control our awareness of those messages" (Gan. pg. 46). A self-explanatory phrase from Dr. Gan, perfectly explains what we as consumers must do. We must be the interpreters of the messages from the media. Whenever we are presented with a message we do not comply with, we must shun the message. Not only must we interpret the messages shown to us by the media, but we must also do our best to interpret them to the best of our abilities. We must not be lazy and accept what is handed to us.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has a story mode called World of Light. In this mode, an evil captures all the characters of the game except Kirby. This evil, called Galeem, controls these characters and forces them to fight for its evil purpose of taking over the world. It is your sole job as Kirby to stop this force and to save all the characters. After fighting several battles, you'll finally be able to face Galeem with the characters you've unlocked and finally defeat the villain. The message in this story can be one of overcoming hardships. No matter how bad the odds seem, if you persist, you'll be able to overcome anything.

Third Media Key: The Dignity of the Human Person

"In life, we're supposed to nurture our spirits, care for our bodies, give ourselves in love, and defend the dignity of others. And nothing changes, or at least nothing should change, in the realm of media" (Gan, pg. 53). No matter what media we consume, we should expect the dignity of the human person to be uplifted and kept sacred. Consider that someone you knew one day would begin harassing you, not stopping even if you started getting fed up. That person would not be respecting your dignity as a human person, and, if in the same way the media does this to you, it would not be respecting your dignity either. As how you would a friend who constantly demeans you, you would and must separate yourself from such media.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a fighting game. You can play with a selection of characters from gaming history, putting them up against each other in platform brawling. As a whole, the game does not respect the dignity of the human person all that well. Characters use just about anything to attack each other, ranging from swords, guns, blasters, and assist characters to blow their opponents away. More realistic characters like Snake use a variety of military-grade explosives to defeat his opponents, while Mario relies on classic punches and kicks. There are team matchups in which teams of 2 or more can face each other in combat, but the end goal remains the same. Beat your foes or be beaten.

Fourth Media Key: Truth Filled

As people, we already know some truths, but there are more truths we can learn. The media can be that which shows us the truth. Dr. Gan has this to say about truth: " Truth does exist. It's real, and it's eternal. It doesn't change from age to age, culture to culture, or person to person. It also isn't hard to know" (pg. 69). With this in mind, the media we consume can do one of two things: It can give us the truths in an easy way to understand, not trying to confuse or deceive us. Or, it could not give us the truth at all and let us discover the truth ourselves.

As acclaimed as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is, it is not a game of truth. It is completely fictitious, using fictional characters and fictional environments to play out its combat. Even considering some of the lore these game characters have in their respective universes, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate does not have a dedicated chapter in whatever character's story. Things like damage output from rockets are completely fictitious as compared to real life.

Fifth Media Key: Inspiring

"Media should inspire because that's what media is intended to do" (Gan, pg. 94). In this world, some people eat to eat. Others work to work. But doing such things to them leaves out the idea of acting for its intended purpose. You eat to survive and stay healthy. You work to fulfill your dreams, whether it be to let your talent flourish or to be successful. In the same way, you cannot consume media just to consume it. You consume media to be inspired.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has a feature that allows you, the player to create and customize your stages. Creative control is all up to you, and your resources, if you use them well, are virtually unlimited. Along with this, the game lets you create your fighters using the Nintendo Switch's Mii characters. You have a vast option of moves to use and customize to make your perfect fighter. Along with this, you can see the stages and fighters created by other players, in turn allowing you to be inspired by others.

Sixth Media Key: Skillfully Developed

Dr. Gan has a quote about the importance of skillfully developed media. It goes, "...when you expect less, you get less. And 'less' is not going to reach the people who need to be reached the most" (pg. 108). As consumers of media, we must expect to be presented with media that is skillfully developed, and if it's not then it is our job to search for media that reaches those demands of skillfully developed. It's not just about the message being presented in our media, it's about how the creators of that media choose to present it. If they have the passion and dedication to spread their message, they'll do so in a manner of utmost excellence.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is often regarded as the best game in the franchise, with mechanics tweaked and fine-tuned to perfection to create the perfect competitive experience. Constantly, people are seen breaking the limits of what can be done in terms of combos and movement. The goal all fighting games wish to achieve is to make the game fast-paced and complex, and Smash Ultimate does this with excellent results. The game went on to win Best Fighting Game and earn a nomination for Game of the Year in 2019.

Seventh Media Key: Motivated by and Relevant to Experience

"...what we love says a great deal about who we are. What we can relate to, what we find understandable and accessible, what experience we seek, reveal something about us" (Gan, pg. 127). As human beings, we find joy in things we can relate to. We are a social creature, and though we often seek an escape from our reality, those escapes that we enjoy the most speak to us and our human condition. Media doesn't have to relate to our human experience, but relating to our human experience is what makes the media we love special.

Super Smash Brothers Ultimate as a game doesn't particularly relate to the human experience all too much. The game has a collection of characters from several games that we may have played as children, bringing a sense of nostalgia to see those characters in a modern game. What the game does bring to relate to human experience is the community around it. The franchise has been known to have fan-hosted tournaments and competitions, and the fanbase is what makes the game relatable. Nintendo themselves have recognized this and have begun hosting tournaments of their own for the community. The excitement everyone shares in the character reveal trailers and the techniques discovered by masters used by the community is what people gravitate towards once they get into the game itself.

Super Smash Brothers Ultimate has become a cultural phenomenon in the world of gaming. It is the third highest-selling Nintendo Switch game of all time and is recognized as one of the best games on the platform to date. To this day, there is continuing support for the game by Nintendo and its community. If there is one game you want to play and have fun in, consider Super Smash Brothers Ultimate. It may be 6 years old, but the game only got better over time.

Seven Keys:
Balanced:
Attitude:
Personal:
Truth-filled:
Inspired:
Skillfully Made:
Experienced:

Overall Rating: 27/35

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