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Super Smash Brothers! Once a fun little series grew in popularity alongside the fighting game genre and eSports. The series has spanned 4 games, with Melee being popular even to this day! With a new Smash game coming out, I think it’s about time to visit the original game that started it all. Let’s see how Smash Bros for the Nintendo 64 holds up!
Story:
Smash 64 doesn’t really have a story. It’s just Nintendo characters fighting each other.
Use your imagination though to make your own stories!
Gameplay:
Smash 64 plays uniquely from other fighting games. It’s a 2.5D fighter. The game does not have health bars, but instead, everyone has their own percent. To win, you do not reduce an opponent’s HP to 0, you instead raise their percent high enough to knock them out of the arena! The higher the percentage, the more knockback a fighter takes from attacks.
Attacking is different too. Instead of having for example a light, medium, and heavy attack, you have a singular attack button, and instead of special move motions, you have a singular special move button! You either tilt or tap the control stick in different directions to perform different attacks, and you tilt the control stick to perform different special moves. Other actions you can do are jump, grab, shield, or roll. Because of this simplified control scheme, Smash 64 is more accessible compared to other fighting games.
Like previously mentioned, the goal is to knock fighters out of the arena by raising their percentage in combat. Get them at a high enough percent and POW smack them hard! If you get smacked, make sure to get back onto the stage!
To help you SMASH others into oblivion, items will appear. Items range from throwable items, to weapons, to a gun, to even Pokeballs! Use them to your advantage.
There are several ways to play Smash 64. Classic Mode, Break The Targets, and Board The Platforms exist as modes to play single player style.
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Classic Mode is basically an arcade mode. Defeat any opponents that stand in your way!
Break the Targets is a mode where you break all the targets as fast as you can.
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Board the Platforms tests your platforming skills, as you board all the platforms as fast as you can.
While it’s only a few modes, they are fun in their own right.
Multiplayer is where the game shines. You can play a timed match, where the winner is whoever gets the most KO’s, or a stock match, where the winner is the last one with remaining lives. You can have a classic 1v1, to free for alls, to team battles, to 3v1’s, and more!
A plethora of great and fun ways to play Smash 64 exist, and the variety of ways to play is one of the game’s best features. The simpler gameplay also works, being accessible yet deep enough for some fun play.
Stages are fun too. They are varied in layout and each have their own unique hazards to keep the action interesting, such as bumpers on Peach’s Castle, Wind on Dream Land, and even Lava on Planet Zebes!
One of my personal favorite stages. Beware the arwing that comes flying in from time to time!
Graphics and Sound:
Smash 64 uses a combination of 3d models and 2D graphics to make the game look how it does today. While the graphics have indeed aged, they aren’t terrible. The 3D character models themselves look very clean, and the sprites in the game range from decent to sharp. Each stage looks quite fun to play on, and the variety of looks of stages is good.
Sound is good too. Music is another big positive of Smash 64, especially the opening theme. Other themes that are skilly created in the game sound great too, like the Mario Bros theme, The Legend of Zelda main theme, and more. Sound effects when fighting are awesome! You can hear the POW of your smash attacks and the CRACK of a broken shield! The attacks just sound so GOOD to land! It’s crazy!
Conclusion:
Smash 64 is a game best played with more than one person. It’s overall a bit lacking in the single player department, but multiplayer is still fantastic! The game is fun, easy, and overall great with friends. Just don’t SMASH the TV if you get angry!
Score: 8/10