When I read that a Gamecube sequel to Super Smash Brothers was going to be shown at E3 I emitted a high-pitched squeal of delight. I was quite a fan of the original you see.

Yes my co-workers and me wasted a lot of company time playing SSB (and wrestling and Mario Kart and Goldeneye and others). The horrified yelp of Pikachu as he is launched to his death, the sweet, sweet crack of the almighty bat: these are the sounds of happiness my friends. Good lord this game ate up my time. And with good reason; considering that this was their first ever fighting game; Hal (and Nintendo) buttoned this baby up tight. Nigh-perfectly balanced, with moves that are a breeze to pull off. Sure. It’s more about moves that do multi-hit damage than actually doing multi-hit combos, but so what. Fighting games are getting ridiculous with their combos. If I had to choose between memorizing the dozens of commands required for a ten hit combo in Tekken or just hitting up and A followed by up and B with Samus, I’d choose Samus (plus she’s hot). Anyone can play this game. They won’t win, but they won’t feel overwhelmed or pissed off. This and Powerstone helped expand the fighting game genre and open it up to new players.

Which is not to say that there ain’t no strategy in this game, cuz there is. Assloads of strategy. Do you stick and run? Play close to edge? Run for that tomato? Oh those cursed tomatoes. In the heat of battle it’s very easy to not notice someone throwing a mine under a tomato. Or better yet, lay a mine on one end of the playfield then run to the other end so the screen is so zoomed out that your opponents can’t see the mine. Of course that doesn’t work on the Mario stage, but since it doesn’t scroll at all just plant a mine off screen. Hidden death. Fun stuff. Hidden fun death stuff. With strategy. And characters, oh the characters. This game is a giant orgy of Nintendo love. (You wouldn’t BELIEVE what Yoshi can do with that tongue) SSB is the only 64 Samus yer gonna see, same with Ness (oh Nessy, your lightning ball is useful in so many ways). And the Gamecube version looks to continue that trend. The Ice Climbers? Man I am so there!

And the Music! Yet another walk down memory lane. Jiminy Jeepers I sure do dig this game. The bonus levels actually help you develop your fighting skills and the hidden crap is worth unlocking. But at the end of the day it comes down two indisputable truths: the first is that my Pikachu Kung-Fu is mighty. The second is that the bat is king. Because in the end, it’s all about the PING my friends, it’s all about the PING.

My favorite memory in SSB? Well it would be the ONE time that my co-worker legitimately beat me. We were both down to one life… we both ran for the bat… he got there first… it’s all about the PING.

Appendum: I’ve never been a big fan of the endings in this game though. (If you didn’t know, it is revealed that the combatants are just plush toys fighting in the imagination of some unseen off screen child) It just seems a little… callous. I understand that Nintendo probably wanted every one to know that it was all make believe, that no real mascots were hurt during the course of the game. But after the toy "wins" it is discarded. Tossed coolly aside, lifeless and limp. That just never sat right with me.

- Tyler