Super Smash Bros.

Well, I'm a huge gamer nerd, and as such, I've been watching a lot of G4TV in order to catch all the coverage of E3. So far, I'm very impressed with a lot of the strides that the industry has been making with special regards to the new Wii U and how developers are reacting to the technology in the Kinect. Some of the most relevant information that just made me giddy were the unveiling of many of the new 3DS games. I bought that thing a week after it came out, and I have to say I was impressed with it. The 3D certainly expanded my views on it; thought it was going to be gimmicky.

So while games like a revamped StarFox 3D and Luigi's Mansion 2 are games that really piqued my interest, what really made me squee was the information that they're finally getting around to making a handheld, portable version of Super Smash Bros. I've loved the series and its unique approach to the fighter genre and I've always wanted them to make one that you could take with you ever since the GBA.

For those of you who don't play video games and have no idea what I'm talking about, this is a summarized version of Super Smash Bros. (now going to be abbreviated to SSB). This game boasts a large roster of characters that you can choose from that are all (save for two characters in the latest installment) intellectual properties of Nintendo. They range from very well known characters like Mario and Pikachu to lesser known characters like the Ice Climbers and Marth. The point of the game is to smack around a foe or foes until you can smack them off the screen of play and thus lose a life. There is no HP, instead, there's damage percentages. The higher the percentage, the more likely that they can be hit off the stage.

So this got me thinking about a lot of my experiences with my game. I remember when I was a cocky little kid, I think it was in about sixth grade, and I got invited to my first birthday party (I wasn't a very popular little one). We went to a local football game but afterward headed back to the birthday kids house and booted up Super Smash Bros. Melee. I figured being I was the most likely to be the gaming nerd, I would be the best.

I started bragging about how good I was and how everyone was going down. E'erbody gonna die. They all just laughed and told me to prove it. They all picked characters I had thought were shitty and I picked a character I thought was amazing, Roy. It turned out, they were A LOT better than me. I got my asked kicked so hard. They employed shield dodges and just about every single attack of mine missed. Then they followed it up with a flurry of attacks and I would die. Easily.

I was usually the first person to die and they mocked me. I guess I deserved it, but I hated losing, and so I started the training montage. Long story short, I got better really fast just to kick their asses, and did. If there is one thing I cannot stand, it's losing. While I'm not a poor sport, I'm very, very competitive.

Then came the time in my Super Smash career when I entered tournaments. One tournament I will never forget. I was in the final round for Super Smash Bros. Brawl against another kid. I picked a character named Marth. He's quick, his range isn't too bad, and he's a pretty good aerial fighter. Good at jumping, nimble, and though his attacks aren't that damaging, they are quick to add up. My opponent picked Zero Suit Samus. Her description is quite similar to Marth's, except she doesn't have too good of a midrange game. She's good at long range and good at short range. I figured I had the advantage until the game told us what level we would play.

Big Blue.

If you don't play videogames and you're still reading this, let me explain. This is a shitty level. Remember how I said that if you go off the screen you die? Well this level has moving platforms that will eventually move off the stage. If you stay on it too long, you die. The ground is hard to explain, but for the most part, if you hit the ground, you automatically get sent off the stage and you die. Not only all of this, but most of the platforms are quite small and easy to get knocked off. While there is a lot of platforms, getting thrown onto the ground below them is quite common and quite an easy way to win. It was going to be a tricky battle.

We both hold our ground quite well. We trade blows back and forth. I try to stay out of her range and attack from the outside, but she was good at moving back in and dealing some good amounts of damage. We played with five lives each, and it seemed like everyone one of my lives that she killed, I would take one of hers. An even match.

Then came the moment we each had one life left. We fought valiantly and hard. We were both meticulous in our execution now more than ever. If we left the slightest opening, we could be instantly sent to the ground below and die. I tried to bait and tackle my opponent at one point. I jumped onto a platform as it was moving away hoping my opponent would chase me and I would easily knock them to the ground or at least away. They had anticipated that however. They dodged my attack in mid air and landed beside me.

They were able to attack me a couple of times and I was able to retaliate in an effective manner, but soon, the platform we were standing on was moving off of the stage. We each had 150%+ which meant that whoever got in the next attack was going to be the winner. It was all going to be about timing. We would both have to jump onto another platform and manage to get in the last killing blow or be killed. Easy as that, our instincts had taught us well.

I could sense the anticipation of the group of the fallen that was behind us had garnered. They watched with great interest as we each lost our lives one by one. Cheering and 'aww'ing when appropriate. But now, at this point, they knew as well what must happen. Jump and attack. Whoever was the quickest was going to be the winner.

It was now or never.

We both were in sync as we leaped off of our platform towards the next one. Our fingers grasped our controllers knowing how well we would have to time an attack and possibly an effective dodge in order to win. Then came the damnedest thing. My character somehow fell to the ground and was instantly dead.

"GAME!", the announcer declared. Nobody knew what happened. One second, tense anticipation, next second, I was dead. I did not point my character in the direction of certain death, so how did it happen?

We ran the replay of the end of the round. We all watched as our characters both jumped into the air. Everything seemed normal. Then came the crushing defeat. It appeared she used my face as a jumping point and kicked me into the ground. I didn't die and lose because of a lack of skill (well, I guess that's debatable), I lost because of a mechanic of the game. The girl jumped off of my face and kicked me into the ground automatically in order to win the tournament. I was devastated, but at least it made for an interesting story. Still pissed about it though.

So how about you my fellow bloggers? You enjoy video games? You keeping up with e3? Or is everything I just said complete gibberish? Post it below in the comments. Thanks for the support!