Fanart Friday returns, making that leap to break the Final Smash ball... only to lose our last stock falling off the stage. Last week, we met up behind the gym with our favorite delinquents, but this week--in celebration of the release of Super Smash Bros. for 3DS--it's all SUPER SMASH BROS. for this installment! When Super Smash Bros. was first announced for the N64, I was very firmly in my "grumble grumble Nintendo is for kids and I'm all man" even though I was like sixteen, but this commercial changed all that:
Fifteen years later, Super Smash Bros. is one of the most hilarious and proven party games I've ever played, and can be incredibly competitive if you change a bunch of settings before actually playing. From making the N64 and GameCube the guaranteed party systems to inflicting horrors upon friends with custom stages in Brawl to fighting on the go with Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, the Smash series is always there to let you throw down with your friends and your favorite characters.
And no, I'm not even gonna get into PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. There's low-hanging fruit, and then there's just plain bullying. Let's get started!
DISCLAIMER: None of the art presented is the property of myself or Crunchyroll. All characters and series are tm and © their respective creators and corporate owners. All art is the creative property of their respective artists. Any artists who wish to have their work removed from this article may contact me, and appropriate action will be immediately taken.
by さんさん
Let's start with a quick run-through of all four games in the series, starting with 1999's Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64! Originally, it was a Japan-only release, but it ended up doing well enough that the rest of the world got to experience the fun!
by ラリアット■絵仕事募集中
While not exactly a GameCube launch title (it launched in 2001 as a "launch-year" title), Super Smash Brothers Melee pretty much carried the system for its entire life, and was in practically every GC owner's collection.
by はのかげ
When the Nintendo Wii came out, a lot of us wondered what we'd get in terms of a Smash game--one was all but guaranteed at this point. While Super Smash Bros. Brawl divided the fanbase pretty hard by going for a more casual-focused fighter. I'm in a major minority here, but I absolutely loved the tripping mechanic that would randomly make you fall on your face--it brought it one step closer to an actual fight, where absolutely anything can happen.
by bone
That brings us to now, with the very literally-named Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the same game across two different platforms, with a bunch of new surprise guest stars! The focus is once again on tighter, more competitive combat, and the help from Namco Bandai's Sora Ltd. studio really shows!
by 青元
As some of you know, Smash is actually a creation of HAL Laboratories, creators of the Earthbound (or MOTHER), who were represented in Smash by Ness and Lucas!
by キブシ
Of course, HAL's mascot Kirby got to join in (along with Metaknight and King Dedede), but they're not the only cutesy little ball-people--Jigglypuff represents Pokemon, and legendary Namco mascot Pac-Man shows up in the 3DS and Wii U installments!
by こまり
Smash went all the way back to Nintendo's roots with Mr. Game & Watch, a character's who's an absolute blast to play, even if his taunt is one of the most infuriating and annoying sounds on Earth. I should know--I had a Super Mario Bros. Game & Watch, and the sound was atrocious!
by Ker
So who do you fight at the end of every Smash game? A famous Nintendo villain, like Bowser or Ganondorf? Nope, you take on the Master Hand (and sometimes left-sided Crazy Hand), which is a gigantic hand whose ridiculous attacks are all too familiar to Smash fans by now.
by あらも
One of the coolest things Smash did--for me and many others--was popularizing the Fire Emblem series of SRPGs. Without Marth and Roy showing up in Melee, I would've just thought Fire Emblem was a shitty two-episode OAV licensed by ADV Films!
by @jenniferwhirley READER SUBMISSION!
Okay, not so much "reader submission" as "hey friend, thanks for posting some timely fanart, can I use it in my column," but it's all the same, right? Anyways, The Legend of Zelda hero Link (and other incarnations, like Young Link and Toon Link) get to fight it out alongside other Zelda favorites in every Smash game!
by 良月
This adorably grumpy-looking Samus has the right idea--it's a pile of Pikachus. What else are you going to do?
by ちゃくろ
Pokemon Trainer was a lot of fun to use in Brawl, but only a part of him is coming back in the 3DS/Wii U installments--Charizard. I'm okay with that, but switching between Pokemon made for some hectic hilarity.
by 海棠深月
Fire Emblem is still going strong as a Smash mainstay, with Fire Emblem Awakening represented by Marth Lucina! We'll get to Robin(s) later.
by ultmte READER SUBMISSION!
Truth be told, I've wanted Punch-Out!! pugilist Little Mac in a Smash game since the beginning. I'll be blasting Inner Light in the background every chance I get!
by めぶ
One of Nintendo's newest franchises is the Xenoblade series from Monolith Soft, and they get to shine in Smash with main character Shulk!
by のば
Of course, the first family of Nintendo is Mario and his friends and enemies--I love how Bowser Jr.'s alternate costumes in the 3DS/Wii U games are the Koopa Kids from Super Mario Bros. 3 and the New Super Mario Bros. series.
by リュート
I'm a big-enough Animal Crossing fan that I was incredibly happy to see the Villager, but what I love most is how he's captured the hearts of fan artists around the world! By "captured their hearts," I mean he's pinned them down and removed them with his bare hands, Hostel-style. Eesh.
by モノクロ
The biggest addition to the newest game is of course Capcom's been-absent-from-everything-lately mascot, Mega Man!
by OroNoDa READER SUBMISSION!
Okay, so everybody used Charizard when they played as Pokemon Trainer, so now Charizard is a standalone Pokemon fighter himself, joined by Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Lucario (and the missing Greninja!).
by わさび
I haven't had a chance to get my hands on the Wii Fit Trainer yet, but she's certainly taking the time to get her hands on poor Princess Zelda, who just wants to do her yoga in peace. Hold that pose, Link--hold that pose.
by 冬瀬
See, when I got Fire Emblem Awakening, I named my character Conan, and made him a tough-looking older guy, so it was especially wrong when Chrom's little sister was all up on him. His/her actual name is Robin, and both versions are available in the new games! Too bad my guy won't be. :(
Really, if I need two Smash characters to just get shit done and make sure somebody's ass is dead, I'd go with Samus "the living tank" Aran, and Captain "I'll punch the universe's face in" Falcon. SHOW ME YA MOVES!
by 誘きち
Wii Fit Trainer's looking an awful lot like Lara Croft in this picture, but it's great to see the game's princesses all together!
by マツバエーイチ
So who do you want to see in Smash? Bayonetta creator Hideki Kamiya's been pulling for his leggy battlewitch to join the fight...
by kakashi12210 READER SUBMISSION!
...but I know there's a big contingent that wants Kingdom Hearts characters to show up in future Smash titles! (There actually is, I didn't have to really stretch to include this reader submission!)
I mean, the possibilities are endless, between third-party guest characters and Nintendo's own rich roster. There are countless games Nintendo could bring into the fold, and Smash's simplistic setup means that anyone could play their favorite character!
by yammybonbon READER SUBMISSION!
While I'm not a big fan of "clones" in games, Nintendo's slowly making each one feel like separate characters. Sure, Link and Young Link had a lot in common, like Mario and Dr. Mario, but like Ryu and Ken over in Street Fighter, they're steadily changing fighting styles... or just going off in a completely different direction, like Zero Suit Samus!
by ラリアット■絵仕事募集中
Special guests are an awesome new addition to Smash, and they're always welcome--sure, Solid Snake was kind of a weird pick, but as one of my favorite video game characters, of course I want to fight Master Hand with him! Sonic, too, but on that note...
by Haychel
...this is a battle I've wanted to play out since 1991. Mario vs. Sonic, in a no-holds-barred fight to the finish! Thanks, Super Smash Bros., for helping realize the simple dream of a lifelong gaming nerd.
GAME! That's it for this week--while I technically included everybody, who are your favorite Super Smash Bros. fighters? I'd also be remiss to not mention Brawl in the Family, which, well... just read it. As for your favorites, sound off in the comments and let us know!
Like I say every week, your work is always welcome here on Fanart Friday, regardless of your skill level or experience. Just PM me a link to your work (full URL, please), and I'll be sure to include it in a future installment! Here are the next three themes for Fanart Friday:
-Next week, on OCTOBER 10th, it's time for TWINS! While all the twins I know are a bunch of weirdos, twins in fiction tend to be eerily similar, pulling all kinds of Parent Trap-level shenanighans. Who are your favorite twins? THIS IS THE ONLY THEME I'M TAKING REQUESTS FOR THIS WEEK!
-Then, on OCTOBER 17th, we celebrate the awesome voice and eternal badassery of NORIO WAKAMOTO! This is not a voice actor to be trifled with!
-On OCTOBER 24th, it's the first of a two-part Halloween Horrors theme, focusing on THE MONSTER THAT IS MAN! No ghosts, no demons, no vampires or werewolves--just scary people for this installment! It's just one guy, right? ...right? Guys?
Thanks again for coming by to check out Fanart Friday! Have a great weekend, enjoy Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, and I hope you drop by next week!
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