Why is Smash Brothers Popular?

I have spent the last few nights playing the N64 and Wii versions and I just don't get it. I even read strategy guides thinking that there was more to the game than two attacks and a jump.

Nope.

It's actually less deep than that. Knockouts happen at random. Pretty much anything that happens in the game is luck of the draw.

So why is everyone clamoring for a new version?

Advanced techniques.

The depth of the game isn't what makes it popular either. It's just fun to play with friends.

It's got depth and is completely unique. No other game employs the percentage physics based fighting style of Smash. You have to get together with some friends and find out the magic for yourself. It's easy for anybody from the most casual to the most dedicated gamer to enjoy.

theres a lot more to it than that.

If you think all there is to fighting in Smash Bros is jumping and two attacks, you are a sad excuse of a person.

Also, it's pretty much a perfectly designed group fighting game that delivers terrific local multiplayer. There is nothing that is more fun and funny than a game of Smash Bros with friends all sitting on the couch.

did you learn how to z cancel on the n64 version....you cant do anything until you learn that...

check out some of the combos

thats just a taste and why the 64 version is my fav smash.

You should play Melee. In my opinion, it's the best in the series so far. There is more to it than the jump/hit scenario you describe. Others have posted links to advanced techniques and mentioned percentages(which keeps KOs from being random). In Melee's challenges, things start simple enough, but by the end you need to play smart and make use of your character's special abilities.

Check out this video from the EVO 2013 Smash Bros finals. It's crazy.

It's just hella fun. I don't really put much into the combos and special techniques, as I'm super casual when it comes to this game, but I love playing with friends and even against AI counterparts. The franchise is amazing. Plus it features all your favorite Nintendo characters obviously!!!

I have no words for you ignorance. You should consider being sterilized.

To everyone else, I appreciate the insight. Somehow, in my teenage years, I dedicated so much time to Mario Kart 64, Goldeneye and Mario Party that my friends and I never really got into it. The guy I quoted is a typical internet idiot, not realizing I was asking an honest question and giving my honest opinion of the game and seeing if I was missing something, which I obviously am. My kids love the Wii version and watching them play it got me interested.

If your Wii has GC functionality, you're in a very good position. You'll be able to try all of them on one platform. Melee can be a tad expensive, depending on who you're buying it from. Fortunately, Nintendo released the N64 game on the Wii Shop Channel. No need to hunt down the cart.

I was in a similar situation. I'm really into Nintendo franchises since the NES, but I skipped Smash Bros. on the N64. It didn't appeal to me. When Melee came out on the GCN, I thought I'd give it a shot. It was a ton of fun to play with my friends, and there is more to it than meets the eye with depth. I prefer Melee over Brawl, but Brawl is still a lot of fun also. It's the combination of great local multiplayer, depth for skilled players, great mini-games (and personally I enjoyed the subspace emissary - which is a divided opinion), great unlockables/collectables, and generally a really nice museum of video games.

So I'm an idiot for making a joke about being a sad excuse of a person but also telling you that there is way, way more to it than two attacks? Who exactly is the idiot here? If you watch skilled players play then you'd see it's not "luck of the draw" or whatever the hell you were saying. For people who play un seriously, sure there's a lot of luck and whatever but for serious players there's a lot of depth to each character and plenty of reasons to use every move in their repertoire.

Also I fail to see how I'm wrong about the local multiplayer. If you don't personally enjoy it then that's your problem, but it's one of the very few games series that still supports local multiplayer and does it with flying colors.

None of this is to even mention any of the bonus modes beyond just playing against other players, the huge amount of unlockables, the stellar production values (relative to each system) or the truly staggering amount of customization options available for any given match. So how exactly am I ignorant again?

The fun comes from the fact that the controls are easy yet you can do some complexe things with them.

Plus it's funny to have to move around a level to fight your opponents.

It's easy to pick up and play it, but it has a good amount of depth.

Plus, it is an awesome party game that demands a combination of skill and luck.

What about Mario Kart then? I'd say that series is more about luck than Smash Bros.

Anyway, what you're saying is exactly what someone who doens't know how to play Smash would say. Just play it more until you understand it. I remember hating the game (Melee for GC) when I first played it with my friends who already had the hang of it. Since they wanted to play it often, I kind of had to, and after a while I started to understand the game. Now it's one of my favourite series, and I almost always kick my friends' asses.

@luka024: It actually IS quite a deep game, but designed so that anyone can play it: from casuals to hardcore gamers.
Just try your "luck" against a seasoned Smash Bros. player and be amazed at how much more the games are than simple jump and 2 attacks.

There are many attacks, many combo's and many different fighting styles in the series.

Much of its popularity, at least initially, came about because of the characters it featured. The idea of a sort of battle royale between everyone's favorite characters to see who's truly the best is something that's made people fangasm over forever. Nintendo took that idea and made it into an actual game, one that through its simplicity, allows anyone to jump in and play without having to learn any advanced combos or controls, along with the gameplay being constantly varied by the stages and items. And, just like Mario Kart, its focus on local multiplayer and having fun with friends is something that anyone can get behind.

Whether it's a good game is a different discussion, but there shouldn't be any confusion regarding why it's become popular.

Someone's a little touchy. You shouldn't let the internet comments get to you so easily.

The game has many advances techniques and strategies, and as opposed to normal fighting games, except when fighting with no items on final destination, the game can get chaotic when things are dropping out of nowhere and get really intense. There's nothing random about who gets knocked out when there aren't items on though, so if that's your big complaint you can just turn them off.

Apparently saying that means you should be sterilized and that you're an idiot. Even though me saying that people who think like TC are sad excuses of a human was a joke more than anything.

I don't even care for combos such as that because in the 64 version, they were completely unnecessary. The 64 version is my favorite one as well because it was soooo unique at the time (still is), the pokemon franchise had the cartoon media on lock back then, the gameplay was incredibly fun (and the hitstun was perfect unlike Melee) and each character felt completely different.

and most of all, because of this:

This must be a troll? But it's not JasonGuy...so hmm... The thing about Smash Bros is its Nintendo's mascots beating the crap out of each other. Its just a FUN game. There is no game like it. It doesn't need to have "deep gameplay" though for the competitive players there is more depth they care about, tiers and air dodging and such. As for 2 attacks and jump, thats just false each character has numerous moves A and B in different directions. Games like Street Fighter and Tekken and Mortal Kombat are more like what your describing. Nintendo gamers play games that are PURE FUN. Smash Bros is pure fun.

i think the 64 version takes the most skill out of all 3 smash games...i agree about hitstun...when you hit someone it actually mattered.

honestly nini...i never even played smash 64 until 2006...

i wanted to play mario kart 64 online and noticed most people where playing smash bros64...i was like "what the hell is that"...so i learned how to play and was amazed at the way these people would destroy me online with combos....i loved it.

Yes when you hit someone, it actually felt like you hit them and not slipped through them like Melee. Yoshi was the only one that still had correct hitstun in Melee.

Shame Shame Shame KB Lol I liked MK64 but Diddy Kong Racing 64 crushed it.

And the chaos that happened in a match on Smash 64 was great lol Especially if you caught someone in the middle of a Meowth and you have a Hitmonlee in the air about to land that Hi Jump Kick lol