Competitive play.

     Each game has tournaments in which players from all around attend to compete for cash prizes. The rules vary between each game since, even though they have the same mechanics, they have different phsyics, stages, characters, and other variables. There are universal rules for each game though, such as all items are turned off, and a timer must be put on to avoid infinite play.
    Since I play Super Smash Brothers Brawl competitively, I will focus on that. Every tournament has at least two events, singles and doubles. singles is where you are put in a bracket and faced against an opponent in a double emilmination style. double elimination means that even if you lose to your opponent, you still have a chance to do well in the losers bracket. doubles is where you team up with a partner and fight in 2v2 battles in the same double elimination style used in singles. although the rules for singles and doubles are exactly the same, both require different strategies.
     Many people compete in these tournaments from all around the country. Tournaments are usually held every week in populated areas, and every few months, nationals are held in order to bring in more people from around the country. One of the best nationals I went to was called Apex 2010, and it would feature not only the top players from the country, but for the first time the Japanese came to compete. This was very exciting and one of there players, Brood, ended up winning the tournament. Here I have the last match of the tournament. Mew2king is widely considered the best player in the united states, so to have one of japans best and our best compete was very exciting.

How the Game Works.

     Although each game varied in physics, the main mechanics of the game play stayed the same. The goal is to attack your opponent until you can knock him off the stage. Unlike traditional fighters, the Super Smash series doesn't have life bars, and instead has a percentage counter. Each move you land deals a certain amount of percent, and the higher your opponents percents, the farther he will be knocked back when you hit him. You also have Stocks, which are pretty much the equivalent of lives. You start off with a set amount of stocks, and your goal is to knock off your opponent until his stocks are gone. With a wide amount of stages and characters and stages to choose from, things can get pretty hectic.
     Another feature that sets the Super Smash series apart from other fighters is that you can have up to 4 players fighting at the same time, either all against each other or on teams. This makes for a very fun experience with friends since you wont be switching in and out as much.
      If you choose so, you can also turn on items before the fight begins. There are many Items to choose from, such as a baseball bat, ray gun, beam sword, fire flower, and the list goes on. You choose which items you want to appear in battle and they will appear randomly as the fight goes on. If you pick them up you can really get the advantage in battle. heres a list of items featured in Super Smash Brothers Brawl.

A brief history of the Smash series.

      Back in 1999, Nintendo made Super Smash bros, a budget title that would feature 12 of Nintendo's all-stars in an all out battle against each other. This game was only released in Japan at first, but due to its huge success, Nintendo released it worldwide. Since the game was such a success, Nintendo decided to work on a new title for its upcoming console, the Nintendo Gamecube. This game, known as Super Smash Brothers: Melee, would be released in 2001 as a launch title for the Gamecube and, like its predecessor, had huge success. Super Smash Brothers Melee ended up being the most selling gamecube game, selling over 7 million copies.
      After 7 years, Nintendo finally released its final game in the series, Super Smash Brothers Brawl. This game would include playable characters from series outside of Nintendo, such as Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid Series, and Sonic from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Unlike the other 2 games though, Brawl was pushed back many times since developers needed to finish it and didnt think it was ready. To coupe with this though, Sakurai Masahiro, the man behind the project,would update The offical site every weekday with new information about the game until its release.