I also love American Beauty
Well, after another successful day of putting off responsibility and doing whatever it is I feel like, I feel like I should write.
So for a long time, I've always wanted to write about Super Smash Brothers because it means alot more to me than just being another video game. It is the video game in my mind amongst many. As a side note, I do feel very fortunate to be a human being during such fun times, not to mention being a male who has grown up in the midst of the video game revolution.
But why is Smash so different than all the other sports, shooting, RPG's, or adventure games? Perhaps the way we met had something to do with it. I got the game as a present during my middle school years when the only thing I did on the weekends was play sports and video games. Apart from Mike, I didnt have an evening hang out situation so I ended up training on video games for hours. So I became sick-nasty at a few 64 games. When I finally got a group, I met a bunch of other video game junkies and I introduced them to my fave. A 4 player game with a butt kicking edge.
I think the first few months when we played, I may have lost about twice, tops. I had the gift. Not to mention they sucked. But my friends are as sly as Fox (pun intended) and they picked it up to the point where 4 people of equivalent skill could match wits and skill in 2D plane. So PJ, Miraj, Deacon, Sean, and Miraj all fell in love in turn and Smash fever was born.
Melee brought us to a whole new level. There were two time periods. Pre-tournament and Post-tournament play. Pre-tournament was the first few years where I would win approximately 6.5/10 matches vs. Miraj. I had the top damage given/received ratio and played with the most characters. Post-tournament I was even with PJ and Miraj by far took the group lead. Then we started playing outside our group and realized that although Hockessin kids rock, we are not the biggest dorks in the Universe. And to add to the fever, Brawl came out on Wii this past weekend to all of us going nuts.
So why does this matter. Why have we played collectively since we were 15? Why is it that we've kept with Smash while other games have come in and out of our existence?
Here are 3 very good reasons as to why smash is awesome:
We all want competition besides grades and conditioning
We're lazy.
We all want to fight.
Especially since the introduction of Melee, you can trade blows, while using more than just a simple block, punch, or button mashing, to topple an opponent. Instead of shooting games where you have to seek the best weapons, smash has them all at your disposal (We usually play without weaps). Instead of walls and corners, smash gives you all one visible, solid playing surface. So there is no where to legitimately hide, or anything else hindering you from combat.
As far as game play, Smash offers so many ways in which to attack and defend and position yourself, that your mind has can be in tune with the game on so many more levels than a traditional fighting game. While knowledge of game secrets and button techniques are a factor, they cant save you from everything. A button quick draw in miraj can still lose to a slower yet crafty player such as myself and a playing field emerges where someone who is quick thinking and innovative can triumph over a nimble fingered player.
And this is where I come in. I'm no slouch with game speed, but the reason I love the game so much is the amount of creative routes one can take to win. In Melee alone, techniques such as these all produce a crazy situation that turns into a liquid chess match: Dash Dancing, D.I.'ing, Wave Dashing, Short Hopping, Teching, Ledge Guarding, Chain Grabbing, De-syncing, Spacing, Air Dodging, Perfect Shielding. Most old games used to offer a clear cut way in which to win. If you learned the tricks, you won the game. But smash is different. You can figure out how the game works, and still get killed or you can pick up sticks and murder.
When I was younger I was a sore loser. No way around it. I was far too competitive. But the thing is, I knew that I was good, I just had to prove that I was the best. But that part of me has essentially died. Life happened. I soon found out that other people were smarter, stronger, and faster than I was. I used to think I could be the best at anything, but when found I wasn't, I lost my edge and more or less my inner drive. Right around that time I stopped caring about school and turned from the kid in T.A.G. and advanced classes to the slack you see before you today. I've always felt as though I were an intelligent individual and after a while, I lost the grounds on which to show it. But Smash was different. Those smart people could learn all the moves and figure out the secrets, but I knew that if I used my head, I could out-game them. And maybe prove that although I may not have all the answers, I know that I can beat you. And yes, through a video game, something changed. I had something to prove again. The days when I'm feeling sluggish and uninterested, I get whooped. But when I'm energized and excited, I hand out new assholes like coupons.
It might be a tad sad that it takes a seemingly meaningless match of fingers and buttons to find out whether or not I'm a person with half a brain, but there are just some arenas that I feel are best suited for finding out. Especially as we get older, its tough for kids who grew up on competition to have to sit back and not flash some skill. Its not easy to grab a bunch of people and hop outside and play around. Its almost sad how much it takes to get something like that goin, to tell the truth.
But what Smash can do is help give some swagger in a world where being a stick and a B-/C+ student doesnt show others what you can be. Sometimes you just gotta win. And then, the me I don't get to show much anymore comes out. Especially to a kid who got used to winning. Hense the reason I was a little bitch. But its nice every once in a while.
So. I've been playing the same games for about 9 years now. Kinda crazy. But the best part is, the latest installment just arrived. And as usual, it will probably take me 6 months to get used to it, but when I do...watch out suckas!
So for a long time, I've always wanted to write about Super Smash Brothers because it means alot more to me than just being another video game. It is the video game in my mind amongst many. As a side note, I do feel very fortunate to be a human being during such fun times, not to mention being a male who has grown up in the midst of the video game revolution.
But why is Smash so different than all the other sports, shooting, RPG's, or adventure games? Perhaps the way we met had something to do with it. I got the game as a present during my middle school years when the only thing I did on the weekends was play sports and video games. Apart from Mike, I didnt have an evening hang out situation so I ended up training on video games for hours. So I became sick-nasty at a few 64 games. When I finally got a group, I met a bunch of other video game junkies and I introduced them to my fave. A 4 player game with a butt kicking edge.
I think the first few months when we played, I may have lost about twice, tops. I had the gift. Not to mention they sucked. But my friends are as sly as Fox (pun intended) and they picked it up to the point where 4 people of equivalent skill could match wits and skill in 2D plane. So PJ, Miraj, Deacon, Sean, and Miraj all fell in love in turn and Smash fever was born.
Melee brought us to a whole new level. There were two time periods. Pre-tournament and Post-tournament play. Pre-tournament was the first few years where I would win approximately 6.5/10 matches vs. Miraj. I had the top damage given/received ratio and played with the most characters. Post-tournament I was even with PJ and Miraj by far took the group lead. Then we started playing outside our group and realized that although Hockessin kids rock, we are not the biggest dorks in the Universe. And to add to the fever, Brawl came out on Wii this past weekend to all of us going nuts.
So why does this matter. Why have we played collectively since we were 15? Why is it that we've kept with Smash while other games have come in and out of our existence?
Here are 3 very good reasons as to why smash is awesome:
We all want competition besides grades and conditioning
We're lazy.
We all want to fight.
Especially since the introduction of Melee, you can trade blows, while using more than just a simple block, punch, or button mashing, to topple an opponent. Instead of shooting games where you have to seek the best weapons, smash has them all at your disposal (We usually play without weaps). Instead of walls and corners, smash gives you all one visible, solid playing surface. So there is no where to legitimately hide, or anything else hindering you from combat.
As far as game play, Smash offers so many ways in which to attack and defend and position yourself, that your mind has can be in tune with the game on so many more levels than a traditional fighting game. While knowledge of game secrets and button techniques are a factor, they cant save you from everything. A button quick draw in miraj can still lose to a slower yet crafty player such as myself and a playing field emerges where someone who is quick thinking and innovative can triumph over a nimble fingered player.
And this is where I come in. I'm no slouch with game speed, but the reason I love the game so much is the amount of creative routes one can take to win. In Melee alone, techniques such as these all produce a crazy situation that turns into a liquid chess match: Dash Dancing, D.I.'ing, Wave Dashing, Short Hopping, Teching, Ledge Guarding, Chain Grabbing, De-syncing, Spacing, Air Dodging, Perfect Shielding. Most old games used to offer a clear cut way in which to win. If you learned the tricks, you won the game. But smash is different. You can figure out how the game works, and still get killed or you can pick up sticks and murder.
When I was younger I was a sore loser. No way around it. I was far too competitive. But the thing is, I knew that I was good, I just had to prove that I was the best. But that part of me has essentially died. Life happened. I soon found out that other people were smarter, stronger, and faster than I was. I used to think I could be the best at anything, but when found I wasn't, I lost my edge and more or less my inner drive. Right around that time I stopped caring about school and turned from the kid in T.A.G. and advanced classes to the slack you see before you today. I've always felt as though I were an intelligent individual and after a while, I lost the grounds on which to show it. But Smash was different. Those smart people could learn all the moves and figure out the secrets, but I knew that if I used my head, I could out-game them. And maybe prove that although I may not have all the answers, I know that I can beat you. And yes, through a video game, something changed. I had something to prove again. The days when I'm feeling sluggish and uninterested, I get whooped. But when I'm energized and excited, I hand out new assholes like coupons.
It might be a tad sad that it takes a seemingly meaningless match of fingers and buttons to find out whether or not I'm a person with half a brain, but there are just some arenas that I feel are best suited for finding out. Especially as we get older, its tough for kids who grew up on competition to have to sit back and not flash some skill. Its not easy to grab a bunch of people and hop outside and play around. Its almost sad how much it takes to get something like that goin, to tell the truth.
But what Smash can do is help give some swagger in a world where being a stick and a B-/C+ student doesnt show others what you can be. Sometimes you just gotta win. And then, the me I don't get to show much anymore comes out. Especially to a kid who got used to winning. Hense the reason I was a little bitch. But its nice every once in a while.
So. I've been playing the same games for about 9 years now. Kinda crazy. But the best part is, the latest installment just arrived. And as usual, it will probably take me 6 months to get used to it, but when I do...watch out suckas!