Friday, July 10, 2015

Totally Smashed!

Here comes another completely self-indulgent blog entry!

I stopped by that rat's nest Goodwill in Southern Arizona yesterday, and came across this goodie:



Yep, it's the GameCube version of Smash Bros., heralded by fans as the best game in the series. I don't know how fewer characters translates into a better experience, but I guess Melee also runs 20% faster than the later games, making it more "hardcore" than the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS versions. Personally, I'm quite happy with my noob-friendly Smash games, but this was $10 at the thrift store and the game costs several times that online, so I sure as hell wasn't going to pass it up.

Oh yes, and before you ask:



Everything's in the case, including the disc and a minty instruction manual. (Not pictured: an advertisement for the long-dead Nintendo Power.) I haven't tested it out on my silver Cube yet, but judging from the condition of the disc I'm expecting smooth sailing. Even if it doesn't work, I can always run the game from my Wii U using Nintendon't. And I intendo! Uh, intend to.



I just came to the realization that with the acquisition of Melee and my copy of Smash Bros. for the N64 back in Michigan, I have every game in this series. Every game! I don't think I've had every game in ANY series before! That streak will be broken when Nintendo eventually releases Smash Bros. NX, but for now, I can bask in the completeness of this collection. 

About that. It sounds like Nintendo is gearing up to replace the Wii U in 2016 with the NX, a system that's every bit as mysterious as its name would suggest. Some folks say it's going to be a gamepad with the system tucked inside, while others claim that it (gulp) won't be as powerful as other next generation consoles. Oh Nintendo, it's been ten years since the Wii, which badly lagged behind its competitors in overall performance and paid the price with horrendous third party support. Haven't you learned your lesson yet? (Probably not, no.)

2 comments:

  1. To be honest, aren't all blog posts self-indulgent in some way? :)

    Other than that, congrats on picking up all of the Smash games that have been released so far!

    Oh, and as for the NX: I really can't imagine it's a console--or at least I can't imagine it's only a console. Hopefully it's a handheld, if not a handheld that can be connected to and played via a TV as well (a la the PSP)...

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  2. The Nintendo Wii "lagged behind" Sony and Microsft, this is true. But the system absolutley killed its competitors, causing losses far beyond anything suffered by Atari, NEC, Sega or SNK. Turns out the broader public wasn't that concerned about the issue; the continued success of iOS and Android reinforces this idea even further. As for the game industry's collective temper tantrum over the Wii's success -- they absolutely hated having to make games for its dreaded "casual" audience -- that's another long discussion entirely.

    If you haven't yet done so' you should write an essay comparing the different versions of Smash Brothers. I have the Wii version and thought it was good fun, one of those lighthearted things you pull out when friends are over and alcohol os flowing. I suspect all the titles in the series are equally entertaining, so everyone shoukd be happy.

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