I didn't get my trusty Gamecube at launch, which means that by the time Super Smash Bros. Melee was out, I often went to a friend of mine to play it with him. We soon both had our favourites (Mario versus Samus) and couldn't stop playing and playing and playing, for hours and hours. Once in a while the "A new challenger approaches!" screen would pop up, and the excitement of guessing who's silhouette it was was amazing. Slowly unlocking the full roster, trying out various characters, seeing who would pop out of a Pokéball or Assist Trophy, viewing and reading about all those trophies, and most of all smash the living daylight out of each other, this game was just Nintendo heaven. And sometimes my friend's siblings would join in for some 4-player mayhem. It turned into a completely different game, much more chaotic but with the same amount of fun. And although we were the hardcore players, his siblings could easily join in, and this is the real strength of Smash Bros. I think. You can perfect your playstyle to an incredible high mastery level (as you all can read in the interview with pro Smashers), or you can as a new player just spam Din's Fire or PK Thunder and still get some victories. It didn't take long afterwards for me to rake up the cash and get my own Gamecube!

Fast forward to the release of Smash Bros. Brawl. The hype was for real this time, and with the Smash Bros. Dojo Nintendo surely knew how to keep the suspense going. When the game came out, I was going to university, and had my Wii on my student dorm. Again Smash Bros. proved how easy it was to pick up, as my roommates (both gamers and non-gamers, boys and girls) would come to my room to play some rounds. And when they were gone I would play some more, ploughing my way through the Subspace Emissary.

And now we have arrived at the one-year anniversary of the newest member of the family, simply named Super Smash Bros. And oh boy, I have a confession to make. When they announced a portable version, my mind was blown. Playing Smash on the go? How awesome is that? I played the demo, pre-ordered it, played it heavy for some months... and have recently traded it for Pokémon X. Although I loved the art style, it played like a charm and I really enjoyed the new characters (Mega Man!), I could not get over the lack of a good single player and the stuttering online (try playing for fun without lag...). Also, after maniacally trying to complete both Melee and Brawl, it felt a little bit much to go out and collect all those trophies, home-run distances, target practices et cetera again. So sorry Smash, but I promise I will play Smash 5 like it is Melee all over again!

My first Smash 4 victory was special enough to deserve one of my rare Instagram posts

And of course, I cannot only blame Super Smash Bros. 4, because the game is just great. I mean, using Miis, custom movesets, DLC, and a character roster which almost can't fit your screen make it a great game. But I don't have as much time to play as I used to, and the 3DS is a console with so many other great games, that I need one of those Harry Potter time-turners to play them all. Plus, I played Melee and Brawl so much, I may be suffering from Smash over-satisfaction (although a lot will argue that this simply does not exist). But sometimes I turn on my Wii again, and Brawl away with some friends. Thanks Smash, for bringing us the best brawler ever, and a Nintendo fanboy walhalla!

There was this little unassuming game that used to keep appearing in the magazines a long time ago.  It was all in Japanese and it looked pretty neat.  Every 6 months or so, I’d always keep seeing it re-appear from time to time and thinking to myself, “Oh yeah! I remember that game! I wonder if we’ll ever see it here in Europe?”

It didn’t get much fanfare, but I always liked the look of it and the guys who wrote for the magazines always kept raving about it in little 2 panel sections.

That game was Super Smash Bros.

It’s hard to believe that this small little side project (that was originally only going to be released in Japan!) would end up becoming the juggernaut that it is now, but there ya go!

From obsessing over squeezing out the best times in Break the Targets (I held the record for Pikachu’s time in NOM back at one point!), to sharing countless hours with family and friends in multiplayer, to watching sheer madness unfold in The Subspace Emissary, the Smash Bros series has constantly delivered new surprises and continues to do so, even to this day!

It also serves as a wonderful museum for everything in the world of Nintendo.  Just seeing that one trophy from that one obscure little game that I thought I was the only person who cared about (hello Kyle Hyde!) always brings a smile to my face.  Really, it's the little things...

These are games that are positively drowning in creativity, depth and TLC.  Every inch, meticulously crafted and yet, they always seem to manage to 1up themselves each time.  How on earth they can manage to pack so much amazing music, gameplay and historically celebratory content into each new release is simply beyond me.

Some of my most cherished memories actually come not from the game itself, but the pre-release run-up period! While Japan had something similar for Smash Bros Melee, The Smash Bros Dojo was a revelation for me at the time.  I would frantically smash that F5 button every single morning, dreaming about what wonders could possibly be revealed today and laugh amongst my friends when it turned out to be a banana!  The speculation period in the run-up to a Smash Bros game is almost a game in of itself, as we run bets on what characters or stages are gonna make it in this time!

But the great thing about Smash is that you really never know what to expect.  Even after countless hours of play, when you’d think that you’ve seen everything you can see, something crazy and unexpected happens; be it a surprise comeback “How did they come back from THAT!?”, a surprise Gust Bellows out of nowhere, or when someone is going in for a surefire KO and whoops! Suddenly they trip and they are the ones who face that game winning Smash Attack instead!  My favourite moments in Smash are always those ones where something totally crazy just comes out of nowhere!

The series has come a long way since those humble days where nobody would’ve thought that punching Pikachu in the face could be so satisfying, but it has never lost sight of its core gameplay and the feeling of celebration that the series is all about. 

So here’s to many more years of madness, insanity and Smashing great times ahead!

Super Smash Bros has never been MY series. I may own all of the games currently released and love to indulge in all of the Nintendo nostalgia but I can't honestly say that I've been truly into it all.

My first taste of the series came with the original N64 game at a friend's house. I disliked fighting games when I was younger, be it Tekken or Street Fighter, but the allure of some of my favourite Nintendo characters and a simplified control system meant I was more than willing to try out Super Smash Bros.  As it turns out, the premise of 'smashing' your opponents off screen after building up damage was fun and not something we had ever seen before. Fighting on top of the Great Fox in Sector Z, after my love for Lylat Wars, or on stages based on Donkey Kong, Super Mario and Zelda, meant that there was certainly a lot to love about the game.

Unfortunately, it never really struck a chord with my PlayStation-owning friends and only rarely got played in 2-Player from time to time. I never really felt like I had the opportunity to get any good at it and didn't actually purchase it myself at the time.

My first taste of Melee came in a video from UK magazine NGC which let me experience the intro for the first time, amongst a host of Gamecube launch games and others that never made it!

The graphics looked amazing at the time but I always thought Yoshi and Bowser didn't look quite right. Again, though, I didn't buy the game and was relegated to occasionally playing it with my friend. As such, I never obtained too many memories to cherish and don't look back on this entry as fondly as others. In fact, I'll have to admit that Super Smash Bros Melee is probably my LEAST favourite in the series, something that will probably come as a shock to those who feel it has never been bettered.  Anyway, Brawl came along on Wii. With student loans presumably meant to be spent on games, I picked it up on launch. The Subspace Emmisary provided a decent single-player experience, something which was particularly necessary given that I never really got to play the game in multiplayer at all! I defintiely enjoyed it, though, especially the increasing amount characters, music and content. Heck, it even had Sonic the Hedgehog and Snake! The Wario Ware Inc stage that added even more chaos to the fights with having to play microgames whilst battling your opponents was certainly a highlight.

Fast forward to 2014 and the release of the 3DS and Wii U iterations, I finally found myself enjoying the series more, despite the single player being a little disappointing in comparison to Brawl.  The gameplay, however, is probably as good as it has ever been. Ever since the Wii was released in 2006, I've loved Miis so was delighted to see their introduction to Super Smash Bros, especially given the fact that you could customise moves!

I'm still playing both games, with the DLC and amiibos adding some extra content to the procreedings, and I consider the Wii U version to be my personal highlight of the series.  I did eventually obtain the N64 and GC versions and spent some time earlier this year unlocking all of the available characters. It was certainly fun, but I don't feel either are quite as satisfying to play as Super Smash Bros for Wii U.

Check back here tomorrow for part 2, where we hear from more of our staff members (and some of our own forum members) about what makes this series so special to them.