Smash Bros. 5 – The Most Anticipated Game of the Year

On March 8, 2018, Nintendo caught everyone by surprise by releasing a trailer for the next entry in the beloved Super Smash Bros. series for Nintendo Switch. The gaming community went crazy and hype began.

The announcement of a new Smash Bros. game was huge. The gaming community went nuts, to a point where other big announcements such as the reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 was overshadowed by Smash Bros. hype. If you’re new to the series, you might be wondering what Smash Bros is. Smash Bros. is essentially an addicting, fun, and challenging fighting party game featuring allstars from videogames throughout the years. Smash Bros. has been around since the Nintendo 64 in 1999. The sequel, Super Smash Bros. Melee, released in November 2001, became the all-time bestselling game worldwide for the successful Nintendo Gamecube. Two more games followed, Super Smash Bros Brawl for the Wii in January 2008, and Smash 4 for the Wii U in 2014. It is not clear whether Smash 5 will be a new game or a rerelease of Smash 4 with updated content for the Nintendo Switch, but fan speculation has led many to believe that it will be a new game.

The biggest appeal of Smash Bros. is the roster of characters. Originally it was limited to only characters from Nintendo franchises, such as Mario and Pokemon, but now any character from any video game is eligible for Smash Bros. This is where most of the hype revolves around. The Smash Bros. developers are open to fan opinions, and have once asked fans on their website what characters they would like to see the most in the game.

Fans all around school were asked what they wanted in the next Super Smash Bros. game. “I hope Crash Bandicoot is gonna be in the next Smash,” says Gabriel Cervantes (12). Crash Bandicoot is a popular gaming icon who recently got a game on the Nintendo Switch, so it is very possible that he will be featured in the new Smash Bros. “Also Rayman. I really want to see him in Smash,” says Cervantes.

“I hope the avatar from Dark Souls is in Smash,” says Anthony Torres (11). “It’s crazy, but anything is possible.” Dark Souls is also being rereleased on the Nintendo Switch, so the idea of a Dark Souls related character in Smash Bros. is not too far-fetched.

“I hope they bring back a Story Mode that was in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I was disappointed when it wasn’t in Smash 4,” says Kevin Bryant (12), who is an experienced Smash Bros. player in Gaming Club.

Senior Erik Aguilar, who plays Smash Bros. at Gaming Club says, “I wanna see Scorpion from Mortal Kombat as a playable character, if they have a Street Fighter character, they should add one from Mortal Kombat.” 

“It’ll probably never happen in a million years, but if Nintendo put CJ and Big Smoke from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, I would die from happiness,” says Erick Macias

Other popular nominees that fans have suggested for the next Smash would be Banjo-kazooie from the N64 classic Banjo-kazooie, Paper Mario from the charming Mario Bros. spin-off series, Ice Climbers, who were playable in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Ridley, the villain from the Metroid series, Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid, Lyn from Fire Emblem, more Pokemon characters, and the list goes on.

Anticipating which characters will be in Smash 5 is the main reason why the series receives so much hype. If you’re new to the series, now is the perfect time to jump aboard the hype-train. Nintedo says there will be more information about Smash Bros. 5 this summer. Smash Bros. 5 is planned to be released late 2018, so stay tuned to Nintendo’s twitter or YouTube for information.