Interesting Things You May Not Know About N64's Super Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros. has come a long way since its inception in 1999. Ever since, it has expanded immensely, going from a celebratory clash of Nintendo franchises to one that loops in characters from non-Nintendo franchises such as Persona, Final Fantasy, and Street Fighter. However, like plenty of other series origins, there are some interesting tidbits regarding the Nintendo 64's Super Smash Bros. that may make you want to revisit it.
For instance, the sound effects vary in certain ways between the Japanese and American releases of Super Smash Bros. Some of the effects in the American version of the game sound like they're from an entirely different franchise. Case in point: the audio of the beam sword in the original Super Smash Bros. was more akin to Star Wars' lightsaber sound effects. The reason for this isn't clear, though it could be due to the sheer popularity of Star Wars in the United States.
A (final) smashing good time
Although Final Smashes were one of the biggest evolutions in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which is often rated as a low-to-mid-tier Smash Bros. game, they had been in discussion during the development of the original title. Further conceptualization took place during the development of Super Smash Bros. Melee, though it wasn't until the Wii iteration of the series that Final Smashes were finally added as a core feature of the game. Final Smashes still remain one of the series' standout features to this day.
While the recent Super Smash Bros. Ultimate comes packed with a whopping 74 fighters (not including DLC), featuring numerous non-Nintendo characters like Persona's Joker, and Final Fantasy 7's Sephiroth, the original had only 12. Even so, Nintendo intended on packing more fighters into the release, including Bowser, Mewtwo, Marth, and King Dedede. However, the former three were saved for Super Smash Bros. Melee, while the latter made his debut in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Super Smash Bros. without Nintendo characters?
Nintendo was originally reluctant to have Super Smash Bros. pit Nintendo characters against one another. Shigeru Miyamoto himself discussed how he had to justify Mario's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Some Nintendo employees were concerned with Mario's hand-to-hand combat, to which Miyamoto responded that the famous mascot "already pulls turtles out of their shells."
However, preceding Nintendo's misgivings about Mario's appearance in the game, Miyamoto showed hesitancy toward allowing the prized Nintendo characters to fight one another. Even so, the late Satoru Iwata told Super Smash Bros. series director Masahiro Sakurai to design the first game with Nintendo characters anyway. When Iwata showed a prototype of the game — featuring Mario, Donkey Kong, Fox, and Samus — to Miyamoto, he was so impressed that he gave game developer HAL Laboratory the go-ahead to use the Nintendo characters for the final release.
Fans will never know how popular the series might have been without the characters, but something suggests that the lack of star power would have severely hindered its notoriety in the fighting game genre.