Finding something for your kids to enjoy that is not video games? For most parents that is definitely a priority, and in many cases the best thing is sports related. Unfortunately, this can strongly deter unathletic kids from doing what they may actually love. Though many parents often find that video games are simply a fad or a waste of time, what it really can be is a passion, and something that surprisingly may benefit their children in the long run. But there is a challenge, and that challenge is finding something that most adults would consider “wholesome”. What most parents fear is having their children influenced by a culture of violence and sexuality that is overall way too overbearing in our society. In search of a solution, parents need to find something both mentally stimulating, kid friendly, and most importantly fun that they can interact with their kids in, while allowing their kids to find themselves in it as well. Though these guidelines seem almost impossible to meet in a video game, where 85% of video games in the market contain some sort of violence (Scutti), one video game series from Nintendo seems to stand alone, and that series is Super Smash Brothers. Super Smash Brothers is a series that contains a unique blend of fighting game and party game structure that works perfectly for all age groups. The game itself evolves as people grow up, from going from something that can be played with friends, to something that can really take on the form of a skill and improve cognitive functions. Most likely the best part about it is that it opens up a connection with most parents and their younger children, as they both get to enjoy playing with the same Nintendo character that they too most likely grew up playing with. Thus, it is important to delve into the specifics of Super Smash Bros content, from its casual gameplay, to its more competitive style of gameplay, which has a rich history of unlikely beginnings. What this essay really is, is how Super Smash Brothers, showing diversity and challenge in the way it is played can benefit younger gamers through practice and hard work, as well as sportsmanship in both a competitive and causal setting. Hopefully in the end, parents can find that yes, they can be proud that they’re kids play video games, because they can say that their kid is a good Super Smash Brothers player, competitive or not.

Casual gaming; the purpose is to have fun simply playing. This subject is likely the easier one to promote because of the lack of time commitment needed to participate. This style of gaming is one that is built to bring the family together, make friends, and simply have good time. With Super Smash Brothers, that was the entire intention, and for a majority of the people playing it, the series was amazing as it was. Super Smash Bros was always made to be a party game, and it was extremely successful in doing so. The amount of content would leave a gamer’s head spinning. One could play events, play an amazingly rich story, or play fun mini games, the options seemed limitless. But, when it comes to what makes Smash so social, it is all about the items. For the most part, parents fear that their children become anti-social through video games, yet Nintendo through Super Smash Brother found a way to make a kid want to play with others such as their friends. One on one gameplay with friends with items was the perfect answer. It allowed kids to play games casually yet with more intensity and excitement, and protected against the sadness that comes from losing, since there was no way to tell what item one would get next. In the end, many psychologists still think that video games cause aggression (Scutti), yet Super Smash Bros came out as one of those games with fighting that went against that stigma. Though, if there is any better reason to let one’s child from getting more readily involved in Super Smash Bros, it is that many adults can fully related to the characters their children are playing with such as Mario or Pac-man. If anything, simply playing as a family can actually bring more bonding in a world where technology is changing more quickly than ever and dividing generations farther apart. That, when it comes to playing video games, is something that Smash brings that is deeper than the game itself, and hopefully through discussing competitive smash later on, will show that the impact that Smash has casually is only scratching the surface of how deep this game series really is.

“You’ll never be the best. You’ll be good, but you’ll never the best” (Glixel). That statement came from Juan Debiedma’s father, who he struggled to have a stable relationship, struggling with many personal issues. Debiedma, a Jigglypuff main also known by his stage name Hungrybox would go on to prove him sorely wrong, but the struggle to get to the almost unreachable level of being the best in the second of the four Super Smash Bros games, Super Smash Bros Melee, is nearly unimaginable. Competitive Smash is easily imagined as a bunch of guys who sit around a television and try hard to beat their friends for fun with no items, but that idea is not even in the same ball park. Competitive Super Smash Bros is the most direct call-out to who has the best strategies, character match-up knowledge, and fastest reactions.  Super Smash Bros also varies widely across all four games, encompassing vastly different communities between each game. This differentiation comes solely from the widely changing game mechanics between each game. One might even speculate that Super Smash Bros has been through a Goldilocks affect. Super Smash Bros 64 started off simple, with mechanics that were not too fast, yet not too slow. But then when Super Smash Bros Melee came out, and the series took a turn towards extremely fast movement that could simply be seen as being more visually entertaining and more physically challenging to keep up with. After this, Super Smash Bros Brawl was released, and this game almost unhinged the momentum that Super Smash Brothers had riding on it, and many competitive Smash players quickly came to realize that Nintendo was forcing the game to be suited towards casuals. (Beauchamp, “Smash Brothers Documentary”) The problem was that everything about the game had slowed down, and more troubling was that game physics such as air maneuvering were also much slower. The question now was, what would Nintendo do to bring back its increasingly growing competitive players? The answer was Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS. It was not too slow and not too fast. It also created a game with fifty-eight characters that were for the most part all completely different. Through all four of these unique games, there was enough variety for anyone’s play style. It gave the kid who thought that he wasn’t good at anything the hope he or she needed to realize that they could actually be the best at something. It gave people like Hungrybox the will to believe that they could even prove one their own parents wrong. Of course, this is only one side of the spectrum to understand, and in this sense Adam Lindgren exemplifies that other half. Not only does Lindgren, a Peach main also known by his stage name Armada, show outstanding results in his gameplay, but he gets support from his family as well. But, this support runs more deeply than simply spectating, as he has players in his family as well, “older brother Alexander “Aniolas” Lindgren and young brother Andreas “Android” Lindgren”. (Wolf) Just some of these examples show the many walks of life that draw people to this game, and there are so many more like them. Overall, this series as a whole is designed to bring people together, and the community has gone above and beyond to bring every type of person to the best of their abilities. Yet, it is still understandable to be skeptical, because sentimentality does not for the most part outweigh the affects that video games can have on the mind of the players who both play casually and competitively. 

To most conscientious parents, there is nothing more important than their child’s physical and mental well-being. So, when discussing the potential effects of video games, it is completely understandable to be skeptical of how beneficial a series of games like Super Smash Brothers can really be. When it comes to how video games affect the brain, it is undeniable that it changes the brain, but the true question is, is it a positive or a negative affect? According to the article, "Action Video Game Playing Is Reflected In Enhanced Visuomotor Performance And Increased Corticospinal Excitability.", results have come up, “support(ing) the notion that actionVGPs display higher overall visuomotor speed”. (Morin-Moncet, Oliver, et al.) What is really fascinating is that when it comes to the speed at which people react, those who play games react much faster, and in a game especially like Super Smash Bros, this could not be truer. At the same time, video games too have the capabilities of helping with some gamers attention spans, as discussed in the book, Video Games: Parents’ Perceptions, Role of Social Media and Effects on Behavior. When discussing the cognitive potential of video games, it brings out, “that experienced video gamers that play action video games have better performances in selective attention, and also have better visual discrimination.” (Graham pg. 32) It is very interesting see how successfully video games actually are at keeping the mind active and improving on various skills that could be beneficial to a child in the future. Yet, benefits in cognitive functions for some parents still is only one side effect of video games, and the main fear, especially in competitive gaming, is the aggression that fostered through it.

Like any sport, playing games to win can become extremely intense, and Super Smash Bros is no exception to this outcome. As the article “Does it matter with whom you slay? The effects of competition, cooperation and relationship type among video game players” points out, “Within the field of video games research, competition also has emerged as a significant predictor for aggression post-game play.” (Waddell) Though this may be true, Super Smash Bros on a tournament level is actually the opposite of standard online competition. Since there is a community backing Smash Brothers, it is much easier to get to know your competitors and thus become friends. Waddell actually states this exception as well, writing “playing with a friend increased engagement in a task, feelings of spatial presence, and a more positive emotional response compared to playing with a stranger or a computer.” (Waddell). Though it could be too easy to throw every video game under the bus as being the same, community changes the mentality of how the game is played. Knowing the person and understand that they too have practiced hard to obtain their skills and master their craft brings to the forefront mutual respect that works perfectly to eliminate negativity and quell aggression. Of course, this is not to say that Super Smash Bros is completely void of such reactions, but in many cases positive reactions do outweigh the negative ones that may arise, as research found in the article “Competitive Video Game Play: An Investigation of Identification and Competition” states, “playing competitively against another person (even if separated physically) results in higher levels of enjoyment compared to playing alone.” (Griffiths et al.) Yet again, Super Smash Bros bring out this enjoyment as the competitive scene grows stronger and stronger as the years go on. 

As Esports becomes more established, it is exciting to see what impact it will have on the Super Smash Bros community. It is amazing to see that not only Smash, but many other video game communities are growing as firmly established sports in our society. In this case, it is important to acknowledge that what your child might be going through is not simply just a fad but something that will carry on into adulthood, similarly to how “Sports often go beyond simple games to something that individuals identify and relate to throughout their lives”. (Griffiths et. al.) But, although they may enjoy playing it, just as someone in high school plays baseball on a team, they may not be good enough to become professional in it. Yet, this does not mean that the passion dies there, as many MLB fans can prove, and so in that sense a gamer can become passionate about watching competitive video games. In this sense, do not think that allowing your kids to spend hours practicing a game was for naught, because even if it does not work out, the passion will always be there. Even more so, the gaming community has always thrived on this type of spectatorship since the beginning, as the article “Now you’re playing with audience power: the work of watching video games” states, “Sociocultural studies of arcade and LAN parties demonstrate that spectatorship has always been fundamental to digital play.” (Taylor) And, without trying to sound overly melodramatic, this is truly how the community survives, and to embrace the world of Super Smash Bros, or any other high skilled game for that matter, truly helps everyone enjoy the passion that we all share together. It may just be a game, but for most who play it, it brings so much more joy and meaning to life. 

It’s easy to dismiss games as just a way to kill time, and in some ways, they can be just that. But, with a game series like Super Smash Brothers, it brings so much more to the table than most games can. Super Smash Bros truly is a game series that brings unparalleled variety to its content, helping give many kids a way to hone their skills, learn to play with others casually with friends and family, or even master the game in a competitive tournament setting. Though this piece has never been to convince someone to go out and buy the game, it has been to ask that one whose child buys be not too quick to judge the investment of time put into the game. Again, these games are meant to be played with others, and playing as a parent with their children could really help to connect in ways that they may not have even thought possible. And finally, Super Smash Bros is a competitive game at its heart, and when one gets involved in the competitive scene, know that these skills that your child have been practicing do translate over to the real world and they can make a difference from cognitive skills, to social skills. Know that they are investing time, not so much so because they do not have anything better to do, but rather because the game itself is something that they love to do. Hopefully someday Super Smash Bros will be more well known for the content it offers, but until that day, give it a shot, try playing Smash Brothers, and enjoy the most competitive party game ever made.
