Super Smash Brothers for the Wii is rated E-10 for its cartoon violence but exactly because of that cartoon violence I grabbed it off the shelf. It was a special night last Friday. Maggie and her mom were at the premiere of High School Musical 3 so it was just Henry and I. Oh, and my buddy Zane. Zane’s my gaming friend and he’s stood by me through two hospital emergencies. A good friend. We test split-screen multiplayer on M games for this site, we play Madden, and we rock. Henry usually doesn’t get to play with Zane, so to the boy, this was a special treat. Oh yes, Super Smash Bros. was the perfect choice!

Zane played exotic characters like the Ice Climbers, Samus, Star Fox, and WaLuigi. I ranged from Link to Donkey Kong to Luigi, Henry LOVES Mario, but he also tried that midget knight and rocked our worlds as Pikachu.

I won most of the fights and normally Henry has a slight problem with that but this night was special and somehow Zane usually ended up at the bottom (I spent most of my time beating up Zane, I confess).

“I beat you Zane” Henry would say slyly each time. “But daddy beat me” he’d add with a grin.

It went this way for about 6 games and then Zane actually won one. That couldn’t stand and I could see Henry didn’t like being third. But that was just a fluke because as soon as Henry picked Picachu it was all over but the electricuted monkey hair and ice climbing equipment. Seriously, that yellow thing destroyed us and Henry won three games in a row!

To be fair Zane has never played Smash Brothers and I’ve never done more than dabbled. It’s still mainly a button masher for me, and for Henry, which is why I recommend it for kids under 10 despite the cartoon violence.

This is a game where you can sit on the couch. There’s no motion sensing really, you turn the remote like a gamepad. But Henry, to Zane’s amusement, was dancing, punching, kicking, twirling, and crying out. Getting into the game in a visceral way that left his exhausted. Who says gaming isn’t excercise?

I’m sure the game is much more thoughtful, offering a wide range of items and character quirks that take some time to get the timing down. I’m glad I don’t know how to play the game that way actually, I’ll learn how as Henry improves. He’s still the student and I’ll remind him of that next time we play, but he’s a student who has found his weapon. A yellow squirrel thing named Pikachu.

Tags: Misc