Brawling with Children
Henry chose Kirby, I picked Mario, and Maggie settled on Samus from Metroid. I would have bet on Princess Peach because she’s still in a princess/girly phase (yeah, thanks Enchanted) – but then again, unbeknownst to her, Samus is also a girl underneath that armor. Equilibrium = maintained! The battlefield was on top of a fast moving jet or something. Kirby swallowed me and spit fire, Mario grew to an enormous size, and Samus curled into a little ball. We all just laughed, laughed, and button-mashed!
My kids aren’t good at video games. That’s my dirty little secret, but there’s a good reason for it. As GamerDad the message is moderation. My kids have access to games, but they basically have to ask to play. Most of the time they’re busy drawing, coloring, cooking sand, finding bugs, tormenting The Gamer Hound, and talking incessantly.
I figure there’ll be plenty of time for virtual violence and mayhem when they get a bit older (Mags is 8, Hank is 5). But for now, it’s too frustrating and they get too frustrated.
Enter Super Smash Brothers: Brawl.
I want to make this clear – I don’t like this series. Or at least, I never did. In terms of fighting games I like my old school Street Fighter and Soul Calibur works for me as well. Smash Bros. just involved button mashing, lots of garish special effects, simplicty, and a high potential for random outcomes (you know, games where you can be winning and then the enemy like smashes you into goo with a super-move or whatever?)
I cracked the shrink wrap and began the 20-minute process that has me trying to remove the security tape with my nails (I do this until it really hurts), then looking around for something sharp, then slitting the tape with the sharp thing (often its not a good sharp thing – like my keys or something), then putting the sharp thing down and heading over to the game console, then realizing that there’s another tape strip on the bottom! So I have to repeat the process, starting with my nails. That’s how 20 minutes goes by. I hate that tape.) Meanwhile my kids are growing more and more agitated and before I can get the box open they’re leaping around the room with double-jumps, tossing Poke balls at each other, and … okay, okay, they were getting antsy.
So I get the shrink wrap off, pry the tape away, and make an effort to ignore my kids frantic questions of :
“What game is that?”
“Is it a movie?”
“Can we watch it?”
“Oh look, it’s a game! He put it in the bowling machine!”
I started it up and went to the title screen. We watched the movie intro and started playing the game. Whaling on each other with abandon and just enjoying the special effects, the chaos, and the combat! And you know what? I love this game! Why? Because it amounts to button mashing, lots of garish special effects, simplicty, and a high potential for random outcomes (The random outcomes can be fun, it’s the only reason both Maggie and Henry have a “Win.” I like that because, while I do throttle back on my skill when I play with the kids, I don’t really enjoy doing it.)
We played for about an hour. Countless matches almost always won by me, but it didn’t matter. What mattered were the little moments. “Dad, remember when I …” etc.,
That’s what Super Smash Brothers Brawl is all about. Frantic fun that anyone can enjoy.
Note: This game is rated T-Teen. As a parent I disagree with that and consider the violence cartoony enough to merit an E or E10. My kids are 5 and 8, and I’m 37, and we had a great time.
May 7th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Henry picked the best character. He rocks.
Smash Bros. is at its best if you’re a die hard Nintendo fan. –Cary
May 7th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Charlotte (3) is going through a big Mario / Nintendo phase right now, and we’ve played quite a bit of Smash Bros. She’s too young to play the actual game, but we have fun just seeing all the silly stuff you can do.
Of course, it also works on a different level, where hardcore players run tournaments with strict rules (that seem to remove all the fun stuff from the game). I’m expecting some angry responses to this article, because those college kids sure do take their Smash seriously.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
I wouldn’t put too much stock in the “random” outcomes thing. My 9-yo routinely whips my tail in SSBB. There’s definitely strategy and skill involved*. Although, with a 5-yo, it really is just button-mashing. My 4-yo plays and essentially just stands in one spot and punches until she gets knocked off the stage. Rinse-and-repeat. She loves it, though.
*And my son’s complete and total mastery of Mr. Game and Watch. I HATE that little 2-D monster.
May 8th, 2008 at 2:29 am
“He put it in the bowling machine!”
Perfect line. 😉
We’ve been having fun chasing all the little in-jokes, like Solid Snake’s Codex transmissions.
May 11th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I’ve never been a fan of any of the Mario Bros. stuff myself (maybe because I’m not a console gamer and maybe because you couldn’t turn around without seeing it), but I had a decently enjoyable time running around listening to all the bling-blings and the zooms. I’m also not really a fan of the fighting games (maybe because I’m not any good at them ;-)), but this sounds like a lot of fun! Cartoony and random sounds like my kind of game to play with the kids! So, which console is this for? I let my son buy a PlayStation (#1, not 2 or 3 ;-)) at a yard sale a while ago, but I somehow doubt GamerDad still has one of THOSE around .
As an aside – the one Playstation game we have right now is Army Men. Remember that game?
May 16th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
I just wanted to share that my little story of playing this game with my mom and little sister. They both really liked it, though they didnt understand everything. My mom mostly just stood in one place, smashing the two button. I walked into her punches to try and make things more fun. My sis, who is more game savvy, faired better. We played the single player mode together, and if it wasnt for her, I might not have finished it. It’s nice that Smash is a game that all families, regardless of age, can enjoy, since I’m a big fan of the series.
Oh and Simon, us college arent that bad. At least I’m not ;). I think the beauty of the Smash games is that they can be enjoyed in any way the player desires. My friends and I play by those strict rules all the time and we have a blast. However, there’s nothing like turning all the items on high and watching the choas ensue.