Smash Series

Smash, is a series of fighting games published by R.O.B. Inc, featuring characters from established video games. The gameplay differs from traditional fighters for focusing on knocking opponents out of the stage instead of depleting life bars. The original Smash, released in 2008 for the Wii and PS3. The next to come out was Smash II, released in 2011 for the Nintendo Wii, PS3 and newly Xbox360. The third installment, Smash III: Fight for Paris, was released in 2013 for the Wii U and PS4. There is a new installment being developed for the Xbox One named, Smash III: The New Fusion Universe. There have also been one spin-off for the DS, Smash DS. Although HAL Laboratory has been the developer of the first three titles, the fourth game was developed by a cooperation of different developers.

The game features many characters from most popular games, like Mario, Fox, Link, Kat, Solid Snake, Princess Peach and Mickey Mouse. The original Smash had 18 characters, and the number rose to 30 characters in Smash II and 39 in Smash III. For the DS the characters were deduced to 17 characters. As of now the fourth installment has been rumored to have 50 characters overall. Some characters are able to transform into different forms that have different styles of play and sets of moves. The games also feature non-playable characters as well. In Smash, there was one special character added, Meatboy. In Smash II, there was one more special character with Meatboy, Ashley Mizuki Robbins from Another Code. In Smash III, Meatboy was once again a special character but with two more different characters, NiGHTS from NiGHTS Into Dreams and Angry Bird from Angry Birds. The newest installment so far is rumored to also feature Meatboy again with 4 others. The series has been well received by critics, with much praise given to the multiplayer mode, So far, all four games have been directed by Robbie Nochs.

Smash (2006)
Main article: Smash Smash was introduced in 2008 for the Wii and PS3. It was released worldwide after selling over a million copies in Japan. It featured eight characters from the start, with nine unlockable characters and one DLC character, all of them created by different developers. Up to four people can play in multiplayer (Versus) mode, with the specific rules of each match being predetermined by the players. The game features a Story Mode, Classic Battle mode and a Adventure Mode. There are ten playable stages in Versus mode, eight based on each of the starting characters, even containing original sprites and the original version of the Overworld theme from that game.

Smash II (2011)
Main article: Smash II Smash II was released in 2011, Smash II features 30 characters, of which 20 are available initially, more than doubling the number of characters in its predecessor. There are also 29 stages. It introduced more Story Mode, Classic Battle Mode and a new mode called, Cursed Coiled Mode which would have the player choose three characters to play as with their health bar reducing the longer they stay in battle. By the end of the game, if the player won, would be granted a Cure. The story mode has also changed a bit with a new threat and poison that starts infecting characters that the player has to play.

Smash III: Fight for Paris (2013)
Main article: Smash III: Fight for Paris Although a third Smash game had been announced long before E3 2011, Nintendo unveiled its first information in the form of a trailer on May 10, 2011, and the game was named Smash III: Fight for Paris. Though originally people thought the title was a spin-off it was revealed that it is in fact the final product for the third game and is more of a story game than the previous. The trailer featured a fight between, Nintendo's Mario, SEGA's Sonic the Hedgehog and Knuckles the Echidna and Kat from Gravity Rush fighting at the Eiffel Tower. A second trailer was released featuring a cutscene between, Kat, Ezio from Assassin's Creed and Raven from DC Comics before Kat and Raven start to fight. A final trailer was revealed with Mario confronting Link and Zelda in front of a huge building, warning them that this isn't the right thing to do. Smash III: The Fight for Paris was released in Japan on January 31, 2013, in North America on March 9, 2013. The game features a total of 39 playable characters and 41 stages. Smash III, features a new Story Mode titled; The Fight for Paris which features a new storyline with new graphics and surprising twists to classic characters. Again the game also features Classic Battle Mode and Adventure Mode.

Smash DS (2009)
Main article: Smash DS On March, 2009 a new game was announced for the DS titled; Smash DS. It brought in the new mechanics of the DS and the first of a Spin Off. Two trailers were released two days before the release of the game, The first featured Mario, Kat, Sonic, Kirby and Link fighting and then showcasing a new special boost move for each character shown; This would soon be called Smash Booster Move. A second trailer was released featuring a cutscene and then a battle sequence for new fighters, Mega Man, Vivian from Paper Mario and DLC character, Meatboy. Smash DS was released in April 15, 2009. The game features a deduced total of 17 playable characters and 10 stages. Smash DS, features a Mini Story Prequel titled; The Cursed Talisman which details a little bit of events that trigger the next games plot. Again the game also features Classic Battle Mode.

Smash III: The New Fusion Universe (Unknown)
Main article: Smash III: The New Fusion Universe Lately after the last game was made in mid-2013, Another game was said to be in development and was due in either late 2014 or early 2015. As of now the roster was brought to 50 with 5 DLC characters and 40 stages. It was announced sometime later that the story mode would be set in 3 location: France, Gotham City and Odyssy. It was also announced that Mario, Kat, Knuckles, Sonic, Link, Fox, Ezio, Peach and Mega Man would be once again being veterans to the game. New characters announced as main characters to the story/roster is Goombella, Kratos and Tron Bonne. So far only 2 DLC characters have been confirmed: Meatboy and Rosalina.