I return to Into the Aether because they continually pull at my heartstrings, the very core of me. From this week’s episode, Dice of Fate:

Smash for 3DS is weirdly the lost Smash game because the 1st game is like its own series, it plays so differently from the rest. I think the 64 one is awesome, but it’s very different and a lot slower. Melee, obviously, is Melee and hasn’t really left the conversation at all. And then Brawl was like the Star Wars prequels of the Smash games where it’s still in the conversation because people hate it so much. It highlighted what Melee did so well.

I played so much Brawl. Brawl was out towards the end of high school and beginning of college for me, so most of my college experience is probably playing Brawl with Dominic Nero in his dorm room, just like chatting about whatever while slipping as King Dedede. It’s a fun game, but it’s interesting to see people now yearn for Subspace Emissary when it was dunked on when it came out. Everyone was like, “this is such a slog to get the characters.” And now it’s like, “without Subspace Emissary you can’t call it Smash Ultimate.”

Aside from the part about Dom, I resonate with this so much. I’m a Smash kid through and through. I was hooked from the first time I saw Samus’ charge beam on the N64. High school and college was filled with nights of mix of Brawl and Melee.

Not to brag but I was famous (infamous?) for kicking everyone’s ass as Lucas with a sideways Wii Remote while everyone else demanded a “real” controller (Gamecube, natch). You can’t stop greatness.