also known as Nintendo All-Star! Dairantou Smash Brothers
Nintendo 64
🇬🇧
Reviewed in 1999
80
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✪ Reviewed on June 29, 2026
72
The original Japanese release of Super Smash Bros. Twelve Nintendo stars fight on dynamic arenas, founding an entire genre. The handling stuns with its immediacy, four-player is a riot and the percentage-and-knockback formula stays a stroke of genius to this day.
Your verdict
Category
Fighting4 players12+
Description
Revolutionary fighting game uniting Nintendo icons in dynamic arenas with a percentage damage system. Developed by HAL Laboratory, published by Nintendo, released in 1999 in Australia. Twelve Nintendo characters, themed arenas, simultaneous 4-player multiplayer, and solo mode.
Super Smash Bros. review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
Re-orchestrating Nintendo's emblematic themes with energy, the music turns every arena into a vibrant homage to the company's heritage. Triumphant brass and familiar melodies galvanise the fights with an infectious joy. This first great, jubilant medley laid the sonic foundations of a cult saga.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Bringing Nintendo's mascots together to throw them into a brawl where you knock rivals off the screen: the founding idea strikes through its simplicity and genius. The handling is instant, the fun immediate, and the four-player mode guarantees joyful chaos. First of a legendary line, it lays the foundations of a party classic.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Knocking opponents clean out of the arena by ramping up their damage percentage flips the rules of versus play and sparks unpredictable matches that beg for a rematch. Unlocking fighters and stages keeps you eager to try every combination. The roster stays thin next to the sequels, yet this founding concept holds a formidable pull in multiplayer.
Super Smash Bros. in its Australian release, the rarest PAL form of this genre founder. The Australian printing was markedly smaller than the European or USA editions, and sealed stock reaches the heights typical of N64 territorial rarities. Loose copies stay affordable since the game sold well, but the value of complete and especially sealed Australian copies far exceeds the other regions, the classic secondary-PAL gap.
A cult cover
On the Japanese version "Dairantou Smash Brothers," the heroes take on the look of poseable figurines that a mysterious hand seems to bring to life, a nod to the game's make-believe frame. The more narrative layout and colorful background tell a toy brawl rather than a plain face-off. A regional variant that adds a layer of mischief to the image.
Is Super Smash Bros. still worth playing in 2026?
The original Japanese version of Super Smash Bros., Dairantou Smash Brothers invents a new fighting genre where Nintendo icons, from Mario to Pikachu, clash in dynamic arenas with a singular principle, knocking the opponent off the screen rather than draining a health bar. The immediate accessibility, the unsuspected depth and the pleasure of up to four player multiplayer founded a cult saga. The production has aged against the sequels, but the idea stays brilliant. For a Nintendo fan, a versus fan or someone curious about Smash's origins, the title keeps an intact freshness.
