When Nintendo decided to amass a group of their most beloved characters and force them to duke it out in the arena, they chose to do away with many of the fundamental principles of the beat em up genre. Gone are the finely tuned gameplay and complex combos that you must spend hours memorising in other fighting games, replaced by the hectic battle of 25 of Nintendos most iconic characters featuring the likes of Mario, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Samus and Link. You can even obtain a fully-playable Mewtwo by leaving the game on for 20-hours (with the push to be environmentally friendly, we dont think this would go down too well nowadays though). Super Smash Bros. deviates further from beat em up traditions as inflicting the most damage doesn't necessarily guarantee victory. Inflicting damage on an opponent gives you a higher percentage chance of knocking them out of the stage, but anyone can feasibly be eliminated at any time, regardless of how dominant theyve been in the round so far. This creates an incredibly hectic gameplay atmosphere unlike one seen in any other fighting game. Playing this awesome beat 'em up with three friends locally is easily one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences available, earning it its high place on this list.
Hailing from South East London, Sam Heard is an aspiring writer and recent graduate from the University of Warwick. Sam's favourite things include energy drinks, late nights spent watching the UFC with his girlfriend and annihilating his friends at FIFA.
