Super Smash Bros: 10 Game Franchises We NEED To See

Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros franchise has always been a gaming experience built on outright enjoyability.

The premise of bringing characters from various universes together and pitting them against one another is fairly ludicrous (particularly as ‘realistic’ characters have been brought in to jostle with Nintendo’s traditional ‘cartoony’ cast), but there are few things more entertaining than putting all of your favourites on one screen and having a massive scrap with friends, AI or opponents online.

Each of Nintendo’s last five consoles has seen the release of a Super Smash Bros title and whilst the Nintendo 64 original back in 1999 boasted just 12 of Nintendo’s core characters, the most recent offering on the Switch, Ultimate, has a whopping 82 when all of its downloadable content is taken into account.

Many of the debutants on Ultimate are from non-Nintendo franchises, a trend that begun with the inclusion of Sonic the Hedgehog and Metal Gear’s Solid Snake back in the Wii’s Brawl. The likes of Street Fighter and Final Fantasy are now represented as well, in tandem with more left-field choices like Persona and Fatal Fury.

Character wishlists have always been a big part of the Smash Bros fan community and here is one boasting 10 more franchises that should join the ever-growing party. The self-imposed caveats are that they must have significant ties to a Nintendo console (so no Sony and Microsoft first-party exclusives).

Worms is a franchise that can certainly match Super Smash Bros in terms of offering a mix of outrageous carnage and entertainment. Using combinations of exploding sheep, concrete donkeys, old women and holy hand grenades to blow opposing teams into smithereens has always been psychotically satisfying, particularly if said teams contain players that want to drill and blowtorch their way through the terrain rather than go for the kill.

Though it debuted on the Amiga (and subsequently went to PC) back in the 90s, the vast majority of recent Worms games have been released on Nintendo consoles, including a handful of exclusives. The franchise hasn’t really been the same since it made the transition from 2D to 3D, but gamers who once whittled away the hours with bazookas and banana bombs still hold its in high regard.

A Worms character (Boggy B being the default choice as the only named invertebrate of note) would therefore mesh very well with the existing Super Smash Bros cast. By including several of the series’ most iconic weapons in crates, the hilarity could be greatly enhanced by seeing the likes of Mario destroying stages with exploding cartoon weaponry, or Fox McCloud swinging all over the place with a Ninja Rope.

Some of the series’ classic taunts wouldn’t go amiss either. Hearing an enemy worm scream ‘STUUUUUPID’ was an insult that had to be avenged!