Today, Sora, a beloved character to many was revealed as the final character to be added to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate video game. When I reflect on all of the joy I’ve felt whenever a character gets revealed and how often I’ve broken down into tears at the mere announcement that there is simply another character in a pile of now over 80 others than you can play, it boggles my mind how head-to-toe the absolute rush of ecstasy can be. I can compare this to a sports team winning at the buzzer, or what I imagine winning the lottery feels like.
In this blog post, I’m going to express the grateful history I have with the reveal of new fighters in the game, dissecting some chemicals I’ve felt along the way. Random articles on the internet deduced four main chemicals of feeling joy to be dopamine, oxytocin, seratonin, and endorphins. There is surely more to joy, but I will be focusing this post on these four emotions and how I’ve felt it since the first invitation I can remember.
Dopamine
Video games are a clear catalyst and provider of dopamine. Just picking up a controller and pressing buttons give me a noticeable dopamine rush. Especially as you grow muscle movement in this platformer fighter, and feel progression as you “land a combo” or win/lose a game, Super Smash Bros since the very beginning had me sucked in. The first time I got hyped for a Smash Bros reveal, it was by simply unlocking characters in Smash 64 and Melee.
Before getting a trove of knowledge about a video game and surfing GameFAQs, I had no idea who these new characters were. And unlocking new characters is perhaps the main form of progression in these games. They were the best metric of value, and always incredibly exciting. I remember the first time I saw Captain Falcon’s Falcon Punch in Smash 64, or Mewtwo in Melee and absolutely lost my mind. I also was able to recognize certain characters I got to unlock versus others. I was noticeably more excited to discover Mewtwo than Roy or Mr. Game and Watch since I knew who Mewtwo was. When you get a new character in a game you are already in love in, and you get the experience to enjoy more of it in more ways, it is an incredible feeling.
Then came the announcement of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. This time, I was in junior high school when it came out, and I spent years refreshing the Super Smash Dojo, a website that announced new secret characters, mechanics, and stages.
God, just looking at this screen gives me a rush.
Every day, I would find some time before, during, or after school to find a computer and look to see if there was any new updates on this website. I craved the knowledge. I wanted to feel that elation of new content, for a game that wasn’t even out yet.
By the time the game came out, I new every character that was in the game. I knew some characters that were already in, and some I didn’t know about before. But I made it my mission to understand, embrace, and find reasons to be hyped for every character.
Oxytocin
If you know me personally and you’re reading this blog, you know I crave engaging with others in what I’m passionate about. I mean, that’s the only reason this blog exists. Most of my friends play or played Smash Bros, and I don’t think that this is a coincidence. Being able to share this deep love and passion I have with others elevates my excitement for more. I compare it to the moment in a sports game where your team scores a critical point in the final moments and everyone looks to those they came with and begin embracing one another.
Since Smash Bros is a multiplayer experience designed to be shared, it’s easy to share joy in this game with others. In junior high, I made a low quality video for a school computer project, where the assignment was to make a video using Premiere. The video had to be only a couple minutes, and I decided to create a 15 minute video highlighting my hype for Smash Bros, explaining why all of the new content was a big deal. To my friends, this was neat and nerdy at best, but of course no one else gave a shit. I didn’t make this video for them, but I do feel joy in sharing the enthusiasm I have about the world.
In the era of Smash 4 which came out 6 long years later, Nintendo gave each new character its own reveal trailer. Mega Man was the first character that made me realize how other people on the internet found these things hype enough worth sharing their reaction on.
Smash 4 had loads of reveals, until it was done. Then.. it wasn’t done, as there was DLC. The launch trailer revealed Mewtwo returning in the form of DLC, and new hype was born. This time, each reveal added a new sentiment as they added to what I’d consider to be a full game. During college I rallied friends for reveal trailers as Nintendo announced when they would reveal the next character (sometime, or you randomly wake up to it like Ryu) and I engaged in years of “who’s next” debates.
In these moments of revealing and speculating, I loved to share and I loved to see what others thought. I explored who was out there and hyped, friends and strangers alike. I partook in sharing their excitement, learning all about the detail and artistic homage added in each trailer, which I began to treat as more of a tribute.
When Cloud got revealed for Smash 4 I was peak hyped for a Smash reveal. There were certain internet personalities I could depend on expressing visible hype in a way that validated my emotions. Etika (RIP) had my favorite Cloud reaction, as you can see just how overjoyed he was. I’d scan the internet and tear up not just for my nostalgia and joy, but also through seeing everyone else’s. I adored scanning each reaction video I could find, seeking for who knew their beloved franchise was going to be entering Smash before anyone else knew it within the trailer, just by hearing a certain violin sting in the opener, or the way the stars look. In these moments you can see how deeply impactful people getting their character into Smash truly can be.
During the announcements of DLC, Nintendo created a poll asking for everyone’s character that they wanted.
I had three characters I wanted most, but I voted for my most wanted, Banjo & Kazooie, a nostalgic icon for me. This ballot created buzz. There were visible efforts to continue bringing the hype train and the sky was the limit.
What were dopamine hits to Dojo blog posts became dopamine hits to speculative 4chan thread nonsense and “leaks.” This spurred an entitled time for the Smash community, where everyone felt they wanted their character in, but were disappointed for any other result. Then, once you got your character, the battle for your 2nd most wanted began, and so on. The concept of “another anime sword fighter” heightened as Corrin got announced, and as bonding as it was to find community in your hype, it was alienating to see others shit on someone else’s parade.
When I think of how I feel connected to others’ as I think of all the work put into the Smash franchise, I think of the game’s creator Masahiro Sakurai, a relatable soul who presents most of the new characters and how they work. He’s beloved by the fan base for good reason: he’s fun, he brings good news, and you never question how much he cares (almost to a fault). I feel a bond towards the creator, and I feel bonded toward the experience everyone else is having as they feed us more and more.
Serotonin
I’d imagine serotonin would be the most present chemical in my head as I pump the Smash trailer through my eye veins.
As future trailers go on, there is an announcement for the announcement. We get to know when to lose our collective minds. I prepare for the announcement as a sports fan would prepare for their favorite team of 15 years finally gets to the playoffs and you watch the first post-season game… not that I would know.
When a character gets revealed in a game you’ve played and enjoyed, there is this rush of pride and loyalty. That you accomplished the feat of getting a character you praise in this esteemed game, and now your recognition will be revealed.
As the final character Bayonetta was revealed for Smash 4, it was indicated that this selection was the top vote in the aforementioned ballot (#democracywins) that they could reasonably put in, which resulted in collective enjoyment, knowing there were so many happy people out there (until it was discovered that the character was broken and ruined higher competitive play, becoming unbearable to watch).
Only a couple (long feeling) years later came the announcement of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Talk about a feeling of recognition.
Below is my favorite reaction of any reveal of all time.
What a reveal. It chokes me up more than any other reveal. The constant awareness that YOUR character from a past game will be in this game with the clinch: Everyone is Here. What a beautiful sight, as everyone rejoiced, sharing in the bond of this feat.
Your main is in. They are all here. The trailer told each Smash fan personally: “You did it. We did it.”
That’s what feels so special about this game.
During E3 2018, I felt a rushing sense of community as the crowd chanted the DK Rap. There are so many passionate people that get as hype as I do.
Seeing how hungry the community will always be for more, Nintendo doubled, tripled down on DLC. Each character was from a different game, and each Nintendo announcement was met with hopes and prayers for a quick hit of Smash content.
The character I wanted got in. Then I saw a crowd reaction. It was a surreal experience, and I remember exactly where I was, eating lunch at an intentionally different time in the break room of a place I used to work at. I sobbed at the reveal and needed extra time to gather myself before I could return to work. I felt a tremendous wave of pride and dare I say accomplishment. I told myself I HAD to main Banjo & Kazooie, or at least play the everlasting shit out of them, as a means of accountability and belonging, and to show my self-expression through a franchise so important to me.
Endorphins
When Banjo got revealed, I felt a rush that lifted me through the day, through the weeks, through the months. It was similar to the rush I felt when I unlocked my first character in Smash Bros, or when Cloud made it, but heightened and tuned to a degree of just feeling high as a kite on cloud nine.
With each of the 10 (11 if you count PPlant) reveals, I was ecstatic, even for games I never played like ARMS or Xenoblade 2. Their legacies and communities add something extra to the game every time. When Sephiroth got revealed, I was overjoyed and bonus so because I felt it was a character my partner would be hyped to play. When Kazuya was revealed, a solid chunk of the Tekken community poured into Smash, expressing their gratitude and pride for their guy. When Steve/Alex from Minecraft got revealed, a monsoon of younger gamers got introduced into the scene.
And now, today, Sora, my second biggest hope got in at the last spin. Coming on the 12th hour since the reveal trailer, my body is finally starting to regulate. All day I’ve experienced this high, like I’m on the top of the world. The thrill and hype of each trailer and the euphoria I feel each time is an experience I find unique to the masterclass of a Smash reveal. They are truly the best in the business at delivering on the mystery and intrigue, despite the entitled ramblings of the community.
I have burned *pun intended* into my brain the frame I knew what was to be delivered, and the countless replays and reactions I’ll watch for years to come. Like this one, I have the exact frame of many other reveals where I whaled of pure joy, like when a Jiggy bounced along the ground.
But that’s the thing, I get why the Smash community feels entitled and always wants more. Since I was 6, I was given more, more, and more beyond my wildest hopes with this franchise. As I come to Earth with reasonable limitations, like how obscenely hard it is to design and balance a massive platform fighter (trust me I tried), or how hard it would be to get the approval of so many esteemed 3rd party rival companies with strict IP laws, let alone a single one – the mold continues to get broken with the Smash Bros. series. It is perhaps the greatest gaming crossover I’ll experience in my lifetime, and I have my doubts it can ever happen again.
A Bittersweet Conclusion
It was always more “hype” to get the reveal than to actually play one of my favorite games of my life. The promise of elevated relevance. A validation that your passion is worth taking to the top.
As the last character and content for a game I expect will be remembered and beloved for generations comes to an end, I am so grateful for the decades of proliferation I’ve had the privilege of embracing and watch grow since my earliest, most impressionable youth. It has been an important milestone for me as an individual to simply be a part of this long and fruitful journey. While it is so easy to take for granted the ride within a culture of instant gratification, this moment is for soaking in the journey. The imagination and passion I’ve felt for the intensity of intimate joy. The pleasure from a simple announcement.
huesteus 