Content warning: images contain sexual content and gore
This week I played Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, a fighting game made by Bandai Namco studios and Sora Ltd. It was published by Nintendo exclusively for the Switch, and like many other Nintendo games it is meant to be accessible to family audiences. Smash is unique in the fighting game genre for focusing on accessibility to audiences beyond hardcore gamers. I was interested in bringing a feminist lens to this fun-for-the-whole-family fighting game.
In “Play like a feminist”, Shira Chess describes a framework for understanding play through a feminist lens, with two calls-to-action with specific relevance to Smash. First, she calls for games to be made accessible to audiences that have traditionally been shut out, with particular emphasis on women. Second, she argues that games have huge potential for feminist storytelling. Therefore, I wanted to know how Smash (1) brings in nontraditional players and (2) delivers on the potential for feminist narratives. I found that Smash does lots of work to bring in new players to the fighting game genre and presents a gameplay experience that challenges traditional gender norms.
I’ll tackle each of Chess’ calls-to-action one at a time. First, I found that smash does a great job making an accessible experience in a genre that has traditionally been much of a boys club. Many of the most popular fighting games appeal to a very traditional masculinity – one that is hyper-violent and sexually dominant. Many fighting games put their female characters in outfits and poses intended for heterosexual male enjoyment. They also feature extreme gore, with Mortal Kombat being a standout example as the game’s main draw is its graphic finish moves, called fatalities. The hyper-violence and hyper-sexualization of female characters makes fighting games hostile to players outside of the traditional idea of a “gamer, especially female players.
Smash, on the other hand, creates a far more lighthearted experience. The original Super Smash Bros. for the N64 opens by showing us that the game takes place in a child’s imagination, as their toys come to life and their room magically transforms into the game’s hyrule castle stage.
The same spirit of childhood play carries into the series today. Blood and gore is absent from the game, and female characters are far less sexualized. This makes the game far more approachable than most fighting games.
Fighting games that sexualize their characters treat female characters as objects of spectacle for the male players. Fighting games tend to include women for male players to ogle rather than to identify with. In Smash, female characters are not presented as merely objects of male desire, but as agents with just as much autonomy as the male characters.
Addressing Chess’ second call-to-action, Smash presents promising potential for feminist enacted and emergent narratives by challenging gendered notions of play. Smash encourages players to try out a variety of characters, even characters outside of the player’s gender. Almost every character in Smash has a unique moveset, so trying a new character can feel like a fun experience of discovery. Plus, there is a variety of female characters, none of which are less powerful than any other character. This means you’ll often see male players playing female characters, and vice versa. Encouraging cross-gender play challenges the notion that players can only identify with others of their same gender. There’s also a variety of characters that don’t fit cleanly into the gender binary. The very inclusion of these characters challenges the gender binary. Furthermore, they offer nonbinary players space to play characters they identify with while simultaneously challenging the notion that cis players need a gendered character.
In sum, Smash’s approach to the fighting game genre opens up doors for new players to enter the genre. Its female characters are agentic, a departure from most fighting games. Furthermore, the game’s diverse roster of characters creates many opportunities for feminist play. Players are encouraged to take on the role of character outside of their own gender, presenting a challenge to traditional gender norms. By encouraging players to try out a variety of characters, Smash invites players to push back against notions of hyper-violent, dominant masculinity and hyper-sexualized, docile femininity.
