I remember feeling like Super Smash Bros is a “straight person” game as a kid. Whenever a group of guys I was with got together to play Wii, I’d cross my fingers in secret that we pick Wii sports or Super Mario rather than the ‘fighting’ game. So it popped out on spec list right away as a game to view now as an adult through a more critical feminist lens, and specifically look at how masculinity and femininity are evoked in game mechanics, and if ‘combat’ games can ever be truly inclusive.
I played Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, created by Masahiro Sakurai for the Nintendo Switch. The game targets a broad audience ranging from casual players to competitive gamers.
I argue that Smash inherently perpetuates patriarchal structures through it’s core fighting mechanics that prioritize “knockback,” where players must force opponents off the platform to win. This mechanic emphasizes physical dominance and control as the only win condition path, generating the non-inclusive power dynamic. In other words, this game fails, as Chess so aptly put it, to “rethink [the] opportunity of control within a power dynamic.” Inclusivity requires granting agency. People of all gender identities need to have a “desire for ‘control'” met; as Chess says, we need to be able to “exert our agency within a system weighted against us.” Having dominance and control as the only means for combat alienates people’s whose identities don’t align with that value. Smash could be greatly improved by adding combat styles that are less directly confrontational and more strategic rather than just brute force and domination.
I don’t feel that Super Smash Bros fails to be inclusive due to something banal like having fewer female characters than male, having fighting mechanics that are feminine or perpetuate ‘stereotypes,’ or even having the word “Bro” in the name. I think femininity is beautiful and powerful, and there’s nothing anti-feminist to me about Princess Peach beating the crap out of Mario with a parasol rather than a baseball bat or existing confidently in a traditionally masculine fighting “Bro” space. I instead argue that a game like Super Smash Bros alienated me on masculinity lines though its ultimately unary combat mechanic. And after reading Shira Chess, I now also understand that it’s not merely an issue with ‘combat’ in general as I thought as a kid – after all, there are plenty of great combat games with broad appeal, I think of Elden Ring Shadow Of The Erdtree which I and many gays love! The difference is in that game, you have the option to be a brute like a knight, but you can also be a wizard and take a less confrontational approach, accommodating different play preferences.
In this way, I don’t think the Peach character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has the qualities for inclusivity. She mainly is an up-front confrontational fighter, with a hover ability to then attack with great agility. At one point she even throws a BOMB. Basically, it’s just a masculine-appealing character with the same dominance mechanics but just with a different skin. Not truly inclusive design. Instead, Super Smash Bros needs to actually introduce diverse combat mechanics if it wants to appeal more broadly.
This is a tall order for a game that is totally built around knocking someone off a platform to win. So I think comparing Super Smash Bros to other games that incorporate different mechanics for achieving a win can highlight potential improvements. For instance, games like “Overcooked” and “Journey” focus on cooperation and exploration, providing a more inclusive experience. These games emphasize teamwork, empathy, and shared goals, and thus succeed in appealing to a broader audience. Competition is more universal than dominance.
To enhance inclusivity, Super Smash Bros could incorporate additional mechanics that emphasize cooperation and strategic thinking. For example, introducing team-based modes where players must work together to achieve objectives can balance the competitive aspects with cooperative gameplay. This would allow players who prefer collaboration over direct competition to engage more fully with the game. I’m thinking it would be interesting if I had had CPU’s collaborate with me to accomplish a task rather than having to fight all of them at once in a similar way.
Representative designs that reflect the diversity of the gaming community are necessary to challenge the hegemonic masculine paradigm in most combat games. Like please I don’t want to hit anybody let me cast a spell on you or come up with a clever strategy thank you no bombs.
