Best of ND 2010: Super Smash Sisters

A look at the girls who duke it out in Super Smash Bros.!

By Francisco Naranjo. Posted 12/28/2010 13:00 Comment on this     ShareThis

Best of Nintendojo 2010 Award Badge
This story was selected as one of our best from 2010. It was originally published on November 4, 2010 during Issue 22: Beauty Before Brawn.

For such a vast universe of Nintendo gaming characters, there aren’t really a lot of girls in the Super Smash Bros. series. Sure, it’s a fighting game, but that hasn’t stopped other series like The King of Fighters and Dead or Alive from having a roster with plenty of female characters. Even if low in number, though, the girls in the series have a very strong presence. Let’s take a deeper look at them…

Samus

I’ve talked about Samus before. She could be considered the first Smash Sister in the series; she’s the only female starter in Super Smash Bros. that fights against male Nintendo icons like Mario and Link. Samus may be a girl, but that doesn’t mean she has to be weak or otherwise not a good fighter. Samus dominates her opponents with her long range, projectile-based combat and heavy weight. She may not look very girly wearing that Power Suit, but once she breaks free from it, it’s very evident she’s a female. She suddenly becomes quicker and probably deadlier, while sporting a tight blue suit and a simple ponytail.

Samus makes it clear that her being a girl is not a problem for her when it comes to destroying her (usually male) opponents.

Jigglypuff

Yes, there are male Jigglypuff, but they are a minority and it’s just too evident that this particular Jigglypuff is a girl. She wears bows, girly sun hats and even Princess Peach’s crown. Jigglypuff debuted in Super Smash Bros. along with Samus, but as a secret character. Unlike Samus, Jigglypuff is always a cute, innocent looking character, and quite frankly it’s difficult to take her seriously until she takes a stock from you by falling asleep. Jigglypuff is a round, pink beast – she was widely used in the first two games in the series because of her sheer destruction power, even considered to counter some of the best characters like Fox and Falco.

Being the floatiest and lightest (except for fellow Pokémon Pichu) fighter in the series, Jigglypuff is a very unique character that is not afraid to kick some male tails.

Nana

Nana is one half of the destructive duo better known as the Ice Climbers. She’s a young looking girl who wears a pink parka and fights along with Popo, her male counterpart who also happens to be her [insert whatever you want them to be relationship-wise]. Yes, Nintendo has stated that Popo and Nana’s relationship is up to the player’s imagination. I personally like to pretend Nana is Popo’s evil clone who secretly wants to kill Popo with her wooden mallet and finally shine on her own, maybe by starring “Nana’s Adventure” and becoming a true gaming celebrity.

Okay, that’s probably not what Nintendo had in mind. What is true, though, is that Nana is one tough girl. If she’s the Ice Climber you’re not playing as, she’ll always prevent you from getting grabbed and will attack your opponent to protect you. If you’re playing as Nana, even if Popo gets killed, one single climber is strong enough to score a KO with a well placed mallet swing. Nana is the “brute force” sister in the Smash Sisterhood.

Zelda

The Nintendo princess with the weird pointy ears, devastating magical attacks and who happens to be Link’s love interest. Princess Zelda is a very capable fighter, using several spells from her native series to fight other (unlucky) characters. In Brawl, she’s considered a better character than Ganondorf, which simply doesn’t make sense, but whatever. Zelda is a very serious looking woman; it’s almost like she’s always worried or sad. She has no time for girly things: she wants to destroy you as soon as possible with her broken powerful aerial lighting kicks that will kill you at very early percentages.

It doesn’t end there, though. She can transform into Sheik at will, gaining ultra fast attacks and damage-racking abilities. She’s a ninja princess; how awesome is that? The Hyrule heroine is one of the toughest girls in the game, and her attitude shows.

Peach

There’s no denying, Peach is to Super Smash Bros. what Chun Li is to Street Fighter. Peach is not only one of the most emblematic and prominent female characters in gaming history, but she’s also a very good player in both Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl. Ever since she debuted in Melee, she’s been considered a more effective character than Mario, Luigi and Bowser. Which again, doesn’t make any sense. Peach is a pink dressed princess who loves baking cakes and fights with frying pans and heart-themed attacks, it just doesn’t get any girlier than that.

Still, Peach is not someone to take lightly. She has amazing recovery and a very versatile moveset overall that makes her a deadly opponent. She has become a very important part of the series, having a central role in the Subspace Emissary mode and having a pretty good place in Brawl‘s boxart. Peach was supposed to be a playable character in Super Smash Bros. back in the N64 era, but was left out due to time constraints, along with other characters like Bowser, Pit, King Dedede, Mewtwo and Meowth.

Who’s your favorite girl in the Super Smash Bros. games? Do you think there’s a female character that should join the roster for the next game? Feel free to discuss about it in the comments section.

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