It is first game in the Super Smash Bros. series and was released in Japan on January 21, 1999; in North America on April 26, 1999;[1][2] and in Europe on November 19, 1999.

The game is a crossover among different Nintendo franchises, including Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Metroid, F-Zero, Mother, Kirby, and Pokémon.

The game spawned a series of sequels for each successive Nintendo console, starting with Super Smash Bros. Melee, which was released for the GameCube in 2001.

[6] To knock out (KO) an opponent, the player must send that character flying off the edge of the stage, which is not an enclosed arena but rather an area with open boundaries.

[6] They fall randomly onto the stage in the form of items from Nintendo franchises, such as Koopa shells, hammers, and Poké Balls.

[12] The nine multiplayer stages are locations taken from or in the style of Nintendo franchises, such as Planet Zebes from Metroid and Sector Z from Star Fox.

[14] Characters have a symbol appearing behind their damage meter corresponding to the series to which they belong, such as a Triforce behind Link's and a Poké Ball behind Pikachu's.

Furthermore, characters have recognizable moves derived from their original series, such as Samus's charged blasters and Link's arsenal of weapons.

He made a presentation of what was then called Dragon King: The Fighting Game (格闘ゲーム竜王, Kakutō Gēmu Ryūō)[17][18] to co-worker Satoru Iwata, who joined to help on the project.

[17] Knowing that he would not get permission if he asked ahead of time, Sakurai made a prototype of the game in September 1997[19] without informing Nintendo, and did not show anyone until it was well-balanced.

[33] To promote the game's launch, Nintendo of America staged an event called Slamfest '99, held at the MGM Grand Adventures theme park in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 24, 1999.

[34] The event featured a real-life wrestling match between costumed performers dressed as Mario, Yoshi, Pikachu, and Donkey Kong, as well as stations set up for attendees to preview the game.

[35][36] The wrestling match was live-streamed on the web via RealPlayer, and was available to be re-watched for several months afterward via a downloadable file from the event's official website.

[38] Critical praise was directed towards its multiplayer mode,[7][6][11][8] music,[7] "original" fighting game style,[8] and simple learning curve.

[6] Despite acclaiming the game's graphical and audio quality, GameCritics.com noted that the fast-paced gameplay presented problems with the scoring system, stating, "It's ridiculous that the number of times you and your opponents are thrown off-stage are not tallied for you and on-screen so you to see.

"[8] GameSpot's former editorial director, Jeff Gerstmann, noted the single-player game "won't exactly last a long time".