It’s a new year at West Bloomfield High School, and our very own video game club is excited for what’s to come later on this year. The atmosphere is similar to that of a Christmas morning. Excitement, exhilaration, anticipation. The only difference is that this Christmas present is 77 days away. What is this Christmas present you ask? Super Smash Brothers Ultimate for The Nintendo Switch!

Last year, Video Game Club held its very first super smash tournament which was a huge success! Nearly 2 months later, Nintendo announced their next installment in the series. I talked to some of our very own video game club members about their excitement for the game. Jeremiah Sanders (12) said, ”I’m super excited for it. Ever since I was a kid, smash has been a part of my life. I would even say that at a time I dedicated my life to it. It’s an exciting game and it’s fun having new experiences. Even during the debate for whether it would be a port or a new game, it was still really exhilarating. You know it’s like a walk towards something. It’s like graduation where you’re about to go on to the next grade, it’s exciting and crazy.”  

When asked what they are most excited for, Damerius Gogoua (12) says “I’m most excited for the game mechanics, because I play a lot of super smash brothers melee which is a highly technical game, which is my favorite. But I’m also really excited for the new characters. We have Isabelle (Animal Crossing), Ridley (Metroid), and all of the characters from previous games.” Tommy Habib (11) is most excited to play with all the new and old returning characters, as well as spend time with friends playing the game. Jonah Sanders (11) says he is most excited for the competitive scene and aspect of Smash Brothers. The new game brings new mechanics, and after nearly 4 years of getting adjusted to the mechanics of the last installment, the new play style may be hard to adjust to for others. Jeremiah Sanders(12) says, “I’m also excited for the new characters, getting a competitive feel for the game, and seeing how the competitive field is going to work out. The game itself is a fun experience and I’m really hoping we get a story mode announced for it, but overall just the new game features and characters overall have me hyped for December 7th.”

When asked about how they were preparing for the new mechanics, Damerius says “The game is similar to Smash Bros, Melee and Smash 4, and I already have a good grasp on the game mechanics from my experience from those two games alone, so I’ll just be polishing my skills until the release date.” When asked who they are most excited to play as, Habib said “King Dedede. I love swinging his hammer around and saying ‘I’m the king!'” Jonah Sanders says “I want to play as Link. He’s a well-rounded character. Good speed, good attacks, and good at dealing damage.” Jeremiah Sanders says “I would say Bayonetta or Sonic, but they both got nerfed (severely downgraded), so I’ll have to go with Chrom.” I then talked to our interviewees about their preparation for the tournament coming at the end of the semester. They all had the same mindset. They want to polish their skills and prepare for the challenges that they faced last year. Jeremiah came in 3rd place in the tournament last year, which netted him a prize of $10. Despite his decent payout, Jeremiah is fighting for more success. His brother Jonah, lost to him in a quarterfinal matchup that went down to the wire. They’re both hungry for success in this new tournament.

When asked about how he’s preparing to take the throne, Jeremiah said “New game, new start. Everyone is going to be fresh and new to the game and I’ll try to get ahead of everyone by that time.”

Jeremiah isn’t the only one fighting for that crown. I highly encourage anyone that enjoys Super Smash Brothers to join Video Game Club and get a feel for the people and the tournament upcoming later this year!