It cannot be said enough that the Super Smash Bros franchise was not meant to be a hit. By the admission of its creator, Masahiro Sakurai, they were going to make an original fighting game starring new characters. But then, the shift to using Nintendo characters occurred, and the higher-ups at Nintendo wondered if gamers would mind beating up the characters they grew up playing with. The answer was an emphatic “yes!” and so a franchise was born. One that expanded on the Gamecube and reached new heights with Super Smash Bros Brawl on the Nintendo Wii. Said title turned 15 years old today, and on Twitter, fans were eager to talk about it.

The game was important for the franchise as a whole for numerous reasons. One of the biggest ones was the look of the game and the cinematics put into it. The title had a serious visual upgrade from the previous two games, and it showed. In addition, the reveal trailer for the game is still lauded due to the characters it revealed and how it revealed them. That includes starting the trend of having third-party characters arrive, with the first being Solid Snake.

The title also featured the arrival of the “Final Smash” mechanic. The finishing move was popular with fans and continued as the series continued. Another big addition was the arrival of the dedicated story mode via “Subspace Emissary.” While the mode wasn’t the most popular with fans, it was a departure from what came before, and sometimes you have to try things out to see what works and what doesn’t.

The theme of Super Smash Bros Brawl was also iconic and featured a sweeping choir score that would also carry over to the next games. Finally, the title was the first to introduce online play for the series. We grant you it wasn’t the best due to the limited capabilities of the Nintendo Wii at the time, but it was a start, and fans did appreciate playing with their friends online.

On Twitter, many fans recalled their favorite memories of the game, including getting the title at midnight or skipping work/school to get the title and play it immediately. Some even proclaimed it the best of the series, while others said the mod version, “Project M,” was better.

Either way, the title was a huge step forward and introduced many characters and mechanics that would become mainstays for the franchise. So let us know your favorite Super Smash Bros Brawl memories in the comments below.