It’s been almost seven months since we last saw Super Smash Land, Dan Fornace’s Game Boy-inspired PC demake of Nintendo’s beloved fighting franchise. Clearly it was time very well spent, as the game has now ballooned to a whopping six character, eleven stage behemoth. The final release features a classic arcade mode, four-player multiplayer, and a Polygon Team style Endless Mode, complete with support for online leaderboards.
But the best news of all is that you can exclusively download the full version right here, right now.
Download Super Smash Land for PC!
To celebrate the release, we caught up with the man behind Smash Land, Dan Fornace, to ask him a few questions about the game. Check the interview after the jump.
PG:Hey, Dan. Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Why’d you settle on the final roster that you did?
DF: Well, since the game’s inception, I knew I wanted a small roster. When I first started out, I wanted to do four characters and eight stages and get the game done quickly. But after translating the four starters into their Game Boy versions, I really wanted to take a stab at my own movesets.
The big addition that Super Smash Land brings to the series is Mega Man. I wanted him to be a good fit on the Game Boy, so I needed to make a classic Mega Man. I played through the first three NES games, gathering up and testing all the powers to create a moveset that I hope appeals to his old fans. As for the other character that fills out the roster, maybe she’s a bit of a curveball… but hey, I had a blast making her moveset!
PG: What character took the longest to design and balance?
DF: Great question! Designing was probably the classic Megaman as I mentioned. I was never a big fan, so it was a lot of fun (and challenge) to play through those old games.
As far as balancing goes, it would have to be Kirby. Since his addition as the second character in the engine (right after Mario), Kirby has gone in and out of being overpowered and underpowered, but never truly balanced. His mobility is so good, and his light weight is a huge crutch. Near the end of development he was sitting in underpowered by a bit, so I made some conservative buffs and I hope he sits up strong with the rest of the characters.
PG:How important was it to make sure the game felt like Smash? Were there any specific steps you took to make sure that avid Smash players would feel right at home?
DF:So, Smash Land has an interesting take in the series. I wanted a Smash feel without so many of the things that make Smash feel like Smash (shields, dodges, items, two attack buttons, etc.). What I tried to do was take what appealed to me from the series – spacing and character knowledge – and amplify them in a way that still felt fun.
Simplifying all attacks into one button was definitely a fun challenge. I added crouch cancelling after some feedback from Smashboards, and it really helps make the game more strategic. Crouch cancelling makes it so you can duck right before getting hit to reduce knockback time and angle.
I even brought Smash Land to a national Brawl Tournament called CoT5 ran by ChiboSempai.There I was able to get feedback directly from some of the best players in the game and it greatly helped me make final balancing touches.
PG: Now that you’ve wrapped up SSL, do you have any plans for future games?
DF: Well, I’m glad to say that I’ve gotten a job at a AAA game company doing game design. I’d like to think that this project and the publicity it has gotten was a huge factor in my offer.
I’m not sure what I’ll have time to work on, as I may go off the Internet radar for a while. I can say that I have lots of ideas floating around in my head, and this is not the last platform fighter I’ll be working on!
PG: Thanks again for talking with us. Anything you’d like to tell your fans before you go?
DF: If you have that dream game idea in your head, don’t just sit around talking about. Go online and figure out a way you can do it. Smaller is better! The Game Boy is a 160×144 screen, and this project still took me many hours of labor to get to feel right.
I’d also like to thank inversephase (my music and sfx guy) and flashygoodness (my other music guy), Matt Duffy (my web guy), Dac (my publicity guy), Piki Geek (my favorite gaming outlet), and Smashboards (my testers).
Wait, you made it all the way down here and you still haven’t downloaded the game yet? Seriously? Grab it and go play!
Is it bad that I want to quit my job and head home to play? You understand me, right? Anybody?
Turning in my 30-day notice as we speak. Out of my way, work, there are some pixels that need a beating.
Well,if thats wrong, we’re damn wrong ! =/
Its perfectly normal… I feel the same most days X(
Ahh yes, the game that made me discover this site. It’s good to finally hear something about it after so long!! Congratulations to you, Dan, and your whole team on this great game!! I’ll be playing it for a long time!
Doesn’t work on Windows 7. Anyone have a fix yet?
Make sure you unzip everything out of the folder to a new one then open up the .exe. Should work in 7 well =)
been looking forward to this ever since i saw the demo
The inversephase (music and sfx guy) link at the bottom is broken. Hyperlink is missing a letter…
Thanks for catching that! Updated. =)
Mac version? Anyone?
I second Joseph’s query.
Apparently this works in Wine on Linux and Mac. (I didn’t even know Wine was on Mac?) I can’t confirm this, though. Someone explains it a bit here: http://goo.gl/4iLO0
Mac version, please!
You guys released this WAY too early.
First of all, something like this should not be making my machine slow to a crawl to the point where I have to close and re-open the program three times and wait 15 minutes for it to start. I get that my machine isn’t capable of running Crysis 2 or something, but this really shouldn’t be such a massive drain. And even after closing every other program I can think of, the intro screen chugs along at the speed of cheese. This is a 4-colour Gameboy project. I can understand if it wasn’t possible to just make this a ROM or something, but this is ridiculous.
And I couldn’t find a way to lower the resolution of the screen to offset this problem. Right-clicking did nothing, and I couldn’t manually shrink the window. The only alternative in the Options menu gave me was to make it an even bigger problem, with a Fullscreen option.
And then I discover someone decided the jump key should be Z and the attack key should be X. Is there a way to change this? Because to not understand how awkward and backward this is, the people who worked on this would have to have never played a two-dimensional game before, which strikes me as counter-intuitive in something trying to resemble Smash Bros.
And even if you manage to wrestle your way through that, if you lose to the boss fight at the end of Arcade, you don’t get to retry. You have to start all the way back at the beginning. Maybe that’s keeping in line with the 8-bit era mentality, but that seems especially cruel to do that in a game that takes forever to load up, AND is a baffling ordeal to play.
And then making me have to do all of this before I can even SEE Mega Man in Smash Bros., let alone play as him is just twisting the knife. This was such an ambitious undertaking. I’m sure a lot of hard work went into this, but this is clearly not finished.
Hmmm, it should run on a lot of machines really well. Plays on my netbook just fine. =/ Also, you can change the controls – it’s in the options menu. (Though, I prefer using a controller.)
I agree that there should be a retry in Arcade mode, but to be fair, it’s pretty short. I’ll tell you what, here’s the cheat to unlock all the characters if you really don’t want to manually unlock them. Hit the home key at the main menu and type ‘elementimals’.
Anyway, I hope you do enjoy it! It’s a lot of fun. =)
i got the same problem¡ mi notebook can´t open the program??? only apear the gameboy icon loading?? them mi computer turns freeze??? why¡¡ i really wanna play it
Dude… it’s a guy at a university, not Bioware. Chill out.
Will there be addons or anything?
Takedown notice by Nintendo in 5….4……3…….2……
This is great and awesome thank you some much to the guys who made it and the writer of this article!!!
I can only throw bombs with Link. Also in the character select screen, the hand with the coin could not be moved.
Still, this is quite awesome.
I played with kirby for a while. There’s a problem with down+attack. Most of the time I did the suction move when I was attempting the rock kirby. :/ Sort of infuriating. Nice game though.
Will there be an option to use joypads (like a PC 360 controller) soon? I dislike the keyboard.
I think you can, with GlovePIE. I use the keyboard myself, but most people who play the game (that I know of) use a USB controller.
I was easily able to get to wireless 360 controllers running multiplayer using xpadder and the wireless reciever from microsoft. All it took was a knowledge of xpadder, a quick look at the key config and 5 minutes of setup time. Great game!
thanks, i’ll try that out.
So Dan, are you going to keep updating this game? Or are you moving on to another project now?
Hush, hush, but I have begun to look for an experience programmer who knows online Game Maker programming. If I do find one then there will be a re-release with a possible 7 character roster. If not then I will probably be working on something else in my free time =)
Very nice!! I wish you luck in your future endeavors then sir! Thank you soo much for this great experience =)
Awesome sauce… just wish I could use my USB NES Controller to play it!
Oh man. How I wish to play it with a usb nes controller. idk why but it can’t configure it. downer. pretty sweet game
Wow, just wow. Good job with the project, Dan, Brendan, flashy, and everyone else involved. Though, there are a few problems:
1) Long load times. Although it’s probably because my laptop’s about 5 years old and naturally not as powerful as it used to be, I don’t think you intended for us to wait 2+ minutes so the game can finish loading on startup.
2) Greedy with resources. I can’t so much as browse the internet or interact with folders if I have this game running, plus for every event being executed for the 1st time since the game’s been opened, the game will slowdown for at least a second during said action’s execution. Not only that, certain sfx and music will continue playing ahead of the intended event (eg the countdown sfx in Arcade Mode will finish before I actually enter the stage). There’s no additional slowdown if the same action’s performed again, however.
3)In VS Mode, I can’t select my stage on the stage select screen. As soon as I leave the character selection screen, the game will only show the stage select screen for a split second, but the stage is randomly chosen for me.
4)Graphical hiccups, like the one here:
http://i56.tinypic.com/dmv21y.jpg
Sprites like that arcade button become distorted. This is more of a minor, overlookable issue, but thought I’d bring it to your attention anyway.
Other than those things, I really like the outcome of your project! The game play itself is really fun and addictive, and I like the 8-bit theme a lot.
That is all. Have a good day and grats on getting that job of yours.
THIS GAME IS A P.O.S. BOOTLEG!!! POS
I WANT MY 12 MINUTES OF MY LIFE BACK!!!! THIS P.O.S. GAMESUCKS!!!
People, this is a Game Maker game. Game Maker games, even if they look simple, are synonymous with taking a long time to load, having loads of slowdown and possibly freezing your computer in the proccess.
As for me though, i got the game to run on my second try and it worked fine. However, i think the butterflies in the Tower of Heaven stage are invisible for some reason: when God says i shouldn’t touch living things, i keep being punished for hitting nothing while jumping.
Haha. I never had time to make the butterflies, but one thing is that you and other players are living things =P
*facepalms*
Peharps, after all those years of videogaming, i have started to forget about how many of those guys i fight in games are living beings just like the heroes and me!
Also, don’t forget about those flowers on the ground. They are living, too!
(I hate that commandment. Specially in a 4-way-brawl, it’s impossible to avoid the other smashers)
just wondering if there is a way to get this as a rom file for an emulator
I’m being a complete noob here, I’m not sure how to install it. lol.
is there any way you can create a version for a R4 cart so it can be portable for ds?
This has to be ported to android with network play, would be most epic.
Great, but… We NEED a Mac version!
This game is quite fun, but I’ve had some serious issues with adjusting the controls. To the point of being unable to restore defaults… Furthermore, I was also upset with the loading times. However, the creative aspects of the game and the time consuming efforts behind them make it worth playing.
Hey sorry about the trouble with the controls. If you somehow manage to mess up both Start and the ‘A’ button (Z key to start) then you can close out of the game with escape then delete the Controls .ini file. That should set everything back to default the next time you open.
how can i use the cheat to unlock characters when my laptop doesnt have a home key… ???
what the hell kind of laptop doesn’t have a home key??
what’re you… using one of those tiny, college, paper notebook sized laptops? geez. those things suck. may as well just use pen and paper. roughly the same size, less expensive.
go buy a real laptop.
What is the characters cheat?
This game SUCKS!! It’s more like a bootleg! Pass on this one! I give this a game a 1 out of 10! This has nothing to do with the real Super Smash Bros. on the N64!! I will not be looking forward to the next fan game they develop!! This is a bootleg!! Garbage! No good! You’ve been warned!! Worst letdown for a bootleg for me! Kart Fighter is sooo much better on the NES! This game was RUSHED out obviously and should not have been released until October 2012. So many fucking problems with that fucking bootleg! Dan Fornace should delete this bootleg off this site now, work on it for another year and re-release it. The game is too short! I am disappointed… Dan should be ashamed of himself for putting this piece of shit out! I WANT MY 10 MINUTES OF MY LIFE BACK!!!
0/10, buddy.
Free game is free? It’s like complain that the free cookie you got is to hard or something.
It would appear that this guy is attempting to live up to his name.
I bet you’re one of those stupid @ss kids that grew up on 3rd generation consoles aren’t you? I bet you’re comparing this super smash bros. to the melee you play on wii.
you ungrateful spoiled inconsiderate stuck-up hipster emo brats probably don’t know shit about the original 90′s super smash bros. on the 64.
stop talking out of your a$$ you underage cunt.
fucking morons…
WELL DONE!!!
Fun mini-game. Definitely not smash bros, but a fun “flash” game for sure
great game play for 2 mins sonic would have made perfect i had old gameboy fav game power rangers mario bros f1 race
WHAT ARE THE CONTROLS???!!!
Man This game is very interesting…
This looks awesome, but I would really like to have it in ROM format. Playing it on-the-go with my PSP or Ipod Touch would be pretty cool.
With your amount of talent you should pick up coding or something
Game Maker sucks, your game is too awesome for it.
I can’t Figure Out how to get this to Run. I un-zip It, Click on the Icon And it Opens, Then it Says “unexpected error” Occured. What do I do to fix it?
Any hope for a Linux/UNIX version?
I think it’s pretty good, still need some things to improve but other then that it’s awsome….BTW don’t listen to some of the guys from above, this game it’s not to be in an ipad or iphone just good old pc like most gamers do.
I unlocked megaman and beat the game with all 5 characters. How do I unlock the 6th character and rest of the stages (I unlocked only Wily’s Castle)?
tiene buena pinta, lo estoy descargando aver que tal.
mis respetos para este gran trabajo
Is there a certain type of program or CPU you need to download this cause I keep trrying to but it won’t let it download.
I can’t access Arcade mode or go anywhere on vs once i’ve chosen it, can’t choose a character, can’t go back to main menu, can access controls and change them ok, but can’t do anything else worthwhile, any help? (Also, select does nothing).
I can’t access Arcade mode, or pick a character or choose any option under vs mode, all i can do is go to controls and change them, every other choice is a dead end. Also, select does nothing. Any help?
Will there be DLC characters or stages?
Also, I love this game.
Also, why I only can unlock DR. Wily castle now?
This looks fantastic
Will the game be available for iPhones, iPads, Androids, etc in the near future?
I would gladly donate if that happens. Great job on the game. Looking forward to other great game releases from your part.
Hello all, I dl’d this and have a mac. I got wine and tried to load this. It says that there’s an unexpected error whenever I try to run the game. Anyone know how to get around this?
seems good. Good job, i’ll try it
Thank you! Thank you!
Thank you! Thank you!
Thank you! Thank you!
Thank you! Thank you!
How do I atually download it.
If you click on the “Grab it and go play!” Hyperlink at the bottom of the article, it should bring up the window for you automatically.
Unless you’re using Mac, then I have no idea how to help you
This is amazing, are you going to leave the game here though, is this it’s final state? or will you be making more characters and levels at some point? because if so I can see this becoming something i could get hooked on for a long time
There are going to be some balance changes coming pretty soon. Also rumors of an online versus have been swirling, but I cannot confirm that just yet. http://www.facebook.com/supersmashland
Nice
Works in Windows 7??
no .gb ?
Uno de los mejores diseños freeware que he visto, hacia falta algo asi en nuestras pcs, haciendonos recordar los buenos tiempos de la gb
Vaporeon ruined it for me. cool moveset or no cool moveset that fish dog thing SUCKS @SS.
there are tons of other characters that could have been used… like SAMUS? HELLO? May as well rename the game to Super Smash Bros. POKEMON – SAPPHIRE VERSION. since that’s what it looks like with the displaced character variety it has thanks to a 2ND POKEMON. geez.
Also what is up with megaman being so unbalanced and flawed?? I mean hell he CAN’T AIM/SHOOT/CHARGE SHOT AT THE SAME TIME. GAMEBOY MEGAMAN WAS ABLE TO DO THAT. and he has a RECYCLED mario move? WTH man? the spinning thing? c’mon… I don’t remember megaman being able to do spinning moves…
and the lack of items is disappointing…
Try playing Mega Man 3. Does the weapon ‘Top Spin’ say anything? >_>
Vaporeon ruined it for me. cool moveset or no cool moveset that fish dog thing SUCKS @SS.
there are tons of other characters that could have been used… like SAMUS? HELLO? May as well rename the game to Super Smash Bros. POKEMON – SAPPHIRE VERSION. since that’s what it looks like with the displaced character variety it has thanks to a 2ND POKEMON. geez.
Also what is up with megaman being so unbalanced and flawed?? I mean hell he CAN’T AIM/SHOOT/CHARGE SHOT AT THE SAME TIME. GAMEBOY MEGAMAN WAS ABLE TO DO THAT. and he has a RECYCLED mario move? WTH man? the spinning thing? c’mon… I don’t remember megaman being able to do spinning moves…
and the lack of items is disappointing…
Did anyone here play the original SSB for N64… Vaporeon I found to be a very good character, and in the original SSB there were umm… 2 Pokemon. And only 12 characters. And who were they? Pikachu. And guess who else? Jigglypuff. So ye. Could have been so much worse.
Also, why Sapphire version? Both those Pokemon have been in since Red and Green which were released in like 1995 (Learn your Pokemon history), and if I remember correctly, Eevee (Pre-evo form of Vaporeon) isn’t available in Sapphire, so neither is Vaporeon. But enough over the Pokemon.
Also, this may be a shocker to you, but this is a demake. Not a remake. That’s why you got the monochrome colors, which I dunno if you know this, is what an original Gameboy screen looked like. Actually, better question. Do you know what a Gameboy is? Or an N64?
Also, because this is a demake, it will include very little content compared to the the original, let alone the second sequel.
As for the whole ‘megaman’ thing, he was flawed, and if you read the interview, they said it was very difficult to put him in there in a balanced fashion, which means the creators know he was flawed. But he also did have to be the boss of arcade mode.
But based on the fact that you only refer to things such as the ‘Gamecube’ and ‘Sapphire version’ there is no way for me to know that your history of a gamer goes back all the way to 1995 (I’m guessing 2000-2001 at the earliest), and are just flat out ignorant.
thanks for the game. How about an iphone or other smartphone application ? I think that it’d be a wonderful success even if it ‘s not free, think it
I have a mac n I got no idea how to get Wine to run this. I checked it out and they said the best way is to build Wine myself from scratch. I can’t look into that, it’s too much trouble. If making a mac version of your game is too tough, you could at least give out all the steps and resources for playing this game on a mac. It doesn’t feel worth it investigating when you’re just the player who doesn’t even know if he’d like the game or not.
I downloaded this on my laptop, copied it to a flash drive, then unzipped on another computer, then recopied it back to my laptop. Now what happens when I open up the application is “Runtime error 216 at 00404A36″ Any idea why this happens or how I can fix it?
did is any version of this game for mac??
Awesome game, love it, love it, LOVE IT! only question i have is how to bind a controller to it. Tips would be nice, thanks!
still waiting for a mac version
Please make a mac version!
so where exactly is the start button?
WHERE IS THE START BUTTON!
why cant i play endlesss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The game sucks! there’s no mouse functionality and even the keystrokes don’t work as indicated! (backspace to select? No, it doesn’t.
very happy ^_^
lets see how it plays
Why can’t I play this? It loads normally, but then I can only select the versus mode and from there on I can’t select anything with my keyboard anymore. Am I retarted? I even tried to change the controls but it doesn’t work.
pretty epic, now ether this gets turned into an actual ROM or an app for the Android gets made, ether way, great stuff
does it work on linux?
Vivement une version cartouche. (: Un grand merci a vous !