Super Smash Flash
A browser platform fighter with a crossover roster, percentage damage and ring-outs instead of health bars.
McLeodGaming released Super Smash Flash in 2006 as a fan tribute to Smash Bros, and it was most people first encounter with the genre outside a Nintendo console. The rules are the same: damage builds a percentage, and the higher your percentage the further you fly when hit. You lose by being knocked off the stage, not by running out of health.
The roster pulls from well beyond Nintendo, which is half the appeal, and there is a single player ladder alongside versus play. It is rougher than its sequels but it is the original, and the fundamentals of spacing and recovery it teaches transfer directly.
Controls
Arrow keys to move, A to attack, S to jump, D for special. Two players share the keyboard
Tips
- Recovery matters more than damage. Knowing how your character gets back to the stage decides most matches.
- Attack from the edges inward. Pushing an opponent toward the blast zone is worth more than raw percentage.
- Shield and dodge rather than trading hits, since every hit taken makes the next one more likely to kill you.