These days the general consensus that most gamers go by in regards to Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros Ultimate, is that the best or sometimes ‘right’ way to play the game is ‘Final Destination, 3 Stock, no items.’ This reflects the professional and competitive scenes, it is seen as skill-based and therefore reserved for those gamers who can ‘get good.’
I am here to remind you that Super Smash Bros is a party game originally designed for kids and that games can be played any way you want to. When it comes down to it, Super Smash Bros is a better game with items! Sure you may go two vs. two with your competitive friends in a tournament every weekend, but I remember the days when I sat on the couch with my brother, turned on only pokeballs, picked Corneria as the map, split it in half, then we both played Star Fox and fought by only throwing pokeballs at each other while trying to deflect them. Some of the most fun I’ve ever had playing Smash Bros is from the utter absurdity that can come about from items and the chaos they can enact upon the map and other players.
For those of us who don’t have hours to sink into ‘getting good,’ or just the natural twitch reaction plus hand-eye coordination required to be masters of combat; items and crazy rules can even the playing field with good players. If your friend is amazing at Super Smash Bros while you aren’t, it isn’t that much fun to play with them unless there's a way to even the playing field, and turning on a handicap just makes it even more embarrassing, frustrating, or depressing when they inevitably beat you. Items can add fun and craziness to an otherwise boring match, or even a playing field without feeling like a handout.
One of the reasons that people enjoy Nintendo’s Mario Party series so much is that it includes both examples of skill and random chance. Yes, you can be the guy or girl who rocks at the minigames in Mario Party, and that will generally give you some modicum of an edge against your fellow players, BUT, there's nothing that can stop a lucky spin on a miracle space to give all your amassed coins and stars to the guy in last. Mario Party has a great balance of luck and skill to appeal to all. When it comes to Super Smash Bros, skill is obviously a bigger component in who wins, but when you’re at a party, or with friends where everyone isn’t some incredibly skilled fighter, items are the object of chance that can balance out everyone's skill levels while bringing in the chaos and excitement.
In the end, sure, the amount of enjoyment you can get out of winning a duel or tournament with competitive rules is pretty definite, but that means the guy who loses may not have fun. When you add in items and the subsequent chaos and luck they bring with them, it can be guaranteed that win or lose, everyone will have a bonkers crazy fun time.
