Super Smash Bros is a different approach to a fighting game. The platform fighter originated with this game, but how did it get its unconventional mechanics? The system of having fighters ring-out by being knocked too far off the screen is pretty different to most of the other top fighting games. A recent video from Smash Bros creator Masahiro Sakurai has revealed the Smash Bros damage system origin. It comes from an unlikely place.

Source: Sakurai on Games

The Super Smash Bro damage system origin was the topic of a recent stream portion from series director Sakurai. In his YouTube series, the developer goes over the theory behind his ethos on game design. While it’s been an interesting series, in a recent video he talked about the origin of the knockout system in Smash Bros.

The series director unveiled the system in its very first form, not part of Smash Bros at all. Instead, it seems the iconic system for ring outs was originally a mechanic for the Kirby series!

The Kirby Series of games was the first time Sakurai thought about implementing such a system for deaths. If Kirby gets knocked too far off the screen, he would die. The developer revealed that the idea wasn’t unique to Smash, but was instead a repurposing of an abandoned idea behind an earlier game, even if he didn’t remember the Smash Bros damage system origin at first.

This new information helps explain a little bit more about Smash Bros. However, the series is helping us understand how the game came together. Smash Bros borrowed an idea for deaths for the Kirby series. Kirby has a focus on accessibility which reveals a little more about how forgiving Smash is! Although, Smash has had a lot of changes since that first game. The Sakurai on Games channel has been full of interesting reveals about how Smash Bros came to be.