Playing Smash Bros taught me not to be afraid to suck
- At April 25, 2019
- By Lisa
- In Experiences, Musings
- 0
My son studies physics at UMass Boston. He studies a lot but in his free time he enjoys playing video games. Like most his age, he has been playing an assortment of genres since he was six years old. So when he received a Nintendo Switch for Christmas last year, he wanted me to play with him … as a way of bonding, I guess. Or perhaps he thought it might be good for me to work out some aggressions. But I was intimidated.
I was resistant to playing with him because he is very good at these games and, I know, very competitive. I, at my age, would be a newbie. I was going to suck.
For my birthday in 2018, he got me a Nintendo 3DS XL. There is a galaxy array upon its shiny midnight blue cover. I love it. It’s something I can hold in my hands and I can keep my mistakes to myself. I learned to play the strategy games Fire Emblem and The Legend of Zelda. I had fun catching Pokémon.
But, playing against him with a Nintendo Switch was an entirely different matter. There I would suck on a large screen TV for all to see. The game he wanted me to learn was Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
“It will be fun,” he said.
“It’s so much fun,” said a mutual friend, also a gamer.
Oh, the peer pressure.
I was already embarrassed.
Not being able to bare the thought of disappointing my son, I picked up my controller and proceeded to suck. Wow, did I suck.
I couldn’t stay on the stage and plummeted to my death over and over again—for days. Soon enough, I discovered that the buttons on the controller not only performed one action but a variety of actions depending on how forceful or subtle I used them and in what combination. I learned the reach of my sword, and whether the characters I selected were fast, slow, strong, or magical.
I usually play as Lucina from Fire Emblem. I like her sword. I’ve also been known to play as Robin or Corrin because magic is wonderful – Arcfire, Elwind, Nosferatu and all that. And who wouldn’t want to be a dragon? Finally, in one shining moment of glory, Lucina splattered my son’s character like a bug on a windshield. I laughed with delight.
I talked to my therapist about playing the game. She told me, “keep on playing that game”.
Four months down the road now, I can tell you I still suck, relatively speaking. But not as much as I did back in December.
I think people my age, people of a certain age, are afraid to suck. We feel we should be already accomplished at things and we are wary to go outside our comfort zones. For so long our lives have rested on our performances and we are not keen to show our vulnerability.
But what we forget is that suckage is only temporary. As we dedicate ourselves to a new pursuit we will become accomplished.
We might be intimated to pick up new interests, hobbies or activities. We think we might be too old, or it might be too late to learn a new skill or start a new career. Playing Smash Bros taught me that this is nonsense. I can’t wait to deliver that next fatal smash that sends my son’s character into space.
I am a freelance writer based in Boston, MA. Available for print or online publications. I write about art, culture, wellness, and domestic violence recovery. Editorial, features, content development, and creative. I am presently working on my first memoir. Please contact me if you have stories which need to be told.