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Sometimes a week is stacked full of celebrations, and other times it’s just a few high profile ones. But what’s it look like when you have a week that’s overflowing with video game anniversaries that you’ve just gotta recreate in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate?

A lot like last week, apparently.

Masahiro Sakurai must’ve been busy putting this latest batch together, with a whole bunch of games and even whole franchises celebrated. Let’s have a look at what graced the man’s timeline the last handful of days, shall we?

Dragon Quest – 35th anniversary

When it comes to longevity, impact, and milestone occasions there’s just no beating Dragon Quest’s birthday. A whole livestream was dedicated to what effectively birthed the JRPG genre, and remains an absolute icon in its home country. This date refers specifically to the first game, though Sakurai pointed out he’d be holding back from honoring each game in the series – after all, all their leads do show up in Hero’s Final Smash & alt costumes.

Splatoon – 6th anniversary

Going from an old legend to a fresh face, it was Splatoon’s 6th anniversary last week today! These squidkids are growing up so fast, and still stand as arguably the most notable anything to come from the Wii U days. Keep inking things up on Switch as you wait for Splatoon 3, which we’ll hopefully get an update on during the upcoming digital E3.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 – 11th anniversary

Well, at least someone didn’t leave it out…

Super Mario Galaxy 2 has garnered a lot of attention from its lack of 3D All-Star status during the Mario series’ 35th anniversary celebration. Which is a shame, because it should be focused on for being a damn good game across the board. Building from Galaxy’s own foundation, it may’ve lost the slightly more plot and hub layout of its predecessor but it gained a tighter focus on platforming stages that definitely influenced future titles.

Mario Kart 8 – 7th anniversary

Remember when I said Splatoon was the most notable anything from the Wii U? Well, here’s the game that turns that from “certainly” to “arguably”. Mario Kart 8 is the best selling game on two back to back Nintendo consoles. Think about that for a second.

Though the two have differences in content, if you combine the two skus they’re nearing 44 million copies sold. There’s no sign of that number slowing down on Switch, with only Animal Crossing: New Horizons coming close – and it’s still in second place by around 3 million.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 – 27th anniversary

Sonic 3 represents half of what I’d call the best 2D Sonic the Hedgehog title ever made. Yes, Sonic 2 is more popular and Sonic Mania is no slouch, but Sonic 3 & Knuckles still outruns the two in my eyes. As Sakurai notes, it was the game that introduced Knuckles the Echidna to the series and the world, who we’ll be seeing on the big screen in less than a year.

It’s also worth noting that this Tweet was Sakurai’s first “mistake” in sharing these tributes. No doubt drawn into the Sonic series’ 30th anniversary (as celebrated in Sonic Central), he briefly shared an image for the original Sonic the Hedgehog game instead before taking it down. Look forward to seeing that one in June!

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes – 16th anniversary

Metroid: Zero Mission – 17th anniversary

Color TV Game 6 – 44th anniversary

Behold, the oldest game in all of Smash! Though the Assist Trophy is officially based on the Color TV Game 15, Sakurai saw fit to shout out its predecessor as well. Simple as it is, there’s no denying how iconic the idea of proto-video game table tennis is. After all, we’ve all accepted it without batting an eye.
 

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Written by Ricky Berg

When he isn’t writing for Nintendo Wire, Ricky’s anticipating the next Kirby, Fire Emblem, or if the stars ever align, Mother 3 to be released. Till then he’ll have the warm comfort of Super Smash Bros. to keep him going.