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I bought Rocky on the Gamecube yesterday, and I love it.
I love the films though, and was wondering just how big a part of my love for the game comes down to my love for the movies.
Rage, the developer, have been really clever, as you get movie clips right at the very start, to put you in the Rocky mood, but all the way through the presentation is fantastic, really has the same feel as the movies.
You see, I also had a Rocky game 10 years ago, actually, probably nearer 13 years ago, back in the days of the Sega Master System. This game was also great fun, even though it only featured 4 characters, Rocky, Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang and Ivan Drago. The fighting was dead simple, get in three jabs (two in the final fight if you'd trained hard enough) then hit your opponent with a big punch, either a straight or a hook or an uppercut, I believe. What I really liked about Rocky SMS though, was the training between the fights, and the thing is, Rage have included training aspects to the game too.
So far, the game is scoring highly in my head then. It's based on a series of films that I think are great. I had a version of the game years ago, and the training in the new game made me smile because I remembered the old game.
Now the thing is, am I enjoying the game more because of nostalgia, and the movie tie-in?
What's more, I also have a love of novelty, or quirky games. Having recently obtained Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, I find myself in a similar position, enjoying the game because of the familiarity with the characters, and maybe not being quite as harsh on the flaws that I notice...?
Some movie-based games truly blow ponies, of that I have no doubt, but when the basics of the game are in place, a familiar face doesn't half do well to paper over the cracks, doesn't it?
Imagine if Luigi's Mansion was in fact Gordon's Mansion, and Gordon was a character that was new to us. Without Mario and Luigi and indeed Toad and Bowser, you'd loose much of what kept me smiling right through the game. The ability to call out "Marioooo!!!" at any time, though pointless, was something I enjoyed, but it would have been lost had Gordon have been shouting for his pal Bob, I guess. Then there was the music room, where you set off the instruments, and it played a familiar Mario theme. Did a good job of hiding the fact that it was yet another ghost to just suck up, rather than a puzzle that needed solving? Sticking Mario in the ending also stopped you realising just how quickly you'd got to the end just long enough for you to still think that you'd really enjoyed it. It was only later that I felt I'd done it all a little too quickly.
Back to the movies, then.
I guess why Rocky and Godzilla work as games, is that they stick to the parts of movies that would be great to play. So with Rocky we get to fight all of the boxers that get a mention in the films, even if the film didn't focus on these fights. It's sure a great deal more fun than getting Rocky to visit his wife in hospital, and going to see the local priest for a little prayer. Likewise Godzilla is all about smashing monsters into buildings, and roaring, and having cool laser beams.
But you know what would suck? If they took Rocky, and all that would make a good game, his boxing ability, and stuck it into a more typical game environment. Rocky the side scrolling beat 'em-up anyone? You see that wouldn't be sticking faithful to the movies, and you’d lose all of the advantages the movie licence gave you. No longer would it be able to paper over cracks, it would blow them wide apart, and quite possible suck a golf ball through a hose pipe. (Am I the only person who thinks that the word hose never looks right?).
In order to obtain Rocky, given my lack of funds, I had to trade in a game or two. One game that made way was Super Smash Bros: Melee (as well as Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, but we all know the reason for that, it was like that Itchy and Scratchy and Poochy episode of the Simpsons "Hey look, Sonic can board, and has cool tunes!" "Oh no, he's had to go back to his home planet, worse still, he died on the way. Twice.) er, where was I? Oh yeah, I traded in the highly rated Super Smash Bros: Melee. "Why? Why you crazy fool?" I hear some of you ask. Well, I just wasn't enjoying it. The characters just weren't natural beating each other up. With Rocky and Godzilla I feel comfortable smashing things, be they teeth or buildings, with Mario I just thought that I should be off looking for a star. There was a novelty value that lasted a week or two though, given that there were so many popular characters in there, but to me it didn't feel like, in the same way I'd imagine a Godzilla RPG, or a Rocky scrolling beat 'em-up in which Rocky had to save Adrian. (She didn't really spell her name like that, did she? Looks a bit blokey. Was it Adrienne, or something?)
I guess that may also be some part of the problem with StarFox Adventures, it just doesn't quite seem natural. Either that or the NPC's all have way too much to say...
But then again, when I think I've got it all worked out, a bunch of games come into my head to confuse me. If Super Smash Bros: Melee isn't acceptable, as it feels unnatural, why did Mario Kart and Mario Tennis work so well? I might have a theory on this too, keep reading, it'll either make sense, or fall on it's face mid-way through, and get lost in explaining why Wario is a more likeable villain than Bowser...
Mario Kart and Mario Tennis are completely different from your typical Mario game, they also feature characters featured almost exclusively in Mario games. (Donkey Kong is a partial exception, but he started off with Mario, and has just had more solo success than Peach...). Super Smash Bros features many more characters from the Nintendo universe, and many of their moves are taken from their own games. So you have all of the tools that Link has, but you have to use then in a fighting game, rather than to solve a dungeon. It's like reminding you of the great games he's in, but not delivering that, giving you something completely different.
Mario Kart and Tennis are in no way related to what Mario gets up to on his usual quests. I suppose this brings me back to my fictional Rocky scrolling beat em-up. This new Rocky game (the real one, not the fictional one) works well on a tactical level, with you dodging punches, throwing together combos, backing off to recover, and the like. For a scrolling fighter, all of this would be stripped down, as you'd be fighting multiple opponents rather than just one. You'd probably just assign different punches to the buttons, maybe even a kick, and dispense of the bad guys with a couple of punches. Again, it would be vaguely reminiscent of the great Rocky fighting, but without it, and something less in it's place.
I guess part of the problem is that these ideas sound quite cool from the start. Take Rocky, Apollo, or Lang onto the mean streets, and beat up a bunch of punks! Oh yeah! Fantastic! But it's not really Rocky, is it? It's not anything new, and it will eventually leave a bad taste in your mouth, much like Marmite, or perhaps Bovril.
So, summing up, Rocky rules because it makes good use of its source material, and sticks to what makes a good game. Same with Godzilla. Smash Bros has novelty value that doesn't last, because it just doesn't feel natural. It looks like chicken, feels like chicken, but tastes like quorn. In fact, I now rename Super Smash Bros: Melee as Super Smash Bros: Children of the Quorn.
I love the films though, and was wondering just how big a part of my love for the game comes down to my love for the movies.
Rage, the developer, have been really clever, as you get movie clips right at the very start, to put you in the Rocky mood, but all the way through the presentation is fantastic, really has the same feel as the movies.
You see, I also had a Rocky game 10 years ago, actually, probably nearer 13 years ago, back in the days of the Sega Master System. This game was also great fun, even though it only featured 4 characters, Rocky, Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang and Ivan Drago. The fighting was dead simple, get in three jabs (two in the final fight if you'd trained hard enough) then hit your opponent with a big punch, either a straight or a hook or an uppercut, I believe. What I really liked about Rocky SMS though, was the training between the fights, and the thing is, Rage have included training aspects to the game too.
So far, the game is scoring highly in my head then. It's based on a series of films that I think are great. I had a version of the game years ago, and the training in the new game made me smile because I remembered the old game.
Now the thing is, am I enjoying the game more because of nostalgia, and the movie tie-in?
What's more, I also have a love of novelty, or quirky games. Having recently obtained Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, I find myself in a similar position, enjoying the game because of the familiarity with the characters, and maybe not being quite as harsh on the flaws that I notice...?
Some movie-based games truly blow ponies, of that I have no doubt, but when the basics of the game are in place, a familiar face doesn't half do well to paper over the cracks, doesn't it?
Imagine if Luigi's Mansion was in fact Gordon's Mansion, and Gordon was a character that was new to us. Without Mario and Luigi and indeed Toad and Bowser, you'd loose much of what kept me smiling right through the game. The ability to call out "Marioooo!!!" at any time, though pointless, was something I enjoyed, but it would have been lost had Gordon have been shouting for his pal Bob, I guess. Then there was the music room, where you set off the instruments, and it played a familiar Mario theme. Did a good job of hiding the fact that it was yet another ghost to just suck up, rather than a puzzle that needed solving? Sticking Mario in the ending also stopped you realising just how quickly you'd got to the end just long enough for you to still think that you'd really enjoyed it. It was only later that I felt I'd done it all a little too quickly.
Back to the movies, then.
I guess why Rocky and Godzilla work as games, is that they stick to the parts of movies that would be great to play. So with Rocky we get to fight all of the boxers that get a mention in the films, even if the film didn't focus on these fights. It's sure a great deal more fun than getting Rocky to visit his wife in hospital, and going to see the local priest for a little prayer. Likewise Godzilla is all about smashing monsters into buildings, and roaring, and having cool laser beams.
But you know what would suck? If they took Rocky, and all that would make a good game, his boxing ability, and stuck it into a more typical game environment. Rocky the side scrolling beat 'em-up anyone? You see that wouldn't be sticking faithful to the movies, and you’d lose all of the advantages the movie licence gave you. No longer would it be able to paper over cracks, it would blow them wide apart, and quite possible suck a golf ball through a hose pipe. (Am I the only person who thinks that the word hose never looks right?).
In order to obtain Rocky, given my lack of funds, I had to trade in a game or two. One game that made way was Super Smash Bros: Melee (as well as Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, but we all know the reason for that, it was like that Itchy and Scratchy and Poochy episode of the Simpsons "Hey look, Sonic can board, and has cool tunes!" "Oh no, he's had to go back to his home planet, worse still, he died on the way. Twice.) er, where was I? Oh yeah, I traded in the highly rated Super Smash Bros: Melee. "Why? Why you crazy fool?" I hear some of you ask. Well, I just wasn't enjoying it. The characters just weren't natural beating each other up. With Rocky and Godzilla I feel comfortable smashing things, be they teeth or buildings, with Mario I just thought that I should be off looking for a star. There was a novelty value that lasted a week or two though, given that there were so many popular characters in there, but to me it didn't feel like, in the same way I'd imagine a Godzilla RPG, or a Rocky scrolling beat 'em-up in which Rocky had to save Adrian. (She didn't really spell her name like that, did she? Looks a bit blokey. Was it Adrienne, or something?)
I guess that may also be some part of the problem with StarFox Adventures, it just doesn't quite seem natural. Either that or the NPC's all have way too much to say...
But then again, when I think I've got it all worked out, a bunch of games come into my head to confuse me. If Super Smash Bros: Melee isn't acceptable, as it feels unnatural, why did Mario Kart and Mario Tennis work so well? I might have a theory on this too, keep reading, it'll either make sense, or fall on it's face mid-way through, and get lost in explaining why Wario is a more likeable villain than Bowser...
Mario Kart and Mario Tennis are completely different from your typical Mario game, they also feature characters featured almost exclusively in Mario games. (Donkey Kong is a partial exception, but he started off with Mario, and has just had more solo success than Peach...). Super Smash Bros features many more characters from the Nintendo universe, and many of their moves are taken from their own games. So you have all of the tools that Link has, but you have to use then in a fighting game, rather than to solve a dungeon. It's like reminding you of the great games he's in, but not delivering that, giving you something completely different.
Mario Kart and Tennis are in no way related to what Mario gets up to on his usual quests. I suppose this brings me back to my fictional Rocky scrolling beat em-up. This new Rocky game (the real one, not the fictional one) works well on a tactical level, with you dodging punches, throwing together combos, backing off to recover, and the like. For a scrolling fighter, all of this would be stripped down, as you'd be fighting multiple opponents rather than just one. You'd probably just assign different punches to the buttons, maybe even a kick, and dispense of the bad guys with a couple of punches. Again, it would be vaguely reminiscent of the great Rocky fighting, but without it, and something less in it's place.
I guess part of the problem is that these ideas sound quite cool from the start. Take Rocky, Apollo, or Lang onto the mean streets, and beat up a bunch of punks! Oh yeah! Fantastic! But it's not really Rocky, is it? It's not anything new, and it will eventually leave a bad taste in your mouth, much like Marmite, or perhaps Bovril.
So, summing up, Rocky rules because it makes good use of its source material, and sticks to what makes a good game. Same with Godzilla. Smash Bros has novelty value that doesn't last, because it just doesn't feel natural. It looks like chicken, feels like chicken, but tastes like quorn. In fact, I now rename Super Smash Bros: Melee as Super Smash Bros: Children of the Quorn.
Meka Dragon wrote:
> Imagine if Luigi's Mansion was in fact Gordon's Mansion, and Gordon
> was a character that was new to us. Without Mario and Luigi and indeed
> Toad and Bowser, you'd loose much of what kept me smiling right
> through the game.
Ah, but if it had been Flash Gordon, things would have been a lot different.
"Flash!"
:-)
> Imagine if Luigi's Mansion was in fact Gordon's Mansion, and Gordon
> was a character that was new to us. Without Mario and Luigi and indeed
> Toad and Bowser, you'd loose much of what kept me smiling right
> through the game.
Ah, but if it had been Flash Gordon, things would have been a lot different.
"Flash!"
:-)
Rocky is cool because you get to be Mr T
Or beat up Mr T
Simple
Or beat up Mr T
Simple
I bought Rocky on the Gamecube yesterday, and I love it.
I love the films though, and was wondering just how big a part of my love for the game comes down to my love for the movies.
Rage, the developer, have been really clever, as you get movie clips right at the very start, to put you in the Rocky mood, but all the way through the presentation is fantastic, really has the same feel as the movies.
You see, I also had a Rocky game 10 years ago, actually, probably nearer 13 years ago, back in the days of the Sega Master System. This game was also great fun, even though it only featured 4 characters, Rocky, Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang and Ivan Drago. The fighting was dead simple, get in three jabs (two in the final fight if you'd trained hard enough) then hit your opponent with a big punch, either a straight or a hook or an uppercut, I believe. What I really liked about Rocky SMS though, was the training between the fights, and the thing is, Rage have included training aspects to the game too.
So far, the game is scoring highly in my head then. It's based on a series of films that I think are great. I had a version of the game years ago, and the training in the new game made me smile because I remembered the old game.
Now the thing is, am I enjoying the game more because of nostalgia, and the movie tie-in?
What's more, I also have a love of novelty, or quirky games. Having recently obtained Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, I find myself in a similar position, enjoying the game because of the familiarity with the characters, and maybe not being quite as harsh on the flaws that I notice...?
Some movie-based games truly blow ponies, of that I have no doubt, but when the basics of the game are in place, a familiar face doesn't half do well to paper over the cracks, doesn't it?
Imagine if Luigi's Mansion was in fact Gordon's Mansion, and Gordon was a character that was new to us. Without Mario and Luigi and indeed Toad and Bowser, you'd loose much of what kept me smiling right through the game. The ability to call out "Marioooo!!!" at any time, though pointless, was something I enjoyed, but it would have been lost had Gordon have been shouting for his pal Bob, I guess. Then there was the music room, where you set off the instruments, and it played a familiar Mario theme. Did a good job of hiding the fact that it was yet another ghost to just suck up, rather than a puzzle that needed solving? Sticking Mario in the ending also stopped you realising just how quickly you'd got to the end just long enough for you to still think that you'd really enjoyed it. It was only later that I felt I'd done it all a little too quickly.
Back to the movies, then.
I guess why Rocky and Godzilla work as games, is that they stick to the parts of movies that would be great to play. So with Rocky we get to fight all of the boxers that get a mention in the films, even if the film didn't focus on these fights. It's sure a great deal more fun than getting Rocky to visit his wife in hospital, and going to see the local priest for a little prayer. Likewise Godzilla is all about smashing monsters into buildings, and roaring, and having cool laser beams.
But you know what would suck? If they took Rocky, and all that would make a good game, his boxing ability, and stuck it into a more typical game environment. Rocky the side scrolling beat 'em-up anyone? You see that wouldn't be sticking faithful to the movies, and you’d lose all of the advantages the movie licence gave you. No longer would it be able to paper over cracks, it would blow them wide apart, and quite possible suck a golf ball through a hose pipe. (Am I the only person who thinks that the word hose never looks right?).
In order to obtain Rocky, given my lack of funds, I had to trade in a game or two. One game that made way was Super Smash Bros: Melee (as well as Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, but we all know the reason for that, it was like that Itchy and Scratchy and Poochy episode of the Simpsons "Hey look, Sonic can board, and has cool tunes!" "Oh no, he's had to go back to his home planet, worse still, he died on the way. Twice.) er, where was I? Oh yeah, I traded in the highly rated Super Smash Bros: Melee. "Why? Why you crazy fool?" I hear some of you ask. Well, I just wasn't enjoying it. The characters just weren't natural beating each other up. With Rocky and Godzilla I feel comfortable smashing things, be they teeth or buildings, with Mario I just thought that I should be off looking for a star. There was a novelty value that lasted a week or two though, given that there were so many popular characters in there, but to me it didn't feel like, in the same way I'd imagine a Godzilla RPG, or a Rocky scrolling beat 'em-up in which Rocky had to save Adrian. (She didn't really spell her name like that, did she? Looks a bit blokey. Was it Adrienne, or something?)
I guess that may also be some part of the problem with StarFox Adventures, it just doesn't quite seem natural. Either that or the NPC's all have way too much to say...
But then again, when I think I've got it all worked out, a bunch of games come into my head to confuse me. If Super Smash Bros: Melee isn't acceptable, as it feels unnatural, why did Mario Kart and Mario Tennis work so well? I might have a theory on this too, keep reading, it'll either make sense, or fall on it's face mid-way through, and get lost in explaining why Wario is a more likeable villain than Bowser...
Mario Kart and Mario Tennis are completely different from your typical Mario game, they also feature characters featured almost exclusively in Mario games. (Donkey Kong is a partial exception, but he started off with Mario, and has just had more solo success than Peach...). Super Smash Bros features many more characters from the Nintendo universe, and many of their moves are taken from their own games. So you have all of the tools that Link has, but you have to use then in a fighting game, rather than to solve a dungeon. It's like reminding you of the great games he's in, but not delivering that, giving you something completely different.
Mario Kart and Tennis are in no way related to what Mario gets up to on his usual quests. I suppose this brings me back to my fictional Rocky scrolling beat em-up. This new Rocky game (the real one, not the fictional one) works well on a tactical level, with you dodging punches, throwing together combos, backing off to recover, and the like. For a scrolling fighter, all of this would be stripped down, as you'd be fighting multiple opponents rather than just one. You'd probably just assign different punches to the buttons, maybe even a kick, and dispense of the bad guys with a couple of punches. Again, it would be vaguely reminiscent of the great Rocky fighting, but without it, and something less in it's place.
I guess part of the problem is that these ideas sound quite cool from the start. Take Rocky, Apollo, or Lang onto the mean streets, and beat up a bunch of punks! Oh yeah! Fantastic! But it's not really Rocky, is it? It's not anything new, and it will eventually leave a bad taste in your mouth, much like Marmite, or perhaps Bovril.
So, summing up, Rocky rules because it makes good use of its source material, and sticks to what makes a good game. Same with Godzilla. Smash Bros has novelty value that doesn't last, because it just doesn't feel natural. It looks like chicken, feels like chicken, but tastes like quorn. In fact, I now rename Super Smash Bros: Melee as Super Smash Bros: Children of the Quorn.
I love the films though, and was wondering just how big a part of my love for the game comes down to my love for the movies.
Rage, the developer, have been really clever, as you get movie clips right at the very start, to put you in the Rocky mood, but all the way through the presentation is fantastic, really has the same feel as the movies.
You see, I also had a Rocky game 10 years ago, actually, probably nearer 13 years ago, back in the days of the Sega Master System. This game was also great fun, even though it only featured 4 characters, Rocky, Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang and Ivan Drago. The fighting was dead simple, get in three jabs (two in the final fight if you'd trained hard enough) then hit your opponent with a big punch, either a straight or a hook or an uppercut, I believe. What I really liked about Rocky SMS though, was the training between the fights, and the thing is, Rage have included training aspects to the game too.
So far, the game is scoring highly in my head then. It's based on a series of films that I think are great. I had a version of the game years ago, and the training in the new game made me smile because I remembered the old game.
Now the thing is, am I enjoying the game more because of nostalgia, and the movie tie-in?
What's more, I also have a love of novelty, or quirky games. Having recently obtained Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, I find myself in a similar position, enjoying the game because of the familiarity with the characters, and maybe not being quite as harsh on the flaws that I notice...?
Some movie-based games truly blow ponies, of that I have no doubt, but when the basics of the game are in place, a familiar face doesn't half do well to paper over the cracks, doesn't it?
Imagine if Luigi's Mansion was in fact Gordon's Mansion, and Gordon was a character that was new to us. Without Mario and Luigi and indeed Toad and Bowser, you'd loose much of what kept me smiling right through the game. The ability to call out "Marioooo!!!" at any time, though pointless, was something I enjoyed, but it would have been lost had Gordon have been shouting for his pal Bob, I guess. Then there was the music room, where you set off the instruments, and it played a familiar Mario theme. Did a good job of hiding the fact that it was yet another ghost to just suck up, rather than a puzzle that needed solving? Sticking Mario in the ending also stopped you realising just how quickly you'd got to the end just long enough for you to still think that you'd really enjoyed it. It was only later that I felt I'd done it all a little too quickly.
Back to the movies, then.
I guess why Rocky and Godzilla work as games, is that they stick to the parts of movies that would be great to play. So with Rocky we get to fight all of the boxers that get a mention in the films, even if the film didn't focus on these fights. It's sure a great deal more fun than getting Rocky to visit his wife in hospital, and going to see the local priest for a little prayer. Likewise Godzilla is all about smashing monsters into buildings, and roaring, and having cool laser beams.
But you know what would suck? If they took Rocky, and all that would make a good game, his boxing ability, and stuck it into a more typical game environment. Rocky the side scrolling beat 'em-up anyone? You see that wouldn't be sticking faithful to the movies, and you’d lose all of the advantages the movie licence gave you. No longer would it be able to paper over cracks, it would blow them wide apart, and quite possible suck a golf ball through a hose pipe. (Am I the only person who thinks that the word hose never looks right?).
In order to obtain Rocky, given my lack of funds, I had to trade in a game or two. One game that made way was Super Smash Bros: Melee (as well as Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, but we all know the reason for that, it was like that Itchy and Scratchy and Poochy episode of the Simpsons "Hey look, Sonic can board, and has cool tunes!" "Oh no, he's had to go back to his home planet, worse still, he died on the way. Twice.) er, where was I? Oh yeah, I traded in the highly rated Super Smash Bros: Melee. "Why? Why you crazy fool?" I hear some of you ask. Well, I just wasn't enjoying it. The characters just weren't natural beating each other up. With Rocky and Godzilla I feel comfortable smashing things, be they teeth or buildings, with Mario I just thought that I should be off looking for a star. There was a novelty value that lasted a week or two though, given that there were so many popular characters in there, but to me it didn't feel like, in the same way I'd imagine a Godzilla RPG, or a Rocky scrolling beat 'em-up in which Rocky had to save Adrian. (She didn't really spell her name like that, did she? Looks a bit blokey. Was it Adrienne, or something?)
I guess that may also be some part of the problem with StarFox Adventures, it just doesn't quite seem natural. Either that or the NPC's all have way too much to say...
But then again, when I think I've got it all worked out, a bunch of games come into my head to confuse me. If Super Smash Bros: Melee isn't acceptable, as it feels unnatural, why did Mario Kart and Mario Tennis work so well? I might have a theory on this too, keep reading, it'll either make sense, or fall on it's face mid-way through, and get lost in explaining why Wario is a more likeable villain than Bowser...
Mario Kart and Mario Tennis are completely different from your typical Mario game, they also feature characters featured almost exclusively in Mario games. (Donkey Kong is a partial exception, but he started off with Mario, and has just had more solo success than Peach...). Super Smash Bros features many more characters from the Nintendo universe, and many of their moves are taken from their own games. So you have all of the tools that Link has, but you have to use then in a fighting game, rather than to solve a dungeon. It's like reminding you of the great games he's in, but not delivering that, giving you something completely different.
Mario Kart and Tennis are in no way related to what Mario gets up to on his usual quests. I suppose this brings me back to my fictional Rocky scrolling beat em-up. This new Rocky game (the real one, not the fictional one) works well on a tactical level, with you dodging punches, throwing together combos, backing off to recover, and the like. For a scrolling fighter, all of this would be stripped down, as you'd be fighting multiple opponents rather than just one. You'd probably just assign different punches to the buttons, maybe even a kick, and dispense of the bad guys with a couple of punches. Again, it would be vaguely reminiscent of the great Rocky fighting, but without it, and something less in it's place.
I guess part of the problem is that these ideas sound quite cool from the start. Take Rocky, Apollo, or Lang onto the mean streets, and beat up a bunch of punks! Oh yeah! Fantastic! But it's not really Rocky, is it? It's not anything new, and it will eventually leave a bad taste in your mouth, much like Marmite, or perhaps Bovril.
So, summing up, Rocky rules because it makes good use of its source material, and sticks to what makes a good game. Same with Godzilla. Smash Bros has novelty value that doesn't last, because it just doesn't feel natural. It looks like chicken, feels like chicken, but tastes like quorn. In fact, I now rename Super Smash Bros: Melee as Super Smash Bros: Children of the Quorn.