User Reviews

Interesting that this doesn't have any reviews. So far, I think it's the best documentary out there about the world of e-sports. I'm not an SSB player, but I found each character compelling for different reasons; in four hours, you'll get to know seven people very deeply, each of whom has their own playstyle and personal flaws. Maybe 1/4 of the screen time is spent on SSB gameplay, which becomes more and more interesting over the course of the series as you learn more about what's going on.

If you play or watch any kind of e-sports (I'm a Starcraft guy, myself), definitely give this a shot. But the film can appeal to others, as well; I have a roommate who is a total non-gamer and football fan, and this blew him away. Be warned, though, that the documentary gets a bit repetitive after the halfway point.

"The Smash Brothers" is a documentary that does all the things all good documentary's do, and it does these things extraordinarily well, especially considering that this was a kickstarter project. Firstly, I'd like to make it clear that there are two ways to watch this documentary- both on Youtube, you can either watch this episodically or all at once, and I would recommend watching this episode by episode, as I did, purely for the reason that "The Smash Brothers" can become very dense. I think that's the best way to describe this, dense but extremely interesting. As someone with a small introduction to the SSBM community, I had no idea how big and expansive it was and is, and the way this film explains the stories of different members of the community really well, either through the narrator, or through interviews with members of the community. These interviews are by far the best parts of the film, particularly the parts where Prog and Wife explain things, because they do them in a very introspective and truthful way that is really enjoyable to watch. The biggest issues with this film is how it either under introduces things (slang, community members, etc) that the common viewer wouldn't understand, or how it jumps around in the time line (ie: someone is talking about 2006 in one episode, the next episode it's 2008, now it's 2006 again) but these things are negligible, as you understand why these choices were made. The music, which to my knowledge was primarily community chosen, really compliments the moods and tones the film goes through. This movie really knows how to sympathize with the kinds of people that are often underrepresented in media, and it presents them not as basement-dwelling nerds, but as real people with passions and desires, and I really, really, appreciate that. It's hard for me to recommend this all at once purely because of how long it is, but I would certainly recommend the first episode to see if it's something that would strike you. I really enjoyed "The Smash Brothers", and I wish I could forget all the information just so I could rediscover this community again. 8.0/10

This is a fantastic documentary on the Smash Bros Melee competitive scene and even though the movie is very, very long, you will find the four hours of your time are going to be worth spending your time. If you are a Smash fan, this is coming from one Smash fan to another, you ABSOLUTELY need to see this wonderful documentary series. It's on YouTube, please go watch it. It is truly that amazing. It taught me a lot of cool things about the competitive Smash Bros scene and I think anybody who reads this review will too. If you're looking at this review right now, please go check this one out when you have the time. It's definitely worth your while. However, it mainly just talks about Melee, so also keep that in mind. I hope this review helped you figure out if you want to watch it or not. I hope I could be of help.

The Smash Brothers is easily the best documentary I've seen in the last 10 years. Not only does it tell the long history of one of the most competitively played games of all time, but also the emotional tension that comes from being a professional. Strangely enough, it reminded me a lot of the anime Dragon Ball Z in the sense that more and more powerful foes showed up throughout the series, much like how players only get better and better. The documentary covers the character arcs of many (and I really mean many) players, and really shows how people so different can come together just to fight and have a good time.

I first played super smash bros. melee in college with my freshman roommate. The game was old, but fun, slightly janky, but easy enough to pick up. I never gave it a second thought until a friend of ours came over to play, and absolutely OBLITERATED us. He did things I didn't know existed or were possible. I tried to get better, watched videos, and then stumbled upon this gem. I think this game is what really got me into competitive melee.

The documentary seems slightly unprofessional in certain scenes, its loud sometimes, sometimes you don't get whats happening, and then there are times you can't help but watch the next episode (I watched it on YouTube in 8 parts). All in all, the documentary, much like the game itself, is beautifully imperfect.

It follows the story of 7 of the greatest smash bros players of all time, some people I watch at tournaments now, some people I've heard of, and some people I never knew about, but can't help but love now.

The melee I knew was still not so well known, just as it was then, but there are many more people that play it, and take the game to a new level. The tournaments are bigger, prettier, and carry much bigger prizes than they did then, but the people that play love it the same.

It was amazing to watch the origins of one of my favorite competitive games, the people that played it and the struggle it went through to be the game that it is today, 15 years after it came out. I know I'm biased because of how much I love the game, but I would recommend this to any gamer, it's part of a broader story of eSports as a whole trying to gain recognition and be accepted in our world.

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n 2003, he competed in his first major tournament, part of the Tournament Go (TG) series, one of the first major Melee tournament series. In this, the fourth installment of the tournament series, Hoang won the singles (1 vs 1) tournament and lost in the doubles (2 vs 2) tournament to the winners of the first two TG tournaments.[7] [8]

Seven months later, in August 2003, Hoang attended and won TG5. This was the first tournament where he partnered with Joel Isai "Isaiah" Alvarado (otherwise known as "Malva00") for doubles in a team known as El Chocolate Diablo. Their victory in the doubles tournament started a two-and-a-half year winning streak. They won every doubles tournament they entered until MLG Chicago in July 2006, where they were defeated by Azen and Chillindude829 in the finals and received second place. However, they reclaimed their title later that year in August at MLG Orlando where they defeated Azen and Chillindude829 6- 3 in the finals.[9]

For the next two years, he continued to win nearly every competition he entered. The worst loss he ever garnered in his competitive career was in August 2004 at TG6 where he placed 9th out of approximately 128 competitors. He traveled to Japan several times and defeated top players such as Aniki, Captain Jack, Masashi, Bombsoldier, Korius, and Mikael in the summer of 2005 and 2006.[10]

Ken retired from competitive play in 2008. Although retired, he was regarded as one of the top players long after his departure from the tournament scene.[2] In September 2006, Ken was nominated in "The Dangerous Five" as one of "The World's Most Dangerous Gamers" by Electronic Gaming Monthly, in which he was called "The Duper" for his fast, smart, and aggressive play.[11]

Hoang returned to the game in 2012 after a five-year hiatus and placed 33rd in Kings of Cali. He has since attended several additional tournaments most recently the EVO 2013 where he placed 49th out of 696 participants, then the Smash tournament with the largest number of entrants in history.

In 2013, Hoang's career was profiled in the documentary series The Smash Brothers.[1][12] At the end of the year, Ken was ranked in the final spot at 100th in Melee it on Me's 2013 SSBMRank listing of the best Melee players.[13]

On March 18, 2014, Team Liquid announced that Hoang and KDJ would be joining their new Super Smash Bros. team.[14] Ken rose to 58th in the 2014 SSBMRank.[15]