As gamers prepare for another Nintendo brawl with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, one of the franchise's biggest players is calling out the maligned 'Rage' mechanic.

While fans are looking forward to the new Stage Morph mechanic, a Smash Bros. champion hopes that Rage won't be coming back. Introduced in 2014's Super Smash Bros. 4, Rage allowed characters to deal more of a knockback as their damage increased. Although Rage could be handy for clawing back a match, it was also a controversial mechanic in Smash Bros. circles.

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In an interview with Nintendo Force (via Destructoid), Smash Ultimate invitational champion Gonzalo 'ZeRo' Barrios explained why he'd hate Rage to return:

"Tripping is bad, but here's the way I see it. Tripping probably lost me 2 games or so in a span of 6 years playing the game competitively, and probably won me 3 games or even less. But in Smash 4, rage is a much, much worse mechanic. Rage has affected every single match I've played, both in my favor and against me, because no matter what you do, it's always there because people have to take damage for there to be a winner. This is why I think rage is much worse."

Barrios went on to say that he doesn't "...think anyone should be rewarded with making their character stronger, just because they got hit in the first place." He said, "It feels contradicting. It also doesn't help how the game has so many crazy things that can kill you incredibly early, or even when you haven't even taken any damage." The Tripping mechanic from Super Smash Bros. Brawl is also disliked by many, but it's interesting that Barrios highlighted Rage as his most hated addition to gameplay.

Rage starts when a player's damage hits 35% and caps out at 150%. Although the effects start early on, the mechanic is remembered for characters turning red and emitting steam when they reach 100%. Rage was handy for bigger characters like Donkey Kong, Bowser, and Ganondorf, but lightweight additions like Pikachu, Toon Link, and Kirby weren't as lucky.

Despite Rage being introduced as a way to balance Super Smash Bros. 4, it ended up persuading some gamers to automatically pick heavier characters and encourage them to take damage to increase their Rage power. That being said, Rage extended matches and was a clever way to change gameplay. Considering most players automatically single out the opponent with highest damage in an attempt to KO them, Rage made that considerably harder.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the culmination of the past 19 years of Smash Bros. games and will introduce new modes like Squad Strike and Smashdown - as well as a possible Spirits mode. Whether the likes of Rage and Tripping return for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, here's hoping Masahiro Sakurai will give players the option to turn off these tweaks in-game. See if Rage will be causing more rage in 2018 when Super Smash Bros. Ultimate comes to the Nintendo Switch on December 7.

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Source: Destructoid