I Love Playing Smash Bros. Competitively, But...
English

I Love Playing Smash Bros. Competitively, But...

by

video games

Today, I want to write about Smash Bros. Maybe no one here is interested in this topic, but I'm afraid that I’ve decided not to worry about that this time.

I’ve been playing Smash Bros. Ultimate since its release in 2018, which means I’ve been doing it for about six years now. At that time, I was in university, and Japanese university students generally have a lot of free time. They can study whatever attracts them, and my main interest was competitive video games, especially Smash Bros. That wasn't really admirable, but anyway, I played this game with friends and participated in a local tournament every week. Competing with others who were keen on the same game was amazing. I really enjoyed getting lost in the matches and hanging out with them after tournaments to discuss the results or something. Those moments were some of the greatest time in my life.

Now that I work full-time, I still enjoy playing, but I feel my momentum for this game is fading. I don’t have enough time to practice, and my desire to win has diminished compared to before. Even afer all I was extremely engaged in it a couple of years ago, I couldn’t create any results. I don’t think I can win more than I did back then. While it’s disappointing, it’s a natural progress, you know?

At this stage, I need to rethink how I relate to this game. I’m still keen on playing, but my skills get lower. Is playing this game a waste of time? Of course not. It helps me escape from reality temporarily and gives me the energy to power through difficult parts of my life. However, I can’t shake the feeling that it's pointless and I should exercise or study something instead.

I feel guilty about spending endless hours on the same game.

Headline image by florianolv on Unsplash

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