Rihanna’s Super Bowl 2023 Halftime Show Draws Comparisons to Super Smash Bros

Rihanna’s huge Super Bowl 2023 halftime show drew a lot of comparisons to Super Smash Bros. The Super Bowl halftime show is one of the biggest events of the year as it usually celebrates some of the biggest musical artists out there with good, iconic music and a real spectacle of a performance. It varies what you’re actually going to get every year it varies even more with regards to how good said performance will be, but it’s usually a fun intermission to the Big Game. This year, Rihanna took center stage during the halftime show after not having had a live performance in many years. Of course, things like COVID and her recent pregnancy are likely contributing factors to this, but she made a major comeback.

While many were praising Rihanna’s performance, some took notice of what was happening around her. A number of platforms on the field were suspended in the air with dancers on them. To the average person, it’s just a cool visual, but for those who have experience with Nintendo’s iconic fighting game franchise.. it stood out far more. The people enjoying the performance noted that this imagery was extremely reminiscent of a Super Smash Bros stage. Not any one in particular, but the stages at the halftime show were similar to the general layout of an in-game stage that allows you to bounce on platforms and battle people, hoping to blast them off the side, causing them to lose the battle. As of right now, it’s unclear if that was an intentional reference when designing Rihanna’s halftime performance, but it wouldn’t be totally surprising.

It’s not hard to imagine an actual Super Smash Bros stage where players are forced to battle on a stage in an arena of thousands of people. It’s pretty in-character, it’s not hard to imagine a live musical performance in the background of it either. Surely some modders could make this a reality, but we’ll have to wait and see.

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What did you think of Rihanna’s halftime performance? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.