Smash is a fighting game and always will be.

In fighting game there is a "life system" to where the more you get hit the closer you are to dying. Brawl/melee/ssb64 does that. It uses "%" instead of bars yet the rule is still the same.

In a fighting game there are combos. A combo is definted as 2 or more consecutive hits. Brawl/melee/ssb6 has that.

In a fighting game there must be some sort of "advanced techiques" and all 3 smash games have them. In fact, brawl has more advanced techs than any other fighter created. PIKACHU has over 100 just by himself.

Dont fighting games have "rounds" and isnt a round is pretty much where u restart a fight with full HP? All smash game shave that too. Smash's competitive rule set allows us 3 stocks. Once a stock is lost you reappear fully healed and your move-set full replinished. This can be seen as a new round.

If i recall correctly, fighting games have MATCHES and SETS right? Smash does do.

All the human created aspects of fighting games like "stage control" "camping" "turtling" "cross-ups" "1-hit-KO" blah blah blah is all in smash just like any other fighter.

Tier lists? We got em. http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=266820

Character reduction over time? MvC2 has about 7 characters, SF4 had about 5, melee had6 and so does brawl.

The list goes on an on and on. The PLAYERS have made a game that was meant to be as a FREE-4-ALL with items falling from the sky into a 1vs1 or 2vs2 fighter with a competitive rule set that has worked for over 9 years now. As ive said in the other thread, ive played fighters since the SNES days and ive COMPETED in a WIDE viariety of fighters(sc2/tekken tag/mvc2/sf2t/ssb64/melee), hell even even spent hours on the horrid STAR WARS: Masters fighting game so i know what a FIGHTING GAME IS.  Smash is a fighter wether you accept it or not. I request that you check out www.smashboards.com and just see what im talking about.