Chris Taylor, a 21-year-old cancer patient, got to live out his dying wish to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For Taylor, hearing about the next installment of his favorite video game series filled him with regret rather than joy. Taylor suffered from bone cancer. The progression of the disease left him bedridden and afraid that he wouldn’t live to see the game’s release in December. But when he tweeted about his story the gaming community responded, showing their support and retweeting his initial post over 3,400 times. Thanks to their efforts, Nintendo learned of Taylor’s story and set up an opportunity for him to play the game before its release.
Ultimate is the fifth game in the Super Smash Bros. series and promises to be the biggest one yet. The game will include every fighter who has appeared in the franchise so far, as well as some new additions. Along with the impressive roster, the game will include several familiar and new modes including Squad Strike, a single match game that pits teams of either 3 or 5 characters against each other. The stage count for Ultimate will be 103, almost double the amount of stages in the previous game, which totaled at 56.
Taylor got to live out his dream. As reported by the BBC, Taylor announced on Reddit that two representatives from Nintendo showed up at his house with the E3 demo of the game. For three hours, Taylor got to play Ultimate with his mother and brother. He then expressed his gratitude for the gaming community, writing, “No words can describe how thankful I am. I hardly deserve it but you guys did this and the pure kindness brings me to tears, thank you so much.”
Sadly, since the BBC first posted the story, Taylor has passed away. The news was broken on Reddit by his brother Zach, who wrote, “We are extremely thankful for all the love and support Chris has received. You guys made it possible for his dream to come true. I hope Chris’s memory lives on through all of us when we game.”
This isn’t the first time this past month where a young gamer had their dreams of playing their favorite game fulfilled. A few days ago, a 12-year-old fan of Fallout named Wes had their wish granted by Bethesda who showed up with a working copy of Fallout 76 for him to enjoy. Stories like Taylor’s are always bittersweet. A premature death is always tragic. But while stories like Taylor’s and Wes’ are sad, they are also a reminder of the good people can accomplish when they set their minds to it. For all those stories of divided fanbases spreading negativity, here’s one story of when the gaming community came together to help a devoted fan live out his final wish of playing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
More: Proof That Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Graphics Are Vastly Improved
Source: BBC
