Maitreyi Ramakrishnan Will Destroy You at Super Smash Bros.

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, the breakout star of Netflix’s Never Have I Ever and the new film Best of the Best, is a devoted Nintendo gamer who has developed significant skill at Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Growing up in a household where violent games like Call of Duty and GTA were off-limits, Ramakrishnan became a die-hard Nintendo enthusiast, with her gaming foundation built on the DS and GameCube systems.

Her gaming pedigree is anchored in classic Nintendo titles from the mid-2000s era. Her favorite games span multiple systems and genres, including Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Kirby Superstar Ultra, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Super Princess Peach, Pokémon Pearl, Luigi’s Mansion, and Super Paper Mario. This diverse collection reveals a player who appreciates Nintendo’s variety—from competitive fighting games to narrative-driven adventures and platformers.

Ramakrishnan’s mastery of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has been hard-won. Her path to competence wasn’t aided by premium equipment; she spent years practicing with a third-party controller that had deteriorated significantly, complete with a worn joystick. This constraint forced her to develop genuine skill rather than rely on quality hardware, a common experience among dedicated competitive players who develop their fundamentals under challenging conditions.

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