In a bit of more positive gaming news, the Smash Bros. community was able to band together and give a terminally ill fan the chance to play the game of his dreams. After a friend put out word that Chris Taylor might not live long enough to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate., fellow gamers did all they could to spread his story. Nintendo responded by sending Taylor a special demo version to play in his hospital room.

The Smash community first learned of Taylor's plight last week, when his friend Alex Rochon tweeted at Nintendo's various North American branches. Rochon's tweet explains that Taylor is "bedridden with terminal cancer, and would love to play Super Smash Bros Ultimate before he passes away." Attached is a tweet from Taylor himself that simply, and sadly, reads "Im really scared I won't be able to play ultimate."

The tweet, and Taylor's situation, reached the Smash Bros. subreddit. A post linking to Rochon's tweet drew in support, giving him almost 8,000 retweets. Some cautioned that the effort might not be enough, however, with one of the higher rated comments saying "Best bet is going to the closest Best Buy that has the demo. Maybe setup a gofundme for a plane ticket and hotel and such."

But in his current state, Taylor doesn't have the strength to attend one of Nintendo's traveling demo sessions. He was even questioned by some who wondered if he wouldn't make it to the game's December 7th release. His response: "December is a long way away for someone who is already bedridden..."

Fortunately he doesn't have to wait. Word did reach Nintendo, and representatives were sent to Taylor's hospital room to set him up with the E3 demo version of Ultimate. Taylor himself let everyone know on Twitter, and also thanked the Reddit Smash Bros. community with a heartfelt post. 

All in all a much-needed victory for Taylor. But he didn't stop with celebrating. While he's in the spotlight, he's hoping to raise awareness for his disease, a rare form of bone cancer called Osteosarcoma. According to him, research into Osteosarcoma is completely underfunded, to the point that his chemo treatments are the same ones used since the 1970s. He asks that those who wish to help send donations to the MIB, a non-profit that researches experimental Osteosarcoma medication.

Chris Taylor has proven himself to be as strong as any Smasher, and we wish him the best.

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