Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee (Japanese: 大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズDX, Dairantō Smash Brothers Deluxe) is a colorful fighting game released for the Nintendo GameCube shortly after its launch in 2001. It is the sequel to the 1999 Nintendo 64 fighting game Super Smash Bros. and builds on that game's broad appeal and involved multiplayer mode, while improving overall quality and adding new features. A very popular title, it is considered the definitive killer app for the GameCube and is the GameCube's highest-selling game.
Gameplay
Super Smash Bros. Melee, like its predecessor, is different from most traditional fighting games in that simply inflicting damage does not guarantee victory. In normal play, a player must force the opponent off the stage's boundaries; this can be likened to a ring out in standard fighting games. Attacks both inflict damage and knock back the enemy; inflicted damage increases that distance, so sufficient damage must be accumulated before one attempts to KO an opponent. If the opponent is insufficiently damaged, he or she can "recover" (through mid-air jumps) from off-stage and resume normal combat. The other player, however, can "edge-guard": using attacks or other means to prevent his enemy from reaching the stage,.
The controls for Melee are simple; almost every single move in the game can be accessed via one button press and a joystick direction. This control scheme contrasts to that of standard fighting games, which often require the player to memorize complicated and sometimes lengthy sequences of button inputs to perform effective attack combos. Different attacks can be accessed depending on which button is pressed or whether the control stick is tilted or tapped. Each character has unique special moves, such as Link's bow or Mario's fire balls.
Single player mode provides the player with a variety of fighting and side-scrolling challenges. One can also practice in Training mode, or use the Stadium to play various minigames: Target Test, Home Run Contest, and Multi Man Melee. The Event Match mode allows the player to attempt to negotiate various scripted challenges (fighting a Pokémon-themed match, for instance, or defeating an enemy in less than seven seconds).
Versus
In versus mode, up to four characters may fight, either in a free-for-all or on teams. All characters may be controlled either by humans or AIs of varying difficulty. The victor may be determined in any of four ways, the most popular of which are "stock" mode, in which the last player (or team) still alive is declared the winner, and "time" mode, in which the winner is the player with the most KOs and fewest falls at the end of a certain time limit. A variety of other options are available, such as determining the number and kind of items that appear during the battle.
Versus mode remains by far the most popular part of the game, and has created a devoted fanbase. This is best exemplified in the GameFAQs message boards and guides and Smashboards.com, where the most advanced competitive techniques are devised. This fanbase is also known to frequently organize large 1-on-1 tournaments, including 2005's FC3, in which the best players from Japan, America, and Europe competed. There have been many tournaments throughout the years, most following the format of four- or five-stock, eight to ten-minute time limit, no items battle on one of a limited selection of fair stages. Major League Gaming added Super Smash Bros. Melee to its roster of tournament games in 2004.
Stages
Template:Spoiler-about Eighteen stages are initially available when one begins the game. Through completing various tasks, one can unlock eleven hidden stages to reveal 29 stages.
Available at the start
- Corneria: Battle on top of the Great Fox where another battle occurs between the Star Fox and Star Wolf teams.
- Jungle Japes: Battle outside Cranky Kong's lab above a fast-flowing river.
- Icicle Mountain - Battle in the 3D version of the Ice Climber world.
- Fountain of Dreams: Battle on the legendary Fountain of Dreams.
- Green Greens: Battle in front of Whispy Woods, who can blow players away with a powerful gust of wind and drop apples on them.
- Kongo Jungle: Battle on this small wooden island above a raging waterfall.
- Mushroom Kingdom: Battle in this platform-based zone.
- Mute City: Battle on the race course of Mute City.
- Onett: Battle in Ness's home town, with dangerous traffic.
- Pokémon Stadium: Battle Pokémon-style in this unique terrain-switching stadium.
- Venom: Battle across the Great Fox as it flies through the planet Venom.
- Princess Peach's Castle: Battle on the rooftop of Peach's castle, site of Super Mario 64. Watch out for Banzai Bill!
- Rainbow Cruise: Battle in all-around aerial battle. Fighters begin on a flying boat, before continuing the fight on various platforms.
- Hyrule Temple: Battle in combination of many temples from the series.
- Great Bay: Battle on the Great Bay surrounded by several familiar faces from Majora's Mask including Tingle, Four Giants, a menacing Moon, and the Giant Island Turtle.
- Yoshi's Island: Battle on the island itself, with a deadly drop in the middle of the field.
- Yoshi's Story: Battle on a mid-sized island with Shy Guys flying overhead carrying food.
- Brinstar: Battle in the underground depths of Brinstar. The magma-acid rises occasionally, hurting the characters it touches.
Unlockable stages
- Battlefield - Clear All-Star Mode with any character.
- Classic Kongo Jungle - Survive 15-Minute Melee with any character.
- Fourside - Play more than 100 VS Mode matches.
- Final Destination - Clear Event Match #51: The Showdown.
- Big Blue - Play more than 150 VS Mode matches.
- Flat Zone - Clear Classic Mode with Mr. Game & Watch without losing any lives.
- Classic Dreamland - Clear Target Test with all 25 characters.
- Poké Floats - Play more than 200 VS Mode matches.
- Mushroom Kingdom II - Collect either the Pidgit or the Birdo Trophy in Lottery or 1-Player Regular Match.
- Classic Yoshi's Island - Set a record to at least 1400 feet or 350 meters in Home-Run Contest using Yoshi..
- Brinstar Depths - Play more than 50 VS Mode matches.
It is of note that the name Mushroom Kingdom II is something of a misnomer. That stage is derived from Super Mario Bros. 2, the events of which took place in Subcon and not in the Mushroom Kingdom.
Non-Playable stages
Many stages are only found in certain circumstances, and cannot be played in vs. mode. If a stage it not playable using Debug mode alone, it will be italicized.
None of these names are official.
- Mushroom Kingdom Adventure (This is played as the first level of Adventure Mode)
- Underground Maze (This is played as the third level of Adventure Mode)
- Escape Shaft (This is played as the eighth level of Adventure Mode)
- Race to the Finish (This is played as the ninth level of Classic Mode)
- Target Test (This is played as the third level of Classic Mode and varies from character to character)
- Goomba (This is played on the Event Match "Trophy Tussle")
- Entei (This is played on the Event Match "Trophy Tussle 2")
- Majora's Mask (This is played on the Event Match "Trophy Tussle 3")
- Trophy Collector (This is played as the sixth level of Classic Mode)
- All-Star Teleporter (This is played between every stage of All-Star)
- F-Zero Raceway (This is played as either the fifteenth or fourteenth level of Adventure Mode, depending on whether or not the player fought Giant Kirby)
- Homerun Stadium (This is played in the Homerun Contest)
Items
Items typically appear randomly around the arena, where they may be picked up and used by anyone. The items are derived from a number of Nintendo games and peripheral accessories: for example, Super Mushrooms, which increase a character's size, Super Scopes, which can be charged up to fire damaging shots of energy, and Poké Balls, which release a variety of Pokémon.
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In some stages, the stage also provides players with stage-only items, like apples in Green Greens, and Birdo's (flat 2D) eggs in Mushroom Kingdom II.
Characters
All eight original and four secret characters from Super Smash Bros. return along with four new characters available from the start of the game. Two of the secret characters from the original game are now automatically available from the start in Melee. Nine new secret characters have been added in addition to the two remaining secret characters. This adds up to a total of 25 playable characters (26 if Zelda and Sheik are counted as two different players).
Playable
Initially available
- Bowser – from the Mario series – Bowser is slow and difficult to control; however, skilled users can use his overwhelming power and wide attack hitboxes to help win their battles. His best move is the fast and defensive Up + B move, Whirling Fortress. Bowser is the heaviest character in the game; thus he is difficult to knock off-stage.
- Captain Falcon – from the F-Zero series² – Captain Falcon is characterized by the fastest running speed in the game, one of the fastest falling speeds and his aerial combos into his deadly Forward Aerial attack, Knee Smash (Forward + A in the air). He is also well known for his very slow but very powerful Falcon Punch.
- Donkey Kong – from the Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Country series¹ – Although the second heaviest character in the game, Donkey Kong's playstyle is actually fairly mobile and combo-based. He is well known for his up aerial (Up + A in the air), an attack that can both combo and knock out enemies. He lacks projectile attacks, though, allowing enemies to attack him from a distance without retaliation.
- Fox McCloud – from the Star Fox series¹ – One of the fastest characters in the game. His down + B attack, Reflector (often called "shine" by tournament players), although ostensibly a mere reflecting move, is an extremely fast attack that can be used to combo, edge-guard, and interrupt enemy attacks, due to Fox's ability to jump-cancel from his reflector. Fox is considered a top-tier character.
- Ice Climbers – from Ice Climber – The secondary Ice Climber (either Popo or Nana depending on the user's choice of their color), is computer-controlled when separated from the primary, human-controlled Climber, but mimics the primary Climber when they are together. Proficient Ice Climber users can combine both aspects of the second Climber to perform extremely high-damage combos on their enemies. The computer Ice Climber can even pick up items on his or her own, meaning the player can potentially hold two items at once. If the Ice Climbers are separated, they are greatly weakened. If the human-controlled Climber falls, the other will disappear. If the computer-controlled one falls, the human will remain.
- Kirby – from the Kirby series¹ – Light and characterized by his swallow attack, which gives him the ability to perform his enemies' neutral B attacks. His throws, which, if executed successfully, kills both him and his opponent. Kirby can jump multiple times in mid-air, allowing him to recover to the stage when knocked afar.
- Link – from the Legend of Zelda series¹ – A character whose main strength is long range and combo ability. Link is widely derided as "cheap" by casual players for certain attacks (his up-B whirling blade, Spin Attack, and his Down Aerial (Down + A in the air), Sword Plant, in particular). However, competitive players consider Link a middle-tier character. His Forward Smash is a two-part attack; if his user presses A after the initial attack, Link slashes his sword again.
- Mario – from the Mario series¹ – Mario is built to be a simple and easy character to use. He is, however, relatively fast and very combo-heavy at high-level play, making him a difficult character to master. Contrary to what one might think, his jumping ability is not too great, even though Mario was originally named Jump Man and was renowned for his ability to jump.
- Ness – from the Mother/EarthBound series² – A difficult-to-control character from EarthBound, he is severely downgraded from Super Smash Bros. His trademarks are his low range, his swinging second jump, and his unique and unorthodox third jump, which requires Ness to guide his PK Thunder projectile into himself, propelling Ness powerfully in the direction his projectile was moving.
- Pikachu – from the Pokémon series¹ – An electric mouse who can shock opponents. Pikachu's up smash is effectively the most powerful up smash in the game (only surpassed by Sheik's sweet spot fully charged up smash, which is very hard to hit with). Pikachu is fast but has low range.
- Princess Peach – from the Mario series – Peach is characterized by her ability to float, her various and useful aerials and her devastating Down Smash, Double-Edged Gown, which can inflict up to 88% damage. Her forward Smash Attack is a demi-random weapon (it can never be the same weapon as the last time a player used it in that particular match, meaning it is randomly generated between the remaining two weapons), varying in strength and range: the Frying Pan from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Tennis Racket from Mario Tennis, and a Golf Club from Mario Golf.
- Samus Aran – from the Metroid series¹ – Despite many players' first impressions, Samus is a woman, not a man or a robot. Her equipment includes the Screw Attack, Grappling Beam and bombs that help give her a very flexible and long recovery from off-stage. Her arm cannon can charge and release a powerful energy ball. She can also fire missiles with her Smash B. Her Grapple Beam works very similarly to Link's longshot - it can grab enemies and walls from afar.
- Yoshi – from the Mario series¹ and Yoshi's Island series – Yoshi lacks a third jump (aside from his air dodge), but his second jump is very high and is invulnerable to many weaker attacks. Yoshi's shield is different from any other characters'; it darkens instead of shrinking and cannot be exited by jumping.
- Princess Zelda/Sheik – from the Legend of Zelda – Zelda uses magic and powerful back and forward aerial attacks to fight. She is a slow-moving character but powerful character. Zelda uses many magical abilities from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time such as Din's Fire, Farore's Wind, and Nayru's Love. Using Down-B transforms her into Sheik, her alter-ego from Ocarina of Time. Sheik's moves are geared towards comboing opponents and setting them up for an aerial finisher, usually her Forward Aerial. Sheik is much faster than Zelda and much more acrobatic. Sheik uses a variety of quick moves, which can quickly build up damage.
¹ These characters appeared as starter characters in the original Super Smash Bros. ² Captain Falcon and Ness were available as unlockable characters in the original Super Smash Bros..
Unlockable
- Dr. Mario – from the Dr. Mario series – Stronger but less ranged than Mario. In line with his background, he throws Megavitamins instead of Fireballs. His Forward Aerial attack (Forward + A in the air) is not a Meteor Smash, like Mario's, but rather a powerful upward-sending attack.
- Falco Lombardi – from the Star Fox series – His laser has a stun effect similar to Fox's in the original Super Smash Bros. He moves more slowly, falls faster, and jumps higher than Fox; his forward and down-smash attacks are more powerful than Fox's, and his up-smash is weaker. Falco's Down Aerial is not multi-hit "drill kick" like Fox's, but is rather a spike - an attack that sends the enemy downwards. Falco jumps higher than any other character in Melee.
- Ganondorf – from the Legend of Zelda series – A "clone" of Captain Falcon, his playstyle is actually very distinct from Falcon's. Ganondorf is very slow but very powerful; a single combo can bring the enemy into killing range. His Warlock Punch (B) is much more powerful than Cpt. Falcon's Falcon Punch, but is slower. Ganondorf is the most powerful player in the game. His attacks inflict heavy damage and can kill even low-damage enemies.
- Jigglypuff (Purin) – from the Pokémon series³ – It is slow and weak on the ground, but extremely mobile in mid-air. Its Sing move puts opponents to sleep and its Rest attack deals an incredibly powerful blow the instant it activates but leaves Jigglypuff sleeping for a few seconds or until attacked.
- Luigi – from the Mario series³ – He is Mario's brother. His playstyle is different – Luigi is much more "slippery" (he has the lowest traction in the game) and more floaty than Mario, making him a prime candidate for wavedashing. Although he is an unlockable character, his icon is placed next to Mario's when he is unlocked (switching places with Pikachu). To recover from off-stage, Luigi uses a combination of his Super Jump Punch (up B) and his Green Missile (Smash B), which propels him to the left or right and may randomly rocket him very far at very high speed.
- Marth – from the Fire Emblem series – A deadly comboer with the longest reach in the game due to his sword, the "Falchion". The tip of the sword is generally its strongest point. When he uses forward smash while holding a wieldable item, he swings with his sword first, before swinging again with his item. His Down Aerial attack (Down + A in the air) is a spike. He is considered a top-tier character.
- Mewtwo – from the Pokémon series – Despite its size, it is light, apparently because it floats telekinetically. It can hold items telekinetically. Also, Mewtwo is the only character in the game whose downward Smash Attack does not attack enemies on both sides. Though Mewtwo is one of the most powerful characters in the Pokemon games, having been genetically engineered to be the ultimate Pokemon, it appears somewhat weak in Melee. Some speculate that HAL crippled Mewtwo's abilities to try to prevent it from being much too powerful. Mewtwo has the most powerful throws in the game; particularly its backward and upward throws.
- Mr. Game & Watch – from the Game & Watch games – Characterized by being essentially 2-dimensional, Mr. Game & Watch uses various attacks from Game & Watch games. Mr. Game & Watch can also make Ness a deadly projectile, instantly KO'ing Ness and any other character he hits. First, have Mr. Game & Watch use his bucket move (down + b), then have Ness use PK Flash on Mr. Game & Watch 3 times until the bucket is full. Next, have Ness use his sheild (the down + b one, not R or L), use Mr. Game & Watch's bucket, and send Ness flying!
- Pichu – from the Pokémon series – It is the lightest character. Because it has not learned to fully control its electricity, Pichu's electric attacks hurt it a few percentage points. It is considered a bottom-tier character; although it is fast, it is very weak, light and low-ranged.
- Roy – from the Fire Emblem series – Considered by some players to be a strong but slow version of Marth, he is actually probably better described as weaker and faster at a high level of play, though this is debatable. Roy's fully charged B attack is one of the strongest attacks in the game. Roy's sword is most powerful in the center of the blade instead of the very tip (as opposed to Marth's blade). In addition, his counter attack (Down + B) can block an incoming attack and reverse it with 1.5 times the damage of the original attack, although it is more difficult to time than Marth's.
- Young Link – from the Legend of Zelda series – Weaker but more spry than adolescent Link, he handles projectiles more effectively than his older counterpart but has trouble killing the enemy. Young Link can also wall-jump. Young Link's Deku Shield can block projectile attacks just like Link's Hylian Shield, but he drops his guard briefly during his standing animation. It can block even fiery projectiles, which is inconsistent with the Deku Shield in Ocarina of Time, where it is burned up if hit by fire.
³ These characters, Luigi and Jigglypuff, also appeared as unlockable characters in the original Super Smash Bros.
Non-playable
There are many non-playable characters in Super Smash Bros. Melee, though through usage of a Debug menu or Action Replay, these characters may become playable:
- Master Hand: Originally starring as the final boss of the original Super Smash Bros., Master Hand makes a return as the last enemy in Melee's classic mode and Event Match 50. Unlike other characters, Master Hand does not accumulate damage but rather has a set amount of HP, depending on where and at what difficulty the player fights him. This is the same as the Stamina Melee that players can play as a Special Melee. Master Hand floats over the right-hand side of Final Destination.
- Crazy Hand: Crazy hand is the left-hand counterpart to Master Hand and is impulsively destructive. He is reached by reaching Master Hand and halving his HP within 30 seconds without using continues on Normal difficulty or higher. Crazy Hand floats over the left-hand side of Final Destination. He can use certain attacks that Master Hand cannot (such as dropping bombs), and some moves he even uses in conjunction with Master Hand (such as the clapping move) He has the same HP as Master Hand, but he belts out attacks much faster, meaning the player has less down time to lower his health.
- Giga Bowser: Giga Bowser is a huge version of Bowser that can be reached in two ways: either by clearing Adventure Mode in less than 18 minutes without using continues on Normal difficulty or higher, or by unlocking and attempting Event Match 51. Though much larger than Bowser, Giga Bowser is not appreciably heavier or stronger (except in Adventure mode, when he, as well as the other ending Bowser, is given a handicap), but his attacks are much longer-ranged, some of his attacks have elemental side-effects and different knockback/damage qualities, and he cannot be grabbed.
- Fighting Wire Frames: Possibly descendants of the original Super Smash Bros.' Fighting Polygon Team, the Wire Frames are wire replicas of Captain Falcon (Male Wire Frames) and Zelda (Female Wire Frames) who lack special moves. They generally appear in Event Matches or Multi-man Melees under handicaps that greatly weaken them, although Cruel Melee reverses this situation, allowing the Wireframes to one-hit KO the player character with many attacks.
- Sandbag: a tall sandbag characterized by a pair of eyes. Player characters wallop on him in Home-Run Contest, racking damage and ultimately hitting him thousands of feet away with the Home-Run Bat (hence the name) or other attacks. Fortunately for him, Sandbag enjoys seeing other characters let loose on him—he does not seem to be injured by other characters' home-run endeavors.
Trophies
As another way to incorporate retro references into the game, "trophies" of various Nintendo characters and objects can be collected. These trophies include statuettes of various characters, accessories and items associated with them, and secondary characters not otherwise included in the game. The trophies range from the well-known to the obscure, and include many references that are lost on international (not Japanese) gamers. Super Smash Bros. had a similar system, but they were plush dolls and not trophies.
There are 290 trophies in all versions of Super Smash Bros. Melee; however, the Japanese version has three more.
- One trophy, the character Tamagon from Devil World that was released only in Japan, was removed likely because of the religious reference.
- Two trophies were awarded at a promotional event in Japan (Mario riding Yoshi, and Samus Aran without her helmet) that are not available in other versions.
All three of the missing trophies can be unlocked with use of the Action Replay cheating device (except in the PAL version, in which Tamagon cannot be obtained at all).
The Motion-Sensor Bomb trophy originally bore a resemblance to the proximity mine in the game Perfect Dark. In the North American version, however, it was changed to resemble a proximity mine from GoldenEye 007 for unknown reasons. Its name was also changed to "TOP SECRET", a reference to the Cloaking Device. Some have speculated that the change was because Perfect Dark was given an M rating or the fact that Perfect Dark's parent company, Rareware was sold to Microsoft soon after the release of the GameCube and Xbox. It is interesting to note that the ending credits clearly states that "Certain characters and items from Perfect Dark [...]" implies the original source of the trophy. There is no way to obtain the original Motion-Sensor Bomb trophy outside of Japan; setting the U.S. version's language to Japanese will not work.
Trophy errata
- Samus Aran (trophy number 10) appeared in Metroid for NES when it first came out in North America in 1987, but Super Smash Bros. Melee erroneously lists 1989 in the description and other trophies where the character or thing first appeared in Metroid.
- Meta Knight (trophy number 240) first appeared in Kirby's Adventure, not Kirby Super Star. However, he was not mentioned by name in Kirby's Adventure, which may have caused this oversight.
- Ayumi Tachibana (trophy number 286) was the protagonist of the original Detective Club game, even though the trophy description states that she appeared only in the sequel.
- The "Coin" trophy description speculates that they may be the currency of the Mushroom Kingdom; however, this was confirmed in Super Mario RPG and again in Paper Mario.
- The Master Sword is listed as first appearing in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, although it was first seen in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. This was corrected in SSBM's PAL version. Incidentally, Ocarina of Time is the first game in the Zelda chronology to introduce the Master Sword.
- Princess Daisy's reintroduction was in Mario Tennis, not in Mario Golf as her trophy claims. In Mario Golf, she was neither a playable character (available or unlockable) nor a cameo apperance.
- Birdo was not "long missing from the Nintendo scene" since her Super Mario Bros. 2 debut; she had also appeared in Wario's Woods and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. In Japan, she first appeared in Doki Doki Panic, but Super Smash Bros. Melee erroneously lists Super Mario USA in the description of her first appearance in the Japanese references.
- The Great Fox first appeared in Star Fox 64, not in the original Star Fox.
- The Mario & Yoshi trophy that can be gotten by the Action Replay codes, Super Mario World first came out in North America in August 1991, but Super Smash Bros. Melee erroneously lists September in the description of that trophy.
Other details
- Many people say that the poison mushroom trophy has a mistake due to the fact it claims it first appeared in Super Mario All-Stars and not in the Japanese-only game Super Mario Bros. 2 (not to be confused with the American release). This is not a mistake, as all the dates and names given for trophies' games are for American releases (aside from those which specifically say Japan Only).
- Ness first appeared in EarthBound (Mother 2 in Japan) for SNES in North America in 1995. Some people claim that this is an error, claiming that he appeared in Mother for the Nintendo Famicom in Japan in 1989. Ness, however, never appeared in that game, since the main charcter in Mother is called Ninten who, despite being similar to Ness, is a totally different character. Plotwise, Mother and EarthBound are unrelated.
- Some people say the Birdo trophy description contains an error - it claims she most recently reappeared in Super Mario Advance instead of Mario Tennis - and that since Super Mario Advance is a remake of Super Mario Bros. 2, her appearance in that game was not legitimate. However, since HAL determines the criteria for what constitutes an appearance (in the trophy descriptions), and there is no pattern of other characters' appearances not including remakes, one cannot assume that the trophy contains an error.
Popular hoaxes
There have been a number of hoaxes that were created and have since become extremely popular.
Sonic and Tails
In 2002, the April edition of the video game magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly listed a "cheat" for the game that would baffle many players. The issue claimed that the Sega characters Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower were hidden characters in the game. In order to be able to unlock them, the player was required to eliminate 20 of the wire-frame characters in the Cruel Melee mode. Then, both Sonic and Tails would supposedly fight the player simultaneously. If defeated, they would then become playable. EGM also stated that if a player completed Classic mode with either character, they would be given "a special surprise". To convince readers, EGM included some "screenshots" of Sonic and Tails in play.
Once players started fulfilling the supposed requirements, however, the rumor was revealed to be an April Fool's joke, reminiscent of EGM's similarly executed Sheng Long joke for Street Fighter II. Several other factors also indicated the false nature of the rumor, such as Nintendo's lack of collaboration with Sega during the game's production, a screen that tells the player that he or she has unlocked all the characters (without having unlocked Sonic and Tails), and the lack of any acknowledgement of the two characters in any strategy guide.
Nintendo Power recently released the results of a poll for the character subscribers most wanted in the next Super Smash Bros. It is interesting to note that one of the most popular choices was Sonic and Tails. They were followed closely by Tekken's Jin Kazama, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Cloud Strife and Mortal Kombat's hero Liu Kang and the four armed enforcer, Goro, Nightmare, Pac-Man, and Viewtiful Joe.
None of these characters are licensed by Nintendo. All of the in-game characters are, making it unlikely (but not impossible) that they will be included.
Toad
Toad is a small servant or advisor of Princess Peach found throughout the Super Mario Bros. series. Toad appears briefly in Super Smash Bros. Melee as one of Princess Peach's special attacks and in the Mushroom Kingdom stage in Adventure Mode. The Toad Hoax described a method to "unlock" Toad - complete Adventure mode and shoot all the ending credits. However, this has been disproved: Toad cannot be reached using this method, the Debug menu finds no evidence of Toad being a playable character, and the supposed screenshots of Toad in action were edited.
Tournaments
The depth of this game has led to the development of a large, devoted tournament community. Smash World Forums, or Smashboards (linked below), slowly grew into the home for these competitive players. In 2002 and 2003, the first tournaments began appearing on smashboards. Many of these tournaments were held in a member's basement, and open invitations were placed on the website. Early on, some people would drive 5-6 hours to get to a location where there might only be 10 players.
The scene began to transform with the arrival of the Tournament Go (TG) series of tournaments, hosted by a moderator with the handle of "MattDeezie." At the time, MattDeezie had been placing very high in California tournaments, and also placed in the Top 3 at the IGVF Seattle Smash national tournament. He invited anyone who would attend to come out to California, and he both rented out the building for the tournament out of his own pocket and allowed everyone who came to stay at his personal residence. The series quickly grew, and soon, one of the top 2 smashers in the Midwest, Eddie, traveled from Chicago to California for it, setting the precedent for the TG series as the unofficial national championships of Super Smash Brothers Melee.
The TG series had six incarnations, the last being in the summer of 2004. In addition to Midwest players such as Eddie, TG tournaments attracted people from the East Coast such as members of H2yl and DA. The TG series has contributed much to the development of the nationwide community. The community has grown from perhaps 100 traveling members to over 1500. The end of this tournament series was not the end of competitive Smash by far, though.
The same summer as TG6, the Ship of Fools, a crew located in Mishawaka, Indiana, hosted MELEE-FC, Misunderstood Enthusiasts Living an Extraordinary Existence, For Cash. Though the name was humorous in nature, the tournament was promoted heavily due to the fact that TG5 was supposed to be the last of the series. Even the late announcement of TG6 did not prevent this tournament from being the largest to date. Its central location and hospitable environment attracted players from all over the country. Around the same time, Major League Gaming (MLG) added Smash to its tournament line-up, offering thousands of dollars in prize money.
The first MLG season concluded successfully, with Ken, the universally acknowledged best player in the world, winning the title, over Captain Jack from Japan. MELEE-FC had another incarnation the next summer, and is the largest independent tournament to date, at 186 entrants for singles. It also was the site for the first Regional Crew Battle, when the East Coast, West Coast, South, and Midwest brought their top 10 players and competed. Even with Ken (who incidentally won the singles tournament as well) on the West Coast team, the East Coast showed its depth and came out the overwhelming winner, destroying every opponent.
MLG continues to run Smash tournaments, and the independent scene thrives. For all of its simple appearances, there is no end in sight to competitive tournament play for this fighting game. In October 2005, the Smash Power Rankings, a widely accepted ranking list of top U.S. Smash players, was started.
Future
At E3 2005, the President of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, announced a third game in the Super Smash Bros. series that is currently in development for the Nintendo Revolution. The game was confirmed to be playable online by taking advantage of the system's Wi-Fi capabilities. This title could be seen as early as the second half of 2006 as a launch title for the Revolution, but the release date is currently unannounced.
On November 16, 2005, Nintendo announced that Masahiro Sakurai, the director of previous Smash Bros outings, will once again be at the helm as director and game designer. The move came as somewhat of a surprise as Sakurai left HAL Laboratory to head his own independent company, Sora.
Soundtrack
Nintendo released a special musical album in 2004 called Smashing...Live! which it gave away as a bonus for subscribing to Nintendo Power magazine in North America, and also as a free gift in an issue of the British Nintendo Official Magazine. It was released for sale only in Japan. It is not music taken directly from the game like most video game soundtracks but, rather, a live, orchestrated performance of many of the songs from the game.
See also
- Super Smash Bros. (Nintendo 64, original)
- Super Smash Bros. Revolution (Nintendo Revolution, forthcoming sequel to Super Smash Bros. Melee)
External links
- Super Smash Bros. Melee at MobyGames
- Template:Nintendo.com
- Super Smash Bros. Melee at IMDb (The IMDb uses the Japanese titles for video games of Japanese origin.)
- Super Smash Bros. Melee guide: Nintendorks.com
- Super Smash Bros. Melee - GameFAQs.com
- Smash World Forums
- Description of the Debug Menu
- Super Smash Bros. Melee website
- Super Smash Bros. Melee at The Mushroom Kingdom
