Information about Super Smash Bros. Melee

Super Smash Brothers. Melee
Developer(s)	HAL Laboratory
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Masahiro Sakurai
Release date(s)	JP November 21, 2001 NA December 3, 2001 EU May 24, 2002 AUS May 31, 2002
Genre(s)	Fighting
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: T (Teen) ELSPA: 11+ PEGI: 3+, OFLC: G8+
Platform(s)	Nintendo GameCube
Media	1 × GameCube Optical Disc
System requirements	11 blocks of memory (an additional 2–12 blocks are needed for each snapshot saved)

Super Smash Bros. Melee, released in Japan as Dairantō Smash Brothers DX (大乱闘 スマッシュ ブラザーズ DX, Dairantō Sumasshu Burazāzu Derakkusu, Dairantō meaning "Great Fray"), is a popular crossover fighting game released for the Nintendo GameCube shortly after its launch in 2001 (2002 in the PAL region). It is the sequel to the 1999 Nintendo 64 fighting game Super Smash Bros., and will be followed by the Wii game Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It builds on the first game's broad appeal and improved multiplayer and single player modes, adding new features.

Gameplay

Like its predecessor, Super Smash Bros. Melee is different from most traditional fighting games in that simply inflicting damage does not always mean victory. In normal play, a player must force the opponent beyond the stage's boundaries, referred to as a "Knock-Out" and abbreviated in the game as a KO^[1]. This is somewhat analogous to forcing an opponent out of a fighting ring in traditional fighting games. Most attacks both inflict damage and can, if enough damage is dealt, knock back the enemy; inflicted damage increases that distance, so sufficient damage must be accumulated before attempting a KO.

Each character's health is measured by a percentage damage counter. The higher the percent value, the weaker the player is, and the easier they are to knock off the stage. However, he or she may be able to jump back to the stage (recover) using multiple "mid-air" jumps and special moves, and continue to fight.

During the game, items related to Nintendo games or merchandise fall onto the game field (e.g., Super Mushrooms, Poison Mushrooms, Poké Balls and Koopa shells). The speed of gameplay can be very fast-paced compared to the original at times, mainly when using aerial attacks.

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 with 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" (quickly tilted). Tapping the control stick in the proper direction and/or along with the appropriate button presses allows the controlled character to run, jump, and perform the game's eponymous "Smash attacks", which are very powerful moves with substantial damage and knockback. This game introduced a fourth B-button "special move" to each character's repertoire of attacks, while the original had just three. These new special moves are performed by pressing the B button and pushing forward on the analog stick, and include Link's directable boomerang throw and Mario's deflection cape.

Characters also have a number of defensive moves, such as the dodge and roll which combine shielding and tapping of the control stick of the GameCube controller. Although the core controls are simple, they have also been praised as equally sophisticated.^[2]

Single player

Single player mode provides the player with a variety of fighting and side-scrolling challenges. The three main playing modes are "Classic" (similar to the single player mode in the previous installment, but with all matches randomized except for the last and the "Board the Platforms" bonus stage replaced by a "Snag the Trophies" stage), "Adventure Mode", in which the player character travels from one side-scrolling level to the next while battling foes, and the unlockable "All-Star Mode"—in which the player character must fight all of the game's playable characters with only three heart containers and only one stock life (no extra lives). Single player also offers the Events mode. The player is forced to complete the task under a certain condition listed in the event description.

One can also practice in Training Mode, or use the Stadium to play various minigames: Target Test (known as "Break the Targets" in Super Smash Bros.; the character must destroy 10 strategically-placed targets), Home Run Contest (after damaging Sandbag, the player must launch him as far as possible with a Home Run Bat or any attack in the characters arsenal) and Multi-Man Melee (fights with the Fighting Wire Frames, paced by time or number of foes).

Multiplayer

In the multiplayer mode, up to four characters of players or computer players may fight, either in a free-for-all or teams. All characters may be controlled either by humans or the computer. CPU characters' AI difficulty is ranked from 1 through 9, with 1 indicating that the AI is weak and doesn't attack much, and 9 indicating it attacks faster and more often.

The victor is determined in one of five ways, depending on the game type: Stock mode (a solo or team-based last-man-standing), Time mode (in which points are lost for a fall or self destruct and gained for a KO, with whoever has the most points after the chosen time period being designated the winner), Coin mode (in which coins are dropped by players when they take damage, with the winner being the player that has collected the most coins at the end of the time period), Stamina Mode, (which is more like a traditional fighting game in that the characters have a health meter which, if reduced to zero, will result in the character being knocked out) and Bonus mode (in which the players are ranked by points awarded for fighting style).

A variety of other options are available, such as determining the number and type of items that appear during the battle. There are also special modes that involve changes to the game mechanics.

Tournament Melee

Tournament Melee is a tournament for up to 64 players. At least one human player is needed to start a tournament, but the actual participants can consist entirely of computers. There are three possible options to choose from. In Loser Out and Winner Out, the player that loses/wins is eliminated; in Tournament, a standard knockout tournament is played.

Special Melee

Special Melee is a mode with special rules, as compared to the regular Melee. Some of the Special Melee modes include altering a character so that he or she is always under the effect of a particular item. For example, Giant Melee makes all characters constantly large, as if under the influence of a Super Mushroom; conversely, Tiny Melee makes the characters constantly small, as if under the influence of a Poison Mushroom. Two other modes affect the battle speed. Others may affect the players' view, either fixing it so that the view will not zoom and scroll to focus on the characters, or even letting another player manually control the camera and take snapshots. Other Special Melee modes include a Sudden Death mode, in which characters are spawned with enough damage so that they can be knocked away significantly more easily, a Stamina Mode, which causes characters to be knocked out if they sustain enough damage as in typical fighting games, and a mode in which characters are limited only to normal attacks.

No game records are saved from Special Melee matches, which allows players to play a multiplayer game without risking jeopardizing records saved from normal Melee matches.

Playable characters

Main article: Super Smash Bros. Playable Characters

Super Smash Bros. Melee features 25 characters, of which 14 are available initially. In contrast, Super Smash Bros. Brawl has 22 characters confirmed so far. It is currently unknown how many will be available from the start.

Different characters boast different strengths and weaknesses. Characters such as Mario, Luigi, Link, and Samus combine a variety of speed, strength and defense, as well as varied combat attacks and projectiles. These characters have no particular strengths or weaknesses but are good characters for beginners. Characters such as Fox, Falco, Pikachu and various smaller sized characters have more extreme agility, but are generally weaker and easier to send skyward, making them vulnerable to stronger, heavier foes. In contrast, characters such as Bowser, Donkey Kong and Ganondorf rely on their brute strength and defense to overwhelm their foe, but lack speed and agility making them vulnerable to faster characters. Each character has recognizable moves from their original game, such as Samus's variety of firearms from the Metroid series and Link's arsenal of weapons and items from the Legend of Zelda series or Mario`s Jumping and fireballs from the Mario series.

All characters have a symbol that appears behind their damage percentage during a fight. This symbol represents what game(s) they belong to, such as a Triforce symbol behind Link's damage percentage and a mushroom behind Mario's. All characters have different color variations as alternate costumes, usually changes of clothes (Mario's overalls, hat, and shirt change) or skin changes (Yoshis come in many colors). If two or three people play as the same character in a team match, one of them will be a darker shade or a lighter shade of a preset color, depending on which team (Red, Green, or Blue)

Stages

There is a total of 29 regular playable stages (some stages are only playable in single player modes) the stages are based mainly on the background of each character or set of playable characters from the same series of games. There are 18 stages available at the start (The others must be unlocked by completing various tasks in both single player and in multiplayer modes). In All Star mode, where each character has his or her own stage you must fight them in, some charcters will battle in a stage from a different game series because of the varying number of stages for each game series.

The stages Battlefield and Final Destination are from the game itself. Stages such as Yoshi's Island 64 and Dream Land 64 are from Super Smash Bros.

Trophies

Trophies (Figures in the Japanese version) of various Nintendo characters and objects can be collected in the game. These trophies include statuettes of various playable characters, accessories, and items associated with them, as well as secondary characters not otherwise included in the game. The trophies range from the well-known to the obscure, and even characters or elements that are or were only released in Japan. Super Smash Bros. had a similar system of plush dolls (Biographies); however it only included the twelve playable characters.

There are 290 trophies in the NTSC (North American) and PAL (European and Australian) versions of Super Smash Bros. Melee, and 293 trophies in the Japanese version. There are three extra trophies which are obtained through use of cheat device such as an Action Replay in the NTSC version, but only two extra trophies in the PAL and Japanese version. Tamagon can be obtained in the NTSC version with a cheat device, but is not in the PAL version at all. In the Japanese version, it can be obtained via normal means. The other two trophies, which can only be accessed using a cheat device in all three versions, are Samus Unmasked and the Mario & Yoshi trophy. When the game was released, there was a promo event in Japan (an actual SSBM tournament where the two finalists received the trophies) at Toys R Us stores, where people could get these two trophies written to their memory cards.

Each of the playable characters is represented by three trophies: one showing their common appearances in the original series from which they came, and two showing how they look like in Super Smash Bros. Melee (both dubbed Smash), where one shows the character's default color scheme and the other presents an alternative one. All of them are unlocked by clearing the game in Classic, Adventure and All-Star Modes with the respective character.

Two trophies were altered for the international release:

• The Topi trophy was originally a seal which was featured in the Japanese version of Ice Climber. When the NES game was localized for international audiences, the seal was changed to a small yeti due to concerns of animal cruelty. Super Smash Bros. Melee makes this character change as well.
• In the Japanese version, the Motion-Sensor Bomb was designed after the same weapon in Perfect Dark. However, in the international version, the item's appearance and name were changed to the weapon from GoldenEye 007. The reason for this change is unknown, as the representation of this item in SSBM is styled after the one in Perfect Dark, even though the item appeared in the original Super Smash Bros. game designed after the Proximity Mine from GoldenEye.

During this title's showing at Spaceworld and E3, the Pit trophy was slightly different compared to its look in the released versions, because Pit's eyes weren't dotted.

Development

In developing Super Smash Bros. Melee, HAL Laboratories utilized a number of concepts that were included in games previously developed by the company, specifically the SNES game, Kirby Super Star. The subgame, "The Great Cave Offensive", contains a number of hidden treasures, many of which are references to other Nintendo titles ala the collectible trophies in Melee.

The single player mode "All-Star Match" is an almost direct copy of the "Arena" mode in Kirby Super Star as well. Both games consist of a series of battles, linked together by a waiting room containing healing items. The background music for said waiting room is also reused between the games.

Video game developer Hideo Kojima originally wanted Solid Snake, the protagonist of the Metal Gear series, to be a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee, but the game was too far in development for him to be included. Snake was instead placed into the game's sequel, Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

The main character of Mother 3 for the Game Boy Advance (originally planned for the Nintendo 64), Lucas, was supposed to replace Ness, but because the game was delayed, Ness was kept.^[3]

In the profile for the Ice Climbers on the official site, Sakurai stated that there were four other games that were suggested to represent the Famicom or NES era until it was decided that the Ice Climbers would be in the game. These games were Urban Champion, Excitebike, Clu Clu Land, and Balloon Fight. He also gave reasons to why these characters would not work in Melee, such as Excite Biker having to ride a bike all the time, and Urban Champion having a lack of other special moves besides his normal punching.

According to the official Japanese site, Roy and Marth were originally intended to be playable exclusively in the Japanese version of Super Smash Bros. Melee. However, they received favorable attention during the game's North American localization. As a result, Nintendo of America kept both Roy and Marth in the localized versions of the game. Both Marth and Roy speak Japanese in the U.S. version to reflect that their original games were Japan exclusive. The popularity of Roy and Marth as Super Smash Bros. characters outside of Japan also influenced Nintendo to localize Fire Emblem games to North America, beginning with Fire Emblem for the Game Boy Advance.

During this title's showing at Spaceworld and E3, some of the stages were different compared to the ones in the released versions. First, in the Mushroom Kingdom stage, it had warp pipes. Second, in the Yoshi's Story stage, it had switching levers along the cloud platforms' lines. And finally, in the Great Bay stage, it was possible to enter the laboratory and see the character you are controlling through the round window. These can be seen in some old trailers and live video recordings of the events.

Soundtrack

Main article: Smashing...Live!

Nintendo released a special musical album in 2003 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 by the New Japan Philharmonic of many of the songs from the game.

Critical reception

Super Smash Bros. Melee received very positive reviews from most critics, including a 9.6/10 from IGN and a 9.5/10 from Electronic Gaming Monthly. It currently has an aggregate score of 93% at GameStats,^[13] and a 90% at Game Rankings.^[14]

Many reviewers felt that the game was vastly improved over its predecessor with more customization and characters as well as more polished graphics and improved gameplay. Fran Mirabella III of IGN in particular noted the additions of the Event and Adventure modes, which he said added hours and hours of single player gameplay.^[15]

Awards

• Super Smash Bros. Melee has placed sixth in two GameFAQs events: the "Best... Game... Ever." contest, and a poll of the 100 best games ever.^[16][17]
• In the 200th issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, the editors selected Melee as the 92nd most influential game on their "Top 200 Games of Their Time" list.^[18]
• Nintendo Power named Super Smash Bros. Melee the 16th best game ever to appear on a Nintendo console as of 2006.^[19]
• SSBM was awarded the 2001 "Game of the Year" by Nintendo Power
• In 2007, it was named 3^rd best GameCube game of all time (just behind Resident Evil 4 which was second and Metroid Prime which was first) in IGN's feature reflecting on the GameCube's long lifespan.^[20]
• In the 2001 Penny Arcade Award Ceremony, listed as 3rd best game of the year as "Best Reason to Have Friends."

Legacy

In 1999, 13-year-old Ricky "Gideon" Tilden started Smash World Forums also known as "Smashboards". In 2002 and 2003, the first tournaments began to appear on the website. These community sponsored events slowly grew, with certain tournament series proving to be milestones within the community.

An issue of EGM once stated that Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower were unlockable by defeating 20 Fighting Wireframes in Cruel Melee. It, however, was an annual April Fool's joke.

In March 2003, the IVGF NorthWest Regional Gaming Festival and Tournament was hosted, the first corporate sponsored tournament. It was held in Seattle, Washington. During this time IVGF gave out a record $US 12,500 for the top three finishers of Super Smash Bros. Melee, a record that would be held for almost three years.^[21] In 2004, Super Smash Bros. Melee was added to Major League Gaming’s (MLG) tournament roster.^[22]

In the summer of 2005, a crew in Mishawaka, Indiana hosted Melee-FC3, a tournament with nearly 200 participants from 30 states, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands ^[23]. In two separate issues, Nintendo Power covered the independent and corporate Smash scenes, including Smashboards, MLG, and FC3.<ref name="smashtakesover" />^[24] Shortly thereafter, MTV ran a special titled True Life: I'm a Professional Gamer featuring MLG Pro Smasher KillaOR.^[25]

Ken Hoang, the winner of MLG's 2004 and 2005 National Smash Championships, was generally hailed to be the best player in the world for several years, having traveled internationally to play and defeat the best opponents.^[26]

In 2007, Melee was added to the Evolution Championship Series roster,^[27] with Ken Hoang winning the 2007 EVO World Finals.

See also

• List of GameCube games
• List of best-selling computer and video games
• List of fighting games
• Super Smash Bros.
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl
• Super Smash Bros. (series)

References

External links

• Super Smash Bros. official site
• Super Smash Bros. Melee at Nintendo.com
• Super Smash Bros. Melee at GameFAQs
• http://www.freewebs.com/meleecity/meleecity_1.jpg

•  • [ e] Super Smash Bros. series

Super Smash Bros. • Super Smash Bros. Melee • Super Smash Bros. Brawl Playable characters • Non-playable characters • Smashing...Live!