E3 2001 Hands-onSuper Smash Bros. Melee

Super Smash Bros. Melee, the follow up to the popular N64 fighting game, is officially up and running. The GameCube sequel is virtually identical to its N64 predecessor, aside from a pretty hearty roster update, and, of course, GameCube-quality visuals.

New to the game are Princess Peach, the little people from Ice Climber, Bowser, and Sheik from Ocarina of Time. However, the only new character available for play in the build on display on the show floor was Bowser.

Bowser's moves are very characteristic of him. He can withdraw into his shell and issue a spin attack, breathe a stream of deadly fire, and perform a butt-stomp by leaping into the air and landing on his enemies. He can also slash at enemies with his claw, which sends them flying a fair distance.

Super Smash Bros. Melee serves as a wonderful showpiece for the GameCube's graphical capabilities. Players accustomed to blurry, fuzzy textures from Nintendo games will be very pleased by the sharp, vibrant skins coloring everything in Smash Bros. Melee. The characters are wonderfully animated, and longtime fans of Nintendo games will find that the characters' move repertoires are full of a great many references to their histories. Mario, for instance, blocks and repels attacks with his cape, while Princess Peach (according to looped sequences shown at the booth, at any rate) can float in the air and hurl turnips at enemies, SMB 2-style.

Ardent fans of the original Smash Bros. should be very excited--after all, the game they've come to love hasn't changed a great deal in its transition to a new platform. Whether everyone else will favor tradition over innovation remains to be seen, however. Keep your eyes on this space for further impressions from the show floor.