D-MonDRV's Review of Super Smash Bros. Melee

SSBM will grace your GCN library for years to come. This is the reason why you bought a GameCube.

User Rating: 8.1 | Super Smash Bros. Melee GC

By D-MonDRV | Review Date: August 11, 2003

In March of 1999, gamers knew their Nintendo 64s weren’t making very good progress at all. Sony was and is still the king. Even though the N64 was dead and done, HAL worked with Nintendo to bust out Super Smash Bros. Melee. It was a game to prove who Nintendo’s super star really was. Millions could settle their arguments of Mario being better than Link or Ness being better than Pikachu. It brought up sales of GameCube around the world. With the next gen coming, gamers first saw Super Smash Bros. Melee. At E3 a highly revamped sequel of the game they all knew and loved. They looked in awe as Yoshi was a darker green, Sheik was a character. Girls jumped for joy as they saw Zelda and Peach. It was a match made in heaven for game fans and the GameCube. Gamers were disappointed that it wasn’t a launch game, but a month later it came out. And they all had a chance to see what it was like playing as their favorite Nintendo characters in beautiful next generation graphics and pro logic sound. The object of Super Smash Bros. Melee is to knock your opponent out of the stage. The 14 original characters were familiar and have their strengths and weaknesses, but with the skill, gamers knocked each other all over the place. Super Smash Bros. Melee has all kind of unlockable extras including 250+ trophies, event mode matches, 11 secret characters, and many other things. You can unlock them by just playing by yourself on the single player modes, or by just playing with a friend for hours and hours. The play control for this game is perfect for the GameCube’s controller. It does very well with the rumble feature. The C-Stick will allow you to do an automatic basic smash attack in multiplayer mode. The A button allows you to do a basic attack. If you move while pressing the A button, it’ll do a stronger attack. If you tap the analog stick as you Press A, you’ll perform a Smash Attack. Those attacks are what players use the most to knock each other around. Pressing B will perform a special attack. For example, if you use Mario and press B, he’ll use his signature Fire Ball move. Running and pressing B will make him use his cape which will allow you to bat back other items players throw at you. Tapping the analog stick and pressing B will launch a smash special attack. They aren’t as critical as physical smash attacks, but they are helpful for stunning you opponent for a while. The R and Z button are the blocking or shield triggers. Don’t use the shield too long, or you’ll be stunned for 5 seconds allowing your opponent kick the living hell out of your ass. They Y and X button are the buttons for easier jumping. An alternative way to jump is to use tap the control stick up, but everybody hates doing that! The controls for SSBM are good, and it proves that SSBM isn’t a true fighting game. It’s simply a Nintendo party game. Super Smash Bros. Melee’s graphics are second to none. In the original Super Smash Bros., everything was a sprite except for the main fighting ground and the actual characters. Now with the GameCube’s great power, HAL has made SSBM a gem graphics-wise. Everything is perfect. There are no jagged lines and everything is so smoothly detailed. You can see the denim in Mario and Luigi’s overalls for heaven sake. If you think Super Smash Bros. Melee’s graphics sucked, you belong on… Uranus or something because you’re lying to yourself. :-p Melee’s graphics are good, it’s that simple. The sound is also beautiful on Melee. With a soundtrack of over 30 different games, you can’t go wrong. You can be rapping along on DK’s rap from Donkey Kong 64, humming it up with Link in Saria’s Song , or just being old school by turning on the techno Mario Bros. Overworld music. The sound has also become more realistic and improved. If you punch someone in the face, it’s the same sound as in a Jackie Chan movie! Just without all his fruitcake jokes. The sound is surely nothing to complain about. What people didn’t like the most abut the original Super Smash Bros. was the single player mode. It was just one thing anybody can beat. Super Smash Bros. has brought back classic mode, but along with a whole new other modes too. Classic mode is the original Super Smash Bros. single player. You kill one dude, kill another, and so on. After beating it, a trophy of your character will fall. You’ve officially unlocked a trophy! There is also a brand new Adventure Mode. It’s basically a side scrolling platformer that’s very enjoyable. When you reach a certain part, it stops scrolling and you’ll have to defeat the enemy there. The first level is very enjoyable. You’re in the mushroom kingdom and you get to kill goombas and koopas! There’s also event mode. It’s basically the same as single player mode, but you have to beat it according to your instructions. Like beating Ness in a minute…or killing Nana but not Popo. It’s also very enjoyable, and you can unlock more. There’s also an All-Star Mode, which you can unlock by simply unlocking all 11 secret characters. It’s something where you use 1 character and the amount of lives, and you have to survive every match. Once you win you’re transported to a place with 3 heart containers. You’ll need to use them later if you’re not weak. There’s also special Melee where you can compete in Endless Melee (where the fight doesn’t end till you die), 15-Man Melee (where you have to kill 15 others), 100-Man Melee (where you kill 100), and Cruel Melee (where you compete in an endless melee with insanely characters) Super Smash Bros. Melee’s single player mode is solid. The multiplayer mode is better than ever. With 14 characters to use, and 11 more to unlock, who can argue? There is at least one area that is the home of a character, and you can unlock the old areas as well. There are also many many new modes like Stamina Mode (where you have HP and fight like a regular fighting game), One Button Mode (which is perfect or beginners since you can only use the analog stick and the A button), Giant Melee (which you’re both big) and many other modes. There are also all kinds of new items and new Pokemon in the PokeBalls. Sometimes using an item will cost you the game. But with so many things in Melee there’s nothing to complain about with SSBM’s multiplayer. The only thing you can get away with complaining about is the hyperactiveness of the controls. Super Smash Bros. is simply a very entertaining button masher. Everybody hates that term, but not all button mashers suck. Remember this is not a true fighting game. Combos will hardly work in the game because your opponent can be flying away. The main objective is to juggle your opponents to cause massive damage. You’ll need air combos a lot. Super Smash Bros. Melee is easy to learn, yet hard to master. With 25 characters, 275 trophies, and many other extras, Super Smash Bros. Melee is a must-have for any GameCube owner. It has the best replay value, and is great for parties or maybe even tournaments. (Yeah, there's a tournament mode.) If you need a game that’ll last you a long time and you have a friend, go pick up a copy of Super Smash Bros. Melee. It’s a Players’ Choice game now, and that means it’s only $30. It’s even cheaper in other places. SSBM will grace your GCN library for years to come. This is the reason why you bought a GameCube.