|
is a popular 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. It builds on that game's broad appeal and involved multiplayer mode, adding new features. Melee is the GameCube's best-selling title with sales of 6 million units sold worldwide. Due to its large and somewhat unwieldy name, it is usually referred to by its acronym, SSBM, or, more informally, Smash or Melee. Super Smash Bros. Melee, like Super Smash Bros., doesn't have a direct coherent plot and simply puts famous Nintendo characters against each other in battle. A sequel, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, is under development for Nintendo's forthcoming console Wii.
Gameplay Like its predecessor, Super Smash Bros. Melee 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, termed as a "KO"; this can be likened to a ring out in standard fighting games. 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 strength 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 specials moves, and would be able to fight on. During the game, items fall in the game field, like Super Mushrooms (the character grows), Poké Balls (release Pokémon) and Koopa shells (to be kicked or thrown at foes). 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. In addition, each character has unique special moves, such as Link's boomerang or Mario's fireballs. 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. Though the core controls are simple, they have also been praised as equally sophisticated. 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 except for the last randomized), "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 one stock life. 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 Brothers; 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). Multi-Man Melee involves 6 different events. The Event Match mode allows the player to attempt to negotiate various scripted challenges (such as fighting a Pokémon themed match, 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. There are also special type of Melee Modes you can play. (I.E. The characters play at a mini-size, as if they consumed a poison mushroom, Huge, as if they ate a super mushroom, the characters dramatically speed up or slow down, etc. This cannot happen in 1P mode.) All characters may be controlled either by humans or AIs I.E. computer-controlled players, of varying difficulty. Their difficulty is ranked from 1 through 9, with 1 indicating that the AI is weak and doesn't attack much, and 9 indicating they attack faster and more often. The victor may be determined in one of four ways: "stock" mode, a solo- or team-based last man standing, "time" mode, in which some points are lost for a fall or self destruct and some are added for a KO, whoever has the most points after the chosen time period is the winner, "Coin" mode in which the winner is the person with the most coins after the chosen time period, which are dropped by players when they take damage, and "Bonus" mode in which the winner is determined 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. Trophies
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 (Captain Falcon and Ness). Nine new secret characters have been added in addition to the two remaining secret characters for a total of 25 playable characters. In addition, there are also 3 non-playable (only playable within Action Replay) boss characters: Master Hand, Crazy Hand (in some cases both the Master and the Crazy Hand are at the end of Classic mode on higher difficulty levels) and Giga Bowser, a heavily enlarged and mutated version of Bowser. Also, there are male and female wire frame fighters (weakened versions of the Captain Falcon and Zelda characters that lack special abilities), found in both a later stage in Adventure mode and the Multi-Man Melee mode, and an utterly helpless Sandbag character, used as a target in the Home Run Contest mode. Neither the wire frame fighters, Sandbag, The Hands, or Giga Bowser are playable without the use of an Action Replay. One of Peach's alternate costumes very closely resembles Princess Daisy; she even becomes a brunette. Similarly, one of Mario's costumes resembles Wario and one of Captain Falcon's costumes actually is that of Blood Falcon, which can be seen if the game is paused. Video game developer Hideo Kojima originally requested Solid Snake to be playable in Super Smash Bros. Melee, but the game was too far in development for him to be included. Snake has been confirmed to appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Sonic and Tails hoax 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 unlockable 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 Fools joke, reminiscent of EGM Tournaments 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. Southern California’s Tournament Go (TG) series revolutionized the scene. By its sixth incarnation in the summer of 2004, Matt Deezie’s small local tournaments had exploded into a hundred person national affair. That year, Super Smash Bros. Melee was added to Major League Gaming’s (MLG) tournament roster.• Shortly after, MTV ran a special “True Life: I'm a Professional Gamer” featuring MLG Pro Smasher KillaOR. MLG Anaheim, Chicago, and Orlando each broke over 150 participants. Zero Challenge 2 became the largest tournament on the West Coast and featured players from Europe and Japan in attendance. Melee FC6 finally broke 200 participants becoming the largest Smash tournament to date. Ken Hoang, the winner of MLG's 2004 and 2005 National Smash Championships, is considered by both MLG and the Smashboards community to be the best player in the world, having traveled internationally to play and defeat the best opponents. MLG has began its tournament circuit on the cable network USA Network. • Critical reception Super Smash Bros. Melee received very positive reviews from most critics, including a 9.6/10 from IGN, 90% at Game Rankings and an amazing 95% from the British Official Nintendo Magazine 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. However, Miguel Lopez of GameSpot described the controls as "hyper-responsive", but only noticeably so when making precise movements. Awards Soundtrack 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. Version differences Naming differences: Voice changes: NOTE: These changes can be seen if the game language is changed. See also | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
| |