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'''''Super Smash Bros. Melee'''''|大乱闘 スマッシュ ブラザーズ |Dairantō Sumasshu Burazāzu Derakkusu|Great Battle Smash Brothers Deluxe is a popular [[versus fighting game|fighting game]] released for the [[Nintendo GameCube]] shortly after its launch in [[2001 in video gaming|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.It is usually referred to by its acronym, ''SSBM'', or, more informally, ''Smash'' or ''Melee''.
{{Title|''Super Smash Bros. Melee''}}
{{ArticleIcons|melee=y|fa=y}}
{{Cquote|''Within Nintendo, we've had a lot of discussion about which of our most popular characters should be ready to appear in games when Nintendo GameCube comes to market. We think we've got a great answer.''|cite=[[Shigeru Miyamoto]] moments before the ''Melee'' trailer was unveiled to the public at E3 2001.}}
{{Infobox Game
|image = {{tabber|width=250px|title1=American boxart|content1=[[File:SsbmBoxart.jpg|250px]]|title2=Japanese boxart|content2=[[File:SSBM JP Box.jpg|250px]]}}
|developer = [[HAL Laboratory]]<br>[[Intelligent Systems]]
|publisher = [[Nintendo]]
|designer = [[Masahiro Sakurai]]
|released = {{Flag|Japan}} November 21, 2001<br>{{Flag|North America}} December 3, 2001<br>{{Flag|Europe}} May 24, 2002<br>{{Flag|Australia}} May 31, 2002
|genre = [[wikipedia:Fighting game|Fighting game]]<br>[[wikipedia:Platform game|Platforming]]
|modes = [[wikipedia:Single-player|Single-player]], [[wikipedia:multiplayer video game|Multiplayer]] (2-4)
|ratings = [[wikipedia:Entertainment Software Rating Board|ESRB]]: T<br>[[wikipedia:Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association|ELSPA]]: 11+<br>[[wikipedia:Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association|ELSPA]]: 3+ (re-rating)<br>[[wikipedia:Pan European Game Information|PEGI]]: 3+<br>[[wikipedia:Office of Film and Literature Classification (Australia)|OFLC]]: G8+
|platform = [[Nintendo GameCube]]
|media = [[wikipedia:Nintendo optical discs|GameCube Optical Disc]]
|requirements = 11 blocks of memory (an additional 2 or more blocks are needed for each snapshot saved)
|input = [[GameCube controller]]
}}
{{Redirect|Melee|the game mode|Versus Mode#Versus Mode in Super Smash Bros. Melee|Versus Mode}}
'''''Super Smash Bros. Melee''''' ({{ja|大乱闘 スマッシュ ブラザーズ DX|Dairantō Sumasshu Burazāzu Derakkusu}}, ''Great Fray Smash Brothers Deluxe''), often shortened to "'''''SSBM'''''" or "'''''Melee'''''" ({{ja|スマブラDX|Sumabura dī ekkusu}}), is the second installment in the ''{{b|Super Smash Bros.|series}}'' series published by [[Nintendo]]. The game released for [[GameCube]] on November 21st, 2001 in Japan, and December 3rd, 2001 in North America, shortly after GameCube's launch, and then on the following year in Europe and Australia on May 24th, 2002 and May 31st, 2002 respectively. The game was directed by [[Masahiro Sakurai]] and was primarily developed by [[HAL Laboratory]].


''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]].
Like its predecessor ''Super Smash Bros.'', ''Melee'' features [[gameplay]] unique from that of other fighting games.  Compared to characters in other fighting games, ''Melee'' characters have simple movesets and lack complicated button inputs and lengthy [[natural combo]]s. Instead, ''Melee'' emphasizes movement and ringouts. Indeed, [[edge-guarding]] in ''Melee'' takes on much more significance than it does in most other games due to copious mid-air jumps and other methods of reaching the edge unfettered. The game has sold 7.09 million units as of 2008, making it the best-selling GameCube game of all time. ''Melee'' is also one of the two games in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series to be rated T by the ESRB, with the other being its sequel, ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl.''


==Gameplay==
''Melee'' received universal acclaim, with many critics praising the game's expansion and refinement from its N64 predecessor, ''Super Smash Bros.'', as well as its visuals, tight controls, multiplayer mode, and orchestrated soundtrack, although its single-player modes, lack of originality, and similarity to its predecessor received criticism.  
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 Mushroom]]s (the character grows), [[Poké Ball]]s (release [[Pokémon]]) and [[Koopa Troopa|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 arrows 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, there are a number of complex moves that only the most dedicated players can master.
==Opening movie==
The [[opening movie]] of ''Melee'' mostly uses FMV scenes from its E3 2001 trailer along with some scenes of actual gameplay.


===Single player===
The FMV scenes were given particularly high attention by the developing team; according to Sakurai, the team wanted to create an entire, high-quality FMV sequence in the game to highlight the then newly-released GameCube console's graphical power in comparison to previous consoles. The development team worked in three different animation studios in Tokyo, Japan to finish the FMV opening.
[[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 SSB for N64), adventure mode in which ones character goes around different adventure stages and the unlockable All-Star mode, where a character uses one life and must fight every playable character. One can also practice in Training mode, or use the Stadium to play various [[minigame]]s: Target Test (called "Break the Targets" in ''SSB'': the character must destroy 10 targets), Home Run Contest (after damaging [[List of Super Smash Bros. series NPCs#Sandbag|Sandbag]], the player hits it with a home run swing to see how far it goes) and Multi-Man Melee (fights with the [[List of Super Smash Bros. Series NPCs#Fighting Wire Frames|Fighting Wire Frames]], paced by time or number of foes). Multiman melee involves 5 different types of melee fighting... 10 man melee (Kill 10 wireframes as fast as possible), 100 man melee (Kill 100 wireframes as fast as possible), 3 minute melee (Kill as many wireframes as possible in 3 minutes), 15 minute melee (Kill as many wireframes as possible in 15 minutes) and cruel melee (Kill as many possible wireframes as you can when they are super strong (Actually you are very weak)) 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 addition, continuing the trend started in the previous game, the opening also directly segues into the title screen with the [[announcer]] calling out the game's title.
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 [[Artificial Intelligence|AIs]] 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 any of four ways: "stock" mode, a solo- or team-based last man standing, "time" mode, in which the winner is the player with the most KOs and fewest falls at the end of the chosen time limit, "Coin" mode in which the winner is the person with the most coins, which are dropped by players when they take damage and "Bonus" mode  in which the winner is the person who has accumulated the most points by doing certain things, e.g., not using any items, only performing certain attacks, etc. A variety of other options are available, such as determining the number and kind of items that appear during the battle.


===Trophies===
The E3 trailer has also been found: [http://www.ssbwiki.com/Beta_elements_(SSBM)#Aesthetics early opening]. In this sequence, the clips of actual gameplay had been considerably changed from the final version.
[[Image:Tamagon.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Screenshot of [[Devil World|Tamagon]] in the North American version.]]
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 12 playable characters.


There are 293 trophies in the Japanese and North American version of ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'', but only 292 in the [[PAL region|PAL]] version. There are three extra trophies which are obtained through use of cheat device such as an Action Replay. These included the character Tamagon from ''[[Devil World]]'' released only in Japan, and two trophies that were awarded at a promotional event in Japan: Samus without her helmet, and Mario riding Yoshi.  Tamagon was removed from the PAL version.  Officially, none of the trophies appear in the North American version but can be obtained through [[Action Replay]]. With the exception of Tamagon on the PAL version, these trophies were technically not removed from the game, just locked away.
It is the first pre-rendered cutscene in the series.


Two trophies were altered for the international release:
{{#widget:YouTube|id=KcLg1yBbcb0}}


*The Topi trophy was originally a small [[Pinniped|seal]], just as it appears in the original Japanese version of ''[[Ice Climber]]''. Like the original [[NTSC]]/US ''Ice Climber'' release (and [[Famicom Disk System]] pseudo-sequel), the seal was replaced with a [[Yeti]]-like creature. The English descriptive text in the Japanese and US versions is identical. The in-game Topis were also changed.
==Fighters==
[[File:Character selection melee.png|thumb|250px|The character-selection screen of ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' (which includes all 26 characters unlocked).]]
The cast of 25 playable characters, 26 if including [[Zelda]]'s alter ego [[Sheik]], includes all 12 characters from ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' and 13 newcomers (14 counting Sheik). Of these, 14 are available from the start of play (15 if Sheik is included), including all the [[veteran]] characters except [[Jigglypuff]] and [[Luigi]] and 11 more which can be unlocked.
[[File:SSBMCast.jpg|The entire cast of ''Melee'', excluding {{SSBM|Sheik}}, {{SSBM|Zelda}}'s alter ego.|thumb|250px]]
Of the new characters, the greatest number are from {{uv|The Legend of Zelda}} universe if Zelda/Sheik are counted as two characters to go with [[Ganondorf]] and [[Young Link]], although the {{uv|Mario}} series also takes three new character slots for [[Bowser]], [[Princess Peach]] and [[Dr. Mario]] added. On top of these, two universes add two characters each, with the {{uv|Fire Emblem}} series making its ''Smash Bros.'' debut with [[Marth]] and [[Roy]] (with Roy making his debut in ''any'' game), and the {{uv|Pokémon}} universe adding [[Pichu]] and [[Mewtwo]] to its two existing characters. The three other characters added are [[Falco]], a second character from the {{uv|Star Fox}} series, [[Mr. Game & Watch]], and the [[Ice Climbers]] from two highly venerable Nintendo series.
{{clr}}
{{SSBM character table}}


*In the Japanese version, the Proximity Mine was designed after the same weapon in ''[[Perfect Dark]]''. However, in the US and European versions, the item's appearance and name were changed to the weapon from ''[[Goldeneye 007]]'' (also used in the original ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]''). The reason for this change is unknown. <!--Do not change this without a reference to back you up.-->
==Stages==
[[File:Stage Select Melee.png|thumb|250px|The stage select screen in ''Melee'']]
There are 29 stages in ''Melee'' that can be played in VS. Mode, 18 [[starter stage]]s and 11 more which are unlockable stages. Three stages return from ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' as [[Past Stages]], all of which are unlockable. Each [[universe]], except for the ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' universe, has a stage. The {{uv|EarthBound}} and {{uv|F-Zero}} universes, which previously did not have any stages, receive stages for their respective universes. Most universes have two stages, the exceptions are the {{uv|Ice Climber}} and {{uv|Game & Watch}} universes which have only one, and the {{uv|Mario}} universe which has four. Counting Past Stages, the {{uv|Donkey Kong}}, {{uv|Kirby}}, and the {{uv|Yoshi}} universes have three stages. For the first time in the series, [[Battlefield (SSBM)|Battlefield]] and [[Final Destination (SSBM)|Final Destination]] can be played in VS. Mode, previously they were restricted to single-player modes.
{{clrr}}
{{SSBM stage table}}


==Characters==
===1-player stages===
[[Image:SSBM-SelectScreen.png|thumb|right|Character selection screen with all characters unlocked.]]
These stages cannot be unlocked, and can only be played under certain circumstances.
*[[Target Test]] Stages
*[[Snag the Trophies]]
*{{SSBM|Race to the Finish}}
*{{b|Mushroom Kingdom|Adventure Mode}}
*[[Underground Maze]]
*[[Brinstar Escape Shaft]]
*[[F-Zero Grand Prix]]
*[[Rest Station]]
*[[Home-Run Stadium]]
*[[Goomba#As a stage|Goomba]]
*[[Entei#As a stage|Entei]]
*[[Majora's Mask#As a stage|Majora's Mask]]


All eight original and four [[secret character]]s 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. Bowser and Peach were originally planned to be playable in [[Super Smash Bros.|the original ''Super Smash Bros.'' game]], but they were cut from the game due to the limitations of the Nintendo 64 cartridge.
==Modes==
[[File:Melee Menu.png|340px|thumb|The main menu.]]


In addition, there are also 3 non-playable (only playable within [[Action Replay]]) [[boss (video games)|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.
===1-Player===
*{{SSBM|Classic Mode}}
*{{SSBM|Adventure Mode}}
*[[All-Star Mode]] (must be unlocked)
*[[Event mode|Event Match]]
*[[Stadium]]
**[[Home-Run Contest]]
**[[Target Test]]
**[[Multi-Man Melee]]
*[[Training]]


One of [[Princess Peach|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 [[List of F-Zero pilots#Blood Falcon|Blood Falcon]], which can be seen if the game is paused.
===Multiplayer===
*[[Versus Mode]]
*[[Special Melee]]
**[[Camera Mode]]
**[[Super Sudden Death]]
**[[Special Melee|Giant Melee]]
**Tiny Melee
**Invisible Melee
**Slo-Mo Melee
**Fixed-Camera Mode
**Single-Button Melee
**Lightning Melee
**[[Stamina Mode]]
*[[Tournament Mode]]


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.'' <ref>http://wii.ign.com/articles/707/707504p1.html</ref>
===Other===
*{{SSBM|Debug menu}}


==Hoaxes==
==Unlockables==
Due to the popularity of this game, a number of hoaxes have appeared and have become extremely popular. <!-- Criteria: Must provide a link like the Toad hoax or be mentioned in a magazine like the Sonic and Tails hoax -->
The game featured several points to be unlocked, most of which include the [[trophies]], unlockable characters and stages. Some of them are unlocked by a special way, like achieving a certain distance on the [[Home-Run Contest]], while others are obtained by the [[Lottery]]. For a full list, see [[List of unlockables (SSBM)]].


===Sonic and Tails===
Some unlockable elements in SSBM were left out, but can be seen with an Action Replay cheat disc. See [[Debug menu]] for more details.
In 2002, the April edition of the [[video game magazine]] ''[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]'' listed a "[[cheat code|cheat]]" for the game that would baffle many players. The issue claimed that the [[Sega]] characters [[Sonic the Hedgehog (character)|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. ''[[Electronic Gaming Monthly|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''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s similarly executed [[Sheng Long]] for ''[[Street Fighter II]]''.  
<div style="clear: both"></div>


===Toad===
==Development==
[[Toad (Nintendo)|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 attacks and in the [[Mushroom Kingdom]] stage in [[Adventure]] Mode. [http://www.geocities.com/demeterpictures/secret.html The Toad Hoax] described a method to unlock Toad &mdash; complete Adventure mode and shoot all the ending credits. However, this has been disproven: 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.
Conceptualization of ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' began almost immediately after the previous entry released, even before [[Nintendo GameCube]] development kits were widely distributed. [[Masahiro Sakurai]] was quietly tinkering with the design plan mostly by himself with no knowledge of what the final hardware specifications would be. He publicly denied that he was working on a new ''Smash'' title until the 1999 [[Electronic Entertainment Expo]] (E3) event, where he announced he was working on a "Smash game for the GameCube."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sourcegaming.info/2016/05/01/smashbegins/|title=News Flash! Smash Bros. Dojo: Smash Begins!|publisher=Source Gaming|accessdate=2022-08-22|date=2001-05-17}}</ref> [[HAL Laboratory]] returned as lead developer of ''Melee'', with Sakurai as the head of production. When final GameCube development kits reached the team, they discovered that they were much easier to use then Nintendo 64 kits.<ref name=youtube>{{cite web|last=Sakurai|first=Masahiro|title=Super Smash Bros. Melee [Game Concepts]|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLRRNsAVl-8|publisher=YouTube}}</ref> The optical disc format also let the team use streaming playback for the first time, which allowed the use of real musical instruments for music tracks. The final soundtrack ended up using a mix of real music recordings and synthesized instruments, though Sakurai assured that the differences would be nearly unnoticable. These tracks are an inspiration for the founding of the ''{{iw|wikipedia|Press Start: Symphony of Games}}'' concert series, which was an annual orchestral concert hosted by game industry veterans that featured arrangements of video game music that ran from 2006 to 2015.<ref name="youtube"/>


==Debug menu==
The game was one of the first games released on the GameCube and highlighted the advancement in graphics from the [[Nintendo 64]]. The developers wanted to pay homage to the debut of the GameCube by making an opening FMV sequence that would attract people's attention to the graphics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cube.ign.com/articles/097/097950p1.html|title=Smash Bros. FMV Explained|publisher=IGN|accessdate=2007-11-24|date=2001-08-31}}</ref> HAL worked with three separate graphic houses in Tokyo to make the opening sequence, with Sakurai personally storyboarding the intro instead of spending the New Year with his family.<ref name="youtube"/> On their official website, the developers posted screenshots and information highlighting and explaining the attention to physics and detail in the game, with references to changes from its predecessor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cube.ign.com/articles/098/098158p1.html|title=A Detailed Melee|publisher=IGN|accessdate=2007-11-24|date=2001-09-07}}</ref> The game was in development for 13 months, and Sakurai called his lifestyle during this period "destructive" with no holidays and short weekends.<ref name=sharpest>{{cite web|last=George|first=Richard|title=Super Smash Bros Creator: "Melee The Sharpest"|url=http://uk.ign.com/articles/2010/12/09/super-smash-bros-creator-melee-the-sharpest|publisher=IGN}}</ref> Unlike the experimental first ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'', he felt great pressure to deliver a quality sequel, claiming it was the "biggest project I had ever led up to that point". Despite the painful development cycle, Sakurai proudly called it "the sharpest game in the series... it just felt really good to play", even compared to its successor, ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''.<ref name="sharpest"/> Sakurai also felt pressured to make the game as content-rich as possible to help it stand out from both other games at the time and its predecessor. [[Trophies]] were born out of this desire for content. Since the team was only able to make a limited amount of playable characters, trophies acted as representation for characters and franchises that did not make the cut otherwise as fanservice and a history lesson with background information attached to each trophy.<ref name="youtube"/>
This is a menu that the developers used to test various functions in the game. It's possible to reach it with an [[Action Replay]] device. In this menu, players can play as every character in the game, including [[List of Super Smash Bros. series NPCs#Master Hand|Master Hand]] and/or [[List of Super Smash Bros. series NPCs#Crazy Hand|Crazy Hand]], the [[List of Super Smash Bros. series NPCs#Fighting Wire Frames|Fighting Wire Frames]], [[List of Super Smash Bros. series NPCs#Giga Bowser|Giga Bowser]], [[List of Super Smash Bros. series NPCs#Sandbag|Sandbag]], Popo (the blue ''[[Ice Climber]]'') or Nana (the pink ''[[Ice Climber]]''). Players have a larger choice of battle arenas; like the Adventure Mode stages, Target Tests, and even a non-textured "Test" level with a coffee shop as a background. This menu can open up a sound test that includes a few songs that aren't found in the game; added the ability to change statistics and characters' records of gameplay.


==Tournaments==
On the game's official Japanese website, the developers explain reasons for making particular characters playable and explain why some characters were not available as playable characters upon release. Initially, the development team wanted to replace Ness with [[Lucas]], the main character of ''[[Mother 3]]'', but retained Ness in consideration of delays.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sakurai|first=Masahiro|authorlink=Masahiro Sakurai|url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/0717/index.html|title=Super Smash Bros. Melee|date=2001-07-17|publisher=[[Nintendo]]|accessdate=2007-11-24|language=Japanese}}</ref> The game's creators later included Lucas in the game's sequel, ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sakurai|first=Masahiro|authorlink=Masahiro Sakurai|url=http://www.smashbros.com/wii/en_us/characters/lucas.html|title=Super Smash Bros. Brawl—Lucas|publisher=[[Nintendo]]|date=2007-10-01|accessdate=2021-07-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Sakurai|first=Masahiro|authorlink=Masahiro Sakurai|url=http://www.smashbros.com/wii/en_us/characters/snake.html |title=Super Smash Bros. Brawl—Snake|publisher=[[Nintendo]]|date=2007-09-21|accessdate=2021-07-30}}</ref> Video game developer [[Hideo Kojima]] originally requested the inclusion of [[Solid Snake]] to Sakurai, but the game was too far into development. As with Lucas, development time allowed for his inclusion in ''Brawl''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kotaku.com/gaming/nintendo/e306-super-smash-bros-brawl-qa-173071.php|title=E306 Super Smash Bros. Brawl Q&A|publisher=Kotaku|date=2007-05-11|accessdate=2007-12-30}}</ref> Similarly, Sonic Team head Yuji Naka confirmed that [[Sonic the Hedgehog|Sonic]] was ultimately not added due to time constraints;<ref>[[:File:YujiNakaInterview.jpg|Yuji Naka on the road - ''Edge Magazine'']]</ref> like Snake and Lucas, he later became playable in ''Brawl''. Wario was strongly considered for ''Melee's'' roster; while Sakurai expressed that he would have included Wario if he had time to add one more character,<ref>[https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/syukeiken/return512.html]</ref> he explained that he had opted to instead allocate the team's limited development time to implementing other characters such as {{SSBM|Mewtwo}} or {{SSBM|Marth}} and {{SSBM|Roy}}, and also wanted to avoid having an excessive number of ''Mario'' characters.<ref>[http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/syukeiken/return576.html]</ref> Marth and Roy were initially 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, leading to the decision for the developers to include them in the Western version.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sakurai|first=Masahiro|authorlink=Masahiro Sakurai|url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/0115/index.html|title=Super Smash Bros. Melee—Roy|publisher=[[Nintendo]]|date=2002-01-15|accessdate=2007-11-24|language=Japanese}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Sakurai|first=Masahiro|authorlink=Masahiro Sakurai|url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/1204/index.html|title=Super Smash Bros. Melee—Marth|publisher=[[Nintendo]]|date=2001-12-14|accessdate=2007-11-24|language=Japanese}}</ref> This decision is often credited for popularizing the ''Fire Emblem'' brand outside of Japan to the point of convincing Nintendo to release the series internationally starting with ''{{iw|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade}}'', localized as simply ''Fire Emblem''. Additionally, Sakurai stated that the development team had suggested characters from four other games to represent the Famicom or NES era until the developers decided that the [[Ice Climber]]s would be in the game.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sakurai|first=Masahiro|authorlink=Masahiro Sakurai|url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/1009/index.html|title=Super Smash Bros. Melee—Ice Climbers|publisher=[[Nintendo]]|accessdate=2007-11-24|date=2001-10-09|language=Japanese|quote=The four games considered were {{uv|Balloon Fight}} ("the balloon would be easily blown"), {{uvm|Urban Champion}} ("seem too small"), {{uv|Clu Clu Land}} ("they know how to fight?") and ''[[Excite (universe)|Excitebike]]'' ("would have to jump")}}</ref> The developers have noted characters that have very similar moves to each other on the website;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/0118/index.html|title=Roy|publisher=[[Nintendo]]|accessdate=2008-01-11|date=2002-01-15|language=Japanese}}</ref> such characters have been referred to as "clones" in the media.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cube.ign.com/objects/016/016387.html|title=IGN: Super Smash Bros. Melee|publisher=IGN|accessdate=2008-01-11|date=2002-01-10}}</ref>
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In 1999, 13 year old Ricky “Gideon” Tilden started ''[http://www.smashboards.com Smash World Forums]'' also known as ''Smashboards''. Today, with over 45,000 registered users, Smashboards stands alone as the single largest Smash community on the planet.  While at first Smashboards stood simply as a discussion board for fans of the popular game, 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.
Nintendo presented the game at E3 2001 as a playable demonstration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cube.ign.com/articles/094/094823p1.html|title=IGN: E3: Hands-on Impressions for Super Smash bros Melee|publisher=IGN|accessdate=2007-11-24|date=2001-05-17}}</ref> The next major exposition of the game came in August 2001 at Spaceworld, when Nintendo displayed a playable demo that updated from the previous demo displayed at E3. Nintendo offered a playable tournament of the games for fans in which a GameCube and ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' were prizes for the winner.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cube.ign.com/articles/097/097777p1.html|title=IGN: Spaceworld 2001: Super Smash Bros Melee hands-on|publisher=IGN|accessdate=2007-11-24|date=2001-08-25}}</ref> Before the game's release, the Japanese official website included weekly updates, including screenshots and character profiles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cube.ign.com/articles/096/096718p1.html|title=Super Smashing Moves|publisher=IGN|accessdate=2007-11-24|date=2001-07-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/index.html |title=Super Smash Bros. Melee |publisher=[[Nintendo]] |accessdate=2007-11-24 |language=Japanese}}</ref> Nintendo followed this trend with ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'', in which there were daily updates by the game's developer, Masahiro Sakurai.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smashbros.com/en_uk/index.html|title=Super Smash Bros. Brawl|publisher=[[Nintendo]]|accessdate=2007-11-24}}</ref> Japanese gaming magazine ''Famitsu'' reported that Nintendo advertised the game in between showings of the ''Pokémon the First Movie'' across movie theaters in Japan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cube.ign.com/articles/096/096528p1.html|date=2001-07-12|title=Nintendo kicks-off GameCube hype in Japan|publisher=IGN|accessdate=2007-11-24}}</ref> In January 2003, ''Super Smash Bros Melee'' became part of the Player's Choice, a marketing label used by Nintendo to promote video games that have sold more than a million copies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cube.ign.com/articles/383/383504p1.html|title=Nintendo Expands Player's Choice Line-up|publisher=IGN|accessdate=2007-11-24|date=2003-01-23}}</ref> In August 2005, Nintendo bundled the game with the Nintendo GameCube for $99.99.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cube.ign.com/articles/632/632133p1.html|title=Super Smash Bros. Bundle|publisher=IGN|accessdate=2007-11-24|date=2005-07-07|first=Matt|last=Casamassina}}</ref>


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. Not by coincidence, it was this same summer that the case was made for Smash to be added to [[Major League Gaming]]’s (MLG) tournament roster.  
==Reception==
{{Reviews
|title=''Melee'' reviews
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|Edge=6/10
|EuroG=10/10<ref name="Eurogamer">http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_ssbm_gc</ref>
|Fam=37/40
|GSpot=8.9/10<ref name="GameSpot">http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/super-smash-bros-melee-review/1900-2829090/</ref>
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|NP=5/5 <ref name="metacritic" />
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|
|MC=92/100<ref name="metacritic">http://www.metacritic.com/game/gamecube/super-smash-bros-melee</ref>
|GR=90.52%<ref name="GameRankings">http://www.gamerankings.com/gamecube/516492-super-smash-bros-melee/index.html</ref>
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''Melee'' was well-received in many quarters and is the GameCube's top-selling game, selling about 7.09 million copies worldwide as of December 31, 2009. It was the fastest-selling GameCube game in Japan and sold 358,525 copies within four days of its release. In North America, it sold 250,000 copies within nine days of its release. It was the first GameCube game to sell over a million copies, an achievement reached only two months after its release.


Next summer, a crew in [[South Bend, Indiana]] held one of the largest national tournaments ever—[http://www.meleefc.com/ Melee-FC3]—with almost 200 participants from 30 states, the UK, and the Netherlands separate issues Nintendo Power covered the independent and corporate Smash scenes, including Smashboards, MLG, and FC3. Shortly after, MTV ran a special ''“[[True Life]]: I'm a Professional Gamer”'' featuring MLG Pro Smasher KillaOR.
''Melee'' has received critical acclaim from reviewers, and has received high rankings on many gaming sites, such as {{s|wikipedia|GameRankings}}, {{s|wikipedia|IGN}}, and {{s|wikipedia|GameSpot}}. {{s|wikipedia|GameSpy}} commented in their review that "you'll have a pretty hard time finding a more enjoyable multiplayer experience on any other console".<ref name="Gamespy">{{cite web|last=Williams|first=Bryn|date=2001-12-03|url=http://cube.gamespy.com/gamecube/super-smash-bros-melee/636813p1.html|title=Super GameSpy: Smash Bros Melee review|publisher={{s|wikipedia|GameSpy}}|accessdate=2013-06-05}}</ref> Reviewers compared the game favorably to the original ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'', commonly due to the large amount of new content added to the sequel, with IGN's {{s|wikipedia|Fran Mirabella III}} saying it was "in an entirely different league than the N64 version".<ref name="IGN">{{cite web|last=Mirabella III|first=Fran|date=2001-12-03 |url=http://cube.ign.com/articles/166/166387p1.html|title=IGN: Super Smash Bros Melee review|publisher=IGN|accessdate=2013-06-05}}</ref> The improved graphics were also welcomed, and GameSpot said that "the character models are pleasantly full-bodied, and the quality of their textures is amazing".<ref name="Gamespot">{{cite web|last=Lopez|first=Miguel|date=2001-12-01|url=http://www.gamespot.com/gamecube/action/supersmashbrosmelee/review.html?page=4|title=Super Smash Bros Melee for GameCube review—GameSpot|publisher={{s|wikipedia|GameSpot}}|accessdate=2013-06-05}}</ref> Planet GameCube's Mike Sklens also rated it as "one of the best sounding games ever",<ref>{{cite web|last=Sklens|first=Mike|date=2001-12-18|url=http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/3834|title=Nintendo World Report: Smash Bros Melee review|publisher={{s|wikipedia|Nintendo World Report}}|accessdate=2013-06-05}}</ref> while GameSpot's Greg Kasavin commented that "it all sounds brilliant".<ref name="Gamespot"/>


These events, coupled with the announcement of Super Smash Brothers: Brawl, set up what has been the most popular summer for Smash so far. MLG Anaheim, Chicago, and Orlando each broke over 150 participants. [http://www.disconets.com/knights/ Zero Challenge 2] became the largest tournament on the West coast and first truly international one with players from [[Europe]] and [[Japan]] in attendance and Melee FC6 finally broke 200 participants becoming the largest Smash tournament to date.  
''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' has received many gaming awards. GameSpy chose it as Best Fighting GameCube Game in their "Best of 2001" awards<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.gamespy.com/goty2001/gc/gc_fighting_winner.shtml|title=GameCube Fighting Game of the Year: Super Smash Bros. Melee|publisher={{s|wikipedia|GameSpy}}|accessdate=2013-06-05|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20071220220600/http://archive.gamespy.com/goty2001/gc/gc_fighting_winner.shtml|archivedate = December 20, 2007}}</ref>, IGN's reader choice chose it as {{s|wikipedia|Game of the Year}},<ref>{{cite web|url=http://insider.ign.com/articles/317668p1.html|title=Insider: Reader's Choice awards|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20040813070819/http://insider.ign.com/articles/317668p1.html|archivedate=2004-08-13|publisher=IGN|date=2001-01-19|accessdate=2013-06-05}}</ref>, ''{{s|wikipedia|Electronic Gaming Monthly}}'' chose it as Best Multiplayer and Best GameCube Game,<ref>{{cite web|title=2001 "Gamers' Choice Awards"|publisher=Ziff Davis, {{s|wikipedia|Electronic Gaming Monthly}}|date=April 2002|url=http://gamegroup.ziffdavis.com/presscenter/pr20020304.php?view=printer|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080306150300/http://gamegroup.ziffdavis.com/presscenter/pr20020304.php?view=printer|archivedate=2008-03-06|issn=1058-918X}}</ref>, and GameSpot chose ''Melee'' as the Best GameCube Game and tenth best game of the year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/bestof_2001/p5_04.html|title=The Best and Worst of 2001: Best GameCube Game|publisher=GameSpot|accessdate=2007-12-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/bestof_2001/p6_01.html|title=The Best and Worst of 2001: The Top Ten Video Games of the Year|publisher=GameSpot|accessdate=2013-06-05}}</ref>.


The number of users on Smashboards has more than doubled in the last year and so too has the number of participants at an average MLG event.  [[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.<ref>[http://dpad.gotfrag.com/portal/story/32773/?spage=2 http://dpad.gotfrag.com/portal/story/32773/?spage=2]</ref> The popularity of Smash as a competitive fighter will surely continue to swell once MLG runs its tournament circuit on the cable network [[USA Network|USA]] and with the influx of new members on Smashboards the local tournament scene will continue to prosper.
Despite overall positive reception, common criticisms of gameplay included the controls' over-sensitivity<ref name="Gamespy"/> and "hyper-responsiveness", with characters easily dashing and precise movements difficult to perform,<ref name="Gamespot"/>, as well as the fast-paced gameplay, with Nintendo Spin's Clark Nielson stating that "Melee was too fast for its own good".<ref>{{cite web|date=2007-05-27|url=http://www.nintendospin.com/features/the-games-we-hate/|title=The Games We Hate|publisher=Nintendo Spin|accessdate=2013-06-05|last=Nielsen|first=Clark|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127024648/http://www.nintendospin.com/features/the-games-we-hate/|archivedate=2013-01-27}}</ref> Many gamers additionally criticized the game for being too similar to the original, and GameCritics.com's Caleb Hale called it "every bit as good as its Nintendo&nbsp;64 predecessor. The game doesn't expand much past that point".<ref>{{cite web|last=Hale|first=Caleb|date=2002-02-20|url=http://www.gamecritics.com/review/ssbmelee/main.php|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20071231122649/http://www.gamecritics.com/review/ssbmelee/main.php|archivedate=2007-12-31|title=GameCritics.com: Smash Bros :Melee review|publisher=GameCritics.com|accessdate=2013-06-05}}</ref>


==Critical reception==
==Changes from ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]''==
''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' received very positive reviews from most critics, including a 9.6/10 from [[IGN]]<ref name="IGN">[[Fran Mirabella III|Mirabella, Fran]].  [http://cube.ign.com/articles/166/166387p1.html IGN: Super Smash Bros. Melee Review].  [[IGN]].  [[December 3]], [[2001]]. Retreieved [[April 19]], [[2006]].</ref> and a 9.5/10 from ''[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]''. It currently has an aggregate score of 93% at [[GameStats]]<ref>[http://www.gamestats.com/objects/016/016387/] (Retrieved [[July 13]], [[2006]])</ref>, 90% at [[GameRankings]] <ref>[http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/516492.asp GameRankings - Super Smash Bros. Melee] (Retrieved [[April 3]], [[2006]])</ref> and an amazing 95% from the British ''[[Official Nintendo Magazine]]''
While ''Melee'' mainly follows the same formula introduced in the [[Super Smash Bros.|original game]] by retaining most elements, several differences exist between the two games. The following list, while not all-inclusive, notes several of the changes. Note that this list does not include obvious changes, such as a different button scheme/controller and Melee-only characters and items.
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===
===Gameplay===
*''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' was placed sixth in two [[GameFAQs]] events: the "Best Game Ever" contest,<ref>[http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/contest/c04sprbracket.html Best. Game. Ever. Bracket]. [[GameFAQs]]. Spring 2004.</ref> and a poll about the 100 best games ever.<ref>[http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/top10/top10_100.html 10-Year Anniversary Contest - The 10 Best Games Ever + 90 Games: The Users' Picks]. [[GameFAQs]]. 2005.</ref>
*The general pacing of the game has been increased; [[freeze frame]]s have been reduced, KOs off the top [[blast line]] finish sooner, and characters move faster in general, as [[gravity]] and [[falling speed]] values have been made higher, and more forward momentum is now conserved from a [[dash]] when jumping.
*In the 200th issue of ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'', the editors published a list of the "Top 200 Games of Their Time", which compared games based on their influence and popularity at release. ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' was the 92nd most influential game of its time.<ref>Semrad, Steve. [http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3147448 The Greatest 200 Video Games of Their Time]. [[1UP.com]]. [[February 2]], [[2006]]. Retrieved [[May 27]], [[2006]].</ref>
*[[Hitbox]]es now use spheres and tubes instead of rectangular prisms.
*''[[Nintendo Power]]'' named it the 16th best game ever to appear on a Nintendo console,<ref>''Nintendo Power'' #200</ref> though a poll based on player opinions held by ''Nintendo Power'' had ''SSBM'' placing in fourth.  
*[[Damage]] is now dealt and tracked with decimal numbers instead of integers, making moves of any damage equally vulnerable to [[stale]]ness.
*''[[Filter (TV series)|Filter]]'' named it the second best fighting game of all time, and best party game of all time.
*[[Stale-move negation]] has been redesigned; moves now feature a gradual drop in power if used repeatedly instead of a single large drop in power when used once, and using a move less frequently gives less of a penalty than using the move the same number of times consecutively. For consecutive hitting attacks, once the first hit connects, all others become one-level staler.
*''[[X-Play]]'' gave it the title of 5th best Gamecube game in their Best Of Gamecube episode.
*[[Weight]] differences have been made less drastic; characters heavier than [[Mario]] are lighter, while characters lighter than Mario are heavier, so overall weight is slightly less of a factor in knockback.
*It has been rereleased as a [[Player's Choice]] title.
*The amount of [[hitstun]] a character suffers has been decreased, being reduced from x0.533 the amount of knockback to x0.4.
*''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' is the GameCube's top-seller.
*Midair characters can now drop through [[soft platform]]s by holding down on the Control Stick, improving aerial movement.
*[[Directional influence]] revamped: in addition to shifting into a direction while in hitlag ([[SDI]]), characters can also alter the angle they are launched into by holding into a direction, as well as get a weaker additional shift into the direction the Control Stick is held (ASDI).
*Most [[aerial attack]]s have been decreased in damage. All of them now have unique landing animations, and [[L-canceling]] now just halves the landing lag of an aerial rather than making the character assume their regular landing animation. Characters can now, however, [[fast fall]] at any time during aerials, so they can be L-canceled earlier, introducing the highly competitive [[SHFFL]] and allowing the character to perform more extensive combos within ''Melee''{{'}}s new physics.
*[[Smash attack]]s can now be charged for extra damage and knockback. Most smash attacks have received a power decrease to balance this out.
*[[Meteor smash]] knockback can now be cancelled via using an up special or jumping (with the audio and visual indicators being a loud swishing sound and the character glowing briefly white while doing so, in addition to a sparkle), though [[spike|certain moves]] "fall through the cracks" and cannot be. Moves that can meteor smash are also generally much slower in all aspects.
*[[Angling]] forward tilts and smashes now either increases or reduces their damage, depending on the angle, but most of them now have fewer angles.
*Characters now have a [[side special move]], bringing the total number of special moves per character to 4. Some veterans gain a new move for their side special, while others (like Link, Ness and Jigglypuff) gain a new [[neutral special]], with their old one becoming the side special.
*[[Shield]]s now last for a shorter time, and characters now take longer to drop them, though they receive less [[shieldstun]] from attacks. The game now uses two different sounds for when a shield is broken by either an opponent or the character itself, the former being higher-pitched.
*Characters can now [[sidestep]] dodge and [[air dodge]], which results in the addition of [[wavedashing]], as well as making [[shield platform drop]]ping more difficult.
*Characters can now [[powershield]] and lightshield (the latter function makes a character`s shield bigger than usual, but they slide farther from shielding attacks).
*Characters can now [[tech]] on walls, ceilings and ledges.
*Characters hanging on [[ledge]]s can now get up by jumping from them, and they can also be [[Edge sweetspot|sweetspot]]ted during the ending lag of [[recovery]] moves. Characters can prevent grabbing them by holding the Control Stick down.
*Characters now have a unique animation for running [[grab]]s, which is generally slower and farther reaching than their standing/walking grab.
*Character pose animations are removed in Melee’s character selection screen. Instead, when the player is selecting a character, they showed the full portrait of the character on the bottom screen in the character selection screen.
*[[Jump-canceled grab]]s are implemented: dashing characters can now use their regular grabs by preparing a jump and then grabbing before leaving the ground, making them faster and with a longer reach, depending on the characters' [[Dashing|dash speed]] and [[traction]].
*Grabs can be escaped should the grabber wait too long before throwing, with the time until escaping dependent on the grabbed character's damage (the more damage they have, the longer they can be held). Grabs now have increased ending lag, so they cannot be used in repeated succession as effectively.
*Characters now have an [[up throw]] and a [[down throw]] in addition to a [[pummel]]. Some veterans have had throws reassigned (for example, Kirby and Jigglypuff's old [[forward throw]]s are now their up throws, Captain Falcon's old forward throw is now his down throw, and they have gained new forward throws).
**Throws are additionally weaker in general, with less damage and knockback, and most throws are now meant to start combos instead of being KO moves. This, combined with the introduction of up and down throws, introduces many more options for [[chain throw]]s. The majority of [[throw]]s now also have variable speed depending on the opponent's weight (lighter characters are thrown faster), and many others also consist of two hits, with the first hit being able to damage nearby opponents.
*Certain characters can now use their extended grab in midair to [[wall grapple]].
*Certain characters like Mario can now [[wall jump]].
*[[Moonwalk]]ing is possible (with Captain Falcon being the most prolific user of it).
*If an already struck character is hit by another attack 10 frames afterwards while still in hitstun, the [[knockback]] power and angle of both attacks is scaled for the second hit, rather than being completely replaced.
*[[Tumbling]] can be stopped by quickly tapping the Control Stick sideways.
*Characters can now only be KO'd by the top [[blast line]] if they are in hitstun when sent upwards, and foes on extensive team battles (such as in [[Multi-Man Melee]]) now cannot be Star KO'd nor Screen KO'd, making them significantly faster.
*Items can now be grabbed before coming to rest, and can also now be grabbed by aerial characters.
*All characters can walk while holding a heavy item, though very slowly; Donkey Kong remains the only one who can jump and walk at a normal speed while carrying them. They can also be thrown upwards and downwards, like regular items.
*Healing items can now be consumed while wielding a battering item, such as the [[Beam Sword]].


==Soundtrack==
===Game modes===
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 [[United Kingdom|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.
*A stock match can now have a maximum time limit set. Many other additional rules have also been added, such as removing stages from random selection, controlling how stages are chosen, and altering the battles' [[Damage Ratio|damage ratio]].
*Bonuses can now be earned in both single-player modes and multiplayer matches. Some old bonuses have been removed while [[List of bonuses|many more]] have been added, bringing the total from 57 to 249.
*[[1P Game]] is now known as {{SSBM|Classic Mode}}, with the opponents before the final stage now being random rather than always the same, and various other single-player modes such as {{SSBM|Adventure Mode}} and [[All-Star Mode]] have been added.
*[[Training]] mode now has many more options, such as battling with more than one CPU, adjusting their damage percentage, or even controlling them by a human player if additional controllers are plugged in. The longest [[combo]] achieved with each character is also saved afterwards.
*[[Special Smash]]es have been introduced, which include battling with [[Super Mushroom|giant]] or [[Cloaking Device|invisible]] characters, using [[hit points]] as opposed to damage, and even battling at a faster or slower speed.
*A [[Tournament mode]] has been added.
*The [[Board the Platforms]] bonus game has been removed, with the [[Snag the Trophies]] bonus game being introduced, and {{SSBM|Race to the Finish}} being revamped.
*The Board of Platforms mini-game has been removed from the stadium mode, with the [[Home Run Contest]] mini-game being introduced.
*[[Trophy|Trophies]] have been added, which can be collected in the [[Lottery]], 1P modes or by specific means, then viewed in detailed ways. All characters also have three trophies of themselves, replacing the previous game's biographies.
*{{b|Coin|collectable}}s are now used for [[Continue|continuing]] on 1P modes and earning trophies: these are obtained by winning battles on either regular 1P or Versus modes, the amount depending on how long they take.
*Records are not saved if a match is forfeited.
*More complex records are saved by the game, such as the total of times it has been turned on, current characters with the most [[KO]]s, [[fall]]s and [[SD]]s, or even the total distance walked by all characters.


==Version differences==
===Aesthetic===
Naming differences:
*Most characters, such as Mario and Luigi, use updated designs.
*Bowser and Jigglypuff are called "Koopa" and "Purin" (which can be seen by switching to the Japanese language on settings).
*Most items are now 3D models, rather than animated 2D sprites like the original game.
*Ice Climbers appear as simply "Ice Climber" because many Japanese words are both singular and plural. <!--please talk before removing-->
*The pre-match countdown by the [[announcer]] and unique [[on-screen appearances]] for each playable fighter are absent. Instead, the announcer says "Ready... Go!" at the start of a match, and all fighters share the same animation of a [[trophy]] coming to life.
*DK is shown as D. Kong, but it is still pronounced the same as "Donkey Kong.
*The camera controls on the pause screen have been extended to allow freedom of focusing on other characters. A Camera Mode has been introduced where players can additionally slide it across the stage and take snapshots, which are saved into the Memory Card occupying additional slots.
*Players can now use personalized [[name]]s for battles, which also get records saved.
*The [[match timer]] will now show hundredths of a second (XX:XX.xx). In addition, the [[Match timer#Final countdown timer|final five seconds of the match]] will appear on-screen, and while the announcer counts down, the numbers will get bigger. Also, except in Japanese, the announcer will call out "Game!" and "Time!" when the match ends.


Voice changes:
==In competitive play==
*In the PAL version of the game, the language setting can be changed to various European languages. In German and French, the names for Jigglypuff, Pikachu, Pichu and Mewtwo are changed (along with the names of all Pokémon trophies). The character voices are also changed to make the Pokémon say their "new" name instead.
{{main|Super Smash Bros. Melee in competitive play}}
*In the English version, Mewtwo's voice consists of growls, screams and laughs. In the Japanese version, Mewtwo is given a real voice, heard only in his victory screens.
''Melee'' is widely known for its large and intricate [[tournament]] scene. The birth of the tournament scene occurred with the creation of the [[Tournament Go]] series in 2002. ''Melee'' has since been featured in the championships of many grand-scale fighting game tournaments, such as [[Major League Gaming]] in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2014, and [[EVO]] in 2007 and from 2013 to 2018.
*In addition to Jigglypuff/Purin's voice change, in the Japanese version, Falco has two different taunts. In both, he shouts two different sentences in Japanese, changing randomly. In the English version, he will only make a "Heh!" sound. Similarly, in the Japanese version, Fox's taunt alternates between him saying, "Come on!" in English and Japanese.
*In the English version, matches ends with "Game!" or "Time!", while the Japanese version has the traditional "Game Set" or "Time Up."
*If the player goes to Collection in the Japanese version or setting the game language in Japanese on trophies section, some of the game systems are replaced with Japan-only systems. For example, the original [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] and [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|SNES]] are replaced with their Japanese counterparts (Famicom and the Super Famicom). Strangely enough, the [[Nintendo Virtual Boy|Virtual Boy]] is only seen in the Japanese version, despite the fact it was also released in North America.


==Trivia==
The community has constructed a set of [[tournament legal (SSBM)|standard tournament rules]] to regulate tournament play. While rulesets may vary between different tournaments, generally universal gameplay rules include all matches being played via [[time]]d [[stock]] (four stocks and eight minutes), and restrictions on legal [[stage]]s. These regulations are enacted to ensure that gameplay at the highest level remains fair and interesting.
*This is Mario's first appearance in a game rated higher than E for Everyone by the [[Entertainment Software Rating Board|ESRB]].


*Mario's voice is recycled voice samples from ''[[Super Mario 64]]''. Luigi's voice is actually a faster version Mario's voice.
Competitive ''Melee'' has historically had a rocky relationship with [[Nintendo]]. Due to a combination of reasons, such as cultural differences and company policies, Nintendo is very strict with permission to broadcast competitive ''Melee'', and has had streams or even whole tournaments shut down for what players view as unfair reasons. This was exacerbated during the years of online-focused or online-only play, as ''Melee'' (being a GameCube game) cannot be played online without emulation and [[mod]]ding, two things Nintendo is very adamant on disallowing.


*One of the event matches is called "Pikachu and Pichu", which was the name of a short that came on before ''[[Pokémon 3: The Movie]]''. Both ''Melee'' and ''Pokémon 3'' were released in [[2001]].
==Staff==
{{main|List of staff (SSBM)}}


*This was the first appearance of various Japan-only characters (such as characters from ''[[Fire Emblem]]'', ''[[Custom Robo]]'', ''[[Doshin the Giant]]'', and ''[[Animal Forest]]''). Most of them were seen in future releases.
==Gallery==
<CENTER>
<gallery widths="170">
MeleePAL.jpg|''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' European box art.
NP151Cover.jpg|''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' as seen on the cover of the 151st issue of Nintendo Power.
SSBM logo.png|English logo.
MeleeTitle.png|English title screen.
DSBDXTitle.png|Japanese title screen.
</gallery>
</center>


*In the Sound Test, if the player selects Narration sound #50, the announcer will say "Giga Koopa." Giga Bowser is known as Giga Koopa in Japan (and, inversely, switching the language to Japanese results in the narrator saying "Giga Bowser"). Also notable is the announcer saying "Master Hand" on Narration sound #64 when the sound is impossible to hear elsewhere in the game. However, they can be accessed in a special debug mode using [[Action Replay]].
==Trivia==
 
*''Melee'' is the only ''Super Smash Bros.'' game to:
*When all human players hold down L or R while a stage is loading, alternate music will play (for instance, on the Hyrule Temple, some of the soundtrack from ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' will play, Saria's Song will play on Termina: Great Bay, music from ''[[Dr. Mario]]'' and ''[[Balloon Fight]]'' will play on Infinite Glacier: Icicle Mountain and Mushroom Kingdom and Mushroom Kingdom 2, and "Pollyanna's Song" from ''[[Mother (video game)|Mother]]'' will play on the Onett stage). There is a 12.5% chance of the alternative songs being played without L and R.
**Not have unique [[on-screen appearance]]s for each playable character. Instead, all playable characters share the same animation of a [[trophy]] coming to life.
 
**Not have separate announcer voice clips for [[free-for-all]] and [[team battle]], instead collectively announced as either "Melee/Battle Royale", "Survival", "Grab/Get the coins" and "Decision" (in [[time]], [[stock]], [[coin battle|coin]] and {{b|bonus|mode}} battles, respectively), or in cases of [[Special Melee]], respective announcements for each rules.
*Some of the Pokémon from the first ''Super Smash Bros.'' were removed; these Pokémon include [[Hitmonlee]] (replaced with a Steel/Bug-type, [[Scizor]]), [[Beedrill]], [[Onix]] (both replaced with [[Unown]]), [[Meowth]] (replaced by [[Weezing]]), [[Starmie]] (replaced with [[Staryu]]), [[Porygon]] (replaced with its evolved form [[Porygon2]]), and [[Koffing]] (replaced with its evolved form Weezing). [[Venusaur]] is also available from Pokéballs, and now uses Earthquake, while in the previous game, it used Razor Leaf (it is now [[Chikorita]] that uses Razor Leaf).  [[Ditto (Pokémon)|Ditto]] was also planned, and was supposed to turn into your character and fight alongside you. However, because of problems programming it, it was removed.  Ditto can still be found within the Debug Menu's items.  All that Ditto does though, is hit your opponent up into the air; adding 13% damage. An interesting fact is that in the Nintendo Power version of the strategy guide, Ditto is still listed as a possible Pokémon.
**Be a sequel that contains a roster with a greater amount of newcomers than veterans, with newcomers making up more than 50% of the playable roster.
 
*As a near-launch title for the system, ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' marks the first appearance on the [[Nintendo GameCube]] for 23 out of the 26 playable characters; the exceptions being [[Mario]], [[Luigi]], and [[Bowser]], who had appeared in ''Luigi's Mansion'' (the latter after a fashion, as his appearance in said game was actually an elaborate animated suit controlled by King Boo). As only Luigi was playable in said game, he is also the only character who was playable on the GameCube in a game before ''Melee''.
*Meowth's trophy was to promote the upcoming ''[[Meowth's Party]]'', which wound up being cancelled.
**This marked the first playable appearance for [[Sheik]], [[Ganondorf]], and [[Roy]] in any series, as well as Roy's first appearance in any game, with ''Melee'' releasing before his {{uv|Fire Emblem}} debut game, ''{{s|fireemblem|Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade}}''. This additionally marks Zelda's first playable appearance in an official Nintendo game (as she was only playable prior in two of the semi-official CD-i ''Zelda'' games, ''{{s|zeldawiki|Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon}}'' and ''{{s|zeldawiki|Zelda's Adventure}}'').
 
*Gameplay of ''Melee'', in particular {{SSBM|Marth}} and {{SSBM|Roy}} fighting against each other on [[Temple]], was shown nineteen years after the game's debut for the ''[[Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light]]'' reveal trailer.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xNUYS-tJZQ]
*The music for All-Star Mode, which is played in the rest area, was originally composed for the save areas of ''[[Kirby Super Star]]'''s ''The Great Cave Offensive''.
 
*A few more characters other than [[Dr. Mario]] and [[Luigi]] were partially cloned from [[Mario]].
This suggests that Mario was the first character the creators made.
 
*[[Mewtwo]] is the only character in the game who has a third jump that doesn't hurt foes.
 
==Voices==
*Dean Harrington: Narrator, Master Hand, Crazy Hand
*[[Charles Martinet]]: Mario, Luigi, Dr. Mario
*[[Jen Taylor]]: Peach
*[[Kazumi Totaka]]: Yoshi
*[[Ryo Horikawa]]: Captain Falcon
*[[Takashi Nagasako]]: Ganondorf
*[[Hisao Egawa]]: Falco
*[[Shinobu Satouchi]]: Fox
*[[Makiko Ohmoto]]: Ness, Kirby
*[[Sanae Kobayashi]]: Ice Climbers
*Jun Mizusawa: Zelda, Sheik
*[[Nobuyuki Hiyama]]: Link
*[[Fujiko Takimoto]]: Young Link
*[[Satomi Kohrogi]]: Pichu, Togepi
*[[Ikue Ohtani]]: Pikachu
*[[Rachel Lillis]]: Jigglypuff
**[[Mika Kanai]]: Purin, Chikorita
*[[Masachika Ichimura]]: Mewtwo
*[[Hikaru Midorikawa]]: Marth
*[[Jun Fukuyama]]: Roy
*Chris Seavor: Peppy, Slippy
*Steve Malpass: Fox (In his ship)
*[[Ben Cullum]]: Falco (In his ship)
*James W. Norwood Jr.: DK Rap vocal
*[[Yuuji Ueda]]: Wobbuffet
*[[Shinichiro Miki]]: Scizor
*Not Credited: Pokémon Voices


==References==
==References==
<div class="references-small">
<references />
<references />
</div>


==See also==
== External links ==
*[[List of best-selling computer and video games]]
*[[Wikipedia: Super Smash Bros. Melee|Wikipedia's ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' article]]
*[[List of Super Smash Bros. series NPCs]]
*[http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/ Official Japanese ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' website]
*[[List of computer and video fighting games]]
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20050403131356/http://www.smashbros.com/battle/index.html Official English ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' website (Archived)]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfQ75gr2znA First announcement]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3HiXYdFz38 Elevated: the Development Story of Super Smash Bros. Melee] - documentary about Melee's conception, development, and release.


==External links==
{{SSBSeries}}
*[http://www.smashbros.com/ ''Super Smash Bros.'' official site]
{{wikipedia}}
*[http://www.smashboards.com/ ''Smashboards'' the tournament community]
[[Category:Games]]
*[http://smashbros.planets.gamespy.com/ Smash Arena:  Official Gamespy/IGN Hosted Site]
[[Category:Super Smash Bros. Melee| ]]
*[http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/index.html Smabura-Ken], the official [[Japanese language|Japanese]] site
[[Category:Super Smash Bros. universe]]
*[http://strategywiki.net/wiki/Super_Smash_Bros._Melee ''SSBM'' at StrategyWiki] (previously hosted by [[WikiBooks]])
[[Category:Super Smash Bros. series]]
*[http://www.n-philes.com/features.php?id=174 Description of the Debug Menu]
[[Category:Nintendo GameCube]]
*[http://www.wikiknowledge.net/wiki/index.php?title=Super_Smash_Bros._Melee Super Smash Bros. Melee at Wikiknowledge.net]
[[es:Super Smash Bros. Melee]]
<!--Discuss before adding more links-->

Latest revision as of 14:23, April 15, 2024

Within Nintendo, we've had a lot of discussion about which of our most popular characters should be ready to appear in games when Nintendo GameCube comes to market. We think we've got a great answer.
Shigeru Miyamoto moments before the Melee trailer was unveiled to the public at E3 2001.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
NTSC box art for Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Japanese box art of Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Developer(s) HAL Laboratory
Intelligent Systems
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Designer(s) Masahiro Sakurai
Released Japan November 21, 2001
North America December 3, 2001
Europe May 24, 2002
Australia May 31, 2002
Genre(s) Fighting game
Platforming
Mode(s) Single-player, Multiplayer (2-4)
Ratings ESRB: T
ELSPA: 11+
ELSPA: 3+ (re-rating)
PEGI: 3+
OFLC: G8+
Platform(s) Nintendo GameCube
Media GameCube Optical Disc
System requirements 11 blocks of memory (an additional 2 or more blocks are needed for each snapshot saved)
Input methods GameCube controller
"Melee" redirects here. For the game mode, see Versus Mode.

Super Smash Bros. Melee (大乱闘 スマッシュ ブラザーズ DX, Great Fray Smash Brothers Deluxe), often shortened to "SSBM" or "Melee" (スマブラDX), is the second installment in the Super Smash Bros. series published by Nintendo. The game released for GameCube on November 21st, 2001 in Japan, and December 3rd, 2001 in North America, shortly after GameCube's launch, and then on the following year in Europe and Australia on May 24th, 2002 and May 31st, 2002 respectively. The game was directed by Masahiro Sakurai and was primarily developed by HAL Laboratory.

Like its predecessor Super Smash Bros., Melee features gameplay unique from that of other fighting games. Compared to characters in other fighting games, Melee characters have simple movesets and lack complicated button inputs and lengthy natural combos. Instead, Melee emphasizes movement and ringouts. Indeed, edge-guarding in Melee takes on much more significance than it does in most other games due to copious mid-air jumps and other methods of reaching the edge unfettered. The game has sold 7.09 million units as of 2008, making it the best-selling GameCube game of all time. Melee is also one of the two games in the Super Smash Bros. series to be rated T by the ESRB, with the other being its sequel, Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Melee received universal acclaim, with many critics praising the game's expansion and refinement from its N64 predecessor, Super Smash Bros., as well as its visuals, tight controls, multiplayer mode, and orchestrated soundtrack, although its single-player modes, lack of originality, and similarity to its predecessor received criticism.

Opening movie[edit]

The opening movie of Melee mostly uses FMV scenes from its E3 2001 trailer along with some scenes of actual gameplay.

The FMV scenes were given particularly high attention by the developing team; according to Sakurai, the team wanted to create an entire, high-quality FMV sequence in the game to highlight the then newly-released GameCube console's graphical power in comparison to previous consoles. The development team worked in three different animation studios in Tokyo, Japan to finish the FMV opening.

In addition, continuing the trend started in the previous game, the opening also directly segues into the title screen with the announcer calling out the game's title.

The E3 trailer has also been found: early opening. In this sequence, the clips of actual gameplay had been considerably changed from the final version.

It is the first pre-rendered cutscene in the series.

Fighters[edit]

The character-selection screen of Super Smash Bros. Melee (which includes all 26 characters unlocked).

The cast of 25 playable characters, 26 if including Zelda's alter ego Sheik, includes all 12 characters from Super Smash Bros. and 13 newcomers (14 counting Sheik). Of these, 14 are available from the start of play (15 if Sheik is included), including all the veteran characters except Jigglypuff and Luigi and 11 more which can be unlocked.

The entire cast of Super Smash Bros. Melee.
The entire cast of Melee, excluding Sheik, Zelda's alter ego.

Of the new characters, the greatest number are from The Legend of Zelda universe if Zelda/Sheik are counted as two characters to go with Ganondorf and Young Link, although the Mario series also takes three new character slots for Bowser, Princess Peach and Dr. Mario added. On top of these, two universes add two characters each, with the Fire Emblem series making its Smash Bros. debut with Marth and Roy (with Roy making his debut in any game), and the Pokémon universe adding Pichu and Mewtwo to its two existing characters. The three other characters added are Falco, a second character from the Star Fox series, Mr. Game & Watch, and the Ice Climbers from two highly venerable Nintendo series.

Veterans (12)
Mario in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Mario
MarioSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Luigi in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Luigi
MarioSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Yoshi in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Yoshi
YoshiSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Donkey Kong in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Donkey Kong
Symbol of the DK series, pre-Brawl.
Link in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Link
ZeldaSymbol.svg
Samus in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Samus
MetroidSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Kirby in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Kirby
KirbySymbol.svg
Fox McCloud in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Fox
StarFoxSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Pikachu in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Pikachu
PokemonSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Jigglypuff in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Jigglypuff
PokemonSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Captain Falcon in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Captain Falcon
FZeroSymbol.svg
Ness in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Ness
EarthboundSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Newcomers (14)
Princess Peach in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Peach
MarioSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Bowser in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Bowser
MarioSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Artwork of Dr. Mario as he appears in Melee.
Dr. Mario
MarioSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Zelda in Super Smash Bros. Melee.Sheik in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Zelda/Sheik
ZeldaSymbol.svg
Ganondorf in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Ganondorf
ZeldaSymbol.svg
Young Link in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Young Link
ZeldaSymbol.svg
Falco Lombardi in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Falco
StarFoxSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Mewtwo in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Mewtwo
PokemonSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Pichu in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Pichu
PokemonSymbol(preBrawl).svg
The Ice Climbers in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Ice Climbers
IceClimberSymbol.svg
Marth in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Marth
FireEmblemSymbol.svg
Roy in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Roy
FireEmblemSymbol.svg
Mr. Game &amp; Watch in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Mr. Game & Watch
Game&WatchSymbol(preBrawl).svg

Bold denotes unlockable characters.

Stages[edit]

The stage select screen in Melee

There are 29 stages in Melee that can be played in VS. Mode, 18 starter stages and 11 more which are unlockable stages. Three stages return from Super Smash Bros. as Past Stages, all of which are unlockable. Each universe, except for the Fire Emblem universe, has a stage. The EarthBound and F-Zero universes, which previously did not have any stages, receive stages for their respective universes. Most universes have two stages, the exceptions are the Ice Climber and Game & Watch universes which have only one, and the Mario universe which has four. Counting Past Stages, the Donkey Kong, Kirby, and the Yoshi universes have three stages. For the first time in the series, Battlefield and Final Destination can be played in VS. Mode, previously they were restricted to single-player modes.

Starter stages (18)
PCastleMelee.jpg
Mushroom Kingdom: Princess Peach’s Castle
MarioSymbol(preBrawl).svg
RNBOW-NRML1-SSBM.png
Mushroom Kingdom: Rainbow Cruise
MarioSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Mushroom Kingdom I Melee.png
Mushroom Kingdom
MarioSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Taken from an emulator.
Yoshi's Island: Yoshi's Story
YoshiSymbol(preBrawl).svg
YoshiIslandMelee.jpg
Yoshi's Island: Yoshi's Island
YoshiSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Kongojungle.jpg
DK Island: Kongo Jungle
Symbol of the DK series, pre-Brawl.
JAPES-NRML-SSBM.png
DK Island: Jungle Japes
Symbol of the DK series, pre-Brawl.
Great bay.jpg
Termina: Great Bay
ZeldaSymbol.svg
Hyrule Temple SSBM.png
Hyrule: Temple
ZeldaSymbol.svg
ZEBES-NRML-SSBM.jpg
Planet Zebes: Brinstar
MetroidSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Fountainofdreams.jpg
Dream Land: Fountain of Dreams
KirbySymbol.svg
GREEN-NRML-SSBM.png
Dream Land: Green Greens
KirbySymbol.svg
STRFX-NRML-SSBM.jpg
Lylat System: Corneria
StarFoxSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Venom.jpg
Lylat System: Venom
StarFoxSymbol(preBrawl).svg
PSTAD-NRML1-SSBM.png
Kanto: Pokémon Stadium
PokemonSymbol(preBrawl).svg
MuteCity.jpg
F-Zero Grand Prix: Mute City
FZeroSymbol.svg
ONETT-NRML-SSBM.jpg
Eagleland: Onett
EarthboundSymbol(preBrawl).svg
IcicleMountain.jpg
Infinite Glacier: Icicle Mountain
IceClimberSymbol.svg
Unlockable stages (11)
Battlefield in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Special Stages: Battlefield
SpecialStagesSymbol.svg
Final Destination Melee.png
Special Stages: Final Destination
Symbol of the Smash Bros. series.
Mushroom Kingdom II Melee.png
Mushroom Kingdom II
MarioSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Yoshi's Island Melee.png
Super Smash Bros. Past Stages: Yoshi's Island
YoshiSymbol(preBrawl).svg
OLDKJ-NRML-SSBM.png
Super Smash Bros. Past Stages: Kongo Jungle
Symbol of the DK series, pre-Brawl.
Brinstardepths.jpg
Planet Zebes: Brinstar Depths
MetroidSymbol(preBrawl).svg
OLDDL-NRML-SSBM.jpg
Super Smash Bros. Past Stages: Dream Land
KirbySymbol.svg
PokeFloats.jpg
Kanto Skies: Poké Floats
PokemonSymbol(preBrawl).svg
BBLUE-NRML-SSBM.jpg
F-Zero Grand Prix: Big Blue
FZeroSymbol.svg
Fourside Melee.png
Eagleland: Fourside
EarthboundSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Flatzone copy.jpg
Superflat World: Flat Zone
Game&WatchSymbol(preBrawl).svg

1-player stages[edit]

These stages cannot be unlocked, and can only be played under certain circumstances.

Modes[edit]

The main menu.

1-Player[edit]

Multiplayer[edit]

Other[edit]

Unlockables[edit]

The game featured several points to be unlocked, most of which include the trophies, unlockable characters and stages. Some of them are unlocked by a special way, like achieving a certain distance on the Home-Run Contest, while others are obtained by the Lottery. For a full list, see List of unlockables (SSBM).

Some unlockable elements in SSBM were left out, but can be seen with an Action Replay cheat disc. See Debug menu for more details.

Development[edit]

Conceptualization of Super Smash Bros. Melee began almost immediately after the previous entry released, even before Nintendo GameCube development kits were widely distributed. Masahiro Sakurai was quietly tinkering with the design plan mostly by himself with no knowledge of what the final hardware specifications would be. He publicly denied that he was working on a new Smash title until the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) event, where he announced he was working on a "Smash game for the GameCube."[1] HAL Laboratory returned as lead developer of Melee, with Sakurai as the head of production. When final GameCube development kits reached the team, they discovered that they were much easier to use then Nintendo 64 kits.[2] The optical disc format also let the team use streaming playback for the first time, which allowed the use of real musical instruments for music tracks. The final soundtrack ended up using a mix of real music recordings and synthesized instruments, though Sakurai assured that the differences would be nearly unnoticable. These tracks are an inspiration for the founding of the Press Start: Symphony of Games concert series, which was an annual orchestral concert hosted by game industry veterans that featured arrangements of video game music that ran from 2006 to 2015.[2]

The game was one of the first games released on the GameCube and highlighted the advancement in graphics from the Nintendo 64. The developers wanted to pay homage to the debut of the GameCube by making an opening FMV sequence that would attract people's attention to the graphics.[3] HAL worked with three separate graphic houses in Tokyo to make the opening sequence, with Sakurai personally storyboarding the intro instead of spending the New Year with his family.[2] On their official website, the developers posted screenshots and information highlighting and explaining the attention to physics and detail in the game, with references to changes from its predecessor.[4] The game was in development for 13 months, and Sakurai called his lifestyle during this period "destructive" with no holidays and short weekends.[5] Unlike the experimental first Super Smash Bros., he felt great pressure to deliver a quality sequel, claiming it was the "biggest project I had ever led up to that point". Despite the painful development cycle, Sakurai proudly called it "the sharpest game in the series... it just felt really good to play", even compared to its successor, Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[5] Sakurai also felt pressured to make the game as content-rich as possible to help it stand out from both other games at the time and its predecessor. Trophies were born out of this desire for content. Since the team was only able to make a limited amount of playable characters, trophies acted as representation for characters and franchises that did not make the cut otherwise as fanservice and a history lesson with background information attached to each trophy.[2]

On the game's official Japanese website, the developers explain reasons for making particular characters playable and explain why some characters were not available as playable characters upon release. Initially, the development team wanted to replace Ness with Lucas, the main character of Mother 3, but retained Ness in consideration of delays.[6] The game's creators later included Lucas in the game's sequel, Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[7][8] Video game developer Hideo Kojima originally requested the inclusion of Solid Snake to Sakurai, but the game was too far into development. As with Lucas, development time allowed for his inclusion in Brawl.[9] Similarly, Sonic Team head Yuji Naka confirmed that Sonic was ultimately not added due to time constraints;[10] like Snake and Lucas, he later became playable in Brawl. Wario was strongly considered for Melee's roster; while Sakurai expressed that he would have included Wario if he had time to add one more character,[11] he explained that he had opted to instead allocate the team's limited development time to implementing other characters such as Mewtwo or Marth and Roy, and also wanted to avoid having an excessive number of Mario characters.[12] Marth and Roy were initially 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, leading to the decision for the developers to include them in the Western version.[13][14] This decision is often credited for popularizing the Fire Emblem brand outside of Japan to the point of convincing Nintendo to release the series internationally starting with Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, localized as simply Fire Emblem. Additionally, Sakurai stated that the development team had suggested characters from four other games to represent the Famicom or NES era until the developers decided that the Ice Climbers would be in the game.[15] The developers have noted characters that have very similar moves to each other on the website;[16] such characters have been referred to as "clones" in the media.[17]

Nintendo presented the game at E3 2001 as a playable demonstration.[18] The next major exposition of the game came in August 2001 at Spaceworld, when Nintendo displayed a playable demo that updated from the previous demo displayed at E3. Nintendo offered a playable tournament of the games for fans in which a GameCube and Super Smash Bros. Melee were prizes for the winner.[19] Before the game's release, the Japanese official website included weekly updates, including screenshots and character profiles.[20][21] Nintendo followed this trend with Super Smash Bros. Brawl, in which there were daily updates by the game's developer, Masahiro Sakurai.[22] Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu reported that Nintendo advertised the game in between showings of the Pokémon the First Movie across movie theaters in Japan.[23] In January 2003, Super Smash Bros Melee became part of the Player's Choice, a marketing label used by Nintendo to promote video games that have sold more than a million copies.[24] In August 2005, Nintendo bundled the game with the Nintendo GameCube for $99.99.[25]

Reception[edit]

Melee reviews
Publication Score
Edge Magazine 6/10
Eurogamer 10/10[26]
Famitsu 37/40
GameSpot 8.9/10[27]
IGN 9.6/10[28]
Nintendo Power 5/5 [29]
Official Nintendo Magazine 95%
Compilations of multiple reviews
Metacritic 92/100[29]
Game Rankings 90.52%[30]

Melee was well-received in many quarters and is the GameCube's top-selling game, selling about 7.09 million copies worldwide as of December 31, 2009. It was the fastest-selling GameCube game in Japan and sold 358,525 copies within four days of its release. In North America, it sold 250,000 copies within nine days of its release. It was the first GameCube game to sell over a million copies, an achievement reached only two months after its release.

Melee has received critical acclaim from reviewers, and has received high rankings on many gaming sites, such as GameRankings, IGN, and GameSpot. GameSpy commented in their review that "you'll have a pretty hard time finding a more enjoyable multiplayer experience on any other console".[31] Reviewers compared the game favorably to the original Super Smash Bros., commonly due to the large amount of new content added to the sequel, with IGN's Fran Mirabella III saying it was "in an entirely different league than the N64 version".[32] The improved graphics were also welcomed, and GameSpot said that "the character models are pleasantly full-bodied, and the quality of their textures is amazing".[33] Planet GameCube's Mike Sklens also rated it as "one of the best sounding games ever",[34] while GameSpot's Greg Kasavin commented that "it all sounds brilliant".[33]

Super Smash Bros. Melee has received many gaming awards. GameSpy chose it as Best Fighting GameCube Game in their "Best of 2001" awards[35], IGN's reader choice chose it as Game of the Year,[36], Electronic Gaming Monthly chose it as Best Multiplayer and Best GameCube Game,[37], and GameSpot chose Melee as the Best GameCube Game and tenth best game of the year.[38][39].

Despite overall positive reception, common criticisms of gameplay included the controls' over-sensitivity[31] and "hyper-responsiveness", with characters easily dashing and precise movements difficult to perform,[33], as well as the fast-paced gameplay, with Nintendo Spin's Clark Nielson stating that "Melee was too fast for its own good".[40] Many gamers additionally criticized the game for being too similar to the original, and GameCritics.com's Caleb Hale called it "every bit as good as its Nintendo 64 predecessor. The game doesn't expand much past that point".[41]

Changes from Super Smash Bros.[edit]

While Melee mainly follows the same formula introduced in the original game by retaining most elements, several differences exist between the two games. The following list, while not all-inclusive, notes several of the changes. Note that this list does not include obvious changes, such as a different button scheme/controller and Melee-only characters and items.

Gameplay[edit]

  • The general pacing of the game has been increased; freeze frames have been reduced, KOs off the top blast line finish sooner, and characters move faster in general, as gravity and falling speed values have been made higher, and more forward momentum is now conserved from a dash when jumping.
  • Hitboxes now use spheres and tubes instead of rectangular prisms.
  • Damage is now dealt and tracked with decimal numbers instead of integers, making moves of any damage equally vulnerable to staleness.
  • Stale-move negation has been redesigned; moves now feature a gradual drop in power if used repeatedly instead of a single large drop in power when used once, and using a move less frequently gives less of a penalty than using the move the same number of times consecutively. For consecutive hitting attacks, once the first hit connects, all others become one-level staler.
  • Weight differences have been made less drastic; characters heavier than Mario are lighter, while characters lighter than Mario are heavier, so overall weight is slightly less of a factor in knockback.
  • The amount of hitstun a character suffers has been decreased, being reduced from x0.533 the amount of knockback to x0.4.
  • Midair characters can now drop through soft platforms by holding down on the Control Stick, improving aerial movement.
  • Directional influence revamped: in addition to shifting into a direction while in hitlag (SDI), characters can also alter the angle they are launched into by holding into a direction, as well as get a weaker additional shift into the direction the Control Stick is held (ASDI).
  • Most aerial attacks have been decreased in damage. All of them now have unique landing animations, and L-canceling now just halves the landing lag of an aerial rather than making the character assume their regular landing animation. Characters can now, however, fast fall at any time during aerials, so they can be L-canceled earlier, introducing the highly competitive SHFFL and allowing the character to perform more extensive combos within Melee's new physics.
  • Smash attacks can now be charged for extra damage and knockback. Most smash attacks have received a power decrease to balance this out.
  • Meteor smash knockback can now be cancelled via using an up special or jumping (with the audio and visual indicators being a loud swishing sound and the character glowing briefly white while doing so, in addition to a sparkle), though certain moves "fall through the cracks" and cannot be. Moves that can meteor smash are also generally much slower in all aspects.
  • Angling forward tilts and smashes now either increases or reduces their damage, depending on the angle, but most of them now have fewer angles.
  • Characters now have a side special move, bringing the total number of special moves per character to 4. Some veterans gain a new move for their side special, while others (like Link, Ness and Jigglypuff) gain a new neutral special, with their old one becoming the side special.
  • Shields now last for a shorter time, and characters now take longer to drop them, though they receive less shieldstun from attacks. The game now uses two different sounds for when a shield is broken by either an opponent or the character itself, the former being higher-pitched.
  • Characters can now sidestep dodge and air dodge, which results in the addition of wavedashing, as well as making shield platform dropping more difficult.
  • Characters can now powershield and lightshield (the latter function makes a character`s shield bigger than usual, but they slide farther from shielding attacks).
  • Characters can now tech on walls, ceilings and ledges.
  • Characters hanging on ledges can now get up by jumping from them, and they can also be sweetspotted during the ending lag of recovery moves. Characters can prevent grabbing them by holding the Control Stick down.
  • Characters now have a unique animation for running grabs, which is generally slower and farther reaching than their standing/walking grab.
  • Character pose animations are removed in Melee’s character selection screen. Instead, when the player is selecting a character, they showed the full portrait of the character on the bottom screen in the character selection screen.
  • Jump-canceled grabs are implemented: dashing characters can now use their regular grabs by preparing a jump and then grabbing before leaving the ground, making them faster and with a longer reach, depending on the characters' dash speed and traction.
  • Grabs can be escaped should the grabber wait too long before throwing, with the time until escaping dependent on the grabbed character's damage (the more damage they have, the longer they can be held). Grabs now have increased ending lag, so they cannot be used in repeated succession as effectively.
  • Characters now have an up throw and a down throw in addition to a pummel. Some veterans have had throws reassigned (for example, Kirby and Jigglypuff's old forward throws are now their up throws, Captain Falcon's old forward throw is now his down throw, and they have gained new forward throws).
    • Throws are additionally weaker in general, with less damage and knockback, and most throws are now meant to start combos instead of being KO moves. This, combined with the introduction of up and down throws, introduces many more options for chain throws. The majority of throws now also have variable speed depending on the opponent's weight (lighter characters are thrown faster), and many others also consist of two hits, with the first hit being able to damage nearby opponents.
  • Certain characters can now use their extended grab in midair to wall grapple.
  • Certain characters like Mario can now wall jump.
  • Moonwalking is possible (with Captain Falcon being the most prolific user of it).
  • If an already struck character is hit by another attack 10 frames afterwards while still in hitstun, the knockback power and angle of both attacks is scaled for the second hit, rather than being completely replaced.
  • Tumbling can be stopped by quickly tapping the Control Stick sideways.
  • Characters can now only be KO'd by the top blast line if they are in hitstun when sent upwards, and foes on extensive team battles (such as in Multi-Man Melee) now cannot be Star KO'd nor Screen KO'd, making them significantly faster.
  • Items can now be grabbed before coming to rest, and can also now be grabbed by aerial characters.
  • All characters can walk while holding a heavy item, though very slowly; Donkey Kong remains the only one who can jump and walk at a normal speed while carrying them. They can also be thrown upwards and downwards, like regular items.
  • Healing items can now be consumed while wielding a battering item, such as the Beam Sword.

Game modes[edit]

  • A stock match can now have a maximum time limit set. Many other additional rules have also been added, such as removing stages from random selection, controlling how stages are chosen, and altering the battles' damage ratio.
  • Bonuses can now be earned in both single-player modes and multiplayer matches. Some old bonuses have been removed while many more have been added, bringing the total from 57 to 249.
  • 1P Game is now known as Classic Mode, with the opponents before the final stage now being random rather than always the same, and various other single-player modes such as Adventure Mode and All-Star Mode have been added.
  • Training mode now has many more options, such as battling with more than one CPU, adjusting their damage percentage, or even controlling them by a human player if additional controllers are plugged in. The longest combo achieved with each character is also saved afterwards.
  • Special Smashes have been introduced, which include battling with giant or invisible characters, using hit points as opposed to damage, and even battling at a faster or slower speed.
  • A Tournament mode has been added.
  • The Board the Platforms bonus game has been removed, with the Snag the Trophies bonus game being introduced, and Race to the Finish being revamped.
  • The Board of Platforms mini-game has been removed from the stadium mode, with the Home Run Contest mini-game being introduced.
  • Trophies have been added, which can be collected in the Lottery, 1P modes or by specific means, then viewed in detailed ways. All characters also have three trophies of themselves, replacing the previous game's biographies.
  • Coins are now used for continuing on 1P modes and earning trophies: these are obtained by winning battles on either regular 1P or Versus modes, the amount depending on how long they take.
  • Records are not saved if a match is forfeited.
  • More complex records are saved by the game, such as the total of times it has been turned on, current characters with the most KOs, falls and SDs, or even the total distance walked by all characters.

Aesthetic[edit]

  • Most characters, such as Mario and Luigi, use updated designs.
  • Most items are now 3D models, rather than animated 2D sprites like the original game.
  • The pre-match countdown by the announcer and unique on-screen appearances for each playable fighter are absent. Instead, the announcer says "Ready... Go!" at the start of a match, and all fighters share the same animation of a trophy coming to life.
  • The camera controls on the pause screen have been extended to allow freedom of focusing on other characters. A Camera Mode has been introduced where players can additionally slide it across the stage and take snapshots, which are saved into the Memory Card occupying additional slots.
  • Players can now use personalized names for battles, which also get records saved.
  • The match timer will now show hundredths of a second (XX:XX.xx). In addition, the final five seconds of the match will appear on-screen, and while the announcer counts down, the numbers will get bigger. Also, except in Japanese, the announcer will call out "Game!" and "Time!" when the match ends.

In competitive play[edit]

Melee is widely known for its large and intricate tournament scene. The birth of the tournament scene occurred with the creation of the Tournament Go series in 2002. Melee has since been featured in the championships of many grand-scale fighting game tournaments, such as Major League Gaming in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2014, and EVO in 2007 and from 2013 to 2018.

The community has constructed a set of standard tournament rules to regulate tournament play. While rulesets may vary between different tournaments, generally universal gameplay rules include all matches being played via timed stock (four stocks and eight minutes), and restrictions on legal stages. These regulations are enacted to ensure that gameplay at the highest level remains fair and interesting.

Competitive Melee has historically had a rocky relationship with Nintendo. Due to a combination of reasons, such as cultural differences and company policies, Nintendo is very strict with permission to broadcast competitive Melee, and has had streams or even whole tournaments shut down for what players view as unfair reasons. This was exacerbated during the years of online-focused or online-only play, as Melee (being a GameCube game) cannot be played online without emulation and modding, two things Nintendo is very adamant on disallowing.

Staff[edit]

Main article: List of staff (SSBM)

Gallery[edit]

Trivia[edit]

  • Melee is the only Super Smash Bros. game to:
    • Not have unique on-screen appearances for each playable character. Instead, all playable characters share the same animation of a trophy coming to life.
    • Not have separate announcer voice clips for free-for-all and team battle, instead collectively announced as either "Melee/Battle Royale", "Survival", "Grab/Get the coins" and "Decision" (in time, stock, coin and bonus battles, respectively), or in cases of Special Melee, respective announcements for each rules.
    • Be a sequel that contains a roster with a greater amount of newcomers than veterans, with newcomers making up more than 50% of the playable roster.
  • As a near-launch title for the system, Super Smash Bros. Melee marks the first appearance on the Nintendo GameCube for 23 out of the 26 playable characters; the exceptions being Mario, Luigi, and Bowser, who had appeared in Luigi's Mansion (the latter after a fashion, as his appearance in said game was actually an elaborate animated suit controlled by King Boo). As only Luigi was playable in said game, he is also the only character who was playable on the GameCube in a game before Melee.
  • Gameplay of Melee, in particular Marth and Roy fighting against each other on Temple, was shown nineteen years after the game's debut for the Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light reveal trailer.[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ News Flash! Smash Bros. Dojo: Smash Begins!. Source Gaming (2001-05-17). Retrieved on 2022-08-22.
  2. ^ a b c d Sakurai, Masahiro. Super Smash Bros. Melee [Game Concepts]. YouTube.
  3. ^ Smash Bros. FMV Explained. IGN (2001-08-31). Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  4. ^ A Detailed Melee. IGN (2001-09-07). Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  5. ^ a b George, Richard. Super Smash Bros Creator: "Melee The Sharpest". IGN.
  6. ^ Masahiro Sakurai (2001-07-17). Super Smash Bros. Melee (Japanese). Nintendo. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  7. ^ Masahiro Sakurai (2007-10-01). Super Smash Bros. Brawl—Lucas. Nintendo. Retrieved on 2021-07-30.
  8. ^ Masahiro Sakurai (2007-09-21). Super Smash Bros. Brawl—Snake. Nintendo. Retrieved on 2021-07-30.
  9. ^ E306 Super Smash Bros. Brawl Q&A. Kotaku (2007-05-11). Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
  10. ^ Yuji Naka on the road - Edge Magazine
  11. ^ [1]
  12. ^ [2]
  13. ^ Masahiro Sakurai (2002-01-15). Super Smash Bros. Melee—Roy (Japanese). Nintendo. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  14. ^ Masahiro Sakurai (2001-12-14). Super Smash Bros. Melee—Marth (Japanese). Nintendo. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  15. ^ Masahiro Sakurai (2001-10-09). Super Smash Bros. Melee—Ice Climbers (Japanese). Nintendo. Retrieved on 2007-11-24. “The four games considered were Balloon Fight ("the balloon would be easily blown"), Urban Champion ("seem too small"), Clu Clu Land ("they know how to fight?") and Excitebike ("would have to jump")”
  16. ^ Roy (Japanese). Nintendo (2002-01-15). Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
  17. ^ IGN: Super Smash Bros. Melee. IGN (2002-01-10). Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
  18. ^ IGN: E3: Hands-on Impressions for Super Smash bros Melee. IGN (2001-05-17). Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  19. ^ IGN: Spaceworld 2001: Super Smash Bros Melee hands-on. IGN (2001-08-25). Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  20. ^ Super Smashing Moves. IGN (2001-07-19). Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  21. ^ Super Smash Bros. Melee (Japanese). Nintendo. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  22. ^ Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Nintendo. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  23. ^ Nintendo kicks-off GameCube hype in Japan. IGN (2001-07-12). Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  24. ^ Nintendo Expands Player's Choice Line-up. IGN (2003-01-23). Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  25. ^ Casamassina, Matt (2005-07-07). Super Smash Bros. Bundle. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  26. ^ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_ssbm_gc
  27. ^ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/super-smash-bros-melee-review/1900-2829090/
  28. ^ http://uk.cube.ign.com/articles/166/166387p1.html
  29. ^ a b http://www.metacritic.com/game/gamecube/super-smash-bros-melee
  30. ^ http://www.gamerankings.com/gamecube/516492-super-smash-bros-melee/index.html
  31. ^ a b Williams, Bryn (2001-12-03). Super GameSpy: Smash Bros Melee review. GameSpy. Retrieved on 2013-06-05.
  32. ^ Mirabella III, Fran (2001-12-03). IGN: Super Smash Bros Melee review. IGN. Retrieved on 2013-06-05.
  33. ^ a b c Lopez, Miguel (2001-12-01). Super Smash Bros Melee for GameCube review—GameSpot. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2013-06-05.
  34. ^ Sklens, Mike (2001-12-18). Nintendo World Report: Smash Bros Melee review. Nintendo World Report. Retrieved on 2013-06-05.
  35. ^ GameCube Fighting Game of the Year: Super Smash Bros. Melee. GameSpy. Archived from the original on December 20, 2007. Retrieved on 2013-06-05.
  36. ^ Insider: Reader's Choice awards. IGN (2001-01-19). Archived from the original on 2004-08-13. Retrieved on 2013-06-05.
  37. ^ 2001 "Gamers' Choice Awards". Ziff Davis, Electronic Gaming Monthly (April 2002). Archived from the original on 2008-03-06.
  38. ^ The Best and Worst of 2001: Best GameCube Game. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-12-23.
  39. ^ The Best and Worst of 2001: The Top Ten Video Games of the Year. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2013-06-05.
  40. ^ Nielsen, Clark (2007-05-27). The Games We Hate. Nintendo Spin. Archived from the original on 2013-01-27. Retrieved on 2013-06-05.
  41. ^ Hale, Caleb (2002-02-20). GameCritics.com: Smash Bros :Melee review. GameCritics.com. Archived from the original on 2007-12-31. Retrieved on 2013-06-05.

External links[edit]


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