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Super Smash Bros. Melee

by Michael Cole - September 29, 2001, 3:10 am EDT
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TYP finally writes up his impressions of the game that stole the show.

The Cube Club version of SSBM is just like the SpaceWorld version (except in English mode). So what new things have been implemented since E3?

Characters: The Spaceworld/CC edition has many more characters, and each seems to be distinct in both moves and responsiveness. The biggest extreme is probably Ice Climbers: they don't have all that many moves, and they are not fast, but they have "double" the attack power, as both climbers swing their hammers. They are also distinct in the sense that they are in two places at once. There is lag involved with these characters, and it will take much time to get used to those two (and I'm not about to try). Others were easier to use: my new personal favorite is Peach. She has a variety of attacks as well as the good looks to back it up :-) Meanwhile, other old characters are somewhat different: sure, many of the attacks and attributes are the same, but the details of them have changed. Link's Up-B jump goes higher and attacks further. Kirby's rock seems faster. Pikachu is now so light that it is a risk factor and Samus' blaster fires so much quicker I never got used to it. Instead, I thought it would take an extra moment like in the N64... I took it head on. Just about everything has been sped up just a smidgen. This, in combination with various situations in the environment, makes SSBM crazier than ever.

Speaking of environments, the levels are packed with detail. This includes both foreground and background. Peach's Castle is threatened by giant Bullet Bills (who enjoy drilling into the building and blowing up) while "!" Blocks and switches reveal items and platforms. Link's stage, Great Bay (who knows why they say "Hyrule" with it...) has the ever-present Tingle and the turtle island, which goes underwater and surfaces in different positions. But the thing that really amazed me was the background. While watching those play ahead of me, I was focused on the evil moon. Apparently, it gets closer and closer as the battle goes on, and is then pushed far away by the four giants! Such detail is almost unheard of in games...especially fighting games.

Of course, there's the music too. The songs range from standard remixes to orchestral arrangement to vocals. In fact, Kirby's stage had what sounded like another performance of the arrangement played at the Orchestral Gaming Music Concert series! Meanwhile, DK's stage has vocals of some sort. (I think it may have been the Donkey Kong Rap from DK64!) The sound FX were too high for one's own good and overpowered the music in most situations, but I can safely say that the sound track is worth looking forward to.

I also thought I'd mention two items I found especially interesting. I was pleased to find another allusion to the good old days with a Kirby Star--you know, the kind Kirby rides in Kirby's Dreamland and other old school Kirby titles! In SSBM, you hop on and it flies around a little...until it dive bombs right on an opponent! It's a very powerful item that is just plain cool. Another item I was lucky enough to find was a Bunny Hood. Just like in Majora's Mask, the hat increases your running speed. But this time it's more than just a little.... It's a great item that doesn't hinder your attacking power, and it comes in handy for coin mode! Oh yeah... Coin Mode is ultimate Smash Bros. chaos out there!

Overall, the game is shipping up quite nicely. According to the rep, the game version on hand was an almost complete version (though it lacked the newly announced L-shield). This game is hot... the enclosed booth had an AC system to combat body heat. This is a system seller, people.

Written: 05/20/2001

SSB: Melee was my favorite game on the showroom floor. "What?! But what about Luigi's Mansion!" you say? Well, the key phrase is on the showroom floor. Although Luigi's Mansion made me wet my pants, (metaphorically) as a demo and a one player game, I couldn't exactly spend hours watching and playing the game. But SSB2 (the F-Zero level even says "Smash 2" on a billboard) could have been released just as it was and been a "smash" hit. Fortunately, there is even more to come.

As you have probably already seen via pictures and movies, the graphics are amazing. And they'll probably get better by the time it is released. The first thing I thought when I saw the game on the big screen was "this is like one of those $1 arcade games that must've cost a fortune to buy!" Everything is very crisp, and movement is very fluid--even though I've been told AA (anti-aliasing) hasn't been implemented yet. And, just like the original, the game can end with players in very amusing positions.

The sound is a very high point in this game. Orchestrated versions of your favorite classics play in full surround sound with equally impressive sound effects blasting from all sides. I asked the Nintendo representative if it was prerecorded or MIDI, but he didn't know. Personally, I couldn't tell and couldn't care--the music was perfect.

But above all of this comes the gameplay. The basic controls are very similar to the original, but since extra moves have been added, you may have to get out of the habit of being able to shoot a fireball while pushing forward, for instance. If you can adjust for things like that, the game comes out very crisp and responsive. Timing has also changed a little, but I assure you that you'll be more than happy to take the time to adjust. The biggest change for me was using the Z button for grabbing (or R and A, which doesn't seem to work too well this time.) After playing for 30 minutes or so (off and on,) I learned to switch between the two buttons, so it wasn't that bad. Since I'm not planning on doing a controller review, I'll say that the Z button shouldn't require quite as much pressure (especially since you are alternating between an ultra-responsive analog trigger.)

I had a chance to play the one-player adventure, too. If you didn't like the 64 version, don't worry. Many of the levels in the Cube version are almost like platforming levels with mini-bosses. I only was able to get to 2 of these long levels: Peach's Castle and Link's stage--which was quite long. Each level has its own enemies pulled straight from its respective license. It was kind of strange not to be able to hop on a goomba, but the level was fun....

Overall, this game was probably the one that convinced naysayers that GameCube is the system for games. It will probably sell almost 1:1 with the console. I say almost, because I know there are people like Jonny Metts who can't follow the chaotic battle system. This is definitely a killer app, and it's coming out AT LAUNCH! Whoo!

P.S.: Thanks, HAL, for bringing something out at launch this time! We all love you!

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GC

Game Profile

Genre Fighting
Developer HAL Laboratory
Players1 - 4

Worldwide Releases

na: Super Smash Bros. Melee
Release Dec 02, 2001
PublisherNintendo
RatingTeen
jpn: Dairantou Smash Brothers DX
Release Nov 21, 2001
PublisherNintendo
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