Bryan Dawson has a long, intimate knowledge with fighting games. At the first N64 fan site, the N64HQ, he was the guy to talk to about fighting games. At the 64 Source, Bryan was “Fighting Editor” and went on to join Nintendojo after the Source closed where he wrote the excellent FAQ, Smash Bros. 101. Bryan later contributed to Segadojo before becoming Editor-in-Chief of SonySource. Although Bryan is currently too engaged running SonySource to become a full-time writer at Planet GameCube, we were all too happy to run his in-depth Smash Bros. Melee impressions. (After all, he played the game more than any other PS2 title at E3!)

One of the main gaming genres in which the Nintendo 64 lacked was fighting games. Killer Instinct Gold was a nice touch in the console's youth, but what followed was nothing in comparison to the PlayStation fighting game lineup. War Gods, Bio F.R.E.A.K.S., Mace: The Dark Ages, Fighter's Destiny, and Dual Heroes either had a PSX port, or something MUCH better on Sony's first born console. The one N64 fighting game that Sony still has yet to match was Super Smash Brothers. Pitting several of Nintendo's most memorable characters in an all out brawl was as much fun as it was ingenious. Now, we welcome the NINTENDO GAMECUBE, and with it, Super Smash Brothers Melee.

Making its GameCube debut at the 2001 Electronic Entertainment Exposition, Super Smash Brothers Melee has come to bring the pain. At first glance, the game is a carbon copy of the Nintendo 64 version with enhanced graphics. Every character from the first game is back for an encore with the exception of Jigglypuff and Luigi. Nearly all of your old combos and tactics will work exactly as they did on the N64 original. In fact, you could pick up Melee and play it exactly as you would play the first game with no problems at all.

While sticking with what works is great for fans of the original, it's not enough to make a quality sequel by simply upgrading the graphics. HAL Labs knows this, and they've come to the plate with a slew of new characters, special moves, weapons, stages, and gameplay techniques. Everything that you always wanted to add to the first installment has been included in the GameCube version.

HAL Labs has taken another trip into Nintendo's vault of classic characters and pulled out even more of your old favorites. New to the Smash Brothers universe you'll find Bowser, Shiek (from Zelda: TOoT), Peach, the Ice Climber brothers, and many more that have yet to be announced. As stated above, in addition to these newcomers, all of the characters from the original Smash return except for Luigi and Jigglypuff. With another four months until Melee releases in Japan, the character list could still see some additions.

Each of the returning characters has all of their featured moves from the original Smash Brothers, along with at least one new special move added to their arsenal. Link has acquired his bow and arrow, Mario has a new cape attack, Kirby has his mallet, etc. Not only will you have the opportunity to learn how to best use these new moves, but several moves will now cancel projectiles and certain close combat attacks. Instead of simply putting up your shield when someone shoots a laser at you, it will now be possible to cancel out their attack with an attack of your own. If you chose not to attack, you also have a new sidestep ability that will help you avoid incoming attacks. This can also be used in the air to minimize combo opportunities.

With nearly thirty weapons and items at your disposal, you'll need all the help you can get to avoid being attacked. HAL has gone the distance in terms of available weaponry. While not everything was in place for the E3 demo, you'll find a Super Scope 6, multiple food items that replenish a small amount of your health, new Pokemon, and a giant party ball filled with tons of goodies. Expect the final build of the game to feature all kinds of new weapons to use against your friends.

The stages have also undergone an overhaul. Each stage is now much more interactive than before. Captain Falcon has claimed Mute City as his home. Here, you'll have to keep on your toes as the battleground is continually moving, and hovercrafts race by. Get hit by one of the speeding hovercraft, and not only will you be starting fresh at the top of the screen, but the hovercraft will meet a deadly end as well. A similar interaction can be found in most of the stages. This also adds another level to the gameplay. Instead of watching your opponents, you now have to keep an eye on your surroundings as well. You can get attacked from almost any direction.

Another stage-related gameplay change comes in the way of size. In the original Smash Brothers several of the stages were massive in size. You could be high in damage and still survive getting knocked from one side of the stage to the other. This is no longer the case. Every stage has been drastically reduced in size. This makes it very difficult to stay within the confines of the stage at higher damage percentages. Add to that the fact that your opportunity to comeback after being slammed off the stage has been severely cut. Kirby cannot simply use his floating technique to get back to the stage and continue fighting. As soon as you get slightly out of the stage boundaries, your character will explode. You've got some room to comeback, but nowhere near the distance you had in the original.

Taking the intense action to an even higher level, Smash Brothers Melee features a renewed emphasis on combos. Every character can combine standard moves, special moves, throws, counters, air juggles, and weaponry to create devastating combinations. Unlike the original Smash, Melee was designed with combo abilities in mind. The key to winning will come more from combo techniques than single attack combat.

Keeping things fresh, HAL has also added several different playing rules to choose from. The original Smash featured Stock and Time. Melee adds Coin and Decision to the fray. In Coin mode, you battle to acquire the most coins. The person with highest number of coins at the end of the game wins. Decision makes you work for your win. Here, your objective is to use combos and special techniques to obtain the highest score. The better your combo, the more points you'll earn. Special moves will award you with more points than standard punches and kicks. If you thought Stock and Time were enough to keep you busy in the first Smash, you're in for a treat this time around.

Smash Brothers (like any other fighting game) is meant to be played with more than one player. This is a commonly known fact. However, someone forgot to inform HAL of this ongoing trend. Super Smash Brothers Melee has been stocked full of one player goodness. The standard mode of play no longer has you work your through the multiplayer stages with a slight twist here and there. In Melee you fight your way through levels as if you were in that respective character's game. For example, Samus' stage has you racing against the clock to get out of Zebes before it explodes. Very similar to the end of the original Metroid on the Nintendo Entertainment System. The same goes for Mario's stage in which you work your way through what appears to be a level taken right out of Super Mario Brothers 3. Almost every stage in the one player mode has a similar feel.

If that weren't enough, Smash Brothers Melee lets you register your name to keep track of your statistics in various modes of play. You can save your win/loss record in the brand new tournament mode, or you can check out how many times you've knocked Donkey Kong into oblivion. HAL even went as far as to include a myriad of stats after each match. You'll find detailed statistics ranging from how much time you spent on the ground or in the air, to how much damage you inflicted on Pikachu, to your item of choice. The level of detail available here makes you feel as though Rare had a hand in Melee. You may be reminded of Golden Eye and Perfect Dark as you check out your post-game stats.

The bottom line is as follows. If you liked the original Super Smash Brothers, you'll absolutely love Super Smash Brothers Melee for the NINTENDO GAMECUBE. If you thought the original was a bit shallow in whatever way, you owe it to your Nintendo heritage to check out Melee. Everything the original was lacking has been more than made up for in the second installment. If you're a hardcore fighting game fan, you'll still want to check this one out when it launches with the GameCube this November. Once the final version hits, Melee should pack in almost as much technique and strategy as a four player brawl will allow. Super Smash Brothers Melee is shaping up to be one of the premiere GameCube titles this Fall. Look for a full review in just a few short months.