Review by wing2871x

""Hats Off To Nintendo""

Super Smash Brothers Melee- A smashing blast, I might say. This game was extremely fun, with thrills to the very end. When the first Super Smash Brothers game came out in the late 1990's (not sure exactly what year, I think it was 1999) people, including myself, thought of it as a joke, with the commercial of Pikachu and Donkey Kong and Mario holding hands and skipping through fields. My cousin got the game a few weeks later, after endless begging. I tried the game, and I was shocked at how fun it truly was. In 2001, I got a gamecube, mainly because I wanted to play the newly released Super Smash Brothers Melee, which was supposed to be more fun than the first. The improvement Nintendo made from from one of their already great games was extraordinary. In Super Smash brothers melee, you can tell everything has been added on to since the first game. This game is one that will go down in the records as a classic Nintendo game, with all the classic Nintendo Characters, from as far back as 1980. Welcome, Gamers, to possibly the most fun game ever made- and, best of all, even n00bs can play it.

Gameplay (10/10)-: This is what makes the game great, above anything else. The game is extremely fun. You are able to choose from 25 classic Nintendo characters, including Mario, Peach, Daisy, and now, unlike the first, Bowser. You also have some outside characters (pokemon) such Pikachu, returning from the first game. Playing as these little guys is a blast. Super Smash brothers is basically a game where you pick these characters and use their many abilities to try and destroy your opponents. All the characters have special jumps, projectiles, and even the way the punch, kick, and move is different. You have a wide variety of levels to play no as well. Many people that are new to Nintendo and the game think it is bad because it is two dimensional, but you have to remember, some of the most fun classic Nintendo games are two dimensional, like the original super Mario brothers. It gives it an extra twist to not be three dimensional, because now you all play on the same screen instead of splitting the screen and looking for each other through huge levels, like Goldeneye (don’t get me wrong, that is still extremely fun). You also have a new bonus to this game- event matches and adventure mode. Adventure mode is like Mario brothers, two dimensional but with all the things from the original game; except you may pick any character you want to go on the journey- there are mazes, caves, and much, much more. Event mode is where you pick or are assigned a character to go to a particular event and fight a certain character or characters. For example, the first event (not spoilers) features you being Mario with one life going to meet Bowser on the metal level. This game cant get much more fun, and now, with tournament mode built in the game, people from all over will be have tourney’s to show their skills.

Graphics- (10/10): It might look two dimensional- while in play. But when you pause the game, you are able to see the three dimensional view of what is going on, with crisp graphics of the moment. During the moving game, the graphics of the levels are excellent, but even better are the graphics of the projectiles and appearances of the characters. The colors are also excellent, so the designers of this game must have made a bunch of other excellent games as well. You can clearly see the crispness and the sharpness of the walls, floors, and even the back round day or night sky. The amount of pixels clearly portrayed is amazing, and because of the many pixels every single distinguishing feature can be seen. And, of course, the graphics have improved because the game is on a cd-rom and the gamecube has a better graphic and video card. The sound in this game is a big step up from the first game. There are a variety of songs for each level, including newly made songs that (amazingly) have words. In Donkey Kong’s level, there is a special song about him being King of the Jungle, etc. They have also put SUM 41 and other rock bands in it, using the parts of their songs with no words. Its not only the songs that motivate the player- the sound effects are excellent also. That feeling you get when you hear Samus release an energy ball, the sound off a dying character yelling. It is all very exhilarating and motivating. It is just one reason that you should buy this game.

Play Time/ Replay (10/10): This game never gets old. You can keep earned characters, bonus levels, and playing tourneys until you have mastered one or more characters, and then you can continue to play with more and more friends, because it is rare that you will cross someone who does not like Super Smash Brothers Melee. You can also play in tournaments, and because of the overwhelming amount of people that love this game, until the next game of super smash brothers comes out there will be plenty of those. The player becomes like the energizer bunny. You just keep playing, and playing, and playing…

Controls (10/10): It is a Nintendo Gamecube controller, for crying out loud! Of course the controls are going to be great, including the comfort, because Nintendo has the best controller, in my opinion, of any game system ever made. The analog stick is used to move the character, X and Y to jump, the new accelerate button R to shield, Z to throw, and C to change view of use a special move. All very fitting, I might add. Not to mention you are able to use the wave bird with this game so you can play all across tourney or at home rooms or auditoriums.

Story Line (7/10)- Not really a story here, but that does not take away the game’s unique ability to entertain. There is a basic story line in the event mode, but you are using different characters; it is not just the journey of one character. However, the one character journey is in adventure mode, but that is only a mere part of the game and a story only for that mode. But with a game this fun, who needs a storyline?

Multiplayer (10/10): The Multiplayer in this game is awesome. You are able to play in many different modes, including Giant or Tiny Melee, where you are giants or midgets, or play in a tournament mode where players use their characters to try and get to the final round and win it so they win the tournament. And, of course, there is the classic normal Melee, pick a level, pick a character, and fight. There are a few levels from the original game in this game, but most of them are brand new and fun than ever. There is a much larger selection of levels, including ones where you move and levels with molten lava (well, that WAS in the first). You are also able to play with very large levels, such as a large temple.

Overall (10/10): Buy this game, you’ll have no regrets. It is action packed to the very end with fun for all, and it never gets old, because you can always get better. Hats off to Nintendo. They made an excellent game, friendly to all. With so many things added on from the first. Truly, what made this game better was the controller that gamecube has, the vast amount of characters with new abilities and the old characters with more abilities, and more than anything else, the event mode. This added a story line and a whole new challenge to the game that was never there before. Though it is very similar to the first, you can clearly tell the difference- because with a new great system comes a new great game. As for the difficulty, well, it all depends. For multiplayer you can set the computer playing units on levels one through nine, nine being the best skilled. In event matches, as you might have guessed, the lower the event number the easier, and the further you get the harder it is. Nintendo also made an impossible to beat mode called Cruel Melee, where the player cannot win, and polynoms attack you until you die. You can try to get as many of them off as you can before you fall. The Items in this game are great as well. Many of the classics, like the hammer, and many classic items have been improved, like the poke ball, now having a much wider variety of pokemon. There are also new items, like the super jump bunny ears and growing and shrinking mushrooms. Overall, it’s an almost perfect game.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10 | Originally Posted: 05/25/03, Updated 05/25/03

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