Want to hit Mario? Now you can (Super Smash Brothers Melee (GC))

Member Name: RabidBunny

Product:	Super Smash Brothers Melee (GC)
Date:	04/08/02 (412 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Multiplayer fun, Deep game, Lots of challenges

Disadvantages: Limited single player

Super Smash Bros: Melee is a sort of sequel to… Super Smash Bros, believe it or not. For those who are not acquainted with the fighting game, it is a game developed by HAL laboratories, the same people behind the Kirby series, which pits Nintendo characters against each other, featuring such people as Mario, Kirby, Donkey Kong, Pikachu and even Mr Game and Watch for all you retro gamers out there. So now that the introduction is out of the way, here is the review:

Gameplay:

The original set a good standard in the art of multiplayer gaming. It combined a simple fighting system with colourful backgrounds and lovable characters for form perhaps the best multiplayer game ever made. So what has changed in the sequel? Quite a lot, but not that much.
Since this is a fighting game, it doesn’t stray too far from the conventions set in other fighting games. You have at least two people on screen at a time pummelling each other until one person either gets knocked out, or is pushed out of the ring sumo style. This is usually a bland system that is over run by Japanese developers looking to get some money out of the genre after the success of Tekken, but HAL seem to breathe life into this genre by using the Nintendo characters, people which we can all relate to from our childhood and some how manages to pull off some fast paced action. Add in some 4 player modes and you have a masterpiece in fun.
But this isn’t all the game has to offer, no, within the game there are a host of mini games that test your skills in such things as baseball and even a Mario-esque platform adventure to keep you entertained long after you complete it.

Control:

The controls are just like they were meant to be. Fully utilising the Gamecube controller, HAL have done a marvellous job of making a fighting game work on the Gamecube pad, one which many people have said time and time again simply does not work with fighting games.
If there
is a problem though, it has to be that the controls are a little too sensitive, and irritate at random times, but it’s really not a big problem and more nit picking if anything.

Graphics:

The graphics are the highlight of this game. Although they are nothing fancy, they haven’t got the best textures in the world, and they aren’t even near photo-realistic. But some how the graphics seem to stand out. This is probably due to the colourful nature of the game, something that other developers have seemed to have lost over the years and it sets the game above the rest. Also what makes it impressive is the anti-aliasing (Removing of jagged edges) in the game, even when playing it on a HDTV the jagged edges are not there, something that not even the X Box can boast. Also the graphics engine produced by HAL has is able to produce up to ten characters on screen at once with no slow down at all, it’s all at a smooth sixty frames per second.

Sound:

Does this game sound good? Yes. Nintendo are renowned for being one of the best music producers in the world for computer games, and this game is no different. Each person’s stage has a distinctive music score that you’ll surely remember from such classics as Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda. Some of the tracks remain unchanged, whilst others are beautifully reworked by the orchestra. The characters also retain sounds that you will recognise immediately, especially Mario, and all of this in CD-quality, it’s good to have gotten rid of cartridges.

Longevity:

Assuming you like the game, and you have three friends, this game can last forever. The strongest point has to be the multiplayer mode, where you and three other friends can fight each other over and over, and it will never get boring due to the simplistic fighting system meaning that no one will have a great advantage. And if you add the 291 trophies you can gain through doing
different tasks, the 51 special fights to take part in and the numerous secret characters you can get, making 25 in total, all needing mastering, this game has possibly the best longevity in any computer game.

Conclusion:

Well whilst some might not like this game, probably hardcore fighting fans, others will find this game absolutely brilliant, and it’s not hard to figure out why this is the best selling game out on the Gamecube at the moment. Although without people to play, people will find it boring, the single player is not much after a while, it will still last you a lot longer than most fighting games. A brilliant showing by Nintendo, and just hope that they can come out with more games along this kind of quality, as they’ve shown time and time again.

So let’s tally up the score!

Gameplay – 9/10
Control – 9/10
Graphics – 10/10
Sounds – 10/10
Longevity – 10/10

Total – 48/50

So it’s safe to say this is a 5 star game.

Summary: