Super Smash Bros. Melee (GameCube)
	Developer Nintendo Publisher Nintendo Reviewed by Sean Mallory [Feedback] [Author Bio] Review Date March 5, 2002

Rating (out of 5.0) 5.0 out of 5.0*

Judge for yourself

Strengths Wonderfully detailed characters Lots of stages Nearly 300 fully-detailed trophies to collect Unlimited replay value Weaknesses Some backgrounds aren't quite so detailed as the rest of the game

* Notes Gaming Voice ratings are based on the technical and/or gameplay merits of a given product as well as the developer's choice of features and delivery of same. Our rating is not an endorsement of the thematic content of a given title. Gamers and parents are cautioned to determine if such content conflicts or coincides with their values and beliefs.

Super Smash Bros. Melee is the sequel to the N64 smash hit (no pun intended) which has introduced a new and innovative way of pounding your opponent. The sequel is all-around better than the original, with every improvement you can think of.

Graphics

One word: sweet! Every character has been remodeled and improved with the power of the Gamecube. Everyone looks just like they should. Some characters in particular look especially nice (Link) with this graphical upgrade. The stages themselves look terrific, though the backgrounds in some stages look a little bland, compared to the rest of the game. This isn't really noticable unless you're paying more attention to the graphics than the game itself. Plus everything moves at a silky-smooth 60 frames per second, and after about 500 battles, there's been no slow-down to speak of.

Gameplay

It's classic Smash Bros. times a hundred. It's astounding how much HAL managed to pack into this game. As a rule, I don't play fighters because I don't have a lot of fans of the genre nearby, so I'm stuck with the single-player mode a lot, which gets boring fast. Not so with SSBM. Besides the standard Classic mode, there's an Adventure mode, which lets you run across massive maps based on your favorite old-school games. Link's level, for example, lets you go through a maze filled with Redead, Octoroks, and Like-Likes in search of the Triforce. However, should you run into Link, you'll have to fight him before you can continue. This is just one level out of many that make this mode a very enjoyable experience.

Beyond those two modes, there are 50 unlockable Events, which are single-player matches where you must accomplish a specific objective. Naturally the early ones are simple matters of beating your opponent into the dirt, while the later ones are struggles for survival. Plus there's Home Run Derby and Target Test, both a welcome addition to the game.

What about versus mode, you ask? How about a dozen different battle modes, with old favorites like Time, Stock, and new stuff like Giant Melee and Coin Attack? How about a 64-player tournament mode? I'd list everything there is, but then I'd be writing all day. Rest assured, there's enough here to take a big chunk out of your life for many years to come.

Not enough, you say? Well, there's almost 300 beautifully-detailed trophies that you can collect by doing various tasks in the game, ranging from simply completing the game with any particular character to running down Mute City while avoiding speeding F-Zero cars that are trying to blast you into outer space. The trophies themselves come with a description of the character or object they depict, plus a small history and a date showing when it first appeared in its first game. The trophies alone are enough to keep you coming back for more in between VS matches.

Still want more? Alright then. You start out with 14 characters, most of them from the original SSB. New additions to the lineup include Bowser, Peach, Zelda/Sheik, (my favorite) and the Ice Climbers from the NES days. In addition to these 14, you can unlock almost a dozen secret characters for a grand total of 25. Not only that, but there are 29 playable stages to unlock. Needless to say, there's a lot to do.

Sound

Old-school meets new-school as old soundtracks are remixed and remastered. The music comes from classic games like Mario, Metroid, Zelda, Yoshi's Island, and more. Hearing the new Brinstar track makes me want to go back and replay Super Metroid a few times. This is probably the only fighter that makes me want to buy the soundtrack, and that's saying a lot.

Overall

If you liked the original, buy this game right now. If you like fighters, buy this game right now. Oh, I'll just say it, if you have a Gamecube, buy this game right now! Just be sure you have enough for the extra controllers you'll need!