Pure Nintendo gold. The first Smash Bros. was something of a sensation, taking the tiring fighting game concept and setting the battlefield in familiar and unexpected Nintendo game worlds with characters to match. Add not only the impressive familiar (and some older and not so familiar faces) from the huge Nintendo Franchises, but a playing field similar to a level from perhaps the original Mario Bros. or say, Metroid, with up to 4 players insanely duking it our for supremacy and you've got one intense package. But is it worth more than a couple of rentals for when you have a party and want to show off your cube? Read on!
Why it sucks!: First off, my hands ache just thinking about playing it again. And while it's got a ton of level based mission/battles for the one player mode, more than half of them seem like stupid filler as you are forced to face off against up to 3 clones of one character. And there's also the silly missions such as finding objects within a time limit and fighting giant versions of normal characters seems cheap and poorly thought out. The learning curve is just weird, just about any idiot (yours truly included) can snatch up a controller and start butting heads with the best of 'em and even give some of them a serious run for their money depending on the setting. I'm not quite sure if that's a good or a bad thing, but it seems to cheapen the value of the game at times when I whomp effortlessly on my friends who lived and breathed the first game. Also, there's no Conker >_< WHERE is the squirrel??? The game also should have moved up a tad as far as gameplay, I mean there's already a stupidly huge amount of stuff packed into the game making for almost TOO MUCH stuff to worry about such as cars running you over, lava rising beneath you or perhaps the occasional avalanche. With the first game breaking more rules than it had any right to and coming out on top, I'd hoped to see a few more oddball things added such as a kart battle or winner of the arwing battle gets to fly it and blow stuff up. Little touches that could've been added to turn the satisfaction of victory into pure gaming bliss (beats fights tons of stupid clones anyday!). Then of course there's the endings... Very dissapointing for what one goes through to beat the frickin' game in the first place, I dare say it even rivals the Street fighter franchise for lame and pathetic endings! Sad isn't it?
Why it rules! When I attended Nintendo's Gamecube demo show, I has purely skeptical thoughts in mind after my bitter resentment for Nintendo's false promises since the Super Nintendo CD drive fiasco and expected little more than an dreamcast caliber system in a different package. While wandering around I kept glancing up at the main screen which was constantly showing demos for the Gamecube games on display and while most of them looked okay at best, MELEE stopped me in my tracks. I was assailed by the (loud) awesome music supporting a role call of familiar faces I grew up with lovingly re-created in some of the most spectacular sequences I've seen to date (many of which appear to be using the ACTUAL environments and characters models!!!). By the time it got to Pikachu jumping into the air with what appeared to be the entire Poke'mon cast behind him, I was already drooling and feeling a tingle go up the back of my neck. I was so psyched by the time it was over that I simply butchered my way through a group a kids cheering about Pikachu's different hats and stepped up to another 3 players inside one of the VIP booths. First thing you'll notice is the incredible sound coming off of this thing! Nevermind that it was hooked up to a state of the art surround sound stereo system, or that it was on a big screen TV. I've seen and heard games hooked up to the same and I've played MELEE on different TVs since which didn't even have a decent stereo setup, the SOUND was still there! Crisp, sharp and powerful enough that the music ALONE gave me a cold sweat! You can practically TASTE the sound it's so good. It was so hard to walk away from this game and even harder to stay away (especially whilst playing the total stinker "Eternal Darkness(?)") the only reason I *had* to stop was because I had no idea what I was doing (and I was still doing damn well! ^_^ Go Tekyu!), but all the mashing started REALLY hurting my fingers so I decided to move on to less intense games... after I stood there watching other people play for a good 45 minutes... ^_^; So in retrospect I'd say it's a pretty good game, and carpal tunnel syndrome is much like a runny nose... Yes kids, that's sarcasm! Well... not the best example, but this game is incredible. Taking elements not only from a dueling type fighting game perspective, throwing in two more players in an non-tag type fashion, adding elements from games such as Mario Bros. and even ones like "Streets of Rage" (where as you can pick up objects and use them as weapons) and even more that fail to come to mind. And with different play modes, a huge cast of characters & interactive levels and challenges to meet it's hardly ever a dull game.
Overall: I don't own a gamecube, but if I did Melee would probably be the first game I bought! because it just plain rules! Any old time Nintendo freak can be just as excited as someone who likes it because of Poke'mon because of the Nostalgic magic it offers. It's probably that alone that draws one in and the frantic and compelling gameplay that closes the trap on ya. It's a LOT of fun. Don't let the cute faces and pink dress fool ya, there's fun here for any age range and challenge for the older crowd as well. Definately a MUST HAVE for any gamecube owner, period.