INTRO
Super Smash Brothers: Melee is definitely something special. It's way up there in the great games list because of it's fantasticness. Most of this fantasticness comes from the multiplayer. But don't go thinking that if you have no friends that this game's not for you! Although it's probably not... Anyway, HAL have added much more to the Single Player in this game and once you're hooked on some of the extra features then you'll probably glue the disc to your GameCube and never take it out again.
GAMEPLAY
Good old gameplay. Gameplay is the key feature in any game, without it, the game is nothing. Fortunately, SSBM has very very good gameplay. If you thought that it's just another boring fighting game, then you probably wouldn't be reading this review, AND you'd be very very wrong! SSBM is in a league of it's own, it's a unique idea and that adds to the game. The gameplay is basically to kill your friends, sounds simple but it's not. You're in control of an array of Nintendo characters and once you choose your characters and move choose your level then the fun really starts. Each player has unique moves, that can SOMETIMES be good or bad against another character. The health system is very different, when you start off you are on 0%, but when someone hits you, your percentage rises. When you're on a high percentage then you can be hit further distances, and if you're hit off the edge of the screen then you die! After you die you come back and keep on fighting. There are various modes of play and even some single player mini-games, such as the Home Run Contest, in ten seconds you must hurt Sandbag as much as possible and then hit it with a bat and measure how far it goes. SSBM's style of Gameplay is very special, but there's much more to this game than just what I mentioned.
CONTROLS
The controls: As I said before, each character has a unique set of moves which reflect how the character was played in their original game. It does take a while to learn the move set for a character but after that it becomes instinct. Basic attacks are assigned to A, but they don't do much damage. Although you can turn that into a super attack called a smash attack which involves hitting the control stick very quickly in the direction you want the move to go. A moves are pretty simple, it's the B moves where every character becomes special. The B moves are the special moves for a character, when you tap a direction and B then you will do a different move, UP B attacks usually are good against someone above you, while ACROSS B is a different move and will be aimed in the direction you are facing. But wait, there's more! If you were to press the Z button then you can grab your oponent and then throw them away. These all sound pretty deadly huh? So you need something to use as a guard, the R and L buttons are perfect for that, when pressed, a forcefield will form around your character and it will slowly get smaller when you get hit. I was a bit disappointed with the clones of characters that you can unlock, as the moves are the same as the original character. SSBM has a unique style of controls and are quite fun to use.
GRAPHICS
The graphics in this game are amazing, some people might say that they're pretty average for a GameCube game, but those people haven't really looked. I mean reeeaaally looked. If you press start while playing then the camera will zoom in on the player who pressed it. Once in this mode, looking at the character is fantastic, stitching on Mario's pants, individual teeth for Bowser, it has a lot of detail in it. Although the graphics can sometimes be a bit confusing as four people all do a big explosive bang move then it's hard to see where you are, and you end up running off the edge and dying. It sounds annoying but it adds to the challenge and fun of the game. When you buy this game, make sure you take the time to admire the work put into some of the visuals that can be seen.
SOUND
The sound in SSBM is a very nice addition to the game. It has a lot of old tunes that will bring memories of games back to many an old gamers head. After you meet certain conditions then you can unlock the sound test, every sound in the game is in there, yes, including the sounds of the characters punching and all of the music. That extra feature isn't THAT special but I thought it was cool. I didn't notice the sound while playing the game because I was engrossed in trying to beat my brother, but I always found myself humming them to myself afterwards. I never found that any song got on my nerves and I never had to turn the sound down so I didn't have to listen to an annoying tune. I think most people don't pay too much attention to sound but it can really make a difference to a game and the sound in SSBM has changed it, for the best.
REPLAY
This will definitely be a ten. You won't be playing any games other than this, even in years. Since you glued the disc to your GameCube. I haven't explained ALL of the featues in this game yet, so I'll name a few more now. Firstly there's unlocking characters, it took me a fair while to get all characters (25) and when I'd done that I felt pretty proud. Then I had a closer look into the game and I found that I better get working if I wanted to fully complete this game (which I now believe, cannot be done). You can also unlock all levels. In the single player mode, the greatest addition since SSB is the Event Matches. There are 50 scenarios that slowly get harder and push you to the limits, and you have to complete them all because you just can't stop playing. Some people wouldn't think that the Events are the greatest addition, they would nominate the trophies. So far, there are about 290 trophies to collect. Trophies are awarded when you complete something special, such as all the events or you complete a mode with a character. Each trophy tells about something special from Nintendo's history and it's definitely a challenge to get them all. 9 GAMEPLAY:
No special reason for a 9, but it was very close to 10
9 CONTROLS:
Also close to ten, but as I mentioned, I'm disappointed with the clones.
9 GRAPHICS:
9 again! I think the graphics are amazing but I think they can't be seen while playing.
10 SOUND:
Yay! A ten, the sound is perfectly executed because it doesn't get on your nerves and is still good to listen to.
10 Replay Value:
9 Overall:
Whenever I go over to a friends house, and they have a GameCube, if we're bored I'll say, "Let's play Super Smash Brothers!!" and mostly, they look at me and wonder why I said it, for I automatically assume that they own SSBM, but of course they don't. I (along with many others) think that it's an asset to any Nintendoers GameCube collection, when you've finished reading this review, gather your money and go and buy it. You definitely won't be sorry. Not only is this game a fantastically made work of art, but it's a big bunch of history, if you read all the trophies then you might learn a lot about Nintendo. I respect the Big N a lot more because of this game. And if you take the time to try everything in this game then you will be very happy for it. Becuase it will go on being good forever...