GENRE
	Fighting
	DEVELOPER
	HAL
	PUBLISHER
	Nintendo
	WI-FI ENHANCED
	no
	WII EXCLUSIVE
	only-gcn
	EXPECTED RELEASE DATE
	November 2001
	BUY NOW AT

While certainly not the most original GameCube game to be premiered at E3, Super Smash Brothers Melée was at the top of my list to play. Somehow I played Pikmin first, but SSBM proved later on to be worth the anticipation. Visually beautiful and an adrenaline rush multiplayer experience, the title still is more of an upgrade than anything.

The visuals are easily the the biggest difference between the original Smash Brothers and its GameCube sequel. The 3D models of the characters are nothing short of amazing.

In the introduction for the game, which was shown during Nintendo's Press Conference the day before E3, things start out much like the original SSB, except this time the characters aren't bean bags, but plastic action figurines. The Mario figurine is dropped down, and lightning-like electricity courses up the figurine, fading last from his eyes. Mario jumps to action, alive and ready to fight.

This introduction is brought up because we can all easily imagine or remember what plastic figurines look like in real life-- now imagine being able to play with characters in a video game that pretty much look exactly as they do in plastic, and you have an idea of how smooth, seamless, and detailed the characters of SSBM appear. Granted, the characters don't have a plastic sheen or reflectiveness to them, or ball-bearing joints at the arms and legs, but they do look just like the static, computer-generated renders we've only been allowed to look at and not play with on N64 game boxes, manuals, and title screens, such as Mario Kart 64.

The only disappointment at E3 as far as these characters were concerned was that most all the new characters were only seen and not playable. We were able to see the beauty and few special attacks of these newly rendered characters only in snippets of the intro or videos on screens around the booth. Bowser was the only new character that could be played at E3; Sheik (Zelda), the Ice Climbers, Princess Peach, and unknown (and unconfirmed) others were still locked away in the demo. Nonetheless, Mario, Fox, Yoshi, Pikachu, Captain Falcon, Samus, Ness, Link, and Donkey Kong provided enough variety for showgoers to play with. The character selection screen seemed to hint in its layout that at least another five characters could be unlocked (presumably Luigi, Sheik, Peach, Ice Climbers, and Kirby).

The background arenas are also even livelier and more hazard-ridden than the game's prequel, yet a little more cramped than expected, which could be attributed to the overall larger characters running around on screen. Ten arenas were open at the E3 demo, and even those that seemed would be tame, such as Ness' Neighborhood, proved to raise the action of multiplayer up a few notches. Stand on the street too long in picaresque Ness' Neighborhood, and a car will run you over. The constantly moving platforms of the F-Zero arena, which during battle shuttled you around segments of a race track with 20+ cars racing on it, frequently threatened to drop you in the midst of an oncoming crowd of hovercraft racers. Other arenas, such as Kirby's Dreamland and a castle rooftop, were lush with detail and colors, and notably more differentiated in style, presentation, and theme than the arenas of the original SSB.

Special effects, such as Bowser's flame breath, the blast from the side of the screen when characters perish, and general lighting of the arenas, were also markedly improved over SSB. Most of the items also looked significantly improved thanks to the higher resolution the GameCube puts out, as well as the use of 3D models.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much new to report, here. The sound effects and voice samples are virtually identical, and the music is easily forgettable. Audio wasn't a big strength of the original Smash Brothers (aside from hearing Jigglypuff's wail fade into the distance), so it's no surprise to see limited improvement in this category.

Identical to the original, which is probably the double-edged sword of this title. Gamers who have played the original will have no problem Tap+B-ing and Z-shielding with the GameCube's comfortable controller, yet no one should expect anything revolutionary elsewhere. Perhaps the most notable difference in control is that game players who used the C buttons in the N64 version to jump will now be forced to use the analog stick to do the same. The throw button is still on the shoulder, though, and once you realize that your left index finger isn't on the Z trigger but the left shoulder button, you're fine.

One new move that was seen in the video loops was an ability to side-step an opponent's attack. This is probably a very easy move to execute, but we were not able to figure out how to do the move.

Items seemed more plentiful during battle in SSBM, and while there are supposed to be 30 new offensive and defensive ones in this sequel, most of what we saw were just new food items. Overall, the coolest item we saw had to be the gold Epcot Center-like balloon. It randomly appears on screen; once a player uses it, it floats to a hover above the ground. After about 10 seconds, it hinges open and drops 10-15 food and offense items to the ground, much like a piñata.

While multiplayer was always the undeniable best reason to play SSB, new modes for SSBM should boost the single player experience. Most noteworthy is the new "Quest" mode, which basically gives players a 2D side-scrolling adventure on par with old-school NES classics. Pick a character for the Quest mode, but rather than just go through level after level of one-on-X battles as in the original, you actually have to journey through a segment of each character's world.

For instance, Samus (or whichever character is picked) will be using her arm cannon to pick off 3D Octoroks and Mud Dolls in Hyrule before the final battle wiht Link at the end of the stage. Each of the characters already unlocked at the start of the game apparently has his/her own such level; we have not received word if unlockable characters also have their own mini-worlds to journey through in the Quest mode.

Another mode, either single or multiplayer, was also mentioned often during E3-- the Homerun mode. At best, we speculate this mode will involve the screen being swarmed with enemies (up to 64) that only need one hit to knock off. Speaking of 64 characters at once, there is also a "tournament" mode that allows for such a battle, although a battle of this scale is probably also present within the single player mode. 64 Yoshis to kill at once, anyone?

RUMORS
Some sort of "multi-tap," perhaps even via the Game Boy Advance, is to be revealed for the GameCube. This means not just four but eight people could be battling it out at once on a single 'Cube. Is it possible that Super Smash Brothers Melée will be one of the first titles to utilize such a feature? We expect to find out at August's Space World.

Super Smash Brothers Melée is a sure crowd pleaser, and, based on a recent poll of ours, the #1 game for most people anticipating the GameCube. All of us on staff who love the series can assure you that the game will likely be everything you've hoped for, and more (given the right amount of secret characters and modes). However, the title is also far from unique when compared to its near-twin precursor, much like WaveRace: Blue Storm. Nevertheless, the game is just so much fun we doubt few gamers will complain.
--Noah Ward

Schuyler Lystad from Gameboydojo writes: "If you’re anything of an enthusiast about Nintendo, you’ve played Super Smash Bros for the N64. And if you’re anything of a Dojo enthusiast, you’ve seen Andre’s quote, 'Man on man, SSB on GC!' If you’re anything of a human, you’ve got excited about this game. And upon our arrival at the E3 show floor, if you’ve any of a brain, you know the Dojo Crew went straight for the GC controller.

"Among the games attached to the controller of gods is Super Smash Bros. Melee, brainchild sequel to it’s N64 counterpart. And it was beautiful. Godly beautiful. I mean Aphrodite kind of beauty. And the lines were lengthy.

"Everything’s changed, yet so much is the same. Like for example, Mario. He has ruffles on is shirt. Bloody ruffles, so it’s more of a shirt than a texture. He has a cape. Remember that thing, from Super Mario World? Yeah, you know you do. It returns in a very sparkly-type form to deflect attacks, and to attack opponents. He sounds better, he looks better, he moves faster, he has more attacks (and all of his old moves are included, looking better than ever), and he’s completely improved in every way. The best part, though, is that all the characters from the N64 version are back in the same improved fashion. They’re all bigger on screen, too, making the Great Fox level dinky. But, anyway, there are a plethora of new characters. We have Bowser, Sheik, Princess Peach, Zelda, and some real old school guys, from a game called Ice Climber from the NES days.

"But what’s this game without arenas? We got some sweet ones: Mute City, where the characters fight on some moving platforms, and from time to time, it stops above the F-Zero track, whereupon all 30 cars from F-Zero X race down the track below you, hitting each other. Some will even begin to smoke when they’re hit, and spark and stuff. Another, called the Great Bay, houses the big turtle from Majora’s Mask that transports Link to and from the Great Bay Temple, the shop with a hook on it’s hand, and Tingle, floating on his balloon. You can knock him down by attacking his balloon. I didn’t have enough time in the level, cause I was too busy schooling a local guy in the form of Ness. There are quite a few new arenas, but there was not enough time in a round to go to the 15 playable lands-of-hurt. Either way though, this game was quite the spectacle. It made me sick to my stomach to play the N64 version later that day."

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