tommy_lop's Full Review: Super Smash Bros Melee for GameCube
Two Friday’s I bought by gamecube (or what I call a Nintendo lunch box). Any way's I went down to the video store to see what more they had to offer other then Super Mario Sunshine which came with my gamecube. I own the Super Smash Bros.. for the N64 so I decided to pick up the melee and see if Nintendo lived up to the hype. Well it did and more.
Story.
There is no story to speak of. It's just a bunch of Nintendo characters out to beat the hell out of each other, and you get to love every minute of it.
Graphics.
The graphics have been greatly approved of over the original and show off what the gamecube could do has a first generation game. The spiky polygon look out for paper cut characters have been replaced by things that are more rounded out and don't have a single sharp edge (well maybe Link's ears put then there supposed to be pointed). Add in a lot of great colors that really help the game, to see what I mean look at Mario and Luigi's overall, there no longer cartoonish bright colors but rather real denim looking. Things like Link's sword and DK fur are added in for other great effects. These things put together put for some realistic CGI looking characters, they still like Nintendo's cartoon characters, but there definitely not there cuteley animated self.
The backgrounds of the arena have been approved to. Take peaches castle in the original Smash bros. the background of the castle was a really bad fuzzy picture of the mushroom kingdom. Look at in SSBM and it's been replaced by the waterfall and some great looking mountains. Of course not all of the backgrounds are new and improve, some look old and 2d but these are on purpose. The mushroom kingdom and mushroom kingdom 2 are from the original Super Mario Bros and SMB2 and these also look good even if there a bit out of place.
Sound.
The music is sure to install nostalgia on few of the older Nintendo gamers who have been playing since the days of the NES. Featured in the music are the themes you expect Mario, Zelda's overworld theme, Kriby's theme, and the Pokemon Stadium Theme. Then there are a few good classic themes, some that I haven't heard in a while. There is the SMB2 outside theme, Zelda 2's dungeon themes (no you Yugioh playing kiddies that's not an unique Zelda theme for the game in fact it's a rather old Zelda theme that hasn’t been used in a while), and of course Dr. Mario fever music (never thought the day I heard Dr. Mario's theme while beating someone to the ground but then there's a first time for everything.)
The voices are the usual Nintendo fare Luigi's and Mario have remained unchanged. Peach sounds like her usual ditzy self and Link has both young and old voices from the N64 games. A few characters haven't been dubbed like Marth and Roy.
Gameplay.
The original gameplay of SSB stays in SSBM and has been slightly improved on, I don't know why the game was given a higher rating by ESRB then it's original but then I am not an expert in that category. Like the original SSBM the object of the game is not to pound each other into the ground and then knock each other out (usually told by stamina meters). The object of this game is to pound each other into the ground and knock each other out, out of the ring that is. Smash Bros. takes a unique spin of Sumbo wresting with a modern day arcade fighter. Damage is done by percentages. The higher the percentage, and the more percentage a blow adds further a character flies. Of course this does mean that a person with only 5 percent damage can be knocked out of the rink if there hit really hard or make a clumsy move, but a person with 200 percent damage can still be in there fighting but chances are there not enjoying themselves.
Another thing added to the game is characters can pick up weapons, most of them from Nintendo games. Back from the original is the blast, bob-bomb, motion sensor bombs, invincibility star, star rod, and hammer. Of course by favorite the Pokeball which you can't tell what's going to come out or what's going to happen, and since they added the gold and silver Pokemon to the fray that just means more un-predictable fun. I should also note that the once mighty hammer which turn oneself into an invincible bring of destruction has been defanged a little, while it's still bad news to have someone swinging at this it can now be stopped. If some one hits the hammer hard enough the end comes off leaving the person holding it stuck holding a worthless stick and a sitting duck until the music ends.
Now to mention a few new ones, Super and Poison Mushrooms, a newer more useful version of a bouncer, party balloons, and an old perphieal for the old SNES the super scope. I just wish that they made the original blaster look like the zapper.
Next up on the list is the characters. You have all the old ones from the first plus Captain Falcon and Ness automatically on the list. Follow by a few new faces on the list, Peach, Zelda/Sheik, Bowser. These and there are a lot more to be unlocked like Luigi, Jigglypuff, Dr. Mario, Falco, Gannondorf, Young Link and Mewtwo. Like the once unstoppable weapons the unstoppable characters have now been defanged, and on the reverse side some of the weaker characters have been approved upon so they no longer suck.
Samus is no longer the sure to win by non stop blasting and screw attacking like she was before, her attacks don't send enemies flying like they used to. On the reverse side Jigglypuff which had not only had the worse moves in the original game, but he also could be send flying in a second. While he's still pretty easy to kick around he's got more going on for in then a sing and slap attack, he's now capable of an almost lethal rollout attack which can be lethal if he hit's you hard enough.
New attacks
While SSB attacks have never been hard to pull off (B + a directional button) Nintendo decided to throw in 3 moves instead of 2. Now if you press left or right the characters will do a move, Mario has a cape, and Samus has missiles now. Of course a few characters have been changed Link's boomerang has now been changed to this and isn’t ready on the fly like it was. Of course he now has a stronger bow and arrow attack.
New mode.
1p mode.
The 1p in SSB was pretty basic, and pretty boring. It was the same line up of fighter over and over again with brain dead AI to boot. This was only used to unlock the 4 secret fighters in the game. After that the 1p game was pretty much never touched in less you where really bored.
Nintendo has revamped the 1p mode and throw new things in. In a regular match you get to pick classic or adventure. Classic is the exact same formula you experience in the N64 game except this time the fighters are more randomize so each time through is different. While each fight you will go up against a metal, an 8-man team, and a giant person. But don't expect them to be a metal Mario, a team of Kirby's and King Kong sized Donkey Kong. You could be going up against a team of young link, a giant sized Dr. Mario and a metal Jigglypuff. The AI has been buffed up to so even on Normal you can expect to get your butt kicked around a few times.
Adventure mode puts into a linear 2d game mode. You start off with a SMB stage and make your way to Peachs castle to fight Mario and Peach there. Then go to DK jungle, then through a Zelda maze until you reach Bowser. While the new 2d environments give you a break from the usual Smash and mash of classic don't expect to get out of fight's it's still the main point of the game.
They also have a new melee rounds in which you select a challenge (most of them going around how many metal frame warriors you can beat up). There is also an objective game play in which you might have to protect Peach from Bowser, defeat a giant size Yoshi. Or beat a group of characters all in a certain amount of time.
While I only went into the 2p mode once or twice to fight the computer (I only have one controller so no playing a 2nd human player for Me.). Still there is a tournament mode, a coin collecting mode and many more added on to the classic smash 2p mode.
Final recommendation.
This is one of the best and unique fighters made so it's defiantly recommended.
It features a whole new set of characters, and some hidden ones for you to unlock Create your own matches in the new Tournament Mode New AI and smooth...More at Amazon Marketplace
Nintendos all-star casts of combatants are back, along with a new batch of brawlers ready to tear it up on Nintendo GameCube. Super Smash Bros. Melee ...More at eBay
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