Super Smash Bros. Melee: Star Studded Sequel

The original Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo 64 definitely became an unexpected high seller, and with so many rentals, sales, and friendly get-togethers for its multiplayer fun, it was only expected of Nintendo fans to want something more, a sequel that could dive deeper into the concept and gameplay, and with the reveal of the Nintendo Gamecube and its upcoming library of launch games, we would be in for a surprise. Luigi's Mansion, Metroid Prime, Pikmin and more. And with an intro sequence that showed off all the main fighters, it was only a matter of seconds that it got everyone hyped for its release.

At E3 2001, everyone there was pumped and showed their support through wails of excitement, just a sign of how much of a successor it would be to the N64 original.

It wasn't until the very end of the year that the game would release though, making way as a huge selling point for the Gamecube with the other games releasing beside it. It wasn't just a simple copy and paste job either, aside from some new characters, modes and more, even the graphics saw a huge leap.

In just a span of two years, we saw the blocky models of the Nintendo 64 go to a far more detailed look of characters and environments in 2001.

In addition to the modes, you didn't just have the "Classic" mode of advancing toward different fights, a new Adventure mode was also added, where you not only fought the familiar Nintendo characters, but would traverse in areas, mazes, and making escape in the respective franchise levels too, such as walking around the Mushroom Kingdom to stomp down Goombas and Koopa Troopas, and climbing to the top of an icy mountain with the Ice Climbers.

Another mode was the Event mode, in which you go through a set of challenges and unlocking new ones as you progress by unlocking more characters. Some may even reward you while testing your skill with the various concepts they have.

One of the many new Event matches has you taking out a number of yellow Kirby enemies with a pink Kirby using only the Warp Star item.

Probably the hardest mode you'll face in the game is the Multi-Man Melee, in which you choose how long you can face a horde of wireframe enemies in a battle, ranging from 3 minutes to 15, and even endless mode until you're defeated. Or if you're really looking for a challenge, the Cruel Melee will give you some of the hardest CPU enemies to fight, hard to avoid, and hard to land a punch on.

All-Star mode was the last mode to be included, aside from Multiplayer returning, this mode has you fighting each and every fighter separated in their own rounds as a way of celebrating that character's history from Nintendo. Between breaks from going in rounds you could heal your character with a Heart piece, just in case if you've taken some high damage.

Trophies were a new feature in Super Smash Bros. Melee, some unlocked by certain conditions, while a rare few could only be unlocked by taking your memory card to an event around the world that were exclusive. Or, if you had a cheat device, you could get them that way.

The trophies in Super Smash Bros. Melee served as not only for rewards of going through the game, but also giving a history of characters familiar and unfamiliar outside of the United States. You could also unlock the trophies by building up coins from playing through the game's many modes and putting them in a machine to get a random trophy unlock.

Super Smash Bros. Melee really broke new ground for fighting games during its time, and would still be played for the years that followed because of how much fun it provided after its predecessor. Overflowing with content and many more unlockable characters and stages, it was a Nintendo fan's dream come true. And now with it being 20 years old, it surprisingly still holds up with its arcade like gameplay along with its hours of content.

What are your memories of playing or hearing about this classic title? Leave a comment and as always, see you next article!