Gamecube Melee opinions?

[fishboneKiller]

i feel like this is probably a thread that's been done already, but i have no idea how to search threads by name so i'll just throw this one out there.

on a pure gameplay level, taken away from its community, how do we feel about melee?

i grew up with melee because my neighbor Mark gave it to me loose one day on a whim, but it always just felt kinda... wrong. i do harbor nostalgia for it, don't get me wrong, but i definitely wanted Brawl WAY more as a kid. it didn't help that i didn't have a memory card for a long time, so i was stuck playing with the base roster for a good 4 years. by the time i got a memory card, i think i already had gotten smash 4 wii u, so melee just felt obsolete. i've come back to it as an adult and i can appreciate it a bit more now, the soundtrack is excellent and the visual style is really interesting. every character looks more like their N64 designs but with the beefed up power of the gamecube, and it makes for a unique look. plus, if i got anything out of this game as a kid, it was absolutely learning about tons of random games through the trophies. i remember seeing the trophy for Ayumi Tachibana and wondering what the hell she was from for YEARS afterwards (i guess i couldn't be bothered to look at the bottom right corner of the screen...)

 

[bjork]

I bought it because it was an early GC game and I thought unlocking characters would be fun, but Smash has just never clicked for me. I wound up giving it to a buddy for free.

 

[Tonberry]

It's still fun to play, but for me, I've become much more used to how much actions in Ultimate flow into each other, so Melee ends up feeling rigid to me (Like how precise you have to be when doing the smash attack inputs). Though I love the presentation and the game overall, I just don't go back to it as much anymore.

 

[RanmyakuIchi's iconRanmyakuIchi]

I enjoyed it as a kid a lot, haven't really played it much past that. I never really had a ton of interest in competitive Smash.

 

[RustySK]

I've never played it competitively either, but I remember loving it.
Might have just been the right window in time for me though. Had plenty of friends around to just faff about with the game and for the purposes of a casual fan with access to a steady supply of beer it did the job more than adequately.

Now, Brawl though? Oof.

 

[TruxtonTatsujin]

Competitive players will hate this but Brawl is the best Smash game. Has the best single player content out of all of em. subspace emissary is just that good and nothing they did after ever came close to matching it.

 

[RageBurner]

I bought it because it was an early GC game and I thought unlocking characters would be fun, but Smash has just never clicked for me. I wound up giving it to a buddy for free.

It's the same for me. The only reason I even remotely enjoy smash is because of Ike, and I'd never play it competitively.

 

[Tonberry]

I've never played "competitively", but I don't consider the singleplayer content the main part of any of them. Subspace Emissary was fun back in the day, but I've never felt any urge to revisit it, especially since the core of Brawl is so boring.

I like playing matches, no matter if it's Stock or Time, with items or without. Just duking it out against friends or the CPU with Nintendo characters for billions of hours.

 

[Eclipse14]

I've only played the N64 one and a single bout of Ultimate on the Wii U. It just isn't my thing.

Only thing I remember of it now is one dood I knew that ran a game store did tournaments every once in a while, and the only thing anyone in the region cared about/requested was Smash. He ultimately gave up doing them because he wanted to do a variety of games as supposed to just Smash, and it never worked out.

 

[Ikagura]

Honestly, Smash has always been a party game before anything else (despite that competitive exists).

I understand speedrunning using exploits to finish a game faster in any% but I am pretty sure that Smash bros fundamentally never planned these advanced techniques (which came mostly from an engine's quirk than the game design).

The default mode in Smash is timed with items. I feel like some people like to optimise the fun out of a game for the sake of balance.

 

[RageBurner]

Honestly, Smash has always been a party game before anything else (despite that competitive exists).

That's what I think too, and some people get mad when that's pointed out.

 

[MemeAlert]

I know people love Melee for its speed, its definitely an improvement over Smash Bros 64. People like me don't like how you try to grab someone but they end up grabbing you first and they made Bowser a slow close range fighter when everybody else is fast like fuck you. For all the praised Melee gets it is unbalance. Smash Bros for 3DS will always be my favorite because most of the characters are fun to play and Smash Run just rocks. World of Light should of been a glorify Smash Run instead its just a dookie ass glorified Event Mode...

 

[Stookymalarkey]

I loved Super Smash Bros. Melee when it came out on Gamecube, but to be honest I haven't touched it since the other games came out. They've increased the roster so much and it just felt it feel redundant for multiplayer. I know there's control differences compare to say Ultimate, but to me it's not enough to make want to go back to it. The only thing that might tempt me is if I feel nostalgic for Adventure mode.

I do admit, I do miss being able to unlock characters in Ultimate. It's good for multiplayer sessions, but it never really incentivized me to play the hell outta the game like Melee did.

 

[peachGummiez]

Aside from 64 (the Smash Remix mod of it specifically), I'm 100% one of those "Melee is the only one I care about" types. But to be fair, I hover around that era of gaming exclusively. Like for example, I don't care about Pokemon past like Sapphire. I'm just Gamecube/64 era brained.

 

[JPearsons]

Competitive players will hate this but Brawl is the best Smash game. Has the best single player content out of all of em. subspace emissary is just that good and nothing they did after ever came close to matching it.

Brawl was a very good game with a lot of hype. Would have been cool if they expanded on the SSE concept and made a Kingdom Hearts-esque world where all the different characters have their own part in the story. There were a lot of good games coming out back then too. Those were the days. Sonic being in Smash was a big deal then too considering everyone wanted a Mario vs Sonic thing to happen.

 

[Taukyrie]

I did try Melee out of curiosity, and it never really clicked for me. I mean, honestly, a lot of entries never clicked to the level that Brawl did for me, though I think part of that is because I never really had anyone to play with them for fun.

 

[NOA]

I've never actually played it, but I used to be really into watching the competitive scene back when I was like 12-13, so I still hold some nostalgia for it, regardless.

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

As someone who started the franchise with Brawl, Melee is pretty fun if jank. I still think those scrapped characters would've been fun to see, especially Ayumi. I still wonder what the fuck Smash would open if James Bond really did make it to Melee.
One thing I also like about the roster is kind of my problem with later games as well (the out there choices). It really seems like Smash has become this cool kids club where only the successful games will become playable, and anything less isn't welcome unless you get super lucky like Min-Min. 64 included Ness and now Earthbound is a cultural icon. Captain Falcon got included in 64 and now everyone wants a new F-Zero. Brawl added Pit and we got Uprising. Melee added Ice Climbers...and nothing happened but we know about Ice Climbers! Nowadays, with every Smash game, the chances of any of that happening is getting lower and lower to the point that if they tried adding any of these as new characters in the franchise to Ultimate, they'd probably turn it down. Real shame too cause if Ray got into Melee, Brawl or even Smash 4, it could've revived Custom Robo.

 

[NeoSxul]

I always played Melee for fun and never saw it as a competitive game, the same as the other Smash Bros. games. I felt like the competitive players took the fun out of the game for me, but I just ignored them and played the game.

 

[AnonymousCookieMonster]

Back in 2016 i'd gotten a modified version to run on a specific version of Dolphin for online play... didn't have a lot of spare space so i didn't keep it. Other than that... can't say i cared for it at all.

Like tekken it feels like a lot of button smashing is happening. Rules didn't seem clear other than 'knock everyone else off the platform'.

 

[Lee__Kanker]

It doesnt have snake and bayonetta and kirby sucks

 

[Tengu Plant]

I'm glad people are mentioning the art direction and general aesthetics here. You know how "competitive" types are about dismissing that sort of thing but no one picks up a game from hearing about systems and advanced techniques. I think it just worked so well. The characters "fit" together visually here more than any other entry.

 

[tenkai star]

It was really fun for the time. I credit it for introducing me to Fire Emblem. Picked up the first western released game and never looked back. But other than that yeah I can see why it's survived all the way til the present day. Well made product for casual play and tons of depth for competitive

 

[destinyduelist]

I grew up with Melee and Brawl, from the perspective of someone who plays Smash just for fun, Brawl is the overall better game
I know people will disagree, I've had people get mad at me in fact over this take, but I firmly believe Brawl is the second best Smash Bros game after Ultimate, and Melee being the second to worst most boring one, right before 64
I understand it's impact on gaming and culture as a whole, but I just don't think it's really a fun game from a casual perspective
The overall aesthetic of the game doesn't really do it for me either, I much prefer the way Brawl looks, and we can't even compare it to Ultimate's presentation and style
It just doesn't do it for me to be honest, and that's okay

Post automatically merged: Feb 6, 2025

Honestly, Smash has always been a party game before anything else (despite that competitive exists).

I agree, although I think anything can be competitive nowadays with a passionate community
Smash is absolutely a party game, built to be casual, but that doesn't mean it can't be competitive
I don't play competitive Smash either, I just wanted to say this is an interesting debate as well that people either land on one side or the other, but I don't think things are so black and white in this case
What's fun for me is different to what's fun for someone else, and I know this because I'm highly competitive in card games and hero shooters, so it's really down to how passionate the person is to be on top

 

[Ikagura]

That's what I think too, and some people get mad when that's pointed out.

Same when we tell Mario Kart fans that MK is a party racing game since items are adding a major random factor to the play (regardless of snaking or strats).

Sometimes it's nice to play a casual game but I feel that some people are ashamed to admit they enjoy a game that isn't fully competitive so they cry about the advanced techs to make their game more "legitimate" in front of a Street Fighter, Tekken or Guilty Gear.

I agree, although I think anything can be competitive nowadays with a passionate community
Smash is absolutely a party game, built to be casual, but that doesn't mean it can't be competitive
I don't play competitive Smash either, I just wanted to say this is an interesting debate as well that people either land on one side or the other, but I don't think things are so black and white in this case
What's fun for me is different to what's fun for someone else, and I know this because I'm highly competitive in card games and hero shooters, so it's really down to how passionate the person is to be on top

Speedrunners already made any game virtually competitive in a way (like Hi-scorers in Arcade games) but they also admit that a game isn't aimed at an hardcore audience either (that one Spongebob videogame has been revived online thanks to speedrunning it as a joke which became a genuine interest).

I'm just saying that Super Smash Bros as a franchise has always been to welcome anyone and if the next entry is 100% competitive-focused I can genuinely tell that it would kill the spirit of the franchise.

This is why some games got "killed" by focusing too much on competitive like TF2 after that one update adding matchmaking (when this is one of the most unbalanced and randomised Online FPS ever).

I always played Melee for fun and never saw it as a competitive game, the same as the other Smash Bros. games. I felt like the competitive players took the fun out of the game for me, but I just ignored them and played the game.

I like the term "optimising the fun out of the game".