Welcome to the Weekly Nintendo Corner! Every week as the weekend nears, Smashboards will be covering a title from the Nintendo pantheon. Most of the time, these are new releases or games that are coming soon, but do expect surprises – every once in a while, there may be a blast from the past
Super Smash Bros. Melee
This week’s topic is the 2001 (or 2002 for Europeans and Australians) release Super Smash Bros. Melee, commonly shortened to “Melee”. Super Smash Bros. Melee is the second game in the series. Super Smash Bros. Melee is a sequel to Super Smash Bros. (for those who missed it, head here). Super Smash Bros. Melee brings together with adding new features, gameplay, and more from the Nintendo universe to continue duking it out.
Super Smash Bros. Melee was a huge vast change from the previous game. While the same basic mechanics stuck, the major differences found in Super Smash Bros. Melee were the quick speeds and fall rates.
Premise in Development
Unlike Super Smash Bros., Super Smash Bros. Melee was a debut game for the Nintendo GameCube. Simply put, when working on a debut game for a new console, if the specs are different than before, it can be a very daunting task to put out something impressive. To make use of the updated graphics from the Nintendo 64, the developers decided to make an FMV sequence that would truly get people hyped. To make this introduction, HAL worked with three separate graphic houses in Tokyo.
While the scope was much more in-range than Super Smash Bros., the schedule was rushed to be able to put it out as soon as possible, and the pressure was on with it being a sequel. This led them to only have thirteen months. Many people who worked on the game, including Sakurai himself, can be seen citing it as “Destructive, insane, mentally and physically draining” and more. There were hardly any weekends (and shortened down as well!) and few holidays for many working on it. Some ended up working all the way until the game came out.
A lot of aspects about Super Smash Bros. Melee in development are still not talked about much asides from a few characters that they were considering to be in at some point. With presenting only halfway through development at both E3 and Spaceworld, it was hard to believe the amount of polish that was shown at these public events.
Super Smash Bros. Melee, while being on a much higher-budget, was still a schedule that at very least, was as equally tight as Super Smash Bros. Yet, somehow, almost three years after the predecessor, it was released in both Japan and North America. Outstanding!
Result
The result of Super Smash Bros. Melee was a miracle, and even those words are still understating it. With seven million in sales, being the bestselling GameCube game ever, a huge boost to the advertising of the Nintendo GameCube, fantastic reviews across the board, plenty of awards, and more? It was quite the feat.
There’s even more that makes the game impressive, though. The community reception is really what’s kept the game to be relevant on both a party and tournament scale.
On the “Party” scale, Super Smash Bros Melee is still in many “Best game of All Time” lists, on many collectors’ eyes, still played at parties, and still loved by many even if it’s no longer their favorite Smash. Heck, it’s even watched by thousands in tournament streams all year long!
Competitively, the game is still growing strong after 13 years over thirteen years, and they only seem to be going stronger. In-fact, the tournament with the most entrants thus far, with over 1000 entrants, is actually APEX 2015 being held in two weeks. Needless to say, it far exceeded not only expectations but what anyone could imagine. There’s even a documentary on the competitive scene here with even a parody here. Simply mind blowing.
Without any hesitation to say, while there was no quicky announced sequel this time, there didn’t need to be for a while. It continues to be one of the strongest sequels of all time.
About the Team
HAL Laboratory developed the game while Nintendo published it. HAL Laboratory was founded in 1980 by Masayoshi Tanimura. The headquarters are located in Chiyoda-ku Tokyo in Japan with only two locations. The number of employees right now is currently 145. Along with the Super Smash Bros. series, they’re also responsible for Kirby, Mother, and various other video game titles.
Super Smash Bros. Melee had Masahiro Sakurai on Directing and Masayoshi Tanimura, Hiroaki Suga, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Kenji Miki all on production. The five original minds behind Super Smash Bros. returned, with the exception of Iwata, replaced by Tanimura.
Music
Ever listen to Smashing… Live! ? No? Take some time and do so!
How to Obtain Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee, much like its predecessor, has jumped a lot in price. If you’re in the looks to play Melee or replace a copy that you don’t have, now would be the time to begin the hunt. The loose price runs about $50.0. The complete price (with box and manual) runs upwards to $70.00 dollars. A brand new price is $125.00. Sadly, this is the only way to obtain Super Smash Bros. Melee at the moment. Though if you’re in reach of a friend with a GameCube, you’re in luck to get to play it some.
Fondest memory with Super Smash Bros. Melee? Hyped for APEX 2015? Did this short piece do justice to Melee? Let us know in the comments below, and hang on, as we’re only halfway through the month of Smash!
Thethirdkoopa is a Game Producer, Collector, Musician, and Smash Fanatic at heart. He's still back in action with planning out more content than ever before; both for SmashBoards and outside of the site! He's pretty pumped to see how Melee develops this year as well. Chat with ihm about Melee on @Thirdkoopa
Super Smash Bros. Melee
This week’s topic is the 2001 (or 2002 for Europeans and Australians) release Super Smash Bros. Melee, commonly shortened to “Melee”. Super Smash Bros. Melee is the second game in the series. Super Smash Bros. Melee is a sequel to Super Smash Bros. (for those who missed it, head here). Super Smash Bros. Melee brings together with adding new features, gameplay, and more from the Nintendo universe to continue duking it out.
Super Smash Bros. Melee was a huge vast change from the previous game. While the same basic mechanics stuck, the major differences found in Super Smash Bros. Melee were the quick speeds and fall rates.
Premise in Development
Unlike Super Smash Bros., Super Smash Bros. Melee was a debut game for the Nintendo GameCube. Simply put, when working on a debut game for a new console, if the specs are different than before, it can be a very daunting task to put out something impressive. To make use of the updated graphics from the Nintendo 64, the developers decided to make an FMV sequence that would truly get people hyped. To make this introduction, HAL worked with three separate graphic houses in Tokyo.
While the scope was much more in-range than Super Smash Bros., the schedule was rushed to be able to put it out as soon as possible, and the pressure was on with it being a sequel. This led them to only have thirteen months. Many people who worked on the game, including Sakurai himself, can be seen citing it as “Destructive, insane, mentally and physically draining” and more. There were hardly any weekends (and shortened down as well!) and few holidays for many working on it. Some ended up working all the way until the game came out.
A lot of aspects about Super Smash Bros. Melee in development are still not talked about much asides from a few characters that they were considering to be in at some point. With presenting only halfway through development at both E3 and Spaceworld, it was hard to believe the amount of polish that was shown at these public events.
Super Smash Bros. Melee, while being on a much higher-budget, was still a schedule that at very least, was as equally tight as Super Smash Bros. Yet, somehow, almost three years after the predecessor, it was released in both Japan and North America. Outstanding!
Result
The result of Super Smash Bros. Melee was a miracle, and even those words are still understating it. With seven million in sales, being the bestselling GameCube game ever, a huge boost to the advertising of the Nintendo GameCube, fantastic reviews across the board, plenty of awards, and more? It was quite the feat.
There’s even more that makes the game impressive, though. The community reception is really what’s kept the game to be relevant on both a party and tournament scale.
On the “Party” scale, Super Smash Bros Melee is still in many “Best game of All Time” lists, on many collectors’ eyes, still played at parties, and still loved by many even if it’s no longer their favorite Smash. Heck, it’s even watched by thousands in tournament streams all year long!
Competitively, the game is still growing strong after 13 years over thirteen years, and they only seem to be going stronger. In-fact, the tournament with the most entrants thus far, with over 1000 entrants, is actually APEX 2015 being held in two weeks. Needless to say, it far exceeded not only expectations but what anyone could imagine. There’s even a documentary on the competitive scene here with even a parody here. Simply mind blowing.
Without any hesitation to say, while there was no quicky announced sequel this time, there didn’t need to be for a while. It continues to be one of the strongest sequels of all time.
About the Team
HAL Laboratory developed the game while Nintendo published it. HAL Laboratory was founded in 1980 by Masayoshi Tanimura. The headquarters are located in Chiyoda-ku Tokyo in Japan with only two locations. The number of employees right now is currently 145. Along with the Super Smash Bros. series, they’re also responsible for Kirby, Mother, and various other video game titles.
Super Smash Bros. Melee had Masahiro Sakurai on Directing and Masayoshi Tanimura, Hiroaki Suga, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Kenji Miki all on production. The five original minds behind Super Smash Bros. returned, with the exception of Iwata, replaced by Tanimura.
Music
How to Obtain Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee, much like its predecessor, has jumped a lot in price. If you’re in the looks to play Melee or replace a copy that you don’t have, now would be the time to begin the hunt. The loose price runs about $50.0. The complete price (with box and manual) runs upwards to $70.00 dollars. A brand new price is $125.00. Sadly, this is the only way to obtain Super Smash Bros. Melee at the moment. Though if you’re in reach of a friend with a GameCube, you’re in luck to get to play it some.
Fondest memory with Super Smash Bros. Melee? Hyped for APEX 2015? Did this short piece do justice to Melee? Let us know in the comments below, and hang on, as we’re only halfway through the month of Smash!
Thethirdkoopa is a Game Producer, Collector, Musician, and Smash Fanatic at heart. He's still back in action with planning out more content than ever before; both for SmashBoards and outside of the site! He's pretty pumped to see how Melee develops this year as well. Chat with ihm about Melee on @Thirdkoopa
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