Is it too late to play Melee?

[Staub]

I just got into Smash with Ultimate, I go to my locals and stuff and love the game. However, everyone always always ALWAYS says it’s not melee, and the competitor in me says to try it out due to it being extremely technical from what I hear and see. My only concern though is it too late? Is it worth putting time into the game to be literally years behind everyone? I’m curious to see what you guys think. If anything I’ll just stick to Ultimate.

Side note: does Dolphin have a delayed use on the c-stick? I go for a tilt or an aerial with the c stick and I swear it has crazy long end lag.

 

[HotelSoapy!]

I say just stick to Ultimate. I'm pretty sure that more Pro players have moved on to it. Plus the way bigger roster makes it more fun imo.

 

[Staub]

I say just stick to Ultimate. I'm pretty sure that more Pro players have moved on to it. Plus the way bigger roster makes it more fun imo.

That’s what I was considering honestly. Lol I just listen to Leffen ***** about Ultimate too much

 

[notrami]

if you wanna play a smash game, just play ultimate
if you wanna play melee, play melee
you won't be playing a 18 year catchup, you shouldn't worry about that, new players are taking names left and right nowadays. And even if you never get to a high level melee is just an amazing game at any level of play, its a damn amazing experience, other smash games' depth doesnt even come close to what melee has to offer

im not saying you should play melee though, its not for everyone, it's a big grind for some

also on the cstick thing, it has nothing to so with dolphin, in melee you have to l-cancel your aerials to shave off most of their landing lag and the cstick doesnt do tilts on the ground, it does smash attacks which are laggy by nature

 

[Staub]

if you wanna play a smash game, just play ultimate
if you wanna play melee, play melee
you won't be playing a 18 year catchup, you shouldn't worry about that, new players are taking names left and right nowadays. And even if you never get to a high level melee is just an amazing game at any level of play, its a damn amazing experience, other smash games' depth doesnt even come close to what melee has to offer

im not saying you should play melee though, its not for everyone, it's a big grind for some

also on the cstick thing, it has nothing to so with dolphin, in melee you have to l-cancel your aerials to shave off most of their landing lag and the cstick doesnt do tilts on the ground, it does smash attacks which are laggy by nature

This is immensely helpful and I appreciate the thoughtful response here!

 

[Weenuk]

it's never too late to pick up melee

 

[GhostM]

It’s not late to pick up Melee, although some pro players have moved onto Ultimate. Just note that Melee is a very faced paced and technical game, so being a beginner in Melee you will need to practice a lot before you nail the coffin on how to play your character and perform techniques. Fyi the melee roster is much smaller than Ultimate, so keep that in mind.

 

[Phatty]

Ginger did a video about this a while back. https://youtu.be/DPhyrO7OAsU
There are a LOT of tools and options to learn about the mechanics of the game that weren't around a decade ago. It really depends on what you want to do. If you want to play a more technically demanding game, you don't mind the high skill-barrier to entry, and you don't mind taking some time to learn then you can play melee. There are a lot of people and resources that can help you. Otherwise Ultimate is a pretty good game. What keeps me from playing Melee more is the fact that I hate the GC controller and I don't want to destroy my hands practicing.

 

[MalanoMan]

It is never too late to get into Melee! I only started playing competitively when I joined this website in August 2018, and I love Melee more than ever now!

 

[Jaro235]

It’s never too late to join Melee, but play whichever game do you enjoy more. Personally, I love Melee, but I love Ultimate more and I am better at Ultimate. It may not be Melee, but it doesn’t need to be Melee. I love Ultimate the way it is. It simply comes down to which game you enjoy more and which one you feel more comfortable playing.

 

[Locuan]

It's never to late Staub . Try it out and see if you enjoy the game. There are also great resources with which to start as well. SSBM Tutorials are great, likewise the character discussion boards here on Smashboards have frame data and hitbox visualization threads, and much more.

 

[Ting Sing]

As a lot of others have said, it is definitely not too late to get into Melee. In fact, its easier to get into now than ever before. So many guides and resources, Discord groups, Netplay is always poppin, and training ISOs all to help you improve. The most annoying part is needing a good controller, and maybe a CRT + console + game if you want to play legit.

 

[Staub]

Wow, thank you to everyone who has answered. I will try to @ everyone? I think I am going to try melee tonight and give a go. I love the grind of Smash. I have been grinding my ass off for the past month, and have been growing exponentially in Ultimate. I just like the reward of spending the time I put in.
I also feel like I put more time than a lot of the other players at my weeklies in Ultimate... Which I feel like is not the case in Melee? I feel like players put in DUMB hours into this game compared to Smash but what do I know.

I still think Ultimate is my main game for now, but time will tell.

Thank you so much for your replies. It is a simple thing, but your time and thoughts are of much value to me in this matter

Ting Sing Locuan Jaro235 MalanoMan P Phatty GhostM Weenuk

 

[Staub]

Ginger did a video about this a while back. https://youtu.be/DPhyrO7OAsU
There are a LOT of tools and options to learn about the mechanics of the game that weren't around a decade ago. It really depends on what you want to do. If you want to play a more technically demanding game, you don't mind the high skill-barrier to entry, and you don't mind taking some time to learn then you can play melee. There are a lot of people and resources that can help you. Otherwise Ultimate is a pretty good game. What keeps me from playing Melee more is the fact that I hate the GC controller and I don't want to destroy my hands practicing.

I finally watched this and picked up melee again. Having a blast, so thank you!

 

[FooltheFlames]

Nah, I don't think that it is too late for anyone~

 

[Phatty]

I finally watched this and picked up melee again. Having a blast, so thank you!

Awesome! Which character are you maining?

 

[Staub]

Awesome! Which character are you maining?

Falco, the idea of his combos, complexity, and explosiveness is quite fun. Definitely a grind though but that’s Smash haha

 

[PRIME_EIGHT_PIZZA]

It's never 2late to play Melee imo just remember it's gonna be different compared to Brawl/Ultimate/WiiU/3DS.

 

[Staub]

It's never 2late to play Melee imo just remember it's gonna be different compared to Brawl/Ultimate/WiiU/3DS.

Honestly Melee is more fun to me right now. The technical skill, practice, payoff of work put in, experience as a spectator sport, player base, and overall fun of the game is much better than Ultimate. I’ve been playing this for a week and I’ve never had so much fun trying to master L cancelling wave dashing and trying to learn the basic movements of a character before

 

[PRIME_EIGHT_PIZZA]

Honestly Melee is more fun to me right now. The technical skill, practice, payoff of work put in, experience as a spectator sport, player base, and overall fun of the game is much better than Ultimate. I’ve been playing this for a week and I’ve never had so much fun trying to master L cancelling wave dashing and trying to learn the basic movements of a character before

That's great!

 

[sunflower]

Seems like there were a lot of people earlier saying that people are moving on to Ultimate, but I don't really see that happening at all. Sure, a lot of people moved to Ultimate when it first came out, but that was already expected, and we're starting to see those people trickle back to melee.

 

[Staub]

You are not wrong S sunflower haha it’s actually really nice to see Melee get more people. I think it is a lot better of a game both in terms of playability and spectator sport. Very hopeful that other Ultimate players switch over to melee or at least support it. I don’t know why in twitch chat people beef it up between the two lol both could benefit from each other’s support. We just wanna Smash

 

[REZERO]

Seems like there were a lot of people earlier saying that people are moving on to Ultimate, but I don't really see that happening at all. Sure, a lot of people moved to Ultimate when it first came out, but that was already expected, and we're starting to see those people trickle back to melee.

Yeah, Ultimate has some redeeming qualities but people are still switching back and forth.

Honestly with this much support I have no clue why the fanbase hasn't come together to develop a game with the same mechanics as Melee but with different character designs, stages, and music with modernized aesthetics and the shabang.

Would be really cool to see a modernized clone of melee (without the copy right issues) seeing as how the game is getting older, harder to get, gamecube controllers running out, etc.

 

[Weenuk]

Yeah, Ultimate has some redeeming qualities but people are still switching back and forth.

Honestly with this much support I have no clue why the fanbase hasn't come together to develop a game with the same mechanics as Melee but with different character designs, stages, and music with modernized aesthetics and the shabang.

Would be really cool to see a modernized clone of melee (without the copy right issues) seeing as how the game is getting older, harder to get, gamecube controllers running out, etc.

project m exists i guess

 

[Staub]

project m exists i guess

I think he meant something Nintendo themselves make haha but you’re right

 

[RetrogamerMax]

Squidward: No Patrick, it's not too late to play Melee.

 

[❀W.E.M.P.❀]

I don't know anything,

but I remember in 2009 I asked some people at a local if I was coming into the game too late, and they themselves weren't sure. I decided I didn't care if it was because I liked it a lot more than brawl, turned out, it wasn't too late. Play what you want. People are becoming godlike in super short periods of time now a days anyway, the '18 year catch up' doesn't really mean anything.

 

[REZERO]

I think he meant something Nintendo themselves make haha but you’re right

Something not made by Nintendo but inspired by Smash Melee (higher quality product unlike that slap game and brawlhalla tho).

 

[GhostM]

Something not made by Nintendo but inspired by Smash Melee (higher quality product unlike that slap game and brawlhalla tho).

There’s a game on the Xbox One called Rivals of Aether. It’s inspired by Melee and includes mechanics such as wavedashing and parries, but it’s nothing like Brawlhalla. It includes hit boxes, frame advancement, and DI lines like the 20xx hack pack. It’s an indie game, but it has an online mode included as well, and customization of characters with custom colors.

 

[flyboy__]

My honest opinion is that ultimate will dwindle in a few years. That is not at all to diminish the game -- I think it's super fun and truly fantastic. But the melee community is already 18 years old and probably has another 10 years before it dies. There's so much drama, so many storylines, so much fun. Melee's great because it's bigger than you; you're just one of many that have contributed to this incredible story. I remember the first time I played the game six years ago in some teacher's room. I remember the first time I beat the best player at school. I remember my first tournament. I remember my first win in tournament. The game is really alive. Not to mention, it can also be pretty fun

 

[Staub]

My honest opinion is that ultimate will dwindle in a few years. That is not at all to diminish the game -- I think it's super fun and truly fantastic. But the melee community is already 18 years old and probably has another 10 years before it dies. There's so much drama, so many storylines, so much fun. Melee's great because it's bigger than you; you're just one of many that have contributed to this incredible story. I remember the first time I played the game six years ago in some teacher's room. I remember the first time I beat the best player at school. I remember my first tournament. I remember my first win in tournament. The game is really alive. Not to mention, it can also be pretty fun

You are not wrong plus this game is hugeeee

 

[Zibosta]

I started playing Melee in 2015, so only been in it four years. The main "catch up" you need to worry about is just tech skill, but that's no different then grinding and learning combos in ultimate. Being a beginner is very difficult yet extremely rewarding. I've introduced three of my friends who started in smash 4 to melee, and having a partner to practice with really helps. Melee itself rewards winning neutral exchanges to a much higher degree than ultimate due to its more extensive punish game. The neutral game is much more expansive as well due to more control with extended movement (you can jump/shield out of initial dash, you can dash while in initial dash, moonwalking, wavedashing, etc.). Going back to my original statement, I only started in 2015 and was ranked 7th best player at Rowan University 2 years in a row! The "catch up" is not as steep as you'd expect. It's a journey that'll show you passionate people and drive to improve yourself!

 

[Staub]

I started playing Melee in 2015, so only been in it four years. The main "catch up" you need to worry about is just tech skill, but that's no different then grinding and learning combos in ultimate. Being a beginner is very difficult yet extremely rewarding. I've introduced three of my friends who started in smash 4 to melee, and having a partner to practice with really helps. Melee itself rewards winning neutral exchanges to a much higher degree than ultimate due to its more extensive punish game. The neutral game is much more expansive as well due to more control with extended movement (you can jump/shield out of initial dash, you can dash while in initial dash, moonwalking, wavedashing, etc.). Going back to my original statement, I only started in 2015 and was ranked 7th best player at Rowan University 2 years in a row! The "catch up" is not as steep as you'd expect. It's a journey that'll show you passionate people and drive to improve yourself!

Ay, my apologies for getting back to this so late. First off, congrats on the ranking, but I foresee a higher ranking in your future haha!

I entirely agree with everything you said, every little tech you learn as you go through all the basic tech is an adrenaline rush to learn and then utilize on a match.

This being said, how did you get your friends on it? I have two friends that play ultimate and won’t even give melee a try. I try to get other friends to play melee and they just cry about it. It sucks man I just need someone or a group to play with .

Keep bringing people into Melee I really don’t want this game to die, ever. Not saying it will, but I’ve been appreciating the hell out of Melee 2019. Every tourney is a blast to watch even if I never get there in Melee. Zibosta

 

[Zibosta]

Ay, my apologies for getting back to this so late. First off, congrats on the ranking, but I foresee a higher ranking in your future haha!

I entirely agree with everything you said, every little tech you learn as you go through all the basic tech is an adrenaline rush to learn and then utilize on a match.

This being said, how did you get your friends on it? I have two friends that play ultimate and won’t even give melee a try. I try to get other friends to play melee and they just cry about it. It sucks man I just need someone or a group to play with .

Keep bringing people into Melee I really don’t want this game to die, ever. Not saying it will, but I’ve been appreciating the hell out of Melee 2019. Every tourney is a blast to watch even if I never get there in Melee. Zibosta

I actually showed one of them the melee documentary "The Smash Brothers" by Samox! The second one was playing wolf in ultimate, and was talking about how the lack of kill confirms was really putting him off. I took that as an opportunity to show him melee Falco haha. I got two others to try by throwing lil parties during big melee events so we'd all gather drink and eat while watching some melee!

Also I see in your profile you're located in Boston MA, the local tournament scene is huge there! If you're looking for a group to play with because your friends are reluctant, you can always find an event on here and show up and ask for some friendlies. My first tournament was the same experience, you don't need to enter bracket and people have always been extremely welcoming! It's also a fantastic way to practice and learn nuances of the game.

Hope one of the methods above gets one of your friends into the game, or you try out the local tournament scene. Much luck my man! Hope you and that bird kill it!! Staub