There are, in my opinion, three things that keep fighting games alive (especially one as big as smash). These three I call BSRW. Balance, Skill, Recency, and Watchability. I will explain my case on why PM will not be dying, but might get slowly pushed away for a bit. Balance and skill are worth three points due to being the long lasting decision if a game like Smash, and watch ability being worth two.
Melee:
Melee is not very balanced, but this is because there is a huge gap between the good and the bad. Meaning viable characters are super viable, while the rest are mostly trash. I would say since it has no SUPER character, but instead a super group, I can give it a single point and a half for balance. +1.5
Melee takes a lot if skill to play and master, and from my experience, the most skill out of any smash game/mod to date. +3
Melee is a blast to watch. With fast and flashy gameplay, and rivalries and good commentators, +2.
Not recent. +0
Total: 6.5/9
Brawl:
Brawl is probably the most unbalanced smash game ever. Meta Knight being SS and flooding tournaments, and really only top tiers or high tiers being actually viable. +.5
Brawl doesn't take NEARLY as much skill, there isn't even combos for goodness sake, and defensive gameplay being rewarded more. I will give it a half for being like every smash game. You still have to learn your character and get good with them. +1
Pretty boring to watch, especially since being campy is the entire basis of the game. +.5
Not recent, but it was the reason why Melee almost died, the same thing is happening now. +0
Total: 2/9
PM:
Project M is really balanced, and with patches that come out to help it even more, I gotta give it a +3.
Project M takes a lot of skill, but I find it a bit easier. +2.5
Project M is also really fun to watch since it is a game basically based around competitive gameplay.It also is balanced and has more variety in tournaments. +2
Not recent. +0
Total: 7.5/9
Smash 4:
Smash 4 is the most balanced Nintendo-created smash game to date, with a lot of characters being viable. I can give this a +2.5, since the top 3 is way above the rest of the cast in viability.
Smash 4 is no longer about tech skill. But now focuses on reads so much more. while a campy playstyle is still more rewarded, I feel like this game isn't like Brawl skill wise and actually takes skill to play properly, especially since combos are back in. +2
Smash 4 has a lot of hype matches. But a LOT of bore fests too. Being still a bit campy, aggressive play isn't as easy to come by, meaning less hype, longer matches, and bashed on. +1
New, yes. New games get really hyped. +1
Total: 6.5/9
"But wait a minute! Melee is the same as Smash 4? How?"
Smash 4 is still new, giving a huge amount of hype and no true "tier list" has been composed. anything could happen. Hype will go down, balance and stuff will be truly discovered, putting it lower.
"But PM is so high? How could it be dying?"
It's a mod which is hard to get in the first place, on a practically dead console on a practically dead game that Nintendo can't support and big streams can't stream it. It has all the qualities of an excellent living game, but it falls short where it matters, legally. Also, just like Brawl to Melee, a new game trashes the old one, but the one that us truly better will survive in the end, which Project M can do.
"Melee worse than Project M?"
In game wise, yes. But Melee has been out for a decade, people stick with what they know and love, which is Melee, that's why Melee will be the last to die.
"Why make the list?"
Actually a whole different point than to "Project M will never die lol" point is that no matter how bad or good a game, the one before the most recent one gets trashed out, that being Project M/Brawl, but Project M is good enough to stay alive while Brawl had too little things gong for it to actually stay. And I'm bored.
