Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee (大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズDX Dairantou Smash Brothers Deluxe in Japan) is a colorful fighting game for the Nintendo GameCube with many modes of play. It stars many Nintendo characters, including Mario, Link, Samus Aran, Pikachu, Yoshi, and Donkey Kong. It is the sequel to the Nintendo 64 fighting game Super Smash Bros, and includes all the characters from the previous game plus new ones. Super Smash Bros. Melee is a Player's Choice title and the first GameCube title to appear on the cover of Nintendo Power. The ESRB rating of 'T' is one level up from Super Smash Bros.'s E rating. Like its predecessor, Super Smash Bros. Melee is an easy-to-learn game that, while being child-friendly, can provide enjoyment for the adult gamer. It provides casual entertainment as well as deep challenges. Super Smash Bros. Melee also has orchestrated tracks of classic Nintendo themes and victory fanfares, conducted by the aptly-named Orchestra Melee.
Playable characters
Characters available from the start of the game
šThese characters appeared in the original Super Smash Bros. Captain Falcon and Ness were available as unlockable characters.
Unlockable characters
Dr. Mario – from Dr. Mario Falco – from the Star Fox series Ganondorf – from the Legend of Zelda series Jigglypuff (Purin) – from the Pokémon series² Luigi – from the \Mario series² Marth – from the Fire Emblem series Mewtwo – from the Pokémon series Mr. Game & Watch – from Game & Watch games Pichu – from the Pokémon series Roy – from the Fire Emblem series Young Link – from the Legend of Zelda series ²These characters appeared in the original Super Smash Bros. Jigglypuff and Luigi were available as unlockable characters.
Non-playable characters Master Hand - A giant, floating, white glove, similar to Mario's, that first appeared in the original Super Smash Bros at the end of the 1 Player game. Crazy Hand - Crazy Hand is almost identical to Master Hand, but is more difficult (and is a left glove, whereas Master Hand is a right glove). Crazy Hand also has several attacks that Master Hand does not. Crazy Hand only shows itself when certain requirements are met: when the player proceeds through Classic Mode without using continues on at least the Normal difficulty, and gets Master Hand down to at least half of its HP. Additionally, it can be found in the fiftieth (second-to-last) Event Match. Its behavior is more random than Master Hand's. Its attacks are more devastating, and overall it is more difficult to defeat than Master Hand. Fighting Wire Frame - The Wire Frames are wires in the shapes of men and women, apparently wrought from the power of Master Hand. They bear its symbol beneath the "skin" of their face. (Of course, they are a tribute to the wire frame models used in the early stages of character creation.) They appear in Adventure Mode and the Multi-Man Melee challenge, replacing the Polygon Team from Super Smash Bros. Like the Polygon Team, they are the game's generic weak opponents. Usually it takes a large group to even stand a chance against a reasonably skilled human player; However, in Endless and Cruel Melee modes they are much stronger and do pose a danger. You fight them on a stage called the Battlefield. Giga Bowser - Giga Bowser is a possible final boss in the game's Adventure Mode, and can only be fought when the player beats the Adventure mode on Normal difficulty or higher, without using any continues, and in under eighteen minutes. At this point, where the credits would normally begin, Bowser returns from the abyss surrounding the Final Destination field and transforms. He becomes far larger, quicker and more powerful than Bowser was, and can be quite a challenge. Additionally, he can be found in the last Event Match alongside Mewtwo and Gannondorf. Sandbag - The Sandbag appears only in the Home Run Contest (see "Stadium" section below). In the Home Run Contest, the player's goal is to hit Sandbag as far as possible. According to the game's trophy description, "Getting hit doesn't hurt Sandbag at all", which is fortunate as Sandbag's flight distance is proportionate to the damage it has accumulated. In order to get the Sandbag Trophy, the player must hit Sandbag 984 feet (300 m). The player has 10 seconds in which to damage the Sandbag then smash it off the screen as far as possible with a provided Homerun Bat. Although Yoshi is often said to be the best choice of character for the challenge, the world record distance for farthest distance with any character is 11,347.2 ft, done with both the Ice Climbers and Ganondorf. However, it is often said that the player should choose a character whose attacks they are familiar with. When Kirby uses his copy ability on Sandbag, he does not receive any abilities. If Sandbag is hit over 1,350 feet, the Yoshi's Island past stage will be unlocked. The track is believed to have to ending points. In the Old Version (version 1.0), the track ends at 4556.6 ft; in the New Version (versions 1.1 and 1.2), the track is believed to end at 11,347.2 ft. It has been shown that there is a slight increase in distance hit when the game is switched to the Japanese language than in default English.
Trophies Trophies of various Nintendo characters and objects can be collected. There are 290 of them in the U.S. version of SSBM, and 293 in the Japanese version. One trophy, the character Tamagon from a game called Devil World released only in Japan, was locked out of the U.S. version possibly because of the title of the game in which he appeared. Additionally, the Motion-Sensor Bomb trophy originally bore a resemblance to the Proximity Mine in the game Perfect Dark; the trophy was altered in the U.S. version to resemble a proximity mine from the N64 game GoldenEye 007 for unknown reasons, and its game of origin was changed to "TOP SECRET." There were also 2 trophies that could be won in a contest at Japan. One featured Mario and Yoshi, and the other one showed Samus Aran without her helmet on. However, all three of the locked-out trophies can be unlocked with use of the Action Replay, a cheat-code tool on the Gamecube. There is no way to obtain the original Motion-Sensor Bomb trophy outside of the Japanese version, however, and setting the U.S. version's language to Japanese will not work either.
Trophy errata Samus Aran (trophy number 10) appeared in Metroid when it first came out in August 1986. Super Smash Bros. Melee chose a later release date (1989) for the Samus Aran trophy description. Meta Knight (trophy number 240) first appeared in Kirby's Adventure (later enhanced-remade as Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land), not in Kirby Super Star. However, he was not mentioned by name in Kirby's Adventure, which probably caused this overlooked fact. Ayuma Tachibana (trophy number 286) was the protagonist of the original Detective Club game, even though the trophy description states that she appeared only in the second Detective Club game. The "Coins" trophy speculates that they may be the currency of the Mushroom Kingdom; however, Mario has clearly used them as such in several games.
Items
in Super Smash Bros. Melee
There are 31 items in Super Smash Bros. Melee: - Barrel Cannon - a barrel with a white arrow. From the Donkey Kong Country series. Traps a playable character inside; the fighter is immobile while inside the cannon. The will roll in whatever direction it was moving when thrown. However, after a short delay, the fighter can voluntarily expel him- or herself, in whatever direction the arrow points at that time.
- Beam Sword - a sword with a neon pink glow for a blade. Basic weapon. Original to the Nintendo 64 Super Smash Bros.. Makes an electric sound when swung. The length of the blade changes based on the wielder and the strength of attack. According to popular myth, this was originally named lightsaber, from the Star Wars series, but LucasArts would not allow it.
- Bob-omb - the black, walking bombs from the Mario series. Immobile but holdable (and throwable) for approximately 5 seconds. After that time, the Bob-omb will walk back and forth along the platform it's on and explode on contact with any player. After about 10 seconds of walking, the Bob-omb will pulsate for several seconds before exploding. A bonus is available if a player can grab the Bob-omb while pulsating and throw it away before it explodes.
- Bunny Hood - a pair of artificial bunny ears, from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. When worn in Super Smash Bros. Melee, the wearer jumps, runs, attacks, and falls much faster than normal. The character's jumps are also higher. A player can wear this item and hold another item at the same time.
- Cloaking Device - a futuristic pod-like object. Thought by some to be borrowed from Perfect Dark, although this is unconfirmed. When equipped, the player is nearly invisible. A spontaneous rippling effect may occur, and when attacking, the player sporadically loses his or her invisibility for. While attacks can still knock a player out of the arena, no further damage can be incurred by a player when invisible. A player can be cloaked and hold another item at the same time, although any held item remains visible.
- Crate - a large and heavy shipping crate with the Smash Brothers logo stamped on it, usually holding several items. It can be picked up and thrown or broken with attacks. The speed at which a character can walk while holding a crate depends on their physical strength. Most characters walk very slowly while holding a crate, but Pichu cannot move at all, Donkey Kong and Bowser can move fairly quickly with one, and Mewtwo is not affected at all.
- Fan - a paper fan, bound at one end with red paper, original to the Super Nintendo game Earthbound. Strikes with this weapon are weak, but very rapid. The Fan has a 'vacuum' effect; once the player hits, their opponent will be drawn closer to them. The Fan breaks shields more easily than other melee weapons.
- Fire Flower - a flower with light orange petals and a pair of eyes in the center of the bloom. From the Mario series, with an appearance closer to the first game. Attacking (A-button attacks only) while holding this item causes the flower to spew fire for about 10 (not necessarily consecutive) seconds, after which it spews harmless smoke and is largely useless. When thrown, the Fire Flower burns one character for minor damage.
- Flipper - a pair of large rubber balls connected by a styled arm on an unseen axis. Borrowed from Balloon Fight. When thrown, the flipper will hover in place where it was thrown. Coming in contact with a flipper will stun the player for a short time.
- Food - small pictures of various food items of many types. Each piece of food restores about 5% of the player's health. A player can grab any health item, such as food, while holding another item.
- Freezie - a piece of jagged ice with a face (seen above). Borrowed from Mario Bros (arcade). When thrown at a player, that player is frozen on contact, launched into the air, and immobile for a sizable amount of time. When a player is encased in ice, a fire-based attack will immediately thaw the ice. Freezies are fragile and can be broken by the slightest attack.
- Green Shell - a green Koopa Troopa shell, from the Mario series. Continues in the direction thrown until it hits a wall or falls off the stage. Can be stopped by jumping on it, like in the original Super Mario Bros. game. Compare to Red Shell.
- Hammer - a large sledgehammer with a large black head, from Donkey Kong. While holding one, the player is slowed and loses his or her second and third jumps. However, anyone who comes in contact with the head of the hammer during its use is knocked high into the air; this is a very powerful weapon that easily KOs opponents. The head of the hammer may fly off shortly after the hammer is picked up, unlike in the original Super Smash Bros.; the player with the handle is still stuck in the motion of swinging the hammer. The head can be thrown like a normal weapon, and retains some of the incredible power it had while unbroken. If the character swinging the hammer is hit, it can be thrown prematurely; this gives a bonus at the end of the round.
- Heart Container - a translucent heart shape, in a silver frame, from the Legend of Zelda series. In most modes, grabbing a Heart Container will remove 100 points of damage from a player, giving him a much better situation than he was in. In Stamina mode, where all players start with 150 HP, this item instead restores 100 units of health (up to a maximum of 150 HP); in All-Star mode, it removes all damage from the player.
- Home Run Bat - a wooden baseball bat, based on similar weapons from EarthBound. Can be swung for moderate damage; a Smash Attack with a Home Run Bat is a guaranteed knockout in all but the largest stages. A Home Run Bat is supplied at the beginning of the Home Run Contest.
- Lip's Stick - a long stick with a reddish flower at the end, from Panel de Pon (predecessor to Tetris Attack), and named after the Pon main character Lip, whom Yoshi stepped in for Tetris Attack. When a player is hit with this weapon, a flower sprouts from his or her head, causing slow but steady damage while it remains there. Further hits with the stick make the flower grow and cause more damage. Quick movement of the Control Stick shakes the flower off.
- Maxim Tomato - a large tomato with an "M" printed on it, from the Kirby series. Restores 50 points of damage to the player who imbibes it.
- Metal Box - a green box with a white exclamation point on it, from Super Mario 64. When a player grabs this box, the fighter becomes metallic. While metallic, the player falls faster, jumps shorter, runs slower, is moved and interrupted less by opponent attacks, and becomes silent. A player can be metallic and hold another item at the same time.
- Motion Sensor Bomb - a gray land mine with green lights. Thought by some to be from GoldenEye 007 or Perfect Dark, but this is unconfirmed. When thrown, it sticks to the first stage surface it comes in contact with. It explodes on proximity to any player or on contact with any weapon blast.
- Mr. Saturn - a short alien being from EarthBound with large whiskers and a large nose. Walks after a short delay, much like a slow Bob-omb. Can push other items around. If thrown, any damage done to it during its presence on the battlefield will be dealt to whoever it hits. A muted trumpet plays on contact.
- Parasol - a red and white umbrella, from the Kirby series. Can be swung as a weapon; any player holding the Parasol will open it up automatically when falling, greatly reducing his falling speed and enabling easier returns to the stage.
- Party Ball - a large, tan, plastic ball with a string, resembling a geodesic dome with a low-polygon texture to it. When thrown, or hit enough, it rises from the point of contact, and opens up with a fanfare about 6 seconds later. The Party Ball will either release 4 Bob-ombs, about 15 pieces of Food, or 3 or 4 random items (including food and Bob-ombs). It sometimes only contains specific items (such as Bob-ombs or food).
- Poison Mushroom - red and white-capped mushroom with eyes on its stem; the Poison Mushroom is slightly darker than the Super Mushroom. It originates from Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. The Poison Mushroom causes the player to shrink about one quarter his/her original size, making it easier to be knocked out of the arena. Merely walking over this item will cause the player to grab it. A player can be small and hold other items.
- Pokéball - a red and white ball with a gray button. Borrowed from Pokémon. Releases one of many Pokémon when thrown, each with its own attack. Computer players swarm to Pokéballs as soon as they appear on a stage, largely because of the high-power attacks many Pokemon possess.
- Ray Gun - a futuristic looking gun. Original to the Nintendo 64 Super Smash Bros. game. Fires up to 16 green bolts of energy.
- Red Shell - a red turtle shell. From the Mario series, more specifically from Mario Kart. On first contact, the red shell travels back and forth on the platform it lands on, homing in on the nearest player. It disappears after about 15 seconds, and cannot be stopped.
- Screw Attack - a ball with a stylized S-like design. Borrowed from the Metroid series. Any player holding the Screw Attack will perform Samus Aran's Screw Attack with every jump. Throwing the item at an enemy will cause him or her to spontaneously perform the attack. A point bonus can be received by KOing the opponent with a throw of this item, usually done by hitting the opponent as they attempt to jump back to the main platform.
- Star Rod - a pink and white striped rod with a yellow star at the end, from the Kirby series. The rod can be swung as a weapon; more powerful swings will launch a large projectile star from the tip. When Captain Falcon uses the Star Rod, a Smash Attack will unleash three smaller sized stars; when Sheik does, it launches two stars. When thrown, the Star Rod sends any player it strikes diagonally downward, making it difficult to return to the platform.
- Starman - a flashing star with eyes from the Mario series. Renders the player who grabs it impervious to damage. Merely touching the Starman will cause the player to grab it. Computer players immediately run away from a player who is under the effects a Starman.
- Super Mushroom - a red and white-capped mushroom with eyes on its stem, from the Mario series. This mushroom causes the player to grow to 4 times the original size, with increased attack power and defense to suit. Grabbing one of each kind of mushroom cancels out the effect of the first mushroom grabbed. Merely walking over this item will cause the player to grab it. A player can be large and hold other items.
- Super Scope - a small bazooka-like item that is a rendering of the SNES peripheral of the same name. Can fire small rapid balls of energy or be charged to fire a ball of greater size. The gun has the energy to fire about 20 small balls or 3 large ones, after which it is useless.
- Warp Star - a large yellow star, from the Kirby series. Grabbing the Warp Star will cause the user to hover wildly around the spot it was grabbed (causing no damage), rocket off the screen, and crash wildly to a spot determined by the player (either in the spot the item was grabbed, or about 5 player-lengths to either side). This attack causes sizable damage.
There are no items from the Fire Emblem series.
Although the games the Land Mine and Cloaking Device are from is listed as "TOP SECRET" one of the ending credits clearly states that "Certain characters and items from Perfect Dark[...]", implying if not outright stating the source of these items.
Pokémon The Pokéball item can unleash one of several possible Pokémon onto the battlefield. Unless otherwise mentioned, contact with the Pokémon itself causes damage. The Pokémon, and the attacks their motions are based on, are:
Note: A move followed by (?) indicates that this is the possible name for the attack, but not the definite one. In one Event Mode fight, the player must fight against a set of Wire Frame fighters and one Jigglypuff. The only items given are Pokéballs that release either Wobbuffet or one of the Legendary Pokémon (Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Lugia, Ho-oh, Raikou, Suicune, or Entei). Of all the Pokémon, Chansey, Marill and Cyndaquil can be destroyed (even by the one who released them) by attacks before completing their attack
Stages
Unlocking secret characters Jigglypuff is the easiest to unlock. To unlock Jigglypuff, one must complete the Classic Mode or Adventure Mode once, or play 50 Versus Mode matches. To unlock Dr. Mario, one must beat the Classic Mode or Adventure Mode using Mario, or play 100 Versus Mode matches. Dr. Mario is very similar to Mario, but throws capsules instead of fireballs and wields a white sheet instead of a gold cape. He is also somewhat more powerful, but somewhat slower. To unlock Pichu, Pikachu's evolutionary predecessor, one must clear Event Match #37 or play 200 Versus Mode matches. Unlike Pikachu, Pichu's electrical attacks do damage to itself. To unlock Falco, one must beat the 100-Man Melee, or play 300 Versus Mode matches. Falco's blaster shots are not as rapid as Fox's, but they cause opponents to flinch. To unlock Marth, a character from the Fire Emblem series, one must use all of the initial (non-secret) characters in Regular Match mode or Versus mode at least once, or play 400 Versus Mode matches. Marth is a "magnificent swordsman", according to the his trophy description. His standing B-button attack, Shield Breaker, is chargeable. His Down-B move serves as a counterattack move. To unlock Young Link, one must complete Classic Mode ten times, or play 500 Versus Mode matches. Young Link is faster but weaker than adult Link. He shoots fire arrows, but his overall range is shorter than adult Link's. He can do wall jumps. To unlock Ganondorf, one must complete Event Match #29, or play 600 Versus Mode matches. Ganondorf is a slower, more powerful copy of Captain Falcon. To unlock Mewtwo, one must play 700 Versus Mode matches or 20 total hours of Versus Mode. Mewtwo uses mainly its psychic abilities to fight. To unlock Luigi, one must finish the first level of Adventure Mode with the time limit seconds ones digit being a "2" (e.g. 1:32:87). After that one must finish the Adventure Mode in order to fulfill the goal, then Luigi is unlocked. Another way is to play 800 Versus Mode matches. Unlike Mario, Luigi's cyclone and uppercut attacks hit once per attack, and his fireballs defy gravity. His Green Missile move sends him horizontally, and randomly misfires, lanching him much farther than normal. To unlock Roy, another character from Fire Emblem, one must complete Classic or Adventure Mode using Marth without using continues (or Smash tokens), or play 900 Versus Mode matches. Roy's and Marth's B-button moves are nearly identical, but Roy is stronger and slower, and does more damage with the center of his blade where Marth operates best with the tip. To unlock Mr. Game & Watch, one must complete Classic or Adventure Mode with the other characters, or complete the Target Test for all the other characters, or play 1000 Versus Mode matches.
Stadium In the single player mode, there is an option to go to the Stadium. In the Stadium, players can choose between three mini-games: Target Test, Home Run Contest, and Multi Man Melee.
Target Test This mode provides easy access to the target-breaking mini-game found in Classic Mode. The object is to destroy all ten targets within a certain timeframe; completing the Target Test within certain timeframes unlocks things. Each Target Test level is tailored to a particular character's attacks. Completing the Target Test under certain time contraints can unlock things.
Home Run Contest In the Home Run Contest, the player's goal is to hit a character named Sandbag as far as possible. Only 10 seconds are allowed and the more damage inflicted on Sandbag before time's up, the farther it will fly when struck with the provided Home Run Bat. This all has to be done on a small platform, though, and if Sandbag goes off one will have to restart. The player can choose any character to beat up Sandbag. Hitting the Sandbag certain distances, at once and as a combined total of all the characters' records, unlocks things. For example, if Sandbag is hit over 1,350 feet, the Yoshi's Island past stage will be unlocked.
Multi-man Melee Multi-man Melee mode stars the Fighting Wire Frames. There are five types of Multi-man Melee modes: 10-Man Melee, 100-Man Melee, 3-Minute Melee, 15-Minute Melee, Endless Melee, and Cruel Melee. Meeting certain requirements in the Multi-man Melee modes unlocks things.
Character "clones" There are six character pairs that each contain two characters that resemble each other a lot (having similar moves). Although the moves of the characters may appear similar at first glance, there are very subtle differences between the characters that keep them distinct, especially to more advanced players. Falco is an adaptation of Fox as he appeared in the original Super Smash Bros. game.
Voice actors (seiyus) - Narrator - Dean Harrington
- DK rap performance - James W. Norwood Jr
- Captain Falcon - Ryo Horikawa
- Chikorita (Chicorita) - Mika Kanai
- Falco Lombardi - Hisao Egawa (Japanese version), Ben Cullum (English version)
- Fox McCloud - Shinobu Satouchi (Japanese version), Steve Malpass (English version)
- Ganondorf "Ganon" Dragmire - Takashi Nagasako
- Jigglypuff (Purin) - Mika Kanai (Japanese version), Rachael Lillis (English version)
- Kirby - Maiko Okamoto
- Link - Nobuyuki Hiyama
- Luigi - Charles Martinet
- Mario - Charles Martinet
- Marth - Hikaru Midorikawa
- Mewtwo - Masachika Ichimura
- Ness - Maiko Okamoto
- Peach - Jen Taylor
- Peppy Hare - Chris Seavor
- Pikachu - Ikue Otani (credited as Ikue Ohtani)
- Pichu - Satomi Kourogi (credited as Satomi Kohrogi)
- Popo of the Ice Climbers - Sanae Kobayashi
- Roy - Jun Fukuyama
- Slippy Toad - Chris Seavor
- Yoshi - Kazumi Totaka
- Young Link - Fujiko Takimoto
- Zelda/Sheik - Jun Mizusawa
Sonic & Tails Rumor In 2002, the April edition of the video game magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly included a "cheat" for the game that would baffle several people for years to come. The issue claimed that the Sega characters, Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower were hidden characters in the game. In order to be able to play as them, the player was required to eliminated 20 of the wire-frame characters in the Cruel Melee mode. Then, both would supposedly fight the player at the same time, and if they lost, then they would become playable. The magazine also said that if one completed Classic mode with one of them, then they would be given "a special surprise". To convice readers, they included some screenshots of Sonic and Tails in play. However, this was revealed to be a hoax shortly after. It was included in the April edition for the sole purpose of being an April Fools joke. There are also several factors that also prove this false, such as Nintendo not joining forces with Sega until after the game was released, as well as the fact that there is a screen that tells the player that they have achieved all of the hidden characters. In addition, these characters were not included in any strategy guide.
Future The future of Super Smash Bros. series currently lies in the balance. It has been widely speculated across Internet forums. Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of Super Smash Bros. and Kirby video game franchises, resigned from HAL Laboratory, Inc. in June 2003. He said that he left of his own free will and neither because of poor relationships nor because of a desire to establish a new corporation. Some other sources said that Sakurai felt that he was unable to develop the games he desired for Nintendo to publish. He eventually decided to resign on this basis, and engage in freelance work that befits his skills and talents. Sakurai said that even though the Kirby video game franchise will still be developed by HAL Laboratory, he has not said a word about the future of the Super Smash Bros. video game franchise. New additions to the Super Smash Bros. series have been widely speculated to be in development for the Nintendo DS and the upcoming Nintendo Revolution.
External links
Super Smash Bros. Melee guide: Nintendorks.comSuper Smash Bros. Melee - GameFAQs.comSmash World ForumsIMDb entry for Super Smash Bros. Melee - Entered under the game's Japanese title (The Internet Movie Database uses the Japanese titles for video games of Japanese origin.)
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