Super Smash Brothers Melee, a finely polished game

by Kurt Flores
Crusader Staff

Super Smash Brothers Melee is yet another finely polished game from Nintendo. The beat-em-up Sequel to Nintendo 64's hit Super Smash Brothers adds more levels, more characters, and more mayhem, hence the melee in the title. The gameplay is simple, but fun. Try to knock your opponent out of the stage as many times as possible in a given amount of time using your basic/special attacks, and any of the special weapons and power-ups that appear in the stage as you battle. You can pick from an all-star cast of Nintendo's finest old school (Mario, of course, and Samus Aran from Metroid,) and new school characters, such as Pikachu and other Pokemon (yes, Nintendo created Pokemon.)

Brawl in all-out slugfests with your favorite character against your friends, the computer, or try to tackle the many challenges in Event mode that are anything but a simple flick of the joystick.

The level designs are all laid out the same, but they all have their own uniqueness. Each level is suspended in the air, but while Donkey Kongs level has you fighting in the canopy of Donkey Kongs jungle, a level from F-Zero has you battling while jumping from car to car as they speed along the freeway, so you have to be careful not to fall off while trying to knock your opponent off. The music really adds to the levels, you'll hear that catchy Mario tune as you do battle in Mario's Mushroom Kingdom, as well as other Nintendo classics.

With all the time you put into this game, you should be rewarded, and Melee is packed full of unlockables such as trophies, hidden characters, and game secrets. Melee also has some new modes added to it, such as adventure mode, coin match, and bonus mode. You can even hold a tournament with up to 64 players.

As far as options go, Melee gives you the option to customize every one of them, and believe me, the possibilities for this game are endless. You can set the time so you can brawl in a 1 to 99 minute melee, set damage rates, how often power-ups fall, I could go on, but like I said, the possibilities are endless.

Unless you're allergic to fun, Super Smash Brothers Melee is a must have for any Gamecube owner.

Although it can get frustrating with all the button mashing, gameplay, unlockables, and the ability to beat the cuteness out of the Pokemon, get this game.