Super Smash Bros. Melee

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Super Smash Bros. Melee (大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズＤＸ, Great Fray Smash Brothers Deluxe), often shortened to SSBM or Melee, is a 2.5D fighting game for the Nintendo GameCube. It was first released on November 21st, 2001, in Japan, shortly after the GameCube's launch, on December 3rd, 2001 in North America, and finally in May 2002 in Europe and Australia. It's the second game in the series, following Super Smash Bros.

Like its predecessor, Melee features gameplay unique in comparison to that of other fighting games. Characters have simple movesets that lack complicated button inputs and lengthy inescapable combos, instead emphasizing movement and ringouts. The game features many character appearances based on, but not identical to, their appearances in games from the Nintendo 64.

Melee received universal acclaim, with many critics praising the game's expansion and refinement from its N64 predecessor, Super Smash Bros., as well as its visuals, tight controls, multiplayer mode, and orchestrated soundtrack, although its single-player modes, lack of originality, and similarity to its predecessor received criticism.

Intro[]

Fighters[]

There are 26 playable characters in the entire game, 12 veterans and 14 newcomers. There are fifteen starter characters and eleven more which can be unlocked. While the original twelve characters have returned from the original game, only ten are available from the start.

Playable Characters[]

Bold: Denotates unlockable

Veterans[]

Characters: 12


Name	Series	Debut
Mario	Mario	Donkey Kong (1981)
Luigi	Mario	Mario Bros. (1983)
Yoshi	Yoshi	Super Mario World (1990)
Donkey Kong	Donkey Kong	Donkey Kong (1981)
Captain Falcon	F-Zero	F-Zero (1990)
Fox	Star Fox	Star Fox (1993)
Ness	Earthbound/Mother	EarthBound (1994)
Kirby	Kirby	Kirby's Dream Land (1992)
Samus	Metroid	Metroid (1986)
Link	The Legend of Zelda	The Legend of Zelda (1986)
Pikachu	Pokémon	Pokémon Red/Green (1996)
Jigglypuff	Pokémon	Pokémon Red/Green (1996)

Newcomers[]

Characters: 14 (13 if you count Sheik & Zelda as one fighter)


Name	Series	Debut
Dr. Mario	Mario	Dr. Mario (1990)
Bowser	Mario	Super Mario Bros. (1985)
Peach	Mario	Super Mario Bros. (1985)
Ganondorf	The Legend of Zelda	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
Zelda	The Legend of Zelda	The Legend of Zelda (1986)
Sheik	The Legend of Zelda	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
Young Link	The Legend of Zelda	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
Falco	Star Fox	Star Fox (1993)
Ice Climbers	Ice Climber	Ice Climber (1985)
Pichu	Pokémon	Pokémon Gold/Silver (1999)
Mewtwo	Pokémon	Pokémon Red/Green (1996)
Mr. Game & Watch	Game & Watch	Ball (1980)
Marth	Fire Emblem	Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (1990)
Roy	Fire Emblem	Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade (2002)

Non-Playable Characters[]

Master Hand (Except by the Name Entry glitch or Action Replay)
Crazy Hand* (Except by Action Replay)
Giga Bowser* (Except by Action Replay)
Male Wireframe* (Except by Action Replay)
Female Wireframe* (Except by Action Replay)
Sandbag* (Except by Action Replay)
Solo Ice Climber (Can only be played via debug menu, or in the Target Test; Action Replay)*

Stages[]

There are eighteen starter stages and eleven more which can be unlocked.

New stages
Princess Peach's Castle	Mushroom Kingdom	Yoshi's Story	Kongo Jungle	Great Bay
Rainbow Cruise	Mushroom Kingdom II	Yoshi's Island	Jungle Japes	Temple
Brinstar	Fountain of Dreams	Corneria	Pokémon Stadium	Mute City
Brinstar Depths	Green Greens	Venom	Poké Floats	Big Blue
	Onett	Icicle Mountain	Battlefield
	Fourside	Flat Zone	Final Destination
Returning stages
	Yoshi's Island N64	Kongo Jungle N64	Dream Land N64

Bold denotes unlockable stages.

Single-Player stages[]

These stages cannot be unlocked, and can only be played under certain circumstances (or if the game is hacked).

Debug-Only Stages[]

These stages can only be used when the game is hacked. Some are functional, most are not.

Functional[]

Test
Zelda/Sheik's Target Test Stage

Non-Functional[]

AKANEIA
10-2*
IceTop*
DUMMY*
Can be activated with other hacks, but not Debug Mode.

Items[]

Bold donates new item.


Name	Description	Heavy?	Series	Debut
Crate	Contains many items. Has a one-in-eight chance of exploding when thrown, or hit with enough force to break.	Yes	Super Smash Bros.	Super Smash Bros. (1999)
Barrel	Once thrown, struck, or landed on a slope, may roll across the stage and damage what it hits before breaking. Has a one-in-eight chance of exploding.	Yes	Super Smash Bros.	Super Smash Bros. (1999)
Capsule	Contains a single item. Has a one-in-eight chance of exploding.	No	Super Smash Bros.	Super Smash Bros. (1999)
Party Ball	Once activated by being thrown or damaged, it floats into the air and opens, dropping its items.	Yes	Super Smash Bros.	Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001)
Food	Each type of food recovers a different amount of damage. Can be produced in large numbers by Peach Blossom.	No	Super Smash Bros.	Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001)
Motion-Sensor Bomb	Attaches to the stage once thrown; characters that approach it after a short time cause it to explode.	No	Super Smash Bros.	Super Smash Bros. (1999)
Home-Run Bat	An extremely powerful item. Its forward smash is among the most powerful attacks in all four games, being a one-hit KO in every one. As a throwing item, it maintains its high knockback and is a semi-spike. In Brawl, forward smash uses a unique animation. It becomes stronger when hit on the tip.	No	Super Smash Bros.	Super Smash Bros. (1999)
Beam Sword	Starting in Melee, gets longer when swung depending on character. Peach has a rare chance of plucking one when using Vegetable.	No	Super Smash Bros.	Super Smash Bros. (1999)
Fan	Fastest-swinging battering item. High shield damage.	No	Super Smash Bros.	Super Smash Bros. (1999)
Ray Gun	Fires blasts of energy that have infinite horizontal range.	No	Super Smash Bros.	Super Smash Bros. (1999)
Super Mushroom	Slides across the stage. When touched, enlarges the character.	No	Mario	Super Mario Bros. (1985)
Poison Mushroom	Slides across the stage. When touched, shrinks the character.	No	Mario	Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (1986)
Fire Flower	Produces a continuous stream of short-range fire.	No	Mario	Super Mario Bros. (1985)
Super Star	Bounces across the stage, and makes whoever it touches invulnerable to all damage and knockback for a short time. Users can still be KO'd if they fall off the stage with it.	No	Mario	Super Mario Bros. (1985)
Metal Box	Turns the user metallic, increasing their weight and falling speed, while also reducing the chances of flinching. Can be activated by pickup or by direct attack; indirect attacks will either destroy it (in Melee) or do nothing (other games).	No	Mario	Super Mario 64 (1996)
Green Shell	When thrown, attacked, or landed on, slides across the stage and damages everything it hits. Can be stopped by jumping on it.	No	Mario	Super Mario Bros. (1985)
Red Shell	When thrown, attacked, or landed on, slides across the stage and damages everything it hits. Aims for nearby characters and avoids sliding off edges.	No	Mario	Super Mario Bros. (1985)
Bob-omb	Very powerful explosive. If not grabbed within a few seconds of its appearance, it lights its own fuse and begins walking around, exploding on any character it meets. If it doesn't meet a character it will blow itself up after a while. Peach has a rare chance of plucking one when using Vegetable.	No	Mario	Super Mario Bros. 2 USA (1987)
Freezie	Slides across the stage, freezing characters when struck by it. Can be destroyed before being picked up.	No	Mario	Mario Bros. (1983)
Hammer	One of the most feared items in the game due to its range, damage, and knockback. However, it limits the user to walking and a single jump; the user cannot even choose to drop the item. May randomly lose its head and become useless.	No	Donkey Kong	Donkey Kong (1981)
Barrel Cannon	Once thrown or it lands on a hill, grabs and launches the first character it hits. Disappears very quickly.	Yes	Donkey Kong	Donkey Kong Country (1994)
Heart Container	Strongest recovery item, recovering up to 100% damage (in the original Super Smash Bros., it can reset player health to 0%).	No	The Legend of Zelda	The Legend of Zelda (1986)
Bunny Hood	Increases the user's movement speed, jump height, and falling speed.	No	The Legend of Zelda	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
Screw Attack	Turns the holder's jumps into Screw Attacks. In Melee, applies for as long as the holder keeps the item, and a forced Screw Attack will be applied to those the item is thrown at. In Brawl, applies until the item wears off and does not need to be held in-hand once picked up.	No	Metroid	Metroid (1986)
Star Rod	Has a limited supply of long-range star shots produced on f-tilt or f-smash.	No	Kirby	Kirby's Adventure (1993)
Warp Star	Once picked up, the user flies into the sky and then crashes down with an explosion. Can be steered slightly, and if there are platforms above, will land there instead of the starting point.	No	Kirby	Kirby's Dream Land (1992)
Maxim Tomato	The third most powerful recovery item, healing up to 50% damage (in the original Super Smash Bros., it can heal up to 100% damage).	No	Kirby	Kirby's Dream Land (1992)
Parasol	Reduces the holder's falling speed, allowing them to glide slowly left and right, potentially improving recovery.	No	Kirby	Kirby's Dream Land (1992)
Poké Ball	Once thrown and lands on the ground, unleashes a Pokémon to aid the user.	No	Pokémon	Pokémon Red and Green Versions (1996)
Mr. Saturn	Walks around the stage and can be knocked about by attacks. Deals massive damage to shields when thrown, but only minor damage otherwise.	No	EarthBound	MOTHER 2 (1994)
Flipper	Once thrown, halts in the air and bops characters that run into it.	No	Balloon Fight	Balloon Fight (1984)
Super Scope	Can shoot a total of 48 small rapid-fire pulses of energy or charge 3 large blobs of energy.	No	Nintendo	Super Scope 6 (1992)
Lip's Stick	Flowers opponents. Has a limited supply of short-range spore projectiles produced on f-tilt or f-smash.	No	Panel de Pon	Panel de Pon (1995)
Cloaking Device	Renders the user mostly invisible and makes them immune to damage (but not knockback).	No	Perfect Dark	Perfect Dark (2001)

Voices[]

Dean Harrington as Announcer, Master Hand, and Crazy Hand
Charles Martinet as Mario, Luigi, and Dr. Mario
Nobuyuki Hiyama as Link
Kazumi Totaka as Yoshi
Frank Welker as Bowser and Giga Bowser
Shinobu Satouchi as Fox McCloud
Makiko Ômoto as Kirby and Ness
Ikue Ohtani as Pikachu
Rachael Lillis as Jigglypuff
Jen Taylor as Princess Peach
Ryô Horikawa as Captain Falcon
Jun Mizusawa as Zelda and Shiek
Hikaru Midorikawa as Marth
Sanae Kobayashi as Popo and Nana
Jun Fukuyama as Roy
Takashi Nagasako as Donkey Kong and Ganondorf
Masachika Ichimura as Mewtwo
Satomi Kōrogi as Pichu
Fujiko Takimoto as Young Link
Hisao Egawa as Falco Lombardi
Chris Seavor as Peppy Hare and Slippy Toad
Steve Malpass as Fox McCloud
Ben Cullum as Falco Lombardi
James W. Norwood Jr. as DK Rap Performance
Tara Sands as Clefairy
Eric Staurt as Weezing and Blastoise
Kôichi Yamadera as Mew

Modes[]

1-P Mode[]

Vs. Mode[]

Action Replay[]

Debug mode

Unlockables[]

The game features several points to be unlocked, most of which include the trophies, unlockable characters, and stages. Some of them are unlocked by a special way, like achieving a certain distance on the Home-Run Contest, while others are obtained by the Lottery. For a full list, see Complete Melee Unlockables.

Changes from Super Smash Bros.[]

While Super Smash Bros. Melee mainly follows the same formula introduced in the original game by retaining most elements, several differences exist between the two games. The following list, while not all-inclusive, addresses several of the changes. Please note that this list does not include obvious changes, such as a different button scheme/controller and Melee-only characters and items.

All characters have four special moves; veterans now have new Side Special Moves. In some cases (such as Link and Ness), the character's old Standard Special got moved to their Side Special, with the newly added move becoming the Neutral Special.
The number of throws each character can perform has also been increased to four; all veterans now have an Up Throw and a Down Throw. Some Forward or Back Throws have been changed to a character's Up or Down Throw (Kirby's Forward Throw in Super Smash Bros., for example, is his Up Throw in this game). A majority of the throws themselves have been decreased significantly in power and knockback, though some are great for comboing.
While grabbing, characters can now pummel the opponent.
Characters can escape from the grab.
The pacing of the game has been increased.
The amount of hitstun a character suffers has been slightly decreased.
The single-player Snag the Trophies bonus game replaces the Board the Platforms bonus game, and the single-player Race to the Finish bonus game does return.
The stadium mode player Home-run Contest mini-game which replaces the Board the Platforms mini-game, and the stadium mode player Multi-Man Melee has been introduced.
Directional Air dodging, moonwalking, and sidestep dodging have been implemented.
All characters can move while carrying a heavy item (albeit very slowly); in the original, this ability was exclusive to Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong is the fastest carrier, of course.
Most spikes are now Meteor Smashes and all have been changed to be slightly harder to perform. (All characters' Meteor Smashes now have starting lag, unlike the original)
Wall jumping has been implemented for some characters.
Wall Teching has been implemented.
Certain characters can now wall grapple using their Tether Recovery.
Items can now be grabbed before coming to a complete stop; they can also be grabbed by a character in midair.
Smash Attacks can now be charged by holding the A button.
Smash Attacks can now be executed immediately with the C-Stick. This only works in VS Mode.
The Heart Container's healing power has been reduced to simply healing 100%, while the Maxim Tomato's effect was also reduced to 50%.
On-Screen Appearances and the announcer counting down from three before the match begins are both removed, focusing more on the game's concept of trophies coming to life after the announcer says "Ready... Go!", and when the character ends in a tie, the announcer says "Sudden Death... Go!".
- Only Master Hand & Crazy Hand have "true" on-screen appearances, where they both gradually enter the stage from the background while laughing, and only the announcer can count down to five before the match ends.
There is a selection of time for stocks.
The ending music theme, a results display screen music theme, and a game clear music theme are both removed.
If one ends a game early, the statistics won't be saved.
The angle at which the menus are seen can be tilted with the C-stick. Also, the player can press L or R to view another fighter when the game is paused.
If a container is broken, an enemy from the Mario, Zelda, or Ice Climber series might pop out. The chances of this are slim. This is the only game in the series to have this feature.
1P Game has been replaced with Classic Mode.
New Adventure Mode.
All characters can Dash Grab.
All of the characters' extra alternate costumes, previously exclusive to Team Battles in Super Smash Bros., can now be used in regular battle.

Trivia[]

Super Smash Bros. Melee was the inspiration for amiibo in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, one of the names that appear when the players press the "Random Name" button when naming their custom stage is MELEE, a reference to this game.
In the debug menu, there is a stage named "IceTop", which freezes the game when selected. It is possible that the Summit stage was planned to appear in Melee under that name.
In Classic Mode, for some unknown reason, the player never fights against Ganondorf or Roy. Also, the player only fights Mr. Game & Watch in the multi-man battle.
- Ganondorf appears only as a teammate in Classic Mode, while Roy never appears at all as a CPU player. Also, Zelda is never a teammate for the player in that game mode.
In the Spanish version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, one of Rawk Hawk's lines is slightly changed to "¡Los aficionadillos deberían quedarse en casa jugando Super Smash Bros. Melee!" (translation: "The weaklings should stay home playing Super Smash Bros. Melee!") after having defeated The Koopinator. In all other versions of the game "Super Smash Bros. Melee" is simply replaced with "video games".
Super Smash Bros. Melee is the first in its franchise to be rated T by the ESRB, and also the first game that almost any of the series' characters in the game (Fire Emblem is the only exception) have appeared in a T-rated game.
As a near-launch title for the system, Super Smash Bros. Melee marks the first appearance on the Nintendo GameCube for 23 out of the 26 playable characters; the exceptions being Mario, Luigi, and Bowser, who had appeared in Luigi's Mansion (the latter after a fashion, as his appearance in said game was actually an elaborate animated suit controlled by King Boo). As only Luigi was playable in said game, he is also the only character who was playable on the GameCube in a game before Melee.
This is the first and only Smash Bros. game with no battle entrances.
Super Smash Bros. Melee is the first game in the franchise in which Ness and Captain Falcon are playable from the start. In Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, both of these characters are unlockable.
- In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U however, they are both available from the start once again.
The music for the main menu has many similarities to "Bowser's Road" from Super Mario 64.
Masahiro Sakurai has stated that he wanted to implement 8-Player Smash into a Smash Bros. game since Melee, but due to the hardware limitations of the Nintendo GameCube, he was unable to do this. 8-Player Smash was eventually implemented into Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Frank Welker, who was the voice of both Bowsers, was in many cartoons: Scooby-Doo, The Simpsons, etc.
Exactly 13 years later, the North American version of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U was released on Nov. 21st, 2014 similar to Super Smash Bros. Melee's Japanese release on Nov. 21st, 2001.
This game is internally known as Smash 2.
This is the only game in the series to not feature Meowth as a Poké Ball Pokémon.