Super Smash Bros. Melee

Mario and the gang have returned for another bout. Only this time, they have new moves, items, places to battle... and of course, several new Nintendo stars to battle with.

The characters have never looked better. There's a lot of nice texture work here--you can see even very minor details like the stitching on Mario's overalls or the scales on Bowser's skin. The game constantly runs at 60 FPS, or frames per second (really, really smoothly), and load time is anywhere from one-and-a-half seconds to almost none at all.

Thankfully, Nintendo has not decided to edit the sound effects for the English version, unlike what they did for the first title. (Grr...) The music is very nicely done. Most of the tunes are orchestrated, and they even included the DK Rap from Donkey Kong 64!

Controls are also very similar to the first game. Players jump with the Y Button, use regular attacks with the A button, use special attacks with the B button, shield with the L or R buttons, and grab other players with the awkwardly placed Z Button. I recommend practicing to get the hang of it all.

The arenas are a lot more unique this time around, too. For instance, in the F-Zero Mute City stage, the arena constantly moves, and you can even get hit by the F-Zero cars zooming by. (This has to be seen to be believed.) Or in the Pokémon Stadium level, the landscape changes at random. All of the stages have little obstacles and traps like these.

The game is LOADED with all sorts of modes, even in single-player. Adventure mode, for instance, takes you through all sorts of cool stages based on Nintendo games. Players have several battle options, and players can also fight in tournaments with up to 64 players.

What about secrets? Well, I won't disclose much, but there are many characters to be unlocked, like Pichu, Ganondorf, and Prince Marth (from the Japanese RPG Fire Emblem). The only one I would change is Jigglypuff, who doesn't do much of anything. You can even earn many new arenas.

With all these options, modes, and secrets, this game is sure to keep players busy for a long, long time.

My score: 10 out of 10

When it comes to multiplayer "party" games, fighting sims have usually been relegated to the older audiences for games such as Mortal Combat or other more graphic experiences. With "Super Smash Bros. Melee" for the Nintendo Gamecube, however, the contestants are none other than the colorful characters from Nintendo's cannon of crazy caricatures participating in some cartoonish smash-and-dash.

Besides the tight controls and great visuals/locals, the true hallmark of this game is the attributes of each individual character, which provides "something for everyone". If you just like mashing people? Go for Donkey Kong. Love to shoot a bow & wield a sword? Then Link is your character. The list could go on and on, as each character has abilities that make them unique to the game and allow for almost endless combinations.

Overall, "Melee" is perhaps the most engaging multiplayer GCN game ever created (with the possible exception of Double Dash). Literally hours of fun can be had pummeling your friends with Nintendo's characters and earning the bragging rights to go along with it.

SSBM is a fighter game of different proportions. It features four player action and some great 1 player modes as well. Adventure mode allows you to fight enemies in their preferred stages and explore stages not available in versus mode. Event Matches, Collecting Trophies, and so much more add to the games brilliance. This game has great symphony music as well, all accurate to some of our favorite tunes from Mario to The Legend of Zelda. That reminds me of one of the games biggest features, the characters! Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Yoshi, Samus, Link, Zelda/Shiek, and at least 10 others, all with unique attacks and specialties are available. The stages to choose from are also limitless. In simplest terms, there's about 1 or more stages for every character. All different. There is just so much to do in the game and its so easy to get into. SSBM goes down as the greatest fighter game of all time. It may even THE greatest game of all time.

Super Smash Bros Melee is the best fun you will have on a Gamecube. It features the best of Nintendo as playable fighters or even items and trophies. You start with characters such as Super Mario, Link, Pikachu, and of course, Ness. As I said, there are lots of items like Mr Saturn, Bob-Ombs and even the iconic hammer. You can unlock more content (like characters, trophies and stages) and is easily one of the best multiplayer experiences of ALL TIME. Even the music is memorable, and, with a fun event match mode (exclusive to Melee), what can go wrong?! You will marvel at the characters and even be shocked at what characters you can unlock! This game is easily in my top 50 of best games ever and is essential for any Nintendo fan of any age.

Wow. This game is so perfect. The animation is crystal-clear, the stages are fun, the events are good, single-player mode is entertaining, and the characters and the scenery is completely accurate. This was my first game for Gamecube. Then I got LoZ:OoT and oh my God, the characters were even better in Melee than in the original Zelda game! I mean, Zelda's hair and her dress were exactly right, Link's sword was on the correct side, Young Link had a Deku Shield (He's not supposed to shoot Fire Arrows, though), Ganondorf was exact replica and Sheik was a clone. Then I got Majora's Mask and oh my God, Great Bay was and exact copy! Melee had the pirates cove, the columns in the water, the canoes on the beach, the Ocean Spider House, the umbrellas, the cave to Zora Cove, EVERYTHING! I'm sure if the cameras could turn all the way around, they would have included Pinnacle Rock and the Dragon Cloud too. Aside from the accuracy, the game itself is wonderful. The characters are so well animated, their moves are perfect, their taunts are cute, and they look so...upgraded. Every bit of it is fun. There are different modes to play with, trophies, training, event matches, melees against wire frames, Classic, Adventure, and All-Star single-player mode, it's all perfect! So, to sum everything up, perfect animation, perfect precision, perfect characters, perfect stages, perfect fights, perfect fun. Your all-around perfect game! 11/10!