It's a SUPER SMASH!

For years, and years, people throughout the world pondered one simple question: If Mario faced off against Link, who would prevail? This question would be answered, in a sense in 1999, when Nintendo placed 8 of it's top game characters to face off in Super Smash Bros. The game was an instant hit, selling millions of copies worldwide, and supposedly putting the question to rest.

Or had it? Many people were left wondering about other characters? What about Bowser? Zelda? Who would prevail if Ganondorf and Bowser went one on one. To solve these questions, Nintendo would release the much anticipated sequel, Super Smash Bros. Melee, for the Game Cube in 2002. To begin, EVERYTHINGS better! From the graphics, to the prizes, everything is highly evolved. I'll describe all in
detail below.

STORY:

The introduction to this game has to be one of the best ever. If you let the screen play, a massive opening portrays all of the characters and how they go from their various enviornments all the way back to this tournament. You then go to the title screen. This is where the fun truly starts. At the beginning, you can choose a series of modes. Where the original game only possessed a single story and vs. mode, this
time is way better:

Classic: This follows in the same pattern as the Nintendo 64 title, but with one critical exception: The stages are completly random. Where as in the last, you had at least an idea who your next opponent would be after a few times of playing, this time, you'll have no idea who could prevent you from the final showdown with Master Hand, who's back for revenge after being defeated in SSB.

Adventure: We go to the past for this mode, in which, while similiar to Classic, requires you to go back to a NES platform's side-scrolling days. Remember Super Mario Bros. and how you had to run through the level to get to the goal? It's the exact same here. However, just like classic, you're timed, with only a few minutes to get to the
goal. Of course, objects are there to stop you, from the classic bottomless pit, to a valley of future car (Falcon's), all the way to a ever rising stage (Ice Bros.) This can be a challenge.

Event Match: If the first two do not satisfy you, then you'll be astonished at this. You'll have 51 (!) possibilities of challenges, but only a handful
of which can be unlocked. These can be extremely tricky, and are often timed. From stopping Zelda only when she changes into Sheik, to a Small DK vs. Giant DK, even facing over 100 Mini Mario's, finishing all is no easy task.

But don't expect this to be just a simple one player game, because it hasit's very own Vs. Mode, or rather, three.

Melee: Similiar to N64's version, this allows you to choose any two characters as well as the stage that you will fight in. Of course, if you face computer, you can choose a difficulty level, not to mention the amount of lives you'll have.

Tournament Melee: It's basically You against several other fighters, in which the last one standing wins, simple as that.

Special Man Melee: There are so many forms of melee here that, just like the Event Match, I'm not going to go into them all, only one; Cruel Melee. It operates just as it sounds. You only have one life and are up against a
endless barrage of, I believe they are called, Chaos Soldiers. These creatures are almost space colored, but look human. They come after you all at once, and when you defeat one, another takes it's place.

CHARACTERS

The last game had 8 characters, and 4 others that could be unlocked through various tasks. This time, it's 14 characters, as well as 11 unlockable. To unlock the characters takes a combination of time and effort. For example, to unlock Mewtwo, you have to play Vs. Modes for 700 games, yes that many, or 20 hours.

Your characters are:

Mario (Super Mario Bros)
Bowser (Super Mario Bros)
Princess Peach (Super Mario Bros), but called Peach in 64
Yoshi (Super Mario World)
DK (Donkey Kong)
Captain Falcon (F-Zero)
Fox (Star Fox)
Ness (Earthbound)
Ice Climbers (Ice Climbers)
Kirby (Kirby's Dream Land)
Samus (Metroid)
Zelda/Shiek (The Legend Of Zelda: The Ocarina Of Time)
Link (The Legend Of Zelda)
Pikachu (Pokemon)

Secret Characters:

Dr. Mario (Dr. Mario)
Luigi (Super Mario Bros)
Ganondorf (The Legend Of Zelda)
Falco (Star Fox)
Young Link (The Legend Of Zelda: The Ocarina Of Time)
Pichu (Pokemon Gold/Silver)
Jigglypuff (Pokemon)
Mewtwo (Pokemon)
Mr. Game And Match (I believe Japan only Game and Match Games)
Marth (Fire Emblem (Japan Only))
Roy (Fire Emblem (Japan Only))

Each of These Characters, as you can see are from various Nintendo classics throughout the years, my personal favorite being Pikachu or Roy, due to his Fiery attacks.

TROPHIES:

What better way to savor the tastes of victory then with trophies. There are a total of 292 (!) to collect, making this the true test of your playing abilities. You'll get trophies showing each of the characters in multiple
poses, with the ability to glance at it from all possible angles. Other trophies would be characters from other various Nintendo games, including several that are Japan only, not to mention all of the items and Pokemon that are available in this game. If you see it, there is a trophy for it.

GRAPHICS:

This game puts SSM to shame with it's incredible array of angles, not to mention special effects. For example, say you don't like the look of Pikachu, then you can include a variety of hats for him. For almost any character you can switch their wardrobes to a variety of colors, but usually not the clothing directly. But perhaps the coolest graphics are in the stages. Although many have to be unlocked, your stages are the best part. There are stages that move (Ice Climbers), stages that can widely fluctuate by going in a diamond like direction, even a stage that changes it's enviornment every minute or so (Pokemon Colleseum)

GAMEPLAY:

The AI can widely range in here, with a difficulty level that you can set,and depending on the characters, may get very difficult at times. Of course, don't think that opponents and your skills are the only problems; you've got enviornments to worry about. Captain Falcon's stage changes every few seconds, and if you're not careful, you could wind up getting "ran over" by futuristic cars. With all this, and 25 Characters, what more needs to be mentioned?

To conclude, about the only thing that is missing is a few more characters. For example, where's Wario? Not to mention Mew as a playable Pokemon character? Couldn't the team have at least included Mega Man? But then again, with all of these pros, there is not really that much to gripe about. I hope that you decide to purchase this game if you have not done so already, but a word of warning: This is VERY addictive: Be prepared to play for days on end just to try and best your score, or get those trophies.

This gets a 5 Star rating.