| Super Smash Brothers Melee Pirate Yoshi, Bomber Link, Fierce Deity |
| Over-view: Years ago, HAL astounded the world with the dream game players from continent to continent had long awaited: a chance to watch Mario and Link face off against each other, or see DK go head to head with Kirby, or see how well Samus Aran could fare against the adorable Pikachu. Super Smash Brothers was an instant hit (no pun intended, but expect another), and right away became a multiplayer model for games to come on every platform. Its smashing success (okay, now THAT one was intended) led to riots and up stirrings in the gaming community as the world begged for a sequel. It shouldn't have come as a surprise, but it somehow still did: Nintendo acknowledged the pleas for another, and word got out that a new Smash Brothers would be ready at the same time as the Gamecube was. (on a side note, it ended up being delayed about a month, but that felt like nothing; it was a new Smash Brothers, for crying out loud!) PIRATE YOSHI: Graphics: 4.9/5 Honestly, I was blown away by SSBM's superb graphics, which I consider to be a notch above most any other game out there (even now!). I am baffled and confused when I hear a rare few people complain that Melee had "poor graphics"; wait, were they playing the game I was? I can hardly believe such people claim to have played games SO much better than Melee in graphics that it can be considered poor (let alone better at all), but I'll acknowledge that another step upwards IS possible from here. The graphics are flawless in Melee, and easily show the action in careful detail. The backgrounds are beautiful and richly colored; the characters are animated very carefully and TONS of detail has been poured into every character, item, and move. Frankly, I can't really imagine what the next Smash Brothers will look like, because this is pretty darn good already.... BOMBER LINK: Graphics: 9.9/10 Okay, to start off, I do not like Pirate Yoshi's scoring system. But I will deal with it. Anyways, the graphics in Super Smash Brothers Melee were excellent. I never had a major complaint about them. But like with every game there is always room for improvement. The graphics are well above a lot of other games out there though. The detailed backgrounds are marvelous and the characters are very well designed. Their movements are beautiful and every action is given extra care to make them great. There really are not that many complaints one could muster about this game's graphics. Maybe the fact that there are games with better graphics out there now or that there is still overlapping when running into a wall and what not. But hey, nothing is perfect. Nothing. FIERCE DEITY Graphics: 9.9/10 What's this? Everyone gave the graphics the same score? No, we aren't bluffing people; the graphics in this game are truly astounding. All the characters and environments we've come to love are all represented beautifully, not to mention all the new environments created specifically for the game. The game continues to take the cartoonier look, instead of opting for more "realistic" graphics, but who honestly cares? It's obvious that HAL spent a lot of time and effort in bringing a graphical experience so great and unique that is has yet to be matched by any other game. While many may believe "realistic" graphics are the way to go, I prefer Melee's graphical style to remain the way it is; near perfect. PIRATE YOSHI: Sound and Music: 5/5 I have no complaints about Melee's sound. SSBM has gone above and beyond most any other game EVER in multiple categories (in my opinion), and this is just one more to add to the list. The sound effects are extensive and elaborate; the design team could've EASILY done two or three sounds for each move (sword clashing, gun shooting, fire burning, etc.), but they continued to add TONS of different tones to each sound, giving the game a depth unmatched by any other fighter to date. The voice acting is true to all past games the characters have starred in; only the finest are brought in for a game like this, and that means Charles Martinet, Ikue Ootani, Nobuyuki Hyama (Link), Makiko Ohmoto (Kirby & Ness), Shinobu Satouchi (Fox), and Jen Taylor (Peach), as well as a slew of others who know what they're doing when they do voice acting for games! Perhaps the biggest part of the Sound, however, is the music, and SSBM has some of the best music I have heard out of a game. What's better than your favorite video game themes and anthems? How about your favorite video game themes and anthems REMASTERED? BOMBER LINK: Sound and Music: 9.6/10 Clashing of swords, bashing of fists, and the great boom of an exploding crate that you were so foolishly attacking to try and release the goodies waiting inside. The sounds are excellent. I have seen no flaws at all in the sound of this game. Maybe some repetitive voices, but when you have played it for so long, that is to be expected. The voice acting is good too. For the small amount there is. I hope they didn't pay these people too much to do the five seconds worth of recording necessary for each character. Now, for the music. Good. Good music was put into this game. Remastered works that were used in other classic games to give this game classics music. I would rather give more credit to the original games for having this music in them, but because a lot of them I do not like, I won't. I enjoyed the music, yes, but should we really give so much credit to SSBM for it? I don't think so. I enjoyed it though, so it does not alter my score in the fact that I think we should give credit to the original games that featured these tunes. FIERCE DEITY: Sound and Music: 9.8/10 While Melee has some tunes of its own, the majority of the music in the game IS taken from other titles. So why should Melee be honored for them you ask? Well, Melee does what no other game has. It takes classic tunes from your favorite games and throws them into one heck of a game. The voice acting of the side is well done as well. The only real "voice acting" is from the announced dude, who lets you know when the matched have begun and when they have ended, along with which character you have selected. All the other voice acting involves the sounds characters make when the jump, attack, get beat on, etc. All the other sounds effects are great as well. Most of the sounds are pretty much taken from their corresponding games, but they still sound the same and as good as usual. It's honestly hard to find anything wrong with the sound and music in this game. PIRATE YOSHI: Controls: 10/10 Honestly, should I have a complaint with controls that give me no problems? I adjusted easily to the new control set up, which is only mildly different from the N64's, and have yet to find a reason this game deserves something lower in this category. Movement is very carefully measured by the pressure you put on the control stick, so what you push is what you get! The moves are easy to pull off, yet difficult to pull off exactly the way you wanted to. I don't really see a way to even improve these controls, because I see nothing wrong with them in the first place! If it ain't broke, don't fix it.... BOMBER LINK: Controls: 9.9/10 Can I find a complaint in this category too? I mean, this game had near perfect controls! Can I do it? Yes. The controller. I do not like the controller set up that much. The Z-Button is out of place, even if there was a lack of a better place to put it. So, they should have changed the whole set up. But what do I know right? I know what my opinion is. But, you know, I will not dwell on the controller. Making the leap from the Nintendo 64's controller to this baby was a MAJOR break through. The N64's controller was bulky and cheaply made. But back to the game. The controls handled well, responded well, and you were able to do what you wanted. So should I alter this games controls score because of the actual controller? No. I won't. This game had good controls that were difficult to master completely. FIERCE DEITY: Controls: 10/10 I'm gonna agree with PY on this one. There is honestly nothing to complain about with Melee's control scheme. Attacks, special moves, and other attacks are really simple to pull off. However, the hard part is trying to find the time to pull them off correctly before your opponent gets the dreaded HAMMER OF DOOM. If I was to find ANYTHIN wrong with the controls, it would have to be the fact that some buttons could have better uses. Instead of making three different buttons jump, one could be used for something else. However, this isn't really a big complaint, so the score for this category will not be lowered at all. Yet again Melee succeeds. PIRATE YOSHI: Challenge: 9.8/10 Here's perhaps the weakest category for SSBM. The challenge is extremely difficult, but don't doubt your abilities to beat it still; the events can be beaten with practice, and most everything can be unlocked through diligent work. The most difficult parts of the game, namely beating All-star mode on Very Hard with one life, getting every trophy, and beating a team of 3 level 9 characters with handicaps of 9 versus your handicap of 1 (all of which are able to be done), require lots of work and losses, but you'll eventually get it. The game also offers unlimited challenge in trying to set newer, crazier records, and the ultra-impossible Cruel Melee is sure to prove worth its name! Very, very difficult! BOMBER LINK: Challenge: 9.8/10 Usually, this is not one of the categories. This would normally be weighted under gameplay, which covers several smaller categories that I feel do not need to be broken up. The game was easy. On easy mode. The game was normal. On normal mode. The game was hard if you were trying to collect everything and beat the game using one life on the most difficult mode. There are always challenges in this game. As Pirate stated, you can always try and beat some of the top SSBM player's ridiculous records scores. And Cruel Melee.... is cruel.... just cruel.... FIERCE DEITY: Challenge: 9.9/10 As Bomber Link said, easy is easy and normal is normal. The modes offer the challenge that they say they will. The real challenges lie within collecting all the trophies, beating unreasonable records, and not getting beaten to a bloody pulp in Cruel Melee. Among those, you can also give your computer-controlled enemies the upper hand by cranking their handicap level up a few notches. If you want an even worse challenge, try cranking it up all the way, fighting three copies of Fox, and doing it in Invisible Melee in the Big Blue stage. As you can see, there is always SOME way to increase the challenge of the game, you just have to be creative. PIRATE YOSHI: Replay: 9.7/10 This game is what I consider to be the model by which other games are measured in this category. Super Smash Brothers Melee is literally the game that can be played forever, and I have put in more hours on it than probably half my other games combined! SSBM feels superbly satisfying to play long after you've completed it, and the multiplayer modes are an insane blend of fun and challenge unlike any other game has to offer! I am extremely pleased with most every aspect about Melee, as you can tell, and it's definitely a model for games to come still. The only improvements that could be made would be more levels, characters, and moves--but that's wishful thinking and not a flaw with the current game really. BOMBER LINK: Replay: 9.7/10 One of those games that can be played basically forever. I have played this game many hours, but I know games I have played longer. You can always pick this up at a party for a good round of beatings and you can also pick it up alone and try for one of those crazy records. But eventually, it gets old. Better things come along. But until then, SSBM lives on. FIERCE DEITY: Replay: 9.8/10 The game is truly something future fighting games should take an example from. People like to be able to unlock insane amounts of things, try beating personal records, and still be able to play the game after you have beaten it with every character. Melee is what I would consider an "Ultimate Party Game". You can pick it up anytime at any party and people will flock over so they can get a piece of the action. I've found out that it is one of the most popular games to play at parties, even though it is one of the oldest Gamecube games. PIRATE YOSHI: Gameplay: 9.9/10 I cannot emphasize it any other way: SSBM is awesome, and a complete and utter must-have for ANYONE'S collection, regardless as to whether you like fighting games, Nintendo characters, or even video games in general (of course, if you don't like video games....why are you even reading this?). There is but one game in this world that I love better than SSBM and its predecessor, SSB: Super Mario RPG. Every other game I've ever played fades in comparison with this gem, which deserves the highest place of honor of any GCN game to date. The vast number of unlockables, addicting gameplay, and smart mix of strategy, skill, and luck play into the mix very well. I eagerly await the next Smash Brothers title, and have but one suggestion beyond "more": "online". BOMBER LINK: Gameplay: 9.8/10 This is one of those games. You know the one where you throw the controller across the room, scream at the TV, punch your wall, and then go beat up on the nearest sibling. It is also a game that can make you feel great about yourself when you finally beat one of those impossible records. Great gameplay in this game only gets greater as your skills improve and even some luck that the next crate will not explode on you and send you to your character's last life. Plenty of levels and characters to unlock, trophies, special features, and awards. This game is a true masterpiece. The only way you could improve this game? Can someone say.... Nintendo online? Well, I know I cannot at the moment. When Nintendo? When? FIERCE DEITY: Gameplay: 9.9/10 Offering some of the most addicting and challenging gameplay to ever hit the video game market, Super Smash Brothers Melee aims to please. Hours and hours of your life will be lost as you beat the crud out of your friends, your friend's friends, or the computer. Among the normal gameplay, there are many different modes you can choose from, which include Giant Melee, Tiny Melee, Invisible Melee, and many more. The only possible ways to improve on the gameplay is to add more characters, more levels, more modes, more unlockables, and the ability to play ONLINE. I would love to put my game in, get online, and show some foreign players what the United States is made of. PIRATE YOSHI: BOMBER LINK: FIERCE DEITY: **Story: 0/1 This game has no storyline. PIRATE: **Multiplayer: 1/1 The ultimate multiplayer experience.....of all time. There is no game I've ever played that I enjoy playing with a group more than this one (.....besides Super Smash Brothers for N64, which is roughly the same in comparison), and if I could give up to five points in this category, I'd give SSBM every one of them. Simply astounding, and the only suggestion I can offer is putting it all on-line for far-off players to compete on. BOMBER LINK: **Multiplayer: 1/1 Great game for parties, as stated before. Up to four players able to compete in an all out fist brawl using their favorite Nintendo characters is the ultimate multiplayer experience. Once again, online could only improve it. Fighting against someone across the globe would be a truly marvelous experience. FIERCE DEITY: **Multiplayer: 1/1 As stated above, this is the "Ultimate Party Game". No matter what your friends are doing at a party, they will stop doing it in order get a piece of the Melee goodness. With over 20 characters to choose from, you and up to three other friends will spend hours on end throwing star rods and bombs at each other. Hopefully, in the next one, I will be able to pummel some of my friends who lived hundreds of miles away PIRATE YOSHI TOTAL RAW SCORE: 50.3 PIRATE YOSHI OVERALL SCORE: 10.06 > 10.1 > 10 SCORE EXPLANATION: You see why I had to have other people review and add their scores to mine! I'm not a purist, but I have never given a game a perfect score, and...well...SSBM got a perfect score! The reason was actually because I count the story and multiplayer categories as bonuses, since they aren't absolutely needed in a game; if a game's got 'em, then they should add to the score, but the game's ratings shouldn't be docked because of a lack of them. At any rate, I recalculated my score without bonuses, and it came out a 9.87, which would translate to a Total Score of 9.9, which is near perfection in and of itself. Let my numbers speak for themselves; I believe this game really does no wrong, and the only way I can take off points is by saying improvements are possible. BOMBER LINK OVERALL SCORE: 9.8/10 FIERCE DEITY OVERALL SCORE: 9.9/10 OVERALL TEAM SCORE: 9.9/10 |
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