Game News Sad news for Super Smash Bros. players. Melee
If there is one manufacturer / publisher that does not hesitate to regularly bring out its old classics, it is Nintendo! However, many cult titles of yesteryear have still not been reissued by the Japanese firm, and among them, a legendary Game Cube hit, in the person of the cult Super Smash Bros. Melee…
You are nostalgic for the time Game Cubeand the return of many headlines from that era (like Metroid Prime, Tales of Symphony or Baten Kaitos this year alone) makes you want to see others return to the front of the stage? After all, the sixth generation console of Nintendo provided an impressive amount of high quality games, and it is not shocking to hope to see some of them return to the front of the stage. Among them, the best-selling game of the machine has never been the subject of any reissue, whether it is a simple remaster or a remake: Super Smash Bros. Melee is always exclusive “NGC”, remains the most loved episode by fans of the franchise, and sadly, there doesn’t seem to be any plans to release it again, one way or another.
Summary
- Super Smash Bros. Melee, the cult game of a generation
- Equally successful, but less popular sequels
- The portage that will probably never happen
- A delicate subject within Nintendo?
Super Smash Bros. Melee, the cult game of a generation
It was in 1999, on Nintendo 64what appeared the very first Super Smash Bros.a fighting game exclusively featuring characters from the Nintendo universe. It was immediately a success with 5.5 million units sold, making it the 5th best selling machine, thanks to its great user-friendliness as a title playable up to four locally, and of course, the exploitation of many “home” licenses (Mario, Zelda, Pokémon, Kirby, Metroid, F-Zero). However, it’s good with its sequel released in 2002, the exceptional Super Smash Bros. Melee, that the license developed by HAL Laboratory exploded in the eyes of the general public, a shame given the low sales of the Game Cube compared to its predecessor (already considered a relative commercial failure). With 7.41 million sales, “Melee” was an incredible success, thanks to the formidable precision of its gameplay and its absolutely gargantuan content, giving pride of place to even more Nintendo licenses, such as Fire Emblem or Ice Climber.
Equally successful, but less popular sequels
In 2008, with Super Smash Bros. Brawl and its 13.32 million copies distributed, sales of the series almost doubled at once, benefiting from the immense commercial success of the Wii. However, “Brawl” will be a much less popular title among fans than “Melee”, and this will be felt especially on the competitive scene, where the Game Cube opus will remain the favorite of pro players. At the end of 2014, the release of an episode published simultaneously on Nintendo 3DS et Wii U (for a cumulative total of just over 15 million sales, again breaking the franchise record) will not be a game-changer either; as to Super Smash Bros. Ultimatepublished at the end of 2018 on Nintendo Switch it exploded the license figures with more than 30 million copies sold, but despite his strong competitive scene, he still doesn’t seem to benefit from the aura of his illustrious elder.
The portage that will probably never happen
Unfortunately, Nintendo doesn’t seem to have any intention of capitalizing on the huge love rating that Super Smash Bros. enjoys. Melee. The source of this information is pretty sure since it comes from two former employees of Nintendo of America, who have been producing a podcast for a little over a year on Youtube, Kit & Krysta, where they come back each week on their experience within the firm. The duo also answers questions from its subscribers, and in the latest episode you podcast, they come back to a question from a user (flapjack626) asking if a Super Smash Bros. Melee could be possible. After acknowledging that “it would make a lot of sense”, they unfortunately put an end to hopes by stating quite curtly that “it will never happen”. Words are harsh…
With its famous gallery, Super Smash Bros. Melee is responsible for designing amiibo figures.
A delicate subject within Nintendo?
According to Krysta, Super Smash Bros. Melee is a hot topic at Nintendo. The game would have a rather negative reputation internally, in particular because of the emulation, very active around the game. She also thinks that the community constitutes a brake on any form of remastering the game, because the latter would like to see it preserved identically in the event of a port, and that the slightest change would be quickly pointed out by the most seasoned fans, especially (and above all) in the competitive field. Worse still: according to her, talking about “Melee” within the company itself was very painful, and the latter still preferred to hide it under the carpet, merely recalling that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was much more accessible. Finally, she believes that the legendary creator of the series, Masahiro Sakurai, would necessarily be very involved and that his perfectionist side would risk coming into contradiction with the studio in charge of the port, as well as the requirement of the fans. For all these reasons, Super Smash Bros. Melee thus has very few reasons to be ported one day to a console other than its original medium, and it is better to avoid dreaming about it…
Would you have liked to see a remaster/port of Super Smash Bros. Melee on Switch? Are you used to the original game and do you still play it on Game Cube? Or are you just playing Super Smash Bros.? Ultimate? Do not hesitate to let us know in the comments of this news!
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