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Chances are that if you are here to read this review, you had read my rather lengthy review for the 64 prequel of this game. Continuing on a solid gameplay formula, and keeping most of the original game intact, Nintendo has put out yet another great multiplayer game that never loses its replay value. The first thing to notice when playing this game is the huge amount of updates put into the game. The biggest addition is obviously the new characters. You now get to use Falco, Ganondorf, Peach, Bowser/Koopa, Pichu, Mewtwo, Mr. Game and Watch, Young Link, Roy & Marth (from Fire Emblem), and Ice climbers (that's either all of the new guys, or close to all of them). All characters have at least a few new moves, and EVERYONE has been tweaked to avoid one character having an overwhelming advantage over another. However, some characters have been very dulled down (kirby and ness are main victims), which may not sit well with people who used them as their main people in the first game. The other large update is the new and improved 1 player mode. Among the new modes included are the Adventure Mode, Event Matches, and the infamous Cruel Melee (good friggin luck). Another addition that adds replay to the single player mode is completion of your trophy collection. By winning matches, playing the Adventure mode, collecting coins through gameplay, or during the bonus stages, you can obtain trophies. Though these have no value except for collection, you can often find out little tidbits about nintendo related things by reading their descriptions. The biggest improvement of this game is definitely the multiplayer department. You get a ton of new modes to choose from, along with the old stock and time modes. Using the special melee feature, you can customize your match from the way it moves to the size of all fighters. New powerups abound, and the old ones have been somewhat tweaked to avoid cheapness that was present in the first game. There are many new stages, most of which are hidden, as well as some of the old ones for nostalgia's sake. Graphics are much improved, but then again, this is gamecube vs. n64. Gone is the old blocky polygon look, replaced with a smooth, very detailed look. The sound effects are improved, as is the music, except for the DK Rap. At first you may laugh at how horrible it is, but after a while, you will not want to go to that stage because of the music alone. As far as the fun goes, there is loads and loads to be found. The new 1 player mode gives you a ton to work with, and the new multiplayer modes make this sequel that much better. If you have no people to play with, multiplayer mode using computers is still fun, since the difficulty level has been improved from the first game. However, all of the games in the Smash series are multiplayer, and Melee is no exception. Any good game has its flaws, and this game has some, though there aren't too many to be found. Oftentimes there are glitches where your character may warp from place to place, or jump and fly backwards, with the main problem being with giant sized characters. Though there are new characters, many of them are clones of existing characters with the same moves, albeit with slight differences (besides appearance). Overall, this game is a worthwhile purchase, but I cannot stress this enough: YOU MUST HAVE OTHER PEOPLE TO PLAY WITH YOU, otherwise there just isn't as much fun. Strongly recommended. 9.0 -Joel
