Super Smash Bros. Melee

Template:Infobox Super Smash Bros. Melee (known in Japan as Great Melee Smash Bros. Deluxe) is a fighting game for the Nintendo GameCube. This is the second installment in the Super Smash Bros. series and is the follow-up to Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64. Various characters from Nintendo's popular franchises battle on different stages, also taken from the Nintendo franchises. Many major characters of the Mario series make an appearance. The game's major focus is the multiplayer mode, while still offering a number of single-player modes.

Gameplay

In Super Smash Bros. Melee, up to four characters fight on a side-view stage with invisible boundaries on each side. When a player hits these boundaries, the player is knocked out. Unlike other fighting games, the Super Smash Bros. series thus does not rely on hit points for each character which have to be brought down to zero, but on damage percentage. Whenever a player is hit, they get a certain amount of percent damage. The maximum damage that can be dealt to a player is 999%. The higher the damage percentage is, the easier it is for the player to be knocked out.

General actions

The basic A attack. Here, Mr. Game & Watch attacks Ness with his A attack.

Players move around on the stages using the GameCube Controller's , and can jump by pulling up, or pressing the or button. It is possible to jump again in the air a single time. Some characters also have the ability to multi-jump in the air. By moving the down, the player can crouch or move a layer down on the stage.

A basic attack is performed with the button. When moving the into a direction, the player can attack upwards and downwards, or to either side. These attacks are usually weak and do not do very much damage. When the button is pressed repeatedly, the character performs a standard combo, a fast sequence of weak attacks. When the is titled fast and the button is pressed in time, the player can perform a Smash Attack. These are very powerful, chargeable attacks, which cause a lot of damage. Each character's moves for the side, up, and down Smash Attacks are different.

Character special moves

Mario using his Super Jump Punch special move.

Each character has their own set of special moves, which are performed with the button. When moving the in a certain direction, or not moving it at all, a different special move is performed. The special moves are influenced by the character's individual personality, and have various effects, from doing more damage than with a normal attack, attacking from a distance, or repelling projectiles. Most characters' up + moves involve jumping, which makes it possible to perform a third jump in the air to prevent the character from falling down. The sideways special move was a new addition to the series.

Item use

Captain Falcon using a Parasol.

Items appear on the stage at random and can be used by the players. Items have various effects, and some trigger by themselves. They can grant the character special abilities for a short time, like becoming invisible, contain a number of items themselves, explode when hitting, or can be used as a weapon. When players are standing next to an item, they can use the button to pick the item up. Some items have effects that are activated when the item is picked up or touched, such as reducing the character's damage percentage, or turning characters into a giant version of themselves. Other items can be used as weapons. A held weapon can be used with the button. With the button, or or in combination with , the weapon can be thrown away. This thrown item can also hurt other characters when it hits them.

Shielding

Kirby using his Shield.

When pressing the or triggers, or the button, the character's shield is activated. Shields can be used to prevent any kind of attack from a character or an item, only grabbing cannot be prevented. If used at the right time, and for only a split second, the shield can be used as a reflector for items thrown and most projectile attacks. More powerful ones such as Samus' fully charged charge shot, however, will merely be absorbed by the shield. The shield has the form of a bubble (except for Yoshi, where it is a Yoshi Egg). The shield's power decreases every time it is used, and when the shield breaks, the character will be unable to move for a certain period of time. The longer the player waits before using the shield, the stronger it becomes, similar to Bowser's Fire Breath. Also, the harder the player presses on the or triggers, or button depends on how thick the shield is, a thicker shield will erode slower from damage but faster from time, while a thinner shield will erode more from damage but significantly less from time duration, adding to shielding strategy. Light characters may even be knocked out by the shield break.

Grabbing and throwing

Players are able to grab other characters and hold them. This allows the player to hit the character while they are not able to protect themself or fight back. The player can also throw the character in any direction, or smash them to the ground. A thrown character can hit other characters and damage them this way, too. When not holding items and standing next to a character, the player can press , or and in combination with , to grab the character. The player can now attack the grabbed character by using the or buttons, and can also throw the other character in a direction by tilting the .

Unlike in Super Smash Bros., however, players can break free from grabs. The less damage the grabbed player has, the easier it is to break free from a foe's grab. However, if the player takes a lot of damage, it'll be nearly impossible to break free from a foe's grab.

Other actions

In single-player mode, the player can use the to zoom the camera in or out. In VS mode, the player can move the in any direction, allowing them to perform uncharged smash attacks easily. By pressing Up on the , the player can use the Taunt.

Certain characters even have attacks called Meteor Smashes. These attacks can send opponents falling downwards, but they're not impossible to recover from. Some Meteor Smashes are very weak, while others pack a strong punch.

Fighting modes

A basic VS battle.

The Coin Battle mode.

There are four standard fighting modes in Super Smash Bros. Melee. These can be freely chosen in VS mode. The regular matches in Single-Player mode only feature Stock matches, but different rules appear in the Event Matches. In all modes, it is possible that there is a tie between two or more players. When this happens, there will be a Sudden Death. It is a quick battle, where each of the players who are tied will fight. They each start with 300% damage, and the last player standing wins. The winner of the Sudden Death wins the entire battle.

Time

Players gain points by knocking out other players, and lose points by getting knocked out. When the time limit has run out, the player with the most points wins. It can be set by the player whether self-destructs cause players to lose 0, 1, or 2 points. A special function that displays the player's points during battle can also be unlocked. This mode is used by default in the VS. Mode, though it is rarely used in the Single-Player events.

Stock

Players have a set number of lives. They lose lives when they are knocked out. The last player standing wins. Optionally, a time limit can be specified. When the time has run out, the player with the most lives wins. This mode is featured throughout the Classic and All-Star Mode, and there is always a set time limit in these modes.

Coin

Players have to collect Smash Coins. Coins appear by hitting an opponent. When a player gets knocked out, they will lose half of his coins. When the time limit has run out, the player with the most coins wins. This fighting mode is rarely used in the Event Matches of the single-player mode, but is also available in VS matches.

Bonus

Players get points for their fighting style. There are 249 different kinds of bonus points. Bonus points can be simply for knock outs, for jumping a lot, for looking in the same direction all the time, for getting a rare Pokémon out of a Poké Ball, etc. They often have humorous names. When the time limit has run out, the player with the most points wins.

For a list of bonuses, see here.

Playable characters

The complete character select screen roster in Multiplayer mode.

Group art of the full cast.

Super Smash Bros. Melee contains a total of 25 playable characters (26 including Zelda's alter ego, Sheik); the twelve original characters return for this game, while thirteen more have been added. Fourteen characters are available by default, while eleven more can be unlocked. Seven of them originated from the Mario series. These characters are Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Bowser, Dr. Mario, Yoshi, and Donkey Kong.

Characters in italics are newcomers.

Legend:

Special Moves
B move
Smash B move
Up and B move
Down and B move

Default characters

Character	Series	Description	Special Moves
Mario	Super Mario	Mario is a balanced character with a variety of moves. He attacks quickly, but jumps low and has among the worst recoveries in the game. His backwards throw can throw almost farther than any other character's throws. His Cape helps deflect oncoming attacks and shoots whatever is being shot at him back to his opponent.	Fireball
			Cape
			Super Jump Punch
			Mario Tornado
Bowser	Super Mario	Bowser is the heaviest and one of the slowest characters, but has powerful attacks and is hard to hit off of the stage at low damage percentages. He can use his weight to crush the characters he grabs. He is one of the first villains to be playable in the series. His Fire Breath move burns his enemies down.	Fire Breath
			Koopa Klaw
			Whirling Fortress
			Bowser Bomb
Peach	Super Mario	Princess Peach has a special ability to float above the ground for a short amount of time. In her forward smash, she swings a golf club, a tennis racket, or a frying pan. When using her recovery, she can slowly float in the direction she chooses, proving to be a very useful horizontal recovery. Toad can be used as a Counter.	Toad
			Peach Bomber
			Peach Parasol
			Vegetable
Yoshi	Yoshi	Yoshi is an unusually heavy fighter with average speed, though he is rather weak, unlike other heavyweights. Unlike other fighters, Yoshi's shield is not an energy bubble but a green-spotted Yoshi Egg. He lacks a third jump but can jump extremely high. He can swallow enemies and turn them into eggs with his Egg Lay move. Unusually, Yoshi cannot jump out of shield, making him the only fighter with this odd trait.	Egg Lay
			Egg Roll
			Egg Throw
			Yoshi Bomb
Donkey Kong	Donkey Kong	Donkey Kong is a strong and heavy character, but is surprisingly agile. When he grabs enemies, he can carry them for a short distance. His Headbutt can bury opponents for a certain time (depending on their damage percentage).	Giant Punch
			Headbutt
			Spinning Kong
			Hand Slap
File:Ssbmpicfalcon.gif Captain Falcon	F-Zero	Captain Falcon is the fastest-running character in the game. His attacks are quick, but some are still very strong, particularly his forward aerial knee attack and up-smash. His Falcon Punch is famous for its sheer power. Similar to Fox, he is unique in a way that he is both fast and strong.	Falcon Punch
			Raptor Boost
			Falcon Dive
			Falcon Kick
Fox	Star Fox	Fox is a fast character with surprising strength. He falls very fast, and his Blaster has the unique ability to do damage to enemies without stopping them. Due to his mix of both high strength and high speed, Fox is widely considered to be one of the best characters in terms of offense.	Blaster
			Fox Illusion
			Fire Fox
			Reflector
Ice Climbers	Ice Climber	The Ice Climbers fight as a pair. The player only controls one Ice Climber, and a CPU plays the partner, who generally follows the player's moves. The Ice Climbers have a low reach, but they also have some high power attacks and dangerous grabs. By changing colors, the player can choose between controlling Popo or Nana.	Ice Shot
			Squall Hammer
			Belay
			Blizzard
Ness	EarthBound	Ness is a slow character who relies on his PSI attacks. He can attack with a baseball bat and a yo-yo as his smash attacks. To recover with his PK Thunder, Ness must direct the ball of lightning and hit himself to catapult himself towards the stage. He also uses his PSI Magnet to recover damage with certain enemy projectiles.	PK Flash
			PK Fire
			PK Thunder
			PSI Magnet
Kirby	Kirby	Kirby is a light and fairly slow character with weak attacks. He can jump five times in mid-air. His Swallow attack allows him to copy other characters' abilities. He has the ability to become a Stone and come crashing down on his enemies.	Swallow
			Hammer
			Final Cutter
			Stone
Samus	Metroid	Samus is a heavy character with powerful attacks. Her Grappling Beam, while slow, allows her to grab characters from farther away. She can charge up a shot which increases in power the longer it's charging.	Charge Shot
			Missile
			Screw Attack
			Bomb
Zelda	The Legend of Zelda	Zelda is a slow-moving character. Her attacks can be quite powerful, but her strongest attacks don't hit the enemy easily. She has the ability to transform herself into Sheik, giving her a wide range of different special moves.	Nayru's Love
			Din's Fire
			Farore's Wind
			Transform
Sheik	The Legend of Zelda	Sheik is Zelda's alter-ego. Compared to Zelda, Shiek moves faster, attacks rapidly and combos well. However, unlike Zelda, Sheik doesn't have a lot of powerful moves. Zelda can transform into Sheik at any point during the match and vice versa, though the player can be Sheik at the start of the battle by holding down on the controller.	Needle Storm
			Chain
			Vanish
			Transform
Link	The Legend of Zelda	Link is a character of high weight and medium strength. However, he is rather slow. He uses his sword to attack. He also shoots a bow and has a boomerang.	Bow
			Boomerang
			Spin Attack
			Bomb
Pikachu	Pokémon	Pikachu is fast and light. It uses its electric attacks to damage other enemies. Pikachu's recovery is unique in a way that it can be used twice, provided that the second recovery is in a different direction.	Thunder Jolt
			Skull Bash
			Quick Attack
			Thunder

Unlockable characters

Character	Series	Description	To Unlock	Special Moves
Jigglypuff	Pokémon	Jigglypuff is light, but has a few powerful attacks. It can jump five times in mid-air and has the best aerial speed in the game. Its Rest attack has a very low reach, but is extremely powerful and can KO at low percentages. Although Jigglypuff is light, it has the slowest overall ground speed in the game.	Clear Classic mode Play 50 Melee matches	Rollout
				Pound
				Sing
				Rest
Dr. Mario	Super Mario	Dr. Mario is very similar to Mario. His attacks have different effects (usually electric instead of fire), but act the same way as Mario's. Most of his attacks are stronger than Mario's, though he moves slower.	Clear Classic mode with Mario Play 100 Melee matches	Megavitamins
				Super Sheet
				Super Jump Punch
				Dr. Tornado
Pichu	Pokémon	Pichu is similar to Pikachu. It is the lightest character in the game. Like Pikachu, it moves and attacks quickly. Like said in the National Pokedex, whenever it uses an electric attack, Pichu will inflict damage to itself. The creator of the game has stated multiple times that Pichu is a "joke character."	Complete Event #37--Legendary Pokémon Play 200 Melee matches	Thunder Jolt
				Skull Bash
				Agility
				Thunder
File:Falcomeleeduhjerk.PNG Falco	Star Fox	Falco's moves are similar to those of Fox's. He is not as fast as Fox, but he jumps higher and has a longer reach. His Blaster also functions differently; it fires more slowly, but it can stun enemies.	Clear 100-Man Melee Play 300 Melee matches	Blaster
				Falco Phantasm
				Fire Bird
				Reflector
Marth	Fire Emblem	Marth is a fast character with average strength and weight. He uses a sword to attack, granting him one of the longest reaches in the game. He is known for his very good air attacks than can easily string together. Marth's attacks are strongest at the tip of the sword.	Use the fourteen default characters in either Classic mode or Melee matches Play 400 Melee matches	Shield Breaker
				Dancing Blade
				Dolphin Slash
				Counter
Young Link	The Legend of Zelda	Young Link is similar to Link. However, he is weaker, lighter, faster, and can Wall Jump.	Clear Classic mode with 10 characters, including Link and Zelda/Sheik Play 500 Melee matches	Fire Bow
				Boomerang
				Spin Attack
				Bomb
Ganondorf	The Legend of Zelda	Ganondorf's attacks are similar to Captain Falcon's. However, he is very slow, quite heavy, and possesses the strongest attacks in terms of knockback. He also has a unique special attack when pressing and moving upwards; different from a Smash Attack.	Complete Event #29--Triforce Gathering Play 600 Melee matches	Warlock Punch
				Gerudo Dragon
				Dark Dive
				Wizard's Foot
Mewtwo	Pokémon	Mewtwo is a slow, floaty character, who features a strong grab and some powerful throws. The game attributes its low weight to the fact that it hovers above ground.	Play a combined total of 20 hours of Melee matches Play 700 Melee matches	Shadow Ball
				Confusion
				Teleport
				Disable
Luigi	Super Mario	Luigi is a character with average weight and speed, but with above average strength. He has many similarities to Mario in his move set. He jumps high, but has slow aerial speed and low traction.	Finish the first stage of Adventure mode with ##:#2:## on the timer Play 800 Melee matches	Fireball
				Green Missile
				Super Jump Punch
				Luigi Cyclone
Roy	Fire Emblem	Roy is similar to Marth. Unlike Marth, his attacks are strongest at the base of his sword, and his air game is very bad. His fully charged Flare Blade is the game's strongest non-reflected attack, but it backfires when charged maximally, doing 10% damage to Roy himself.	Complete Classic Mode with Marth Play 900 Melee matches	Flare Blade
				Double-Edge Dance
				Blazer
				Counter
Mr. Game & Watch	Game & Watch	Mr. Game & Watch has average speed and strength, but his weight is low due to his 2D appearance. His Judgment attack chooses a number from 1-9 at random, getting stronger each number. 9 is a 1-hit-KO move, while 1 does minimal knockback and damage and even damages Mr. Game & Watch himself.	Clear Classic, Adventure, or Target Smash with every other character Play 1000 Melee matches	Chef
				Judge
				Fire
				Oil Panic

Stages

There are twenty-nine selectable stages in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Eighteen stages are available by default, while the other eleven must be unlocked. Three of these stages are brought back from the previous game.

Default stages

Stage	Description
Infinite Glacier: Icicle Mountain	Icicle Mountain is a stage that scrolls up and down at different speeds. It has many different small platforms to jump on, similar to the classical platforming game Ice Climber.
File:Castle.jpg Mushroom Kingdom: Princess Peach's Castle	In this stage, the battle takes place on the roof of Princess Peach's Castle from Super Mario 64. There are some hovering platforms at either side of the small tower. Switches can be activated, making ? Blocks appear. From time to time, a Banzai Bill is shot into the castle, causing an explosion.
File:Melee Kongo Jungle.jpg DK Island: Kongo Jungle	The Kongo Jungle stage is set on logs over a waterfall. A small platform also appears to the right, and sometimes logs are falling down the waterfall, creating temporary platforms. Below the stage is a Barrel Cannon which shoots out characters in a random direction when they fall into it.
File:Greatbay.jpg Termina: Great Bay	The Great Bay stage, based on The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, has two platforms which stand fixed in the water, and a swimming stone. Sometimes, a turtle rises from the water, creating additional platforms. Tingle is also seen on the stage with a giant balloon, and is forming another platform.
File:Meleeyoshi'sstory.jpg Yoshi's Island: Yoshi's Story	Yoshi's Story features elements of the game Yoshi's Story. In the center is Yoshi's Island, and three smaller platforms are hovering above it. It also has a cloud moving below it to catch falling characters. Fly Guys fly by occasionally, carrying Food.
File:Ssbm-nd-kirbystage1.jpg Dream Land: Fountain of Dreams	On the Fountain of Dreams stage from the Kirby series, the fountain itself forms a big platform in the middle with three smaller hovering platforms above it, whose height varies.
Lylat System: Corneria	In the Corneria stage from the Star Fox series, the battle is held on the Great Fox, a spaceship. From time to time, Arwings fly by and shoot at the combatants.
Mushroom Kingdom: Rainbow Cruise	Rainbow Cruise(NTSC)/Rainbow Ride (PAL) is a moving stage with different environments based on Rainbow Ride from Super Mario 64. It starts on a floating ship, which falls down after a certain time, and players have to move on over the various platforms.
File:Melee Jungle Japes.jpg DK Island: Jungle Japes	The Jungle Japes stage from the Donkey Kong series is set on a river, with three ledges made of wood with a house and a toilet house found on them. The players fight on these platforms. Occasionally, Klaptraps jump out of the water, trying to drag characters downwards into the water.
Hyrule: Temple	The Temple is the biggest stage of the game, designed after several games from the Legend of Zelda series. It features many different platforms and a tunnel system. Despite its size, it does not have any side effects.
Yoshi's Island: Yoshi's Island	The Yoshi's Island stage is set in a scene from Super Mario World. The area is enclosed by a slope on the one side and a Warp Pipe on the other. In the middle, there is a hole with Turning Blocks above it. There are also two groups of turning blocks floating on the stage serving as additional platforms.
Dream Land: Green Greens	Green Greens from the Kirby series is consisting of three separated grass platforms. The huge tree, Whispy Woods, blows the characters away. Sometimes, apples fall from him. Also, blocks and bomb blocks fall from the sky in between the platforms.
Lylat System: Venom	Much like Corneria, Venom is featuring the Great Fox flying over the surface. But unlike Corneria, the battle is fought on the Great Fox's four wings, the ship is seen from the front. Arwings also appear and shoot at the players.
File:Brinstar.jpg Planet Zebes: Brinstar	Brinstar from Metroid is consisting of several platforms which are held together by organic material or other objects. These connections can be destroyed, causing some of the platforms to hover in the air. Sometimes, acid rises from below burning the characters, but also restoring broken connections.
Eagleland: Onett	In Onett from EarthBound, the battle takes place on a few houses in the village and a nearby tree. Cars drive by and hit characters when they do not avoid them. There are warning signs announcing the cars. The platforms of the drug store in the middle can collapse, but restore themselves after a certain time.
F-Zero Grand Prix: Mute City	Mute City takes place on a large F-Zero race track with a small platform hovering in the middle of it. Occasionally, this platform will go down, exposing the road. F-Zero gliders will sometimes race into the players, but can also be destroyed.
Kanto: Pokémon Stadium	The Pokémon Stadium looks like a simple stage with two floating platforms, but every once in a while the stage will change into one of four different terrains: Water, Fire, Rock, and Grass, which all have different features obstacles.
File:Melee Mushroom Kingdom.jpg Mushroom Kingdom	The Mushroom Kingdom stage features many objects from classical Super Mario Bros. games, such as Brick Blocks and ? Blocks, which contain items, as well as falling platforms above two gaps.

Unlockable stages

	Stage	To Unlock	Description
	Superflat World: Flat Zone	Clear Classic, Adventure, or All-Star with Mr. Game & Watch.	The Flat Zone modeled after a Game & Watch system. From time to time, wrenches, buckets, and other tools fall from the top. Oil can also be spilled over the ground, making it hard for the players to move. Some platforms vanish and appear at different places.
File:DK'sBrinstarDepths.png	Planet Zebes: Brinstar Depths	Play 50 Melee matches	Brinstar Depths from Metroid features a large rock platform. There are few floating rocks, which players can jump onto at any time. When Kraid hits it, the large rock rotates in any direction, exposing a different side of it.
	Eagleland: Fourside	Play 100 Melee matches	This EarthBound stage is set high on the skyscrapers of Fourside. Players have to be careful not to fall into the gaps between the buildings. It has a giant UFO that occasionally shows up on the screen and can be used as a platform.
	F-Zero Grand Prix: Big Blue	Play 150 Melee matches	Big Blue is side-scrolling, and the fight takes place on top of the F-Zero gliders. Players have to be cautious not to hit the track, as they would stay behind and, because of the high speed of the gliders, would hit the barrier at the left end of the stage, knocking them out.
	Kanto Skies: Poké Floats	Play 200 Melee matches	The Poke Floats stage takes place in the skies of Kanto, where giant floating Pokemon balloons are found. To survive on this stage, the player must jump from one Pokemon balloon to the next. It is unlocked by playing 200 Vs Matches.
	Mushroom Kingdom II	Obtain the Birdo Trophy	Mushroom Kingdom II, actually featuring Super Mario Bros. 2, has a generic scene from the game with several platforms and a waterfall that forms gorges between them. Occasionally, logs will fall down the waterfall, creating temporary platforms. A Pidgit will also occasionally fly in, creating another platform, and a Birdo appears from time to time, spitting Birdo Eggs at the characters. Birdo can be KOed in a series of weak attacks or one strong attack.
	Special Stages: Battlefield	Clear All-Star for the first time	Battlefield is a floating stage consisting of a big platform in the middle and three smaller platforms hovering above it. The stage does not have any side effects, which allows players to solely concentrate on the fight.
File:Ssbmstagesfinaldestination.jpg	Special Stages: Final Destination	Clear Event 51: The Showdown	Final Destination has absolutely no features, so the combatants are not bothered by the stage in any way.
	Past Stages: Dream Land	Clear Target Test with every character	The Dream Land is a stage returning from Super Smash Bros. The only feature is Whispy Woods who occasionally blows a harsh wind in a random direction.
File:Melee Yoshi's Island N64.jpg	Past Stages: Yoshi's Island	Hit Sandbag at least 1,325 feet (400 meters) in Home-Run Contest	Yoshi's Island is a stage returning from Super Smash Bros. It is consisting of a big platform with the Super Happy Tree in the background, three other smaller floating platforms above, and three clouds at the edges of the stage, which vanish when a character stands on them too long.
	Past Stages: Kongo Jungle	Clear 15-Minute Melee	The Kongo Jungle is a stage returning from Super Smash Bros. The stage is made out of a large wooden platform with several smaller, sometimes floating ones around it. There is also a Barrel Cannon underneath the arena.

Items

	Name	Series	Description
File:Trophy116.PNG	Barrel	Super Smash Bros.	The Barrel contains a single random item, which can be released by smashing the barrel or throwing it against a wall. When thrown to the ground, it will roll onwards and hit players.
File:Trophy113.PNG	Barrel Cannon	Donkey Kong	The Barrel Cannon is used to trap a character inside. Then the barrel rotates, and depending when the trapped character presses a button, they will be fired out in a certain angle. However, the Barrel Cannon vanishes quite quickly after appearing on the stage.
File:Trophy94.PNG	Beam Sword	Super Smash Bros.	The Beam Sword can be used to hit other characters. It is powerful, but the hits are rather slow.
File:Trophy103.PNG	Bob-omb	Super Mario	The Bob-omb can be thrown at another character to cause an explosion. If left on the ground for a few seconds, it starts walking around. It then explodes after a certain amount of time or if it walks into a character.
File:Trophy111.PNG	Bunny Hood	The Legend of Zelda	The character wearing the Bunny Hood is faster and can jump higher.
File:Trophy117.PNG	Capsule	Super Smash Bros.	The Capsule contains a single random item that is small. It can be easily thrown and sometimes explodes when hitting the wall or a character.
File:Trophy112.PNG	Cloaking Device	Perfect Dark	The Cloaking Device makes the player invisible. The player still takes damage regardless of being invisible and harder to hit, but their damage percentage will not increase while invisible.
File:Trophy115.PNG	Crate	Super Smash Bros.	The Crate contains three different random items. Sometimes, it explodes when hit.
File:Trophy118.PNG	Egg	Super Smash Bros.	The Egg contains a single item and is very similar to the Capsule. Whether it is a weapon or Food depends on the current stage. It can also explode.
File:Trophy96.PNG	Fan	Super Smash Bros.	The Fan is used to smack other characters. It is difficult to escape the Fan's fast hits, though they do not do much damage per hit.
File:Trophy100.PNG	Flipper	Balloon Fight	When thrown, the Flipper stops hovering in the air, creating an obstacle for players. It can also repel projectiles.
File:Trophy91.PNG	Fire Flower	Super Mario	The Fire Flower is used to shoot fire at other characters. It is not, like in the Mario series, similar to the Fireball attack, but to Bowser's Fire Breath.
File:Trophy85.PNG	Food	Super Smash Bros.	The player's damage meter is reduced by a small amount. The actual amount varies from food to food.
File:Trophy101.PNG	Freezie	Super Mario	The Freezie glides along the stage and can fall off edges. It can be destroyed before it has been picked up. It can be used to freeze other players in an ice block when throwing it at them. Using fiery attacks will make them normal again.
File:Trophy98.PNG	Green Shell	Super Mario	The Green Shell can be thrown, and then slides along the ground, being able to hit multiple characters.
File:Trophy97.PNG	Hammer	Donkey Kong	A massive hammer from Donkey Kong. If picked up, it can do great damage, the hammer of the top of the head will stay on all the time from now on.
File:Trophy87.PNG	Heart Container	The Legend of Zelda	The Heart Container reduces the player's damage meter by 100%.
File:Trophy95.PNG	Home-Run Bat	Super Smash Bros.	When a Smash Attack is performed with a Home-Run Bat, the hit character is knocked out instantly. It is also featured in the Home-Run Contest.
File:Trophy92.PNG	Lip's Stick	Panel de Pon	The character hit by Lip's Stick gets a flower on their head, which is doing continuous little damage. The more often a character is hit, the bigger the flower grows, and the more damage it will do.
File:Trophy86.PNG	Maxim Tomato	Kirby	The player's damage meter is reduced by 50% when picked up.
File:Trophy110.PNG	Metal Box	Super Mario	Hitting the Metal Box makes the player metal. They weigh a lot and cannot be thrown off the stage easily; but if they are thrown off, they cannot jump easily and it is harder to survive for them.
	Motion-Sensor Bomb	GoldenEye 007 / Perfect Dark	When placed on the ground, on the ceiling, or on the side of a ledge, the Motion-Sensor Bomb stays on the ground and explodes when someone touches it.
File:Trophy102.PNG	Mr. Saturn	EarthBound	They are used to throw it at other characters. When they are caught by the player again, they do not vanish, and can hit the other character many times.
File:Trophy108.PNG	Parasol	Kirby	The Parasol can be used to hit other characters. When falling, the character holding the parasol glides down slowly.
File:Trophy114.PNG	Party Ball	Super Smash Bros.	When the Party Ball opens, items appear at random. There is a high chance that the items will be Food or Bob-ombs.
File:Trophy106.PNG	Poison Mushroom	Super Mario	The opposite of Super Mushrooms. The player shrinks, gets easier to K.O., and is weaker; but they also become more flexible and has more evasion.
File:Trophy120.PNG	Poké Ball	Pokémon	When the Poké Ball is opened, a Pokémon appears. The effect of the Pokémon varies, but they mostly involve attacking the players' enemies without hurting their owner. However, some Pokémon hurt all players within their range. See the List of Pokémon in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
File:Trophy89.PNG	Ray Gun	Super Smash Bros.	The Ray Gun can shoot out laser beams. It has 14 beams before it runs out.
File:Trophy99.PNG	Red Shell	Super Mario	The Red Shell is much like the Green Shell, but does less damage, homes in on characters, and cannot fall off the stage.
File:Trophy109.PNG	Screw Attack	Metroid	As long as a character is holding the Screw Attack in their hand, their jump is in the form of Samus's Screw Attack move. When another character is hit by it, they also do that jump and take damage.
File:Trophy107.PNG	Starman	Super Mario	The Starman makes players invincible for a moment. They do not take damage from their enemies and cannot be hit or grabbed, but they can still fall off the stage and get knocked out this way.
File:Trophy93.PNG	Star Rod	Kirby	When the Star Rod is used, stars come flying out of it, hitting other characters. The Star Rod has limited use and when all stars have run out, the Star Rod cannot shoot stars anymore.
File:Trophy105.PNG	Super Mushroom	Super Mario	It makes the player larger, and thus become stronger, harder to K.O., but easier to hit (due to the size) and less flexible.
File:Trophy90.PNG	Super Scope	SNES peripheral	The Super Scope shoots out many small energy balls, or, when charged up, up to three big energy balls. When it runs out of ammo, no more energy balls can fly out of it.
File:Trophy88.PNG	Warp Star	Kirby	The character who picks the Warp Star up flies up into the air, and then crashes right back down, causing an explosion that damages other players. By tilting the while in the air, the player can take influence on the landing point.

Single-player mode

Classic mode

Mario faces Kirby in stage 1.

The Classic Mode is based on the single-player mode of the game's predecessor. However, it is no longer set what opponents will be fought where. They are chosen randomly. Still, there is a set pattern for the battles. For setup, the players choose the difficulty (very easy - easy - normal - hard - very hard) and the number of lives (1 - 5) they will have for the whole mode.

All battles are in stock mode, with the opponents having one life, and a five-minute time limit (if in a rare case that if time runs out in a battle, the player will lose one life and will have to play that stage again from the beginning). The arena is one of the opponent's home arenas. There are also three bonus stages. When failing in one of them, the players do not lose a life for their upcoming battles.

When the players run out of stock lives during the mode's progress, they can use a continue to gain all lives again, but they lose points for that, and at any setting except for Very Easy, they will have to pay coins for the Continue. Those coins are won in any regular battle by performing Smash Attacks, or in the Bonus Stages of the Classic Mode. They can also be used to pay for the Continue in the Adventure and All-Star mode and in the Trophy Lottery mode.

Classic Mode
Stage 1	The player fights a single opponent.
Stage 2	A team of the player and an ally fight against a team of two opponents.
Bonus Stage 1: Break the Targets!	The player has to hit all the targets within a time limit of 2 minutes. Each character has their own arena for the target test.
Stage 4	Same as Stage 1.
Stage 5	A team of the player and two allies fight a single opponent. However, the opponent appears in his giant form, as if he had a Super Mushroom.
Bonus Stage 2: Collect the Trophies!	The player has to collect three Trophies falling from above. To do this, players must hit them so that they fall into their collection spot. If the player catches the three trophies, at the finish of Classic Mode they will receive the bonus Collector.
Stage 7	The player fights a single opponent. When the player plays on the Hard setting or above, the opponent's CPU will be changed. The opponent will always escape to the borders of the stage after hitting the player.
Stage 8	The player has to fight 10 opponents, all being the same character. Fighting only 3 at a time, when one gets knocked out, another takes its place.
Bonus Stage 3: Race to the Finish!	The player runs along a tunnel with many doors. They can take any available door to complete the level, but the farther the door the player takes from the beginning, the more coins they earn. The time the player has for this varies from character to character, but it is usually around 45 seconds; for some examples, Captain Falcon only has 39 seconds, while Ganondorf has 54 seconds.
Stage 10	The player has to fight one opponent, like in Stages 1 and 4, but the opponent is metal, as if he or she grabbed a Metal Box. The battle is held on the Battlefield stage.
Stage 11	The player has to fight Master Hand on the Final Destination stage. Unlike the player, the Master Hand has hit points instead of percentage of damage. The number of hit points varies between the difficulty settings, anywhere from 150 to 360. Additionally, when the player is fighting on the normal or a higher difficulty setting and has finished the other stages of the Classic Mode without using any Continues, Crazy Hand will appear when Master Hand's HP hits its half. Then the player has to fight both hands at the same time. Crazy Hand starts with the same number of HP as Master Hand did.

The players' scores are saved after every stage. They get awarded points for the time remaining when a battle ends, as well as for the damage they dealt. They also get Bonus Points, just as in the Bonus mode. In the Bonus Stages, the players get points for how many targets they hit, or how far they made it in Race to the Finish!. Special Bonus points are awarded in the end for hitting all targets in the Break the Targets! stage, collecting all trophies in the Collect the Trophies! stage, beating Crazy Hand, beating the mode on the Very Hard setting, or beating the mode without losing a life. The scores are saved separately for each character, and there is also a total score for all characters combined.

Adventure mode

The Mushroom Kingdom stage intro.

The Adventure Mode is a mode taking place in most of the worlds of the games featured in Super Smash Bros. Melee. It features some special side-scrolling stages only available in adventure mode. As in the Classic Mode, the player chooses the difficulty (very easy - easy - normal - hard - very hard) and the number of lives (1 - 5) they will have for the whole mode.

When the player runs out of stock lives during the mode's progress, they can use a continue to gain all lives again at the cost of some coins, but a penalty is received (it is Continuation, which subtracts 20,000 from the player's current score). Coins are won in any regular battle by performing Smash Attacks, or in the Bonus Stages of the Classic Mode. They can also be used to pay for the Continue in the Classic and All-Star mode and in the Trophy Lottery mode.

Adventure Mode
Stage 1: Mushroom Kingdom
Part 1	This side-scrolling level is completely influenced by the Mushroom Kingdom's appearance in Mario games. It features classical Mario enemies, namely Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and Koopa Paratroopas, as well as Warp Pipes and Brick Blocks. Toads and golf courses are seen in the background. Near the end of the stage, players have to battle 10 Yoshis, three at a time.
Part 2	When players have completed the side-scrolling stage, they get to Princess Peach's Castle. There, they have to fight Mario and Peach, who are in a team. If players have completed the first part of the Mushroom Kingdom stage with a 2 in the seconds place (XX:X2:XX) on their time counter, Luigi will kick Mario off the castle before the battle begins. Then, players have to fight Luigi and Peach instead. When players complete the rest of the Adventure Mode, they can unlock Luigi in the end.
Stage 2: Kongo Jungle
Part 1	In the first part of the DK stage, players have to fight two mini-versions of Donkey Kong at the same time. The battle is in the Kongo Jungle stage.
Part 2	After defeating the mini DKs, players will fight Giant DK in the Jungle Japes stage.
Stage 3: Underground Maze
Part 1	This side-scrolling level takes place in the Underground Maze. Players have to fight ReDeads, Like-Likes, and Octoroks, which are from the Legend of Zelda series. There are six special places in the dungeon. One is containing the finish, the Triforce. In the other five places with the Master Sword in the room, Link will appear and battle players. He has a different color each time. A reward is received if players manages to defeat all five Links (which is Link Master, which gives 30000 points).
Part 2	When players have completed the Dungeon, they will be at Hyrule Temple, where Princess Zelda is fought.
Stage 4: Brinstar
Part 1	In the first part of the stage, players have to fight Samus in Brinstar. When Samus is defeated, a self-destruction mechanism is activated.
Part 2	Players then get to a small vertically-scrolling level, where they have to jump to the top platform to evacuate the exploding planet. When they fail to do it in time, one life is lost, but gets to continue on.
Stage 5: Green Greens
Part 1	Players have to fight a single Kirby in the Green Greens stage.
Part 2	When Kirby is defeated, a team of 18 Kirbys, all having copied abilities from other characters, will fight. Players have to fight the 18 Kirbys, with three of them appearing at a time.
Part 3	If players have defeated the Kirby team within 30 seconds, Giant Kirby will appear and also fight. Defeating Giant Kirby gives players the bonus Giant Kirby KO, which gives 10000 points.
Stage 6: Corneria
Part 1	Players have to fight Fox on the Corneria stage. In this battle, no Arwings can be seen, and Fox just avoids the player and attacks sometimes.
Part 2	After Fox is defeated, there is a small cutscene with Arwings coming and Peppy, Slippy, and Falco will announce they will help Fox. Players will then fight Fox, but this time, Arwings will appear very often and shoot mostly at them. If Falco is unlocked, he may occasionally replace Fox for this match. Players will know this if Fox appears in the cutscene instead of Falco. Fox or Falco appears with a red palette swap, but if the player uses the red palette swap of either Fox or Falco, the CPU uses the regular palette costume of the characters and vice versa.
Stage 7: Pokémon Stadium
Players have to fight a team of 12 Pokémon at the Pokémon Stadium. The team mainly consists of Pikachus. When they are unlocked, Jigglypuffs and Pichus may also be seen. Additionally, the only item in this battle is the Poké Ball.
Stage 8: F-Zero Grand Prix
Part 1	The stage begins with yet another special side-scrolling level. It is a part of the track of a GP race. Players have to complete it by foot. Occasionally, the F-Zero drivers will pass them. Players have to avoid the racers on one of the platforms hovering above the track or an area where the racers are flying over them.
Part 2	After completing the race, players have to fight Captain Falcon at Mute City.
Stage 9: Onett
Players have to fight three Nesses at the Onett stage. The only item found here is Mr. Saturn, making this stage an easy way to get the many Mr. Saturn-related bonuses (such as Saturn Ringer).
Stage 10: Icicle Mountain
Icicle Mountain is a scrolling stage, similar to the regular version. In the beginning, players have to reach a certain height of the level. On the way are a lot of Topis, Polar Bears, and Freezies. If almost a minute on the timer has expired, two pairs of Ice Climbers will appear, while the enemies and any possible trophies will disappear.
Stage 11: Battlefield
Part 1	Players have to fight 20 Fighting Wire Frames; five at a time. The gravity is very weak during this match.
Part 2	When players have defeated the Wire Frames, they get to fight Metal Mario. If Luigi is unlocked, they have to fight Metal Luigi at the same time as well. Defeating the Metal Bros. will award players with 8000 points.
Stage 12: Final Destination
Part 1	Players have to fight Giant Bowser on the Final Destination stage. On the Very Easy and Easy skill levels, by default, Giant Bowser will be green (or red if the player is already playing as Green Bowser). However, if the difficulty is set to Normal or higher, Giant Bowser, by default, will use his black palette swap instead (back to green if the player is Black Bowser).
Part 2	If players play on a difficulty setting of Normal or higher, while completing the past stages of the Adventure Mode in less than 18 minutes without using a continue and defeating Bowser in less than one minute, they will have to fight Giga Bowser as well. Unlike with Crazy Hand, players can use a continue against Giga Bowser and still be able to fight him again. Players earn 100000 points for KOing Giga Bowser, and receive the Giga Bowser trophy as well.

Players' scores are saved after every stage. They get awarded points for the time remaining when a battle ends, as well as for the damage they have dealt. Bonus Points can also be received, just as in the Bonus mode. Special Bonus points are awarded for collecting a trophy that randomly appears on a stage, defeating Luigi, all five Links, Giant Kirby, the Metal Bros., or Giga Bowser; beating the mode on Very Hard, beating the mode without losing a life, etc. The scores are saved separately for each character. There is also a total score for all characters combined. Also, the hardest difficulty the character has played is viewed on the character select screen, represented by the color of the smash logo next to the point count.

All-Star mode

The rest area.

The All-Star mode can be unlocked by unlocking all secret characters. Unlike other modes, players only has one life for the whole mode, and their percentage of damage is not set back after a battle. However, players can use up to three Heart Containers to restore their health. For setup, they choose the difficulty setting (very easy - easy - normal - hard - very hard). Unlike the other game modes, this one doesn't have a time limit.

In the All-Star mode, players have to fight all 25 characters of the game. All battles are in the stock system, with each combatant having one life. When players get defeated in a battle, they can use a continue to continue playing, but they lose half of their points for that, and will have to pay coins. Those coins are won in any regular battle by performing Smash Attacks, or in the Bonus Stages of the Classic Mode. They can also be used to pay for the Continue in the Classic and Adventure mode and in the Trophy Lottery mode.

In the first four rounds, the players will fight a single opponent in their home stage. In rounds five to eight, the players have to fight two opponents at a time, and in rounds nine to twelve, three opponents. In the 13th round, the players have to fight 25 Mr. Game & Watches in the Flat Zone, five at a time. After each battle, the players return to a stage in-between, with their remaining Heart Containers, showing which characters they have already beaten, and which ones they will fight in the next battle. Occasionally, a trophy can be collected here.

The players' scores are saved after every stage. They get awarded points for the damage they dealt. Players also gets Bonus Points, just as in the Bonus mode. Special Bonus points are awarded for not taking any of the Heart Containers, beating the mode on the Very Hard setting, or beating the mode without losing a life. The scores are saved separately for each character, and there is also a total score for all characters combined.

The stage that is used is depended on what character plays as player 2. The stages would go as follows...

P2 Character	Stage
Mario	Rainbow Cruise
Donkey Kong	Kongo Jungle
Link	Great Bay
Samus	Brinstar
Yoshi	Yoshi's Story
Kirby	Green Greens
Fox McCloud	Corneria
Pikachu	Pokémon Stadium
Ness	Onett
Captain Falcon	Mute City
Bowser	Yoshi's Island
Princess Peach	Princess Peach's Castle
Ice Climbers	Icicle Mountain
Zelda	Temple
Luigi	Mushroom Kingdom
Jigglypuff	Poké Floats
Mewtwo	Battlefield
Marth	Fountain of Dreams
Mr. Game & Watch	Flat Zone
Dr. Mario	Mushroom Kingdom 2
Ganondorf	Brinstar Depths
Falco	Venom
Young Link	Jungle Japes
Pichu	Fourside
Roy	Final Destination

Event match

Event matches are specially designed missions. They have a certain goal to be achieved. All the player can choose is his character, though even that is pre-defined sometimes. Event matches can break the rules of a normal battle in Super Smash Bros. Melee. The following table provides a rules summary of each of the 51 event matches.

Note: Recovery items do not appear at all during Event Matches.

Event matches
#	Name	Character	Stage	Description
1	Trouble King	Mario	Battlefield	The player has to fight Bowser in a simple stock match, each starting with two lives. Bowser's handicap is set to a weak level, making it easy for the player to KO him quickly.
2	Lord of the Jungle	Giant DK	Kongo Jungle	The player has to fight a Tiny DK in a stock match of two lives each. Despite the size disadvantage, Tiny DK can't be KO'd very quickly.
3	Bomb-fest	Selectable	Princess Peach's Castle	The player has to fight Link and Samus in a stock match of one life each. Link and Samus only use their bomb attacks. The only items appearing are Bob-ombs, Motion Sensor Bombs, and Poké Balls containing Electrodes. Upon winning the event match, the player obtains a trophy of the Motion Sensor Bomb.
4	Dino-wrangling	Selectable	Yoshi's Story	The player has to fight Super Giant Yoshi in a stock match; the player starts with three lives and the Giant Yoshi starts with a single one. Despite the size advantage, Yoshi's attacks don't easily KO the player.
5	Spare Change	Ness	Onett	The player has to obtain 200 smash coins while fighting Captain Falcon. Captain Falcon's coins do not matter, but the player fails if they are KO'd.
6	Kirbys on Parade	Selectable	Fountain of Dreams	The player has to fight 3 tiny Kirbys, each having two lives. One Kirby attacks, while the others only run away.
7	Pokémon Battle	Selectable	Pokémon Stadium	The player has to fight Pikachu in a stock battle with each having two lives. However, regular attacks do not damage the opponent. The only way of doing so is using Poké Balls, the only items appearing in this Event Match.
8	Hot Date on Brinstar	Selectable	Brinstar	The player has to fight Samus in a stock match with each having two lives. The player's character enters battle with 102% of damage, while Samus enters it with 130%.
9	Hide 'n' Sheik	Selectable	Great Bay	The player has to fight two Zeldas, each having a single life. However, if Zelda is in her Zelda form, she will respawn when KO'd. The player has to KO her in her Sheik form in order to defeat her.
10	All-Star Match 1	Selectable	Yoshi's Island, Jungle Japes, Yoshi's Story, Peach's Castle, Rainbow Cruise	The player, starting with two lives, has to fight Mario, DK, Yoshi, Peach, and Bowser in a row, battling each in a different stage.
11	King of the Mountain	Selectable	Icicle Mountain	The player has to fight two pairs of Ice Climbers. All that the player has to do is survive the battle for one minute.
12	Seconds, Anyone?	Selectable	Mute City	The player has to KO Captain Falcon in the short time limit of seven seconds. Both he and the player start with 100% damage.
13	Yoshi's Egg	Yoshi	Rainbow Cruise	The player has to protect the Yoshi Egg, a special item that can take damage, from the opponent's Pikachu, Fox, and DK for a time of 55 seconds.
14	Trophy Tussle 1	Selectable	Goomba Trophy	The player has to fight in a 3-minute match against three randomly chosen opponents, with each combatant having two lives. Upon winning the event match, the player obtains the Goomba trophy.
15	Girl Power	Selectable	Fountain of Dreams	The player has to fight Peach, Zelda, and Samus, who are all bigger than the player's own character, with each having two lives.
16	Kirby's Air-raid	Kirby	Corneria	The player has to KO 10 Kirbys in 38 seconds. The only way to damage them is using the Warp Stars appearing from time to time.
17	Bounty Hunters	Samus	Jungle Japes	The player has to KO Bowser before Captain Falcon does the same. However, it is impossible for the player to damage Captain Falcon. If Bowser SDs himself, the player will also fail this Event Match. If Captain Falcon SDs himself, it will not affect the Event Match in any way.
18	Link's Adventure	Link	Temple	The player has to fight Dark Link in a stock match with each having two lives.
19	Peach's Peril	Mario	Final Destination	The player has to protect Peach from Bowser for one minute. When Bowser is defeated, he will respawn instantly. Peach is handicapped so that it's harder for Bowser to KO her. However, the player's handicap is unaffected.
20	All-Star Match 2	Selectable	Brinstar, Great Bay, Temple, Mute City, Corneria	The player, starting with two lives, has to fight Samus, Link, Zelda, Captain Falcon, and Fox in a row, battling each in a different stage.
21	Ice Breaker	Selectable	Princess Peach's Castle	The player has to fight two pairs of Ice Climbers. The goal is to defeat both Nanas. If a Popo is defeated, the Event Match is failed.
22	Super Mario 128	Selectable	Mushroom Kingdom II	The player has to fight 128 tiny Marios. Five appear on the stage at a time.
23	Slippy's Invention	Selectable	Venom	The player has to fight Fox and Falco, each having two lives, while they are invisible.
24	The Yoshi Herd	Selectable	Yoshi's Island	The player has to defeat 30 Yoshis in 2 minutes. The last Yoshi is a Giant Yoshi.
25	Gargantuans	Giant Bowser	Fourside	The player has to fight Giant DK, however, the player has one life, while DK has two. Additionally, a tiny Mario and tiny Peach will appear on the stage (both having only 1 life). However, they are usually defeated by Giant DK seconds after the Event Match begins. KOing tiny Mario and tiny Peach is optional.
26	Trophy Tussle 2	Selectable	Entei Trophy	The player has to fight in a 3-minute match against three randomly chosen opponents, each combatant having two lives. One of the CPU opponents tends to stay on the left side of the battlefield. Upon winning the event match, the player obtains the Entei trophy.
27	Cold Armor	Samus	Brinstar Depths	The player has to fight three Metal Samuses, with the player only having one life, while the opponents have two lives.
28	Puffballs Unite!	Selectable	Green Greens	The player has to defeat 14 Kirbys, each having a different copied character ability. There is a time limit of two minutes.
29	Triforce Gathering	Link	Temple	The player has to fight Ganondorf, and is helped by Zelda. The player and Zelda have one life, Ganondorf has two. If Zelda is defeated, the Event Match is failed. After winning the event match, the player can unlock Ganondorf as a playable character upon beating him in a one-on-one match.
30	All-Star Match 3	Selectable	Fountain of Dreams, Pokémon Stadium, Onett, Icicle Mountain	The player, starting with two lives, has to fight Kirby, Pikachu, Ness, and the Ice Climbers in a row, battling each in a different stage.
31	Mario Bros. Madness	Selectable	Mushroom Kingdom	The player has to fight Mario and Luigi in a regular time match. They must earn more points than the other two in a time of two minutes. This Event Match is actually a "Bonus" match; the player with the most bonus points wins.
32	Target Acquired	Falco	Corneria	The player has one minute to KO Jigglypuff as often as possible. The player has to defeat it more often than the Arwings. Jigglypuff starts and reappears each time with 70% damage.
33	Lethal Marathon	Captain Falcon	F-Zero Grand Prix (from Adventure mode)	The player has to reach the finish of the stage in a time of 45 seconds. However, the speed of the game is 2x faster than normal, making it difficult to control, and the player is usually KO'd instantly when touching the F-Zero racers.
34	Seven Years	Young Link	Great Bay	The player has to fight Link in a stock match with each having three lives.
35	Time for a Checkup	Luigi	Yoshi's Story	The player has to defeat Dr. Mario and Peach, who are in a team, with each having a single life. There is a 2 minute time limit.
36	Space Travelers	Ness	Fourside, Battlefield	The player, starting with a single life, has to defeat Samus, Kirby, Fox, Captain Falcon, and Falco in a row. The first three are fought on Fourside, the other two on the Battlefield stage. Each character gets progressively harder, in terms of the CPU level.
37	Legendary Pokémon	Selectable	Battlefield	The player, with one life, has to defeat four giant Fighting Wire Frames, as well as Jigglypuff, who all have two lives. The only item that appears is the Poké Ball, which will either contain a Legendary Pokémon or a Wobbuffet. Only Jigglypuff will go after the Poké Balls, while the Fighting Wire Frames will always chase after the player. Upon winning the event match, the player gets the opportunity to unlock Pichu as a playable character by taking Pichu on in a one-on-one stock match.
38	Super Mario Bros. 2	Selectable	Mushroom Kingdom II	The player has to fight Mario, Luigi, and Peach in a stock battle, with each having two lives.
39	Jigglypuff Live!	Jigglypuff	Pokémon Stadium	The player has to fight three Jigglypuffs, with each combatant having three lives.
40	All-Star Match 4	Selectable	Temple, Mushroom Kingdom II, Poké Floats, Final Destination, Flat Zone	The player, starting with two lives, has to fight Marth, Luigi, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, and Mr. Game & Watch in a row, battling each in a different stage.
41	En Garde!	Marth	Temple	The player has to fight Link in a stock match with each having two lives.
42	Trouble King 2	Luigi	Poké Floats	The player has to fight a mega-sized Bowser in a stock match, with each having two lives. Bowser is given a huge handicap, which allows him to KO the player very easily.
43	Birds of Prey	Fox	Big Blue	The player has to fight Captain Falcon and Falco, who are in a team, in a stock match, with each combatant having two lives.
44	Mewtwo Strikes!	Selectable	Battlefield	The player has to fight Zelda in a stock battle. After a time of 15 seconds, Mewtwo appears and fights on Zelda's side. The player's goal is to KO Mewtwo. KOing Zelda will lead to a failure.
45	Game & Watch Forever!	Mr. Game & Watch	Flat Zone	The player, starting with three lives, has to fight 25 Mr. Game & Watches. Three of them are on the stage at a time. Upon winning the event match, the player obtains the Game & Watch trophy.
46	Fire Emblem Pride	Selectable	Temple	The player has to fight Marth and Roy, who are in a team, in a stock match, with each combatant having three lives.
47	Trophy Tussle 3	Selectable	Majora's Mask Trophy	The player has to fight in a 3-minute match against three randomly chosen opponents, each combatant having two lives. Unlockable characters will occasionally pop up. Upon winning the event match, the player obtains the Majora's Mask trophy.
48	Pikachu and Pichu	Selectable	Dream Land (Past Stage)	The player, starting with two lives, has to defeat the two Pichus. They are defended by a Pikachu which respawns when defeated. The Pichus are handicapped so that they're difficult to KO.
49	All-Star Match Deluxe	Selectable	Mushroom Kingdom, Venom, Pokémon Stadium, Great Bay, Temple, Final Destination	The player, starting with two lives, has to fight Dr. Mario, Falco, Pichu, Young Link, Roy, and Ganondorf in a row, battling each in a different stage.
50	Final Destination Match	Selectable	Final Destination	The player, having a single life, has to battle Master Hand and Crazy Hand at the same time, each having 300 HP. No items will appear.
51	The Showdown	Selectable	Final Destination	The player has to fight Giga Bowser, Ganondorf, and Mewtwo in a stock match, with each combatant having three lives. Giga Bowser is easier to KO in this match, compared to in Adventure Mode. Upon winning the event match, the player unlocks Final Destination as a selectable stage for the VS mode, as well as the Final Destination trophy. A message is also awarded if the player clears this Event Match without losing any lives.

To unlock more event matches, the player has to win a certain number of the previous ones, and unlock additional characters.

Events #	Unlocked By
11 - 15	Winning at least 6 of the event matches #1 - 10
16 - 20	Winning at least 10 of the event matches #1 - 15
21 - 25	Winning at least 16 of the event matches #1 - 20
26 - 29	Winning at least 22 of the event matches #1 - 25
30	Winning at least 27 of the event matches #1 - 29
31 - 39	Complete 27 out of the 30 events and unlock Jigglypuff, Luigi, Dr. Mario, Young Link, and Falco Lombardi.
40 - 50	Complete the first 39 events and unlock all the rest of unlockable characters (including: Marth, Roy, Ganondorf, Pichu, Mewtwo, and Mr. Game and Watch).
51	Winning all event matches #1 - 50

By playing in event matches, the player's record for each event is saved. Most events are stock matches, and in those the time the player needs to clear the event is saved as a record. For the few events in the Time setting, e. g. Event #31: Mario Bros. Madness and #32: Target Acquired, the number of KOs the player achieves is stored instead.

Stadium

In the Stadium, special minigames are available. Each minigame opens the way to unlock one of the Past Stages from the original Super Smash Bros.

• Target Test: Here the player can play the Break the Targets! test, as it appears in Classic mode, separately. There is no time limit in this mode, as compared to the one in Classic mode.
• Home-Run Contest: The goal of the Home-Run Contest is to throw the Sandbag as far as possible. The player gets a Home-Run Bat to do this. The player has ten seconds to damage the Sandbag before hitting it, so that it will fly farther away.
• Multi-Man Melee: In this special mode the goal is to fight Fighting Wire Frames.
• 10-Man Melee: The player has to KO 10 Wire Frames in the fastest time possible.
• 100-Man Melee: The player has to KO 100 Wire Frames in the fastest time possible. When winning, the player can unlock Falco Lombardi.
• 3-Minute Melee: The player has 3 minutes to KO as many Wire Frames as possible.
• 15-Minute Melee: The player has 15 minutes to KO as many Wire Frames as possible. When winning, the player can unlock the Past Kongo Jungle stage.
• Endless Melee: The player has an unlimited amount of time to KO as many Wire Frames as possible.
• Cruel Melee: As in Endless Melee, there is an unlimited amount of time. However, there are no items, the Wire Frames are harder to KO, and the player can get KO'd real easily at low damage percentages.

Training mode

The player can practice here. There are no rules such as Stock or Time, and the opponent can be controlled either by the Training menu, and set to actions such as walking and standing, or by a human player. Items can be created to practice with them specially. When the player performs standard combos here, the maximun number of combos is saved for each playable character, and the player can unlock several Trophies when getting a high number of them.

VS mode

Melee

Mario in midjump.

Melee mode allows players to set up the battles entirely for themselves. They can freely choose their characters, the stage, and have a variety of modes to play in. When using names, records are saved for the Melee mode which can be viewed in the Data menu. Up to four players can join the fight, either human or CPU-controlled players. It is possible to only let CPU players fight against each other.

Players choose their characters from the selection screen, and human players can set names for their characters to be displayed above the characters' heads during battle, and also recognizing the battle for their individual Melee Records rating. Multiple players can choose the same character to play as, and the characters then come in alternate outfits for each player. Each character has at least three alternate outfits for the team color red, blue, and green, but there can be up to six different costumes. Some costumes feature gimmicks; for example, one of Peach's costumes looks like Daisy, and Mario has an outfit in Wario's colors. When the same characters are on a team, they appear in different shadings.

The CPU levels range from 1 to 9, with 9 being the most advanced AI. An optional handicap mode also ranges from 1 to 9. The handicap determines how fast a character is knocked out by other fighters, items, and the stage environment. When characters have a high handicap, they are more resistant to stage hazards, and can easily KO opponents with lower handicaps. Whereas, for the low handicapped characters, they can be sent flying (even get KO'd) pretty easily by stage hazards, and will have a very hard time KOing higher handicapped players. If the handicap is set to "Auto", all players will start with a handicap of 5. With the "Auto" handicap setting, the winner of the next match will get their handicap lowered, while the loser will get their handicap heightened. On a side note, unlike in Super Smash Bros., CPU players can have their handicaps adjusted in this game.

File:Ssbcamerac1.jpg

The character selection screen in the camera mode (see Special Melee).

In the optional team battle mode, players can set up to three teams. The characters in the team work together and win or lose the match together. In Coin, Bonus, and Time mode, the points of each team are added and compared. In Stock mode, after a player of the team has been defeated, they can press to rejoin the battle, but takes away a life from one of their teammates. Optionally, the Friendly Fire option can be set, which makes it possible for teammates to (accidentally) hurt each other with their attacks.

The battle mode can be set to Time, Stock, Coin, and Bonus. For Time, Coin, and Bonus, the time limit can be set, and is 2 minutes by default. It can range from 1 minute to 99 minutes, or no time limit at all. The default Stock level is 3, the maximum number of lives is 99. Optionally, a time limit can be set for the Stock mode too. After it has run out, the player with the most lives remaining wins. For the Time mode, it can be determined how many points a player loses when doing a self-destruct. It can either be 1 (default), 2, or 0 points.

A special score display can be unlocked by reaching a total of 5000 KOs in VS mode. It displays the players' current score in Time Mode during the battle, which they would only know after the battle's end otherwise. Another optional setting is the Damage ratio, ranging from 0.5 to 2, default being 1. The higher it is, the faster do all players fly from the screen when hit by stage hazards or other fighters. Lastly, it can be decided whether players are allowed to pause the battle by hitting Start. Turning this off also prevents players from resetting the battle while it is paused by pressing +++.

On the Item Switch, the player can turn off specific items, change the chance of items appearing, or turn off items entirely. It can also be set which player is to select a stage for the next battle. By default, everyone can move the cursor and select a stage. It is also possible to allow only the loser of the last match to select, or to let the players select stages in turns, or to make the stage selected by the computer, either in a set order, or completely at random. When players have unlocked all the stages, except for the Past Stages, they can alter the random stage selection to exclude certain stages from the random routine.

After all preferences have been set, the players get onto the stage selection screen, which once again allows players to choose a random stage to play on. When all competing human players hold + when a stage is selected, the stage's alternate music track will play during battle, if it is available. When players are playing as Zelda and hold after a stage has been selected, they will start the battle as Sheik.

As the battle ends, the players get to the battle results screen, where they can view their KO scores, a list of their bonus points, and special statistics about their movements. These lists are available in all the VS Game Modes, except for Camera Mode and Stamina Mode.

Tournament mode

Tournament: In this mode, played as a single-elimination tournament, the winner of a battle passes on to the next round CPU-only matches can be skipped. The number of combatants per battle ranges from 2 to 4. The number of entrants is selected and can be up to 64. It is selected how many humans are among the competing players. The stage selection mode is selected; "Single Random" chooses a stage at random on that every match of the tournament is played, "Always Different" chooses a new random stage for each battle, "Choose First" lets the player select the stage for the tournament in the beginning and "Choose All" lets the player choose a new stage for each match of the tournament. The level of additional computer opponents can be set from 1 to 9, applied to all, or to a random value applied to each CPU player. The rules settings for the battles have the same choices as the VS mode. Each player chooses their character and the tournament begins.

Winner out/Loser out: This mode is for human players only. A number of players fight against each other. The winner or the loser of the match, depending on the setting, gives his controller to the next player waiting for his turn to come. This continues endlessly, until the mode is cancelled. Players are free to change their characters while the tournament is ongoing. When they hold down and , their character image changes to a Ditto, the placeholder for a random character. Here, too, the number of combatants per battle ranges from 2 to 4, and the number of entrants can be up to 64. The stage selection mode has the same options as in the regular tournament.

Special Melee

This mode offers a couple of different rules settings for the Melee mode. Any records (such as amount of KOs) are not counted.

Special Melee modes
Name	Description
Camera Mode	In this mode, the players can take screenshots. These screenshots are saved on the memory card. The number of blocks a screenshot takes is defined by how many objects are visible on it.
Stamina Mode	As it is seen at the Master Hand in Classic mode, players have 150 HP instead of percentage of damage. The player gets KO'd if their HP hits 0. The amount of HP the players start with, however, cannot be changed.
Super Sudden Death	All players start with 300% damage. This will cause them to be knocked out almost instantly when hit by a strong attack.
Giant Melee	All players are giant, as if they had taken Super Mushrooms. Handicaps don't work properly for this game mode.
Tiny Melee	All players are tiny, as if they had taken Poison Mushrooms. Handicaps don't work properly for this game mode.
Invisible Melee	All players are invisible, as if they had Cloaking Devices.
Fixed Camera Mode	The camera is zoomed out as far as possible, showing the whole stage, and does not move during the battle.
Single-Button Mode	Only the and the button work in this mode, allowing only basic attacks. This mode is designed for beginners, but it renders the and buttons useless. The can still be used.
Lightning Melee	In this mode, the game plays a lot faster, making it hard for players to execute and react on attacks.
Slo-Mo Melee	The opposite of Lightning Melee. The game is a lot slower, making it easier to execute and react on attacks.

Trophies

Main article: Trophy (Super Smash Bros. series)

Viewing a trophy.

Trophies can be collected in single-player mode, won in the special lottery mode, or acquired on special events, such as playing a certain number of matches in VS mode. There are 290 trophies in the game (293 in the Japanese version), with a large percentage being Mario series characters, items, and locations. Each of the playable characters have three trophies. One explains the character's backstory in the game he or she originated from, and is collected by completing Classic mode. The other two explain their Super Smash Bros. Melee background. They can be collected by completing the Adventure and All-Star mode with them.

Unlockable features

When unlocking any of the secret characters, the player first has to beat them in a stock battle with one life each. When the player loses, several characters will appear again after the player has played the next VS match. Other characters require the player to achieve the task again. In addition to their special method of unlocking, all characters can alternately be unlocked by playing a certain number of matches in the VS mode.

Character	First unlock method	# of VS matches
Jigglypuff	Completing the Classic Mode with any character.	50
Dr. Mario	Completing the Classic Mode with Mario.	100
Pichu	Beating Event Match #37	200
Falco	Completing the 100-Man Melee.	300
Marth	Completing the Classic Mode with all default characters or playing as every default character in Vs. Mode.	400
Young Link	Completing the Classic Mode with 10 different characters.	500
Ganondorf	Completing Event Match #29.	600
Mewtwo	Playing in the VS mode for 20 hours with one controller, 10 hours with two controllers, 6 hours with three controllers or 4 hours with four controllers.	700
Luigi	Finishing the first stage of the Adventure Mode with a XX:X2:XX on the countdown timer, then defeating Luigi in the battle on Princess Peach's Castle, and fighting Luigi at the end of the Adventure Mode again.	800
Roy	Completing the Classic Mode with Marth.	900
Mr. Game & Watch	Completing the Classic Mode, Adventure, or Break the Targets with all other 24 characters.	1000

There is only one method to unlock the stages, and the player does not have to unlock them by an additional battle like the characters.

Stage	How to unlock
Battefield	Beating the All-Star mode.
Brinstar Depths	Playing 50 VS matches.
Fourside	Playing 100 VS matches.
Big Blue	Playing 150 VS matches.
Poké Floats	Playing 200 VS matches.
Dream Land	Beating the Target Test with all 25 characters.
Final Destination	Beating Event Match #51.
Flat Zone	Beating the Classic Mode with Mr. Game & Watch.
Kongo Jungle	Beating the 15-Minute Melee.
Mushroom Kingdom II	Getting the Birdo or Pidgit Trophies.
Yoshi's Island	Getting the Sandbag over the 400 meter/1,325 feet mark at the Homerun Contest.

Soundtrack

Each stage has a track from the game it is from, and some stages also have alternate music tracks which are not necessarily from the game the stage is from. The alternate music is heard more rarely than the regular one. However, the player can force the game to play a stage's alternate music by holding or when selecting a stage on the stage selection screen. If more than one player is playing, however, every player has to do this action to get the alternate music.

When all stages are unlocked, the player gains access to the Sound Test, where the player can play all music tracks and voices from the game, and might occasionally hear an alternate music track in the menu. Also, if the player uses sound test and then opens the trophy gallery, whichever song was played last in sound test is played in the trophy gallery. However, the music has to loop, or else it won't be played in the trophy gallery.

An orchestrated version of the game's soundtrack was released as a special CD known as Super Smash Bros. Melee: Smashing...Live!.

Critical reception

Super Smash Bros. Melee received very positive reviews from most critics. The game came in sixth for two GameFAQs events: the Best...Game...Ever contest and as a poll for the 100 best games ever. Nintendo Power named Super Smash Bros. Melee the 16th best game ever to appear on a Nintendo console, and "Game of the Year" in 2001. IGN gave Super Smash Bros. Melee a rating of 9.6 out of 10, and ranked it as the 3rd best Nintendo GameCube game, out of all GameCube games released to date. Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game a 9.5 out of 10, and it was ranked 92nd on the Electronic Gaming Monthly's "Top 200 Games of Their Time" list. In fact, it was ranked as the 3rd best Video Game of all time during the 2001 Penny Arcade Award Ceremony.

It was praised for its increased number of modes and characters, as well as improved graphics. The inclusion of the Adventure Mode and Event Match was highly complimented. Overall, the game's critical reception was very positive, and the game still continues to be a gamer favorite, being frequently played at tournaments alongside more traditional fighting games such as Street Fighter.

Super Smash Bros. Melee is the best selling game for the Nintendo GameCube, selling about 7.09 million copies worldwide, as of December 31, 2009.

Staff

Main article: List of Super Smash Bros. Melee staff

Voice actors

Character(s)	Voice Actor
Mario, Luigi, Dr. Mario	Charles Martinet
Princess Peach	Jen Taylor
Link	Nobuyuki Hiyama
Kirby, Ness	Makiko Ohmoto
Yoshi	Kazumi Totaka
Fox McCloud	Shinobu Satouchi
Fox McCloud (cutscene)	Steve Malpass
Pikachu	Ikue Ohtani
Captain Falcon	Ryo Horikawa
Jigglypuff	Rachael Lillis
Purin	Mika Kanai
Ganondorf	Takashi Nagasako
Popo, Nana	Sanae Kobayashi
Zelda, Sheik	Jun Mizusawa
Young Link	Fujiko Takimoto
Falco Lombardi	Hisao Egawa
Falco Lombardi (cutscene)	Ben Cullum
Pichu	Satomi Koorogi
Mewtwo	Masachika Ichimura
Marth	Hikaru Midorikawa
Roy	Jun Fukuyama
Announcer, Master Hand, Crazy Hand	Dean Harrington

Pre-release and unused content elements

Main article: List of Super Smash Bros. Melee pre-release and unused content

Through the use of an Action Replay, many unused/unfinished stages can be found. The first is a large, gray stage with the background appearing to be some kind of pub. The music is the same as used on Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi's stage Corneria. This is assumed to be a test stage because of its name, which on the debug menu is TEST. There are three other stages, "AKANEIA" (a possible predecessor to Castle Siege from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a home world for Fire Emblem) "10-2", and "Dummy", which all crash the game when loaded. The last stage, named IceTop which simply loads Icicle Mountain except without music.

Glitches

Main article: List of Super Smash Bros. Melee glitches

Template:Conjecturaltext

Pick the Ice Climbers, and while wall walking up to the opponent, make the partner (Nana if the player is Popo and vice versa) grab the opponent, then, right as they have the player enemy grabbed have their main Ice Climber do Down+B. The opponent should now be frozen in place. Simply use a Screw Attack item to get them unfrozen. This doesn't seem to cause any damage to the disc.

Template:Conjecturaltext

There is an in-game glitch to get an infinite super scope that will never run out of bullets. It is obtained by shooting fifteen small shots then two charged shots and during charging of the third shot the player must get hit, that will result in an infinite super scope. If the player throws the scope, it will then disappear. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my0elth6ORc

Gallery

• 

  Mario

• Castle.jpg

  Princess Peach's Castle

• 

  The game's logo.

• 

  The title screen to the game.

• 

  The Japanese game's logo.

Trivia

• In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, one of the names that appears when the players press the "Random Name" button when naming their custom stage is Melee, a reference to this game.
• In the debug menu, there is a stage named "IceTop", which freezes the game when selected. It is possible that the Summit stage was planned to appear in Super Smash Bros. Melee under that name.
• In Classic Mode, for some unknown reason, the player never fights against Ganondorf or Roy. Ganondorf appears only as a teammate in Classic Mode, while Roy never appears at all as a CPU player. In addition, Zelda is never a teammate for the player in that game mode. Also, the player only fights Mr. Game & Watch in the multi-man battle.
• In the Spanish version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, one of Rawk Hawk's lines is slightly changed to "¡Los aficionadillos deberían quedarse en casa jugando Super Smash Bros. Melee!" (translation: "The weaklings should stay home playing Super Smash Bros. Melee!") after having defeated The Koopinator. In all other versions of the game "Super Smash Bros. Melee" is simply replaced with "video games".
• Super Smash Bros. Melee is the first in its franchise to be rated T, but also the first time that almost any of the series' characters in the game (Fire Emblem is the only exception) have appeared in a T-rated game.