N-Philes

Off the Record, Vol. 2 - Super Smash Bros. Melee

Posted August 8th 2005 by James Ondrey.

Page 2

Switching one of the options from "Master" to "Develop" transforms Melee from the awesome fighting game that we all know and love into a programmer's virtual toolbox. And understandingly, the GameCube's controller functions radically different.

Press "A" and right at the same time and BAM – you've rapidly amplified the game's frame rate to way too fast to play (but fun to watch). Press "Y" and left at the same time and your character will increase in size. Other button combinations allow you to toggle game displays most likely useful for programmers, such as frame rate and x-y-z coordinates.

Some even let you drastically alter the camera's view and one even changes all the characters into nothing more than collision-detecting figurines.

You can also use the Develop mode to drop as many of any item you'd like into a given match. As a bonus, the item list includes enemies seen throughout the Adventure mode, such as Octoroks and Goombas. Tossing these guys into the mix makes for some interesting battle strategies. The Develop mode even allows you choose the exact Pokémon that will pop out of any Pokéball — yep, the infamous Ditto is included.

So what new gameplay aspects does this mode offer? Imagine three of your buddies in a skirmish atop Final Destination. Wouldn't it be fun to randomly morph them into collision bubbles? Your best friend getting mauled? No problem, toss him some health — don't forget about the complimentary hammer. Heck, not just one hammer — toss a truck load of hammers out there until the game starts to lag. Two words: TOTAL PANDEMONIUM.

Seriously though, you're in complete control. You have the power to sway matches. No longer will randomly-generated items at inopportune times decide a match.

Oh yeah, did I mention you have the power to access the debug sound menu as well? Not only can you change the music to whatever you'd like whenever you want, but interestingly enough there are a few hidden melodies that didn't make it into the final release. There are four in total and they all sound pretty cool, but unfortunately they don't last long. They sound similar to each character's victory anthem. Regrettably, none of them last any longer than five seconds. Hmmm.

Where's my multitap?

Did you know that it is very likely that HAL prepared Super Smash Bros. Melee to allow up to SIX human controlled players to battle at once? True or not, indications from the debug menu appear that this is the case.

By altering Melee's code, six players can fight in the same arena at the same time. But get this — all six can be set to humanly controlled characters! Clearly though, because the GameCube has only four controller ports, two of the characters cannot be controlled.

On the bright side, this could allow for creative friends to concoct brilliant challenges. Four human-controlled Links versus two gigantic computer-controlled Ganondorfs, anyone? How about little ol' you against FIVE level nine computers? Up to the task?

The N-Detectives didn't want to stop there. We knew there had to be more. Boy were we right. There's a small series of sub-menus that allows you to customize battles any which way you desire. And by any which way you desire, I mean ANY WHICH WAY YOU DESIRE. And to our amazement, Nintendo left us with a few surprises!

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