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

Posted August 8th 2005 by James Ondrey.

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Customization up the hoo-ha and then some

All the customizable options found in the final release can be found via the debug menu, such as handicap levels and computer difficulty settings. Surprisingly though, even more options are available to modify from the menu. Here is a list of available options NOT included in the final release.

Set Damage: Ranging from 0 to 999%, players can set damage levels for any given character to start the match with.

More Costume Colors: Along with six primary costume colors to choose from, the menu offers an option to alter a character's "sub-color." It's possible you may have already seen one or two of the possible four sub-colors to choose from. The sub-colors are automatically used when two of the same characters happen to be on the same team during a match. The sub-colors tint your character's color ranging from transparent white to completely black. Go ahead and play as Dark Link, you know you want to.

Scale Select: Your friend wants to play the Giant Melee mode, but you want to play the Tiny Melee mode? What do you do? Well now you can play both at the same time. This option allows you set each character's size before the match begins. The size ranges from unbelievably small (smaller than in Tiny Melee) to ridiculously enormous (characters will take up over half the screen). The right combinations can make for some visually amusing battles.

Offense Ratio: Much like setting the damage ratio in the final release, this option works just the opposite by increasing or decreasing the proportion of damage dealt from attacks.

Set AI Strategy: Those familiar with Training Mode will remember that the computer's strategy can be set to different intelligences, like "walk" or "stand." But the guys at HAL didn't give us all the AI choices they had been working on. Much like Perfect Dark's customizable sims, Melee has several intelligences to choose from as well — 18 total, to be exact. Some we already know, others are brand new. Here's a list of all intelligences along with our best hypothesis as to which each one does (italics indicate computer intelligence already available in final release via Training Mode):

AIR - Computer can't and won't jump high.

COOPERATE - Computer seeks you out and attacks.

DEFENSIVE - Computer focuses on defense.

ESCAPE [evade] - The computer runs away from all players.

EVZELDA - Unknown. Believed to be an intelligence derived from an event match.

FREAK - Computer stays put, but attacks when approached.

ITEM - Computer pounces on items when they appear.

JUMP - Computer jumps often.

MANUAL [human] - Human-controlled computer.

NANA - Unknown. Believed to be used to test AI for a solo Ice Climber.

NOACT - Computer does nothing.

NORMAL - Computer acts normal.

ONLYITEM - Computer attacks only with items.

SPLWLINK - Computer Link uses Down + B attack (intelligence derived from an event match)

SPLWSAMUS - Computer Samus uses Down + B attack (intelligence derived from an event match)

STAY - Computer stays put.

STRUGGLE - Unknown.

WALK - CPU walks.

No one knows exactly why HAL and Nintendo chose to exclude these options from the final release. Your guess is as good as anyone's. Perhaps they ran out of time, they created too many problems to fix, or it simply just didn't fit the gameplay experience the developers intended to produce. Whatever the reason may be, it's interesting to see Nintendo and HAL at least toyed with these variables themselves before the final release. I guess it's forgivable in the long run though.

But after our next two discoveries, it wasn't as easy to forgive. Warning: If you're a Melee fanatic, do yourself a favor and sit down if you aren't already.

How many stages? Only 29, or more than 60?!

To our astonishment, cycling through the list of stages to choose from in the debug menu revealed many more than the known 29 stages to battle in. It was quickly discovered that melee battles could be fought in practically every single level produced in Melee! That includes all 26 target test arenas as well as all the stages found in other modes of play, such as the Adventure mode. The discovery was so much to handle we didn't know where to start. I'll let the screens speak for themselves.

Even though these areas were already familiar to our eyes, fighting in them is a complete blast. Fighting strategies need to be rediscovered depending on each battle terrain. For example, in the Home-Run Contest stage, players will soon discover that the usual 100 or so damage percentile range won't be enough to smash an opponent out of the stage. On the other hand, air defense and precision jumping are critical skills when battling in certain Break the Target stages.

While I'm on the subject of the HRC stage, did you ever wonder how far the stage stretched? Believe it or not, there is a limit. Take a look at the screen shot below. What you see is the end of the stage... over 4,400 "feet." Notice that the stage stretches so long that Captain Falcon's location bubble shifted from the left side of the screen, to the right side of the screen. He's actually standing where the sandbag usually sits.