Melee or Brawl

[Keith Stack]

Alright, so a lot of us have been playing Brawl for quite some time by now. It's seems about time to ask the question, do you prefer Brawl over Melee?

For some reason, I can't help but remember enjoying Melee a lot more than I've been enjoying Brawl. Melee was such an astonishing step up from the N64 game. While Brawl also is a significant step up from it's predecessor, the time it has taken to release a new Smash Bros. makes the changes not seem as extreme.

Also, hype kills. I was hyped for Melee before I bought it. I had a game magazine with a full story on it that I would read over and over in anticipation. However, this was nothing compared to visiting the Smash Bros. site on a daily basis at about 2 or 3am in the morning.

Maybe it's nostalgia or some other factor, but I recall enjoying the stages in Melee a lot more. Fountain of Dreams and the Donkey Kong stage (it's name escapes me) especially. I wish that Brawl just had all of the Melee stages included, and I can't think of any reason why it shouldn't have.

Brawl does however have a better distribution of franchise representation. DK finally has Diddy by his side, Metroid gets half a new fighter, and Kirby's no longer alone. Brawl does a good job of further preventing the Smash Bros. series from becoming Mario Party: The Fighter.

Not to mention Brawl has what are some of the two greatest third party characters that could have been selected to appear in Smash Bros. Sonic, my childhood favorite, is a fighter, despite years of mediocre games and Japan's overall general uninterest with the character. And then there's Snake. To be honest, I hadn't known all that much about the Metal Gear Solid series before the announcement of him being in Brawl, so I went out of my way to familiarize myself with the series, and because of that I have discovered one of the most insanely brilliant video game series of all time.

I still wish Mega Man made it into the game though. I'm not even that big of a Mega Man fan, I only really know Mega Man 2, but I know how many people really wanted him in there. I heard rumors that the reason for his exclusion was because Nintendo was still bitter about RE4 going multiplatform, and I really hope that's not the case.

Anyway, I can't help but recall spending MONTHS on Melee without any sign of losing interest, but I'm already feeling a little bored with Brawl. Maybe my playtime marathons were more evened out back then. Maybe I'm just not into games as much as I used to be. As awesome a game as Brawl is, and I do love it so, I think I might have to say that I enjoyed Melee more than Brawl. I'd have to borrow Melee from my friend and have another play through to be certain my memory's just not foggy.

tl;dr Melee or Brawl, which do you like better? I think I liked Melee better.

[spoiler]Man, imagine this post with the word filter still intact.[/spoiler]

[Donnyku]

I feel the same way, Melee just had better stages overall IMO. I can't stnad how a number of the characters are nerfed now, Jiggilypuff I'm looking at you. and Classic is now far less Random, Target Smash is no longer character specific, and the got rid of Race to the Finish (my favorite of all the bonus stages)

[Keith Hemari]

That's a tough one.

Just on a knee-jerk reaction, I want to say I like Melee better.  It's just more light-hearted fun, where Brawl seems to be much more the 'serious' fighting game.  Also the single-player bits were better, I think, in Melee.  I miss the 'race to the finish' sections of Melee, the individual target-smash levels, and the announcer was so much better.

That said, this is really splitting hairs, because Brawl is pretty damn awesome.  The more serious-ish tone of this one seems to have worked well with the epic SSE, which was just about the most awesome multi-franchise crossover ever.  And the multi-player on-line means that you get to play with people from all over, even if it's somewhat annoying to be totally anonymous, except with friends (which requires another bloody tedious friend code).

Ultimately, the only way to make either game better would be to combine them into one.

Smash Brothers: Mebrawlee

[Joshi]

"Brawl does a good job of further preventing the Smash Bros. series from becoming Mario Party: The Fighter."

Instead is gets one step closer to a Pokemon fighter.


I think.. I think I'd say I enjoyed Melee.. if not more, then at least the height of enjoyment lasted for a longer time.  I had less free time and was more into games when Melee came out, so the novelty didn't wear off as fast.  Also it took longer to unlock everything.

Still, though, Brawl is obviously a better game, and with things like online and the more extensive Special Brawl options it'll take a lot longer to actually fully get tired of the game.

I really wish there had at least been more Melee levels, if not all of them.  Fourside and Fountain of Dreams, how I miss you ;__;

[Artwood]

I don't think it's fair to compare the two games, because you're comparing past experiences to present ones - being a seven-year difference, a lot of us were probably more blown away by Melee, not only because of the vast improvement over the original by a two-year margin, but also the simple fact that a lot of us were just a bit younger and more impressionable then. Now that Brawl is out and it doesn't feel too terribly different from Melee, and considering it's a seven-year difference, one has to wonder if there's more they could have done. Game's still awesome though if only for Meta Knight alone.

[Keith Stack]

Online is what's going to make Brawl last for ages, but it just... could have been so much better. Instead of scooting my computer chair back and forth from the computer to the TV in order to talk to whoever I'm playing with makes me yearn for mic support. Also, controller delay, wtf.

Also I learned a terrifying truth about the spectator matches. [spoiler]They're not actually happening while you watch them, they're prerecorded.[/spoiler]

And yeah Joshi, there actually is an of excess Pokemon in Brawl, and it's not even spanned throughout the generations. You have Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard, all first gen Pokemon, and the Lucario, a single last gen Pokemon. And to think, Mewtwo was almost in the game too. I don't understand why they just didn't use the latest generation with the Pokemon trainer. I guess the Pokeballs  and the Spear Pillar stage are whats supposed to help expose the entire spannage.

I think the problem with Brawl stages is that, and correct me if I'm wrong, they almost all rely too heavily on gimmicks. Melee had a number of these, such as the tree in Green Greens blowing you away, or the lava coming up in the Metroid stage, but nowhere near as many nor as prevalent as Brawl. Stages flipping upside down, lava from all directions, floors breaking, karts running you over, monsters eating you, water shoving you off the stage, the entire level scrolling, you name it.

[SuitCase]

It's not as good because it's almost the same as Melee, and everyone's tired of Melee. It's not even a significantly different game, it's the same game made again with a few notes in the design document to throw in extra characters and modes.

I think the only place it really lets you down compared to Melee, though, is the level design. There aren't very many interesting levels in it.

[Dr.Eggfang]

They should have put Fountain of Dreams back in and sent New Pork City and Porky's theme to the depths of hell.

[▲ndrusi]

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UnpleasableFanbase

[AnKylo]

Brawl because, thanks to online mode, I finally have a use for multiplayer. The only people I know around here either hate fighting games or really suck at them.

[ila]

While I'm bugged by Jigglypuff's nerfing, I'm still enjoying Brawl, even if I still have yet to get more than 4 KOs in a match.

[Keith Stack]

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UnpleasableFanbase

I don't think anyone here is unpleased with Brawl. We're all certainly enjoying it.

[Kiddo Cabbusses]

I think the problem with Brawl stages is that, and correct me if I'm wrong, they almost all rely too heavily on gimmicks. Melee had a number of these, such as the tree in Green Greens blowing you away, or the lava coming up in the Metroid stage, but nowhere near as many nor as prevalent as Brawl. Stages flipping upside down, lava from all directions, floors breaking, karts running you over, monsters eating you, water shoving you off the stage, the entire level scrolling, you name it.

Are you kidding me or did you forget that Poke Floats existed?

[ila]

Pokefloats had one obstacle: the usual ways to die via falling. Brawl Stages tend to be a tad more ridiculous. (Chimera, 3/4s the screen filled with lava, higher damage FZero things)

[SoNick]

Yeah, as other have said...
It's just Melee+.
The single-player is better than Melee (other than the "only five Break the Targets stages" bit), but other than Subspace Emissary it's nothing spectacular.

And I know that I'm complaining about a tiny thing, but the Pokéballs... just don't seem right anymore.
I can understand taking out Venusaur, Blastoise, and Charizard as things could get confusing when facing the Pokémon Trainer, but it just doesn't feel right without Blastoise's Hydro Pump and Charizard's Flamethrower, elements that have been in both of the past games.
The removal of Chansey and Clefairy also seems odd to me.
And Munchlax? Can you say "waste of a Pokéball?"




Also, something that's baffling me is the decision that almost everything that attacks with water only pushes; it doesn't do any damage.
I mean... what the hell were they thinking with that?

[Squiggles the Chao]

I think I'm going to break with most people here. I don't think Melee was as much of a step up from the original as Brawl is from Melee. I guess it's because I like the arial combat a lot more. That's always how my friends and I played the original. A lot of the Brawl characters are also just awesome, whereas in Melee, so many characters were nerfed that it was pretty much Fox/Falco.

Then again, I was at a point in my life where many of you are now when Melee came out, so it may be a function of our respective ages.

[Mightfo]

Brawl is certainly a much better game. More, great characters, online is a huge plus, a lot of the SSE is enjoyable, and I like some of the new stages a lot.

Also, the complaint that it plays the same is retarded. While innovation is nice, most good sequels to good games don't change much. If it ain't broken, don't fix it, etc.

Though, yeah, Melee was more amazing to me than Brawl is. Though, Suki brings up a valid point regarding ages. I was younger and much more excitable when Melee came out, so the comparison may be confounded by that.

The fact that some things should have been better is the case with virtually all games. Though, I still wish you could use custom stages online. :<

[Jessica HawlSera]

In my opinion, Super Smash Bros. Melee was really just an upgraded version of Super Smash Bros. only without the bumper.

Brawl is... literally the first game that lives up to the hype. I actaully thought it'd suck in comparison to Melee, espcially after I saw the roster (Toon Link, Wolf, ROB, and Lucario....) but, aside from stages of course. I notice that the characters have been buffed, so no one is useless, NOT EVEN SAMUS OR ICE CLIMBERS. Jigglypuff seems nerfed at first, but if you use her more than once it becomes obvious she's actaully buffed. The balance is much better than anything I've ever seen to be honest.

I have quite a bit of complaints for Melee and find it heavily over-rated, but for Brawl I can say nothing bad except for

-Whoever thought most of Brawl's stages up needs to be beaten with a bat, thank god for Stage Builder. Although, I get the feeling most of the regular stages where made in Stage Builder and given a Nintendo-esque theme, espcially New Pork City, Yoshi's Island, and Halbred.
-Humoresque Of A Little Dog doesn't play in Onett, nor do most of the Kirby songs play in Green Greens
-Taboo (He's from Taboo:The Sixth Sense, if you think he's Tabuu, then go back to naming Pokey after cartoon pigs) is impossible on any difficulty past normal and I can't get the freaking Pokey boss to turn into a trophy no matter how much I weaken him
-Pokey and Taboo, Porky and Tabuu do not and have never existed in America
-ROB isn't Red and Tan, he's Grey and White
-Getting CDs is a difficult task, as they are extremly rare and vanish quick, and... no Pokey Means Bussiness, Wrapped In Black, It Doesn't Matter, Lyrical Snake Eater (Fight for honor, and for... you.... it sounds so James Bond-esque it's cool!), Captain Falcon(the song), or Paper Mario Battle Theme
Other than these that I've listed, which are really minor things. This game is perfect

PS:I'm actaully glad Pokey Means Bussiness didn't make it in, otherwise that would be the only song playing in New Pork City, and I would never have realized how badass "You Call This A Utopia?" is. Also.... if Pokey had his American name, they might have called New Pork City... *shudders* New Poke City, which would have been NO GOOD!

[Squiggles the Chao]

-ROB isn't Red and Tan, he's Grey and White

Not in Japan he wasn't.

[Jessica HawlSera]

-ROB isn't Red and Tan, he's Grey and White

Not in Japan he wasn't.

1. No, Rob has never been to Japan, that was "The Famicom Robot" wink wink nudge nudge, saynomore
2. I was hoping they'd do like in Mario Kart DS, Wario Ware Inc., and F-Zero GX (...but not Wario Ware Touched strangely) and change his color scheme to the American one.
Oh well, it's not biggie considering the Grey and White is an alternate costume, as is a Diskun Color Scheme (which is odd considering the Diskun never had a R.O.B.), a [spoiler] Ancient Minister coloration... although I think that's just meant to be ROB Launcher [/spoiler], Black Evil ROB, and finally, my favorite out of his alts (not including the Grey and White since I feel that that should have been his main and constantly treat it as such) a purple ROB.

Took me awhile to get what the Purple ROB meant, but then I fought Wolf with out and meant "Oh duh". If you haven't figured it out yet, the Star Fox ROB had a Purple and White Color Scheme in Star Fox 64 where he was called ROB 64. In Adventures are afterward it was changed to a yellowish color scheme.

Anyway... since it might be useful in the future, I'm leaving a recap of ROB's colors in this post.

1. Famicom Robot - Tan and Red
2. R.O.B. The Video Robot - Grey and White
3. Diskun ROB - Gold and Black
4. ROB 64 - White and Purple
5. SSE ROB Launcher/Other Thing I Thought It Represented - Green and Brown-ish
6. Evil ROB - Black and Dark Blue
Which means ROB has the best custome set in the game. (But I still love Modern Day Ness, Pokey Lucas, Claus, White Lucario, Fox Wolf, and NES Pit)

[Joshi]

Took me awhile to get what the Purple ROB meant, but then I fought Wolf with out and meant "Oh duh". If you haven't figured it out yet, the Star Fox ROB had a Purple and White Color Scheme in Star Fox 64 where he was called ROB 64. In Adventures are afterward it was changed to a yellowish color scheme.

What.

I dunno about the later games, but he was yellow-green in SF64.

And for fuck's sake that Lucas scheme is just blue, it's not supposed to represent Porky. (You're wrong about the skin colour, too, btw)

[Magi]

I'm already getting tired of Brawl, and it took me...5 years to get tired of Melee.  I dunno, it might be because I feel like I've played Brawl before, or that I've been playing it too much, or that Melee was one of the main things that binded me and two of my friends together in high school (nostalgia!)  Honestly though, it's too early for me to tell which is really better.  For now I'll have to say they're on equal footing.

[Mightfo]

I stopped playing Melee in about a week, maybe two. . But I played it like, all day every day for a week. D:

I feel like I could keep playing 1-2 hours of Brawl a day for a long time.

[Josh]

Brawl, no question about it.

When Melee came out, I had been playing quite a bit of Smash 64 in anticipation. And Melee, I remember, felt VERY different and a whole lot more refined. In the weeks leading up to Brawl, I'd been putting more time into Melee, even if I don't think I've gone for more than a month without playing it since it came out.

Brawl, at least at first, doesn't feel as different. There are little tweaks here and there that kept throwing me off, like the different air dodges and the way the characters move. It was subtle, but until I got used to it, I didn't like it as much.

Now? Brawl takes all the refinement of Melee and adds an absolute TON into it. As others have pointed out, no character I've really put time into so far has felt gimped, and even though it's been nearly two weeks, I feel like I've barely scratched the surface. Just a few hours ago I headed into training and discovered how awesome the Pokémon Trainer can be. I still need to put more time into Snake and King DeDeDe. I've barely touched Pit or Meta Knight!

Melee was a game that felt better faster. But Brawl is a far more enjoyable experience, and considering how incredible Melee is, that's saying a lot.

['Rixx]

One of the major problems I saw with Melee was lack of multiplayer modes besides battling - not to mention one of my closest friends prefers to play games cooperatively rather than competitively, which is surprisingly rare in games. Brawl addressed this and gave me Sonic and Snake and King Dedede and online play.

So, um... yeah.

I must confess Brawl actually seems a bit more random than Melee, but it's all in good fun.