Masahiro Sakurai continued his maximalist approach with the beloved Super Smash Bros. Melee. What seems to define his games is an ideology: create an engine and a set of mechanics and exploit them in every way possible to make the most fun out of them. As a result, Melee is jam-packed with esoteric game modes: one has you using a baseball bat to launch a punching bag, one has you playing side-scrolling levels not unlike the Super Mario Bros. games, and another has you viewing collectible trophies—knick-knacks acquired for accomplishing in-game achievements. Though broadly a fighting game, the fighting is not what will occupy the great majority of your time.

The excess approach seems to largely ignore the fact that it was pressed onto a small GameCube disc: the game is filled with numerous stages, characters, weapons, items, and a surprising catalogue of old and new game music, and in the “Melee” mode offers players a large degree of customisation to freely sculpt their own anarchy theatre.


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