or why trophies mattered more than having a huge cast of playable characters in a primarily multiplayer title
After Melee the trophies just became "let's slap a pre-made image onto a stand, pose it, and call it a day" and it wasn't exciting to collect them anymore. Sure, Spirits are literally just taking jpgs of existing character artwork, but at least you're doing something with them.
This is true, and in some cases, Melee's handcrafted Trophies were genrally of even higher quality than the later ones ported from existing games.
For example, the Marin Trophy in Melee vs. the Ilia Trophy in Brawl. Despite being made several years earlier, Marin just looks much better than the Ilia model does. Now, I admit that this is the foot fetish in me noting this detail,
aaaaaand you lost me ---
And then I think I hear angels in my ears, like marbles being thrown against a mirror Now playing: Stardew Valley, Borderlands, FFX, Yakuza 3