LogFAQs > #949964672

48. Super Smash Bros. Melee (GameCube, 2001)

Although the original Super Smash Bros. was definitely an unexpected smash-hit (heh) party game, this was the entry that solidified the series as the juggernaut behemoth it is today. Melee more than doubled the playable characters, stages, and items, and added so much additional content and polish to the project that SSB64 looked so paltry by comparison. Where OG Smash had only a couple basic modes, SSBM had a single-player adventure mode spanning different Nintendo worlds, a whole gaggle of extra mini-games like multi-man melee and home run contest, and almost 300 collectible trophies featuring all sorts of Nintendo characters as a complete celebration of their history. And while Smash 64's menus were minimalist in visuals and sound, Melee's are sharp and sleek, and coupled with the best goddamn menu theme in video game history: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2Ax21yobJ0
Of course, it's all about the gameplay in the end, and Melee delivers there in spades; the speed and technical play of the game is still unmatched even three entries and 19 years down the road from its release. I'm not a huge fighting game person, so the competitive scene has never been a draw for me and I'm not particularly swayed by that in either direction, but it's a testament to the game's lasting quality that it's still so beloved.
And I'd be remiss not to mention just how memorable it was playing Melee for the first time back in 2001 - a friend of mine got the game on launch day and came over and we spent all night unlocking the full cast of characters (including playing a bunch of Self-Destruct versus games to get the requisite 700 matches for Mewtwo). In the months after launch, I remember a bunch of other gaming nerds at my high school getting together for tournaments using the in-game tourney mode. It's hard to beat that nostalgia, so Melee still has such a high perch on my all-time faves.

47. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch, 2018)

That said, it's hard to discount the most recent Smash Bros. game entirely. Ultimate has just an absurd amount of playable stages and characters, comprised of the entirety of the series' span. (Everyone is here!) The gameplay feels like the best evolution of the engine from Brawl to Smash 4 to today, and can stand on its own merits and differences relative to Melee. And whether or not you're fond of DLC in games as a concept, it feels at its best here, bringing in surprise characters like Persona's Joker, Sephiroth, and Minecraft Steve all into the Nintendo universe. The character balance is really good here too - as I've said earlier, I dont really play competitively, but I do know that a huge amount of the 80+ character roster is actively used in tournament play, which only speaks to the quality of the balance in general at any level of play.
The single-player story mode is good and charming, though not nearly as cinematically compelling as Brawl's Subspace Emissary. Though maybe a bit repetitive, it does a good job at following along with Nintendo's Smash mission statement post-Melee: celebrate the crazy variety of the game universes throughout all of Nintendo history.
On any given day, I could probably rate one of Melee or Ultimate above the other, but having mostly had my time with Melee run its course, I felt like Ultimate deserved to finish on top here. Either way, they're worthy of the claim to two of the best multiplayer experiences in all of gaming.

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it's an underwater adventure ride