Posted 10.19.2001
If the supplementary single player mode is Stadium, then the supplementary multiplayer mode is Special Melee!
Look at this crazy number of modes!
You pick your game mode, then your character, then the stage. Just like you normally would.
Camera Mode
Player 4’s controller can move the camera however they want, and you can look at your favorite characters from any angle!
I say “any angle,” but there are some limitations, of course.
This mode is fundamentally very different from the others, so for today I’ll just introduce it and reluctantly move on.
Stamina Mode
What makes Smash unique is its damage system– how it’s percentage based instead of a life bar. But this mode removes that for a health-based system!
You’re limited to a certain amount of HP, and every time you’re hit you lose some. However remains standing at the end with the most HP wins.
A player’s HP does not affect how far they’re knocked back.
Also, if you fall off stage, then it’s treated as a KO.
It looks like a normal game…
This mode really makes you think. About Smash, I mean.
I didn’t want to make too fighting-game-like, so I even cut out the “you win/you lose” screens.
But I think as a change of pace it’s new and fun.
Super Sudden Death
In Sudden Death, you start with your damage at 300%.
Here, you’re always spawning at 300%!
Everyone’s going flying!
Hit by a Bowser Bomb at that percent? You’re all doomed.
Good for quick, slobberknocker brawls. It’s great at parties.
Giant Melee
Everyone turns giant and they duke it out!
When you’re big, you’re offense and defense is improved.
If you get a Super Mushroom, you’ll get even bigger.
Woah…Roar!
Tiny Melee
Everyone gets tiny and they duke it out!
Makes the stages seem impossibly huge.
When you’re small, your voice will be higher pitched.
For special moves, there are some moves that wholly unaffected by size, some that are majorly affected, and some that are only affected visually.
Just think of it as a difference in properties.
Invisible Melee
There’s actually an item called the cloaking device.
(Fans already know which game it’s from)
It’s active camouflage. Your character will disappear from sight. Invisible Melee makes it so that all characters are invisible constantly.
Can you make out which two characters are standing there?
Just think of it as future technology.
It’s not all about showing off the processing power of our new hardware.
…That’s a joke.
Fixed Camera
The camera won’t zoom in or out and is in a fixed position.
Weak to motion sickness? This mode is for you.
But the characters look tiny now.
This also makes you think about how Smash is, they way things should be.
What happens when a characters get launched far? When the camera pulls back?
If you go to the limit, this is what happens.
Having such dynamic movement, and trying to capture it all is very hard.
Single-Button Mode
A mode where the only button you can press is the A button.
Some people might say this mode is pointless. But it’s great for beginners, and you can enjoy a purer, simplified, more reactive offense and defense.
Not that you can tell that it’s Single-Button mode from a picture…
In this mode you have to use tap jump.
Lightning Melee
A game that’s sped up, making it much faster.
For players who are used to the game speed, this might be a bit of a shock.
I already said, a picture doesn’t help…
In Lightning Melee, the stick movement you need for smashes and such is also faster.
Slow Melee
Then we have the opposite– a sloooow game.
Time is passing slowly, so it’s great for the elderly! And the ones who just want to have fun! And if you just want to stare at your character! Great for beginners too! No picture this time!
Going in slow-motion actually lets you see a lot of interesting things. It’s quite fun.
Special Melee is so unique and also makes games quite sloppy, so they won’t go on your Battle Records.
(And it would be a problem if your normal KOs and your Super Sudden Death KOs were in the same column…)
What are Battle Records? That’s for another time.
For everything except Stamina Mode, you can play whatever style of match you want.
You could have a Super Sudden Death Coin Battle.
Or a single-button match where only projectile-firing weapons appear. (Even when you’re out of ammo, you can’t throw away your gun though)
If you just try to have fun and come up with creative ways to play, I don’t think you’ll ever run out of fun things to do. Probably.
- Sakurai’s Internal Smash for Wii U/3DS Development Notes - June 23, 2017
- Kirby’s Development Secrets - April 19, 2017
- Sakurai Discusses His Game Design Philosophy In a Podcast [2002] - March 28, 2017
What is Kirby and Peach?
Next question.