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Introduction

Super Smash Bros. Melee is the second game in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Series. Released in 2001 (2002 PAL), the series features characters and elements from all over the Nintendo universe. The most significant and obvious differentiating factor is that you cannot win through depleting a life-bar (and, to a lesser extent, the presence of spawning items and weapons that are usually turned off in competitive play). Victory is only possible through ring-out. Another interesting facet is the team battles, allowing teams of two to compete against each other. The sequel Super Smash Bros. Brawl was released March 9, 2008.





Characters





Notation

Joystick Notation

F - Forward - Push stick forward/towards the opponent. (X-axis)

B - Backward/Back - Push stick backward/away from the opponent. (X-axis)

U - Up - Push stick upwards. (Y-axis)

D - Down - Push stick downwards. (Y-axis)

"A" Attack Notation

All of the following are "performed" using the "A" button on the GCN controller.

Air [air] - Aerial move. Used in conjunction with any of the Joystick notation to signify a direction for the stick.

e.g. Fair

Tilt [-tilt] - Tilt Move. Used in conjunction with any of the Joystick notation to signify a direction for the stick. This direction on the stick must be lightly pushed, or a smash attack will come out instead.

e.g. F-tilt

Smash [-smash] - Smash move. Used in conjunction with any of the Joystick notation to signify a direction for the stick.

e.g. F-smash

"B" Attack Notation

All of the following are "performed" using the "B" button on the GCN controller.

Across (Sometimes Over, >) - Forwards or backwards inclination on the joystick.

e.g. B-Across or Across-B

U/D (Sometimes Up/Down respectively) - Up or downwards inclination on the joystick.

Miscellaneous Notation

CC - Crouch Cancel - Hold Down - Reduce the recovery time after being hit by a move.

DI - Directional Influence - Tilt the joystick appropriately - Change your trajectory after being given a velocity (Only works perpendicular to the direction of motion)

L-Cancel - Press L (or R) at the exact point when you touch the ground during an aerial attack - Cancel some part of the move, so you recover quicker.

WD - Wavedash - Aerial Dodge into the ground at an angle that is not perpendicular to the surface - Slide along the ground whilst still being able to input commands.

DD - Dash Dance - Rapidly change the motion of your dash (left/right). Allows you to quickly be able to move towards an area.

DJC - Double Jump Cancel - Perform an attack during the second jump. - For some characters it stops their jump.

FF - Fast-falling - Holding down whilst FALLING - Reach the ground faster than you would normally.

IASA - Interruptible as soon as - The frames before the move can be interrupted.

SH - Short hopping - Lightly pressing one of the jump buttons - Jump less high than you would normally. (approx. 1/2 height)

SHFFLC (Sometimes SHFFL or Shuffle) - Short Hop, Fast Fall, L-Cancel.

SHB/SHL - Short Hop Laser/Blaster - Short Hop, B, Fast Fall.

WoP - Wall of Pain - Repeated high priority aerial moves.

Game Mechanics

"Smash" Attacks

You can charge a smash attack by performing the commands required for a Smash, and holding those commands down. Upon release, a more powerful version of the attack is released.

e.g. F-Smash (Hold Forward and A)

The charged versions of smash attacks are very rarely used, as they inherently telegraph themselves and are thus, easily avoided.

Double Jumping

After you have jumped, it is possible to jump again (For some characters this can be repeated beyond a second jump). You can change your direction very easily using double jumping.

Shielding

By pressing either R/L, you can bring up a shield that covers your entire body (for most characters). This will cover you irrespective of the section that an attack is aimed.

The shield is analogue, so the strength with with the button is pressed corresponds to the strength of the shield. The shield takes longer than you might expect to appear and disappear. You can spot dodge, roll, or even Up B out of a shield instantly. You can also grab by pressing "A" as well.

Spot Dodging

By simultaneously pressing R/L and Down, your character will "Spot Dodge". That is, literally dodge any move whilst standing. (This is of course provided that the move is not longer than the dodge state frames)

Aerial Dodging

By simultaneously pressing R/L and any of the 8 directions, your character will "Aerial Dodge". That is, literally dodge in that direction out of the way of any move whilst in the air. (This is of course provided that the move is not longer than the dodge state frames). This is far more risky than a spot dodge, as the resulting state it puts you in prevents you from attacking or performing any other move until you touch the ground again. (There are exceptions)

Rolling

By simultaneously pressing R/L and Left/Right, your character will "Roll". This is an evasive manoeuvre that places you away from you initial position, this can be punished easily if used excessively, as it has fairly large recovery time.

"Up B"ing

The majority of characters can utilize their Up B move to gain height. Unlike other moves you can grab the edge through the move, and the move (for most characters) is predominantly used purely for recovering to the ledge.

Ledge Grabbing

By arriving at a position on level or just below the edge, your character will grab onto the ledge. This provides him with a few frames of invincibility. From this position he has a number of options available to him.

Ledge Grabbing is frequently used by an attacker to prevent the recovering defender from grabbing onto edge, because only one person can ever occupy the space at one time. This is called Edge Hogging.

L-Canceling

When your character hits the ground during the animation of an aerial attack there is a delay while your character lands. This delay is most evident with moves like Link's or Gannon's down-airs, although it is present with every aerial in the game. You can drastically reduce this delay by pushing L or R at the moment you hit the ground.

L-Canceling is essential for many high level techniques, such as Falco's Pillaring.

Wave Dashing

Wave Dashing is a special movement technique which allows characters to attack while moving. Some characters can Wave Dash faster than they can run, such as Luigi and the Ice Climbers.

Wave Dashing is a variation on Wave Landing. To Wave Land perform an air-dodge (referred to as Aerial Dodge earlier in this guide) diagonally into the ground the moment before your character lands. Your character will slide across the ground. While sliding, you may perform any move your character can do which standing on the ground, including Smash Attacks.

Wave Dashing is the same technique, but used in a different way. While standing on the ground, perform a jump. The moment your jump animation takes your character off the ground, perform a Wave Land. Your character will begin their jump animation, and then immediately slide across the ground, as if they had Wave Landed. A skilled player can swiftly Wave Dash back and forth to confuse opponents, or chain multiple Wave Dashes together to quickly move across the stage, or to position themselves to attack enemies.

Every character's Wave Dash is different. "Floaty" characters such as Luigi, the Ice Climbers, Samus and Marth have the longest wave dashes. Fast characters, such as Sheik and Fox have shorter, but faster Wave Dashes. Heavy Characters such as Gannon and Bowser have very short and slow Wave Dashes. Peach and Zelda's Wave Dashes as so short that they are considered useless.

Wave Dashes can also be used to quickly Edge Hog. Position your character so they are facing away from the edge, and looking towards the level. Wave Dash backwards, and your character will slide off the level backwards and grab the edge.

Tiers

The following is the tenth Smash Back Room Super Smash Bros. Melee NTSC tier list. It is current as of December 31, 2010. The second, and current, PAL Melee tier list was released on March 26, 2010

NTSC Tier List

S: Fox, Falco, Jigglypuff, Sheik

A: Marth, Peach, Captain Falcon

B: Ice Climbers

C: Dr. Mario, Ganondorf, Samus

D: Pikachu, Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong

E: Link, Young Link

F: Zelda, Roy, Mewtwo, Yoshi, Mr. Game & Watch

G: Ness, Bowser, Kirby, Pichu

PAL Tier List

S: Fox, Sheik, Jigglypuff, Falco, Marth, Peach

A: Captain Falcon, Ice Climbers

B: Samus, Ganondorf, Doctor Mario

C: Luigi

D: Mario, Donkey Kong, Pikachu, Link, Young Link

E: Roy, Yoshi

F: Mr. Game & Watch, Zelda, Bowser, Ness, Mewtwo, Kirby, Pichu