Genre Analysis: SSB Melee

I’m an on-campus college student, so myself and my circle of friends have taken to habitualizing intense, sweaty-palmed Melee tournaments in our off time. My friend Grant is the absolute master amongst our friends and is a steady contender on the campus. Grant and I like to analyze video game mechanics and things of that nature and one day we found ourselves in a conversation about Melee. He described it as a great fighting game. I looked at him, thought it over in my head and told him that I completely disagreed with him. He opened his eyes wide and seemed shocked by my response. I settled his tempered heart and troubled mind by making the contention that Melee was, not only not a great fighting game, but was indeed not a fighting game to begin with.

Fighting games have a generally consistent tone and shape which is certainly apparent, but as of yet unnamed. This is partially due to the lack of critical thinking in the video game journalism medium. Every legitimate fighting game has a time-tested, and immutable signal of victories in the battles and the wars of each match; the health bar. You see the little green bar file down as you and your opponent land powerful blows, and strive to best the other just one last time; you save that sliver of health with a block and land a deadly counter attack to steal the victory. This is inherent in all fighting games, it’s a conversation, as boxing is. A hit is taken, or countered. Another hit is attempted, whether it is successful is dependent on both parties, and the give and take continues. The chipping of your health bar is meaningful; every single sliver of health means the world as you are surely slipping closer and closer to a soul-crushing loss. Melee is unlike that. As a fighter you aren’t entirely sure when a hit is going to end your days, something could go wrong on your way back to the platform after you’re blasted into outer space by a thunder knee from Capt. Falcon. And then there’s the order of the fight. A conversation becomes a shouting match as the players try to layer attacks in a means to control the movement of their opponents. A fighting game like Tekken or Soul Calibur features combos. These are systematic button presses which activate several small attacks ending in a larger attack or even a single very powerful attack for all you who are unaware as to what combos are. They could also be tasty pizza-flavored snacks. The combos may be different, but they’re there all the same. Melee is devoid of combos or that conversational pattern. In their places are mixed and matched single button attacks used to subvert one’s opponent’s wishes and impose one’s wishes upon one’s opponent. Rather than the give and take it’s just the take and take. Despite what I might sound like, I don’t think that Melee not being a fighting game is a bad thing.

When Yoshi pads his way toward a barrage of missile fire from Samus, blocking all incoming fire with his own eggs, and Yoshi is able to snake his way into Samus’ defenses, the players see the strength of the game. Since the formulae is simple, creativity is fostered and improvisation is a necessary skill. I see Melee as a competitive, sandbox puzzle game. The sandbox may throw you off but give me a chance to convince you. Think of the moves available to the player as their puzzle pieces, victory is the end goal. You mix attacks, at varying angles and heights in order to get the better of your opponent. The reason I call it a sandbox is because within the simple attacks and basic controls the player is given, they can create effects beyond their intention. L canceling, wave dashing, and some of the saving tactics come to mind. You put a couple of kids in a sandbox with a bucket, most will make mounds of sand, but some will make castles. Either way, each bout is a struggle for power as each player tries to finish the puzzle. Melee is an innovative and intriguing game which breaks down every barrier set by traditional fighting games and transcends itself beyond the genre. The game was initially developed for casual entertainment, and whether the developers planned it or not, the competitive community has embraced Melee for its creative action.

This article is a reflection of what I think the industry ought to talk about, the complexity of reverse engineering by consumers and the connection, or dissonance, between what a game is and what a game does. I feel like the community is ready for lengthy, academic discussion. The game journalism industry ought to put forth literature which starts a meaningful conversation about the entirety of video game canon.

So what do you think? Should the industry continue its current path of video game discussions or should there be something to include academically-minded, hardcore gamers? If you do, and would like to see me continue doing so here, shoot me a message, or comment, or like, or share, or just do anything at all that gets my attention.

(If you find yourself scratching your head, wondering what game I was talking about, you need not worry. Melee is a Nintendo game in which an All-Star cast of Nintendo’s greatest characters battle for victory by knocking other players out of the ring. Up to four player may compete at a time. It’s also a little played game.)

[SilentNegotiator]

It's still a fighting game, not a...."sandbox puzzle game"....really?

It's a very unique fighter, but the goal just has the health bar "reversed" and a very skilled player can take more damage without losing. That doesn't make it a separate genre.

You didn't give the game a more "academic" analysis, you just overcomplicated a simple thing. Genres are MEANT to be simple.

[caseh]

'Genres are MEANT to be simple.'

They used to be, problem is there are so many crossovers, games get dropped into genres they don't really belong in.

Good example being XCOM, the original was simply classed as a turn-based strategy game yet the recent remake is suddenly a turn-based strategy RPG. they are the exact same concept.

Most people say if you can level up or upgrade items, then it must be an RPG so where does Need for Speed: Most Wanted fit into this?

Drving simulator sandbox RPG?

But for the record I would put SSB under fighter, it appeared at Evo so I don't think a sanbox puzzle game would really make sense. :)

[zeal0us]

Sadly todays industry really could care less about academically-minded discussion. Most prefer to stick to the K.I.S.S(Keep it simple, stupid) method. I highly doubt most gamer would care to listen to Mark Cerny full in depth lecture on the architect in the PS4. They rather know is it stronger than it's competitors and how strong.

Some of the best places for academically-minded discussions are gaming convention. The type of gaming convention where people in the industry actually discussion the making/mechanics of a game or stuff behind the scenes.

[caseh]

'I highly doubt most gamer would care to listen to Mark Cerny full in depth lecture on the architect in the PS4.'

You're right, its called encapsulation. When you drive a car, you don't need to know the details. You just need to know that when you turn the key, it starts and when you put your foot on the accelerator, it goes.

Only people who are interested are going to want to know the finer details, and in regards to consoles that ain't many.

[TheFirstClassic]

The game is basically a platformer/fighter hybrid... that's all there really is to it. It's still much closer to being a fighter than a "sandbox puzzle game" lol. Being different than the norm does not put it out of the genre, it is still, first and foremost, a fighting game.