One of the big surprise entries at EVO last year was Super Smash Bros. Melee, the more-than-a-decade old fighting game for the Nintendo Gamecube. Nintendo nearly put an end to the presence of Melee at EVO in a very dynamic standoff that eventually resulted in gamers winning out.
Not only did Super Smash Bros. Melee make a presence at EVO 2013 but the game managed to smash records in the process. The game received a standing ovation for the finals as the organizers thanked Nintendo for allowing them to host the game at the event, which is the opposite response that Microsoft received for the Xbox One when Killer Instinct made its EVO debut.
Thankfully, lightning is striking twice, as it's been confirmed by Shoryuken that at EVO 2014, Sauper Smash Bros. Melee will make a return during the tournament.
As noted on the site...
“This marks the second consecutive year for the game at the tournament. In 2013, Mango beat out Wobbles and 700 other competitors in the largest Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament in history.”
Some of you may be questioning why on Earth Super Smash Bros. Brawl from the Wii wasn't featured in the tournament, and it's because the game is labeled by the Fighting Game Community as unbalanced and poorly designed for the tournament scene. Things like character specials, cancels, combos and frame counting worked a lot better and is more stable in Super Smash Bros. Melee in comparison to Super Smash Bros. Brawl, according to the die-hard tournament players.
In fact, Smash Bros. Melee also receives a lot more love than Brawl in many local regional events, such as the Apex Tournament, which also hosted Nintendo's side-scrolling fighter during tournaments just this year.
Now, this is not to say that Brawl is hated to the point of being forsaken – quite the opposite. Brawl has undergone a massive transformation known as Super Smash Bros Brawl Project M. This new Project M is now the cornerstone of technically achieved gameplay excellence in the Smash Bros tournament scene. All the characters have been modified and supped up to fulfill their true potential.
Nevertheless, Super Smash Bros. Melee will be one of the prime time games at this year's EVO. Now I'm sure some of you are thinking "WTF, why is a Nintendo fighting game still at EVO?" But it's not like that. If you don't think that Nintendo's age-old 3D side-scrolling fighter can be intense, just check out the final's match between Wobbles and Mango in the video below. It's legit.
