Why are thousands of people still booting up a 24-year-old GameCube game like it’s a sacred text?

Simple, Melee isn’t just a game, it’s chaos refined into art.

Let’s break down why Super Smash Bros. Melee continues to be the love of the competitive scene’s life, while Ultimate feels more like a solid, respectable rebound.

1. Speed vs. Restrictions

Melee is fast. Like, “did I just teleport?” fast. Characters fly across the screen, inputs come at you like a rhythm game on double speed, and everything feels like it’s on the verge of breaking, in the best way.

Why? Because it kind of is. Melee was built in 13 months, and a lot of bugs just stayed in the game. Turns out, those “bugs” let players move and combo in ways that feel unbelievably free and creative.

Ultimate, on the other hand, feels like it’s wearing two seatbelts. Movement is slower, air dodges are limited, and you’re not really encouraged to break the system, you’re encouraged to follow the rules. Ew.

Melee: Like skateboarding in an abandoned mall
Ultimate: Like walking on a treadmill with safety rails

2. Combos: Unleashed vs. House-Trained

Watching a Melee combo is like watching someone do a backflip while juggling knives. Every second feels wild, technical, and possibly illegal. It’s the kind of thing that makes the crowd scream before the combo even ends.

Ultimate’s combos? Let’s just say they’re a bit more “powerpoint presentation.” You land a hit, get a clean 3-piece string, and then everyone goes back to neutral like nothing happened.

Melee: Clips that make you question physics
Ultimate: “Nice jab. Want to reset neutral again?”

3. Fox vs. Steve, The Great Irony

Melee’s top dog? Fox McCloud. He’s fast, high-skill, and somehow still not broken. He’s strong, sure, but he’s got actual losing matchups and can get bodied if you mess up. That’s fair.

Ultimate’s top character? Steve. Yeah, the Minecraft guy. He builds walls, camps for diamonds, then deletes your stock with a single hit like he’s playing a different game entirely. Watching Steve win feels less like Smash and more like someone glitching through a speedrun.

Fox: Speed demon with laser beams
Steve: Square man with a pickaxe and no chill

4. Patches vs. Organic Growth

Ultimate gets balance patches. That’s nice… sometimes. But often it’s stuff like “Increased dash attack endlag by 2 frames” or “Fixed bug where Isabelle could fish for your soul.”

Melee? No patches. Ever. And yet, the meta still evolves. In 2023, Donkey Kong made it to top 8 at a major. That’s like finding out your kitchen toaster won a drag race.

This year, Link beat the best player in the world. Twenty years in, and the meta is still shifting. You can’t script that.

Melee: The jungle, wild and ever-changing
Ultimate: A zoo with scheduled feeding times

5. Storylines That Actually Hit

Melee is full of iconic rivalries. Think Mango vs. Armada. That’s Rocky vs. Apollo, but with wavedashes. These rivalries lasted years, filled arenas, and made documentaries.

Ultimate? It’s getting there, but it doesn’t have the same depth. There’s talent, sure, but the storylines just aren’t as spicy. Yet. Maybe one day we’ll have a rivalry worth naming a Netflix series after.

Melee: Game of Thrones, seasons 1 to 4
Ultimate: Game of Thrones, season 8

6. Even the “Bad” Characters Are Cookin’

In Melee, even “low-tier” characters like Donkey Kong and Link are getting major wins two decades in. The game keeps evolving, with new tech, new mains, and unexpected bracket-shakers.

Ultimate’s meta can feel a bit more… figured out. There’s still innovation, sure, but the game’s structure makes it harder for a bottom-tier character to rise up and throw hands with the elites. In Melee, the underdogs are not just barking, they’re biting.

Melee: Cinderella stories every season
Ultimate: Top tier or go home

7. Casuals vs. Competitors

Look, if you’re just here to play with your little cousin and throw Pokéballs at each other, Ultimate is the way to go. It’s polished, it has way more content, and the online actually exists. Kinda.

But if you want to test your reflexes, execution, adaptation, and mental stamina like a gladiator in a GameCube coliseum, Melee’s your game.

Ultimate: Weekend barbecue
Melee: Kitchen heat on Hell’s Kitchen

Final Stock

Ultimate is great. It’s fun, it’s modern, it’s got everything. If you’re new, or casual, it’s probably your go-to.

But Melee? Melee is a 24-year-old masterpiece that refuses to die, refuses to get stale, and somehow keeps getting better. It’s a game that’s so broken, it became perfect.

If you want to feel the hype, live the storylines, and maybe discover a side of Smash that makes your hands sweat and your brain melt, dust off the GameCube, grab a CRT, and come see what all the fuss is about.