Parents' Guide to

Super Smash Bros. Melee

By Kimberly Reyes, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Easy-to-play fighting game is hard to master.

Game Nintendo GameCube 2001
Super Smash Bros. Melee Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

Community Reviews

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age 10+

Based on 9 parent reviews

KaitXO
KaitXO Adult
August 25, 2020
age 10+

A rating that didn’t age well

Many people are probably super confused why this game and it’s wii sequel were rated T for teen. Many younger players weren’t able to remember a time when E10+ didn’t exist, hence the T rating. If possible, the ESRB should go back and change the rating. However, the game is almost 20 years old and Brawl is around 12 years old. There’s no point as new copies haven’t been released in years. If you find an old copy, I recommend it for the family. Each game in the series has cartoon violence, as it’s basically Street Fighter with Nintendo Licensing. There’s also fake guns starting with melee (which is what earned it the T-rating). However there is no bloodshed, characters get knocked out instead.

This title has:

Easy to play/use
swirlous omai
swirlous omai Parent of 1 and 10-year-old
December 21, 2018
age 10+

rated T for errevavant

its not THAT bad first of all the only "bad" part is a character called snake (witch is absent in the PAL ver.) and he kinda swears but honestly its like a PG13 movie witch kids DO watch with there parents and some parents dont have a proplem with there kids watch rated R movies so i give this title a 10+
See all 9 parent reviews

What’s It About?

SUPER SMASH BROS. MELEE accommodates from one to four players, providing plenty of gaming options. Choosing from Nintendo characters like Mario or Pichaku, you fight head-to-head in colorful Nintendo-game-themed arenas for prizes and advancement, or just go wild in no-holds-barred melee mode. In stadium mode, players partake in a home run contest (hitting a sandbag character as far as possible), take target practice, and fight in varied melee fighting scenarios against the CPU. This is probably the best mode for single players because there are actual tasks and goals -- not just a one-on-one face-off against the computer.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (9):
Kids say (51):

Even adults will have to spend time mastering complicated moves like Luigi's airplane spin or Zelda's midair flame attack. Luckily, skill and luck go hand in hand, making it fun for kids of all ages and experience levels. You never know when a spaceship may come out of the background to interfere with your fight, or an object with the power to heal -- like a heart container -- may appear for your use, affecting the outcome. Also, games can be tweaked to give certain players an advantage.

The game has had a fantastic graphic facelift since the Nintendo 64 version. Samus' and Bowser's fire attacks look like they are popping out of the screen and Mute City is so incredibly saturated in colors that players can't help to stop fighting and admire when playing for the first time. All in all, Super Smash Bros Melee will certainly raise the volume of the room as players scream at the TV in elation, frustration, and shock.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the characters featured in this game, from Mario to Fox from the Star Fox series. Ask them: Did you realize these are Nintendo characters? How does including these characters help promote other Nintendo products?

Game Details

  • Platform: Nintendo GameCube
  • Available online?: Not available online
  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • Release date: December 3, 2001
  • Genre: Fighting
  • ESRB rating: T
  • Last updated: November 4, 2015

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