Some former Nintendo employees claim that despite the large fan demand for it, aSuper Smash Bros. MeleeHD port will “never happen” in the future. This statement was given by the duo of Kit and Krysta, former hosts of Nintendo Minute, a web series produced by Nintendo of America. Nowadays,Kit and Krysta recount their experiences working at Nintendoon their own channel. One of their latest stories reveals why the seminal GameCube classicSuper Smash Bros. Meleewill never get ported.
Super Smash Bros. Meleeis considered by some to be the ground-breaking entry of the franchise and the apex of Nintendo’s library. With gameplay mechanics that provide an easy-to-learn but high skill ceiling, it appeals to the competitive crowd. It is one of the games trapped on the Nintendo GameCube, with many fans keeping its spirit alive through tournaments and emulated play. Despite thefervent demand for aMeleere-release, Kit and Krysta explain it’s also part of the reason why it won’t happen.
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In the 58th episode of their podcast, a question was asked by flapjack626 regarding a remaster ofMeleeto the two former employees (46:45 timestamp for the VOD). Both Kit and Krysta agree that it “makes a lot of sense” before bluntly claiming that it’ll likely “never happen.” Krysta elaborates on this, stating that whenever the game was brought up, there would be a “tense feeling” in the room. She states that there area lot of negative connotations surroundingSuper Smash Bros. Melee, especially when it has an active emulation scene, which Nintendo has historically not been a huge fan of.
Another point that Kit brings up for why an HD remaster ofSuper Smash Bros. Meleewill likely never happen is due to the community itself. He notes that even if one area of the game is changed, then players will rebel against it. They both reason that the competitive fans will want to preserve it exactly as how it was twenty years ago, with Krysta chiming in that any efforts likely won’t please the volatile fanbase and would just cause more problems. Krysta even recalls how talking aboutMeleeinside Nintendo was a nightmare, and that the company would rather sweep it under the rug instead, withSuper Smash Bros. Ultimatebeing more accessible anyways.
Kit then talks about howSuper Smash Bros.creator Masahiro Sakuraiwould likely attempt to get involved in such a project, and that the director’s perfectionist mindset would be at odds with both Nintendo’s hypothetical efforts to port it with a third-party studio, or the aforementioned unappeasable fanbase. They both reason the idea of remasteringMeleeis a lose-lose situation and is best to never be mentioned, as even discussing it was causing both of them incredible stress.
Super Smash Bros. Meleeis available on the Nintendo GameCube.
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