With a new Nintendo console on the market being perfect for multiplayer and Nintendo seemingly making a relatively bigger and more sincere push into esports, "Melee HD" is something that is frequently brought up, specifically with the very dedicated community surrounding Melee, as something that people would very much like to see happen. I can see such a potential rerelease of Melee taking many forms, and it seems as if everybody equally has different takes on what they want/expect out of a remaster/rerelease. I'm curious as to what those would be.
Personally, I could see it going any of the following ways:
Melee on Virtual Console
This is exactly what it sounds like. SSBM as we know it being emulated as a virtual console release. No extra frills aside from the possibility of online play being worked in via whatever method they have discussed using with online enabled NES and SNES games.
+Is 100% just Melee, perks and all
+Easily the cheapest option for both consumers and for Nintendo
+easiest way to sell Melee to casual audience
+Region free eshop would make it easier than ever to switch between the NTSC and PAL versions of the game
-Is 100% just Melee, warts and all
-Would not look as good as a remaster
-No updates
-Lowest potential of change in meta
-No guarantee of online play/local wireless
-No guarantee of gamecube adapter support, thus no guarantee of gamecube controller support
-Requiring a $300 console to play the same exact game that can be played on vastly cheaper platforms could (but not necessarily) be an issue for switching the community over for tournament play, at least in the short term
Melee Remastered (Option 1: Less updates)
This one has more room to mean different things, but my interpretation would be Melee remastered with updated visuals, online/local wireless and peripheral support being native to the game, and other slight updates to the UI. Otherwise it's the same game. In this scenario, Nintendo releases it as is and does not do major content/balance updates in order to preserve the intention of it being a rerelease of Melee.
+Would effectively be Melee
+Would function better with modern displays
+Could be built around having online/local wireless
-Would require more effort/money to make, would certainly cost more than VC release
-Limited support means quicker potential stagnation of meta
-Potentially harder sell for casual players for missing newer content, especially if it has to contend with a more featured version of Smash.
Melee Remastered (Option 2: More updates)
The same as above, but more hooks are put in for the game to be updated via new characters/costumes/colors/stages/balance updates in order to give the game more long term viability.
+Would mostly be melee
+Would function better with modern displays
+Could be built around having online/local wireless
+More geared towards extended support
+Easier sell for casual fans
+Higher potential for reinvigorated meta
-Would be even more expensive/resource intensive to make than a remaster with no long term content support
-Too many changes, and it risks not being Melee anymore
Melee Remake
Rather than remastering the existing Melee assets, Nintendo instead rebuilds Melee from the ground up. Given the work that this would entail, such a project would almost certainly not be something that would be released and then not supported with content/balance updates, so some changes might be present and subsequent updates would be likely.
+Would mostly be melee
+Would function better with modern displays
+Could be built around having online/local wireless
+More geared towards extended support
+Easier sell for casual fans
+Higher potential for new meta
-Would be even more expensive/resource intensive to make than a remaster
-Too many changes, and it risks not being Melee anymore
Smash 4 Project M: This Time It's Official
Under this admittedly more outlandish scenario, rather than releasing an entirely separate game, Nintendo releases a version of Smash 4 that is reworked to play like Melee, effectively being a legitimized take on Project M. The engine, roster, stages, and everything are Smash 4 but the gameplay is otherwise as close to Melee as possible.
+Piggy backs off an existing game
+Community has previously been receptive to this approach
+Higher potential for new meta
-More complicated to market
-Would not exactly be Melee
-No Ice Climbers or Pichu by default, some characters have different movesets
-Is obviously less likely than any other option
Smash 5: Melee 2
Rather than just rereleasing Melee or turning another game into Melee, a new Smash is made that is in the vein of Melee but has all the updates that would otherwise accompany a new version of Smash (new characters/stages/etc). Adventure Mode 2.0 is, of course, a thing. Virtually everything else people liked about Melee is present, plus more.
+Would be a new game with Melee roots
+Greatest possibility of merging the community
+Easiest to widely market
+Highest potential for new meta
-No guarantee it would be accepted by community
-Most expensive/difficult option for everybody involved
Obviously there's more benefits and drawbacks to each of these, and I'm sure there's plenty of more ways in which Nintendo could give people the opportunity to revisit Melee. With this being something in some level of demand from the fanbase, I'd like to hear from you all as to what you would want out of "Melee HD"
Personally, I could see it going any of the following ways:
Melee on Virtual Console
This is exactly what it sounds like. SSBM as we know it being emulated as a virtual console release. No extra frills aside from the possibility of online play being worked in via whatever method they have discussed using with online enabled NES and SNES games.
+Is 100% just Melee, perks and all
+Easily the cheapest option for both consumers and for Nintendo
+easiest way to sell Melee to casual audience
+Region free eshop would make it easier than ever to switch between the NTSC and PAL versions of the game
-Is 100% just Melee, warts and all
-Would not look as good as a remaster
-No updates
-Lowest potential of change in meta
-No guarantee of online play/local wireless
-No guarantee of gamecube adapter support, thus no guarantee of gamecube controller support
-Requiring a $300 console to play the same exact game that can be played on vastly cheaper platforms could (but not necessarily) be an issue for switching the community over for tournament play, at least in the short term
Melee Remastered (Option 1: Less updates)
This one has more room to mean different things, but my interpretation would be Melee remastered with updated visuals, online/local wireless and peripheral support being native to the game, and other slight updates to the UI. Otherwise it's the same game. In this scenario, Nintendo releases it as is and does not do major content/balance updates in order to preserve the intention of it being a rerelease of Melee.
+Would effectively be Melee
+Would function better with modern displays
+Could be built around having online/local wireless
-Would require more effort/money to make, would certainly cost more than VC release
-Limited support means quicker potential stagnation of meta
-Potentially harder sell for casual players for missing newer content, especially if it has to contend with a more featured version of Smash.
Melee Remastered (Option 2: More updates)
The same as above, but more hooks are put in for the game to be updated via new characters/costumes/colors/stages/balance updates in order to give the game more long term viability.
+Would mostly be melee
+Would function better with modern displays
+Could be built around having online/local wireless
+More geared towards extended support
+Easier sell for casual fans
+Higher potential for reinvigorated meta
-Would be even more expensive/resource intensive to make than a remaster with no long term content support
-Too many changes, and it risks not being Melee anymore
Melee Remake
Rather than remastering the existing Melee assets, Nintendo instead rebuilds Melee from the ground up. Given the work that this would entail, such a project would almost certainly not be something that would be released and then not supported with content/balance updates, so some changes might be present and subsequent updates would be likely.
+Would mostly be melee
+Would function better with modern displays
+Could be built around having online/local wireless
+More geared towards extended support
+Easier sell for casual fans
+Higher potential for new meta
-Would be even more expensive/resource intensive to make than a remaster
-Too many changes, and it risks not being Melee anymore
Smash 4 Project M: This Time It's Official
Under this admittedly more outlandish scenario, rather than releasing an entirely separate game, Nintendo releases a version of Smash 4 that is reworked to play like Melee, effectively being a legitimized take on Project M. The engine, roster, stages, and everything are Smash 4 but the gameplay is otherwise as close to Melee as possible.
+Piggy backs off an existing game
+Community has previously been receptive to this approach
+Higher potential for new meta
-More complicated to market
-Would not exactly be Melee
-No Ice Climbers or Pichu by default, some characters have different movesets
-Is obviously less likely than any other option
Smash 5: Melee 2
Rather than just rereleasing Melee or turning another game into Melee, a new Smash is made that is in the vein of Melee but has all the updates that would otherwise accompany a new version of Smash (new characters/stages/etc). Adventure Mode 2.0 is, of course, a thing. Virtually everything else people liked about Melee is present, plus more.
+Would be a new game with Melee roots
+Greatest possibility of merging the community
+Easiest to widely market
+Highest potential for new meta
-No guarantee it would be accepted by community
-Most expensive/difficult option for everybody involved
Obviously there's more benefits and drawbacks to each of these, and I'm sure there's plenty of more ways in which Nintendo could give people the opportunity to revisit Melee. With this being something in some level of demand from the fanbase, I'd like to hear from you all as to what you would want out of "Melee HD"
