Michael Crider
Despite coming out on a Nintendo platform near the turn of the century, Super Smash Bros. Melee is still a favorite among the hardcore fans of the series. The GameCube didn’t have much in terms of online capability, so Melee’s online multiplayer was less than great. But now a group of modders has given the game the online powers it always deserved.
It’s called Slippi, an add-on module for the popular Dolphin GameCube and Wii emulator, which is available for many operating systems. The setup includes rollback netcode, a high-performance software backbone necessary to make online matches of the super-quick Melee fights palatable to the most discerning fighting game fans. It even includes some basic matchmaking, prioritized by location for the fastest connection, and player tracking and replays are supported.
Actually using Slippi to remote play Melee with your friends is legally questionable, because it relies on emulation. (The general consensus is that, for the sake of your conscience if not the law, you should own a copy of the original game if you’re going to emulate it on your computer.) But it’s a great way for fans to play a beloved classic together, as Nintendo doesn’t seem interested in bringing many GameCube games to the Switch, and recent Smash Bros. games’ online multiplayer has been rudimentary at best.
Be aware that if you want to try Slippi, you’ll probably be thrown into the deep end of the Melee competitive scene. The current players are likely to be those who’ve been honing their skills for two decades.
