Super Smash Bros. Ultimate may be the main game for the Smash community today, but it’s not the only one. Although more than 2 decades have passed since its release, Super Smash Bros. Melee is still popular and there is still an active competitive scene. Fans have also been asking for an HD remaster of the games for years, but Nintendo hasn’t responded.
Well, now we may know why, thanks to Kit and Krysta. They no longer work at Nintendo, and Nintendo Minute has long since ended, but they now have their own podcast that occasionally offers insight into their time at Nintendo, including things people didn’t know. For example, the two revealed that while Nintendo is aware of the demand for Super Smash Bros. Melee HD, are very hostile to the issue.
When the two were at Nintendo, they said it was kind of a theme that “it’s a Mother 3-level game where you kind of get tense.” The main reason for this way of thinking within Nintendo is the community. Krysta said that “there are so many negative things from a Nintendo perspective about Melee that it’s just like… now there’s this ‘black market emulation’ thing around it and all these other things that Nintendo doesn’t like”.
Nintendo also doesn’t think the community would be happy with it, no matter what they do. The reason, according to Kit, is that Nintendo thinks that “if you change even one little detail about this game, it would be like, ‘Oh, this game isn’t viable.’ This is why Kit says that “from [Nintendo’s] point of view, there is really no incentive for them to do so. If you can’t satisfy the Melee fan base, there’s no point in doing the project”.
There’s also the problem that while some fans may want an HD remaster of Melee, many others, especially outside of the Melee community, may not care because Super Smash Bros. Ultimate exists. Kit explained that “for everyone else, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate excellent. They don’t have that affinity and they don’t want to lug around a CRT, so they don’t need one”.
According to Krysta, Nintendo’s public approach to the issue is that they “just have to do a ‘sweep it under the rug’ tactic. Don’t talk about Melee. You let them do their thing, and you just move on.” All in all, Kit and Krysta agreed that “it’s never going to happen.” Krysta even went so far as to say that it would “absolutely, 100% never happen.”
Thanks GreatSong1 for the tip!
