As a game that’s been played both casually and competitively for almost two decades, Super Smash Bros. Melee is pretty much figured out at this point. But one thing has always eluded diehard fans, at least in terms of recorded footage: a perfect run of the credits sequence. That changed two days ago.
It started with a bounty. Nathaniel Bandy, a member of the YouTube channel Minus World, announced on January 23 that he would pony up $US3,000 ($3,948) to anyone who managed to hit all 190 items in Melee’s credits.
But that’s easier said than done. Melee’s credit roll is a disorienting, first-person space shooter that sends developer names and company logos rushing at the player like fighter squadrons. Despite the score tally at the end, it’s meant to be a fun celebration for a successful run through one of the game’s single-player modes, not something that needs to be cleared to unlock a new character or some other tchotchke.
Wildly enough, it took someone just a week to achieve the feat. Porky Zarate (real name Martin) uploaded the above video of his successful credits run on February 2, featuring the requisite hand-cam footage to prove its legitimacy. It’s intense.
“The most challenging part would be the voice actors, they come in all different directions and there is no room for error,” Zarate told Polygon. “After you get the hardest part of the credits, you [gotta] stay composed and hit the rest.”
Super Smash Bros. Melee players are arguably the most dedicated fanbase in gaming, for better or worse. They perform incredibly tough strategies in high-stakes tournaments, constantly push times lower for the game’s Break the Targets mini-game, and develop mods to improve online play during a pandemic (even if Nintendo doesn’t like it). Odds are, if you give them a challenge, they’re going to conquer it.
Zarate will reportedly be putting the $US3,000 ($3,948) reward toward his college tuition. Godspeed.
Leave a Reply