I love you man. We're lucky to have you

"A video about Melee" "Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?"

You're seriously one of the best to ever do this whole video making thing man

Donkey Kong slowly climbing from a low tier to a high tier because of dedicated players has to be one of the greatest character arcs in history.

Ah yes, "glock in my toyota", classic gamertag...

I can't belive Asumsaus would upload a video about Melee how could anybody have seen this coming.

23:12 This alone is an amazing detail with the scoreboard being obscured by Hungrybox's arm. Your editing just keeps getting better and better every single video I do want to say, you got me into the Melee scene. I don't play Melee, but I enjoy watching tourneys and stumbling across videos like this time-to-time.

I think seeing PPMD fighting for his life and trying is best knowing all the shit he was going through at the time is the real hearthbreaking moment of battle of the five gods

25:19 "3 rats using a gamecube controller" followed by "George Bush" is an insane combo

It’s funny how Ness is so bad he wasn’t even included in the low tier section of the vid.

14:57 This is actually untrue, just last month there was a bowser who sometimes goes by “Loadspiller” or for this tournament “Heavenly bruised pelvis” beat rank number #57 fox main Billybopeep at tipped off 15!

Hey Asum, your "what is Melee" segment really struck a chord with me... I'm 31 this month and I got Melee upon it's release when I was 9 (PAL). This game brings back such vivid memories and feelings of my childhood when my bro (17months my junior) and I would play this gem together for hours and hours and hours. We shared a room and even when our parents sent us to bed, we'd lay in our beds, in the dark, talking about Melee and our favourite Nintendo games. Of course, when Brawl and other subsequent consoles and games released, the essence or Melee started to fade. Teenagehood started to envelope our lives and the ride we call "life" took off. I've got a house, a kid, a job and other responsibilities now. Life's not the same as it once was, and whilst I'm still happy, when I see your videos, I get a really vivid sense of nostalgia. This 20+ year old game that represented so much of my happiest memories is brought back into my life. Your videos act as some sort of continuation of the media that at some point stopped existing within my mental ecosphere. As is the nature of media, it has to end at some point. Whether it's a book, TV series, film, game or comic - it has to end so another can begin. But sometimes, seeing your favourite piece of escapism simply end is heart breaking, particularly when you feel so connected with it. We all know there'll never be a Melee 2 or some time travel device that will allow people to experience things for the first time again. But seeing someone so passionate about the game put out such well crafted and interesting videos and info about a game so sorely missed - it's like looking through a window at my childhood again. I don't actively follow Melee's competitive scene or even play Melee anymore, but I feel that's perhaps for the best, as it makes your videos all the more fresh and new. So thank you for allowing me to revisit my past with such delight. It's an odd sensation, and one that I don't know makes me sad or happy... but I do look back and appreciate what I have and had.

When we needed him most, he came back (I literally started rewatching your videos last night)

"Almost half the cast is unusable" "I refuse to play against low tiers" The same people....

mang0 looks so much happier competing in those modern clips you shared, which says everything I think. thanks for showing the positive light of the melee scene - I love to see that evolution, when I remember so distinctly the long era of "no item, fox only, final destination". to the future, cheers!

To be fair, Captain Falcon's knee is considered the best Forward Air in the game because while the sweetspot is extremely strong, the sourspot is also broken. Late knee can set up into a lot of ridiculous things for him. Zelda's sweetspot might be better, but it has to be spaced to get comparable reward to Falcon's knee and a sourspot lightning kick is *really* bad.

11:13-11:14. Marth's grab sticks out of the thumbnail, a true testament to how Marth's grab can't be escaped, no matter what realm you inhabit.

I was not expecting "glock in my toyota" at all to be the name of the game and watch player who won lol

10:41 Great video; judging from the animation, I think you already know that クソゲ－ (kusoge-) actually means “sh*t game,” but just wanted to clarify the irony in case anyone accidentally misinterprets your joke. 笑笑

Its amazing that the songs in this video are original, you are seriously talented

14:20 wow kirby got shafted in melee, from the escapable throws to weird hitboxes, at least hes cute

20:55 I may not be the one who wrote that message, but I feel the exact same way. Dope vid

I played smash ultimate casually for some time with my friends, and like to watch youtube videos about it, and I just knew a bit about melee from hearing about it randomly from time to time, but never played it, and still never have. But I watch a lot of videos about it on youtube, and what made me begin consuming melee content was the “ there will never ever be another melee player like Hungrybox” which made me start watching Hungrybox from time to time. And then, on a random day I just thought “ what is it that makes Fox’s shine so good?”, I typed that on youtube, and found your video, and from that point was when is got really into melee as a whole, and not just Hungrybox. Keep up the amazing work.

i like how you listed all the potential reasons for why someone may like or love melee and have the side note of '... fun' in the corner. thank you for the representation of those of us who like melee cause its fun.

The GOAT returns missed you AsumSaus

Another perk of CRTs I don't see mentioned a lot is their incredible motion clarity. Their response times (distinct from input latency) are practically zero, so motion looks extremely clear and smooth compared to LCDs which take longer to clear the previous frame and draw a new one (causing a slight blurriness in motion that affects even high end monitors to varying degrees). Besides that, standard definition (480i) games just look way nicer on a CRT than upscaled on an LCD, especially if you have access to S-Video or component. They are definitely a pain in a lot of ways, though. With good maintenance and calibration you can dial in the geometry imperfections and reduce the area cut off by overscan, but that requires a non-trivial amount of expertise and work. Still love the bulky things though and really hope melee doesn't switch to monitors any time soon.

It's amazing to me how strong Melee is still going. I remember how much it felt like the game might go under multiple times, and here it is chugging along better than so many big games to come after it. All the tournaments in someone's house, garage, back yard, bonus room upstairs where we had to keep quiet, a house of a friend-of-a-friend of the TO. It's wild.

For me, your thumbnails have been something I look forward to the most. You weave a narrative in all of them, and they're genuinely funny to look at on their own ❤️

I adore your "What is Melee?" segment. You captured so well the idea that there are so many aspects of this game to love even if you aren't an active competitive player. That's certainly what's kept me in the content creation game for so long, and why I keep trying to contribute to it. I happen to love the game itself, but there's something to be said for these additional aspects you mentioned that can bring in a whole community, even people who don't strictly play the game. Thanks for another stellar upload!

0:00 Part I - Why the Big TV? 4:28 Part II - The Game Changes, the TVs Don't 10:35 Part III - The Myth of the Bad Character 17:05 Part IV - What is Melee? 20:55 Part V - The Last Battle of the Five Gods 25:15 Credits

Best script writer, editor, and creator in general, and it’s getting out of hand recently. I never walk away from any of your videos without feeling something. I’ve watched your amsa video 3 times a cried at the end each time. Love you man. Keep up the amazing work.

I’ve never got into melee competitively but I have a fond nostalgia for the game as I used to play it with my brothers and friends. Haven’t even played Ultimate in a while but the fact that Melee is still around competitively is more than fascinating. I think your videos are funny, SUPER well edited, and most importantly, insightful. This is one of your best yet, for sure.

20:12 I think this puts into words exactly how I've felt over the years when it comes to how I participate and engage with the community. I love playing but I don't consider myself a competitor by any means, and am for sure more interested in telling the stories of this game to people who may be interested in hearing them. It really means a lot to me to hear that sentiment from someone as legendary you, dude.

This is truely a "ideas from my Smorgasbord notes" type video

0:09 please no

the music in the five gods segment is so good, awesome that its original! the amount of effort you put into your videos is unmatched

The DK part shows that more characters are viable in Melee than most people think

The term “kusoge” perfectly describes melee. For those of you who don’t know the actual meaning, it means a shitty game that is incredibly fun because of (or despite of) a ton of bugs and bad game design choices.

20:58 honestly, same. I dont play Melee or watch any tournaments or livestreams or anything... But i love your videos and watch every single one of them, keeping me engaged with Melee. And truly, thank you for that

I will never play Melee. I gain nothing from the grindset of figuring out how to play the game well. I don't like to compete in high-level play. I don't even watch games or tournaments. I derive no joy from playing the game, nor watching it being played. But boy howdy do I love the game, and I will gladly sit and learn so much about it, from you and others. The sheer amount of passion that surrounds this game, the way players put in so much time and effort to push what we ever considered to be possible, the way specific aspects of it get so mythologized, the way it takes this roster of all-star characters we all know and gives them all unique purpose and meaning so powerful that it has retroactively changed who they are and how we perceive them on the greater scale, it's all so very wonderful. Smash in general, but in large part Melee specifically, is such a unique cultural touchstone in these regards. Its appeal is so broad and multifaceted that even I, from three blocks down only hearing the thumping of the bass in the distance and seeing the lights on the horizon, can feel like I'm also at the party.

He said it was the single happiest moment of his entire life, but I don't think I've ever seen hbox so calm

I played melee with my brother and sister avidly. We had played Smash 64 at parties before so having the big new upgrade at home was huge for us. A lot of happy times were had just screwing around, trying all the settings and modes and trying to see everything we could together. Hearing from you about melee's continued phenomenon means a lot to me. Our happy times we shared are behind us in the peculiar form of melee, (we're still close but we moved apart,) but they live on for so, so many others each in their own way. A big siblinghood worldwide across time. It's a beautiful thing.

honestly that part near the end about being a melee fan despite not playing it kinda hit close to home for me. was obsessed with comp smash a few years ago but didn't really have anyone to play with due to being in an awkward region of australia and it being like the mid 2010s where no one really cared about the game lol, so i used to just watch heaps of clips from grsmash and play against cpus on my 3ds or in dolphin. it was a fun period of time despite being in my own little bubble, and even tho i don't play smash anymore, i still like to watch you and many other people's videos about the game, as well as see what's going on with the community since it is such an old and interesting scene that reminds me a lot of other games i still love and play. great video as always!!

AsumSaus video about Melee? No way!

holy crap that outro music was so good I stayed for the credits

The "Melee continues to evolve" segment of the video is powerful. And I mean that. Your words leading into it, the storyline of eras changing, and the music that you made. Truly a masterpiece in making us feel sorrow, but also...satisfied. All this to say: You are really good at what you do, man

SHEP FINALLY TRIED MEDITATION. THIS IS THE MOST UNPRECEDENTED EVENT IN MELEE HISTORY

Oh boy, it’s about that time of year when I watch a dude make an awesomely crafted video of a game I’ve played less than 5 times as a kid

4:26 "Anyway." *Two frames of an explosion immediately followed by an ad*

what a cathartic piece. this is the single best answer ive ever seen to people questioning how this game is still alive, and im glad this community has someone of your talents in both video-making and writing to speak for everyone in a way nobody else has ever been able to. incredible work man

I got into Melee because of you, AsumSaus. I played the game when I was little, but switched to Brawl when it came out as that was what my friends were playing. Coming back to this game as an adult was sparked by your content exploring the wacky aspects of the game I had no idea of, but more than that, it was your explanation of your own journey to learning how to play competitively. Funnily enough, I started trying to learn on some top tiers like Falco and Captain Falcon. However, after a friend randomly told me to try DK, he's been my main ever since. Watching the community take note of things I noticed from the onset with DK has been fascinating to see and shows how much this game will continue to evolve. A lot of people refer to the recent surge as 'Slippi Kids', I prefer to think of myself as an AsumSaus kid.

This video makes me feel like Melee will truly never die as a concept. So much passion involved in every aspect in and out of the game. Despite playing way less than I used to, I feel even more connected with the scene as it changes and improves every year

16:02 what an absolutely WILD name for a gamertag

hey wait that pea pod looked a little suspicious

I feel the same as that one guy who messaged/commented. I also don’t keep up with Melee, nor do I play it outside of very few and far between casual occasions with my childhood best friend (with items), but I find the whole thing so incredibly interesting and nowadays it’s pretty much just thanks to you.

As a 10 year veteran of the scene I would just like to say that I have heard more new players & casual fans cite your channel as their introduction to Melee than any other source. You’ve genuinely done so much for the scene and brought in countless new players by promoting the quirky and beautiful nature of Melee. Truly appreciate your effort so so much, things like this keep the fire going for the new generation. Much love 💛

awesome video!! its unfortunate that this was made before Tipped Off 15, where a Bowser player by the tag Loadspiller from Massachusetts beat billybopeep, a top 100 player! shoutouts New England Melee

I don't play or even watch melee but I keep coming back to your videos man, your work is incredible.

I just downloaded slippi 2 days ago after watching competitive since I was 10 in 2015, I’m so glad this game exists and people like you keep making amazing content to keep it alive

He knows we’ll watch anything about melee

This feels like an hour long video essay in a good way

I'm actually really happy you mentioned ulti players that watch melee because it's a more entertaining spectator experience. This was exactly how I was for a number of years, until recently when I finally decided to finally try to really get into the game. Now I have an even higher appreciation for what this 20+ year old game is able to do and how much it has grown

It’s nice to see you upload again. I haven’t even touched Melee since like 2017 but your videos are always much watches for me. DK taking games off of top tier players? Unthinkable. I won some very minor locals 10 or so years ago but Melee is a game I just can’t completely step away from. Watching people continue to develop a meta and push the limits of a game I played during my childhood is just so entertaining to watch.

i don't think i'll ever play melee extremely seriously, only watch (mainly because no local scene, slippi just isn't the same as getting up close and personal and gaming it out) but videos like these are always fucking awesome to watch. there's just so much passion in the melee community in all aspects that is just inspirational to see. god bless you asumsaus

I haven't played smash in years, and this channel is one of those I'll come back to often to rewatch/listen to. Always a treat when we get another one.

i wasn't sure where the video was going for a bit, and then i found myself thoroughly enjoying how it all came together for your thesis in the latter half of the video (the "what is melee?" section). there really are a ton of moving and disparate parts that make up the idea of "melee", and i thought it was pretty clever how you used a bunch of seemingly unrelated discussions about melee (CRTs, recent DK performances, mods and training tools, the best moves belonging to some "bad" characters, melee video content, etc.) to demonstrate this notion. brilliant stuff! :) (also just a minor correction - in the japanese at 14:30, the yellow translation actually belongs to the japanese text two lines *below* the yellow highlight)

I loved the bit about aspect ratios, because as someone who loves editing videos, your style is inspiring. I feel like there's an untapped potential in 4:3 that was immediately abandoned by the sweeping popularity of HDTVs, and now a lot of games have a complete disregard for screen real-estate. More importantly, the way you visualize and explain these topics feels like you are just as interested in what you are creating, and it shows because it just keeps getting better with each video. Keep it up!

this is honestly a beautiful video and an incredible watch

What a fantastic documentary about Melee as a whole, I've been watching your channel for years now and despite not being a player nor spectator of tournnaments, I still tune in to your incredibly made videos and I'd be lying if I'd say it didn't make me want to play the game and learn it. I installed and setted up Slippi and will learn Peach once I have the time to do so. Thank you for your work for all these years.

Holy shit this video made me feel something. Like I never feel like leaving a comment and I am here sort of something. Nostalgia and regret mostly. Friends I no longer talk to, my brother who I've had a falling out with. Just having to be an adult and not even having time to keep up with the current melee. God do I wish for simpler times. Gonna make me cry. This just hit so hard. Keep up the good work I guess.

Amazing video, ive barely ever played Melee but i love the deep changing scene around it and incredibly detailed and passionate videos like these.

I can confirm, this is a Video about Melee. For the Gamecube. That aside, hell yea New upload! This is gonna be a fun one!

8:33 "Diamond dozen" is either an inside joke I'm missing or a very funny bone apple tea situation

beautiful video oomfie, wanted to say that i still remember and love your video "goodbye, melee" when we got dropped from evo in 2019, which this video feels reminiscent of thank u for many years of good videos and take care

Now wonder this video took 11 months, this is probably like Top 100 best edited video on the platform

I watched this video twice through. Why did mango make me tear up? Why is the only video on KZfaq that I've ever finished and hit replay about a game I havent played since being a child, 18 years ago? Just Melee things I guess.

Dude, @AsumSauce, this is really good content. I don't EVER comment on videos, but I wanted to here to say that I find you to be an S-tier content creator. Funnily enough, despite wanting to, I don't play Melee. It just happens to be the game I enjoy *watching* the most. I am stuck on Ultimate due to not having a good Melee setup. Working on getting a modded Wii going. Anyway, just wanted to give you maximum interaction points and say thanks for making the content that you do!

I haven't played a single match of Melee in my life, however, my attention was drawn when I saw a couple of D1 clips and his famous DESSSSSSTRUCTION calls, then I stummbled upon your chanel and was immediately hooked. I payed attention when you talked about technical stuff about Melee and I screamed and smiled when your aMSa video came out, you're a great story teller and I'm glad I found your chanel, your community and the FGC in general are awesome!

You… almost made me cry. Thank you, for everything I can’t put into words. There’s so much explained and covered so beautifully, that it’s going to define how I explain this game to the people I love. I’ve come to realize with this video, that I love every single part of Melee, as a concept. I hope you realize that you’ve helped people process internal struggles with the content you put out. Thank you, Asumsauce.

well damn, this video made me nostalgic for Melee despite me never interacting with it outside of AsumSaus. Hats off to you Mr Saus!

As someone who’s been watching melee since around 2014/2015, the ending got me super emotional just thinking about how far the game has advanced since then. Great video

It was your channel that got me more into Melee than Ultimate in around 2018. You're so good at conveying the magic of Melee, it's no doubt that countless players have come to Melee because of your videos. Thank you for being an inspiration.

I havent consumed or played any sort of smash content for years because I dont enjoy the games anymore, but I will still always watch your videos because they are so well made and make melee enjoyable again

Just wanted to stop by and say amazing upload - watched it after work as I was already badgering my wife about the joy and insanity that is melee and this video helped me articulate a lot of the “Why” it’s so cool. Inspired to contribute to melee and things that I have passion for in some way. I thought you had been in the community a lot longer with the content you make, but showing that GRSmash got you into it was chefs kiss.

"Shatter the grass ceiling" is an instant add to my vocabulary.

What makes me feel sad is that someday, the five gods will all be retired from melee, ushering a new era of melee.

KZfaq videos on fighting games are the only videos that can move me like this, despite the fact I usually don't even play the games each video talks about. I feel the community behind each game is something extremely difficult to recreate in other genres.

i have never touched melee, not even in my childhood a single time, but i have many hours seeing channels like grsmash, hungrybox, vgbootcamp and obviously your channel. idk why this game is soo hype to watch, the community around this game blows my mind now days, keep going with this amazing videos man

I actually said “oh my god” like a giddy little girl when I saw this lmao

5:31 "this looks really hard for puff" LMFAO never change Hbox chatters

I know most of the songs in this video were originals, but I’d love to hear the one that’s starts at 24:20 in full. Great video and editing. It makes me happy to still see content like this and about melee no less.

Really gotta get back to playing Slippi and Melee as a whole. Once upon a time I played competitive Melee online but never entered any tournaments. It was one of the first times I was super into a fighting game and it really changes how you look at things (I tried to make sure I was still having fun). Watching your videos and just thinking back makes me nostalgic and there's never been a better time (at least for me), given I'm in a bit of a dry spell fighting game wise. Love your videos man and thank you ^_^

So cool to see someone else have the same perspective when it comes to the game in forms of content creation. I've spent the past 3 years as a vendor at a majority of the smash events (my booth is in the background of some clips lol). While I haven't played Melee in a long time due to Ultimate being more my pace, I would still watch Melee over any other game in a heartbeat. Even if I don't play it, I still have such a deep connection to it from the people I meet, the work I've been able to do for events or for other content creators, and overall the atmosphere of togetherness the scene has. There is NOTHING that will ever have the same level of connectedness that Melee does, and I will never miss out on it when given the chance. In a game over 20+ years old at this point, and the meta STILL evolving through Yoshis and Donkey Kongs, you better believe I'm gonna watch it unfold, and do whatever I can to show people just how special this game is.

I love Melee because the players, from all ranks, have a genuine love for the game too. It's not about money or fame or sponsors or anything like that. Sure, those things are part of the whole, but the love of the game comes first - and that despite Nintendo itself being an active antagonist to the Smash Bros communities. The people made Melee what it is today and are keeping it alive with nothing but passion, and that's beautiful. Also, competitive Melee has proven itself to be a very accessible game (ie. easy to understand mechanically and visually) while having insanely complex intricacies and infinite possible outcomes and upsets. Some sets are won or lost on a split second unexpected move. After 20 years, the skill level of the top players has reached a god tier level of technicality only seen in far less accessible games (Starcraft, DOTA, etc) that are virtually impossible to grasp unless you already have a deep understanding of their rules. But not Melee. Even at the highest levels, it always remains clear and consistently enjoyable. It's just fun to watch and the players constantly reinvent the meta of the game itself. It's so easy to catch a set at any point and immediately be on the edge of your seat. Melee is a community of underdogs keeping the game they love alive against all odds, and pushing it to a level never imagined by anyone alive in 2001. Thank you, Melee

It's been hard to get as excited with the changes in the big names in the scene lately, so a video like this was real welcome helping to keep the perspective on why the scene is so damn amazing.

Asumsaus, when I needed you most, you answered my prayers. We missed you sooooooooooooooooooo much!!!!

This channel is ALSO the reason I picked up Melee, now I keep up with it and practice in my own time Sick ass channel, seriously

I played melee casually at my grandparents house when I was a kid and still love watching content on it. I don’t played melee but I love the content and story around it.

I love your videos man, this is great. Ngl you pretty much introduced me to the world of Melee, it’s community, and it’s mechanics, keep it up yo

What's always surprising to me is to see how many people seem to straight up dislike playing Melee in the community. I don't even have slippi or any local scene at all where I live, but Melee is one of my favorite games to play with mates. Something about combo's and the movement is beyond satisfying and unmatched