Smash fans were elated when Super Smash Bros. Melee was first released for GameCube in 2001. Since then, fans have championed a modern HD re-release, even using mods to do so. However, the chances of that are less likely than some would believe.
On March 23rd, former Nintendo of America employees Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang addressed the concept on their podcast “Kit & Krysta”. The topic of Smash Melee HD arose from a Patreon subscriber comment during their “Never a Minute” segment, where they were discussing which games deserved the “Metroid Prime remake” treatment. Their stance on the subject was that Smash Melee HD won’t ever happen, citing reasons related to developer concerns, the Smash community, and the game director Masahiro Sakurai.
“There are so many negative things from a Nintendo perspective around Melee,” Yang said. “Now it has the ‘black market emulation’ around it and all this other stuff that Nintendo does not like…”
Ellis and Yang agreed that Smash fans wouldn’t react well to a Smash Melee HD release. Ellis said, “If you change even one minuscule detail about this game, it’d be like ‘Oh, this game is not viable.'” To this, Yang responded, “There’s no way you can satisfy the zealousness of that community and I think Nintendo totally knows that.”
The two also discussed Smash Melee director Masahiro Sakurai’s semi-retirement. They spoke to Sakurai’s passion for the series and how it would contrast with Nintendo and the Smash community’s demands. Yang stated, “His level of aggression, perfection, passion – coupled with the Melee community’s exact same tier list – that is the most, I think, toxic relationship you could get into. And I think honestly, like for his health, he would not make it and it would be devastating.”
Nintendo hasn’t revealed anything related to Super Smash Bros. Melee at the moment, much less the series as a whole. Considering this take, the possibility of an official Smash Melee HD release is cast into more doubt.