Examples of regional differences as demonstrated in the Collection mode; the image on the left is from the American version, while the image on the right uses the Japanese language setting.
There are many differences between the NTSC versions and PAL version of Super Smash Bros. Melee, which are listed here.
Game disc
The text found near the center of the back of the Melee game disc indicates the version of the game.
| Version | Text |
|---|---|
| 1.0 NTSC | DOL-GALE 0-00 |
| 1.01 NTSC | DOL-GALE 0-01 |
| 1.02 NTSC | DOL-GALE 0-02 |
| KOR | DOL-GALE 0-30 |
| PAL | DOL-GALP 0-00 |
MD5 hash
The version of a .gcm or .iso file of Melee can be determined by checking its MD5 hash.
| Version | MD5 hash |
|---|---|
| 1.0 NTSC | 3a62f8d10fd210d4928ad37e3816e33c |
| 1.01 NTSC | 67136bd167b471e0ad72e98d10cf4356 |
| 1.02 NTSC | 0e63d4223b01d9aba596259dc155a174 |
| KOR | 315d6c0f5f6a0b778af7858a0a19c24e |
| PAL | 5e118fc2d85350b7b092d0192bfb0f1a |
| 1.0 NTSC-J | 378be81bb6c38febd847fc4b7f7dc36f |
| 1.01 NTSC-J | f590cbc155097468d7f04e126d7bd898 |
| 1.02 NTSC-J | dc07abd4b6a5e1517da575274ceefcf8 |
General
Version 1.0
- All glitches exist, including one that can overwrite Multi-Man Melee scores.
- If the player plays as one of the clone characters, lower scores can overwrite higher ones, and if the player plays a clone and then a regular character, the score can duplicate itself on other characters.
- In the Home-Run Contest, the track ends at 1521.0 m (4990.0 ft), and if Sandbag isn’t already on the track when the player strikes it with the final attack and it goes over 1389.0 m (4556.9 ft), it will result in No Distance. In the Japanese version, it will start to say No Distance from about 890.0 m (2920.0 ft).
Version 1.01
- Home Run Contest track was changed to 4990.0 m (16371.0 ft) long, but the bag can’t land anywhere past 3458.5 m (11347.2 ft).
- The all-floats glitch can no longer be performed.
- The turnip glitch can no longer be performed.
- The shadow glitch can no longer be performed.
Version 1.02
- Moves that do less than 1% are now possible to Smash DI.
- The Multi-Man Melee glitch was fixed, the Superjump Glitch was removed, and many other glitches were corrected.
- The announcer now says “A New Record” if a new record is achieved in Multi-Man Melee.
- The crowd now says “Ohhh” when the announcer says “Failure” if the player fails in Multi-Man Melee.
- The game is now able to record and store negative scores in the single player modes; finishing with a negative score will count as 0 instead of the maximum of 999,999,999.
- Many methods of freezing the games no longer cause freezing.
KOR version
- Identical to 1.02
PAL version
- Lag and loading times have been reduced.
- Character stock icons shown at the bottom of the screen during a match, as well as target icons shown in Target Test, are considerably smaller.
- The progressive scan query shown during the booting of the game if B is held is replaced by a 60 Hz query, which lets the player select between PAL50 (576i50) and PAL60 (480i60).
- The "Special Movie" was removed, as was the Archives section in the Data menu. A dedicated menu selection for the How to Play video replaces the Archives submenu.
- The Tamagon trophy has been completely removed from the game.
- Player markers are not shown above Star KO'd characters.
- Inert hitboxes no longer disable article hitboxes
- In Homerun-Contest, when the Sandbag lands on the track it becomes unhittable.
- In the main menu, when going to the next screen and then switching to a different entry too quickly, the game now shows the correct information at the bottom of the screen.
Character-specific differences
Bowser
| 1.0 NTSC | 1.01 NTSC | 1.02 NTSC | PAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | 117 |  118
| ||
| Down throw | Dependent on enemy weight, so it does not hit Jigglypuff or Mr. Game & Watch | Independent of enemy weight, so it will hit Jigglypuff or Mr. Game & Watch.
| ||
| Flame cancel | Can perform |  Cannot perform
| ||
Captain Falcon
| All NTSC | PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Rapid jab | Triggered after the A button is pressed or released 3 times (tricky to avoid when attempting to only get the Gentleman) |
Triggered after the A button is pressed or released 4 times (the Gentleman is trivial to use) |
| Knee Smash | Late hit deals 6% damage and has 35 base knockback | Late hit deals 3% damage and has 30 base knockback
|
| Raptor Boost | Can pass through projectiles | Can no longer pass through projectiles
|
Donkey Kong
| All NTSC | PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Giant Punch | Donkey Kong will lose his charge if he is hit out of Spinning Kong | Being hit out of Spinning Kong does not affect Giant Punch's charge.
|
Falco
| All NTSC | PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Down aerial | Has spike angle of 290 for clean and late hit | Has spike angle of 290 for clean hit and Sakurai angle for late hit.
|
| Down throw | Fox cannot tech out | Fox can tech out.
|
Fox
| All NTSC | PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 75 | 73
|
| Dash attack | Late hit has angle of 72 and lasts 10 frames | Late hit has angle of 55 and lasts 9 frames
|
| Up smash | Clean hit deals 18% with 30 base knockback and 112 knockback growth | Clean hit deals 17% with 26 base knockback and 108 knockback growth
|
| Down smash | Sweetspot deals 15% with an angle of 25 | Sweetspot deals 13% with an angle of 30
|
| Fire Fox | Strong hitbox deals 14% | Strong hitbox deals 12% and is 0.75x the radius; covers less distance than NTSC Fire Fox but more than Fire Bird
|
| Reflector | Does not knock Marth down |  Knocks Marth down, due to his changed weight
|
| Falco's down throw | Cannot tech out due to unlucky math involving throw's weight-based animation speed | Can tech out due to new weight
|
Ganondorf
| NTSC 1.0 | NTSC 1.01 | NTSC 1.02 | PAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral aerial | Hits on frames 7-8 then 16-17 This timing results in the second hitbox being active too early, before Ganondorf extends his leg.[1] |
 Hits on frames 7-8 then 20-21
| ||
| Forward aerial | Base knockback is 60 | Base knockback is 40
| ||
| Down aerial | Deals 22%, base knockback is 50 | Deals 21%, base knockback is 40
| ||
| Bunnyhood Double Jab | Can be performed | Cannot be performed
| ||
| Dark Dive state | Ganondorf is considered grounded during Dark Dive[2] | Ganondorf is considered airborne
| ||
| Gerudo Dragon | Can pass through projectiles | Can no longer pass through projectiles
| ||
Ice Climbers
| All NTSC | PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze glitch | Can perform | Cannot perform
|
Jigglypuff
| All NTSC | PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Bowser's down throw | Undamaged by it | Will now take damage from it
|
Kirby
| All NTSC | PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 70 | 74
|
| Dash speed | 1.4 | 1.5
|
| Forward tilt | 8 base knockback | 10 base knockback
|
| Up tilt | Upward disjoint increased
| |
| Dash attack | Clean hit deals 8% and has 66 knockback growth | Clean hit deals 9% and has 50 knockback growth
|
| Forward smash | Clean hit has 24 base knockback Late hit deals 13% and has 18 base knockback Clean hit has slight negative disjoint |
Clean hit has 32 base knockback Late hit deals 14% and has 26 base knockback Clean hit has slight positive disjoint Late hit less negatively disjointed
|
| Down smash | Outer hitboxes have 20 base knockback | Outer hitboxes have 22 base knockback
|
| Forward aerial | Landing lag is 20 frames (10 if L-cancelled) | Landing lag is 18 frames (9 if L-cancelled) Disjoint increased
|
| Back aerial | Disjoint increased
| |
| Down Aerial | Landing lag is 20 frames (10 if L-cancelled) | Landing lag is 18 frames (9 if L-cancelled)
|
Link
| 1.0 NTSC | 1.01 NTSC | 1.02 NTSC | PAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chain dance | Can perform | Cannot perform
| ||
| Boomerang | Catching the boomerang while airborne cancels the grapple animation, allowing Link to become actionable | Catching the boomerang does not cancel the grapple animation
| ||
| Spin Attack | Has a lingering semi-spike with a trajectory of 0 degrees | Lingering hit sends opponents at the Sakurai angle
| ||
Mario
| 1.0 NTSC | 1.01 NTSC | 1.02 NTSC | PAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | 100 | 98
| ||
| Fireball | Increases speed when banking off certain angles on Yoshi's Island (SSBM) | No longer increases speed
| ||
| Maximum air speed | .86 | .83
| ||
Marth
| All NTSC | PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 87 | 85
|
| Maximum aerial velocity | 0.90 | 0.85
|
| Down aerial | Tipper spikes opponents (tip has angle of 290) | Tipper meteor smashes opponents (tip has angle of 270)
|
| Fox's Reflector | Is not knocked down | Is knocked down, due to changed weight
|
Mewtwo
| 1.0 NTSC | 1.01 NTSC | 1.02 NTSC | PAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow glitch | Can perform | Cannot perform
| ||
Mr. Game & Watch
| 1.0 NTSC | 1.01 NTSC | 1.02 NTSC | PAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowser's down throw | Undamaged by it | Will take damage from it
| ||
| Item pickup glitch | Can perform | Cannot perform
| ||
Ness
| 1.0 NTSC | 1.01 NTSC | 1.02 NTSC | PAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PK Thunder | Stays active when Ness is hit | Despawns if Ness is hit
| ||
- There is a long-standing rumor that Ness can charge his up and down smash attacks further over ledges in one version of the game and not others. This is false; in all versions of Melee, Ness can charge his smash attacks over a ledge to the same degree.
Samus
| All NTSC | PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Grapple Beam | Can use Extended Grapple and can bomb jump after grapple is used in midair | Cannot use Extended Grapple and cannot bomb jump out of grapple beam
|
In both NTSC and PAL she will lose her Charge Shot if hit out of her Up Special.
Sheik
| All NTSC | PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Up smash | Deals 17% with 105 knockback growth | Deals 16% with 97 knockback growth
|
| Up aerial | Clean hit deals 12% and late hit deals 9%, both with 120 knockback growth | Clean hit deals 6% and late hit deals 4%, both with 46 knockback growth
|
| Down throw | Trajectory is 80 degrees, allowing guaranteed followup into many other moves, and first hit has fixed knockback value of 90 | Trajectory is 60 degrees, only allowing guaranteed followup into dash attack, and first hit has fixed knockback value of 100
|
Yoshi
| All NTSC | PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 108 | 110
|
| Forward smash | Deals 16% with 94 knockback growth | Deals 17% with 98 knockback growth
|
| Up smash | Deals 14% with 26 base knockback | Deals 15% with 30 base knockback
|
| Down aerial | Deals 51% (all hits) | Deals 38% (all hits)
|
Young Link
| 1.0 NTSC | 1.01 NTSC | 1.02 NTSC | PAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chain dance | Can perform | Cannot perform
| ||
| Boomerang | Catching the boomerang while airborne cancels the grapple animation, allowing Link to become actionable | Catching the boomerang does not cancel the grapple animation
| ||
Giga Bowser
| 1.0 NTSC | 1.01 NTSC | 1.02 NTSC | PAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flame cancel | Can perform | Cannot perform
| ||
Language
- PAL
- The NTSC version allows changing between English and Japanese, while the PAL covers five languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian.
- Also in the Language selection, English is represented by the Union Jack instead of the American flag.
- Names can now include uppercase and lowercase letters and with diacritics; Japanese characters, however, are no longer usable.
- The Motion Sensor Bomb is called the Proximity Mine.
- Distances are always measured in metres, as is customary in most European countries.
- Snag trophies! is called "Grab a Trophy".
- Rainbow Cruise is changed to "Rainbow Ride".
- In the NTSC version, the text at the top of the Lottery screen reads "Chance of getting a new trophy"; in the PAL version, it simply reads "New trophy chance".
Trophies
- PAL
- None of the trophies have release dates.
- Kirby Super Star is referred to as Kirby's Fun Pak.
- Star Fox is referred to as Starwing; Star Fox 64 is referred to as Lylatwars.
- The NES game Yoshi is referred to as Mario & Yoshi.
- The EarthBound trophies have "Not released in Europe".
- The GameCube's trophy has May 2002, its release date in Europe. The trophy name is "GCN" instead of "Nintendo GameCube".
- The Tamagon trophy is completely removed and unobtainable altogether.
Character names
All the characters' names are the same in English, Italian and Spanish. Characters not mentioned are the same as in English.
| English | French | German |
|---|---|---|
| Young Link | Link Enfant | Junger Link |
| Mewtwo | MEWTWO | Mewtu |
| Jigglypuff | RONDOUDOU | Pummeluff |
| Pikachu | PIKACHU | Pikachu |
| Pichu | PICHU | Pichu |
| Sheik | Sheik | Shiek |
When selecting Jigglypuff in German or French, its name in that language is declared by the announcer (with a pronounced American accent), and it has separate voice clips. The crowd, however, shouts something sounding like "Dong dong" in both languages, for some reason.
Of course, Japanese character names reflect the original Japanese names of those characters: Bowser is Koopa, and Jigglypuff is Purin. In addition, Ice Climbers are referred to as Ice Climber, and "DK" is written as "D.KONG". The first three use appropriate voice clips, while the latter is "Donkey Kong" in both English and Japanese anyway.
Stage names
All stages' names are the same in English and Italian. Stages not mentioned have the same name in all languages.
| English | French | German | Spanish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Princess Peach's Castle | Château de Peach | Prinzessin Peachs Schloss | Castillo de Peach |
| Rainbow Ride | Rainbow Ride | Regenbogen Raserei | Rainbow Ride |
| Kongo Jungle (SSBM) | Jungle Kongo | Tiefster Kongo | Selva Kongo |
| Jungle Japes | Jungle Japes | Tropen Trubel | Jungla Jocosa |
| Great Bay | Grande Baie | Schädelbucht | Gran Bahía |
| Temple | Temple | Tempel | Templo |
| Yoshi's Island | Île des Yoshi | Yoshi's Island | Yoshi's Island |
| Fountain of Dreams | Fontaine des Rêves | Traumbrunnen | Fuente de los Sueños |
| Icicle Mountain | Montagne Icicle | Icicle Mountain | Montaña Carámbano |
| Flat Zone | Espace 2D | 2D-Welt | Zona extraplana |
| Mushroom Kingdom | Royaume Champignon | Pilz-Königreich | Reino Champiñón |
| Mushroom Kingdom II | Royaume Champignon II | Pilz-Königreich II | Reino Champiñón II |
| Brinstar Depths | Profondeurs de Brinstar | Die Tiefen von Brinstar | Abismo de Brinstar |
| Mute City | Mute City | Mute City | Circuito Mute City |
| Big Blue | Big Blue | Big Blue | Circuito Big Blue |
| Pokémon Stadium | Stade Pokémon | Pokémon Stadium | Estadio Pokémon |
| Poké Floats | Poké Flotte | Poké-Flug | Poké Globos |
| Battlefield | Champ de Bataille | Battlefield | Campo de batalla |
| Final Destination | Destination Finale | Final Destination | Destino final |
| Kongo Jungle N64 | Jungle Kongo N64 | Tiefster Kongo | Selva Kongo N64 |
| Yoshi's Island N64 | Île des Yoshi N64 | Yoshi's Island | Isla de Yoshi N64 |
Notes
- The Japanese discs also have three different known versions, although there are some aesthetic differences exclusive to the Japanese release. This includes graphical changes such as the title screen, certain videos, seal Topis rather than yeti, and some references to Perfect Dark (such as the Proximity Mine design). In addition, the language is set to Japanese on default with only minor alterations in the English setting's text, and the Tamagon Trophy was originally available in-game. Switching languages between English and Japanese will not affect these changes.
- In the French versions of both Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Pokémon names are in all caps, referencing how Pokémon names before Generation V are formatted, as well as being changed. In the PAL version of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the names of the Pokémon are in all caps in all languages.