Super Smash Bros. Melee is a wacky game with some interesting physics. Every day, it seems that top players and labbers are stumbling upon crazy interactions that seem to defy all logic. But on Oct. 4, Cody Schwab, the No. 2 player in the world tweeted a bizarre glitch that might take the cake.
Cody posted this hysterical glitch that occurred between a Ness player (who ended up submitting this clip to Cody) and a Fox player. The two fight on Fountain of Dreams, a stage known for its side platforms moving up and down throughout the match, sometimes disappearing entirely within the stage.
The jank starts off right away. Ness stands on the left platform as it’s being lowered, and Fox manages to grab him even though the Ness is above and behind. A lot of people were shocked by how this grab managed to land, but it’s easily explained by the frame data of Fox’s grab, which shows that he can grab opponents even when they’re behind.
Once Fox successfully gets the grab, he downthrows Ness on the edge of the platform as it’s being submerged into the stage. Fox’s down throw is unique for two main reasons. First off, if he downthrows at the edge of the stage or a platform, it launches the opponent straight downwards. And second, it displaces the opponent’s environment collision box, or ECB for short. Basically, ECB is what determines whether someone lands on a platform when they jump towards it. If the entire ECB is not above the platform, the character falls through instead of landing on it.
This ECB displacement, along with the fact that the platform submerges into the stage at the exact same time, means that Ness’ ECB is now below the stage. The Ness player tries to tech the throw using the shield button, not realizing that the game now considers them below the stage. This causes the shield button to be registered as an airdodge instead, giving the Ness no chance to recover.
It’s rare for a single Melee clip to demonstrate so many features of this insane game. Some might view this and wonder how this game’s maintained a loyal fanbase, much less through competitive play when it’s glitchy beyond belief. But as an active player in the scene, I find it beautiful. We’re learning more and more about the game we love, and after the dust settles and the match is resolved, it’s amazing to see how much more there is to discover in this 21-year-old game.
