I think I was a little dramatic as a child (I guess a lot of us were though). I'd been absolutely thrilled with our PS2, didn't feel like I was missing too much not having a Gamecube. I thought Luigi's Mansion was cute when playing a store demo, but didn't exactly rush out and buy it. When I first played Melee at a friend's house though, I was unbelievably hyped up by it. I couldn't believe how smooth it looked and felt compared to the N64 game, and the humongous expansion in roster. Not to mention adventure and all-star modes. I remember going home after playing it and just feeling crushed that I couldn't own it and play it myself. I was probably morose about it for several days.

A whole video game console wasn't exactly something I could purchase myself as a 9 year old, it usually had to be a Christmas or birthday gift. I think I begged for a Gamecube on my following birthday, but since we'd just gotten a PS2 for Christmas my parents said we had to hold off. Fortunately the following year my birthday was close to Wind Waker's NA release, and there was a console bundle my parents got for me. I loved that game too, but I just had to buy Melee as soon as I could, and I played the absolute hell out of it.

I certainly don't think I appreciated at the time how tight the controls were in this game, and how much potential it would go on to have as a competitive game. I happily moved onto Brawl when that came out, but around the time of Smash 4 I remember breaking out Melee again to play with roommates at the time and I'd forgotten just how well it holds up. I think I've probably played Brawl the most, and I really like Ultimate for just how expansive and varied it is, but Melee is obviously tough to beat for best in the series.