The best (in my opinion) fighting game to date as reviewed by me.
In Smash 64, there were 12 playable characters and a limited amount of moves. It was also easier to combo in Smash 64. In Melee, however, there are 25 (not including Sheik) playable characters and more moves (Side Specials and more throws being just a few). Though a few characters are "clones", such as Dr. Mario being a clone of Mario, there are still slight differences between them. Melee is also much faster than Smash 64, and introduces a number of new advanced techniques for thse wanting to go pro (or try at least).
Melee has a decent singleplayer mode, but its strength lies in its absolutely fantastic multiplayer mode. Anyone who critisizes Melee for its singleplayer mode is being unfair, as the singleplayer mode was not the main focus and really just an afterthought. In addition, anyone who says the fighting "lacks depth" needs to take a look at a Melee tournament. Instead of having to memorize combos, you can make your own. The characters are more manuverable and the controls more simplistic than any other fighter, so button mashing is just a simple no.
Overall, the Smash series is more free than any fighting game, but calling it a party game makes me frown. Competitive Smash is more, well, competitive than any other fighter I know of.
Overall, the pros are:
Fantastic multiplayer
Strong competitive scene
Frikkin' fun
Captain Falcon
Much more free and manuverable than any other fighter
Uncomparable to any other game
Infinite replay value
Overall, the cons are:
Decent at best singleplayer
Melee isn't very balanced, some characters are much easier to pick up than others
Pichu
I give this game a 9.5.