The second entry in the fan-favorite Nintendo franchise is famous for its rabid fanbase that’s weathered all sorts of problems, fromcontroller shortagesto alack of support for the competitive communityfrom Nintendo to a global pandemic limiting how much practice hardcore players can get.Today marked two significant announcements for theÂSmashcommunity. Not only did Nintendo host an online presentation where series director Masahiro Sakurai revealed thatMin Min fromARMSwas joiningÂSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate’s roster, but a team of modders atslippi.ggannounced that they were bringing rollback netcode to the Dolphin GameCube emulator.
On the surface, it may seem absurd thatMelee–an almost 20-year-old game that had no form of online play on release–has received more netplay improvements than its counterpart on the Switch. But with a community that fervent and competition that fierce, the eSport has constantly demanded improved tech performance – including netcode upgrades.
For those out of the loop,Rollbacknetcode is so important for a game likeÂMeleebecause it greatly reduces the number of frames it takes for a game to respond to an input, thus making competitive online play more viable. If you want to learn more about what rollback is and how it works, here’s a video from the YouTube channel Code Mystics that sums it up well:
Nintendo has been known for its poor support of online multiplayer in its games. With this news, even some ofUltimate’s most staunch fans and competitors are attracted by the promise that they could playMeleeonline with little to no input delay, highlighting Nintendo’s need to modernize its online infrastructures.
Super Smash Bros. UltimateÂis exclusively available on Nintendo Switch; meanwhile,ÂSuper Smash Bros. MeleeÂremains locked on Nintendo GameCube (and emulators).
