After 22 Years, Sonic And Lucas Are Finally In Super Smash Bros. Melee

Super Smash Bros. Melee just got a couple of new fighters, thanks to an incredibly dedicated group of fans. Almost 22 years after launch, Sonic and Lucas are joining the fight in the GameCube classic, fully playable in the latest update to a huge mod.

This all comes courtesy of the modders TeamAkaneia, who just shared all the files you’ll need to get Sonic and Lucas working in Melee. This adds the pair to the game that was released prior to their debut in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, making it the only way to play as them in a Smash game before the days of the Nintendo Wii.

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Sonic may not have ever appeared in Melee, but that doesn’t mean TeamAkaneia is going against the spirit of the game. The reveal trailer for the Blue Blur has been done in the style of other character highlights in Melee, even using the iconic “A new foe has appeared!” screen.

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Better yet, this Sonic is also inspired by what would have been one of his most recent games at the time: Sonic Adventure. From Open Your Heart playing in the background, to reusing old voice lines, his Melee appearance is full of references to this much-loved era of Sonic. He also beats the shit out of Mario, because of course he does.

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Our boy Lucas gets his own intro too, showing the Mother 3 protagonist in action. And yes, he has that incredibly fun (or irritating, if you’re playing against it) PK Freeze move. You’ll only be safe from that in the first Smash Bros. now.

Both of these new character models fit into the look of Melee seamlessly, so you don’t have to worry about any jarring art style differences, even if the pair were introduced in a later game. And while it’s hard to judge without playing ourselves, it looks like Melee’s faster pace has been accounted for here, so the new characters can keep up with the competition.

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Lucas and Sonic are part of Akaneia’s version 0.9 update. As well as the new characters, it introduces stages such as Delfino Plaza. Tours and the Animal Crossing village (albeit named Animal Forest, the Japanese release that would have been the only one available when Melee launched.)

Aside from that, there are smaller additions such as changes to the trophy collection. Remember that from back in the day? Now, some of the mod’s characters like Lucas and Wolf have their own trophies, and even a separate unlock that represents their Kirby forms.

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