Super Smash Bros. Melee didn’t launch with any online capabilities when it was released for the Nintendo GameCube in November 2001, but that hasn’t stopped the game’s community from continuing to revolutionize it year over year.
In this case, the existing top online resource for playing Melee has officially started testing its ranked online mode.
This is an additional feature being added to Project Slippi, which has given players access to improved online matchmaking and numerous other additions that have helped revolutionize the tools available to Melee players. Now this will include a built-in online ranked mode and ladder—something the community has been asking for since Slippi was widely adopted and hit a boom over the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Starting today, online ranked queue and some of its added features are live in an early access testing period for anyone who supports Slippi’s development directly via a subscription on the platform’s website.
This will last for roughly three months to ensure the team can fix issues with a smaller population of players before fully opening the floodgates.
“There’s always a chance for issues during a launch. I will do my best to address them as they come,” Slippi lead developer Fizzi said. “Less populated regions may also suffer from slower queues. This is an early release, it doesn’t include all the functionality I would have wanted and things will get added in time.”
While not all features tied to the ranked mode are going to be live with this test, leaderboards are already live on the Slippi website for this new feature and an updated profile page.
The leaderboard will allow players to view player ratings from across every region along with stats like character usage, win-loss record, and more.
The profile page will now allow you to view a Smash player’s rank, character usage, gameplay history, and placements.
Additional content will likely be added to flesh this out further in the future.
