Project M has been seen as the spiritual successor to Super Smash Bros. Melee after the Nintendo release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl failed to cater to fans’ expectations. Project M sought to bring back core gameplay elements from Melee while simultaneously changing up characters so that they would be more diverse than in the original games. The mod also re-added characters from Melee such as Dr. Mario, Mewtwo, and Roy.
Project M tried its best to balance characters across the board, changing the gameplay of certain characters such as Roy, Ganondorf, and the Pokemon Trainer’s Pokemon to better suit competitive gameplay.
While it is unclear exactly why they stopped development, in an official statement found on the Project M website the development team said the following:
Surprisingly, Project M was never shut down by Nintendo. In fact, Project M was so grossly popular that even e-sports groups slowly allowed the mod to be played in tournament environments. I suppose the developers believe that the final version of the mod is as close to their goal as they can get, and for that I respect their decision.
- Project M Development Team
Hopefully, we see more content from the Project M team in the future. While I doubt we will ever hear about another Project M update, perhaps we might see a mod for the current Super Smash Bros. games? Or maybe the team will develop an entirely new game that stands alone and doesn’t use Nintendo characters? Only time will tell I suppose…
Did you guys ever play Project M? Are you saddened by the end of its development? What do you think the development team will have in store for the future? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!