Top ten party game, and still fun even after the party ends.
First Smash Bros was one of the wake up calls for fighting game developers, who took note of Nintendo's success. People were tired of insanely steep learning curves and obscene AI difficulty. The age of the arcade was ending, being more and more eclipsed by home consoles, and arcade gameplay had less appeal to people on couches than in front of cabinets (I still love old school arcade fighters, though
). They just wanted a casual, uber-combo free fighting game that wasn't movie licensed garbage and didn't suck. And, yeah, filled with gallons of Mario Kart esque cheap ass items to cheese your friends off with. Now, Steam is full of party fighting games that have all taken the cues from the Bros. And there's even professional Smash tourneys for those blessed with otherworldly reflexes.
Melee carried on the torch, and was an improvement on every level. Still loved and lauded for its tight and fast gameplay. 10/10