The second version of Smash was Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001), a dramatically more complex game released on the GameCube with 26 playable characters. This game had a much larger development team and budget than the original game, selling more than 7 million copies. This makes SSB Melee the best-selling game on the GameCube. The game was so popular that characters from less popular franchises, such as Marth and Roy from the Fire Emblem series, gained massive popularity for their original games.
Playable Character Gender Breakdown:
Male: 17
Female: 4
Player’s Choice: 0
Ambiguous: 5
Total: 26