Ultimate for almost everyone; Melee if you want the competitive one. Ultimate has every character in the series' history, modern online and a huge single-player mode. Melee is faster, more technical, and has a two-decade competitive scene built on movement techniques the game never intended.
Same platform-fighting core — percentage instead of health, ring-outs instead of knockouts, and items you can turn off.
Eighty-plus fighters, hundreds of stages, and a difficulty range that works for a nine-year-old and a tournament player at the same table.
More like this: games like Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
Wavedashing, L-cancelling and a speed nothing since has matched. The scene is still active, but the barrier to entry is genuinely high.
More like this: games like Super Smash Bros Melee.
Ultimate for almost everyone; Melee if you want the competitive one. Ultimate has every character in the series' history, modern online and a huge single-player mode. Melee is faster, more technical, and has a two-decade competitive scene built on movement techniques the game never intended.
Better is the wrong question for these two — they are close enough that the answer depends on what you want from the next twenty hours. Pick Ultimate if you want to play with people in the room. Pick Melee if you want the technical ceiling.
No. There are no scores anywhere on this page. This is a written opinion about what each game is for, so you can judge whether it matches what you are after.