How to play ‘Super Smash Bros. Melee’ online (with Slippi).
Contents
is a customized version of the Dolphin emulator suitable for Super Smash Bros. Melee netplay. This is what sets it apart from other ways you can play Super Smash Bros. online and how to play the Nintendo classic online on your PC.
What is netplay?
Netplay allows online play on emulators, but it’s not the same as traditional online play in video games. Since the original console being emulated was not made for online play (and netplay is a gimmick as well), what is happening is that the “state” of the emulator is constantly syncing between players.
While this is fine for some games, Super Smash Bros. Melee for the Nintendo GameCube is still being played after all these years due to its vibrant competitive scene. This requires a great deal of reflexes and precision. Dolphin’s Netplay solution just wasn’t good enough for competitive players, but Slippi has changed that!
What is Slippi and how does it beat regular Netplay with dolphins?
What Slippi adds to the equation is something called “rollback network code.” This means that Melee under Slippi now works like a game designed to be played online. Input lag is greatly reduced to levels SSBM players are used to. Due to the world events of 2020, this was necessary to keep the scene alive.
The crazy thing about Slippi for the Smash Bros. community is that, right now, it’s actually the best way to play Smash Bros. online. Not even the official online game in Smash Bros. Ultimate for Nintendo Switch has a rollback netcode!
what you will need
Here’s what you’ll need to set this up:
An unmodified Super Smash Bros. Melee ISO file: To legally create one from an official game disc you own, see the “How to Get GameCube and Wii Games Legally” section in our Dolphin emulator guide. Place this ISO in the “Games” folder after creating it later in this guide.
The app: Available as a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
A compatible XInput gamepad: This can be an Xbox controller, another gamepad with an XInput container, or a suitable GameCube controller.
Downloading Slippi
First, we will create some folders for this process. Start by pressing Windows + E to open File Explorer and then click on “Documents”.
In the “Documents” folder, create a new folder called something like “Dolphin and Slippi”; it doesn’t matter how you name it, but we recommend making it something easily recognizable.
In this folder, create another one for Melee or any other game files you may have; we have called ours “Games.”
Put your Melee ISO file in this folder and remember where it is; you will need it later to start the game.
Now visit and click on “Download for Windows”. Place the downloaded ZIP file in the “Dolphin and Slippi” folder you created earlier.
Now, go to the folder where you downloaded the ZIP file. Right-click and extract the ZIP file to the “Dolphin and Slippi” folder, and then open the “FM-Slippi-X.XX-Win” folder.
You can skip the folder organizing step if you have 7-Zip by clicking “Extract here” in its context menu.
From this folder, drag and drop the “FM-Slippi” folder into the “Dolphin and Slippi” folder for better organization.
Delete the “FM-Slippi–Win” folder and then open the “FM-Slippi” folder.
Double-click “Dolphin.exe” to start it.
When Dolphin starts, Melee will appear in your game list. If you already have a real GameCube controller with a regular Dolphin installation on the same machine, go to the “Playing Slippi Netplay” section.
Otherwise, don’t start the game yet; You will first need to complete the steps in the next section.
Configuration of your controller (configuration included)
If you want to use a suitable GameCube controller for a vintage experience, here’s how to set one up.
If you’re using a standard XInput gamepad (Xbox controller or similar), you’re in luck! We provide a preconfigured file for you to use instead of configuring the driver yourself. (Slippi is based on an earlier version of Dolphin where analog control was harder to set up.)
First, download and extract our setup file, which is called “xinput gamecube.ini”. Right click and select “Copy”. Then navigate to the FM-Slippi folder and double click on “Sys”.
In the “Sys” folder, double-click “Settings,” double-click “Profiles,” and then double-click “GCPad.”
The profiles that are already inside this folder are for the . Right-click on an empty space in the window, and then select “Paste” to paste our Xbox controller setup file into the folder.
Close File Explorer. The following are the button assignments in the config file (you can change them in Controller Settings if you want, just don’t touch the analog config):
GameCube A = Xbox A
GameCube B = Xbox X
GameCube X = Xbox B
GameCube Y = Xbox Y
GameCube L = Xbox LT
GameCube R = Xbox RT
GameCube Z = Xbox RB
GameCube Home = Xbox Menu Button
GameCube Left Analog = Xbox Left Analog
GameCube C-Stick = Xbox Right Analog
GameCube D-Pad = Xbox D-Pad
Once you have placed the configuration file in the “Config” folder, you are ready to start playing! Launch Dolphin now and then open the “Drivers” panel.
Now, open the “Port 1” dropdown menu, select “Standard Controller” and then click “Configure”.
This opens a “Driver Settings” window. Fortunately, you don’t have to work a lot here; just click the dropdown menu on the far right and select the “Xinput Gamecube” profile.
Click “Upload” to the immediate right of the dropdown menu to upload the profile, and then select the “Background Input” checkbox near the bottom right. Click “Close” and you are all set.
Playing Slippi Netplay
Once you’ve got your controller and file structure set up, it’s time to start playing! Open Dolphin, click on “Melee” and then on “Play”.
From here, Slippi walks you through the rest of the process!
After following the instructions, you’ll be ready to play Slippi online against randoms in matchmaking, or friends in head-to-head battles, as long as you have their code.
