I love isai he was one of my first friends, he taught me some smash 64 kirby combos to be competitive in that game and cheered for me in bracket in 07, watched him play mario kart DS at a very high level in time trials, teamed with him at some tourneys and we traded sets at MLGs in 2006 (we played twice, i won the rematch off stream but i strongly believe he let me win on game 4 to close out the set), also inspired me to use Sheik more in Doubles myself. The old days were really fun
Ill tell some more stories when my book releases but playing ssb64 vs him with a friend doing 2v1 battles vs his Link (he still won most of the games) in 07 was REALLY fun day/memory. We did this all day at a friend's house. That was same day he was telling me the recommended Kirby combos.
Before M2K he was the first smash player to be highly ranked in multiple smash games at once. His dominance in 64 proved the whole; “if he tried”, argument was true
Grsmash was my melee doc equivalent, exposed me to the competitive scene around 2014-2015 and birthed my competitive career in Pm and melee. It’s hard to overstate how his content brought new people into the scene
For years, it was always kind of a joke to say "Oh, if Isai REALLY tried, he could dominate, man." 20 years later, the man *really* tried and showed that he could do it. The offhand joke we used to make didn't come from a place of malice or ridicule: everyone always believed that he could because everyone knew how good he really was, and then he proved it without reasonable doubt.
Isai was thinking of shield drop applications a decade before they became real. Prime Isai would get swept up at tournaments nowadays-yes, that is true. But he was a genius of melee, and his impact on the game should never be forgotten.
loved the vid! just a heads-up that penultimate doesn't mean "most ultimate," it means second to last. like the penultimate floor of a 33 story building is the 32nd. much love!
Yeah the video is great but every time he says "Penn-Ultimate" it just clanged on the east. Sorta like Walt used to used to use the word "prodigal" in his videos without realizing that it meant "wastefully extravagant".
I thought it was a new word I didn't know about : panultimate. Greek prefix pan meaning all and ultimate meaning, well, ultimate. Turns out this word does not exist and I kinda wish it did. But this won't be the penultimate deception I face.
An underappreciated aspect of Isai's legacy is his prowess at break the targets very early on. At one point I think he had every record for the U version of the game
Those first few seconds are pivotal. He won a Smash 64 major in 2023, when Smash 64 players have had years to grind with each other and reach the theoretical peak of skill, and he was 38 when he won. A lot of older players feel discouraged trying to keep up with younger players who already seem way ahead ( go to a handful of Ultimate locals and you’ll be surprised how few people there are over age 30.. in fact some of them barely have anybody above age 25). We shouldn’t view this as something that people miss the window for once they get older; players can still make moves and compete against the best even as they progress through life.
It's getting to that point in a lot of smashers careers that we're seeing old legends being retold again and newcomers hearing about it for the first time. I'm so glad the community is still thriving all these years later. - From a retired competitor 2011-2019
So happy to see more Smash 64 love! This is a very wonderful video; top-quality editing, highly informative, and extremely entertaining! Thanks for doing what you do 🎉
Absolutely loving the new type of videos man. Its funny, it feels like I have matured in my content tastes as you have changed yours. When I was young and new to the scene, I loved the top 10s and probably wouldn't be interested in a video like this, but with much more awareness of the scene as a whole now, I find myself absolutely loving this type of video. Good shit =)
Its pretty cool being alive in the early days of gaming cuz it's still really really cool to see old players still succeeding in modern day due to it still being relatively uncommon.
I loved the video, I was smiling when I saw the notification, took me all the way back to 2015 when I discovered your videos!! As long as you keep making them I'll be sure to watch them!!!
I'm grateful for Isai still killing it because I do think the Smash scene sleeps on the old school players too much. Chudat in 2017/2019, Ken in 2015, Drephen for the last half decade, these are all guys from the Golden Age who found incredible success despite it being more than a decade after they started and the metagame changed And now Isai, a married man approaching 40 years old, wins the biggest tournament in Smash 64 in explosive fashion while actually trying. Supernova is a fine enough name, but I'm so grateful Isai got to take the final Smash Con in 64
I'm from where Isai lives and drove past him one time. I was worried I was mistaken but when I screamed ISAI he smiled. I wish I was able to watch him play melee back in the day :(
It’s been a while since I saw your videos. You never disappoint your compilation and your documentary videos that are special in the entire smash community. Isai will forever be the legend for smash. Not just his way of playing smash, but also how unique he approach the game.
love your editing, didn’t think i would care much for smash 64 at all but it was presented in such an interesting format, great pacing as well, good vid yo!
ive met isai a couple of times back in 08/09 when he was inactive but he was very down to earth. at the CGC tournament series he joined me and some randoms in a quiet room to play melee doubles for a short time, and he and I were on a team. We were fairly dominant and he would randomly SD with a "haha oops" to keep the games fun and light hearted. Other time was a house party where he had a 64 setup and was 8 stocking everyone.
I manifested you since your videos had my attention back in HS , isai made me want to try tf out of low tiers & play smash 64. Glad to see you still alive & here for us mr GR , happy new year! 🎆
Watching this video took me back to my high school years when I'd come home and watch any smash 64 sets I could find on my crappy laptop (many of which were Isai sets) before spending the rest of the day sitting on my floor playing smash 64 against lvl 9 CPUs. Smash 64 is a magical game, easily one of the greatest game ever made imo, thank you for this amazing video.
The doc was kinda odd in it makes it seem like he dissapeared from the smash scene (or this earthly realm in extreme cases) and gave Isai a weird mystique like he wasn't even a real person in the first place, maybe a collective hallucination of the smash scene or some shit. In reality he's always kinda still been around especially in Smash 64, he has tournament results at least once a year for smash con if not more, and has been pretty active on online smash 64.
7:49 Worth noting that footage from Japan during that era isn't as scarce to find as it seems if you only go by UA-cam. There is quite a bit of Japanese sets from that era that was only uploaded to NicoNico.
Was not expecting my favorite smash youtuber to use music from the best Yugioh DS game or from Omega. I don't follow 64 at all really, but seeing Isai succeed is still super cool
I was 1 of the 22 people playing Smash 64 at Genesis 2. It was surreal being around Isai and some other amazing players I'd only seen on UA-cam. Good times
Isai was the first smash channel I subscribed to on youtube in 2010. Genuinely awe-inspiring. Didn't realize he played melee until 2013 but i followed his all of his apex runs before the smash doc
Haven't even watched the video and know this is going to be. His episode in the documentary is my single favorite episode/section of any documentary. So sad but understandable at the same time and always fills me with that equal feeling of self despair but still choosing to sit in it over the risk of putting yourself too far out there and being hurt. Never trying at full effort for himself and only doing it for others. I especially love the moment in the interview in that video where they're talking about his tag Edit: I just got the idea for a motivated BJ Penn (the MMA fighter who was the 2nd UFC 2 division champion and at one point considered the best lightweight and welterweight of all time who then went on to what was AT THE TIME the longest losing streak of all time (12 fight win streak and interim Lightweight champion Tony Ferguson recently broke his record by 1 in saudi arabia) of 7 losses in a row) edit with Isai's interview from the smash brothers documentary. Thank you so much for making a video and placing this idea in my mind
I love isai he was one of my first friends, he taught me some smash 64 kirby combos to be competitive in that game and cheered for me in bracket in 07, watched him play mario kart DS at a very high level in time trials, teamed with him at some tourneys and we traded sets at MLGs in 2006 (we played twice, i won the rematch off stream but i strongly believe he let me win on game 4 to close out the set), also inspired me to use Sheik more in Doubles myself. The old days were really fun
Ill tell some more stories when my book releases but playing ssb64 vs him with a friend doing 2v1 battles vs his Link (he still won most of the games) in 07 was REALLY fun day/memory. We did this all day at a friend's house. That was same day he was telling me the recommended Kirby combos.
I might stream some Remix this week or next now
M2K 🐐
THE KING
GOAT recognizing GOAT. M2k you're the best
I didn’t believe the notification
Forgot I was still subbed to lil bro 😂
My jaw actually dropped
Miranda Cosgrove (Megan arc) as your profile pic is iconic. That smug ass smile lives rent free in my head 💀
Yeah wtf
It’s a Christmas miracle
Bro nerfed himself by waiting/aging +20 years and becoming a family man... only then did he start to try.
"And now, he will try."
He waited until everyone was at his level and he was out of his prime. So he put in a bit of effort
Definitely something Isai would do
He listened to the GuileWinQuote
@@CrackshotSSBlol i was gna say
Before M2K he was the first smash player to be highly ranked in multiple smash games at once. His dominance in 64 proved the whole; “if he tried”, argument was true
The stories about his skill for his time (especially in 64's cast) is true
Soon we'll need a video essay about GRsmash and his impact on smash history
I concur
Emplemon will have to make that one. Then grsmash will make a bobbybroccoli video
Grsmash was my melee doc equivalent, exposed me to the competitive scene around 2014-2015 and birthed my competitive career in Pm and melee. It’s hard to overstate how his content brought new people into the scene
Before YEET Smash, there was GRsmash
Yeah screwed over fortune over a joke he made
Okay this is actually too weird, I literally thought to myself "i wish grsmash would come back" when i was looking for something to watch yesterday
Make that wish weekly please 🙏🏾
I actually thought that last week too. It’s a Christmas miracle!
I just came back to melee after 2 year break, talking with a friend about GRsmash compilations and how he stopped uploading. Then this
For years, it was always kind of a joke to say "Oh, if Isai REALLY tried, he could dominate, man." 20 years later, the man *really* tried and showed that he could do it. The offhand joke we used to make didn't come from a place of malice or ridicule: everyone always believed that he could because everyone knew how good he really was, and then he proved it without reasonable doubt.
11:45 '...including taking 20 stocks with link alone'
DONT GET HIT
Isai was thinking of shield drop applications a decade before they became real.
Prime Isai would get swept up at tournaments nowadays-yes, that is true. But he was a genius of melee, and his impact on the game should never be forgotten.
guy was hitting people with shield-drop shines back in the 07 era, might as well have been a time traveller
@@sandrin0you know, that is a possibility
Why else would he not try as much.
Why would he know so much tech
He doesn’t want to change history a lot
I still believe Isai could enter a melee tournament today and if he really tried he could win
@@sandrin0In that way, he is kind of like the Terminator of Smash players
I remember seeing a clip of Isai doing almost perfect falcon ledgestall in 2005
Last time this man uploaded, my life was together.
facts
Same, I had a job and everything ..
Too real my guy. Too real. job and a relationship.
Hope you're well bro, life is hard 😆😭
loved the vid! just a heads-up that penultimate doesn't mean "most ultimate," it means second to last. like the penultimate floor of a 33 story building is the 32nd. much love!
Yeah the video is great but every time he says "Penn-Ultimate" it just clanged on the east. Sorta like Walt used to used to use the word "prodigal" in his videos without realizing that it meant "wastefully extravagant".
I thought it was a new word I didn't know about : panultimate. Greek prefix pan meaning all and ultimate meaning, well, ultimate. Turns out this word does not exist and I kinda wish it did. But this won't be the penultimate deception I face.
An underappreciated aspect of Isai's legacy is his prowess at break the targets very early on. At one point I think he had every record for the U version of the game
Those first few seconds are pivotal. He won a Smash 64 major in 2023, when Smash 64 players have had years to grind with each other and reach the theoretical peak of skill, and he was 38 when he won.
A lot of older players feel discouraged trying to keep up with younger players who already seem way ahead ( go to a handful of Ultimate locals and you’ll be surprised how few people there are over age 30.. in fact some of them barely have anybody above age 25). We shouldn’t view this as something that people miss the window for once they get older; players can still make moves and compete against the best even as they progress through life.
Older people don't have such time
To be honest most 64 players are pretty old
@@tekklover1489 For me, my wrists hurt. Im tired boss. I did enjoy competing locally years ago though.
It's getting to that point in a lot of smashers careers that we're seeing old legends being retold again and newcomers hearing about it for the first time.
I'm so glad the community is still thriving all these years later.
- From a retired competitor 2011-2019
I know everyone is like "THE GOAT IS BACK!" but my GOAT here is the one and only: Isai
omg the editing, storytelling, and pacing... this is such a phenomenal vid!! the ending was so satisfying too
The last section of this video was incredible. I haven’t followed smash in years, but this made me feel something
So happy to see more Smash 64 love! This is a very wonderful video; top-quality editing, highly informative, and extremely entertaining! Thanks for doing what you do 🎉
You’re welcome
Absolutely loving the new type of videos man. Its funny, it feels like I have matured in my content tastes as you have changed yours. When I was young and new to the scene, I loved the top 10s and probably wouldn't be interested in a video like this, but with much more awareness of the scene as a whole now, I find myself absolutely loving this type of video. Good shit =)
HE HAS RETURNED!!!
Thank you for not forgettin' Isai, he is the GOAT, so you are, good to see you again hermano.
We're so back
Isai deserves a vud like this. He was so interesting in the smash documentary
Hey thanks for including Project M as a part of competitive Smash. Feels like it gets erased or forgotten often
A history of project m video would be amazing in itself, I know a lot of it first hand, including the downfall
Its pretty cool being alive in the early days of gaming cuz it's still really really cool to see old players still succeeding in modern day due to it still being relatively uncommon.
I loved the video, I was smiling when I saw the notification, took me all the way back to 2015 when I discovered your videos!! As long as you keep making them I'll be sure to watch them!!!
I'm grateful for Isai still killing it because I do think the Smash scene sleeps on the old school players too much. Chudat in 2017/2019, Ken in 2015, Drephen for the last half decade, these are all guys from the Golden Age who found incredible success despite it being more than a decade after they started and the metagame changed
And now Isai, a married man approaching 40 years old, wins the biggest tournament in Smash 64 in explosive fashion while actually trying. Supernova is a fine enough name, but I'm so grateful Isai got to take the final Smash Con in 64
8:01 smashing grounds mentioned!!!
another great video GR :)
I'm from where Isai lives and drove past him one time. I was worried I was mistaken but when I screamed ISAI he smiled. I wish I was able to watch him play melee back in the day :(
THE KING IS BACK!
didn't expect to see this, much less about a subject I was already looking at!
I saw the notification and almost fell down some stairs wtf GrSmash - lets fucking go !!
I haven't watched since your compilation days, this just popped up in my feed. Great work, I'm like 75% through so far, and it's really well done!
Please never stop posting
also shoutout to the OSRS music
Nice handle.
WAKE UP BABE GRSMASH JUST POSTED A NEW VIDEO
It’s been a while since I saw your videos. You never disappoint your compilation and your documentary videos that are special in the entire smash community. Isai will forever be the legend for smash. Not just his way of playing smash, but also how unique he approach the game.
THE LEGEND GRSMASH IS BACK!!!!!
love your editing, didn’t think i would care much for smash 64 at all but it was presented in such an interesting format, great pacing as well, good vid yo!
An absolute beast. A powerful player. I'm glad to have had a chance to play him, its fun
With Isai being my favorite Smash player, this is a wonderful Christmas gift
ive met isai a couple of times back in 08/09 when he was inactive but he was very down to earth. at the CGC tournament series he joined me and some randoms in a quiet room to play melee doubles for a short time, and he and I were on a team. We were fairly dominant and he would randomly SD with a "haha oops" to keep the games fun and light hearted. Other time was a house party where he had a 64 setup and was 8 stocking everyone.
Great video :D Also, penultimate: "last but one in a series of things; second last."
no uploads for a year straight to all of a sudden receive some top notch glazing about a smash player. LOVING IT
Thanks for making a video about my favourite smash player of all time!
I manifested you since your videos had my attention back in HS , isai made me want to try tf out of low tiers & play smash 64. Glad to see you still alive & here for us mr GR , happy new year! 🎆
I haven't watched one of your videos in years, but when I saw this in my sub box I had to watch. I'm blown away by the quality of the storytelling.
Nice to see you back and hope you are doing well GRSmash
Watching this video took me back to my high school years when I'd come home and watch any smash 64 sets I could find on my crappy laptop (many of which were Isai sets) before spending the rest of the day sitting on my floor playing smash 64 against lvl 9 CPUs. Smash 64 is a magical game, easily one of the greatest game ever made imo, thank you for this amazing video.
if all it takes is a year long wait, I'm excited to wait again for that video. incredible story and storytelling!
I love this new angle/perspective on Isai. Exciting video
This is a good video with good voice over and editing, thanks GRSmash
The GR in GRSmash actually stands for “God Rises” after all this time. Very excited to see this video and welcome back.
Glad to hear he's married, last thing i knew was that part with sad anime pictures in the doc
The doc was kinda odd in it makes it seem like he dissapeared from the smash scene (or this earthly realm in extreme cases) and gave Isai a weird mystique like he wasn't even a real person in the first place, maybe a collective hallucination of the smash scene or some shit. In reality he's always kinda still been around especially in Smash 64, he has tournament results at least once a year for smash con if not more, and has been pretty active on online smash 64.
I love this new content so much. Don’t get me wrong the compilation and combo vids were great but these are so high quality and well researched.
A GRSmash upload in 2024? Fuck yes, my night is made
7:49 Worth noting that footage from Japan during that era isn't as scarce to find as it seems if you only go by UA-cam. There is quite a bit of Japanese sets from that era that was only uploaded to NicoNico.
grsmash dropping on my birthday 😎 best gift ever
GRsmash AND sam o nella uploads in the same week?????????????
I love the editing of this video omg
FANTASTICE VIDEO! WEL DONE GR SMASH!!! Insightful and edited so well! I wanna try smash 64 again now!
The goat returned to talk about the goat isai. It's a glorious day indeed.
Was not expecting my favorite smash youtuber to use music from the best Yugioh DS game or from Omega. I don't follow 64 at all really, but seeing Isai succeed is still super cool
Thank you for making this video! I never knew Isai was that guy. He’s the goat of goats
Awesome work
as someone with only surface level melee knowledge, this video did a great job of contextualizing how goated this guy is
Yo i was watching all your videos yesterday. Your channel introduced me to Melee back in 2016 and I thought It was dead
SO GLAD UR BACK GRSMASH, AMAZING
The GOAT is back?
another banger vid. thank you GRsmash
grsmash you absolute goat im glad ur back
One more video before the end of the year...welcome back GR
OSRS music hit me like a sleeper agent. Great video as always 🫡
Its good to have you back GR. Banger of a video keep it up kid.
4 days ago I was making breakfast and “don’t get hit” popped in my head after years of not playing melee. I love Isai.
I was 1 of the 22 people playing Smash 64 at Genesis 2. It was surreal being around Isai and some other amazing players I'd only seen on UA-cam. Good times
It's always a good day when GRsmash uploads
It’s enough to make a grown
man cry
Isai was the first smash channel I subscribed to on youtube in 2010. Genuinely awe-inspiring. Didn't realize he played melee until 2013 but i followed his all of his apex runs before the smash doc
This was amazing to watch, and incredibly inspiring
Thanks for making this, I really enjoyed it!
love to hear from you, and love this kind of video from you
Late christmas present. Can't believe it's been a whole year since the last upload. Quality content stays in the mimd it seems
Man GR I missed you man, good stuff, take care.
Goat talking about the goat, what a way to end the year
We are so back? If 2025 marks the return of GRsmash content, I think we're all gonna get by just fine!
Isai is the george foreman of smash, come back 20 years later out of his prime and wins the world heavyweight title back. insane dad lore.
What a Christmas gift. Thank you, GRsmash.
Haven't even watched the video and know this is going to be. His episode in the documentary is my single favorite episode/section of any documentary. So sad but understandable at the same time and always fills me with that equal feeling of self despair but still choosing to sit in it over the risk of putting yourself too far out there and being hurt. Never trying at full effort for himself and only doing it for others. I especially love the moment in the interview in that video where they're talking about his tag
Edit: I just got the idea for a motivated BJ Penn (the MMA fighter who was the 2nd UFC 2 division champion and at one point considered the best lightweight and welterweight of all time who then went on to what was AT THE TIME the longest losing streak of all time (12 fight win streak and interim Lightweight champion Tony Ferguson recently broke his record by 1 in saudi arabia) of 7 losses in a row) edit with Isai's interview from the smash brothers documentary. Thank you so much for making a video and placing this idea in my mind
Can't believe there's a new upload ngl
I have dropped everything I was busy with and my kids for this fabled GRsmash video drop.
Ending the year with an absolute bang
Hell yeah new grsmash
Loved the doc. Isai will always be a giant in the smash scene
Nice video, welcome back
Return of the king!
GRsmash blessing us with a belated Christmas gift
Great video. Nice to hear your voice (if it's you) too! Long live Isai and GRsmash!
Was watching your last uploaded video from Christmas last year, yesterday... And now a new video today? Happy Holidays!🙂
GRSMASH Wtf! Best video ever!
babe wake up grsmash just posted
Excellent video about the GOAT Isai and SSB64!