But there are those few that stick around. When Street Fighter Alpha was huge, people still swore the only real SF for tournament play was Street Fighter II. Soul Calibur 2 is still considered the best of that series (with Darth Vader and Link). I'm not huge into Mortal Kombat, but I'm pretty sure 2 or 3 is considered the best of that series. It's not that every gen won't have its fans, but what will be considered the definitive Smash experience.

that is why, fans of the series needs to move into the next version else their beloved franchise would die.  does the definitive SF experience is being played at EVO? especially Tekken as it is really winding down.  It is not the same as Tekken 3.  but the tournaments doesn't have Tekken 3 as well even Tekken 6 was dropped at Evo. 

Melee is the game which really put smash in the public eye, so it's the closest thing the series has to a FF7 situation (check sales from smash 64 to Melee, huge difference).

Saying Smash U is better than Melee, is just like saying FF13 is better than FF7. Nothing wrong with that

Thing is Smash 4 has something Brawl doesn't and that's constant balancing and adjustments, Brawl never had as big a presence as Smash 4 the latter was the second biggest game at EVO something Brawl never achieved. I also have to call you out here because the tournaments I mentioned are huge in fighting games so for you to say they have little prestige is wrong on all levels, these are some of the most famous tournaments attended by the majority of top fighting game players. Smash 4 had a bigger presence at all of these, Melee will be around for a while but it's not the go to game anymore, Melee is bigger then ever and Smash 4 topped it in it's first year at the biggest tournament of the year that pretty much backs what that guy is saying.

Melee is the FFVII of Smash games. Only kids from the 90s full of nostalgia thinks it's the best.

That's because Tekken is dying as a series all together. If Tekken 3 still drew huge crowds it would still be there. If Smash U can hold its ground indefinitely it would never get booted from Evo.

And yet it is still relevent enough to get a full on remake from the ground up.

The Smash that sold the most was Brawl though (like Final Fantasy VII). It can be compared in many different ways, which is why I specifically stated how I meant it to be taken in the OP, by which I mean being the most popular. I think Smash U will have that hands down.

I don't think Evo is meant for the definitive fighting experience it just show case the latest version of the fighting series people loved the most. I don't think people would play SF Alpha even though there is SF IV. They moved to the newer available game of that series. It also helps the competitive scene in a sense.

Just going on topic, FF VII is not the best of FF. Maybe a bit more mainstream if that is what is meant. But hardly the best FF. I would really push for SSB4 as the standard fighting game and not melee. Would help new SSB gamers to be pro and not the melee pro gamers who have been always playing melee all their smash career.

I thought Melee was the FFVII of Smash.