You've probably seen the videos. A chaotic character select screen bursting with over 100 fighters, some from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, some from Melee, and a bunch that Nintendo would never, ever touch. That is basically PMEX Remix 0.95DX in a nutshell. It’s a massive, bloated, beautiful mess of a mod for Super Smash Bros. Brawl that somehow manages to feel tighter and more competitive than the base game it was built on.
Honestly, it’s a bit of a miracle this thing even exists without crashing every five minutes.
If you aren't deep into the modding scene, the name is a mouthful. It builds on Project M (the legendary mod that made Brawl feel like Melee) and Project+ (the refinement of that mod). But while those focused on balance and "fixing" the game for competitive play, PMEX Remix 0.95DX took a different path. It asked: "What if we just added everything?"
What Exactly is PMEX Remix 0.95DX?
At its core, version 0.95DX is the definitive "old school" release of the Project M EX Remix series. I say old school because the team has since moved on to a new project called Super Smash REX, but 0.95DX remains the version most people are hunting for. It’s stable. It’s packed. It’s got a roster that puts the official games to shame.
Think about the math. Vanilla Brawl had 39 characters. PMEX Remix 0.95DX bumps that up to over 112 unique fighters. We are talking about Sephiroth, Sora, Kazuya, and Pyra/Mythra running around in the Brawl engine with Melee physics. It’s not just a skin swap either. These characters have full movesets, custom animations, and even "L-Loads"—hidden alternate versions of characters you trigger by holding a button during selection.
The Roster Chaos
You've got your staples like Mario and Link, but then you look at the corners of the screen.
- The Ultimate Newcomers: Sora and Sephiroth feel surprisingly natural here.
- The Retro Deep Dives: Characters like Mach Rider or Geno that fans have begged for since 2006.
- The "L-Load" Variants: This is the secret sauce. If you hold 'L' while selecting Mario, you get Metal Mario with a completely different physics profile. Roy has an "Ultimate" moveset variant. It's basically a game within a game.
Why 0.95DX is the "Sweet Spot"
A lot of people ask why they should bother with 0.95DX when newer things like REX exist. Kinda comes down to familiarity and hardware. This version was the peak of the "Remix" branding before the team decided to overhaul the entire engine for the rebrand.
It’s the most documented version. If you run into a bug, someone on a Discord server from 2023 already found the fix. If you want to play it on a Wii, the 0.95DX build is famously more cooperative with homebrew setups than some of the experimental builds that followed.
Getting it Running (Without Breaking Your Wii)
Setting this up is always the scary part. You need a copy of Super Smash Bros. Brawl (the NTSC-U version is mandatory, don't try to use a PAL disc or you'll get a black screen of death).
For the Wii users, you're looking at a standard SD card setup. Most people use USB Loader GX or Configurable USB Loader. Pro tip: your SD card needs to be 32GB or smaller and formatted to FAT32. Anything bigger and the Wii's archaic hardware just stops talking to the card.
If you’re on PC using Dolphin, it’s way easier. You basically point the emulator to an sd.raw file that acts as a virtual SD card. The 0.95DX build usually comes with a pre-configured version of this, so you just "insert" the card in the settings and boot the game via a special .elf launcher.
The Weird Quirks and "DX" Fixes
The "DX" in the name stands for a "Deluxe" or refined version of the original 0.95 update. Before DX, the mod had some nasty habits. Certain stages would cause the music to loop infinitely or the game would hang if you picked a specific color for Lucina.
The 0.95DX update smoothed over a lot of those rough edges. It added better motion trails for characters, fixed soundbank issues where Sephiroth would sound like a silent movie actor, and tweaked the balance so the Ultimate characters didn't just steamroll the Brawl veterans.
Is it actually balanced?
Not really. Let’s be real. When you have 112 characters made by various modders over half a decade, "balance" is a loose term. But that’s sort of the point. It’s meant to be a celebration of Smash history. If you want a perfectly tuned tournament experience, you play Project+. If you want to see if Waluigi can beat Goku (yes, there are versions with him too) in a 4-man free-for-all on a Kingdom Hearts stage, you play PMEX Remix.
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Actionable Steps for New Players
If you're ready to dive in, don't just download the first link you see on a random forum. Follow this path to save yourself a headache:
- Check your hardware: If you're using a Wii, make sure you have a high-quality SDHC card (32GB max). If you're on a Steam Deck or PC, download the "Dolphin Build" specifically.
- Find the Source: The best place to find the legitimate 0.95DX files is through the PMEX Remix Discord or the official Brawl Vault mirrors. Avoid third-party "repack" sites which often include malware or broken textures.
- The "L" Button Trick: Once you get it running, remember to hold the 'L' button while selecting characters like Mario, Roy, or Silver. It’s how you access the "hidden" roster.
- Use the Launcher: Never boot the game directly from the Brawl disc menu if you're on Wii. Always use the provided launcher through the Homebrew Channel to ensure the codes load correctly.
- Clean your ISO: If you're using a digital backup of Brawl, ensure it's a "clean" 7.92GB NTSC-U file. Scrubbed or compressed files often cause the mod to crash during stage loading.
The world of Smash modding moved fast, but PMEX Remix 0.95DX is one of those rare milestones that stays relevant long after the devs move on. It’s the ultimate "what if" scenario for Smash fans, and it's still worth the 15-minute install process today.