Super Smash Bros Ultimate is here to Switch things up!

On June 12th Nintendo hosted their Nintendo Direct: E3 2018. Among the surprises announced there was one video game that a diehard fan base was waiting for, Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Although the coverage about the game was well known to happen, what Nintendo revealed was a surprise to just about everyone. Containing every character to have ever appeared in the series, the newest addition to the franchise is what some are speculating to the definitive edition of the extremely popular fighting game, but others are wondering if the announcement was worth the hype that surrounded it. Here are my thoughts on some of the more controversial points surrounding the game.

Is Super Smash Bros Ultimate a new game or simply a port?

Even if Bill Trinen hadn’t made the case himself, I would gladly argue the point that Super Smash Bros Ultimate is a wholly new Smash Bros game. Ultimate boasts new and updated mechanics, an implementation standard to each iteration of the franchise. Each time that this happens the core mechanics of the game change, even just slightly: characters handle differently, new techniques change styles of play, and updated move lists breath new life into the character’s…character. Speaking of characters, there are two new ones! This is the base line of defining a new and unique Smash Bros game. Announced for Ultimate were the Inkling girl/boy from the Splatoon series and Ridley from Metroid. While these were the only new additions announced in the Direct, I would be hard-pressed to believe that in the six months until the December 7th release date additional characters won’t be revealed. Even after that I think that there is a case to be made for DLC characters to appear further down the line. To those still convinced that Super Smash Bros Ultimate is nothing more than a port, I direct your attention to franchises such as FIFA or Madden. These games offer annual releases with nothing more than updated mechanics and new character rosters. Sound familiar?

Was the reveal worth the hype?

In short, yes. While some people base their hype strictly on the amount of never-before-seen content, the fact that this game includes every character from the franchise prior is absolutely something worthy of excitement. In the past, the exhilarating speculation of who would be announced as a new challenger was matched only by the dread surrounding fans over which characters would be cut from the roster. Ultimate proudly destroys that dread and leaves room only for speculation of who could be added next.

Will this be the last Smash Bros game?

No. A Nintendo console simply isn’t complete without an entry in the Super Smash Bros series. As the company continues to expand its list of IPs and develop newer and more powerful hardware, I believe that the franchise will grow with it. The question I have is whether this is the last game directed by Sakurai. He will need to pass on the torch at some point and doing so after making a game that includes all the characters and features of prior installments made by him might be the time to do so. That being said, I do hope that I’m wrong and that we get to see many more entries in the series made under his direction.

What should we expect in the future?

In the time until the release, I speculate that we will see additional characters announced. I’m not expecting any more than three or so, but the two announced at E3 seems like too few. I also think that there will be an announcement of DLC in the coming months. Nintendo generally treats DLC like a season pass, two packs spaced out throughout the year, and I don’t think that this will be any different. I think that the announcement of a single-player story mode, much like the Subspace Emissary, will be made (perhaps as a DLC even). Finally, and I hope that this isn’t the case, I’m expecting a delay in the release. Nintendo has taken a firm stance on their philosophy of releasing a game only when it’s ready, and there are plenty of examples of this happening. A Smash Bros with a four-and-a-half-year development period just seems very optimistic. Perhaps the use of an overwhelming majority of established characters is the reason behind the short dev cycle. Again, I hope that this is the case, but I’ll be holding on to a healthy dose of skepticism.

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Hopefully you're as excited for the next installment of the Super Smash Bros series as I am. If you haven't already bought a Switch, now is a great time to do so. There are plenty of excellent games to satisfy until the release of Ultimate. I'll always look forward to more additions to the Nintendo community!

-JP