On August 8, Nintendo did something unexpected: a game-specific Nintendo Direct. This Nintendo Direct was solely focused on the latest Super Smash Bros. title, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, first confirmed earlier this year. Even though there are several titles still to be released this year that we do not have any information on (a new Fire Emblem title and Bayonetta 3), Nintendo focused this Nintendo Direct on their most highly anticipated game for 2018. Here are the highlights from the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct!
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Castlevania
The Direct kicked off with another beautiful cinematic character reveal. Now, fans can look forward to playing as Simon Belmont, from the Castlevania series. Simon comes equipped with his classic trusty whip. This weapon is a bit slow and leaves you vulnerable, but has the largest range out of all the physical weapons in SSBU. His special attacks are his vampire hunting classics: Cross, Axe, Holy Water, and his powerful Upper Cut. In his Final Smash, “Grand Cross”, Simon traps his enemies in Dracula’s coffin and blasts them into the air.
And who is Simon Belmont without his classic setting, Dracula’s Castle? A new stage has been added to the SSBU collection, and it is the darkest one yet! In addition to fighting your enemies, you’ll also have to fight against the creatures of the night! Monsters from throughout the Castlevania series will appear in this stage including Death, Medusa, Werewolf, and even Dracula himself! The stage will also feature 34 new and classic Castlevania tracks. Finally, Simon can’t be the only Belmont hogging the Smash stage! Richter Belmont, from one of the most beloved Castlevania titles, Symphony of the Night, will also be a fighter as well! While he may be Simon’s Echo fighter, Richter comes fully equipped with his own unique moves and animations.
Stages
Stages from across the Super Smash Bros. collection will appear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Fans can look forward to seeing remastered versions of Pokémon Stadium (Pokémon), Summit (Ice Climbers), Magicant (Earthbound), and more. The second new Stage introduced during the Direct was a bustling and musical New Donk City Hall (from Super Mario Odyssey). And for all of you classic Super Smash Bros. lovers out there, there are special Nintendo 64 nostalgia stages. Stages like Hyrule Castle, Dream Land, and Kongo Jungle will have the classic look and feel that N64 players remember. Overall, Super Smash Bros Ultimate currently boasts 103 different stages! That’s almost 2x the number of stages from the last game, Super Smash Bros. Wii U. and on top of that, each stage can be used in a Classic Battle Mode, or Omega Form (just a flat battle space-no platforms or extras). So the ACTUAL total number of stages is over 300. Similar to Omega Form, Stage Hazards can be turned on or off, depending on how hectic you want your battle to be. Finally, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate comes with a brand new Stage feature: Stage Morph. By turning on Stage Morph, you can select two Stages that will morph back and forth between each other throughout your battle, creating a unique Smash experience like never before!
Items, Pokémon, and Assist Trophies
There are a lot of new and creative items and assist characters coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate! Combat your foes with the Banana Gun, Death’s Scythe, Bomber, and much more! Likewise, we can catch Abra, Alolan Exeggcutor, Solgaleo, Mimikyu, Lunala, Vulpix, and Ditto appearing out of Pokéballs and dealing some devastating damage. And we can’t forget about our beloved Assist Trophies! In this game, we can look forward to seeing a lot of familiar faces from across the Nintendo Universe: Alucard from Castlevania series, Zero from MegaMan, Knuckles the Echidna from Sonic the Hedgehog, Kapp’n from Animal Crossing, and yes, even The Moon from The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. Each Assist Trophy has their own unique abilities that will aid you in your battles. After the number of characters, stages, and assist elements that have been announced, it honestly feels like every new game of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be completely unique in its own way!
King K Rool
Finally, to close out this special Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct, Nintendo had one more reveal up their sleeve. King K Rool, who first debuted in Donkey Kong Country, will also be a new fighter added to the Smash roster. While there wasn’t a breakdown of his abilities in the Direct, it appears that King K Rool has a variety of up close and defense-based attacks. And it appears that his final Smash comes directly from his classic Mobile Fortress. With the addition of King K Rool and Ridley (announced at E32018), are we seeing a Nintendo villain trend here? Can we expect more villains to be added to the roster before December 7, 2018? I guess we’ll have to wait and find out!
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is going to be that: Ultimate. From the number of characters and stages to the multiple gameplay modes players can utilize, there are an infinite amount of ways to play the game. And according to Masahiro Sakurai, there are even MORE SSBU character announcements on the way. What game features are you excited about? Any characters you hope get added to the roster? Let us know!
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