Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Recap

During Nintendo's E3 Direct we finally got confirmation about the newest entry in the Super Smash Bros. series. We got way more than I was expecting. Prior to the announcement, I thought that if it was indeed a new game, we would maybe see the usual limited roster with one or two newcomers. I did not expect 65 characters to be confirmed. That's right: Every Smash Bros character will be included in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.  I was hopeful that some old characters would come back, but I didn't think there was a chance that ALL of them would. I almost forgot that we hadn't seen Pichu in a while and I'm way more excited than I should be that Pichu is back!

In a previous blog I addressed clone- excuse me, "echo fighters" and hoped that we would see them go away or varied in a way that made them less of an echo. I'm happy to see that Nintendo addressed this.Echo Fighters are, essentially, clones. They look different and have a few distinct characteristics, but aren't considered a separate character. The characters who are echoes are pretty neat. We got confirmation of Daisy, Lucina, and Dark Pit will be echo fighters. In Smash 4, I was (arguably) a Ganondorf main. I was really happy to see his smash attacks incorporate his sword instead of using Captain Falcon's knee and elbow attacks. 

As the title implies, this will be the Ultimate version of Super Smash Bros. There looks to be something for fans of every version of the game. The N64 version was your favorite? The roster starts out super small just like the original did. Melee was your favorite? Directional dodging is back, you won't be able to infinitely wave dash anymore, but you can reach those tricky edges without overshooting it now. Brawl is your favorite? Snake is back! Smash 4 was your favorite? We get Omega versions of every stage again! I would be surprised if this title doesn't become the new standard in Smash. Yeah, Melee will still have it's hardcore players, but I think the average will finally sway towards this version.

So what's new about this game? Plenty! Believe it or not, Nintendo didn't just rely on nostalgia to sell this one. There are a ton of new features, as well as updates to your favorite characters And while the new features announced so far are small, they're all pretty cool.

1. Damage scales depending on if you're playing 1v1 or 3 or more players. This raises the stakes in those intense duels to the death.
2.When you're playing 1v1 you also get a quick reminder of the score every time an enemy loses a life. It didn't look like your stock icons stay on the screen, so this might add some drama to 1v1 games. 
3. When playing a timed match, the player in the lead has a quick flash so players can change their target.
4. Certain fighters will have special indicators by their health that correspond with certain aspects of those characters. I.e. Cloud's limit break, Villager's stashed item, etc.
5. Splatoon Inklings and Ridley from the Metroid series join the fray! Only 2 so far, and Sakurai said we shouldn't expect many new fighters, but I'm still holding out hope for Simon Belmont!

I have been very vocal about my disdain for Nintendo's Switch releases being fancy ports of old games. I have been on record saying I would be very angry about buying Smash 4 and all the DLC for a 3rd time. This is a step in the right direction as far as I'm concerned. If Nintendo does plan on bringing more Wii U titles to the Switch, I hope they give them this treatment. Especially for the few of us who owned a Wii U.

What do you think about this Smash Bros. announcement? Join the discussion on discord and let us know. Need more Super Smash Bros. content? Keep an eye out for a special episode of The Legend of Retro this month! 

 -Xander