Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the sixth game in the Super Smash Bros. franchise for the Nintendo Switch. It released on December 7, 2018.
Characters
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate boasts the inclusion of all characters that have ever been in a Smash Bros. game, most of which are given numbers denoting their order of debut in the series, including Ness (number 10) and Lucas (37), as well as a few newcomers. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate also introduces the term "echo fighters," fighters which are almost identical to other fighters, but are not given normal numbers but rather numbers signaled with an epsilon, and are positioned alongside their main counterparts. There are a total of 82 characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. This includes the six DLC fighters, the seven echo fighters, and counts both Pokémon Trainer and Mii Fighter as three separate fighters each. There are 65 veterans (two of which are echo fighters) and 17 newcomers (five of which are echo fighters and six of which are DLC).
Stages
There are a total of 99 returning stages from all five past Smash Bros. games. There are also nine new stages (five of which are available as DLC). Each stage has an Ω (Omega) form, a flat, featureless version of each stage similar to Final Destination. Each stage also has a Battlefield form, which is similar to an Omega stage, but has three platforms in the middle of the stage. All four stages from the EarthBound/Mother universe will make a return. These include Onett, Fourside, New Pork City, and Magicant. Ultimate also allows players to turn off stage hazards.
Spirits
A new mechanic introduced in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the addition of spirits, characters that a fighter can equip to increase their power. In order to obtain a spirit, the player must fight a computer opponent or multiple opponents with certain conditions in Adventure, buy the spirit in the store, or scan a non-fighter amiibo.
Changes from previous installments
- Some Final Smashes have been reworked to make them quicker and more limited, mainly Final Smashes that involve a character transforming. PK Starstorm was reverted to its Brawl iteration.
- The damage meter now shows decimal numbers, up to the tenth of a damage percentage.
- During timed matches, a bright light will occasionally briefly flash around the player in the lead.
- Some assist trophies can be knocked off screen, giving the player who defeats it a point in a free for all match.
- If a player is knocked close to the blast zone, a small map will appear showing the location of the players, the Blast Zones, and the area that is inside the camera. There is an option to turn off the small map if it distracts the players.
- During a Sudden Death match, no Bob-ombs will spawn. Instead, the screen zooms in, making the blast zones closer to the players. Fire will also appear along the edges of the screen,but it's purely cosmetic.
- During 1-on-1 matches, the damage dealt increases.
- Additionally, the camera will zoom in on dramatic moments, such as one player dealing a heavy blow to another.
- Air dodge mobility has dramatically increased.
- Dodging several times in a row will decrease its distance and intangibility.
- If two grabs collide, they will cancel each other out. Both players will be pushed apart and take small damage.
- Ladder attacks have been added.
Allusions
- In Mewtwo's classic mode, Mewtwo has as its "ally" one of the opponents it previously defeated. Lucas acts as Mewtwo's ally in the second round, which is most likely an indirect reference to Claus being brainwashed into becoming King P.'s enforcer in Mother 3. This is also referenced with Claus and Masked Man's spirit battles, which all involve Lucas as puppet fighters (and in the case of the former, metal copies).
- Ness's Father's spirit battle involves a clear Solid Snake, indirectly referencing how he is an unseen character.
