Nintendo uploaded the final Nintendo Direct video for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate this morning, and Director Masahiro Sakurai smashed expectations with a 40-minute presentation that touched on nearly every aspect of the game.
First, Sakurai revealed that Street Fighter’s Ken and Pokemon’s Incineroar will join Smash Bros. Ultimate as playable characters. Players who purchase the game by January 31, 2019 will also receive Piranha Plant as a free download in February 2019.
Five more fighters will be added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate throughout 2019 and into 2020 as part of the game’s Fighters Pass. The Fighters Pass will be priced at $24.99, though each fighter will also be available individually for $5.99 apiece.
The mysterious Spirits mode was also detailed by Sakurai, who explained that players will be able to customize their favorite fighters by unlocking characters connected to the Smash Bros. universe (including Chibi-Robo, Dr. Wily, Tails, and Revolver Ocelot) as Spirits. These Spirits are hiding in the game’s Spirit Battles mode, and once they’re unlocked, players will be able to use them to add power-ups to their fighters.
As a final bonus, Sakurai teased Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s campaign mode, World of Light. The short cinematic shows Kirby going head-to-head with brainwashed Smash Bros. fighters. Can the pink puffball rescue his friends? And what caused the light to be stolen from the world? We just don’t know yet, because the Director said he wants to keep parts of this new adventure mode secret until the game launches.
Sakurai had a lot more to say about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and you can find a complete rundown of today’s Nintendo Direct presentation after the break.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be released exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on December 7.
Highlight’s From Today’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct
HadoKEN!: Hailing from the Street Fighter series, Ryu’s rival Ken joins the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster as an echo fighter. This Ken is based on his appearance in Super Street Fighter II Turbo. While he has some similar moves to Ryu, Ken is a slightly faster fighter and has a different shaped Hadoken.Incineroar: The final fighter to join the battle in time for the game’s launch is Incineroar, the advanced evolution of Litten, who made his first appearance in the Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon games. Incineroar uses pro-wrestling moves, culminating in an epic Final Smash called Max Malicious Moonsault, based on his Z-Move from the Pokemon games.
Spirits: In the world of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, many video game characters lose their forms and become “spirits” that serve as a power-up of sorts for a player’s main playable fighter. There is a massive number of wildly different spirits, ranging from Chibi-Robo to Dr. Wily to Tails to Revolver Ocelot, with the giant list of characters going on and on. Players can equip primary and support spirits to power up or add additional abilities like speed or strength to their fighter during battles. Mixing and matching spirits will help players get the upper hand against certain opponents, adding quite a bit of strategy to battles. Equipping a spirit is similar to equipping a charm or accessory in an RPG. It’s a way for players to enjoy a massive amount of additional video game characters outside of selecting them as playable fighters.
Spirit Battles: The main way to acquire spirits is to win Spirit Battles. After winning a Spirit Battle, players will have to complete a roulette challenge to acquire that spirit.
Leveling Up Spirits: By battling with spirits by their side, players can level up spirits, giving them extra power and sometimes unlocking enhanced forms. The more leveled up and trained spirits are, the more powerful and useful they are.
Spirit Combinations: With an insane amount of spirits in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, thousands of combinations can be formed. Players will be constantly surprised and excited by all the spirits that pop up in the game. Because players might collect an abundance of spirits, the game will offer recommendations for primary and support spirits, making the selection process a little bit easier.
DLC: New fighters, stages, and music will be coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate through the end of February 2020 in the form of paid DLC. For only $5.99, players can purchase one set, which includes a new playable fighter (not an Echo Fighter), a new stage, and a variety of music tracks. By purchasing a Fighters Pass for $24.99, players will get access to five yet-to-be-announced sets, which is five new fighters, five stages, and multiple music tracks, as they release. Players who purchase a Fighters Pass will also receive an in-game outfit based on Rex from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 starting December 7. Pre-purchasing the digital version of the game with the Fighters Pass in Nintendo eShop or on Nintendo.com before 11:59 PM (Eastern Time) on December 6 will earn My Nintendo members 425 bonus Gold Points, or double the usual amount. The bonus points will be issued on the game’s launch day.
Early Purchase Bonus: Piranha Plant takes root! The iconic enemy from the Super Mario series is coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for early purchasers. Players can purchase the digital version of the game or register their physical game card on a Nintendo Switch device by Jan. 31, 2019, to gain access to this new fighter when it is available around February 2019 at no additional cost. Piranha Plant, together with a new stage and music tracks, will be available for purchase as DLC in the future.
New Amiibo: All the new fighters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – including DLC! – will get their own Amiibo figures. This includes Ken, Incineroar, and Piranha Plant, as well as the recently announced Simon Belmont and King K. Rool. The currently scheduled release timing is as follows, with details about future figures on the way:
Inkling, Ridley and Wolf – Dec. 7, 2018
King K. Rool, Ice Climbers, Piranha Plant – Feb. 15, 2019
Isabelle, Pichu, Ken, Young Link, Daisy – 2019World of Light Adventure Mode: There may not be a single-player adventure quite like Adventure Mode: Subspace Emissary from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but something has caused the numerous video game characters in the game to lose their bodies and transform into spirits. While today’s Nintendo Direct video provides some sneak peeks, Masahiro Sakurai, the director of the Super Smash Bros. series, wants to keep parts of this new adventure mode secret until the game launches…
Assist Trophies: In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, assist trophies do exactly what their name suggests – they assist players in battle! Each assist trophy is based on a recognizable video game character and unleashes a variety of different powers, both offensive and defensive. The total number of assist trophies in the game is 59, representing characters like Guile from the Street Fighter series, Isaac from the Golden Sun RPGs, the Fly Swatter from Mario Paint and Spring Man from Arms.
Mii Fighters: When playing as a Mii Fighter, players can customize their outfits and voice options. Some new Mii Fighter outfits have also been added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Wireless and Online Play: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate lets players battle together with friends and family members via local wireless or online. “For Fun” and “For Glory,” which existed in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, are no longer options. Instead, matchmaking is based on three factors: Preferred Rules, which lets players choose their rules for battle and pair up with others with similar preferences, Global Smash Power, an online leaderboard that pits players against others with a similar score, and Proximity, players who are close to each other geographically.
Two-Player Co-op: Two fighters are better than one! When playing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate online, two players can team up on one Nintendo Switch system online and take on other teams with the same setup.
Smartphone Features: With the Nintendo Switch Online app on smartphones, players can voice chat with others in battle arenas. A mobile service called Smash World is also being developed. Instead of focusing on stats, the new service allows players to post and watch videos, as well as other fun features. More details about the service will be revealed in the future.
Elite Smash: Once a player’s Global Smash Power is high enough, she or he will be invited to compete in elite in-game battles. These VIP matches are for the best of the best and offer some serious competition.
Smash Tag: Everyone who competes online will need to create a unique Smash Tag. By beating a fellow fighter, players will receive their Smash Tag to display on their profile. Collecting a bunch of Smash Tags is a great way to show off high-level Super Smash Bros. Ultimate accomplishments.
Short Messages: Players can select pre-determined short messages, assign them to the control pad and send them to other players before and after battles. The game offers a wide selection of varied preset messages.
Spectator Mode: As in previous games, players can watch other players battle in Spectator Mode. Analyzing the battles of other players can be helpful in learning new strategies and techniques.
Background Matchmaking: Players can play other modes while they search for an online battle. Not every mode will be available while waiting, but it’s a great way for players to keep occupied between online battles.
Battle Arenas: Players can create custom battle arenas when playing online that allow them to compete against other players in a more intimate setting. In a battle arena, there are options to join a battle, wait in line or spectate.
Other Features: There is a wide variety of other modes and settings in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, including:
Help – Living in the easy-to-access dashboard, Help mode offers in-game guides and tips.
Mob Smash – This mode lets players battle an army of fighters on different stages. Players can even select the music tracks associated with a given stage that they want to listen to while battling.
Replay – Players can save replays of their battles and even create shareable videos from them.
Tips – This menu offers quick tips and tricks that players will see on loading screens. When viewing, the tips can be sorted by category or fighter.
Challenges – By completing specific challenges, players earn in-game rewards. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the challenges are arranged to look like a comic book.
Battle Records – The Records menu tracks battle history, with the option to view battle data separately for online and offline play.
Shop – Players can redeem in-game currency for music tracks, spirits and a variety of different items.
Language Support – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate supports 11 different languages. Applicable fighter voices and names are specific to whatever language is selected.
Custom Balance – When battling against other players on the same system, players can adjust the strength of their fighters. This completely optional feature comes in handy if players want to adjust strength to ensure a fair fight.
