In today’s Nintendo Direct, Masahiro Sakurai revealed more information about upcoming Nintendo Switch fighter, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Here’s the full round-up of announcements.
You’ve gotta hand it to Sakurai san and his team, they’re really going for it with this one. Following on from Nintendo’s slightly tortuous E3 presentation – and freed from the burden of carrying an entire expo – today’s video was a much more enjoyable watch.
The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct featured plenty of gags to enjoy, the demise of poor Luigi, and a few genuine surprises, as well as news of new game modes, characters, and stages.
Here’s a quick summary of everything announced for the highly anticipated Switch exclusive.
New fighters
- Simon Belmont
- King K. Rool
- Richter Belmont (Echo Fighter)
- Dark Samus (Echo Fighter)
- Chrom (Echo Fighter)
New stages
More than 100 stages will be in the game, and over 300 if you count their Battlefield and Omega forms. The new Stage Morph feature lets players switch between two stages mid-battle.
- Dracula’s Castle (Castlevania)
- New Donk City Hall (Super Mario Odyssey)
Assist Trophies
- Alucard (Castlevania)
- Zero (Mega Man X)
- Knuckles (Sonic The Hedgehog)
- Krystal (Star Fox Adventures),
- Rathalos (Monster Hunter)
- Shovel Knight
- The Moon (The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask)
Music
- The game will include approximately 900 compositions in total, and includes a music player that can be played with the Nintendo Switch screen turned off.
New items
- Banana Gun
- Killing Edge
- Bomber
- Death’s Scythe
- Staff
- Ramblin’ Evil Mushroom
- Rage Blaster
New Pokémon
- Abra
- Solgaleo
- Lunala
- Mimikyu
- Alolan Exeggutor.
Modes
- Classic Mode: Each fighter has a unique set of stages and opponents
- Tourney Mode: Supports up to 32 players for parties or events
- Smashdown: Players pick a new fighter in each round, with that character then eliminated from the selection
- Stamina Battle: Players fight to deplete each other’s stamina
- Squad Strike: 5-on-5 or 3-on-3 battles, with each player using consecutive fighters in one fight
- Training: Includes a new stage that includes a grid to measure distance and trajectory of special moves and fighter knockback.
Misc
- Final Smash Meter: Players can charge their Final Smash Meter during battle, and release a less powerful Final Smash attack
Phew.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be released for Nintendo Switch on December 7, 2018.