E3 2018 – Nintendo Announcements – Super Smash Brothers Ultimate.

 

When it comes to the Super Smash Brothers series, many of us know it will be a long announcement with a lot of details. For a series known for its vast roster with variety of stages, it is an amazing game. Naturally, the creator of the series was the one to tell us about all of it. After being introduced Masahiro Sakurai started talking about who would be in the next Smash game. They were put in order of joining the series. This game, Super Smash Bros Ultimate will have EVERY Smash Brothers fighter this time. This game will have a lot of unlocking fighters, which have been streamlined. The 8-player battlemode will also return. There were a number of updates to the fighters. Enough so that it merits its own article! There is a goal to bring the game online as well. The game will be releasing in December 2018.

To begin, they showed a trailer with all of the characters that will be on the Smash Bros Ultimate roster. This time though, they meant every character that has appeared in the Smash Bros series. The initial roster seems to begin around 12 characters. The process of unlocking the characters has been streamlined though. This will make it very rewarding to endeavor toward unlocking the full roster.

 

8-player battles will still be in the game. Be sure your friends bring controllers or Gamecube adapters! Hopefully, like the WiiU version, they will release an Ultimate Smash with the adapter.

 

Next was talking about their fighters. Buckle in because there was a lot talked about with a vast number of characters mentioned. Usually it is just a quick note on something big. Sometimes it was a single character with a signature attack that had properties that others used. Every character mentioned is likely to have gotten a massive number of changes to them.

 

Mario got Cappie from Odyssey. Likely he will be able to possess enemies for a short while with this companion. He will also have his builder outfit from Super Mario Maker and the Wedding outfit from Super Mario Odyssey.

 

Link will be wearing the Champion's tunic and will now have remote bombs. His final smash will also have him firing off an Ancient Arrow.

 

Next were the Ice Climbers. He made it clear that the duo had to be kept together (like last time) else you would be in serious trouble.

 

The next getting a spotlight was Ike. He will have 2 Radiant versions, with slightly different voice acting. These are the outfits from Radiant Path and Radiant Dawn.

 

From there, Pikachu came up. The Pikachu in Smash can now be female (and sport the female Trainer's beanie). They also mentioned the Pikachu Libre (and point out that they are a girl).

 

Now, the spotlight shifted to Fox. Fox will be looking as he did in Star Fox Zero. His final smash has also gotten a big overhaul. It is a quicker but no less devastating attacking, having the Star Fox team attack the Arena! Naturally, they followed with Falco. His final smash has gotten much the same treatment as Fox's, but it is a more unruly formation, better reflecting Falco himself. It was said that the Landmaster had been retired!

 

Ryu was up next. He will apparently automatically face his opponent in one on one fights. This hearkens to his origins in the Street Fighter series. It will also reduce accidentally command inputs. Samus got the next little update. Samus, and other characters with Charge move, will now be able to do so while mid-air! It can be canceled with jumping or dodging, but this will leave her open!

 

Marth got the next update. His Dancing Blade has been sped up, and made a little easier to unleash in quick succession. This update is also applied to Roy and Lucina as well. Marth has been announced to have English Voice acting, and this likely applies to the rest of the Fire Emblem characters as well.

 

Solid Snake was next. He is back by popular demand and returning with Shadow Moses Island as well. He shows many of the same moves as before. Likely though, we can expect some changes. He has a remote detonated explosive.

 

King Dedede was not left out of these updates. His Final Smash has been updated to a Cage Match where he will unleash missiles and a jet hammer on his opponent.

 

The little Pichu has gotten some touch-ups as well. It can still hurt itself, so be careful. It will still be doing a lot of damage.

 

Zelda got the next update. She will be sporting her Link Between Worlds design since the Breath of the Wild Zelda was more academically focused. Her Final Smash has been changed to “Triforce of Wisdom”, that works as a sealing move.

 

The Blue Blur, Sonic got the next update. His Final Smash is now a blur of motion as Super Sonic blasts across the screen, likely automatically instead of the previous manual control.

 

The classic icon Pac-Man got mention here as well. His final smash has been updated so he will be looping around the stage in classic Pac-Man style, eating everyone he can with each pass.

 

The Pokemon Trainer got a much needed update as well. You will more freely be able to change Pokemon in battle, even in mid-combo. Plus there are no more penalties for favoring one of the Pokemon. You will also be able to play as the Female Trainer for the first time (who seems to possess a Shiny Ivysaur).

 

Captain Falcon, an icon of the Smash series got mention here as well. In One on One fights, some moves will feature a dramatic slow motion effect on strong moves. The Big Blue stage will also be coming back with him with all the danger it brings.

 

Cloud got a mention here as well. At least that you will have the classic and Advent Children look. The Limit Gauge will always be shown by his health bar now. This is a welcome change, even if it makes it harder to conceal a mostly full gauge. Robin shares a similar update, with a durability gage for their weapons.

 

Villager got the next mention here. They will now have a small icon showing just what they have pocketed and can throw. There will be 8 different versions of the Villager.

 

Bowser was shown next for the quick highlights. Giga Bowser is now huge and moves to the background to unleash a mighty punch against his opponents.

 

Mr. Game and Watch got some attention as well. He now has a stronger resemblance to his original appearances on the Game and Watch System.

 

Young Link has been added in a bit more properly as well. They just mentioned that there will be 3 Links in one game.

 

Now we got to the quick update for Wolf. His appearance is based off Star Fox Zero and all of his moves have gotten a significant upgrade.

 

Kirby, got a quick mention here as well. His Stone ability has gotten the addition of chests from Breath of the Wild. They also mentioned that his Copy ability works for each fighter, which makes Kirby a particular challenge to develop.

 

Shulk got a mention here as well. Munado Arts have been tweaked to work with a button press and a quick directional tilt to select the one you are after. You will be able to change Arts quickly now and even between different arts to preserve their gauge. Fiora will also be making an appearance during Shulk's final smash.

 

Ganondolf got a little update as well. He will be more focused on the popular Ocarina of Time design and his final smash is the Demon King Ganon from that game as well.

 

The Mii Fighters got updated as well. Their proportions have been adjusted based on their types. There will also be 12 voice options for these fighters. Sakurai mentioned that he wants to get online battles back into the series again. They have been well received and with the online capabilities of the Switch, it is more viable than ever.

 

Pit was mentioned to be getting a new final smash. This time it is a simple, but extremely powerful Lightning Chariot, letting you target a smash to come charing through.

 

Zero Suit Samus also got an update to her final smash. She will still call her in Gunship, but she dawns her Power Suit to fire a massive laser at her target.

 

Olimar got a fun visual tweak to when he takes damage. His helmet will briefly show cracks in it.

 

Bayonetta got some audio tweaks that are based on the costume that she is wearing. Rodin will also be appearing as an Assist Trophy.

Wario got mentioned here as well. His was to say that all Transformation Final Smashes will no longer have individual moves, but be a very fast targeted attack.

 

Donkey Kong got a modified Final Smash as well. This final smash now has him using a rapid-fire punch attack. It was also mentioned here that Donkey Kong and the other fighters have gotten expressive facial animations.

 

Next was Little Mac. His final smash, Giga Mac, will now be a rush of blows from him. It was made clear that all the final smashes are significantly faster now, getting directly to the action.

 

Ness was up next. His Final Smash will call on Paula and Poo to augment his Psi powers. It looks to start in the middle of the stage with massive energy bursts and sweep outwards.. Jeff also remains in the game as an Assist Trophy.

 

Lucas, unsurprisingly got the next mention. Kumatora and Boney also join Lucas for his final smash. This Final Smash looks to be working opposite of Ness's, sweeping inward from the outside edge of the screen.

 

Wii Fit Trainer has been modified as well. They have gotten a visual overhaul, smoothing the edges of their face. Making them appear a little less uncanny.

 

Mega Man mostly got changes to the stages that come with him. The hazards include those from the Wii U and the 3DS versions. His Final Smash also got Proto-Man and Bass added in, boosting the damage a little more.

 

Palutena was next up in these announcements. She has gotten a more streamlined move set. Her Down attack has been reworked to be both a Counter and Deflection.

 

R.O.B. Was not left out of these announcements. He has a new gauge on his chassis. This will show just how much fuel he has left for hovering. No more timing it out or guessing.

 

Dark Pit and Lucina are pointed out to have the epsilon symbol next to their name. They will be getting a different sort of treatment since they are based on other characters. They are now called Echo Fighters. And here, they added in a new Echo Fighter: Daisy! Daisy will fight very similarly to Peach, but the moves themselves have different characteristics to them.

 

As they started wrapping this up, the announcer said there could be tens of thousands made across the whole roster. It is here they started talking about the new fighter(s) added to the roster for Ultimate.

 

At this point is when they introduced the new fighter, Inkling. If you Ink you opponents before your assault, they will take more damage from it. In addition to the standard gun, they will have the Inkbrush, Blaster, Slosher, Splattershot, Splat Bomb, and Splat Roller. Their Final Smash will be the Killer Wail, a massive sound machine projecting Ink and forcing opponents away from it. You will need to watch your Ink level with the tank on the Inking's back. By shielding and pressing “B”, they will retreat into the Ink to refill their tank. There will be 8 total Inklings, 4 male and 4 female. Each will have their own outfit and colored Ink. This will make matches with multiple Inklings very bright. They also announced that Callie and Marie will be in the game as an assist trophy. They will come to perform a quick number, with the camera zooming in on their location. This makes it easier to knock opponents of the screen!

 

This lead to announcements about the Assist Trophies themselves. This showed the classic Knuckle Joe, but was followed by the new assist, Metroid! The Assist Trophies can now be Knocked out, and this will give you points as well. Not all trophies will be attackable. They also announced that Bomber Man will be in the game as an Assist. More than 50 characters can show up as Assist Trophies now. More Pokemon have been added to the Pokeballs roster as well. The two shown were Bewear and Solgaleo. A number of new items were shown here. The first was the healing field, a small AOE that heals characters inside for a limited time. Second was the Black Hole, a moderately sized hole that will suck in those who attempt to escape it from a limited range. Third, was the Launch star, sending characters in their direction of travel quickly. Most dangerous is the Fake Smash Ball. It has a more greenish tint to it than the Blue of a Smash Ball. This ball will unleash a powerful blast, likely knocking out the character who broke it.

 

Next was the announcement of Stages. There will be a number of new stages added into the game with many returning as well. The graphics have been cleaned up immensely from their original appearance and a little from their last appearance in Smash Bros WiiU. All these stages will have Battlefield and Omega forms as well. These versions will simply be over an abyss.

 

 

Shown stages: Prism Tower, Green Greens, Spear Pillar, Mario Galaxy, Midgar, Kongo Falls, Lylat Cruise, Princess Peach's Castle, Spirit Train, Frigate Orpheon, Green Hill Zone, New Pork City, Wrecking Crew, Tortimer Island, Moray Towers, Great Plateau Tower, Great Bay, Yoshi's Storybook, Mii Island and a few others.

 

New techniques got covered next. On screen they showed that rapid strikes can be executed with a press and hold, that you will be able to attack while on ladders, and you can smash attack to cancel your dash. The directional air dodge has been improved with increased mobility. However, the invulnerability after each quick successive dodge will decrease, to almost none at all. All characters will have a Short Hop attack. This is done by pressing A+Jump at any time. Smash attacks can quickly be done by pressing A+B. They have also added in a Perfect Shield. This occurs when you release the shield button just as an attack impacts. Before, it was not too risky a maneuver, but now it will require a bit more precise timing. When the fights are one on one, the damage will increase a few percent. In a timed Score or Stock battle, the fighter in the lead will sometimes flash, to draw a little more attention to them.

 

Next, they announced that Nintendo Gamecube controllers will be compatible with Super Smash Bros Ultimate. All the Smash Bros Amiibo will be compatible as well. All Fighter's amiibo will be supported, even if they were from a different series. The Amiibo fighters data will transfer from the previous Smash Brothers games.

 

After this, Sakurai came on to tell us that they made including EVERY Smash fighter a priority. He remarked on this keeping the new fighters to a minimum, but then added there was one last surprise. This was the inclusion of the long rumored fighter, Ridley.

 

Smash Brothers Ultimate will release December 7^th, 2018.