Super Smash Bros Ultimate Review

After 4 years Super Smash Bros Ultimate makes it’s debut on Nintendo Switch and it lives up to the name ultimate. Super Smash Bros Ultimate is a fighting game in which characters from several different Nintendo franchises duke it out in a fighting game battle royale. With this being the fifth entry in the franchise Nintendo pulled out all the stops to make this the best Smash Bros game ever.

This time around the roster is a massive 74 fighters and Nintendo definitely delivered the goods when comes to the characters in the game. The game also boasts a massive 108 stages making it once again the largest stage selection in the series. With the game having 74 fighters in it’s roster Nintendo brought back every character that’s ever been in a Smash game ever, including characters that haven’t been in a Smash game since Melee.

There are also 10 new fighters this time around as well. They include fighters like Simon Belmont, The Inklings, Ridley, King K Rool, Isabelle, and Inciniroar. There are also echo fighters this time around as well. These are variants of previously existing fighters which include Richter Belmont who is an echo fighter of Simon Belmont, Daisy who is an echo fighter of Princess Peach and many more echo fighters as well.

Another new edition to Super Smash Bros ultimate are spirits; these take the place of trophies from the previous smash games. These are spirits of various Nintendo characters that you can equip to the fighter of your choice, these can be various things like an attack boost or having a specific item equipped  There are 4 different kinds of spirits: Attack spirits, Shield spirits, Grab spirits, and Neutral spirits. Super Smash Bros Ultimate uses a rock, paper, scissors type system with its spirits such as attack spirits are good against grab spirits, shield spirits are good against attack spirits, and grab spirits are good against shield spirits. Equipping the right kind of spirits into battle adds a lot of depth and strategy into the game. There are primary spirits and support spirits you equip to the character of your choice. Primary spirits have an amount of power that when leveled up increase your fighters stats. Depending on the type of primary spirit you have equipped it gives 1-3 support spirits slots. Support spirits are spirits that can only be equipped if you have a primary spirit equipped. Depending on the type of primary spirit that you have equipped will give a certain number of support spirits slots. Each support spirit has a cost and each one uses up a support spirit slot. Support spirits not only power up your fighter but also can give a specific bonus when starting the fight, such as zap floor immunity or having a home run bat equipped.

Classic mode once again returns and in my opinion it is the best it’s been in the series. It’s short and sweet, there’s unique boss battles and each fighter’s path is different and unique for each fighter in all classic mode and it is great in this game. All star mode also returns in this game but it’s not as good as it was in previous smash games, it’s basically a mob smash from the previous smash games. The fighting once again is fast paced and a chaotic like it’s been in previous Smash games. This time around you can not only air dodge but there is a critical smash if you land a critical hit on your opponent there will be a flash to indicate it. Once again 8 player smash returns.

There are 103 stages in the game but sadly there are only 4 new stages in this game. Just about all the previous stages get a big graphical upgrade being presented in HD. The only exception being the stages form the Super Smash Bros 64, those stages retain their original looks. New to Smash Ultimate this time around are  stamina battles. These play like a traditional fighting game where you deplete your opponent’s health bar or in this case percentage meter to 0. Vs mode now has a lot more options than before when creating your own custom Vs match. You can now modify rules set in the game for Smash/Custom Smash, Squad Strike and Smash Tourney. Custom Balance allows you to modify a fighter’s power so that way they’re not too overpowered. You can choose whether or not to seperate echo fighters or mii fighters.

Graphics are in full HD and to the date the best this series has ever looked being bright and colorful and cartoony at the same time. Assist trophies once again return and they’re better than ever. Not only is there more than there has been in the past, but now you can Ko assist trophies as well. Final Smashes once again make a return and they’re once again better than ever. They’re not only more flashier than before, but they also get right to the point this time around. No more having the final smashes be some powerup, now they feel like a finishing move in a fighting game.

Online play also returns this time with more options than ever. Up to 4 players can battle it out against each other online, players can also set up a private room together where you can voice chat with your friends via Nintendo Voice Chat app. For ranking system this time around we have the global smash power. This online ranking system ranks all players scores on a numerical scale with the number based on how many players that person outranks. There’s also a special mode in the game just for the top players called Elite Smash mode. You now have a preferred rules option for how you want to play multiplayers whether it’s locally or online. You can set the rules for how you want to play and who you want to play with as well.

There’s also a spectator mode where you can watch other players battle it out online. It’s a great way to pick up gameplay tips. All in all Super Smash Bros Ultimate is great and it improves over everything the previous games did and adds a lot of new stuff as well. It also adds a lot of new stuff into the game to make it feel unique and brand new at the same time. While there are a few game modes that I feel are missing, all in all I feel Super Smash Bros Ultimate is the best Super Smash Bros game to date. My final score for Super Smash Bros Ultimate is a 5 out of 5. Super Smash Bros Ultimate is exclusive to Nintendo Switch.

 

Nathan B

 

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