Last week, we found Super Smash Bros. Ultimate would feature 103 unique stages and over 300 in total including the Battlefield and Omega forms. That’s a crazy amount of stages for a big-name fighting game, and possibly an all-time record.
With so many stages crammed into the latest iteration of Smash, it’s been difficult to keep up with the latest posts about them over on the game’s official website and blog. Fortunately, our very own Alex Olney has been working around the clock for the past week to compile what is an absolutely massive half-hour video comparing every returning stage to its Ultimate counterpart. Fun fact: This video is actually longer than the recent Direct!
So, grab your favourite snack, beverage or Nintendo plush and set half an hour aside to watch this comprehensive graphical comparison. Be sure to also tell Alex and the rest of us here at Nintendo Life which stage you're most excited to see return.
Comments 37
Hello, lovely video!
I honestly prefer the old designs for some of the maps, most notably the first two.
Rev up that Venus Lighthouse, because Isaac sure does have some alchemy to restore to the world of Smash Bros.
Can you do a picture comparison of the two different Smash Bros Ultimate posters. One from E3 and the new one from the direct.... I've been trying to see how they have changed characters and such, to see what possible other characters they will change for the newcomers.
I’m sad and surprised that Jungle Hijinx, Orbital Gate and Woolly World aren’t returning from Smash 4. They’re such high quality stages.
Corneria looks glorious. I also like the revised Bridge of Eldin and Fountain of Dreams.
@Katelyn1223 Yeah. If anything, I liked Smash 64's Mushroom Kingdom more than Ultimate's. Faithfulness and source material are two things, but I feel that the NES look is blown far out of proportion. It's a little too bright, the Piranha Plant looks off, and the whole thing feels drearily empty.
...but I'll still take it. I mean, 103 stages is quite a hefty to have in a game, right?
Very awesome! Can't wait to get my hands on this game ^_^
Several of the stages were definitely hampered by the pics you chose to use. Onett notably has looked great on most images, with massively improved detail but the full stage one actually looks worse because that detail gets smudged out, while Melee's is at the resolution it was designed for. Same goes for Castle Siege and others that that issue was commented on.
Also, Delfino Plaza looks great up close, check out the pic with Rodin on the site. Windows are now individually rendered instead of flat textures, brickwork is redone, and a bunch of other QOL changes.
Port Town Aero Dive looks like it's been completely reworked, if you find pictures of the same section of track it's obvious. All the lighting work in particular.
@thesilverbrick I do wonder if stage morph might put a little restriction on what stages can be chosen. Jungle Hijinx might cause some problems if it wanted to morph while players were in the background, and Orbital Gate Assault is easily the most complex stage the series has ever had. That doesn't explain Whooly World, but it may offer an explanation for the other two.
3ds still images are typically 400x240; but when you play them in 3d on a 3ds you get 800x240... makes it difficult to compare 3ds to switch. obviously the switch will look much much better; but videos often make 3ds look much worse than it really is.
Aw, they brought back Rainbow Cruise?! Darn it! I hate that stage!
The first Smash Bros title I got super excited about was the 3DS title which I love because of the portability of it and now I am completely psyched for the Switch Smash Bros for obvious reasons and so far I love the new characters they have announced with Simon and Dark Samus being the two I'm most excited about not to mention those new amiibo are gonna be phenomenal .
Damn I'm gonna miss that 3DS Pac-Man stage but I could see why they choose the Pac-Land one.
I would have preferred a picture showing side by side instead of a video so I could compare more closely.
@edgedino Something wrong with your YouTube pause button?
For the stages that were in both Brawl and 3DS like Corneria and WarioWare, I really wish you would've compared the superior Brawl versions despite being the earlier release.
@Ttimer5 you could just, you know, use this magical thing people have been using for years now- it’s called GOOGLE.
@BulbasaurusRex notice that no one gives a toss what you think.
Awesome video.... way better than the GameXplain one.
I’ve never really been into fighting games but based on all the hype I may check it out after it’s been released for a week or two
I’ve never really been into fighting games but based on all the hype I may check it out after it’s been released for a week or two
@BulbasaurusRex pause works but with pictures I can zoom in for more detail if need be.
Wish I liked Smash, tried it a few times and just can’t get into it.
Smash! The best game ever created.
And ultimate raises the bar even more. How is that even possible lol.
Nice video, but I feel the talking parts were unnecessary. Our eyes can see the differences in the stages, we don't need to keep hearing how this one changed a lot, this one changed a little for every stage comparison.
The Pak E. Derm part at 6:55 was incredible
The colors look a little dull in Ultimate.
Saffron City overhaul @ 3:00. Silph... or Sylph?
There's no contest, imo. Ultimate looks excellent.
As an aside:
Where are all the "it's just a port" people now? Is that not a thing anymore?
I love the decision to sharpen the N64 assets instead of going
"here have your blurry nostalgia"...
(Although now I want an MM remake on switch. That looks really pretty.)
I got partway through it. I'm relatively busy today, so I don't have time to finish the video at the moment. A lovely effort so far. I typically prefer more realistic and detailed visuals and that does appear to be present for the most part in this game. Still, as has always been the case, sustaining good performance is paramount and if that comes to the sacrifice of some of the stages' visual splendor and details, than that's cool.
As long as they you know... Try to make flipping Windy Valley more detailed and interesting than its generic nature. Thinking that Windy Valley would be properly representative of Sonic... Pfft! Whatever happened to Emerald Hill?
I'm really glad that Jungle Hijinx, Orbital Gate and Woolly World are gone. I got pretty used to Orbital Gate after a while, but, have seen countless accidental deaths after the ship explodes. I think Jungle Hijinx with it's dual planes is a mess, and too spacious, it's really more ideal for taunt parties and people who want to avoid a fight (which is not why I play the game). I didn't like Wooly World either, I'm a Little Mac user, so, maybe it's better for other characters, but, I didn't like losing the floor.
some of the stages you said were from the 3DS aren't actually on the 3DS, like Big Blue, Frigate Orpheon, Spear Pillar.
Am I the only one who is starting to feel like maybe Ultimate is actually TOO big? I mean, 64 (or 65) fighters, 103 stages, that's insane. It seems like it would be really, really hard to train properly with so many different options. Am I going to get annihilated every time I go online because somebody is using one of the fighters I haven't had time to practice against, or knows how to exploit the terrain in a stage I've never seen before?
Conversely, it seems like there is going to be a CRAZY amount of balancing to be done post-launch. Most online games struggle to balance standard-size rosters of a dozen characters and a dozen stages. ARMS and Splatoon 2 had almost constant balance updates for their first six months, and the variety there was tiny compared to this.
I'm all for having a nice range of options and flexibility, but it seems like Ultimate is really going to favor the extremely dedicated players who can devote all of their time to learning everything. I could be wrong, but it feels kind of intimidating at this point.
U can also make one for the characters! Would be awesome
So pretty...
I didn't see the original Sector Z on Great Fox. Is it being put aside in favor of the similar stage on Corneria?
The one on N64 felt bigger though.
Tap here to load 37 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...