Soapbox: That Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct; Let's Talk About It

I def dozed off in the middle but awoke to the adventure mode lol. Over all I’m happy with the details except for lack of dedicated servers. But I’m no pro player so I can’t complain too much I suppose. I’m hoping someone from Tekken makes the cut in the dlc.

To the people that are mad about this direct: You fall for the leak, you set expectations way too high then you feel like Sakurai owes you something when your fav character didn't get in...

Surely people would have learned not to do this after so many years of smash directs right?

None of the online features mean anything if the game is unplayable online the way the last two Smash games have been. The adventure mode certainly looks better than what Melee had, and better than Subspace Emissary, for that matter. But I don't play Smash for its single-player modes.

So, the Direct was definitely underwhelming, but I can't say it was actually BAD. Maybe it just felt that way because SO MUCH (characters, stages, features) had already been revealed before yesterday.

There were a few dull spots, not as many new characters as many had hoped, and Pirahna Plant (though hilarious) seems to be a silly use of development time that could have been spent on a more significant character, but all in all, this is going to be an absolutely amazing game. The next five weeks are going to drag.

I just went crazier and crazier with hype. Still liked the E3 Direct more coz more awesome modes except Adventure Mode. But this direct is mere centimeters behind coz I was crying for a Story Mode ever since Smash Wii U so that's good

Incineroar is a Fire/Dark mon though, but I can understand why someone would think it is otherwise (considering it is based on pro wrestlers and it's moveset plays around that trope).

That being said, the direct pretty much covered everything I needed, although there was no need to get into details about the options and preferences and whatnot. Looking forward to December, I already have it pre purchased on the eShop with the season pass.

It wasn't the most amazing direct ever and I can understand why some people would be disappointed with the characters that were announced but when you look at the incredible lineup that the game already had and the fact that dlc characters are going to be made for it in addition with new music and stages you cant really complain. This game was already packed with content and this direct sold this game to me as an awesome experience for solo players too!

The direct was fine. It wasn't going to beat Simon's reveal trailer lol. I can't get over how much content there is. The roster was already amazing before Isabelle's reveal but they added 3 more characters. And dlc! I mean, 5 characters a year is pretty decent. Wonder if they can reach 100!

I can't complain at all with the amount of characters, and features so far this game is going to be magnificent! Really excited to find out who the dlc characters will be!!!

I just hope the 5 DLC characters are ones people actually want (Banjo). Piranha Plant and the announcement of DLC was the best part for me. Holding out hope for Dixie Kong even though she was shown as a Spirit.

Bummer about no trophies, in my opinion. I liked all the trivia that came with them.

The game looks amazing and I can’t wait.

Story mode and the whole spirits system went beyond what I was hoping for. So that's awesome.

As for characters, maybe they should've saved the Belmonts and/K. Rool for this Direct? But it's still an amazing roster.

If you're going to get yourself too hyped for a Direct, dont get mad and act entitled when your expectations aren't met.

I'm not particularly happy about rule sets being chosen at random for online. I am excited for the adventure mode though. And that vocal track!

The one character I reeeeeeeeeeaaally wanted was neither in the reveal OR the leak, so I didn't have a horse in the race. I just sat back and enjoyed watching the internet fall apart. 😁
Adventure mode cinematic gave me legitimate chills, though. The point where Kirby disappeared had me holding my breath.

I've rewatched the part with the weird hiccup more than I've rewatched the World of Light trailer.

Piranha Plant was announced completely out of left field. This made the Direct for me. COme here Piranha my boi. Come hang out with Falco, Ike, and Pokemon Trainer and we'll take the world by storm.

As a "Smash newcomer", I felt the Direct was just perfect. When all you vets dozed off in the middle, I was there. When you said x thing was boring, I was there.

When you were complaining about Sakurai not showing new heroes 24/7, I was there. Watching.

When he revealed Piranha Plant, the biggest middle finger to you all... I was there. Laughing my butt off.

Set your expectations to a human level, and you'll feel ecstatic about these Directs.

Piranha Plant was epic, the story mode trailer was epic, and all around the Direct was great. Incineroar was also perfectly portrayed as what he is: An icon of hate. A heel wrestler. All you people hating on him? You've been had. That's his point.

His role.

This was thoroughly enjoyable, unlike any other Smash Direct.

@justin233 There was also a spirit of the male Wii Fit Trainer, and he’s playable, so I wouldn’t rule out Dixie. She’s on my wishlist, as well!

Best part for me was, when they announced you start with only 8 characters (I think). 🕺

@BladedKnight It's a Fire/Dark Pokémon. Everybody knows him, because everybody hates him.

Which is also the point of him. He's a heel fighter. If you don't know what it is, think of an antagonist, but within wrestling. It's a role, an act.

Which is why people love how expressive and amazingly he performs that role.

The name's Incineroar. He'll be your worst enemy before you know it

@Fearful-Octopus,

You will be surprised how people on gaming forums will still complain however,this game is a massive fan service imo,and how was anybody taking that Grinch rumor seriously.

It was fine. The hype was real when it came to all the languages it supports and the settings help menu.

He actually had waluigi, but because of those weird stalkers he replaced him with piranha plant (just kidding) . Never new he had feet lol. But hey he is DLC so if you don't want dont use him.

I liked the part where Sakurai grinned at the camera and blinked.

I loved it!!!! Piranha Plant....didn't see it coming at all but I can't wait to play as this character. I will be buying the Amiibo for sure. I'm happy it's not another echo like Waluigi would probably be.

The single player looks cool. My youngest son plays as Kirby in Smash so he was very excited to see Kirby highlighted in the way that he was. That trailer was epic IMO because of Kirby narrowly escaping.

The "tag" feature is cool even though it's nothing special. It will be cool to see how many different tags I can collect through online play.....probably not many because I'm average at best.

Like others, I'm worried about online play. It was laggy in the last two and they're already warning Switch owner to go and purchase a dongle to get better performance. I'm really worried that the online will be as bad as the last two.

I was excited to see DLC but I wasn't surprised by this. Why wouldn't Nintendo do this? I was surprised however that they announced it yesterday; and a little disappointed that you don't get a small discount for purchasing it now. It's fun to speculate on who the 5 will be. Will they do another fan vote? I'm also fearing that the 5 will be echo fighters like Waluigi! I personally would like to see them go completely bonkers with the picks. Like Rusty from Rusty's Real Deal Baseball or someone totally unexpected.

For better or worse, this last Direct was very focused on Smash's more technical and content-rich aspects (outside playable characters). Nintendo outdid themselves with stuffing seemingly as much content as possible into this game. With the return of a robust single-player mode showcased with a beautiful cinematic, I think we can expect this game to be a huge hit.

On characters . . . I think the ol' potted plant is a weird and hilarious inclusion, but it's understandable how fans would feel underwhelmed after the Direct if their main focus was on character reveals. Given how high the bar was set with the Belmonts, K. Rool, and Ridley, it's strange to end on such a random note.

As for me, I'm not bent out of shape about it, and the raging basement dwellers need to wash that stink off. PP looks genuinely fun to play as . . . if maybe a little frightening to deal with in more competitive play. Ken and Incineroar look great, as well.

Those disappointed should remind themselves there's at least one season of DLC coming our way. There's still a chance for your favorite character to make the cut, assuming it's a reasonable demand.

Regardless, it's likely Smash Ultimate will be my personal GOTY as well as being the best Smash game to date, and I couldn't be more excited!

This is easily going to be the best Smash game, and the amount of content is ridiculous (I almost feel like $60 is too cheap). The Spirits and World of Light modes look amazing, but the Direct did get a bit too detailed at times; not going to lie, I actually started laughing when Sakurai spent time going over the Brightness settings in the Options.

I never bothered watching the direct but I got the gist of it through Twitter. I'm not like huge Smash fan due to it being built around multiplayer, but the single player campaign does have me intrigued. I'll probably pick it up sometime shortly after Christmas.

Despite the limited amount of space on the card, the absence of trophies (and likely other fun modes) is a huge downer. I would've given up a few of the new junk characters like Incineroar and some of the echos in order for the trophies to stay. The information in the blurbs included with the trophies can now be found easily on the Internet, sure, but those unique, made-from-scratch models cannot be.

I didn't have any extra characters that I was really hanging on for, or looking forward to, so this isn't coming from a place of being salty - but I can't even begin to understand why they wasted a character spot on Piranha Plant. I mean yeah, it's "funny" and "different", but it really just feels like a kdjkdndbfjcove to bother developing such a nondescript character for seemingly no reason. There are a ton of other viable characters from any Nintendo franchise that would have been more satisfying. I'm not a Waluigi fanboy so I don't personally care about whether he is included or not, but you'd think that if the fans were demanding something so hard for so long, you would want to please them rather than troll them. It feels intentionally spiteful. At the end of the day, it's really just an underwhelming choice of a character.

@johnvboy Lol i know right i treat leaks for what they are, a rumor until proven a fact. Yeah i have a few characters i would love to see added to the roster but i am happy that we have Snake, Simon, Richter, and all the other announced fighters! It just makes me laugh that people still harrass Sakurai. The entitlement is strong with some lol. 🤣 I am thrilled that grey fox is an assist trophy!!!🤯🙌

I've never been so underwhelmed by a Smash a game as I am by what is basically Smash 4 remastered ("Ultimate").

I'll buy it when it's $30 or less. Not gonna keep encouraging souped-up Wii U ports.

The tag line would be even better if it read “Mr. Game & Watch, I don’t feel so good...”

I loved the Direct. Ken and Incineroar are cool but Piranha Plant stole the show for me. It’s just so odd seeing it in gameplay that it doesn’t feel real. I can’t wait to try him out.

Spirits and World of Light look amazing. Bummed Trophies are gone, but I get it.

I can’t wait to spend all of my money on amiibo and DLC. I trust Sakurai will deliver with the DLC fighters and will pick amazing characters, even if they aren’t the most popular.

Overall, the Direct had a few duller moments, but was jam-packed with awesome info. These next five weeks had better go by fast!

@FNL

They had to have that crazy left field character. Piranha Plant is the next in line after R.O.B, Game and Watch, and Wii Fit Trainer. His intro was funny and his moveset looks like a lot of fun.

I'm going to make a lot of people angry here, but I personally don't think we need Isaac. It's cool to see him as an assist trophy, and I love Golden Sun, but the last thing Smash needs is yet another sword wielding anime guy. We already have over representation with Fire Emblem and as much as I love the series, I think having too many of them has always been the weak link in the roster. Geno or Banjo though? Please please PLEASE be DLC.

The main enjoyment of smash for me was the games and more section, now its kindve sucks in ultimate, loads of modes missing, and no trophies makes the rewards not as good there. Challenges will kindve suck now, since you dont get custom equipment, trophies, stages, stuff like that from them, so i dont see point of unlocking them. So ima prob just not buy smash ultimate, the core smash experience looks great, but everything else looks lacking. Spirits just seems like a buffed up event mode, but the thing about events is that they were a quick, replayble commodity, making it into a full blown mode makes it drag, and reduces replayability, so spirit is kindve just a one off mode. I dont know how they lajdjsksjjdd up online even more though, but they did it. Hopefully there is still an event mode in games and more, if there aint, and not even target blast or break the targets come back, gonna be sad. Atleast incineroar got in, he looks really nice,

I'm not upset by this direct at all. I expected Ken as an echo and I have no clue about the Pokemon, because I grew out of Pokemon years ago.

That said, I feel that Smash Ultimate will be a fantastic game. It's giving players a lot of different ways to play, and I like that. I didn't like the equipment stuff from the last game and I never cared about trophies. Tying these together into Spirits looks very promising to me. It makes so much of the game actually functional. I'm also fine with the DLC. Lots of 3rd party developers have DLC that gives far less for far more than what Nintendo is doing. We don't always know what those will be either.

I don't feel this is a remaster of the last Smash. it has a lot of similar elements, but what sequel doesn't? It's a tribute to the franchise, and it can be played casually or competitively. It has a lot for players to do, it looks like a complete and full game, and the DLC will only enhance what they've already done. I can't wait to get my hands on this title.

@Frenean

Oh, I have no problem whatsoever with crazy left field characters, but I think the ones you included highlight the problem with choosing Piranha Plant.

R.O.B., Game and Watch and Wii Fit Trainer all have some sort of significance in Nintendo's history. To try to apply that same logic to Piranha Plant would be disingenuous. It's literally just a minor enemy from Mario games. Heck, it would have been more significant to select a Koopa turtle given that they were in the very first Mario Bros. game.

His moveset looks fine and I'm sure he'll be fun to play as, but you could really make a good moveset out of any character. That's kind of the issue. It's not like you couldn't think of a ton of fun moves for any other character, really. I mean, I don't care enough about this to be riled up or anything, this is just stating what I think about the character. It just feels like an intentional troll to the fans.

I think the real question we should all be asking is - when they announce the DLC characters, should we be placing bets on whether or not Sakurai can resist having a Waluigi-shaped shadow that turns out to actually be some D-level sword-wielding character named Fauntleroy from a relatively obscure Japanese RPG?

I’m not gonna lie, I actually liked that Piranha Plant was added. I was sold on this game when it was first announced and we didn’t know if it was a brand new game or a port. Looking forward to it.

@NF6429

1.) Spirits is a buffed up event mode that you can absolutely approach like a buffed up event mode if you want. You can do one event at a time just like you could before. Don't really understand your point here.

2.) I'm fairly certain we're still going to get full Amiibo customization like in the last game, and all of the extra modes (like Home Run) are still going to be there. I don't think it was worth dedicating time to in the Directs because we've had these modes in every Smash game since their debut.

3.) Online is a definite improvement over the last game, I don't know what you were watching. We now have GSP, we can go into matchmaking with our own preferred settings, and the For Glory mode has turned into something even more competitive. You have to unlock it and that's where you'll be doing your ranked matches. We have factually more options and modes in online than ever before.

@FNL

I won't lie and say that I wouldn't have preferred Banjo, but let's give Sakurai credit. He has already given us a lot of characters that fans wanted (Chrom, Ridley, K. Rool, Bayonetta) and I think it's unfair to think he's doing this to spite fans. This is absolutely a packed roster and there's something for everyone here, Sakurai doesn't have to listen to EVERYTHING the fans tell him. He created the game he wanted, and he definitely went out of his way to give fans what they want already. Your d level sword wielding anime guy quip made me giggle haha

@BladedKnight Haha, fair enough. Incineroar is one of those characters that was bashed and hated when revealed, but once people actually got to use him and saw him in-game, they fell in love with him because of how expressive he is. And in SSBU, he is more expressive than ever. He'll pose after every succesful attack (part of the heel act), he'll do a different pose if you whiff, and he will also scream his name after every special move. It's hilarious and oozes of personality haha.

Even if you barely know of him, try him out a few times. I bet you'll at least find it fun to check out his personality haha.

Going to get smash, but didn't watch the direct, after e3 I don't need more info on it I just need to play it.

@Frenean okay, to answer the point on online, its worse to me because of how you cant straight up chose the mode you want to play, you can only have prefered rules. I dont want the mode i play online to be chosen by chance, i want to just straight up choose it. in this way its a huge downstep to me. I do hope your right about the extra modes just not being shown, but being there though

@NF6429

They aren't chosen by chance, though. You literally have the option to set the time limit, how many lives you want to play with, all of that. You have MORE options, not less. You can even 1v1 without it being competitive.

I could care less for characters (minus Issac and sniff yours truly) since everyone is here and them some. I just wanna see them deliver on them modes and for the most part(I think there's more modes we don't fully know) it delivered. I sat back and stewed on spirits after the loss of trophies. While it doesn't fill the trophy sized hole in my heart, it's a good replacement and an excellent way to get other video game person, animal, or thing to be with you. Online has given a dramatic improvement. And we got our meaty single player mode. Where can I preorder?

@Frenean you have the option to set your prefered rules, it doesnt mean it will be chosen in the match, your oppenents prefered rules could as easily get picked compared to yours, and thats my problem with it, that 50% 50% chance theee

I am very excited about the roster, despite some disappointment in its lack of certain characters that have been overdue in Smash Bros for decades. King K. Rool on his own is a huge enough addition to grab my interest, having been raised on a steady diet of Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong 64 in the nineties. Never mind other awesome characters like Ridley and Simon Belmont.

I appreciate Piranha Plant as a character and think it is a great left-field character with a unique moveset, and I understand not including mega characters like Banjo in the base game, which is a fighter perhaps most feasibly delivered as DLC with a percentage of sales due to the undead corpse of Microsoft's Rare Ltd.. However, I do feel that this was a partially missed opportunity for Smash Ultimate's base roster to be more adventurous. Characters like K. Rool are the tip of the iceberg of great, underrated characters, and the inclusion of more fan-wanted newcomers would have really satisfied the tagline "Everyone is here" in a big way.

Seeing all-time classic fan favorites like Isaac, Shadow, and Geno relegated to measly Assist Trophies and collectible stickers without flavor text while definitively less-deserving characters like Piranha Plant and Incineroar get in, (the latter of which had its initial debut in its original game as recently as November 2016, a mere two years and change prior to Smash Ultimate's release, compared to Isaac's pre-9/11 debut of August 2001) is undoubtedly that much more disappointing when considering Smash Ultimate is the first Smash title in several years to make it a point of including fan favorites. It is not unreasonable for fans to be left with a slightly unpleasant view of the final Direct given the campaign for Smash Ultimate began with fighters as storied as King K. Rool, Ridley, and Simon Belmont, and ended with Ken, Incineroar, and a generic Mario enemy.

I hate this meme that says you must have had these sky-high expectations based on a fake leak in order to be disappointed by a direct that wastes time on brightness settings while building up the the grand reveal of a potted plant.

@NF6429

I really don't think you understand how this matchmaking works. You choose the settings you want, and it matches you with players who have the same settings. Maybe once in a blue moon it won't be able to find people with the same settings, but the chances here aren't 50/50, more like 95/5.

@BLD

We got an Adventure mode which is the biggest mode that people wanted. If you're disappointed that we didn't get more characters, you definitely did set your expectations too high. Sakurai said from the beginning not to expect too many brand new characters because the intent was to just make this the ultimate Smash, the one with all previous characters and modes. We got way more new characters, maps, and modes than I initially expected.

Edit: I don't know why I even replied to you based off of your comment history. You big smelly willy.

@Frenean

"We got an Adventure mode which is the biggest mode that people wanted."

We got a glorified event mode. It looks fun, but it's wholly disingenuous of you to suggest that this is what people meant when they asked for Adventure mode. Sakurai made the point to differentiate them himself.

@BLD

Spirits and World of Light are two separate things, and the latter has cutscenes, a world map, a skill tree, boss battles, and puzzles/etc. on the world map. That's an Adventure mode if you ask me.

@Frenean

It's absolutely "an" adventure, and I think it looks fun, but it has none of the sprawling maps or unique enemy types present in both Melee and Brawl. It features the same fights against "modified" versions of the playable roster, and the only bosses we've seen so far (aside from presumably Galeem itself) are recycled from Brawl. The map is, in the end, an evolution of Sm4sh's more free-form event battle selection.

It may satisfy fans of past adventure modes, IDK. But it really isn't what they were asking for.

I always cringe so hard when people say "you should be happy Sakurai gave us _____. He made the game he wants. At least he gave the fans ____."

As if to suggest that Sakurai is being kind in letting us play with his personal toy. The job of a game developer/designer is to create games that please people and make them want to buy it. If his games didn't sell, he wouldn't have a job. So it's hard to take these arguments seriously when people say "so what if he doesn't cater to the fans?" Isn't that literally what you're supposed to do? It's not "entitlement" to be disappointed when you have been asking for a particular character for a decade only for them to be shoved aside in favor or a troll character, or another Sakurai-chosen sword fighter.

When you really think about it, it's actually quite selfish if he's only in it to make a game that he wants to make at this point in the Smash Bros. franchise.

Calm down, Sakurai zealots. I think the game is going to be great and am looking forward to it, I just think we need to have a reality check sometimes. The Sakurai-worship is unsettling.

@BLD

Really? You didn't notice Rathalos or Count Dracula being bosses? Pretty sure they weren't recycled from Brawl.

@Syrek24

That's hilarious after your comment on the leak a few days ago:

"Here’s hoping this Smash Bros Direct puts that’s awful “leak,” and the fanatics who decided to harass anyone who disagreed with said “leak,” to shame. Every character they’ve announced for Ultimate so far has been a quality pick. I would hate to see the final few characters be some side character in a spin off Mario game that hasn’t seen the light of day since then, a Sonic OC from devianart, some random futuristic biker who happens to be from a dormant/dead franchise and that only a few people recognize who he is, some Albino kids, and a character that is owned by Microsoft and hasn’t been popular since the N64 days.

It really does seem like people’s standards for quality Smash Bros characters has diminished considerably given how feverish people on the internet are about these “leaked” characters."

So I guess you're the only one allowed to whine, is that it?

@FNL

The Sakurai hate is even more unsettling. I never would have thought that we'd see Bayonetta, Ridley, or King K. Rool in Smash. Yet here we are. The dude works his ass off and if, just because a rumor spread all over YouTube and Twitter didn't come true, you're not going to buy a game that is so chock full of fanservice and content that it boggles the mind, you really need to get your priorities straight. Like @Syrek24 said, these entitled children are the worst.

So Kirby once again saves the day. That finally answers who the most powerful video game character is

@Frenean

Rathalos is an assist trophy and Drac's a stage hazard. If they have unique boss movesets, then we're talking, but until then, they're pretty much the definition of glorified event matches.

@Frenean

"The dude works his ass off"

He does?

He's worked on 4 games in the last decade. This is another thing that amuses me about Sakurai fanboys. They consistently praise how "hard he works". He's the director of Smash Bros. He doesn't do hands-on development with it. Every interview we get from Sakurai has at least one instance of him complaining about how "tired" he is directing one video game every 2.5 years. It's ironic that people talk about "whiners" in defense of Sakurai.

And as he has admitted, at the end of the day, we get a game that he wanted. So he "works tirelessly" on a pet project every 2.5 years and he occasionally throws fans a bone by putting some characters in that they like. But ultimately, he's just making a game that he wants to play. I mean again, I'm not passionately pro or anti Sakurai, but let's bring things back to reality and away from emotion for a minute.

I don't know if someone else made the comparison, but the story from the spirits is very reminiscent of the story from Dragonball Fighterz, which was published by bandai namco. I know that development was shared with bandai namco for smash, but Nintendo definitely went overload with the concept.

@BLD

Oh okay, so you complain about Directs but don't pay attention to them. Gotcha. It's literally stated in the Directs that Rathalos is an assist trophy AND a boss, he even has his own boss stage. Same with Dracula. You spend more time being negative than you do actually paying attention to what you complain about.

I hardly recognize smash anymore. Too many characters too many modes and options. I’d love a smash lite. Just something straightforward and concentrated

@Audiobrainiac How can you tell there's no server? I've got a PS4 as well, and haven't noticed the difference between having a server or not. Do servers give better pings and if not, what advantage does it give?

Another smash direct and everybody that’s supposedly excited for this game back here moaning and complaining again about the most ridiculous crap. You guys crack me up 😆

@Audiobrainiac exact same thing happened to me. Glad to see I'm not the only one.

@Frenean

It's not stated anywhere that Rathalos or Drac behave differently as bosses. Given how Ridley's event matches worked in 4 (he had the same behaviors as his stage boss incarnation), I see no reason to believe these two will behave otherwise. It's totally possible, but the Direct gave no reassurance of such.

@Frenean

It's actually really sad that you get so worked up in the defense of a video game director. I hope your day gets better. Take care.

@Nintendo_Thumb

Fighting games don't typically have dedicated servers. MOST games don't typically have dedicated servers, especially on console. This expectation that Nintendo should have them when most PS4/Xbox games charge you $60 for their peer to peer connection is ridiculous. (Most Xbox One first party games have them, but not the biggest multiplatform titles)

@Nintendo_Thumb

You don't want dedicated servers for a fighting game anyway, but Smash has historically not had the best netcode. Ultimate has to improve that aspect dramatically.

@BLD

https://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/9671tj/now_that_we_have_rathalos_and_dracula_as_bosses/

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/234547-super-smash-bros-ultimate/76891351

https://smashboards.com/threads/what-bosses-do-you-wan

If you want me to actually go to the direct videos and find the exact time stamps where they say that these two are bosses I will. I find it a bit disingenuous that you're trying to lead people to believe we don't have new bosses in this new adventure mode.

@Nintendo_Thumb

What @BLD said, you're going to want to pay attention to net code with fighting games. Hopefully this Smash will finally get it right aha

@BLD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX4XQDiYbaY

Dracula is treated as an "encounter" much like a stage hazard. Traditionally, a "boss" would be a dedicated enemy that you would face at the end of a stage. Until we get confirmation that he appears every time as the final encounter in this stage, then I don't think he can be called a boss at this point. You're right as the facts currently stand.

@Frenean

I'm not arguing that Rathalos and Drac aren't bosses. But they're an assist trophy and a stage hazard first and foremost. If they have different movesets as bosses, then I repeat, cool. Until then, we have Galleom and what looks like Rayquaza as our actual bosses designed exclusively as bosses. Maybe they have new movesets too. But the Direct gave us no details to confirm this.

@BLD

If you're going to assume that these boss characters are only going to have the same one move they do as an assist trophy or stage hazard, you have that right. That's crazy to me, though. Why not just make all of the assist trophies bosses?

I have never enjoyed a smash game so hopefully this will be the exception

@Frenean

For all we know, they might be! We've seen Ghirahim already.

Handicap... "And if a character is too weak, like say...." DON'T YOU SAY PICHU DON'T YOU DARE!!!!! ".....Bowser" OOOOOOOH YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 10 points for you!

@NewAdvent I’m sure that’s exactly what it was, and I think it’s hilarious as a gag character. But I can’t help but wonder what other characters they could have included if they allotted the development time to something else. Plus I feel like the Pirahna Plant’s inclusion kind of lowers the bar of what it means to qualify as a Smash fighter. Oh, well. It’s hard to complain when you look at the volume of content in this game. It’s staggering.

I've come to really hate leaks lately. Whether they're real or not, if they're convincing they can really take the wind out of a developer's sail. The reaction to the (real) Mario and Rabbids leak was extremely negative, but the actual reveal showed how much care and charm was actually put into the game. In this case, the "Grinch" leak convinced people to believe in extremely unrealistic expectations and be disappointed when only 2 more characters were announced. This was all in spite of the many, many times we were told not to expect too many more characters. I wish people would just let developers reveal their games how they want to instead of using a real or "well-done" fake leak to get their couple weeks of fame (at most).

@BLD Dracula isn’t just a stage hazard. In his reveal, he’s seen being battled on a modified version of his castle stage, with walk off edges, and not the traditional stage. Looks like he’s a boss, as well.

Also, I gotta say that as more "hard-core" Nintendo fans it's really easy for us to say "Why Isabelle, or Incineroar instead of fan-requested characters like Geno, or Isaac, or even Banjo." But the truth is both of the formerly mentioned characters are currently relevant characters from two of Nintendo's premium selling series. So while they aren't quite as highly requested amongst the hard-core (though they're still somewhat requested), they'll likely be useful in selling the game to a more general audience (you know, the people who make up the large majority or game sales). The highly requested characters on the other hand, while cool request, are often from older dead series, or haven't been relevant in their series for quite some time. I think the six purely new characters are a good balance of newer, more relevant characters to connect with the general buyer and older, fan-requested characters to connect with the long time hard-core fanbase.

"Soapbox: That Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct; Let's Talk About It"

Lets not.....

As a casual Smash fan, I like the Pirhana Plant. I think that's pretty rad.

Was hoping for Rex, Dixie Kong and Springman as DLC characters, but it seems that's not going to happen.

surely the best bit was... the song!

@JaxonH I think the only hard deconfirm there is Springman. While it's never been officially stated that an Assist can't become a character, the point of ATs is to get characters in the game that wouldn't make it into the game otherwise (i.e. as a fighter).

Dixie being a spirit isn't really a good deconfirm, as Lucas had a trophy in Smash 4 before he was decided upon as a DLC character.

Lastly, Rex is just confusing. On one hand, having a Mii-costume would seem to soft-deconfirm him, as having a costume is a nice way of giving people the chance to play as a character without actually putting them in the game. On the other hand, Sakurai said that the only reason he isn't in this game is because Xenoblade 2 was announced after the roster was decided. So, Sakurai wants him in the game (which is obvious from how much he loves Xenoblade 2), and now would be when he's deciding upon DLC characters so Rex could certainly be added now. It wouldn't be the first time a fighter had a mii costume.

I couldn't give a monkey's about Smash Bros.

Incineroar is actually fire/dark typing...but its still just like a fighting type so I'll let that slide

@Jin15

Do you comment on every article about a subject you have absolutely zero interest in?

I couldn't give a monkey's about hen parties in Slovenia.
I couldn't give a monkey's about tungsten.
I couldn't give a monkey's about the Macaya Breast-spot Frog.

Actually I can see why you do it, it's quite fun.

@Gauchorino you know, it sounds like spirits are supposed to be the replacement of trophies so who knows?
There may well be a "spirits museum" with a small info blurb about all of the characters they are supposed to depict. After all they are especially meant to represent the characters of the story mode whose "body" was lost.

The direct already hinted for one at an "help" section that includes Infos about playable characters movements... and their biography.

@Snaplocket Nintendo has a tendency to overlook X, and while I agree that Elma would be great for Smash the fact that there isn't any X music here and there is 2 music speaks volumes for her likelyhood. Rex also isn't my favorite 2 character (Morag gets that distinction) but if a Xenoblade character gets in, I think he's the most likely.

Something I want to make a note on is the backlash I'm seeing all over the internet over Kirby being the only survior of the attack that seemingly wiped out the other fighters.

People are acting like it's Sakurai's bias at work by making Kirby the first playable character and from the looks of it, the hero of the mode.

But if you look at things more closely, its Sakurai's eye for detail at work here. In the Kirby series, the main villian in most of the main series games is almost always an Eldritch Abomination that targets Planet Pop Star. Also, a common theme is that before Kirby gets involved, the world is often changed and other powerful characters like Meta Knight and King Dedede often fall under the control of this Eldritch Abomination before Kirby can free them.

So, what does this have to do with this trailer? Well, how everyone reacted kinda fits into their respective canon descriptions. Samus and Link tried to stand their ground and fight, and lost to the beams, although a nice touch was that Link's shield stopped them for a brief moment.

Zelda, Mewtwo, and Palutena all tried to use barriers to stop the beams and were defeated, the Inklings and Snake tried to hide from the beams, while Bayonetta, Lucario, and Gerninja tried to dodge around the beams but lost due to the sheer number of them.

Bowser naturally tried to fight the beams with fire as did the Pokemon Trainer with Triple Finish. Of course they lost to the beams as well.

Finally, the Wii Fit Trainer, Duck Hunt Dog, and Villager just kinda stood around not knowing what to do, fitting to characters that come from franchises with no fighting in them at all.

The only characters that flee are Captain Falcon, Sonic, Pikachu, both Pits, Kirby, Rosalina, Diddy King, and Falco, and all of them besides Kirby fail for various reasons.

Captain Falcon does not even make it to the Blue Falcon before he's over taken, Sonic slows down just enough to to try to help Pikachu which causes both of them to be overtaken, Both Pits lose the power of flight once Palutena falls, Rosalina and Diddy Kong simply aren't fast enough, and the beams basically cut off Falco's arwing, preventing him from dodging anything.

Kirby on his warp star proves to be a smaller target then the other characters who tried to flee, and he's able to dodge the beams better, and the Warp Star seemingly teleports out of harm's way.

So, Kirby survives because not only has he faced these kinda of threats before, but because he knew what to do(he's the only one to make any real effort to dodge the beams, everyone else either tried to fight them off, used their barriers, dodged with teleports and counters until they were overwhelmed, ran in a single direction where they could be cut off, or panicked) and because he's gets away just in time.

It fits into the theme of his games. An all-powerful Eldritch Abomination shows up out of nowhere and quickly overwhelms the other powerful fighters of his world(In this case, all the other fighters of Smash) and Kirby somehow survives or escapes to put things right.

In a way, it makes sense Kirby is the only survivor and has to rescue everyone else. Mario, Link, Samus, and the others might fight powerful foes, but Kirby is the only fighter on the roster who fights a never ending parade of Eldritch Abominations who invade his homeworld and always has to stop them.

If anyone knows what to do, it would be Kirby.

I am definitely more hyped and excited about this Smash Bros it seems to be endless in replayability which for me is a huge factor in fighting games.,
I'm glad there is a story mode certainly and I like most of the new fighters alot, it don't seem to me Nintendo left any room for complaints at this point I think they are trying to make as many Smash fans happy as possible which is awesome with that said I would love to see Rosa and or Balder from Bayonetta 2 make it in as fighters both of which would be amazing characters and last but not least I have hopes high that Tabuu from Smash Bros Brawl will make a return to the series he is by far my favorite boss to fight that would be so so great.

@Ludovsky I like the Spirits (I also liked the Stickers in Brawl), but the sad part is that Spirits are just PNG images rather than 3D models that before could be rotated and modeled as you willed.

the only things i liked about the direct were the piranha plant reveal, and the DLC reveal. imo, the adventure mode they showed is subpar to subspace emissary. Really i was kinda hoping for more off the wall character reveals like piranha plant, and a frikin stage creator would have been great. Do not care for echo fighters, or the lack luster sticker collectathon (no different than the badges we earned in smash4 imo). so for me the direct sucked, minus the piranha plant and DLC reveal.

i will wait and buy this game used or on sale for under $40.

@Dpishere That was literally the only thing I was worried about. If the solo content warrants a purchase if you don't have someone to play with all the time on the couch. This eases my fears.

They honestly could have stopped at K. Rool and I would have still been more than satisfied in terms of character reveals. World of Light will definitely have me playing ultimate longer than I played Sm4sh. I just hope there are more cutscenes. Nothing to big, just for the big events in the story. Like when you recruit a major new character I would like to see something short(thanking Kirby perhaps?)

Last active article for today? Check.
My comment being late and being buried into utter oblivion? Double check.
Said article having many comments due to the Smashy subject? Yes siree, you betcha.

Let's roll. I'll try to make this brief, feel free to watch as I fail miserably.

I'll sum up my points by using RogerBase's timestamps.

1) Final two characters: sad to see the Grinch was wrong (RIP Isaac) and the box theory was right. That said, Ken is cool, the trailer was awesome, and Incineroar... well, I was hoping for Decidueye, but given fighting game-centric youtuber Maximilian Dood's reaction being along the lines of "I don't know jack about Pokémon, but this is easily my favourite Pokémon character" I can easily see why he was picked.
2) Spirits. Not gonna lie: super bummed about the lack of Trophies and the whole "Nintendo encyclopedia" draw they used to mean for the game, but the mode as a whole - especially World Of Light - seems like a super-duper compromise. Sure, the make-believe way fighters represent other characters is kind of silly...

... but the mode is otherwise the perfect mix between a story with an explorable overworld map/hub and the Events that in previous installments also simulated/recreated famous Nintendo fights ripped straight from their respective home series.
3) Online features: the matchmaking has potential, assuming the waiting room's eternal wait times from the Brawl online wasteland years are truly a thing of the past. The self-destructer punishing method, however, has another potential of its own - being unable to tell who SD's on purpose and who doesn't, which is bad no matter how you look at it. Elite Smash is another step in taking the competitive scene seriously, which is always good despite me being destined to be an eternal noob/scrub. Wired connection is a no-go for me, sorry.
4) Assist Trophies: glad about the focus on them overshadowing Pokéball-summoned Pogeys, but Shadow and Isaac should have been deconfirmed way before people got their hopes up and let's just leave it at that.
5) Mii Fighters: the Nintendo Labo costume is awesome. How could we even think of "laboman" when the solution was staring right at us?
6) DLC being confirmed: of course it is! We can never get too much of a good thing!... as long as Sakurai gets some damn well earned rest by 2020, that is.
7) Piranha Plant: not being able to conjure up a moveset for Waluigi is perfectly fine, but giving a potted plant one makes quite the annoying statement. That said, I'm totez in the "amused" camp. I mean, how could anyone not react to this curveball with a hearty laugh? Also, this marks the first time a common enemy is made playable. Whether it was retaliation for the Waluigi harassment or just Sakurai being Sakurai, he opened Pandora's Box with this one - all bets are off from now on when it comes to character requests. Bandanna Waddle Dee, you say? How about Goombas, walking Waddle Dees, Octoroks? Sakurai, you've brought this upon yerself, heeeeeeeeeed mah woooooooorrrrds!
8) World Of Light: voice acting, hub/map, song with lyrics, events, allusions to source material, on top of a dark, Infinity War-esque story. I mean, why are we even talking at this point? I were clapping, you were clapping, your dog was clapping somehow, don't deny it, shuddup.

Man that recap wasn't easy to pull off. But I did, yay me!

this is why ive been saying dont believe in every rumor and over hyping it people end up being burned.

I'm very concerned about the online functionality, the rest of the Direct was very good but mentioning the LAN adapter and the mobile app in an online segment doesn't fill me with confidence that Smash Ultimate's online is any better than Smash 4 and unlike Smash 4 we pay to play online now.

Still can't wait for this game though, especially World of Light.

@Syrek24 Yup, it is crazy how many people complain just for the sake of complaining. But that's just how things seem to be nowadays.

@Gauchorino that's true. At the same time that 3d model could be very
Development resources intensive(especially with the sheer amount of them) for little gain in term of actually gameplay.

That sticker might just be 2d, but they could crank them out much faster compared to modeling 3d trophies that would have removed manpower resources away from modeling more playable characters or even environments.

In fact I get the feeling World of Light being more battle nodes based than Subspace Emissary heavily has to do with the game development taking so much resources already there was little room left to develop the likes of the platformer-like levels of Subspace Emissary let alone playtest them(and even less playtest them with the entirety of Ultimate's cast which will dwarf Brawl's by more than twice the number of playable characters).

As a result though I do enjoy seeing what effort seem to have gone into instead creating a more interactive world map proper that even seem to feature a more open ended progression and perhaps even puzzles by the look of it.

In a way that's my point with trophies. It certainly does seem like a loss but it feels like one that had to happen for the game even being possible in the first place at the scale it is reaching.

My only complaint is that I feel that Shantae and Issac (Golden Sun) did not give then a better support, well, ok, it's good to see them back, but Issac (or anyone of Golden Sun) deserved to be a main fighter, not a assist trophy again and Shantae, well, at least an Assist trophy, but she's just a icon / trophy / sticker / spirit..., oh well, I hope that the DLC support them, or at least, support other characters who deserve to be in the game.

Actually this direct made it sure i will be selling my switch as soon as i have my defect left joy-con back.
Replacing trophies woth spirits crap just so you can sell dlc through it.
Or forcing motion controls in pokemon go.
And releasing the same crap already released on the wiiu.

It's cheaper to buy a wiiu at least this way i can choose which virtual console games i can play.
And most important mario maker and 3d world.

@Ludovsky It'll definitely be a great game, regardless. I just hope there will be enough unlockable content that extends beyond the World of Light campaign and the Spirits picture collecting, or else, this game could become as niche as many fighting games have become rather than the 1000-hour level of content Smash Bros. games have had since Melee.

@The_ghostmen releasing the same crap on the wii u really sony and xbox have pulled the same crap on all of their systems reason why their the king of ports.

@Caryslan I love your explanation and it sounds pretty accurate.

@Rika_Yoshitake I didn’t look at the leaks and still felt disappointed it’s just opinion and personal preference

@Sac_instead

Same here. Writing off complaints as people being "entitled whiners" is ridiculous. We're allowed to be disappointed by disappointing content. Piranha Plant, while funny, is a dumb character and a waste of development time.

The Smash community is some of the most ungrateful people on the planet!

They get Ridley and King K. Rool, and they're complaining about Incineroar and Piranha Plant, Spirits over trophies, characters that should be playable over being assists knowing that they'll never be satisfied on that end, and constant whining over Waluigl, even hating on Sakurai now.

I'm more than satisfied with EVERYTHING that Smash Ultimate will be offering while those clowns will still be complaining about how they didn't get what they wanted.

@JuiceMan_V You know who the worst members of the Smash community are? The people who call the other members "ungrateful" for daring to be disappointed by certain aspects of the game.

Do I think the Piranha Plant character is dumb and a monumental let-down? Absolutely. Am I still excited to play Smash for all of things about it that I do like? Absolutely.

Is the world black and white to you?

@FNL

If the world wasn't black and white to Smash fans, they wouldn't be complaining much.

That community is becoming cancerous quickly.

@PrincessBowsette at least micrsoft and sony are not selling it full price.
Games like shadow of the colossus gears of war huge graphical upgrades.
Rare replay was sold for 30 bucks at release.
If nintendo had done this they would have made it into a collection and sold it on 5 cartridges selling them for 60 each.
And just stick a deluxe edition on it.

Donkey kong tropical still sells for 60 bucks.
Even thought nintendo released a select version on wiiu for 30 bucks 2 years before that.

3ds has a much better games collection than switch.

@FNL if Sakurai isn’t making the game you want, here’s an idea: don’t buy it. Ultimately yes, it is entitled to expect anyone to cater to you, even if they’re making a product to sell you, as you are NOT forced to purchase it. If they choose to create something no one wants, they certainly are free to, they just won’t make money. But I doubt many people changed their mind on getting the game because of Piranha Plant, maybe a very small few, so clearly he’s still making a product people want. Everyone has the choice to vote with their wallets.

As for that being to troll the whiners... highly doubt it. Believe it or not, due to the process of game design, the roster was likely determined before it was revealed that this was an entirely new game at E3. Maybe not fully implemented, but decided. Unlike some people want to theorize, Waluigi was never on the table, or anybody in the leaks (unless they’re DLC). Sakurai didn’t scrap any ideas, throwing away valuable time spent developing characters just to spite fans. Piranha Plant did indeed take a character slot, that’s true, and perhaps other characters were more deserving... but I wouldn’t say every character in the series has been the most deserving characters, the fact remains that the team has to make choices and there will always be controversial ones. At this point, the series already represents Nintendo’s biggest series, and everyone has their own characters they want added... my guess is piranha plant wasn’t added because Sakurai had any affinity towards the enemy (a Kirby enemy would make more sense there), rather the team wanted a character that literally no one would expect. Maybe even one that would create a bit of controversy, which could get the game even more publicity right before launch. Even a koopa is more expected than a piranha plant. Though once again... that’s just a guess. I don’t actually know the reasoning behind the character. There are people who love it, like me, but I wouldn’t assume Sakurai did it because he loves that enemy or spent countless hours working with his team just to “troll” fans. That’s a lot of work just for a troll.

Which is one other thing I want to mention: directing a AAA series is an exhausting job, even if it only sees a release every few years. Game design in general is fairly taxing, it’s a lot of long hours and no vacations, and that extends past the programmers to those in charge. Sakurai has made it clear he is a bit controlling with his games and likely spends even more time than most directors do. He playtests things himself, he overseers everything directly, and he makes every decision. The industry is fairly high stress, and with the turn around time between Smash 4 and this he’s been working overtime. I wouldn’t be so quick to assume the man is exaggerating about how exhausted he is. Am I saying he’s perfect? Nope, I’ve disagreed with many of his decisions (tripping was by far the worst mechanic I’ve seen in any fighting game, and one of the worst I’ve seen in AAA games in general). And perhaps piranha plant wasn’t a good idea, even if some of us like it... but the fact is he’s been trying to leave the series for a long time now. Multiple titles have been, in his words, the final entry in the series. He’s not happy making Smash Bros anymore and I don’t blame him, if I was stuck making the same games for so long I’d be miserable too. He’s had a few chances to branch out between Smash games (like Kid Icarus Uprising) but Nintendo consistently comes back to him and pressures him back into making another. He’s likely a bit too proud as well, letting them talk him into it because he knows they’d just have someone else do it and he is afraid someone will ruin what has more or less become his legacy. He needs to retire from the series, he deserves that much. Depending on who takes it over, I imagine either the series will just start throwing in all the characters people ask for or it will become a lot of filler characters like Mario Kart (stuff like Pink Gold Peach). Hopefully the former... I’m all for letting him retire and do what he wants to do, most fans will probably be happier and so will he.

Last... I do want to say everyone is entitled to be disappointed (or elated) at anything in (or not in) the game. You’re entitled to be upset about piranha plant. You may think it’s dumb and a waste of space just like I think it’s hilarious and will enjoy playing as it much more than someone like Wii Fit Trainer. They’re both opinions. I’m glad this got in over some rumors like Chorus Kids. I would’ve preferred Geno but I never got my hopes up there. Besides, I didn’t really expect any new content outside of the couple new characters announced last E3, I thought this was just a “best of” but it has a decent amount of new content. They didn’t need to add anything new and I would’ve loved this because it already had so much stuff and was originally just marketed as an entry where everyone is returning, something we may never see again due to the sheer roster size. Anything else is just a bonus, and sure any of us have a right to complain about the bonus but that doesn’t mean we deserve anything as the consumers, we get what we pay for, this isn’t Burger King.

Except Pichu really didn’t need to return, it’s just a weaker Pikachu echo that hurts itself. That’s the real waste of time, remaking Pichu.

@alexolney, can you post one video where you don't make a stupid face?

@The_ghostmen you do realize not everyone owned a wii u and plus some of the wii u games that got ported to switch didnt make much in sales due to wii u poor sales reason why they got a second life on the switch.

Hoping Sakurai can now make a Kid Icarus for Switch.

I'm "one of the few that couldn't give a monkey's about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" but I thought it was a pretty good Direct. It made me reconsider for a sec, a first in this promo campaign.

All I know is that I can't wait until years from now when they release the inevitable successor to this game and call it "Super Smash Brothers Ultimater".

I suspect a lot of time and care was put into Piranna Plant and not just thrown in to spite fans. That logic is absurd and ridiculous

As far as online play goes, I'm just glad that we can finally play regular stock matches online.

@CasNicks I know, right? Can't stand that pic and the horrible tag line.

This direct floored me honestly, Smash has become this absolutely massive love letter to not just Nintendo fans but the industry as a whole, there is literally nothing else like it in the market, it's quite impressive the amount of polish and content this game has crammed in there, I'm hyped

@Dang3rdomo22 How do you figure? Literally everything has been built from the ground up, insane amount of new characters and modes, of course it's going to have the same base gameplay or else it wouldn't be Smash anymore, I really can't see where you're coming from- honestly at this point 60 seems like we're robbing the developers

Still not sure, never played smash so it's new to me, but I can't make up my mind. Online will probably be great, but is it just another fighting game, great for a couple of weeks, then put aside because I'm bored of mashing buttons? I want to like it but might wait a while and see before I jump in.
I'm not trolling, but as someone new to the franchise I'm looking at the stages thinking endless fights where I will be buttkicked repeatedly by some kid with faster reactions and that's all there is to it..

@Gauchorino Yeah.

Also I'm having a weird feeling regarding the announced DLCs characters. One of the most reliable characters out there already predicted one of the DLCs fighters would be a Square Enix properties.

And to be honest that could be logical with all the final fantasy games about to hit the console.

But then I recalled that there are OTHER Square Enix IPs about to hit the console in 2019.

And some of them have already been published by Nintendo themselves in that regard.

But this I'm talking about Dragon Quest. 2019 is supposed to be the year the console will both get the western releases of Dragon Quest Builders 2 and the (hopefully worldwide) release of Dragon Quest XI's switch port.

And thing is it sounds like that, like the Switch port of Builders 1, Builders 2 might be directly published and even localized by Nintendo themselves rather than Square Enix.

Another IP that could apply is technically Octopath Traveller and that's a strong contender but not one with roots as deep as Dragon Quest yet.

So while an Octopath or Final Fantasy representative are likely... I get the weird feeling the DLC might instead surprised us out of the left field by proving to be a Dragon Quest representative instead.

Which features three possibility:

The Builder from that side franchise, which could easily sport a moveset akin to an hybrid of Villager and Link I bet ontop of strongly supporting multple costumes/gender choice like Robin. Plus DQB2's wind-soaring cape would be a perfect third-jump move ability or effect.

A Dragon Quest XI representative, either the hero or a companion. The only disqualifier for the hero may be that he has no "default" name thus a named companion might be chosen instead; of these I feel Veronica, Sylvando or Hendricks might be (in decreasing order of likeliness) the strongest contender. In fact Veronica is unique and distinctive enough(being such a pint-sized powerhouse of a bratty mage) that I'd be surprised if she wasn't the chosen fighter if it's a Dragon Quest XI representative.

Perhaps less likely but still possible would instead be an "original trilogy" representative; this could be even more likely if those big Dragon Quest 2019 releases end up accompanied by Switch port of the original trilogy remakes as a way to further give the franchise visibility in 2019. If that's the case, then the best representative to not come from either Builders or XI would thus be DQ3's own protagonist, "Erdrick".... which again could perhaps even feature the whole Robin deal of having costumes representing the gender option for the character.
Plus design wise they could be a pretty decent all-rounder giving the game a new "sword and shield" user taking away that shield use exclusivity from Link, by mixing swordplay and magic instead of tools like Link uses.

@Ludovsky I could definitely get behind a Dragon Quest rep as DLC. I've been hoping beyond hope since Brawl's pre-launch days that Konami would get their mascot Goemon (from Mystical Ninja series) in Smash, myself.

@Gauchorino another Konami rep could indeed be something.

With the state of Konami these days I was beyond startled that we not only got Snake back, but even got two Castlevania reps to boot alongside that Castlevania stage!

At this rate that might be the only thing making the character unlikely.

This said if Smash 4 was an indication, I get the feeling at least one of the DLC characters will be a representative from the upcoming Fire Emblems next year, like when Corrin got added.

Watched this video instead of the direct; don’t think I’ll bother sitting through the direct. Super-excited about the game but direct sounds like it went into a lot of detail (and probably didn’t have the useful philosophy section right at the end)

@Vapeguy It's not built-from-the-ground up. Some of the new characters, such as the Inklings, are yes, but the rest is recycled assets from Smash 4 (In some cases, the 3DS stages and models just upscaled). Most smash games take over 4 years to develop, and yet this one was cranked out in less than 4, and looks suspiciously similar to Smash 4. Huh. The LEAST they could have done was change the art style (ideally to the gritty one we had in Brawl), so it didn't LOOK like a re-hash. But they didn't. Why? Because we as a community have enabled Nintendo by eating up bs the Wii U ports they bring over, so instead of giving us brand new entries in:

-Mario Kart
-New Super Mario Bros (Last entry will have come out nearly 6 years ago in 2019)
-Donkey Kong
-Captain Toad
-and SMASH BROS

They feed us what's essentially a souped up port with nothing more than extra stages, characters, and a maybe-story mode.

I'd have rather waited til 2020 for a proper release. This is just disgusting greed and an attempt to cover up the lack of AAA titles coming to Switch.I hate that I even have to type this because I love Nintendo and my Switch to death, but not calling them out on this is just pathetic fanboyism.

@Ludovsky Yeah, I was impressed with the Belmonts' inclusion, too, considering the absolute state of Konami, right now.

The only new Fire Emblem character that would be acceptable at this point is Hector. Please not another soulless advertisement like Corrin.