Anniversary: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Turns Three Years Old Today

I wouldn't change how a single thing went down over the past 3 years.

Except the discourse. That I would change in a heart beat

God I feel old. I’m 16 but I feel old.

I have a love hate relationship with ultimate

This game could've been so great if the online wasn't so bad and elite smash being the worst ranking system out of any competitive game

Not to mention the best mode they ever created isn't even playable online 3 years later (squad strike). And since we aren't getting any major updates it isn't happening.

But for the most part it is a fun game especially with friends and I plan to go to locals soon.
I just wish they didn't drop the ball so hard on aspects of the game where they had no business doing so.

It's been quite a ride indeed. There's a few fighters I would swap for others in a heartbeat personally but I'm not upset about any, this is such a highly diverse roster and there's just something for everyone.

Only thing I can personally still wish for, if I could add any one small thing, would be a character and stage select rearrange option. Not having this with a roster of this size seems a little silly, especially for those who aren't aware of which character and stage debuted in which game and would have an easier time finding the fighters and stages when sorted by series.

That's only a small thing though, and while there's plenty more I could think of, the game is really amazing all around and I'm happy to have experienced this journey! Thank you Sakurai and the entire Smash Bros. team, not to mention all the third parties who gave their blessing to have their characters added.

@Yosher - I was actually quite surprised they didn't have an ability to organize the characters and stages by series, at the very least. Keep forgetting where K. Rool is at times cause he shifts about every update.

On topic; I think, in spite of having character reps removed from Ultimate on my list, the game was solid. The only true thing I oppose is Kingdom Hearts in the game.

Not because of Sora, although he is quite a boring dude to begin with, but because of Disney. And with their track record, I can not see any future of Smash being even remotely smooth with any glimpse of KH in it going forward. Hell, willing to bet that's why we didn't see anything WB Games in the game at any level.

It's been three years since the apocalypse started...

3 years and no price drop… guess I should bite the bullet

@dopey-grin Gotta love that Nintendo "Seal of Quality"

As soon as I got the game at launch, my friend and I hustled to unlock every character as quickly as we could so that we could throw a Smash tournament that night.

We had a much larger turn out than we expected and it went off without a hitch. Very fond memories of that day. Don't think we've thrown a big party like that since.

Played it a lot within the first 3-4 months of release but saddly Joy-Con drift (which doesn't exist according to Nintendo) destroyed all the fun I had with this game since my charcters just would keep using smash attacks. Haven't really gotten back into the game since then

@wHeReArEtHeChEeToS Same here dude

it needs more solo content. I'd kill to have Adventure Mode and/or Subspace Emissary added to the game. Give me more stuff to do with the new characters!

dang I feel old oh wait I am old...

A big roster and big selection of stages is a recipe for a good game. A great game acknowledges how to use them this smash does not do that with its lack of modes and other content, spirits.png is no replacement for trophies, all star and multiman smash are now shadows of what they used to be, and I'm not gonna mention classic and online (oops I just did).

Besides that it's a great game but not the ultimate smash bros game.

@Marioracer
In all fairness, "Ultimate" is what the game is known as overseas. In Japan, it's called "Special" likely in reference to the fact that this is a special occasion with every character returning.

Blame the localization team on that one lol.

Amazing game and while I don't care for all the DLC characters, I got Byleth, Pyra/Mythra, and Kazuya so I'm happy. So many amazing games and characters are represented with amazing OSTs and I couldn't be happier.

Wow, time flies by.

This has been one heck of a journey to follow. I'm glad I finally bought it just a couple of days ago. Smash Bros. Ultimate is truly...ultimate.

Thank you, Sakurai, for the memories.

@JR150 - It's pretty common naming convention, too.

Brawl was "X" or "DX" or something to that.

@dopey-grin Games drop in price when they are in decline or have bad sales.

Like Star fox zero

And Metroid Other M

And Spirits Tracks.

You want them to make games that fail? Because I don't.

I prefer my Nintendo being succesful with quality games. Not disposable games that go to bargain bin in weeks, like the plethora or Xbox and PS games.

Super Smash Bros Ultimate is the pinnacle of the Super Smash Bros franchise, after Super Smash Bros Ultimate, it will be extremely hard to top it.

@Paraka
64 was "Nintendo All-Star"
Melee was "DX"
Brawl was "X"
Smash 4 was literally "For" 3DS/Wii U
Ultimate was "SPECIAL"

So yeah, the English names have always been different. Calling this game "Ultimate" could be seen as accurate or inaccurate depending on who you ask.

@JR150 Ultimate/special are snymom, they equal the same meaning.

@DK-Fan - As a fan of Codename STEAM, this is the harsh reality.

The Game is 5 bucks retail. That dooms the franchise right there.

@Giancarlothomaz
From google:
Ultimate:
"being or happening at the end of a process; final."

Special:
"better, greater, or otherwise different from what is usual."

I see what you mean, but they're not quite the same. Something "ultimate" can be bland while something "special" can be first.

@JR150 Very good point sir well played.

As mentioned, the one and only thing I'm asking is that they add the option to rearrange characters and stages on the select screens.

I want Mario characters with Mario characters plus Yoshi, Wario and Donkey Kong characters (including Banjo-Kazooie to make a Rareware group), Third-Parties either by debut year or by company.

If not like that, at least I want to organize them by true Smash debut. The "sorted by Smash debut" is already broken with the Echo fighters. Not to mention, why is Ness before Captain Falcon? Every other Smash game treats the F-Zero series as coming before EarthBound. Also with Zelda and Sheik, I sort of understand Sheik was shown before Zelda, but if that's the case, why every Smash game before Ultimate treats Zelda as the one who was shown first?

I know it's kind of trivial, but the character select screen organization is a pet peeve of mine.

@Marioracer
Thanks lol.

I do agree that "Ultimate" could've had more single-player content but it's clear that they went all-in on the characters and stages this time around. A theoretical "next" Smash game would likely be able to do more side content if they cut the roster down but that's a whole other discussion entirely.

As it is now, I'm just glad that Ultimate brought in more Xenoblade content to the series. It's an amazing JRPG franchise and a Nintendo series that's deserved more recognition alongside Fire Emblem and the Mother series.

@Mando44646
It sucks because Sakurai has gone on record saying that he's not doing another "Story" mode because people leaked Subspace's clips online when the game first came out. So he refuses to do another cutscene-heavy adventure.

This is why Smash 4 and Ultimate don't really have "Adventure" Modes. World of Light is just glorified event matches with minimal cutscenes for this reason.

It's a shame because I think Shulk would get along well with Cloud (soldiers who have to find their own path in life) and Ryu would get along well with Little Mac (fighters who go through all odds to get stronger). The same could be said for the likes of Ness and Inkling (children that save their worlds) or Chrom and Snake (military leaders). But we'll likely never see it happen officially.

@JR150 - Well, that and Subspace really cannot be enjoyed the same way after the first. You cannot be surprised and excited already knowing what happens next. The leaks may actually been a boon to us, with little effort in writing anything, they had more time using those resources in other parts of the future games. Subspace was only awesome once, then it's just a glorified Adventure Mode in Melee.

Though, I did have a bet the last character was Tabuu, and trolled everyone for having a "Subspace" stage.

I do think the best single player experience was in 4. Where you actually decided how much more difficult it should get for you. It is by no means perfect, but more structure built on that would probably been best. Ultimate was a step back from there.

@JR150 I can't complain about the characters we got I walked away with Dark Samus, 2 Castlvevania's, Banjo, Inkling, 3 Indie's got costumes but the Sega boy in me is screaming for 1 more Sega character be it another Sonic or anyone else from that company but I don't let that spoil it for me.

@Marioracer
If you count Bayonetta (since the first game was published by them) and Joker (Atlus is owned by Sega), then Ultimate has 3 which is pretty good if you ask me.

I'm just glad Namco finally got Kazuya Mishima for two including Pac-Man. They're the ones who helped make 4 and Ultimate and they deserved another character. It's also probably why Kazuya is so stupidly broken--it's Namco's own boy lol.

And Pyra/Mythra and Byleth were also my favorites as I loved Xenoblade 2 and FE3H (this is my favorite RPG of all time). Nintendo DLC was never received as well as third-party DLC but it's their game after all. I think having only 3 Nintendo characters (with Min Min) out of 11 Fighters Pass characters (which include Banjo, Steve, Sephiroth, and SORA) is fine really. People make such a big deal over nothing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SMASH! and here's to many more great years to come.

Sorry, but anniversary articles are my pet peeve (and I know Nintendo started this one with their tweet). Many, many games (both retro and modern) have anniversaries.

Even for consoles, we only need significant milestones (not an article every year).

Yet, I clicked and commented. Well played!

@wHeReArEtHeChEeToS

please dont start feeling old yet, you cant put that genie back in the bottle. YOU ARENT OLD. 😊

I swear ppl on this site are obsessed with age, editors and commenters alike. relax!

@JR150 you know joker and bayonetta are not SEGA characters, right? i appreciate your optimism but its like saying banjo is a microsoft character.

ill second the desire for more SEGA in smash. i want the daytona car from fighters megamix!

@-wc-
But he is though? Banjo-Kazooie are owned by Rare who is owned by Microsoft. Thus making them Microsoft characters.

Sega owns Atlus and Sega published the first Bayonetta, technically making them both Sega characters.

Likewise, Sora is the 4th Square Enix character and the first 1st Disney character since he's owned by both.

I'm going by ownership and publishing rights.

I can't believe Sakurai's Wild Ride is over. What a ride it was.

@JR150 yeah, i can see that you are going by proprietary ownership rights. it's not how i think or feel about these characters, but i can't say you're wrong.

@-wc- Thanks man I needed that 😁

@wHeReArEtHeChEeToS

hey, no problem. ive felt old pretty much my entire life too, but believe me when you look back at yourself at any younger age you feel silly for thinking that.

i thought i was old when i turned 27 for some reason, but now at 36, 27 year olds are like children LOL

its all relative : )

@-wc- Actually i’m 57… nah just kidding but seriously, when you put it that way it’s true, I’ve got my whole life to feel old why start now thanks again for the uplifting words man 🙏

Can't believe this rocking soundtrack album is 3 years old already. Pretty neat of Nintendo to add all these fighting minigames as well but I haven't play it for more than an hour.

@dopey-grin I'm with ya on that.