When did Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launch?

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launched on the 7th of December 2018. The game released with every single character from the previous four games in the series plus new fighters playable from the start.

How many fighters are in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster?

The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster includes 89 fighters. This count ranges from Nintendo staples like Mario and Link to unexpected guests such as Sora from Kingdom Hearts and Steve from Minecraft.

What is the name of the single-player campaign in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate?

The single-player campaign of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is titled World of Light. The story begins with a cataclysmic event where an evil entity named Galeem destroyed the Smash Bros. world and vaporized almost all of the fighter characters.

Who are the first five characters in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Fighters Pass 1?

The first Fighters Pass of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate consists of five characters including Joker from Atlus Persona 5, the Hero from Square Enix Dragon Quest series, Banjo and Kazooie from Rare Banjo-Kazooie series, Terry Bogard from SNK Fatal Fury series, and Byleth from Fire Emblem Three Houses.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Q: Who is the series director of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate?

Masahiro Sakurai is the series director of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He spent years negotiating licensing deals with third-party companies like Square Enix, Microsoft, and Disney to create the roster.

Q: How many music tracks are in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate soundtrack?

The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate soundtrack contains over 1,000 music tracks from various franchises. The game's main theme Lifelight was composed by Hideki Sakamoto and served as the basis for most of the game's original music.

On the 7th of December 2018, the video game industry witnessed a feat that many developers had declared impossible: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launched with every single character from the previous four games in the series, plus a host of new fighters, all playable from the start. This was not merely a collection of popular icons; it was a logistical miracle orchestrated by series director Masahiro Sakurai, who had spent years negotiating licensing deals with third-party companies like Square Enix, Microsoft, and Disney. The roster included 89 fighters, ranging from Nintendo staples like Mario and Link to unexpected guests such as Sora from Kingdom Hearts and Steve from Minecraft. Sakurai's vision was to create a game that honored the history of the franchise without leaving anyone behind, a goal that required him to rework the abilities of dozens of characters to ensure they functioned within the game's mechanics. The development team faced immense challenges, particularly with characters like Ridley from the Metroid series, who had been deemed too large to fit into the game's balance until Sakurai redesigned him to stand upright. The sheer scale of the project meant that the team had to build the game from scratch, creating new assets and content rather than relying on the engine used for the previous entry. Sakurai's commitment to this vision was driven by a promise to former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who had requested a Super Smash Bros. game for the Switch before his death in 2015. The result was a game that not only satisfied fans but also set a new standard for what a crossover fighting game could achieve.

The single-player campaign of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, titled World of Light, introduced a narrative structure that was both ambitious and deeply integrated into the game's core mechanics. The story began with a cataclysmic event where an evil entity named Galeem destroyed the Smash Bros. world, vaporizing almost all of the fighter characters and placing them under his imprisonment. Only Kirby, thanks to his Warp Star, managed to evade this attack, setting the stage for a journey to rescue the captured fighters and Spirits. Players explored a new world created by Galeem, completing marked Spirit Battles to free allies and Spirits, which were the remnants of other characters' physical forms. The narrative took a dramatic turn when a second enemy, Dharkon, emerged after Galeem's defeat. The game presented a unique ending condition where players had to defeat an equal number of light and dark Spirits to challenge and defeat both entities, freeing the Spirits from their control. This mode was inspired by the Subspace Emissary from Super Smash Bros. Brawl but was reimagined to utilize the game's Spirit mechanics, which allowed the team to include various characters and assets without creating new locations and rules for each fighter. The Spirits mechanic itself was a new addition to the series, replacing the collectible trophies from previous games and offering a way to power up fighters with unique abilities. Players could gain Spirits through pre-made challenges called Spirit Battles, which represented the character the Spirit depicted, and could strategically choose Spirits based on the level effects to overcome certain challenges on the map.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate featured a soundtrack that was as expansive as its roster, containing over 1,000 music tracks from various franchises. The game's main theme, Lifelight, was composed by Hideki Sakamoto and served as the basis for most of the game's original music. Sakurai began contacting composers over a year before the game's release, providing them with a database of over a thousand suggested track ideas and allowing them to submit their own personal favorites, which were given priority for inclusion. The music was tied to franchises rather than individual stages, and players could create custom playlists to listen to outside the game when the Switch was in handheld mode. The soundtrack included contributions from well-known video game music composers and arrangers, ensuring that the music retained the spirit of the original games while offering fresh arrangements. The game's music was so extensive that it became a key feature of the game, with players able to enjoy the soundtrack even when the Switch was in standby mode. The music was not just a background element but a central part of the game's identity, with each track carefully selected to enhance the experience of playing as different characters. The soundtrack was praised by critics and fans alike, with The Verge highlighting the game's massive soundtrack and portable music player as standout features. The music was a testament to the game's commitment to honoring the history of the franchises it represented while creating a new and unique experience for players.

The downloadable content for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was a significant part of the game's success, with Nintendo planning to add new fighters through DLC after the initial release. Unlike the previous entries, where players could request which characters they wished to see in the game, Nintendo chose which characters they would add by November 2018. The first Fighters Pass consisted of five characters, including Joker from Atlus' Persona 5, the Hero from Square Enix's Dragon Quest series, Banjo and Kazooie from Rare's Banjo-Kazooie series, Terry Bogard from SNK's Fatal Fury series, and Byleth from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. The second Fighters Pass, titled Fighters Pass Volume 2, consisted of six additional fighters and was the final content planned for Ultimate. The development of this content was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as Sakurai and his development team had to work remotely due to stay-at-home orders in Japan. The inclusion of characters like Steve from Minecraft required the development team to rework every stage in the game to accommodate Steve's gameplay mechanics. The addition of Sora from Kingdom Hearts was particularly challenging, as the team initially thought that the legality surrounding the intellectual property with Disney would be insurmountable. However, Sakurai met a Disney representative at an award venue, which facilitated the start of negotiations for Sora's inclusion. The Sora Challenger Pack featured a promotional tie-in with the 2020 rhythm game Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, and players with Melody of Memory save data on their Nintendo Switch would unlock the music track Dearly Beloved Swing Version. The DLC was a testament to the game's commitment to expanding the roster and providing new content for players, with each character bringing a unique stage and related music to the game.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

A World of Light and Dark

Up Next

Continue Browsing

Common questions

The Sound of Victory

The DLC Journey

A World of Light and Dark

The Sound of Victory

The DLC Journey