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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Review


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Super_Smash_Bros_Ultimate_box_art.thumb.png.dfe70a8aa2aad51f497a399cc9ccc21d.pngFew Nintendo games excite the gaming community as much as Smash Bros., and given a bit of time with the series it's not hard to see why. Each previous title has impressively balanced fast, intense fighting game mechanics with a wealth of gaming references to many of Nintendo's beloved titles, as well as select third-party games. As a result each game has had a lot to live up to, and yet Nintendo still had the cheek to dub the latest entry Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It really shouldn't surprise anyone that they've delivered on the promise of that title perfectly: this is the ultimate Smash Bros. experience, the ultimate multiplayer fighting game, and the ultimate collection of gaming references and nostalgia.
 
The core gameplay feels as great as it ever has—Ultimate is fast, smooth, and there's no random tripping mechanics. Every Smash Bros. game does an amazing job of finding a happy balance of accessibility and depth, and that's certainly true here. You could put a controller in the hands of a brand new player explain the basics, and he'd be able to do okay. After hours of practice though, all of the depth of the gameplay opens up and the wealth of options shines through. Ultimate works as an intense 1v1 duel or as an insane 8-player mash-up; however you prefer to play, the gameplay manages to feel fresh and exciting every single time you start up a match.
 
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Ultimate also boasts a fantastic array of options for customizing your Smash Bros. experience, and a large part of that comes down to the sheer amount of content in this game. There are a whopping 76 characters to play as (with more on the way as DLC), and 103 stages to battle on (with, again, more on the way for a DLC fee). Just playing as every character once would take a significant amount of time, much less learning each one well enough to play at a high level. It's a little daunting perhaps, but the sheer variety this provides ensures there's always something new to try in Ultimate. The developers have also had a bit of fun at players' expense by making the starting roster a measly 8—the original 8 from the N64 game—and forcing players to unlock the rest. It may be a time consuming task but it's always exciting to see a new challenger appear, and giving players these characters piecemeal might actually help players acclimate to each character gradually instead of being overwhelmed from the start.
 
Even without the insane size of the character roster, there are tons of little things to enjoy in Smash, including challenges and side modes. One of the highlights has to be the reworked Classic Mode. Now each character has their own themed journey based on their original game, and there are a handful of different final bosses which helps make each character's journey feel unique. It's just one of the many ways that Ultimate pays homage to the rich video game history represented here.
 
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And oh boy are there homages. The most unique new feature in Ultimate is Spirits, characters from other games who are not playable characters but are still represented by a uniquely themed fight. Chun-li from Street Fighter, for example, is represented by Zero Suit Samus with increased kicking power. There are some ingenious references in these Spirit battles, and they offer another fantastic way to pay tribute to the many amazing games that have graced Nintendo consoles over the years. You really can't help but shake your head at some of the clever twists the developers have cooked up here. When you win in one of these Spirit battles you're able to claim the Spirit as your own and use them to augment your power and abilities—just another interesting way to shake up the standard battle formula. Collecting every Spirit seems like a Herculean task but it's a fun single-player pursuit when you want a break from all of the multiplayer action.
 
Solo play fans will also be excited to see Ultimate has a brand new, extensive single-player adventure mode called World of Light. In this mode you battle Spirits and possessed fighters to free them from the control of an angelic creature named Galeem. There's an extensive map to explore in World of Light and it really does get quite addictive as you gather more and more Spirits. It's also surprisingly long and offers plenty of challenges, even for experienced Smash Bros. players. It does get a little tiresome by the end but it's a great way to see the many unique Spirit battles that Ultimate offers.
 
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In addition to all of the different characters, stages, and rule sets, Ultimate also has you covered when it comes to finding your controller of choice. The game supports the same GameCube adapter that the Wii U used, so purists can dust off their GameCube controllers (admittedly, it doesn't really feel like Smash Bros. without a GameCube controller). The Pro controller also works well of course, and if you're a masochist you can try playing with a single Joy-Con—or maybe that's the best way to give your friend a disadvantage after she crushes you for the tenth time in a row.
 
The one area that Ultimate disappoints is, not surprisingly, online play. Smash games have always had rocky online gameplay, but it's particularly frustrating now that Nintendo is charging an online subscription fee. First off, there's the ever present issue of button lag. It is, to be fair, the most understandable issue in a game like this where combat is so fast-paced, but it's still frustrating to have to deal with as it throws off the flow of gameplay so much. Although the much bigger culprit in that regard is connection lag. I'd consider my internet connection to be pretty decent—I've never had significant issues with any other online game I play—but just about every online match I've played has had some degree of lag. No matter what your connection is like though, there's no guarantee of smooth matches since, if your opponent's internet is slow, the whole match will be slow.
 
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At least it's easy to find a match—what can be trickier is finding the match you want, though. Ultimate has done away with the For Glory and For Fun modes of the previous Smash game and instead just has Quick Play which throws you into the first available match, and Battle Arenas where you're able to customize your preferences a bit more. Quick Play also allows you to set preferred rules so that the game will try to find the kinds of matches you want (1v1, items on, time matches, etc.) but Ultimate doesn't do a great job of adhering to your preferences. It'll find matches that are close, but you'll rarely get exactly the match up you want.
 
That's where Battle Arena steps in, but even here there are some frustrating quirks. Arenas can hold up to eight players but can only have one match going at once, so up to four players are going to be spectating while they queue up. However, you can't change your character and retain your place in the queue—which is also a problem in Quick Play—so any time you want to make even a minor change you'll be booted to the back of the line. And of course, this being Nintendo, there's no way to notify friends in-game if you want to play—you'll have to use something outside of the game to message people to get a match going. Smash Bros. has always been at its best when you're in the same room with your friends battling it out, but it's still disappointing that even Ultimate, the culmination of the Smash series so far, leaves so much to be desired when it comes to online play.
 
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The presentation, however, is everything you'd want from Smash Bros. This game is gorgeous—you could easily spend a whole match just taking in the background details. Just like with all of the Spirit references, there's an insane amount of care put into all of the minor touches of the graphics and audio, such as Olimar's helmet cracking when he's knocked out. Naturally all of the amazing visuals are complemented by silky smooth animation that (at least offline) never suffers a single hiccup. And the final example of Ultimate's insane amount of content is the soundtrack, featuring over 850 songs, remixed and inspired by some of the most recognizable and catchiest tunes from games recent and old. Even if you wanted to just sit and listen to the music, you'd have hours and hours of content to enjoy, and every track sounds amazing. The numerous composers have done a truly incredible job of remixing and recreating all of the songs that will instantly spark nostalgia in your mind—there's no better soundtrack to battle to.
 

With Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the franchise continues to be one of the most addictive and satisfying fighting games around. It can't be understated though just how incredible it is that the developers have packed in so many references, so much love for gaming's history, into Ultimate. This is an interactive museum of Nintendo history, one whose scope truly is awe-inspiring between the intense, engaging matches with an amazingly large and varied cast of characters.

 
Rating: 9 out of 10 Spirits
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