Features
‘Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’ Review: (Mostly) Smashing Good Fun
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is unrivalled as a pick up and play beat ’em up, and a roaring celebration of all things Nintendo.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]To say anticipation has surrounded Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the understatement of the century. The acclaimed franchise takes the gaming world by storm with each and every entry, and this latest iteration aims to top its predecessors. “Everyone is here!” – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s battle cry bellows, rallying its scopious cast under one roof. From Mario to Mewtwo, Snake to Sonic, and Bayonetta to Bowser Jr. – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate dons all seventy-plus old and new characters, hence the ‘ultimate’ bit of its name.
So is it the best in class, or a hodgepodge of quantity over quality?
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a fighting fiesta of Nintendo’s all-stars, mingled with some guests for good measure (on that note, Joker from Persona 5 is on his way as DLC? How crazy-cool is that?!). Fighting is fast, weighty, and responsive, and smash attacks being hold-able for longer is a welcome alteration. Newcomers like Inkling and Ridley fit flawlessly, and the breadth of stages is satisfyingly staggering (over one hundred!). And speaking of stages, the new Stage Morph feature is a highlight, changing from one stage to another mid-battle. There is a lot to sink one’s teeth into, so kicking back with friends for some multiplayer won’t get boring.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s beating heart is its fighting.
Unfortunately, get ready to tell those friends “Hang on, let me sort these rules out”. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate makes drastic changes to menu mechanics, sacrificing simplicity in favor of clunky complexity. Rather than tweaking rules on the fly from the character selection screen, rulesets must be pre-customized and saved in advance. It’s convoluted, and results in something as straightforward as adding another stock being tedious.
(Also, selecting a stage prior to choosing a character just feels wrong, period.)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”145023″ img_size=”1000×575″ alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Outside of standard smash, there’s an abundance of modes. Squad Strike, Tourney, Special Smash, Classic Mode, Training, Mob Smash, Mii Fighter customization, Adventure, Spirit Board, Collection, Sounds, Replays, Records, Challenges, Tips, Movies, Shop, Online… *pant* did I miss anything? Oh, there’s some amiibo stuff too. It’s mostly a blast, with Squad Strike serving up tremendous tag team fighting, and Classic Mode offering unique twists for each character, but the absence of fan favorites like Break the Targets and Home Run Contest doesn’t go unnoticed, and the loss of Stage Builder is disheartening due to its unrealized potential. Although underdeveloped in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, things could only get better had Stage Builder taken influence from Super Mario Maker’s huge scope and oodles of options.
Despite its successes, there’s something missing in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s oddball secret weapon is its adventure mode: World of Light. In it, players peruse a massive map and fight opponents with quirky parameters at play. Earthquakes, reversed controls, uncontrollable speed – World of Light mirrors the variables of past titles’ Event Matches. Success nets players Spirits (of which there are many to collect), powering them up. It’s fun at first, but here’s the catch: it’s reeeaaallllllyyy long. However enjoyable Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is at its core, World of Light is spread too thinly. Unlike Super Smash Bros. Brawl’s Subspace Emissary, with its multifarious gameplay and dazzling cutscenes, World of Light is just battle after battle, an exercise in monotony, with only the rare boss offering respite from the repetition.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”145026″ img_size=”1000×575″ alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Despite its successes, there’s something missing in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Perhaps this is best explained with an analogy, so let’s imagine the Super Smash Bros. games are records from a band:
Super Smash Bros. 64 is the killer debut. It’s humble in scope, but lays strong foundations for the future.
Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl are superb follow-ups. They honour the band’s trademark sound, whilst simultaneously propelling said sound forward via successful experiments in songwriting.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U is a respectable forth record, but it lacks the innovative ambition of its predecessors. It’s a great listen, but a bit forgettable.
Finally, we come to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It’s the long-awaited greatest hits compilation, and whilst it sounds just as good as ever, something’s off. Some of the band’s standout singles aren’t included, and track five, World of Light, is utterly disappointing.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”145021″ img_size=”1000×500″ alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]After listening, you write a review discussing your experience and perspective, conscious that the band’s fans will be livid at you for criticizing this acclaimed greatest hits compilation. But hold your horses and put down your pitchforks, because criticisms aside…
…Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s beating heart is its fighting, and in this category, it scores top marks. The gargantuan character and stage roster is mind-bogglingly magical, and there’re some awesome new modes and features like the aforementioned Squad Strike and Stage Morph. Yes, aspects of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate leave something to be desired (*cough* World of Light *cough*), and more innovation would’ve been welcome, but when all is said and done, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is unrivaled as a pickup and play beat ’em up. It’s the most fun one can have with friends, and a roaring celebration of all things Nintendo.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Explore 15 Mystery Adventure Games Similar to Sally Face for Thrilling Gameplay
Game Sense and Predictive Play: How Seasoned Players Anticipate Movements in Valorant
Video Games Vs Casino Games: Which Is More Addictive?
Exploring the Synergy of Video Games and ‘Animal Farm’ in Modern Student Learning
Your Ultimate Guide To All the Tools You Need for Online Gaming
Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Bonuses in Gaming
Top 10 Most Anticipated Video Games of 2024
What are the Advantages of Using Crypto in Online Gaming?
How to Add Friends on Destiny 2 | 2023 Guide to Crossplay Friend Requests
Best Nostalgic Games with an Online Game
3 Video Games Featuring Casino Mini Games
Star Wars Jedi Survivor: Chamber of Connection Walkthrough Made Simple
The Best Exotic Weapons in Destiny 2
Finding the Perfect Audio Magic in CapCut Creative Suite
The 10 Best Educational Video Games
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Guide – Unveiling Gorge’s Secret Made Simple for Players
-
Guides3 weeks agoHow to Add Friends on Destiny 2 | 2023 Guide to Crossplay Friend Requests
-
Features3 weeks agoBest Nostalgic Games with an Online Game
-
Features4 weeks ago3 Video Games Featuring Casino Mini Games
-
Features2 weeks agoStar Wars Jedi Survivor: Chamber of Connection Walkthrough Made Simple
-
Culture2 weeks agoThe Best Exotic Weapons in Destiny 2
-
Technology3 weeks agoFinding the Perfect Audio Magic in CapCut Creative Suite
-
Features3 weeks agoThe 10 Best Educational Video Games
-
Guides1 week agoStar Wars Jedi: Survivor Guide – Unveiling Gorge’s Secret Made Simple for Players
-
Features3 weeks agoUnderstanding KEKW: Twitch’s Popular Emote Its Origin and Story
-
Features4 weeks agoAugust 21 Apex Legends Update 2.31 Patch Notes: What’s New?
-
Game Reviews3 weeks agoProfiling The Best NBA Games on the MarketÂ
-
Uncategorized1 week agoThe Biggest Gaming Companies Worldwide
Ricky D Fernandes
December 9, 2018 at 11:32 am
When you say World of Light’s biggest problem is that it is too long, I can’t help but think that if it were short, the internet would also be upset. I don’t like the grind and I think they could have added more variety and more cutscenes but the length isn’t the real problem. That said, this is a fighting game. People buy smash for that experience and World of Light is simply a bonus feature.
Your review uses a great analogy but here’s the thing… You say:
“Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It’s the long-awaited greatest hits compilation …. some of the band’s standout singles aren’t included, and track five, World of Light, is utterly disappointing.”
Great analogy but I don’t agree simply because Smash has everyone and almost everything from previous games. It has over 74 fighters, over 300 spirits, 0ver 300 stages and songs and so on…
So what hits are missing? And please don’t say the Stage Builder because that was never, ever good.
Melee will always be the better game when it comes to the competitive scene but this is still an AMAZING GAME in my eyes.
The Stage Morphing alone deserves a 10/10.
Harry Morris
December 9, 2018 at 12:17 pm
The problem isn’t that World of Light is long, it’s that its gameplay is so repetitive that its length is unjustifiable. Whilst it is a bonus feature, it’s still a significant part of the single player package in my opinion, so its lack of quality is worth critiquing.
The character and stage roster is amazing, and by far the best thing about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. However, Break the Targets, Home Run Contest, and the Stage Builder (which was poor in prior releases, but showed potential, especially after Super Mario Maker proved how fun creating stages could be when done right) are sorely missed.
Melee is great, but Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is objectively a better competitive game due to its myriad of options and pristine polish. Melee is fun and nostalgic, but is beaten by Ultimate in the core gameplay department.
Being critical of a game doesn’t mean I dislike it. I adore Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but I can still find flaws. The Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker, Persona 5, Sonic Adventure, and Sonic Adventure 2 are some of my favourite games of all time, but I can find flaws in all of them. No game is perfect, no matter how fun, and it’s important to highlight problems rather than ignore them because “This bit of the game is really cool” in my opinion.
I can agree that the Stage Morphing is brilliant though.
Ricky D Fernandes
December 9, 2018 at 4:47 pm
I have no problem with you being critical and to be honest, I would be more critical on the World of Light mode. I just don’t think the length is the issue but as you mentioned in your reply, there just isn’t enough variety. It is too thin and stretched out too long.
I do disagree with your analogy because Stage Builder, Break the Targets and Home Run Contest was never in my eyes, the best things about any of the previous games, so I wouldn’t consider it to be one of the “greatest hits”… therefore I am ok with it not being included.
Harry Morris
December 9, 2018 at 5:29 pm
For Break the Targets, Home Run Contest and Stage Builder, perhaps referring to them as ‘miscellaneous singles that aren’t essential, but are a welcome addition to the compilation’ would have been more appropriate.
Either way, I can’t wait to face off with some of my friends (and the rest of the Goomba Stomp staff online). ^_^
Brent Middleton
December 10, 2018 at 3:00 pm
Interesting take on the review Harry! I actually like World of Light, but I favor Classic Mode more. I wouldn’t say it hurts the experience too much since it’s almost its own separate game (with a dedicated start screen and save files, which surprised me). But I also agree that more cutscenes and more of a cinematic flair in general would’ve been nice. I wasn’t a big fan of playing through Subspace (and I actually like the setup of this more), but everyone remembers it for the wealth of awesome cutscenes.
Otherwise, yeah, it’s some of the easiest fun I’ve had with a game this year. Not perfect, but it’ll probably be my favorite in the series once all is said and done.
Alex Aldridge
December 11, 2018 at 6:29 am
Although it can be incredibly frustrating, I really like the World of Light mode. Although more cutscenes are desperately needed. Worse still, I wish they could have written even just a little bit of lore for each spirit. I get that they didn’t want to make 3D models for everything, but I’d still like some kind of blurb for each spirit I unlock. On the mode itself, what would you want to see in future modes? Realistically, nothing in this game is ever going to deviate from the standard formula, so are you expecting different gameplay? The mode feels like they got a team to basically brainstorm as many possible variants on standard smash as possible, and the spirit-leveling is really fun IMO.
I wish I knew more people to play this with, as it’s only going to be a single player/online game for me, and I’m not sure how long that’ll last. It’s also impossible to play well in handheld mode, which is a real shame. Great review, dude.
Harry Morris
December 11, 2018 at 4:45 pm
I enjoyed World of Light at first, but it doesn’t take long to become too repetitive for its own good. I agree that Spirit blurbs would have been a good feature, along with added variation to World of Light (more boss battles, platforming stages, break the targets etc.) to mix things up, taking influence from Melee’s Adventure Mode and Brawl’s Subspace Emissary.
The single player mileage is limited unfortunately, but this is true with nearly all fighting games. I’m glad you liked my review, thanks so much! 😀