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During today’s Nintendo E3 Direct presentation, the company focused predominantly on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the newly announced name for the Switch fighter. Director Masahiro Sakurai revealed a ton of other new information about the game, as well.
The biggest announcement is that the fighting game will feature every character previously playable in the franchise, including long missing fighters such as Snake (voiced again by David Hayter), Pokémon Trainer, Young Link, Wolf and the Ice Climbers. All of these characters have received some upgrades to help them fit in better with the rest of the game’s roster, for both aesthetic and gameplay purposes. For example, Pokémon Trainer now pays no penalty for switching between his three playable Pokémon, and a female trainer is now optional. Speaking of female options, Pikachu now has one as well, and a Libre version based on the character’s appearance in Pokkén Tournament is also an optional skin. In addition to returning faces, some long missing stages will return as well, including Saffron City.
Sakurai said that, as a result of the returning faces, fans should not expect a ton of new playable characters to appear in the game. Daisy will join as a new “Echo Fighter” for Peach, and Dark Pit will now retroactively act as an Echo Fighter for Pit. The Inklings will of course join the roster, and they will play similarly to the way they do in the Splatoon games: they can cover opponents in ink, increasing damage, but they will eventually run out and have to submerge themselves in ink to refuel. The Splatoon stars will also bring Callie and Marie along as an assist trophy, and they’ll have their own stage in the form of Moray Towers. In addition to the Inklings, we do know that one other long requested character will also join the roster: Ridley!
Unsurprisingly, the title will still support GameCube controllers as well as Amiibo. The new characters will also have new Amiibo figures in the Smash Bros. series. Nintendo showcased new figures for both Ridley and the Inkling Girl, and they stated Daisy will also be available. It seems likely that the returning faces from Melee and Brawl will also have new figures, though Nintendo has yet to make any specific announcement at this time.
We’ll likely have much more information on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in the coming days and months! The title will release on Switch December 7.
Source: E3
