Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

is a crossover fighting party video game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd., and published by Nintendo. It is the fifth installment in the Super Smash Bros. series. It was released for the Nintendo Switch on December 7, 2018.
On August 8, 2018, it was announced via a Nintendo Direct stream that Simon Belmont and Richter Belmont, two iconic characters from Konami's popular Castlevania franchise, would appear as playable characters, with Richter being an "Echo Fighter" of Simon, meaning both have the same moveset.
Other renowned characters from the Castlevania series also appear in this game, including Alucard as an "Assist Trophy", the Mummy, Medusa, The Creature and Flea Man (Igor), the Werewolf, Carmilla, Death, Kid Dracula, and of course, Dracula himself. A Castlevania stage called "Dracula's Castle" was also introduced and is themed after the final stage of the original NES Castlevania, featuring the Clock Tower and Dracula's room. The game features 34 music tracks from across the series.
Due to the inclusion of all the above, Castlevania is the first third-party series to feature the most content in any Smash Bros. game to date and the first one to present an Echo Fighter.
==Gameplay==
Super Smash Bros. is a fighting game starring characters from various video games (primarily Nintendo's own stable of games, although later games in the series have brought in guest fighters from other companies such as Konami, Capcom and Sega). In normal gameplay, two to eight players square off on stages usually consisting of several platforms.
The goal of the match is to knock the opposing fighters off the stage through the use of the character's own weapons and abilities or with weapons and items that appear randomly across the battlefield, such as swords, food, ray guns, bombs, hammers and Pokeballs. As fighters are hit, their damage level increases, causing them to be knocked away farther when hit by powerful weapons and/or "Smash Attacks" until they cannot recover to the edge of the stage, or are simply launched right off.
===Simon and Richter Belmont===
====Moveset====
Each Belmont will come armed with the legendary Vampire Killer whip, which is a slow albeit longer weapon than any other that the rest of the fighters will wield in this game. They also use well-known sub-weapons such as the Axe (Neutral Special), Cross (Side Special) and Holy Water (Down Special), as well as some of Richter's characteristic moves such as the Uppercut (Up Special), Slide, Slide Jump and Tackle (Dash attack) for both characters. The Belmonts' "Final Smash" is the Grand Cross, which traps foes in a coffin before blasting them with said attack.
The main difference between Simon and Richter comes from the Holy Water attack. Simon's attack is fire-based, while Richter's is Aura-based (much like Lucario's attacks).
====Unlocking the Belmonts====
Simon and Richter are unlockable characters and must be defeated by the player before they become playable. They can be unlocked by different means:
*By defeating them in the World of Light mode: Simon is located in the Light Shrine on the northeasternmost part of Map 1 (World of Light) and Richter is found in Dracula's Castle on the southwestern part of Map 2 (World of Dark).
*By completing Classic mode (Simon and Richter are unlocked by completing Classic Mode as Link or anyone in his unlock tree, in which Simon is the third character in the unlock tree, right after Ice Climbers, while Richter is the seventh character in the said unlock tree).
*By completing VS mode matches (Simon is the 18th character unlocked, while Richter is the 35th character unlocked).
After meeting one of the requirements (except for the World of Light method), the player is challenged to a Challenger’s Approach battle against Simon/Richter in Dracula’s Castle, with the difficulty depending on how many characters the player has unlocked. The player must win the battle to unlock the said character.
====Classic Mode====
Each character has a special route in Classic Mode, featuring 6 battles against enemies, a special mini-game, and a final confrontation with a boss. Simon's route is called Smash-vania and features battle against monstrous and/or dark characters, mimicking a Castlevania adventure. Richter's, Smash Echoes, pits him against all Echo Characters from the game (himself being an Echo Fighter). Both routes end with a race minigame and a final duel with Dracula.
The routes are as follow for Simon and Richter:
===Spirits===
The following Castlevania characters appear as Spirits (supporting entities obtained in Adventure mode, Spirit Board, or unlocked by fulfilling certain requirements).
Spirits are divided into two categories:
*Primary Spirits: Enhance the fighter's stats and may have up to three slots for a Support Spirit to be equipped in.
*Support Spirits: Will give fighters skills, increase qualities of their moveset, or start battles with an item.
Spirits are also divided into four types, which have strengths and weaknesses:
*Attack: Strong against Shield, weak against Grab.
*Shield: Strong against Grab, weak against Attack.
*Grab: Strong against Attack, weak against Shield.
*Neutral: No strength or weakness.
Finally, Spirits also are classified by rank, which symbolizes their basic power:
*★: Novice
*★★: Advanced
*★★★: Ace
*★★★★: Legend
==Other Castlevania features==
===Items===
Death's Scythe appears in the game as an attacking item, with the ability to outright kill a fighter whose damage level is high enough.
Alucard appears as an "Assist Trophy", a secondary character who, when summoned by the titular item, will fight on the player's behalf for a short period of time. Alucard uses the Crissaegrim to hit opponents at short range, transforms into a bat to reach foes at long distance, and can dodge attacks by using Mist Form. Like other Assist characters, he can be attacked and KO'ed by opponents, but he is quite challenging.
===Stage===
The "Castlevania" stage is called "Dracula's Castle". It is a revamped version of Dracula's Castle from its original Castlevania incarnation. Popular to the series, sticks will appear on the stage which can be broken in order to obtain useful items.
Classic bosses from the franchise also appear based on the two games both Belmonts originally come from: Castlevania and Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. As such, Medusa appears in her floating bust form as seen in her introductory appearance in the first game, and The Creature once again tags along with the Flea Man (Igor, who had not appeared in any game since his introduction back in 1986). A Mummy and a Werewolf also known to appear, as well as Carmilla in her floating mask incarnation from the same game (which in turn is based on her first appearance in Simon's Quest). Death also makes an appearance, as well as the shadows of Dracula and Kid Dracula. All enemies are only acting as cosmetics and do no attack players.
A larger and flat version of this stage appears when players confront Dracula.
===Dracula===
Dracula appears twice in the game: as the zone boss of Dracula's Castle in the Adventure Mode World of Light (Map 2) and as a boss in Classic Mode for Simon, Richter, Pac-Man, Luigi, and Sephiroth (for whom, unlike the others, Dracula is not the final boss). All encounters opens with a short cutscene of Dracula tossing aside a wine glass before standing up and teleporting onto the stage, similar to his battle with Richter in Symphony of the Night. Like in the classic Castlevania games, in the first phase, Dracula can only be hurt in the head: attacks below this area do not harm him and cause a misty effect. During this phase, "Nothing to Lose" normally plays.
He fights in a similar way to his traditional appearances:
*Hellfire: Three fireballs.
*Dark Inferno: Five alternating fireballs that must be ducked or jumped over.
**Dracula can use a circling variation of this attack, much like Graham Jones does in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow.
*Fire pillars.
*Bat Moon: A swarm attack where Dracula transforms in the form of several bats.
When defeated, Dracula refills his health bar and transforms into his second form. Contrary to other bosses, no health item is given to the player at the beginning of phase 2; on the other hand, he can now be hit anywhere. During this part, "Black Night" normally plays. In this second part, Dracula attacks include:
*An electric blast
*Fireballs
*A claw attack
*An earthquake attack
*A player-seeking projectile attack
*A jumping attack
Once his health bar is depleted, Dracula explodes and the player is awarded points (Classic mode) or rewards (Adventure Mode; including the two Dracula spirits). Sephiroth encounters Dracula as a normal boss (4th encounter) and then proceeds on to fight Ganon.
==Music==
There is a total of 34 pieces of music related to the Castlevania franchise in Ultimate, with both new as well as classic pieces of music.
:An "Original" means the track is directly ripped from a previous Castlevania game. A "Remix" means the track was specifically arranged for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
==Vampire Killer trailer==
The trailer starts with a castle shown in the rain. A hooded figure advances under the rain before opening the doors to a dark corridor. Someone is heard screaming deeper into the castle: it is Luigi, who is fighting Mummies. After his equipment proves to be ineffective, Luigi runs away in a room featuring a statue. As Luigi thinks he's safe, the statue animates and reveals to be Medusa, who scares Luigi away. As he runs, Luigi trips and falls face to face with Death, who rips his soul with his scythe. As Death contemplates Luigi's soul, he takes a direct hit to his skull from a chain whip. The holder is the hooded figure who reveals to be Simon Belmont. Simon throws a Cross to Death before the trailer switches to gameplay footage.
Later, Simon is seen fighting Dracula and taking a hit from a flame pillar. As Simon is seen in a bad position on the ground, with a giant fireball coming right at him, another chain whip destroys the fireball. It is revealed Richter Belmont is the one protecting Simon, stating: "Begone! You don't belong in this world, monster!" before the trailer switches to gameplay again.
The trailer ends with Luigi's ghost attempting to return to his body, being right about to do so when Carmilla suddenly appears laughing on a nearby window. The scene then zooms out, giving a full panoramic view of the castle, while Luigi screams in horror.
==Gallery==
===Characters===
Simon SSBU.png|Simon Belmont official artwork.
Richter SSBU.png|Richter Belmont official artwork.
Alucard Assist Trophy (SSBU).png|Alucard official artwork.(Assist Trophy)
dracform1.png|Dracula's first form render.
dracform2.png|Dracula's second form render.
38780995 1771024973019014 8547501436101984256 n.png|Simon Belmont's reveal.
38792374 1771024959685682 5606345404175089664 n.png|Richter Belmont's reveal.
38686861 1841620179257869 2046022493105291264 n.jpg|Alucard as an "Assist Trophy".
38758259 1841620245924529 5223675435988025344 n.jpg|Alucard as an "Assist Trophy".
38726055 1841614549258432 8603069959200833536 n.jpg|Simon Belmont
38672460 1841614632591757 3613863591129645056 n.jpg|Simon Belmont with the Axe sub-weapon.
38781027 1841614712591749 388638070057992192 n.jpg|Simon Belmont with the Cross sub-weapon.
38712062 1841614815925072 2723771974546358272 n.jpg|Simon Belmont throwing the Holy Water sub-weapon.
Graa.png|Simon Belmont's Final Smash, Grand Cross.
SSBUSimonPromoArt.JPG|Simon appearing on the panoramic promotional art.
SSBURichterPromoArt.JPG|Richter appearing on the panoramic promotional art.
SSBU Simon and Richter artwork.jpg|Artwork of Simon and Richter, as posted on the official Japanese Konami X account.
===Dracula's Castle stage===
Dra1.png|Dracula's Castle stage.
38818115 10212064256187180 7086886829437222912 o.jpg|Dracula's intro as a boss.
DRRA.png|Dracula's second form.
SSBUDraculaShadow.JPG|Dracula's shadow.
SSBUMedusa.JPG|Medusa
SSBUMummy.JPG|Mummy
SSBUCreature.JPG|The Creature and Flea Man (Igor)
SSBUDeath.JPG|Death
SSBUCarmilla.JPG|Carmilla
SSBUWerewolf.JPG|Werewolf
Dracula's Castle - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - 02.png|Dracula's Castle dungeon render as seen on the "World of Light" mode.
===Vampire Killer trailer===
SSBUSimonHood.JPG|Simon appearing with his hood.
SSBUMummiesCGI.JPG|Luigi confronting two Mummies.
SSBUMedusaCGI.JPG|Medusa reveals herself to Luigi.
SSBUDeathCGI.JPG|Death killing a scared Luigi.
SSBUDeathCGI2.JPG|Death contemplates Luigi's soul.
Simon Lashes Out.jpg|Simon's reveal tagline.
Dracula's Castle - 23.png|Dracula's Castle
===Miscellaneous===
SSBUxCV.JPG|Super Smash Bros. Ultimate x Castlevania logo.
SSBUDeathScythe.JPG|Ness wielding Death's Scythe.
SSBUSymbolCV.JPG|Castlevania symbol in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
==Videos==
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Vampire Killer - Nintendo Switch-2|Belmont Reveal Trailer.
66- Simon – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate|Simon gameplay showcase video.
66ᵋ- Richter – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate|Richter gameplay showcase video.
==Trivia==
*While Simon's alternate costumes mostly resemble his appearances across different games, different art of him and Fake Trevor, Richter's alternate costumes resemble protagonists across various Castlevania games, including Christopher Belmont, Nathan Graves, John Morris, Leon Belmont, and more.
*This is technically the third time the Castlevania franchise entered the fighting game genre, after Castlevania Judgment and DreamMix TV: World Fighters (not counting Battle Tryst, due to Simon and Richter Belmont's appearances in that game being scrapped before release).
**As such, and not counting any of the collectible spirits or Dracula's second form, Richter Belmont is the only Castlevania character in Ultimate who did not previously appear in Judgment.
**It is also the first game to have Richter Belmont act as a fighter, as he was planned alongside Simon Belmont to be a playable fighter in Battle Tryst, but they were cut before the game's release.
==See also==
*Richter Belmont
*Simon Belmont
*Vampire Killer (trailer)
==External links==
*Super Smash Bros. Ultimate at Smashpedia
**Simon - Simon Belmont's article specific to his appearance in this game, including movesets and abilities list.
**Richter - Richter Belmont's article specific to his appearance in this game, including movesets and abilities list.
*List of Spirits (Castlevania series) at Smash Wiki
es:Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Category:Cameo Games
Category:Switch Games