Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

***Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*** is an upcoming fighting video game developed by Sora Ltd. and Bandai Namco and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch video game console. It is the sixth installment in the *Super Smash Bros.*series and will be released worldwide on December 7, 2018.

## Characters

It was announced that all characters that have ever appeared in a previous Super Smash Bros. games will return. In addition, two new characters have been announced: Inkling and Ridley.

***VETERANS***

* Number indicates order of appearance in the series.
* ε indicates Echo Fighters, fighters that are based on other fighter with the same number, having similarities.

***NEWCOMERS***

## Stages

It was announced that all stages would have a Battlefield form and Omega form.

### New

* Great Plateau Tower
* Moray Towers

### Returning

* Battlefield
* Big B\*\*e
* Final Destination
* Frigate Orpheon
* Green Greens
* Green Hill Zone
* Kongo Falls
* Lylat Cruise
* Magicant
* Mario Galaxy
* Midgar
* New Pork City
* Onett
* Princess Peach's Castle
* Prism Tower
* Saffron City
* Shadow Moses Island
* Spear Pillar
* Spirit Train
* Tortimer Island
* Wrecking Crew
* Yoshi's Story

## Assist Trophies

It has been confirmed that over 50 assist trophies will be featured in the game.

### New

* Burrowing Snagret
* Bomberman (*Bomberman*)
* Rodin (*Bayonetta*)
* Squid Sisters (*Splatoon*)
* Sukapon

### Returning

* Andross
* Dr. Kawashima
* Ghosts
* Jeff
* Knuckle Joe
* Lyn
* Nintendogs
* Metroid
* Midna
* Prince Of Sable, My Cutie
* Riki
* Starfy
* Waluigi

## Items

### New

* Black Hole
* Healing Field
* Launch Star
* Fake Smash Ball

### Returning

* Dragoon
* Green Shell
* Fire Flower
* Maxim Tomato
* Poké Ball
* Smash Ball

## Pokémon

### New

* Bewear
* Solgaleo

## Differences from previous installments

* Damage percentages can now be partial (35.7%, 102.3%, etc.).
* During timed matches, the fighter in the lead will sometimes flash brightly.
* Some Assist trophies can now be knocked out, earning the player points.
* Some characters have more expressive facial animations, more so than any other installment.
* Dark Pit and Lucina, who were previously considered separate characters in *Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U*, are now considered Echo Fighters. In addition, Daisy appears as an Echo Fighter of Princess Peach.
* A small map is shown on the screen when a character is knocked out of the field of view.
* There is a damage increase in 1-on-1 matches as opposed to matches with multiple characters.
* Mobility during air dodge has improved. In addition, dodging multiple times in a row causes it to be less effective against attacks (similar to Stale-Move Negation).
* Short hop attacks have been added.
* Perfect Shield happens when the player releases the shield at the same time an attack connects to the character's hitbox. This technique now comes with an increased risk.
* Final Smashes have been described as "fast and ferocious".
* Mario's hat now reflects Cappy from his adventures in *Super Mario Odyssey*.
* Marth's Dancing Blade is now faster. This also applies to Roy and Lucina.
* Marth is now fully voiced in English.
* Sonic and Pac-Man's move much faster during their final smashes than before.
* Fox and Falco no longer use Landmaster as their Final Smash. Instead, they call upon the Star Fox team to unleash a barrage of Arwing lasers.
* The player can now change between Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard freely during battle. In addition, a female Pokemon Trainer has been added.
* Dramatic slo-mo effects occur when strong attacks connect with other fighters, such as Captain Falcon's Falcon Punch. These only occur in 1-on-1 fights, however.
* In 1-on-1 fights, Ryu will always face the opposing fighter.
* Robin's tome now has a usage meter that appears near their character icon.
* Cloud's Limit Charge now shows the amount of charge on his character icon.
* An item that Villager Pockets now appears next to their character icon.
* Samus's Charge Shot can now be charged in midair. If cancelled in midair, it leaves her vulnerable.
* Mr. Game & Watch's move-set closely resembles his original appearances from the *Game and Watch* series.
* Giga Bowser is no longer a controllable transformation. Instead, Giga Bowser will appear in the background of the stage and attack using his fist, which causes instant Screen KOs.
* Wolf's design is based on *Star Fox Zero* and all his moves have received a major overhaul.
* Kirby has a new appearance during his Stone, which resembles a Sheikah treasure chest from *The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*.
* Shulk's Monado Arts can now be easily selected by holding down the B button and selecting which art to use with the control stick.
* Ganondorf's design is based on his appearance in *The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time*. In addition, all his smash attacks now use his sword. His Final Smash was also changed, and he now transforms into Ganon, the Demon King.
* Mii Fighters now have their proportions adjusted and their move-set tweaked. In addition, there are now several voice options to choose from.
* Pit's final smash The Lightning Chariot has replaced Three Sacred Treasures.
* Zero Suit Samus' final smash has changed.
* When damaged, Olimar's helmet cracks but repairs itself shortly afterwards.
* Wario's final smash Wario-Man has been overhauled. He no longer uses regular attacks, but instead unleashes a flurry of punches.
* Donkey Kong no longer uses his drums as a final smash, but instead uses rapid-fire punches, ending with a strong uppercut.
* Little Mac's final smash transforms him into Giga Mac who then unleashes a devastating combination of punches.
* Ness's final smash now calls upon the help of Paula and Poo. Likewise, Lucas' now calls upon the help of Kumatora and Boney for his final smash.
* Wii Fit Trainer's face has received a cosmetic update.
* Wily Castle now includes all stage hazards from both the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS version of the game.
* Mega Man's final smash now includes Protoman and Bass.
* Palutena now has a set special attack for each move. Her down special now works as a counter and deflector.
* R.O.B has a new gauge on his chassis which shows how much fuel he has left for his hover ability.
* Ridley is a playable character.
* Link's design is based on his appearance in *The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*.
* Zelda's design is based on her appearance in *The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds*.

## Development

* The game was first revealed on March 8, 2018, at the end of a Nintendo Direct with no word from Masahiro Sakurai or anybody else linked to the *Super Smash Bros.* series.
* The teaser trailer released during the Nintendo Direct introduced the Inklings and showed Mario and Link's renders in the shadowy flares, along with a group of several other unidentified characters.
	+ The most noticeable silhouettes are possibly Yoshi, Pit, Donkey Kong, Peach, Ness, Marth, Pikachu, Kirby, Sheik, Samus, Zelda, Fox, Captain Falcon, Bowser, and Wario.
* On March 8, 2018, Masahiro Sakurai tweeted that he was working on *Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* silently every day, and more info would be released soon.
* On June 12, 2018, during E3, Nintendo had a video presentation that included more information on the game.
	+ In addition, a Super Smash Bros. Invitational tournament for this game was held on the same day, following the *Splatoon 2* World Championship finals.

## Trivia

* *Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* is the second game in the series not to receive any character cuts from a previous installation, with *Super Smash Bros. Melee* being the first.
* Characters previously referred to as clones by fans have received the official title of "Echo Fighters". Dark Pit, Lucina, and Daisy are currently regarded as such.
* *Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* has the largest roster of any game in the series with a total of 66 playable characters.

## Videos

Super Smash Bros. is coming to Nintendo Switch!Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - E3 2018 - Nintendo Switch
## References

1. ↑ A clearer look at the silhouettes from the Smash Bros. Switch trailer
2. ↑ https://twitter.com/Sora\_Sakurai/status/971885028245307392
3. ↑ Nintendo at E3 2018
4. ↑ Nintendo hosts Super Smash Bros. Invitational 2018, Splatoon 2 World Championship tournaments