I have seen the face of God and it is Masahiro Sakurai. This week I got to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate at an event in the Richfield, MN Best Buy. Keep an eye out for an article later this week on my experience there. Some say that looking into the eyes of the Dali Lama is the closest you’ll get to looking at divinity on Earth. I would argue that Smash Bros. Ultimate us on the next level. Your body transcends time and space. Death and despair become inconceivable concepts.
That’s a story for another time, but this week we get to look at some fancy new Smash Bros. goodies. This week I’ll drone on about the first indie character to join the battle (sort of), a certain male Gerudo, and a cute tiny mouse.
Karma for Villager
Finally, an indie character has made it into Smash Bros. — as an assist trophy. It’s not all bad though, this is even more than I ever could have anticipated.
I remember when I first saw him in the Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct I just thought, “okay, cool, Shovel Knight.” And then it hit me a few seconds later that Shovel Knight is in Smash Bros. Even though he’s just an assist trophy, this is a huge step towards getting a playable fighter from an indie franchise. If you still believe that Sakurai has a Japanese bias, then the most likely indie fighter would have to be Quote from Cave Story. If Shovel Knight’s inclusion is a sign of what’s to come, then people may need to rethink the Japan bias idea.
9/18: Happy Home Designer – Title Theme Rocks Out!
Imagine what it would sound like if Rush did the theme song to Happy Home Designer. That’s what you get with this remix. A chipper, up-beat melody keeps this metallic cover light. This is the most altered Animal Crossing track I’ve heard in a Smash Bros. title. Even though it’s a far departure from the original, I love this version of the song.
Onett for the Money, Twoson for the Show, Threed is Never Coming to the US!
Onett drivers are notoriously bad
The classic Melee stage, Onett, has been cemented as a classic stage after four consecutive appearances.
I love the upgrades they’re making to Melee stages in Ultimate. Onett wasn’t a technical marvel to start out, but the way it looks in this game is so refined. There aren’t tons of super detailed textures and polygons, but it’s true to the source material and looks fantastic because of that.
9/19: Ganondorf Learns Some New Tricks!
It only took Ganondorf 17 years to figure out how to use his sword in Smash Bros. Maybe he was just limiting his strength to make things fair and then he realized that was a terrible idea.
Ganondorf’s smash attacks use his sword for the first time ever. He has finally shed the label of being a Captain Falcon clone. Some attacks are still taken from the bounty hunter’s kit, but the new moveset and new look gives the king of darkness the feeling of freshness which he sorely needed.
9/20: Pikachu Bolts In!
If you don’t already know who Pikachu is then I’m not sure what to tell you. The Pokémon mascot is just a cuddly as ever in this version of Smash Bros.
Not much has changed with Pikachu since the N64 days. A few aerial attacks and smashes have been changed over the years, but Pikachu players typically don’t need to adjust much between iterations. The biggest change is to the electric mouse’s Final Smash. Instead of being controllable, this move got the Sonic treatment. Now Pikachu will use Volt Tackle back and forth across the screen. I’m a big fan of these modified Final Smashes since they still have a major impact, but don’t slow down the pace of the game.
9/23: Moon Crashes Down!
Look out, Ganondorf!
Food and Moon were always my favorite collectible trophies. Everyone knows Moon is from Majora’s Mask and Food is from Super Smash Bros. Melee. It’s my head cannon that these things did not exist before those two games.
Bizarre head cannon aside, the Moon from Majora’s Mask looks like it might be the most devastating assist trophy. I haven’t experienced it in action yet, but it looks like there will be no escaping your terrible fate this time.
Thank you for checking out the Super Smash Blog summary for the last week. Click here to check out the previous article. Comment down below what you think about these new announcements, and if you enjoyed what you read like CoG on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
All photos and videos in this article are from the Super Smash Bros Ultimate Blog.
