Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was undeniably one of the biggest games Nintendo showed off at E3 2018 and one of the expected questions that have come out after the reveal was whether the game was just an updated port of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Luckily, Nintendo has confirmed Super Smash Bros. Ultimate won’t be an updated port of the Wii U game but will be a completely new experience.
Speaking to USgamer, Treehouse Localization Manager Nate Bihldroff stated:
“It’s definitely not an update. It’s a brand new game built from the ground up. As far as it being a ‘sequel,’ I don’t really think of Smash Bros. games as being sequels, they’re just new Smash Bros. games. Everything has been built brand new. Of course, you see returning characters and returning movesets, but that’s sort of the nature of a fighting game.”
Bihldroff also stated that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has received “significant upgrades” to the game’s lighting effects and textures. The game also features updated characters such as Zelda now sporting her garb from Breath of the Wild, Fox donning his Star Fox Zero uniform, and Cloud having the option to wear his classic Final Fantasy 7 outfits. Character changes aren’t limited to cosmetics though as some some have received updated abilities such as Pit getting a new final smash and Link getting the ability to remote detonate his bombs.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will also feature new and returning mechanics including a new short hop attack shortcut, directional air dodging, and dash-dancing. Bihldorff mentioned that he doesn’t think it’s an exaggeration when the game’s director Masahiro Sakurai said that “there were tens of thousands of changes compared to the last game.”
There’s still a lot more to find out about the new Smash Bros. game as Nintendo has yet to reveal all the information on the game including new game modes, DLC characters, and more.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is scheduled for release on the Nintendo Switch on December 7, 2018.
