There has been a new addition from the Pokemon franchise to Nintendo’s upcoming Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and it’s not quite what people would have expected.
Destructoid has reported that the new addition is from Gen 3 of Pokemon, meaning the Ruby/Sapphire era. Most people would have expected additions from Gen 7, but that is not the case this time.
The addition is the battle theme from the Steven battle, simply called “Battle! (Steven). This theme plays after the player defeats the Pokemon League in Gen 3, and goes on to face Steven, the Champion. It was added to the Super Smash Bros YouTube channel earlier in the week, and has been received with an overwhelmingly positive response since. It seems that people are more than happy to revel in the nostalgia induced by the theme that played just before they became the Hoenn Champion.
Composed by Soshi Abe, who also worked on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the version of the theme will be the ORAS (Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire) one. Also, the addition of “Battle! (Steven)” to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate marks the composer’s debut in the Super Smash Bros franchise.
For Breath of the Wild, Abe worked on the following three songs:
- Monuments Appear — Composition & Arrangement
- Champion Shrine — Arrangement
- The Solitary Warrior: Revali — Arrangement
To date, these three songs and the “Battle! (Steven)” theme seem to be the only contributions Abe has made to Nintendo. However, being added to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate list of arrangements is huge, so fans can expect to see more of Soshi Abe in future.
This addition to the game comes in the wake of plenty of fan-favorite additions to have been announced this month, including Animal Crossing‘s Isabelle.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is set to release for the Nintendo Switch on December 7, 2018.
