With over 80 fighters, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate looks as if one thing no sequel can ever high, so what is going to a Nintendo Switch 2 sequel appear to be?
Just as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s overwhelming success has made it troublesome for Nintendo to place collectively a brand new sequel for the Nintendo Switch 2, the writer faces the very same drawback with its Super Smash Bros. sequence.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is completely worthy of its identify, boasting one of many largest rosters of any combating sport ever made. Between its launch roster and subsequent DLC, it options not simply Nintendo’s personal all-stars however well-known faces from throughout the video games business.
No different franchise might have introduced collectively icons from the likes of Sega, Microsoft, and even Disney. And that isn’t entering into all of the cameos by way of the help trophies, spirits, and Mii costumes both. Counting these, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a big accomplishment; one which’s seemingly unattainable to high.
Despite some preliminary reservations about whether or not the sequence might proceed after Ultimate, sequence director Masahiro Sakurai has admitted a brand new Super Smash Bros. sport will more than likely occur together with his involvement.
However, within the wake of the addition of Ultimate’s last DLC character, Kingdom Hearts’ Sora, in 2021, Sakurai didn’t shrink back from how troublesome placing collectively the following Smash Bros. will likely be: ‘If we’re going to proceed with the sequence, Nintendo and I would like to debate and severely contemplate the best way to make it a hit.’
We do know Sakurai’s been engaged on a brand new venture since 2021, however whether or not it’s the following Smash Bros. or not is tough to discern, given his imprecise feedback about it.
Regardless, the Switch 2 is certain to get its personal Super Smash Bros. sport. Aside from being a well-recognised and beloved sequence, you simply have to take a look at Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s gross sales numbers to see why extra is guranteed.
According to Nintendo’s own metrics, it’s the third best-selling sport on the Switch at 35.14 million models bought and has bought greater than the Wii, 3DS, and Wii U instalments mixed.
Will Nintendo port Super Smash Bros. Ultimate to the Switch 2?
So, what can Nintendo do for the Switch 2 entry? The approach we see it, there are two choices. The first is to easily port over Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, however with all its DLC bundled with it. Essentially, Nintendo can provide it the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe remedy. A Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Deluxe, if you’ll.
Nintendo would nonetheless should renegotiate the licences wanted to retain all of the third celebration characters, however this in any other case looks as if a no brainer. The port might characteristic all the identical content material, that means followers received’t have to fret a couple of diminished roster, however would possible embody further content material on high of that.
Since the Switch 2’s backwards compatibility will permit individuals to maintain enjoying the unique Ultimate on the newer {hardware}, a re-release would wish to supply one thing new, corresponding to extra characters, to persuade established followers into double dipping – particularly as Nintendo doesn’t have a tendency to supply improve paths for people who personal the unique variations of video games.
Much like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s Booster Course Pass, this hypothetical Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Deluxe could possibly be supported by waves of DLC that carry much more characters to the sport.
What new characters might come to Super Smash Bros. on Nintendo Switch 2?
When it involves who the most well-liked ones are amongst followers, frequent picks on-line embody the likes of Waluigi from the Super Mario video games, Dixie Kong from Donkey Kong Country, and Geno from Super Mario RPG (coincidentally, these three are referenced by way of Mii costumes in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate).
There can also be a surplus of third celebration visitor stars Nintendo can draw from its companions, significantly from firms who’ve already leant their characters to Smash Bros. Some examples are Street Fighter’s Chun-Li and Ace Attorney’s Phoenix Wright from Capcom, in addition to Crash Bandicoot and Halo’s Master Chief from Microsoft.
There’s some debate about whether or not PlayStation characters might or needs to be included however Lego Horizon Adventures getting a Switch appears to extend that chance, no less than for sequence protagonist Aloy.
However, Sony doesn’t have as shut a working relationship with Nintendo as Microsoft does and the corporate has proven little curiosity in bringing any of its different IPs or characters to Nintendo platforms.
As for what’s truly viable, Nintendo is clearly going to prioritise picks from its personal franchises. Combined with its launch schedule post-Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and the truth that the Smash Bros. video games double as promotions for different Nintendo properties, there are a handful of characters that appear quite apparent or no less than have very robust probabilities. Those being:
- A brand new Pokémon character (the sequence all the time will get a brand new consultant to advertise the latest Pokémon video games)
- A brand new Fire Emblem character (the sequence has had a brand new consultant each Smash Bros. sport since Melee in 2001)
- A brand new Metroid character (possibly Sylux to cross-promote Metroid Prime 4)
- A brand new Xenoblade character (both somebody from Xenoblade Chronicles 3 or Elma to advertise the Xenoblade Chronicles X remaster)
- A barely obscure retro decide (suppose the Ice Climbers and Mr. Game & Watch)
- At least one main third-party decide
The most blatant guess although is new characters from new IP launched alongside the Switch 2. There’s certain to be no less than one or two such video games at launch, and maybe a number of inside the first yr or so, which will likely be excellent for some cross-promotion with Smash Bros.
Not to say, if Nintendo needed a Smash Bros. title prepared for the Switch 2’s launch later this yr, a port of Ultimate needs to be the simpler possibility over one thing fully new. Plus, it’d assist push Switch 2 gross sales to all of the diehard Smash followers who might not be inquisitive about Nintendo’s different titles.
While that is undoubtedly the most secure possibility, that in itself is quite antithetical to Nintendo’s ordinary strategy to sequels. The firm isn’t content material to only pump out the identical sport once more with a few new bells and whistles connected, with Splatoon being one of many few exceptions to that common rule.
Look at The Legend Of Zelda, for instance. 2017’s Breath Of The Wild is a totally totally different beast in comparison with its predecessor, Skyward Sword. And whereas 2023’s Tears Of The Kingdom caught to Breath Of The Wild’s formulation, it expanded the map and added a number of new mechanics that opened up gameplay alternatives not potential within the earlier sport.
The core of Super Smash Bros. hasn’t modified all that a lot for the reason that authentic 1999 sport, however every entry has all the time introduced new issues to the desk past the expanded roster. Be they Super Smash Bros. Brawl’s story mode that turned the sport right into a side-scrolling beat ‘em-up or customisable movesets for each character within the 3DS and Wii U entries.
Granted, the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe instance makes a re-release appear extra possible however the circumstances surrounding it have been totally different, as the unique Mario Kart 8 launched for the flop Wii U console and solely bought 8.46 million copies (according to Nintendo’s figures), far lower than the earlier entries on the Wii and 3DS.
The Switch revamp was finished to present Mario Kart 8 one other shot at life and get it out early into the console’s lifecycle, since making a model new sport would have taken for much longer. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, by comparability, doesn’t want its gross sales figures propped up.
What would a brand new Super Smash Bros. appear to be?
A brand new Smash Bros. is not going to have a roster as massive as Ultimate’s. Sakurai stated as a lot in 2019 (per VGC): ‘If Smash Bros. continues sooner or later, then there’s no approach this many fighters and sequence will be represented once more.’
But maybe a semi-reboot of the sequence, with much less characters, is simply what the formulation wants. A smaller roster might allow the event crew to deal with different areas, be they new on-line multiplayer modes, extra concerned single-player content material, or extra refined movesets for returning characters – significantly these like Samus and Donkey Kong who’ve gone principally unchanged since 1999.
The drawback is {that a} smaller roster will inherently be a turn-off for lots of people. If a sequel doesn’t allow you to make Mario and Pikachu struggle Final Fantasy 7’s Cloud and Minecraft’ Steve, why decide it up when the sport that does permit that’s available?
When it involves sequels, individuals naturally anticipate every subsequent entry to be larger than the final one. Smash Bros.’ roster has ballooned in measurement since 1999, so something lower than Ultimate’s beginning choice of 76 characters will really feel like a downgrade.
With this in thoughts, the neatest answer is to not solely port Ultimate to Switch 2, but in addition maintain re-releasing it each time Nintendo makes a brand new console, including extra characters each time.
While we might foresee Nintendo going with an Ultimate re-release for Switch 2, be it at launch or later in its lifecycle, it appears like the corporate will hit the reset button on Super Smash Bros. ultimately.
Nintendo’s priorities have all the time been gameplay, experimentation, and innovation quite than recycling its biggest hits. Knowing this, Smash Bros. followers may have to just accept that Ultimate received’t be a without end sport, however an excellent one-time – or maybe simply two-time – occasion.
Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, go away a remark under, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our e-newsletter.
To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features extra simply, with out the necessity to ship an e mail, simply use our Submit Stuff web page right here.
For extra tales like this, examine our Gaming web page.
MORE: Nintendo Switch 2 launch sport predictions – from Mario Kart to Smash Bros.
MORE: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate wants extra Western characters – Reader’s Feature
MORE: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director took an IV drip to work to get sport completed
