Super Smash Bros Ultimate (NSP, XCI) ROM + v13.0.2 Update + All DLCs

Super Smash Bros Ultimate The greatest showdown between iconic game worlds and characters is about to take place in the newest installment of the Super Smash Bros. series for Nintendo Switch. is a 2018 crossover fighting game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the Super Smash Bros. series, succeeding Super Smash Bros. It features a wide variety of game modes, including a single-player campaign and multiplayer versus modes. Ultimate features 89 playable fighters, including all characters from previous Super Smash Bros. games as well as newcomers. The roster ranges from Nintendo characters to those from third-party franchises.

GAMEPLAY

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a platform fighter for up to eight players in which characters from Nintendo games and third-party franchises fight to knock each other out of an arena. Each player has a percentage meter that raises as they take damage, thus increasing the knockback they take and making it easier to launch in the air and out of the arena. Standard battles use one of three victory conditions: Timed, where players aim to win the most points by defeating opponents within a time limit; Stock, where players have a set number of lives and aim to be the last player standing; and Stamina, where players reduce their opponent’s health down to zero to defeat them. Players can adjust the rules to their liking and save them as presets for future matches. Players can also enable various items that attack enemies or grant them power-ups, along with Poké Balls and Assist Trophies, which respectively summon Pokémon and other non-playable characters to assist them in battle.

In Timed matches, certain Assist Trophies can be attacked and defeated to earn points. Each character also possesses a powerful Final Smash attack, which can be performed either by obtaining a Smash Ball or by filling up a special meter, both of which can be toggled on and off. The base game features 104 different stages, with additional stages being added alongside DLC fighters.  Stages can be played in alternative Battlefield and Omega forms or toggled to remove stage hazards. A new feature called Stage Morph allows players to select two stages that the game alternates between at certain intervals during a match.  Other tweaks include new icons and gauges for character-specific abilities, such as Cloud’s Limit gauge. In addition to returning modes such as Classic, Special Smash, and Home-Run Contest, Ultimate adds new modes. These are Smashdown, where each character can only be played once; Squad Strike, where players battle in teams of multiple characters; and a tournament mode that allows up to 32 players to battle in playoff brackets.

SPIRITS

Ultimate introduces the Spirits mechanic, replacing the collectible trophies from previous games. Each of these Spirits, based on characters from represented franchises, can be used to power up a fighter with unique abilities. Players mainly gain Spirits through pre-made challenges called “Spirit Battles” that represent the character the Spirit depicts, which are embodied by one or more of the game’s fighters and other specific level effects. For example, the Spirit battle of Rayquaza, a flying dragon Pokémon, requires players to defeat a large version of Ridley with a similar color palette and wind effects. Players are encouraged to strategically choose Spirits based on the level effects; in the same example, a player would need to equip a Spirit that provides wind resistance or immunity, or one that allows them to deal extra damage to a giant opponent.

A separate mode called the Spirit Board presents a rotating set of Spirit battles for players to gain Spirits. Spirits have a growth and evolution system, in which they can be leveled up to become more powerful or converted into Cores to summon new Spirits. Certain Spirits will also become an “enhanced” form upon reaching max level but will return to level 1. Nintendo offers limited-timed Spirit events in cross-promotion with other games and franchises, with the Spirits featured only available to collect during the event. Eventually, these Spirits make their way into general rotation and can be found on the Spirit Board. The local multiplayer mode also allows for the option to use Spirits.

WORLD OF LIGHT

Ultimate features the return of Adventure Mode, which was absent in 3DS/WiiU. It is now integrated into the Spirits mode with a new story, World of Light, which prominently utilizes the game’s Spirit mechanics. The mode’s narrative begins with an evil entity, Galeem, destroying the Smash Bros. world, vaporizing almost all of the fighter characters and placing them under his imprisonment; only Kirby, due to his Warp Star, evades this attack. Players explore the titular World of Light, a new world that Galeem created in the original world’s place, to rescue captured fighters and Spirits -the remnants of other characters’ physical forms- by completing marked Spirit Battles.

Players can use regained allies and Spirits to overcome certain challenges on the map and defeat Galeem. However, after Galeem is defeated, a new enemy, Dharkon, emerges; after Dharkon’s defeat, it wages war against Galeem. If just Galeem is defeated, Dharkon will engulf the world in darkness, but if just Dharkon is defeated, then Galeem will cover the universe with light. However, by defeating an equal amount of light and dark Spirits on the final map, players can challenge and defeat both of them, freeing the Spirits from their control and allowing them to return to the real world.

MULTIPLAYER

The game supports local multiplayer, local wireless with other systems, and online play via Wi-Fi or LAN connections. By defeating players online, players earn tags which can be traded for in-game currency to buy new Spirits, music, and Mii Fighter costumes. The game is compatible with Joy-Con controllers, the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, and GameCube controllers via a USB adapter. Like the previous entry, amiibo figurines can be used to create AI-controlled Figure Players, which can be trained to become stronger. Shortly after the game’s release, a service for the Nintendo Switch Online mobile app, known as “Smash World”, was launched, which allows players to check their game statistics and share images and videos captured from the game to social media.

Ultimate features over 900 music tracks, which can be played through the Switch’s handheld mode while in standby mode. Version 3.0 of the game, released in April 2019, adds a Stage Builder, which allows players to create custom stages that can be shared or downloaded through the Switch Online service. The update also includes a replay editor, allowing players to edit stored replays, which can be shared online or downloaded to other devices. These replays are available within the Smash World app. An update in May 2019 provided limited support for the virtual reality VR Kit of Nintendo Labo, allowing players to view computer-only matches in VR or play in a 1-on-1 mode against the computer. An update in September 2019 added the Home-Run Contest mode from previous Smash games.

PLAYABLE CHARACTERS

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, like other games in the Super Smash Bros. series, features a crossover cast of fighters from several different Nintendo franchises, as well as fighters from series by third-party developers such as Konami, Sega, Capcom, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Square Enix, PlatinumGames, Microsoft, SNK, and Disney. The base game features 74 playable fighters, consisting of all 63 previous fighters from past entries and 11 newcomers: the Inklings from Splatoon; Princess Daisy from the Mario series; Ridley and Dark Samus from the Metroid series; Simon Belmont and Richter Belmont from the Castlevania series; Chrom from Fire Emblem Awakening; King K. Rool from the Donkey Kong series; Isabelle from the Animal Crossing series; Ken Masters from the Street Fighter series; and Incineroar from Pokémon Sun and Moon. When starting the game, players only have access to the eight starter characters of the original Super Smash Bros. and unlock the rest by completing the game’s Classic modes, playing through World of Light, or fighting a certain amount of battles.

Certain characters whose movesets are directly based on other characters are now classified as “Echo Fighters”, possessing similar move sets and proportions to the fighters they are based on, but with unique animations and gameplay differences. On the character selection screen, these characters can either be listed individually or stacked with the fighters they are based on. Select characters also have alternative skins featuring different genders or sometimes other characters, such as Bowser Jr., who has the other Koopalings as skins, but with identical animations and abilities. Several returning characters received updates to their appearances, such as Mario having Cappy from Super Mario Odyssey accompanying him and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s incarnation of Link replacing the one from Twilight Princess.

Additional fighters have been added to the game via post-release downloadable content (DLC). The first of these, Piranha Plant from the Mario series, was released in January 2019 and made available for free to those who purchased and registered the game with a My Nintendo account before the end of that month. Additional fighters, each coming with a unique stage and related music, have been released both individually and as part of two Fighters Pass bundles. The first Fighters Pass consisted of five characters: Joker from Atlus’ Persona 5, released in April 2019; the Hero from Square Enix’s Dragon Quest series, released in July 2019; Banjo & Kazooie from Rare’s Banjo-Kazooie series, released in September 2019; Terry Bogard from SNK’s Fatal Fury series, released in November 2019; and Byleth from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, released in January 2020.

The second Fighters Pass, titled Fighters Pass Volume 2, consisted of six additional fighters and was the final content planned for Ultimate. The first character in this collection, Min Min from ARMS, was released in June 2020. Steve, the default player avatar from Mojang Studios’ Minecraft, was released in October 2020. Sephiroth, the antagonist from Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII, was released in December 2020, with players able to unlock him a few days early by defeating him in a limited-time boss battle known as the “Sephiroth Challenge”. Pyra and Mythra, a dual character from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, were released in March 2021. Kazuya Mishima from Bandai Namco’s Tekken series was released in June 2021. Sora from the Disney and Square Enix series Kingdom Hearts was the final fighter to be added in October 2021.