Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the best Super Smash Bros. game ever.
Super Smah Bros. Ultimate was released for the Nintendo Switch on December 7, 2018.
Presentation
The biggest reason why Smash Ultimate is the best Smash Bros game ever since it has every single playable character from Smash 64 all the way to Smash 4 for the Wii U/3DS. Plus, all of the playable characters from the previous four Smash games are included in the base game.
Plus, with adding back some of the characters that were last playable in Brawl such as Snake, the Ice Climbers, and Wolf brings out a new oppontunity to fight against characters that were previously only playable in Melee such as Young Link and Pichu. Also, speaking of Link, Smash Ultimate is the first Smash Bros. game where Link, Young Link, and Toon Link are finally playable together in the same game.
There's also some new playable characters that were announced for Smash Ultimate that's in the base game such as Ridley, Daisy, Chrom, Dark Samus, Incineroar, Inkling, Isabelle, Ken, Richter, Simon, and King K. Rool.
There are also some DLC fighters that were eventually included in Smash Ulimate such as Piranha Plant, Banjo and Kazooie, Joker from Persona, Terry from Fatal Fury, Min Min from Arms, Byleth from Fire Emblem, Hero from Dragon Quest, Sephiroth from Final Fantasy, and Steve from Minecraft.
However, there were at least some Nintendo fans that weren't happy that Waluigi still wasn't included in Smash Ultimate especially after when we first saw that Daisy going to be playable in a Smash Bros. game for the very first time. Also, some people weren't happy with the inclusion of Byleth being playable in Smash Ultimate since they would say. Do we really need to have another Fire Emblem character in Smash Ultimate?
Is Smash Ultimate still the perfect Smash Bros. game of all time. No. Since there are a couple of changes that I would personally make if I worked for Nintendo. For instance, Nintendo should have kept the Stage Builder mode in the base game instead of including it in a future update/patch. Since, the Stage Builder mode was present in the base game for both Brawl and Smash 4 (Wii U version). I also would have included a few more past stages from Smash 64 to Smash 4 personally. Plus, there aren't anough new stages included in Smash Ultimate. So, some of the content in Smash Ultimate is still bare bones, in my opinion. Plus, Nintendo unfortunately didn't bring back the Break the Targets mode that was present from Smash 64 to Smash 4.
Gameplay
Smash Ultimate is surprisingly a fast paced game since Melee was the last game in the series that featured fast paced gameplay. Whereas Brawl was more of a slow paced game since the Wii mainly catered to a casual audience. Smash 4 attempted to stike a balance of the fast paced nature of Melee and the slow paced nature of Brawl. Plus, Smash Ultimate also finally brings back Wavedashing from Melee, although L cancelling is still not present in Smash Ultimate. Altthough, it's much more difficult to perform Wavedashes in Smash Ultimate compared to how much more easier you can perform Wavedashes in Melee.
Smash Ultimate also feels slightly more balanced than it was in the previous game in Smash 4. Since some of the top-tier fighters from Smash 4 such as Bayonetta, Rosalina, and Diddy Kong have been toned down/nerfed by a lot in Smash Ultimate. Even Marth has been nerfed in Smash Ultimate even though he was last high tier in Smash 4. Also, some characters that were pretty good in Smash 4 have been slightly nerfed in Smash Ulimate, but are still decent characters in Smash Ultimate such as Mario and Luigi, for example. Even some of the bottom/low tier character have been buffed such as Ganondorf, Jigglypuff, and Roy which makes Smash Ultimate even more balanced than it was in Smash 4.
Some Smash veterans such as Fox and Pikachu have been consistently top/high tier from Smash 64 all the way to Smash 4. Whereas some Smash veterans such as Mario and Luigi have been going through a roller coaster over the years. Since Mario/Luigi have been good in some games, average in others, and bad in one game.
Mario is average/good in Smash 64, average in Melee, bad in Brawl, and good in Smash 4.
Luigi is bad in Smash 64, average in Melee, average in Brawl, and good in Smash 4.
However, Marth has been top tier in both Melee and Brawl, but took a nose dive in Smash 4. Since, Marth was orignally bad in Smash 4, but the patches/updates made Marth a good/strong fighter again.
Graphics
The graphics in Smash Ultimate are pretty cartoony for the most part which is mostly similar to how the graphics are in Smash 4 (Wii U version). Just like in Smash 4, the characters look a lot brighter compared to how dark/realistic they look in Melee and Brawl.
Sound
Smash Ultimate brings back a lot of past soundtracks from Smash 64 to Smash 4, Plus, there are also some new tracks that have been included in Smash Ultimate such as the tracks from Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild. For the first time, there are various playlists that you can listen to from the Smash Bros., Mario, and Zelda series, for instance.
Lasting Appeal
Unlike, Melee, Brawl, and Smash 4 where you can collect various Trophies, Smash Ultimate brings something new to the formula. So, you collect various Spirits instead of Trophies in Smash Ultimate. Also, Smash Ultimate brings back a story/adventure mode from Brawl which Brawl has the Subspace Emissary. The story mode in Smash Ultimate is called World of Light. In World of Light, you start off with one character since Smash Ultimate has the most amount of playable characters in the series. Which makes it more interesting to progress through story mode.
In World of Light, you defeat various enemies along the way in order to collect various Spirits. You can use snacks to level up Spirits and max out their levels which is 99. There are some Spirits where you can max out their levels, and level a Spirit up to level 99 one more time to reveal the sticker's final form. When you battle against enemies, a brief description is listed to let you know what requirements that you need to defeat various enemies. You randomly summon one plus up to three extra Spirits to help you out in battle. However, sometimes the game let's you know when you're at a Spirit Disadvantage meaning that it would be more difficult to defeat enemies that way. So you can press a button to have the game automatically pick and choose the right spirit that you would need to defeat various enemies.
You can also collect extra various Spirits without being in the World of Light mode. However, there's a time limit before a Spirit will temporary disappear before they reappear again another time. Once you win a battle, you have to time your aim perfectly at a circle that consistently rotates/spins. The game gives you one more chance to aim your shot again if you miss it the first time. If you miss your shot a second time in a row, then the Spirit will disappear. So, you would have to wait for that Spirit to reappear on screen again. Sometimes, there are some items that you can use that makes it even easier to time your shots perfectly especially if the circle is spinning faster than normally. Some items that you get that can help slow down the speed of the spinning circle, and you can also break the circle in half with another item. As a rule of thumb, the more difficult the enemies are to kill, the faster the circle will spin. The game let's you know how easy or difficult the enemies are before you fight against them.
There are also various Spirits to collect from all of the DLC fighters that have been previously added in Smash Ultimate. This time around, you automatically earn the spirit as a reward instead of aiming at circle to collect Spirits.
Once you play Smash Ultimate for the first time, you can only start off with playing as the original eight fighters that first debuted in Smash 64. The original eight fighters from Smash 64 are Mario, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Link, Fox, Kirby, Pikachu, and Samus. Since, Smash 64 originally has four unlockable characters which are Ness, Captain Falcon, Jigglypuff, and Luigi.
Since Smash Ultimate has the most amount of playable characters, it will take you a pretty long time to unlock the rest of the characters in the main modes and in the World of Light Mode separately.
Like in Smash 4, Online Play and Amiibo modes return in Smash Ultimate. Although, online play was first introduced in Brawl, the online service became permanently shut down in 2014. Amiibo modes were introduced in Smash 4. However, For Fun and For Glory modes have been removed in Smash Ultimate since they were introduced in Smash 4. Instead, you can do Arena Battles in Smash Ultimate where you battle out against your friends. Like in Smash 4, you can level up your Amiibos by battling against them to reach them to a maximum level in Smash Ultimate.
You can also turn off Stage Hazards for the first time in Smash Ultimate. Which makes it an ideal way for those who still play Competitive Smash. Like in Smash 4, you can also change the forms of the stages in Smash Ultimate where you can pick and choose a stage from either their original forms or their smaller, Battlefield forms. Which changing forms of the stages first debuted in Smash 4. Also, for the first time, you choose a stage before picking a character in Smash Ultimate. Since, you chose a character before you pick a stage in the past Smash games.
There are also event modes for collecting Spirits and playing online from time to time. One of the past online event modes featured only characters that you can play as that debuted from Melee such as Marth, Roy, Bowser, Peach, Dr. Mario, Ice Climbers, Mr. Game and Watch, Ganondorf, Zelda, and Young Link, for instance.
Final Verdict
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is definitely the best Smash game in the entire series mainly since you can play as all of the characters that debuted from Smash 64 to Smash 4. Plus, online play and Amiibo modes return in Smash Ultimate. For the first time since Brawl, you can do a brand new story mode called World of Light. Smash Ultimate might not have every single stage that came out from Smash 64 to Smash 4, but there's still plenty of various stages to pick and choose from.
The Good
*Smash Ultimate is the first Smash game since Melee to include all of the playable charcters from past Smash games.
*There's a fresh load of new fighters in Smash Ultimate (in the base game and DLC).
*Online play and Amiibo modes return in Smash Ultimate.
*You can collect a bunch of Spirits and play on a brand new World of Light story mode.
*There are special events for collecting Spirits and playing online from time to time.
The Bad
*Stage Builder should have been present in the base game.
*Break the Targets mode is absent in Smash Ultimate.
*Not every one is happy with certain characters that debuted and didn't debute as playable characters in Smash Ultimate.
Presentation - 9
Graphics - 10
Sound - 10
Gameplay - 10
Lasting Appeal - 9
Overall, GameSpot score 9 out of 10