Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is here! This blog post concludes the Ultimate Countdown.

What a wait it has been! It’s been so fun to see glimpses of this game over the past nine months, and the next character reveal was always an event to look forward to.

Now we have the game in our hands, and our wait has been rewarded.

Savor it.

To savor is to enjoy completely. 

This game has to be the title with the most content, the most replayability, of any Nintendo game ever!

Nintendo fans have a horrible reputation for being insatiable, for calling a game “old news” the week after it hits store shelves.

It be tempting to start calling for certain balance patches, to create campaigns for additional DLC…

But this time, what about being content? How about being satiated? Let’s appreciate Sakurai, the development team, the marketing folks at Nintendo, the Treehouse testers, everyone who was involved in making this superb title.

And let’s enjoy it fully for years to come.

It’s Thursday—AKA, RELEASE NIGHT!

We’ve endured the long wait for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, although if you think about it… the wait really hasn’t been that long! We only learned about this title in March, and development faced zero known delays, something that’s almost unheard of for this series.

Word on the street (read: Reddit) is that eShop servers will update at midnight Eastern, which is fortunately 9pm in Pacific timezone where I live. If you preloaded the game digitally, that’s when it should unlock on your home screen!

Simeon and I are ready and extremely excited to play. I just wanted to share a quick post about our plans for release night.

• Get done with a meeting about 8:15pm. It absolutely must NOT go late, or there will be consequences!
• Rush to Best Buy so I can pick up my physical copy at 9pm.
• Simeon will accompany me, and will then use his phone’s mobile-hotspot feature to connect his Switch and unlock his digital copy.
• Speed through every red light and stop sign to arrive at home. Periodically shoot Simeon dirty looks of jealousy as his Switch’s speakers emit sounds of smashing in the passenger seat.
• Scale the 3 flights of stairs up to my apartment in about 7.3 seconds.
• Slam the cartridge into my Switch (after a quick lick).
• Start up a stream on our YouTube channel [ring that bell to get notified when we go live].
• Unlock characters as fast as possible.
• Kick Simeon’s sorry tushy with Dark Samus.

If you’re not picking up the game and playing it right away, we’d love to have you join our release night stream!

I’ve got one more blog post in this series, publishing tomorrow, Dec. 7th at noon Pacific.

ul·ti·mate
/ˈəltəmət/

noun: the best achievable or imaginable of its kind.
adjective: being or happening at the end of a process; final.

Will Super Smash Bros. Ultimate be the last game in the series? Is the subtitle more of a noun, or an adjective?

It certainly seems that this 5th entry in the series is a celebration of all things Smash. Until E3 2018, we were unsure if the Switch would see a simple port of the Wii U game, or if we would get a true sequel. From the moment the words “Everyone is Here” flashed across our screens, we knew that this game was something special.

With every character and nearly every stage reporting for battle, it’s easy to see why some would think this is the climax of the franchise.

Not to mention Sakurai’s constant threats that he may be finished with Smash development after each entry nearly kills him. He calls the games being completed a “miracle” and has battled various physical conditions while new games are in development, often putting strain on his wrists and his sleep schedule.

I believe we’re nearing a time of turnover in Nintendo’s headquarters in Japan. Of course, the President’s chair has seen a few different occupants in recent years, but their stable of developers and directors is also showing its age. Miyamoto-san has been actively raising the next generation of Mario makers, resulting in many of the new ideas found in Super Mario Odyssey. It’s only a matter of years before Aunoma decides that it’s time to retire as well.

Sakurai is a bit younger than his aforementioned contemporaries, but has seen more crunch-time than just about anyone in the industry. He also tends to take on more responsibility than necessary, insisting on doing all the balancing himself by hand. Carrying a franchise as large as Super Smash Bros., with a roster as big as it’s grown, is too big a burden for one man.

I can easily see Sakurai stepping down after Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. If he had additional games in him, I don’t think this Switch title would have gotten the name it did.

Now, from a business perspective it’s hard to imagine a world without a new SSB game in the pipeline. It’s one of Nintendo’s most dearly loved franchises, one of their best selling series, and is one of their few tenuous connections to hardcore, competitive gaming and events like EVO and Genesis.

I don’t think Nintendo will ever let Super Smash Bros. die, but Sakurai will likely pass the leadership on after the Fighter Pass DLC is complete.

Here’s a quick list of who the best characters are in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Note: I’m counting down to the release of the game, so this is pre-day-1-patch! Always remember that your favorite character has a good chance of being patched into oblivion. That’s another reason why character selection is only 10% of the key to victory.

But some characters are going to start out with a bit of an advantage, and here they are:

Isabelle

Isabelle is a beast to play against. She has the side aerials of Villager, making her a great zoner. She has a Lloyd rocket that gets planted slyly in the ground, difficult to see and able to be set off remotely or by proximity. Isabelle also has an absurdly powerful pocket move, dealing ~3x the damage of whatever she pockets. Characters like Samus, Mewtwo, Lucario, or others with charge shots can die at extremely low percents if Isabelle nabs your attack.

Young Link

Young Link is nimble and packs a hefty punch. His arrows feel a bit overpowered, as they fly quickly, have little to no endlag, and light the opponent on fire. And speaking of projectiles, Young Link isn’t damaged by his own bomb’s explosives, meaning he can be much more aggressive at close-ranges. Thanks to Ocarina of Time, he still possesses the hookshot that allows him to tether-grab and tether-recover, which his adult counterpart lacks. Young Link can also reliably kill with up-air, which has a powerful lasting hitbox to punish any airdodges.

Roy

In Smash 4, Roy appeared to be the meatier/slower/stronger version of Marth. In this game however, a group of competitive Smash players huddled around a TV watched as a challenger approached, and it turned out to be a very speedy and very strong Roy. We couldn’t believe how quick he was moving around. Getting up in people’s grilles and hitting with the base of the sword is going to be easier than ever thanks to this huge buff.

Other candidates…

It’s too early to tell on a few others, but Donkey Kong looks promising with his low-percent “Ding Dong” (carry > up-throw > up air) still in tact, and some new grounded combos. King K Rool is a heavyweight that actually has a fantastic recovery. Inkling looks to be a bit overwhelming with a super-fast squid form dash. Yoshi also has nothing but buffs (though few people will take the time to learn him).

Time will tell how tier-lists shake out after several patches and after millions of players experiment with the new roster, but if you want to get a head-start on online matches day one, these characters would be a great place to start!

What factors determine the winner in a “serious” Super Smash Bros. match?

It’s easy to think that it all comes down to tier lists; whichever player trains with the more optimal character wins. I have also fallen into this trap, having second thoughts about playing a certain fighter because their stats are lower.

However, after giving this some thought, I’ve decided that character selection is only a small percentage of what determines the result of a match. I present… the pie-chart of victory!

Stage Choice (5%)

Stage choice is the smallest factor. Very few stages favor certain characters so much as to make them dangerous (and those can be striked/banned in the selection process). Whether you’re playing on Battlefield, Dream Land, or Smashville matters very little. I have known players that only practice on Battlefield, however, and that is to their detriment. As long as you put in some hours with each of the legal stages, nothing is going to surprise you too badly.

Character Choice (10%)

I’ve seen entire tournaments won with a bottom-tier character. I’ve seen players in a bind pull out their “pocket Cloud” or their “pocket Bayonetta” just to get trounced because, although they went with a top-tier pick, they didn’t have the practice needed. Tier lists aren’t everything, and in fact, playing the fighter with the best stats will probably cripple you in other areas. You won’t learn to compensate attacks that have slow start-ups with reads. You won’t learn how to leverage rage to even out a disadvantage. Playing characters with drawbacks teaches you the game much better than the star of the roster will.

Mindset (20%)

Most noticeable In Super Smash Bros. Melee, there’s a momentum that occurs when a player gets ahead. It would be hard to explain using only in-game language, because it’s actually a mindset problem. When a player takes his opponent’s stock, the opponent should have a good opportunity to get off the platform and strike back, starting up a combo while under invincibility. What’s more likely to happen, though, is that the winning player will take another stock. And probably a third. That’s why there are so many 4-stock compilations of SSBM. This trend applies to all Smash games, and in Smash 4 where players only had two stocks, you could often see a competitor give up after a 50% disadvantage. You wouldn’t notice this as much in the gameplay, but in the playercam. Someone who believes a comeback is always possible will be capable of unlocking the biggest key to victory:

Adaptability (30%)

This is more important in Smash Ultimate than ever before. With an enormous roster, you’ll never be able to practice every match-up, coupled with every competitive playstyle. You’ll go into tournaments or serious online matches without the knowledge needed to form a gameplan in advance. Smash Ultimate players will need to be able to plan piece-by-piece simultaneously while playing. If you get hit by a combo once, how can you get out of it the second time? A true combo—how can you avoid the setup? We have three whole stocks to work with, meaning that you have plenty of time to go from aggressive to defensive and back again if the situation calls for it. Adaptability also includes a player’s reflexes, which is just responding to what’s on screen in a split-second moment. Active learners win in Super Smash Bros.

Reads (15%)

Reading your opponent is the most proactive you can be in a game of Super Smash Bros. It’s predicting when the other player will use a laggy move, and having a response ready. It’s determining if your opponent will be recovering high or low. It’s knowing when a roll is about to come out, so you can have an attack ready. It’s the foresight to see that a counter or air-dodge is about to come out, and being ready to punish it. This is also known as “getting in the other player’s head” and will completely knock them off their game. It’s good to have fast reflexes and be able to respond quickly to what’s on screen, but it’s a whole other thing to be playing based on what’s about to be on the screen.

Experience (20%)

You can’t shortcut practice! Months and years of grinding against other competitors will allow you to level up your reads, adaptability, your mindset, and knowledge-base from which to know the right characters and stages to pick. Just showing up and losing, then watching other players will help you place better the next time.

Squad Strike mode in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate looks amazing!

Nintendo has yet to explain this mode very well, but thanks to the game leaking we have some great new details about this optional mode.

(Yes, these are leaked details—but come on, there are no spoilers for a mode in a game, right?)

I said Nintendo hasn’t done Squad Strike justice, because they weren’t very clear about what it actually does. Their short presentations left too many open questions. Do you have one stock for each character, and play as multiple characters in one round? Or are you and an opponent just creating a playlist of characters to battle in a set order? Or is it a series of different matchups, but your character’s individual stocks carry over (“winner stays in” style)?

I’m ecstatic to say that the answer to all these questions is yes!

Squad Strike has multiple modes inside the mode. It’s like mode-ception.

✅ Our dream of picking multiple characters for one match will come true. When I die with Mario, Dark Samus will appear on the spawn platform.

✅ Tournament style Crew Battles work in the game, where I can take out multiple different players in a row as long as I hang on to a stock.

✅ My sparring-partner and I can create multiple match-up scenarios ahead of time, then play through them uninterrupted.

With this much flexibility and this many new options, I might spend more time in Squad Strike than in the actual Smash mode!

Back when Simeon and I were doing the Daily Show for Nintendo fans, we put out a video that went on to be very popular: What’s Better, Physical or Digital Games?

YouTuber tip: Any time you can title a video with the exact question people are typing in to search, you’ll find a lot of viewers who need help! And I think we were able to provide some solid advice.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate hits store shelves and digital shops in one week, so it’s about time we made up our mind about what format we’re buying, eh?

Physical Advantages

• Resale: If you get sick of Smash, you can sell it and make some investment back. (If you’re reading this blog though, you’ll probably hang on to the game forever.)
• Lending: You can let a friend borrow your game. It helps to have real life sparring partners who can challenge you, and letting them take the game home to practice is a good way to build up a rivalry.
• Packaging: When you spend your $60 at a retailer instead of an eShop, you get a little more. That is, you receive a box that can be placed on a shelf or propped up to display its awesome cover art.
• Storage: Smash 5 is a big game, and takes up a lot of memory. Multiple Gigabytes, in fact. Do you want that storage used up on your Switch’s hardware (digital), or more efficiently stowed on the cartridge itself?
• Discounts: Maybe you renewed Best Buy Gamer’s Club Unlocked or have a discount through Amazon Prime.

Digital Advantages

• Invulnerable: It can’t get broken or eaten by a baby.
• Unlosable: It’s built into your Switch so you won’t lose a tiny cartridge in a couch cushion or vacuum.
• Pre-Load: You can purchase the game early and have most of its data sitting on your console, waiting to be unlocked on release day.
• Convenience: Smash is a game that gets played a lot, and it will be super nice not to have to swap out games every time you want to play a quick match.
• Gold Coins: Nintendo is offering additional gold coins for players who get Smash through the eShop, and you can also redeem previously-acquired gold coins to lower the price on your purchase.

I didn’t plan it that way, but it looks like there are an equal number of advantages either way! It truly is a conundrum, isn’t it?

But don’t decide just yet! There are a few more factors.

Physical Options

• Standard game
• Steelbook & Pro Controller bundle (Best Buy)

Digital Options

• Standard game
• Deluxe version (Fighter Pass included)

Console Bundle

This is another option I can’t stick under either one of the above headings, because in a way it’s physical and digital! By purchasing a Smash-emblazoned Switch, you receive a digital copy of Ultimate.

It’s a tough choice, but I think I’ve landed on physical standard. I’d like to have that case sitting on my shelf, plus I’ll get a bit of a discount, and I’ll be able to buy my Ridley amiibo at the same time. What about you? How are you going to be purchasing SSBU?