I don’t know if I’m just a total Super Smash Bros. fanboy or what, because I’ve been playing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate almost non-stop. I love almost everything about this game (haven’t tried going online yet), and just playing it has reminded me about what I’ve written in the past about the franchise – either predictions or wishlists. I’d like to revisit those today, not because I want to brag about what I got right but because I’ve been thinking about how much of what I wanted to see in a Smash Bros. game became a reality.
My first Super Smash Bros. (to be referred to as SSB from this point on) wishlist was for SSB 3DS/Wii U, which I wrote back in October 2015, and I wrote that as a response to Nintendo doing a poll on what fighters fans wanted to see in the franchise. My five choices back then were: (1) Isaac from Golden Sun, (2) Krystal from the Star Fox franchise, (3) Bayonetta, (4) Shovel Knight, and (5) Simon Belmont from the Castlevania franchise.
People said Bayonetta wouldn’t make it into a Smash Bros. roster, but I always thought she was a good fit.
Out of that original list, Bayonetta was the first and only one to become included in SSB Wii U and 3DS, but Simon would later be one of the more notable new additions to SSB Ultimate. Krystal and Shovel Knight became assist trophies in SSB Ultimate, while Isaac returned as an assist trophy. Personally, I would have been happier if Shovel Knight at least became a fighter, but having both Bayonetta and Simon Belmont as fighters in SSB Ultimate is good enough for me.
Next, I wrote about another wishlist when news of a new Smash Bros. game was announced during this year’s E3. I had five items on that list:
- A Better Name for the new SSB game
- Keep the Entire SSB 3DS/Wii U Roster Intact
- The Return of Solid Snake as a fighter
- Special Gamecube-style Controllers/JoyCon
- More DLC Fighters in the Future
And this is really why I wanted to write about this topic – I had gotten everything that I wanted to get from SSB Ultimate, starting with the game’s name. It is so much easier to say and write Super Smash Bros. Ultimate than it is to say/write Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
Not only did Nintendo/Sakurai give us the entire SSB 3DS/Wii U roster intact, as well as include Solid Snake in the roster again, but they also gave us all of the fighters that appeared in previous SSB games PLUS a handful of new fighters right off the bat. And they haven’t stopped there – we already know that we’re getting Piranha Plant and Persona 5’s Joker as DLC fighters, plus four more currently unannounced ones. The Gamecube controller also made a comeback, although we didn’t get special JoyCons that have the look and feel of those classic controllers.
Finally, before the final roster for SSB Ultimate was revealed, I had written another wishlist. This time, that list consisted of five 3rd party characters that I wanted to see in SSB Ultimate: (1) Ken from Street Fighter, (2) Heihachi from Tekken, (3) Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat, (4) Lara Croft from Tomb Raider, and (5) Doom Guy or Doomslayer from Doom.
I really wanted to see Ken join Ryu in a Smash Bros. game, and I got my wish in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate!
The only character on that list to make it is also the character that I wanted to see the most – Ken! It feels so good to play as Ken in Smash as I’ve always preferred using him over his more famous counterpart. While we didn’t get to see the rest of the fighters on my most recent wishlist, we still have four new fighters coming next year and we may even see more in the future (there hasn’t been any announcements on whether the coming batch of DLC fighters is the last one), so the rest of the characters in my wishlist could still make it.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was developed by Sakurai’s company Sora Ltd. and Bandai Namco, so I think the inclusion of Heihachi Mishima is still very possible. We all know now that Mortal Kombat 11 is going to be released on the Nintendo Switch, so the addition of Sub-Zero (or any Mortal Kombat character) into SSB Ultimate isn’t out of the question.
Currently, Square Enix owns the rights to Tomb Raider games so Lara Croft is still possible, although I’m a little doubtful given how few Final Fantasy music was included in SSB Ultimate. There’s also a lot of speculation regarding the inclusion of Erdrick (the protagonist of the first Dragon Quest game) into Smash; if that’s true, that may be the only character we’ll get to see from Square Enix. All that’s left is Doom Guy, and we also know that Doom Eternal is going to be released for the Nintendo Switch so I’m still not ruling him out.
And there you have it. From Day One, I already had Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as my favorite Smash Bros. title of all time and I’d even go as far as saying it is my favorite title amongst my Nintendo Switch game library. Looking back at my old wishlists, it’s not hard to see why – I had gotten a lot of what I wanted in a Smash Bros. game in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
What do you think about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate? Let us know by leaving a comment or two below!
3rd World Geeks 