Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, opinions after first hours of play.
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We knew that Nintendo I had a pump ready for this 2018 and it has been. The saga of ‘Super Smash Bros.’ is about to turn 20 years of having come into our lives in that old Nintendo 64, and since then it has not stopped surprising us in each new version of this already mythical fighting game, which for 2018 will be bigger than what we had seen until the moment.
‘Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’ It will arrive on December 7, 2018, but during E3 2018 we had the opportunity to fight against the people of Nintendo (and anyone else who put themselves in front of us) for some first impressions, which left us with a great taste in our mouths. confirm that the essence of the game remains and is in better shape than ever.
‘Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’: first impressions on video
This is the biggest crossover in history
Fortunately for everyone, Nintendo brought to E3 2018 a playable version of ‘Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’, which had just over 24 characters and 20 arenas ready to select. Here Nintendo clarified that what we played was a previous version of the game that will arrive in December, where all the game modes, scenarios and characters will be available.
During the presentation, Nintendo confirmed that each and every one of the characters that have appeared in the saga during these 20 years would be available in ‘Ultimate’. And while we played, the company left open the possibility of having new characters, as well as scenarios and other “surprises”. That is, Nintendo being Nintendo and playing with the option of being able to see more, much more.
Although we were facing a “previous version” of ‘Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’, everything was there, and by saying everything I mean unrestricted fun, since seconds after starting the battle, we were already screaming, jumping and moving from side to side. And that is what SSB has, that It catches you in a few seconds without you noticing.
I’ve always said that SSB is not a classic fighting game, and that is precisely why it is so successful. The best way to understand Super Smash Bros. is by comparing it to Mario Kart, where it doesn’t matter if you are an expert player or a beginner, everyone can win and in the last seconds of the battle everything can change.
In this version of SSB Ultimate everything was configured for battles of up to four players for two minutes, but they assured us that in the final version you can fight with up to eight people and we will have the option to configure various elements of the battles, such as time or the amount of prizes.
We played with Pro Controller controllers as the option to use the Joy-Con was not available. This made it easier to play and settle in almost immediately. In this version we could also choose two of the new characters of the 65 that will be available: Inkling, from ‘Splatoon’, and Ridley, from ‘Metroid’, as well as two new scenarios: one based on ‘Splatoon’ and another on ‘Zelda: BOTW’.
As for the rest of the characters, it was nice to see that they all had a new and improved look where the graphics and power of the console were exploited. SSB Ultimate will have a resolution of 1080p at 60fps when we play on a television using the dock and 720p at 60fps when we are in portable format. In our case, we play on television and the detail of the old scenarios is fascinating, since they all received a facelift. Here Nintendo assured us that it is a new game that uses a new graphics engine.
It is precisely thanks to this new graphics engine that SSB Ultimate moves in an impressive way, it is very fast and there will be moments where it will be easy to get lost between the blows, the jumps, the spectacular nature of the special attacks and the unexpected surprises. Come on it’s a frantic battle that is most enjoyed when you are with several friends or players.
The old characters have new attacks and even costumes, such as Link who adds attacks brought from his last adventure, as well as Mario who arrives with tricks from ‘Odyssey’. We also perceive a new physics with changes in the gravity of the characters, where some stay in the air longer, others have the ability to avoid falling from the stage and even slow motion shots that add drama to the battle.
During the game we will see new trophies, weapons and assistive items, and depending on the character we can see special attacks that are wonderful nods to their own stories, such as Pac-Man where objects in pixel design or even homages to the classic ‘Pong’ will appear. When using the Pro Controller, the right stick allows us to quickly access the special movements, where the magic is in the Smash Attacks and Final Smashes, which are a joy in terms of graphic display.
During fights, the pace seemed to be faster than usual, and that is not a bad thing, since it served to dodge attacks in the air, change the battle tactics and even be more precise to attack the weakest. Come on, the options were many and that we were just before a previous version.
In short, ‘Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’ has everything to be a “console seller”. And knowing Nintendo, from here to the release of the game we will surely see dropper announcements of the battle modes, new options, as well as the incorporation of new characters. In this first contact we are left with that battle experience so “Nintendo style”, a fun mix that works amazingly well despite being a 20 year old formula, where the fanservice makes it even more enjoyable.
