Can Smash really be Ultimate without a Story Mode?

[SmashBro99]

SSE was the same thing over and over again, but it was a side mode so that didnt bother me too much.

I really loved the cutscenes with the characters interacting/teaming up, but we're going to end up with so many characters I don't think they can do that again sadly (please prove me wrong and do it).

I mean, how great have these new character trailers been?

Sakurai is an amazing man but his reasoning for taking story modes away because of people putting the scenes on youtube...wtf haha

Eh, maybe it'll be like the story of Marvel Ultimate Alliance, all the bad guys just team up? Eh, I'd be ok with SSE2

On the other hand, if we get a really cool update to melee's adventure mode, with maybe some cool scenes/entrances of the characters you are about to fight, i'd be happy with that too.

 

[MasterOfKnees]

I agree with what ur saying about sse. But just cause sse sucked, doesn't mean that's what we want from an adventure/story mode. I mentioned above smash64 and melee's target challenges. Immagine a story mode with stages that involve that kind of we'll crafted stage design creating interesting challenges to get through. It would be a tough feat to accomplish for 70+ characters, but that's what we want, not a basic simple thing like sse.

It's very difficult to create meaningful level design when the levels are designed so that every character should be able to complete them, the character-specific challenges worked specifically because they were the opposite of that, they were often designed to push the limits of a specific character and make you think outside the box (YL's Break the Targets comes to mind). Either you take that option away (aka you can't choose characters when redoing a stage, no choice between Peach/Zelda, etc), or you design levels with only the absolute basics of Smash gameplay in mind, which is what SSE did.

Even if you did take that option away you'll still have to take into consideration that you'll have several characters on your team at once who all have to be able to complete the stage though, and your party would certainly be bigger than they often were in SSE thanks to the ever increasing roster, so the level design would still never be as tight as those old character-specific challenges as 5-6 different characters would still need to be able to get through it. It might be better than having 70+ characters in mind when designing a stage, but it still would still drastically limit what they could do with it.

The only solutions I can really see to these problems are:
1. Being able to switch characters on the fly, although that would potentially be heavily exploitable and maybe even gamebreaking in certain situations.
2. Make the story mode a non-linear experience where you can't pass certain obstacles before you recruit certain characters (a Metroidvania basically). This would however drastically limit the story, and more crucially the crossover potential of the mode. Unintentional sequence breaking might also be an issue, especially after you've recruited a lot of characters.

I don't think there is a good solution to the level design problem, and as such I don't think it's something they'd try to change, especially as to most people it's not even a problem that needs solving, they're happy going through a ton of basic gauntlet levels as long as they get a cool cutscene at the end. It's not that I don't understand that though, I can definitely see the appeal of this game's crossover potential, but I'm a gameplay first type of guy when it comes to my platformers, so it's not necessarily what I put emphasis on.

I reiterate that I didn't actively hate SSE or the idea of getting something like it again, I just don't care about it, and as such I feel like the game can be plenty ultimate without it.

 

[Homelessvagrant]

Exactly. So if a better interactive story can be imagined, this game cannot be the Ultimate.
Even if its the best game any of us has ever played.

Well under that definition of imagined then nothing can be ultimate as we can always easily imagine something even greater than what we have. I don't think you can isolate the word imaginable from achievable. As in this sense of the definition imaginable, it would entail that its imaginable that such a feat is achievable. But in the end, I guess it all comes down to semantics.

 

[BronzeGreekGod]

It's very difficult to create meaningful level design when the levels are designed so that every character should be able to complete them, the character-specific challenges worked specifically because they were the opposite of that, they were often designed to push the limits of a specific character and make you think outside the box (YL's Break the Targets comes to mind). Either you take that option away (aka you can't choose characters when redoing a stage, no choice between Peach/Zelda, etc), or you design levels with only the absolute basics of Smash gameplay in mind, which is what SSE did.

Even if you did take that option away you'll still have to take into consideration that you'll have several characters on your team at once who all have to be able to complete the stage though, and your party would certainly be bigger than they often were in SSE thanks to the ever increasing roster, so the level design would still never be as tight as those old character-specific challenges as 5-6 different characters would still need to be able to get through it. It might be better than having 70+ characters in mind when designing a stage, but it still would still drastically limit what they could do with it.

The only solutions I can really see to these problems are:
1. Being able to switch characters on the fly, although that would potentially be heavily exploitable and maybe even gamebreaking in certain situations.
2. Make the story mode a non-linear experience where you can't pass certain obstacles before you recruit certain characters (a Metroidvania basically). This would however drastically limit the story, and more crucially the crossover potential of the mode. Unintentional sequence breaking might also be an issue, especially after you've recruited a lot of characters.

I don't think there is a good solution to the level design problem, and as such I don't think it's something they'd try to change, especially as to most people it's not even a problem that needs solving, they're happy going through a ton of basic gauntlet levels as long as they get a cool cutscene at the end. It's not that I don't understand that though, I can definitely see the appeal of this game's crossover potential, but I'm a gameplay first type of guy when it comes to my platformers, so it's not necessarily what I put emphasis on.

I reiterate that I didn't actively hate SSE or the idea of getting something like it again, I just don't care about it, and as such I feel like the game can be plenty ultimate without it.

well SSE had the right idea. Different parts of the story were meant for certain characters. What they didnt do was actually create level design that matched the characters that you were using. Also you had many characters you would cycle between randomly based on your deaths. You should either be able to cycle at will, or only have one character at a time, and maybe their echos/clones/semi clones.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Willing to pay a extra 20 Euros for a proper 1 Player installment, which combines the modes of Melee's Adventure Mode, Brawl's Subspace and Smash 3DS's Smash Run perfectly. The game can easily do without, sure. But damn, if they are gonna call it Ultimate, might as well make it Ultimate. To be honest I was already more than sold when "Everyone Is Here" and King K.Rool came to be, but since this game is gonna milk me out financially anyway, might as well hope that every drop of milk is worth it.

 

[osby]

I mean, a story mode would be great so the biggest hype wouldn't be returning veterans.

 

[TheFVguy]

I personally would be absolutely ecstatic if a story mode was to be included, specifically one like Subspace Emissary. I always loved Brawl's adventure for its wonderful cutscenes and fun interactions between the characters. It may not have been the best with its level design and it could have used more Nintendo themed enemies and areas, it was still amazing seeing many of Nintendo's greatest all-stars fighting and interacting with one another.
The cutscene where all heroes come to fight against Bowser and Ganon's forces, while flying ships representing many series, will forever be one of my favorite moments in gaming.
Now, a common argument against a story mode working is the number of characters, but I don't see how that's a problem. The Tactical RPG, Namco X Capcom had over 80+ characters and still managed to tell a story with them, I don't see how Smash is any different.

 

[AIM0001]

I only hope for an Adventure Mode. Much easier to do then a full fledged story mode. If it’s not in the cards then I still hold this game to a high regard as far as I’m concerned.

 

[Rhubarbo]

It could have definitely been better, but it was still fun for what it was.

I disagree; I really think it was that bad. The SSE was so bad that the devs decided they shouldn't even do a story mode for Smash 4!

The worst thing about the SSE was that it decided to play all of our favourite characters against a generic and uninspired back drop and pit them (mostly) against generic and uninspired enemies. I understand that Sakurai had to perform a balancing act and try to represent every series as evenly as possible, so a neutral playing field may have seemed fairest, but his solution failed in practice. Melee's adventure mode is more fondly remembered because it featured levels and enemies we care about, not Primids and Tabuu.

Then you have the story. Okay, I'm not asking for Academy Award winning story-telling here, but what the SSE offered is still pretty bad, even by Nintendo's standards, The overarching story was super-cheesy, and the whole impetus of the story - why any of this was happening - was unclear. To its credit, I think the SSE did a great job of presenting a story with no dialogue, and the characters' interactions with one another were on-point. That part of the game, however, can be enjoyed on Youtube.

If they do include another story mode in Ultimate, I hope it's more like Melee's Adventure mode, in that it features a bunch of series-inspired levels and keeps its tone in check (no melodramatic story, please).

 

[pap64]

I'm curious... when did you last play a fighting game story mode? Since (at least) Mortal Kombat 9, the standard for fighting game story-modes has been raised to a critically agreed highpoint, echoed throughout subsequent games from other series.
Just because an idea did not work one time does not mean it cannot. How will we ever get the Fantastic Four into the MCU with that attitude?

Tekken 6 and the Soul Calibur series both implemented adventure/story modes way before MK9 did. The PS2/Xbox/GC era Mortal Kombtas had story modes. And MK vs DC was the prototype for MK 9's story mode. Yes, MK 9 perfected how to balance a story mode that also served as the game's tutorial mode while also expanding on the game's universe and lore, but that doesn't mean every fighting game NEEDS a story mode unless they can do something good with it. The Subspace Emmisary was bad not because the story itself was bad; the Smash engine doesn't work for an adventure like mode and the level design lacked in comparison to the stages we got. For a mode that was touted as being ambitious, a lot more work was put into the cutscenes than the base gameplay.

I am not saying that Ultimate can't have a story mode, I am saying that it doesn't NEED one to be the "ultimate" smash game because just the amount of content alone is incredible and clearly the most definitive smash to date from a gameplay perspective.

 

[lucasla]

I disagree; I really think it was that bad. The SSE was so bad that the devs decided they shouldn't even do a story mode for Smash 4!

The worst thing about the SSE was that it decided to play all of our favourite characters against a generic and uninspired back drop and pit them (mostly) against generic and uninspired enemies. I understand that Sakurai had to perform a balancing act and try to represent every series as evenly as possible, so a neutral playing field may have seemed fairest, but his solution failed in practice. Melee's adventure mode is more fondly remembered because it featured levels and enemies we care about, not Primids and Tabuu.

Then you have the story. Okay, I'm not asking for Academy Award winning story-telling here, but what the SSE offered is still pretty bad, even by Nintendo's standards, The overarching story was super-cheesy, and the whole impetus of the story - why any of this was happening - was unclear. To its credit, I think the SSE did a great job of presenting a story with no dialogue, and the characters' interactions with one another were on-point. That part of the game, however, can be enjoyed on Youtube.

If they do include another story mode in Ultimate, I hope it's more like Melee's Adventure mode, in that it features a bunch of series-inspired levels and keeps its tone in check (no melodramatic story, please).

Yeah... I always thought something like.. Why they dont take huge sequences of levels from many of these games represented on the series and make them an awesome mix of plataforming and fighting? And then the levels would be like a mix of all these games. For example, one level could be just like the first Super Mario World level but playing with Mega Man, other level we could be walking to Hyrule Castle from Breath of the Wild and fighting guardians and Zelda-like enemies with Mario, and then we reach the Deku-Tree and the Master Sword and then we control Link.. just to be teleported to Bayonetta's world and we fight her enemies in levels inspired in Bayonetta levels, and then we change to Pikachu and we have to fight an army (horde) of 100 evil Inklings (like in Multi-man smash) on a level based on Splatoon to save Inkling-girl, but then the next level is Inkling girl openning her way through some Donkey Kong stage based on the first DK. And then the characters just go passing the stick. You play through a level of one character with a character of another game, and the levels really being based on existing stages from these games to give us a good nostalgia factor, while adding all the crazy fighting and boss battles they can. It could have stages that are really more based on plataforming, some mix of break the targets to need to advance, some moments you are attacked by hordes, some stages with a lot of fighing, boss battles... There's so much possibility here...

 

[DarthEnderX]

Personally, I don't need Smash to have an actual story. In fact I think trying to tell any kind of story in a game that mixes 30 different continuities together is pointless.

As long as it has Subspace style Boss fights in the game somewhere, I'm happy with that.

But, I can certainly understand how some folks would WANT a new story mode.

 

[pupNapoleon]

Tekken 6 and the Soul Calibur series both implemented adventure/story modes way before MK9 did. The PS2/Xbox/GC era Mortal Kombtas had story modes. And MK vs DC was the prototype for MK 9's story mode. Yes, MK 9 perfected how to balance a story mode that also served as the game's tutorial mode while also expanding on the game's universe and lore, but that doesn't mean every fighting game NEEDS a story mode unless they can do something good with it. The Subspace Emmisary was bad not because the story itself was bad; the Smash engine doesn't work for an adventure like mode and the level design lacked in comparison to the stages we got. For a mode that was touted as being ambitious, a lot more work was put into the cutscenes than the base gameplay.

That's all true- and my point was by MK9, the story mode to fighting games could be considered at a standardized, critically high level. Or, in contrast to the post I quoted, that it was not just possible, but common in fighting games today.

Sure, no game *needs* anything, but Smash Bros has two main appeals to very different fans:
1- The fighting gameplay. It is awesome and was revolutionary and out of the box (by being fully in the box of the stage)
2- The character mashup. As made even more prominent by the blowout of the MCU, a lot of nerds just want to see their favorite characters interact.

Number two being so prominent, I cannot see that aspect going ignored this game. We have the fans of number one catered to with dozens of improvements to gameplay. I hope we can get that duality addressed with some great character interactions. The character reveals are not enough, and have little to do with the game once it is in my hands.

...The only solutions I can really see to these problems are:
1. Being able to switch characters on the fly, although that would potentially be heavily exploitable and maybe even gamebreaking in certain situations.
2. Make the story mode a non-linear experience where you can't pass certain obstacles before you recruit certain characters (a Metroidvania basically). This would however drastically limit the story, and more crucially the crossover potential of the mode. Unintentional sequence breaking might also be an issue, especially after you've recruited a lot of characters.
...

Even as it was in Smash Bros Brawl, Subspace usually only allowed a few character options in each stage (until the end). There are dozens of games where more than a single character is an option that remain challenging. Smash Bros is not the first platform game (or side game in this case) where multiple characters can be selected from playing the game (immediately Rayman Legends and Kirby Ultimate Alliance come to mind). Sure, neither of those games I mentioned are the most challenging, but many find them fun... And those are just two examples!

Personally, I don't need Smash to have an actual story. In fact I think trying to tell any kind of story in a game that mixes 30 different continuities together is pointless.

Continuities? I definitely do not think that Subspace will try to be canon... I have never heard this as an argument against a story mode for Smash, actually. Perhaps I'm misreading.

 

[Yosher]

I disagree; I really think it was that bad. The SSE was so bad that the devs decided they shouldn't even do a story mode for Smash 4!

The worst thing about the SSE was that it decided to play all of our favourite characters against a generic and uninspired back drop and pit them (mostly) against generic and uninspired enemies. I understand that Sakurai had to perform a balancing act and try to represent every series as evenly as possible, so a neutral playing field may have seemed fairest, but his solution failed in practice. Melee's adventure mode is more fondly remembered because it featured levels and enemies we care about, not Primids and Tabuu.

Then you have the story. Okay, I'm not asking for Academy Award winning story-telling here, but what the SSE offered is still pretty bad, even by Nintendo's standards, The overarching story was super-cheesy, and the whole impetus of the story - why any of this was happening - was unclear. To its credit, I think the SSE did a great job of presenting a story with no dialogue, and the characters' interactions with one another were on-point. That part of the game, however, can be enjoyed on Youtube.

If they do include another story mode in Ultimate, I hope it's more like Melee's Adventure mode, in that it features a bunch of series-inspired levels and keeps its tone in check (no melodramatic story, please).

Right. And that's exactly why I say it could have been better. But I still don't think it was that bad. Is it really that hard to understand that there are people who enjoyed this? Even outside of 8-year old children and whatnot? I got the game at launch, I was 19 years old at the time, and I enjoyed the heck out of that SSE together with a friend of mine, and later again with my sister, and in between that I enjoyed going through it entirely solo as well.

It really was not as bad as you and other folks make it out to be, and I doubt the SSE being bad was the reason Smash 4 didn't have a story mode. Sakurai mentioned that the reason for it was that he didn't want the cutscenes to be seen on Youtube and that they were meant as a reward for those who played the game. But I also believe that the sheer difficulty of that balancing act you mentioned being part of this decision, among other things (time constraints maybe, possibly other things still). But I don't believe for even a second it was because SSE was bad, because it wasn't. It wasn't fantastic either, because I do remember being disappointed with how generic everything was, but again, I did manage to enjoy it for what it was. It's okay for you to disagree, but please don't make it seem like it's a crime to enjoy the SSE.

 

[BronzeGreekGod]

I personally would be absolutely ecstatic if a story mode was to be included, specifically one like Subspace Emissary. I always loved Brawl's adventure for its wonderful cutscenes and fun interactions between the characters. It may not have been the best with its level design and it could have used more Nintendo themed enemies and areas, it was still amazing seeing many of Nintendo's greatest all-stars fighting and interacting with one another.
The cutscene where all heroes come to fight against Bowser and Ganon's forces, while flying ships representing many series, will forever be one of my favorite moments in gaming.
Now, a common argument against a story mode working is the number of characters, but I don't see how that's a problem. The Tactical RPG, Namco X Capcom had over 80+ characters and still managed to tell a story with them, I don't see how Smash is any different.

The problem with many characters isn't telling the story. SSE's story wasn't the main issue. The challenge for developers is creating challenging stages taylored to each of those 70 characters' strengths and weaknesses to make the game fun and exciIng with a good rewards system. I personally could care less about the storytelling or cutscenes in smash bros. I mostly want challenges that are actually difficult and fun.

I only hope for an Adventure Mode. Much easier to do then a full fledged story mode. If it’s not in the cards then I still hold this game to a high regard as far as I’m concerned.

I'm totally fine with this too. The adventure is the important part, not the "story".

I disagree; I really think it was that bad. The SSE was so bad that the devs decided they shouldn't even do a story mode for Smash 4!

The worst thing about the SSE was that it decided to play all of our favourite characters against a generic and uninspired back drop and pit them (mostly) against generic and uninspired enemies. I understand that Sakurai had to perform a balancing act and try to represent every series as evenly as possible, so a neutral playing field may have seemed fairest, but his solution failed in practice. Melee's adventure mode is more fondly remembered because it featured levels and enemies we care about, not Primids and Tabuu.

Then you have the story. Okay, I'm not asking for Academy Award winning story-telling here, but what the SSE offered is still pretty bad, even by Nintendo's standards, The overarching story was super-cheesy, and the whole impetus of the story - why any of this was happening - was unclear. To its credit, I think the SSE did a great job of presenting a story with no dialogue, and the characters' interactions with one another were on-point. That part of the game, however, can be enjoyed on Youtube.

If they do include another story mode in Ultimate, I hope it's more like Melee's Adventure mode, in that it features a bunch of series-inspired levels and keeps its tone in check (no melodramatic story, please).

Sse actually had the right idea with breaking up sections of the story for specific characters - it just wasn't executed very well. The enemies needed to be more interesting for sure - more character specific enemies would be nice, and honestly, assist trophies should be used as enemies as well. Even more important to improve is the level design. As I've mentioned, whatever character is being used shoould have their stages crafted to be challenging for their movesets. Platforms should be placed in places that are tricky to reach for their jumps and attacks, doors should only be unlocked with specific attack combos by hitting lock contraptions on the screen (break the targets, repurposed). Board the platforms can be used in a simiIar way. Some of these can be timed challenges in later stags. And there are many other kinds of great challenges I can see possible in smash bros.

 

[Yuya-Noboru]

I get bored of Super Smash Bros. 4 fast because of the lack of single-player / Co-Op contents... no campaign and the Classic Mode is just horrible. The Subspace Emissary added a lot of replay value for people like me who play the game alone or with that girlfriend that never wants to fight against you (haha). Also, the subtile background lore of the franchise always appealed me and I'd like to see more in a new story-mode.

If Super Smash Bros. Ultimate doesn't have a story-mode, I'm afraid of getting tired of this game as well. That's why I will not define Smash Ultimate as "Ultimate" if it has no single-player campaign. The SSE was poorly executed because of the lack of development time, but trust me that if they take the time to create a real story mode... it will be awesome.

 

[DarkStar64]

I'm almost certain this game will have some sort of story/adventure mode. After all, it is called Smash Ultimate and Sakurai has most definitely shown that he is intently listening to the community on this game, and is determined to make it live up to its namesake. He knows for sure that story mode is one of the most requested features for the game at this point, so I would be extremely surprised if he didn't include one especially considering that the theme of this game is "everything is here".

 

[ChikoLad]

It needs at least a fun and engaging Adventure Mode. Doesn't need an epic story for me (I wouldn't be opposed to some cutscenes for character interactions but it might be wishful thinking to expect that).

While I enjoy the SSE cutscenes, the main reason I enjoy the game mode is for the action-adventure levels fused with Smash mechanics. It wasn't perfect by any means (and I feel it was somewhat held back by Brawl's inherent clunkiness) but it was enjoyable and I sometimes come back to it.

However, it bothers me that people write off the idea when the game industry is synonymous with "great ideas with flawed execution" that are often improved upon and reach greatness when given another chance. Smash itself is an example of that, with the first game being a good idea with flawed execution (and a limited budget), with Melee and the rest of the games taking that base idea and fleshing it out and improving it.

Additionally, certain concepts introduced in Smash Wii U/3DS would work well in a new Adventure Mode, such as custom equipment. Custom equipment in the last installments didn't have much use outside of Smash Run and maybe for those extra difficult Classic Mode challenges, so having a fleshed out single-player mode would give them a better use.

And as someone who doesn't get to meet up with friends much (and most of those friends wouldn't play Smash), but also isn't terribly interested in paying for Nintendo's online service (at least not right now), I kinda need meaty single-player content to even make this game worth the €110 I'll be spending on it's Special Edition. I enjoy the game mechanics and characters a great deal but I'm not too interested in the competitive scene anymore and I don't have people to play with casually.

That doesn't make me any less of a Smash fan though, and if the "ultimate" game in the series can't cater to people like me, then it's subtitle is just a shallow subtitle and not a true reflection of what the game is.

Put more simply, if Ultimate is missing a vast amount of content to engage with as a single-player, it just becomes yet another Smash game to me and may completely fatigue the series for me.

 

[Diem]

I'm expecting a souped-up version of Melee's Adventure Mode in Ultimate. Something the scale of SSE with this many characters would be impossible to do in under three years. Combine that with the fact that Sakurai is working less hours than he ever has before (Brawl's development was so grueling for him because he basically had to work on two games at once; SSE and then everything else), and it's insane how many people seem to think that SSE is confirmed based on the flimsy evidence that isn't really evidence.

I actually really love SSE, so Smash Ultimate would be my #1 game until the day I die if that happened, but realistically, it won't. Also, with the inevitability of DLC characters, they'd be excluded out of whatever story would ship with the base game. It's one of the reasons I was somewhat relieved that there was no SSE in Smash 4; Cloud, Bayonetta, Ryu, and Mewtwo would all have been excluded.

Adventure Mode is all we need, really. After Smash Tourture and the "meh" Smash Run, we just need something with some more creativity and replayability to it. Let us travel through different game worlds like in Melee, but as Ridley and Snake. Let us run into bosses, like Dracula, Rathalos, and, I dunno, Mike Tyson. Make it an experience that new characters can be added to seamlessly. Maybe have a cool cutscene for each character if possible (ohmygosh Dark Samus cutscene please).

2. Make the story mode a non-linear experience where you can't pass certain obstacles before you recruit certain characters (a Metroidvania basically). This would however drastically limit the story, and more crucially the crossover potential of the mode. Unintentional sequence breaking might also be an issue, especially after you've recruited a lot of characters.

...a Metroidvania where the powerups are replaced with new unlockable characters is an amazing idea. How the hell has this not been done yet? With the stupid amount of Metroidvanias that come out of Kickstarter, has not one of them used this idea yet?

 

[MasterOfKnees]

...a Metroidvania where the powerups are replaced with new unlockable characters is an amazing idea. How the hell has this not been done yet? With the stupid amount of Metroidvanias that come out of Kickstarter, has not one of them used this idea yet?

Ufouria, an old NES game, actually did something like it, and although I liked the game and its concept it also did show the issues that come with it, it's incredibly tough to make the player not just stick with one character (the one with the best base stats) without forcing it down their throat. We might see some more unorthodox Metroidvanias after Guacamelee and especially Hollow Knight have made it a tough genre for new indie titles to compete in though.

 

[PF9]

Absolutely not. The lack of one in 4 was a major weak point. I hope the fans have spoken enough for one in Ultimate.

 

[BonafideFella]

They're calling this the "ultimate" Smash Bros and yet they are making stupid changes that makes people play the previous games.
Making 4/5 of the roster unlockable and making people unlock them one at a time is one of them.

Lets just be thankful EA didn't develop this game.

 

[DarkStar64]

They're calling this the "ultimate" Smash Bros and yet they are making stupid changes that makes people play the previous games.
Making 4/5 of the roster unlockable and making people unlock them one at a time is one of them.

How is that a bad change? Sakurai said that there won't be a ton of new characters this time around with the roster already being so massive at launch. Making the characters unlockable will create a sense of hype and excitement for the players to unlock all the characters and make it feel like a journey along the way. And he didn't even detail all of the multiple ways you can unlock everyone yet, all he said is that it will be a "streamlined experience". Would you rather unlock all the characters through playing the game, or pay $5.99 for all the characters like some other companies that won't be named do. All you kids today are spoiled with everything being unlocked from the get-go you don't know the joys of unlocking content in a game. I remember back in 2001 leaving my GameCube on over night to unlock Mewtwo, I was so excited to wake up the next morning and fight him to unlock him.

 

[Luigifan18]

I recall a post from another story-mode-centric thread I like. It's about a Story Mode split into nine routes, each with different characters featured in the route, tweaks to the mechanics for a few (like one route copying a few gameplay elements from Fire Emblem and another being super-strictly timed (and by "super-strictly", I mean not that the time limit is unfairly tight, but that if you fail to beat it in time, your save file gets erased, like Stygian Mode of Darkest Dungeon)), and the different routes having different degrees of combat, platforming, and puzzles. The routes are loosely tied together by having the same overarching villains, and once you beat all the endbosses, you can challenge the true endboss, a la Sonic Adventure's Perfect Chaos battle. It's all really interesting, you should check it out.

 

[Crazy Hand 2001]

How is that a bad change? Sakurai said that there won't be a ton of new characters this time around with the roster already being so massive at launch. Making the characters unlockable will create a sense of hype and excitement for the players to unlock all the characters and make it feel like a journey along the way. And he didn't even detail all of the multiple ways you can unlock everyone yet, all he said is that it will be a "streamlined experience". Would you rather unlock all the characters through playing the game, or pay $5.99 for all the characters like some other companies that won't be named do. All you kids today are spoiled with everything being unlocked from the get-go you don't know the joys of unlocking content in a game. I remember back in 2001 leaving my GameCube on over night to unlock Mewtwo, I was so excited to wake up the next morning and fight him to unlock him.

I'd rather unlock all the characters instead of paying for them, but when it comes to multiplayer I'd rather have all characters unlocked by default instead of wasting time through a story mode.

Unlocking characters just uses up time that could be better spent on playing multiplayer. But if they allow multiple human players to participate in unlockable battles I wouldn't mind as much.

 

[Yuya-Noboru]

Also, with the inevitability of DLC characters, they'd be excluded out of whatever story would ship with the base game. It's one of the reasons I was somewhat relieved that there was no SSE in Smash 4; Cloud, Bayonetta, Ryu, and Mewtwo would all have been excluded. Adventure Mode is all we need.

The developers said that they haven't decided yet if they'll create DLCs for this new game. Like a new story mode, both aren't confirmed yet. If there are new characters in potential DLC, they would be excluded from the story mode but what's the matter? They will just not appear in the story or cutscenes but could be playable when you finish the mode once. They will not limit the potential of the game just because of that you know?

A Melee-like Adventure mode isn't needed at all. It would be a "echo mode" of the Ultimate's Classic Mode since each characters will face a predefined set of events.

 

[Magical Tuesday]

I don't think it matters because this fandom hated Subspace Emissary when they had it, and when the next game didn't have anything like it, all I hear is "Whatever happened to Subspace Emissary? I want another one of those."

Whether there's a story mode or not, you will complain. You don't deserve Ridley, you don't deserve K. Rool.

 

[pupNapoleon]

Right. And that's exactly why I say it could have been better. But I still don't think it was that bad. Is it really that hard to understand that there are people who enjoyed this? Even outside of 8-year old children and whatnot? I got the game at launch, I was 19 years old at the time, and I enjoyed the heck out of that SSE together with a friend of mine, and later again with my sister, and in between that I enjoyed going through it entirely solo as well.

It really was not as bad as you and other folks make it out to be, and I doubt the SSE being bad was the reason Smash 4 didn't have a story mode. Sakurai mentioned that the reason for it was that he didn't want the cutscenes to be seen on Youtube and that they were meant as a reward for those who played the game. But I also believe that the sheer difficulty of that balancing act you mentioned being part of this decision, among other things (time constraints maybe, possibly other things still). But I don't believe for even a second it was because SSE was bad, because it wasn't. It wasn't fantastic either, because I do remember being disappointed with how generic everything was, but again, I did manage to enjoy it for what it was. It's okay for you to disagree, but please don't make it seem like it's a crime to enjoy the SSE.

I'm gonna go on record to say that I do think it was that bad, but that even at that bad, the novelty of seeing Nintendo's characters have their full personality hats on while interacting, made up for how bad it was.
I was more pumped for Brawl than a human should be for anything- it first hand helped me get through my father's death in 2007- I even remember checking the Dojo on his funeral day and seeing Yoshi, my sister's favorite, revealed. The dojo brought a sense of hope and abundance into my heart.
Yet... as much love and desire as I had for Brawl, as much hope as I had with the prereleased cutscenes- was killed when I played SSE. The game play wasnt just generic, it was worse than Melee. I know these points have been brought up in the past, but it is exactly what I thought. After my first amazing playthrough, I just watched the movie after Brawl. Even then, because the memory of playing SSE was such a let down, I didnt want to watch the story anymore.

But for the story, and what almost was, the game meant everything to me. I just didnt see the value in what was created, as we were blinded by how amazing it was marketed to be.

 

[MrRoidley]

In theory a story mode is what would make the game greatly Ultimate, but I'm pretty sure a story mode SSE-like with 80 characters is pretty unfeasible, MAYBE unless if they outsource its development.

Maybe they could make some shorter scenarios with only certain characters in each?

 

[osby]

Even a simple one would suffice. It'd be hard to call it Ultimate if the biggest single player content is a glorified Classic Mode.

 

[Just a random scrub]

IMO, nah. It would still be great, but it would feel weird to call it ultimate without even a Melee styled adventure mode. I'd kill for a Subspace-styled mode (because I loved the SSE, even with all it's shortcomings), but even I know that it would be insanely difficult to do with 70+ characters.

 

[UserKev]

No. It doesn't, really. Classic Mode is more than enough. A story mode is literally asking for way too much at this point. At least if repeating what Brawl did. In my personally opinion, SE was only fun the first few times, immediately to stale and tedious.

 

[TheCrimsonSquid]

I know it looks really unlikely, but I can't help but hold out a little hope that we'll be getting a lengthy story mode stuffed with cutscenes like the SSE. Like someone else mentioned, there's always the possibility of outsourcing the cutscenes, which if I'm not mistaken, is what they're already doing with the newcomer trailers.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

I think it would be more Ultimate if it did. I'd honestly would love for Spirits to be like SSE and Adventure Mode be its own thing. That'd be icing on cake for sure.

 

[Matoi]

Nope. Cant be Ultimate without a storymode. It Needs that main single player campaign, or atleast something very similar.

 

[TheTrueBrawler]

A story mode would be nice, but so many things have been added to the game to where it has earned the title as the Ultimate Smash even without a sequel to the best single player mode ever.

 

[SmashBro99]

Just give us something better than Master/Crazy Orders and I'm good.

Adventure mode from Melee updated with new worlds and enemies/bosses would be cool.

But I would love something more similar to SSE, though tbh I just want more of those cool cutscenes. SSE's gameplay wasn't the worst but it def wasn't the best either.

Now if they mixed Adventure/Story mode...so it took you to diff worlds...and had you playing as oh i dunno in the Mushroom Kingdom destroying Goombas and fighting Koopas and Hammer Bros and whatever else only to face Bowser and Bowser Jr at the end and maybe you save Mario, Luigi and Peach and have them join your playable roster or something, I did like that aspect of SSE.

 

[Luigifan18]

In theory a story mode is what would make the game greatly Ultimate, but I'm pretty sure a story mode SSE-like with 80 characters is pretty unfeasible, MAYBE unless if they outsource its development.

Maybe they could make some shorter scenarios with only certain characters in each?

Yeah... I pretty much said that already.

 

[SmashShadow]

I don't think it NEEDS a story mode, but rather it does need valuable single player content and this has been made evident with Smash 4. A story mode would easily fix this but they could go about this many different ways. Personally, I'm hoping for an adventure mode that takes you to different Nintendo locations and through different challenges like in Melee but with the length, co-op, and boss battles of SSE. I just wanna be able to fight Nintendo enemies, with Nintedo characters, in Nintendo locations.

 

[FalconFire93]

If they include it, great, if not, then that’s good too, but I’d love to see one anyway.