Do You Think Smash Ultimate Should Be Ported To The Switches Successor?

[Þe 1 → Way]

Smash Ultimate has been such a wild and fun ride. And as we sit right after the reveal of Sephiroth of all things I figured it seems like a good time to get the ball rolling on this discussion.

We are around 3 and a half years through the switches life time. With the lifespan of most game consoles its likely we have around 3-4 years left before Nintendo moves on to its next piece of hardware. And it is my firm belief that Nintendo should take Smash Ultimate with it. I'll list some reasons why.

•Smash Ultimates Roster is unlikely to be replicated or usurped

The roster we have now is so big and full of icons and veterans it's a literal dream come true. Assuming we get a new game it's unlikely that we move on without losing at least a fourth of the roster. Nintendo going through all the loops necessary to get its 7 third party company's on board again is unlikely at best and nigh impossible at worst.

•Development Time Spent On Rebuilding What Ultimates Already Done Could Be Spent Elsewhere

With around 3 years of development on a new game, a ludicrous amount of it would spent on remaking what Ultimates already done. Its stages, characters, modes, ect. All that time and money spent on redoing what Ultimates already achieved, is it worth it?

•Ultimate Could Still Be Improved
As much as I love Ultimate, it could certainly use some more smoothing out. The Buffer System and Online come to mind immediately as two things that could use some changes. A simple update to Ultimate with new modes, characters, stages, reworked architecture could do wonders for making the game even greater than it really is.

But what do you think? Is it worth it to you for Ultimate to stick around another console generation? Or should we jump ship and continue looking forward to something completely new?

 

[Þe 1 → Way]

Also, this is my first post. If I've unknowingly committed forum war crimes with this post I apologize. Please be gentle.

 

[Internal Frickface]

i don't think you're doing anything wrong here dude lmao

honestly i think the issues with the game like the buffer system and the horrendous delay based online should be fixed during this game's lifespan, but if not, i could suffice for a port as well as some new game modes (i.e. a boss rush mode or break the targets)

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

100% should be a updated port. A new game would be the worst possible option, except maybe a reboot. (though a reboot with major changes, like say a 3D Smash, could be good)

 

[Perkilator]

Definitely. It’s literally the ultimate Smash game, hence why it’s called “Ultimate”.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

Yes! Port Ultimate to all future Nintendo consoles with it's current roster and keep updating it with more content until the end of time Nintendo.

 

[Aerospherology]

I'd hope so. Include the entire Ultimate roster and the 1st party DLC Mii Costumes.

 

[cpm]

yes it should.

 

[abrinx77]

Ideally, port it, absolutely. Smash Ultimate +, something like that. A few new characters, stages, modes, etc. Realistically, I don't know about that. I think it really comes down to two things, licensing, and whether or not Sakurai returns to direct. As for licensing, would all of those licenses have to be re-negotiated? If so that would be a herculean effort, and I feel that the time and effort to get that done would be better spent revamping and reimagining a new game. Also, as stated many times before, Sakurai doesn't seem to like the idea of a port, as it has literally never happened under his watch. Its a real toss up. I believe Sakurai wouldn't allow it, but if he's out of the picture post Ultimate, maybe Nintendo decides to keep milking the cash cow that is Ultimate. Its very hard to say.

 

[Þe 1 → Way]

Ideally, port it, absolutely. Smash Ultimate +, something like that. A few new characters, stages, modes, etc. Realistically, I don't know about that. I think it really comes down to two things, licensing, and whether or not Sakurai returns to direct. As for licensing, would all of those licenses have to be re-negotiated? If so that would be a herculean effort, and I feel that the time and effort to get that done would be better spent revamping and reimagining a new game. Also, as stated many times before, Sakurai doesn't seem to like the idea of a port, as it has literally never happened under his watch. Its a real toss up. I believe Sakurai wouldn't allow it, but if he's out of the picture post Ultimate, maybe Nintendo decides to keep milking the cash cow that is Ultimate. Its very hard to say.

You make some fair points, I must say. though I've got some counterpoints myself.
1. For licencing, while it absolutely would be hell to talk to our 7 third parties to get them on board. I'd imagine its much easier to get someone to do something they've already done before rather than get them on board for an entirely new project.
2. While Sakurai does seem to have an aversion to ports, his mindset this time might actually be in favor of a port. His goal this time is to push Ultimate as far as possible, hes even been quoted as saying "I have no idea how I'm going to top Ultimate." So he might actually want a port this time around as it lets him take ultimate even further.

 

[Lenidem]

I think it's way too early to have an opinion on that. We don't even know what Nintendo's next console will look like.

 

[Quillion]

Honestly, I've gotten fatigued from the Smash series. I don't have the desire to complete all the classic modes like I did with Melee and Brawl. I think it's time we had some kind of evolution for Smash; maybe not the kind we got for Zelda with BotW, but something significant that freshens up the core gameplay. I'm thinking a universal "super move" similar to Cloud's Limit Break, but for all characters.

Porting Smash Ultimate to future consoles would worsen that fatigue.

 

[Super Flygon]

They should definitely just port Ultimate over instead of making it again from scratch, otherwise I feel we would lose too much.

For the time being, I think a definitive edition of Ultimate with all DLC included should be released on Switch after the DLC is released. Then, they would port Ultimate to the next system and have new characters, stages, items, modes, etc. and its own batch of DLC. With saving all that time, I feel like Ultimate on the next system could introduce even more new characters (including DLC). Maybe it could have 30+ new characters (considering how Ultimate on Switch is doing almost 25 new characters).

I think it would be foolish to start from scratch and I don't really understand what people would want from a reboot. The main draw for this series has always been new characters.

 

[Quillion]

They should definitely just port Ultimate over instead of making it again from scratch, otherwise I feel we would lose too much.

For the time being, I think a definitive edition of Ultimate with all DLC included should be released on Switch after the DLC is released. Then, they would port Ultimate to the next system and have new characters, stages, items, modes, etc. and its own batch of DLC. With saving all that time, I feel like Ultimate on the next system could introduce even more new characters (including DLC). Maybe it could have 30+ new characters (considering how Ultimate on Switch is doing almost 25 new characters).

I think it would be foolish to start from scratch and I don't really understand what people would want from a reboot. The main draw for this series has always been new characters.

Why would it have to be a binary choice between starting from scratch and porting? Most of Ultimate's models were recycled from Smash Wii U anyway.

A "port with more" will just make Smash even more stagnant than Pokémon and New Super Mario Bros. It would be like if Assassin's Creed never went the Origins direction or Zelda never went the Breath of the Wild direction, but worse.

On the other hand, they can efficiently recycle the models of Ultimate, then add more mechanics on top of that.

 

[RileyXY1]

Why would it have to be a binary choice between starting from scratch and porting? Most of Ultimate's models were recycled from Smash Wii U anyway.

A "port with more" will just make Smash even more stagnant than Pokémon and New Super Mario Bros. It would be like if Assassin's Creed never went the Origins direction or Zelda never went the Breath of the Wild direction, but worse.

On the other hand, they can efficiently recycle the models of Ultimate, then add more mechanics on top of that.

Yeah. I believe that they should make a completely brand new entry for the series. It may not have every single playable character ever but at least it will still have a sizable roster of fighters to choose from.

 

[LunarDistortion]

Why would it have to be a binary choice between starting from scratch and porting? Most of Ultimate's models were recycled from Smash Wii U anyway.

A "port with more" will just make Smash even more stagnant than Pokémon and New Super Mario Bros. It would be like if Assassin's Creed never went the Origins direction or Zelda never went the Breath of the Wild direction, but worse.

On the other hand, they can efficiently recycle the models of Ultimate, then add more mechanics on top of that.

People still get insanely excited for new character reveals and we're almost at 80 unique fighters. I can't see that hype going away anytime soon. I believe the fatigue people are talking about comes from the Smash speculation cycle practically lasting from 2013 to now as opposed to the 7 year gap between Brawl and Sm4sh. DLC has definitely made the gaps between games feel much less significant. It was still 4 years between Sm4sh and Ultimate, but because we were getting Smash Bros announcements for all but one of those years it doesn't feel like it ever went away at all.

 

[Quillion]

People still get insanely excited for new character reveals and we're almost at 80 unique fighters. I can't see that hype going away anytime soon. I believe the fatigue people are talking about comes from the Smash speculation cycle practically lasting from 2013 to now as opposed to the 7 year gap between Brawl and Sm4sh. DLC has definitely made the gaps between games feel much less significant. It was still 4 years between Sm4sh and Ultimate, but because we were getting Smash Bros announcements for all but one of those years it doesn't feel like it ever went away at all.

The fatigue I'm talking about has nothing to do with speculation cycles. It's the same fatigue people feel with Call of Duty and Pokémon as of late. It just feels like I've been playing the same game again and again since I first played Melee. Yes, I know that things like gravity being lower or moves being a few frames faster make a world of difference in the meta, but I'm not overly concerned with that.

Sure, they've consistently implemented several optional extras like events, custom moves, and spirits, but I'm playing the game for the core gameplay, not the extras. And the core gameplay is just stale to me now.

 

[LunarDistortion]

The fatigue I'm talking about has nothing to do with speculation cycles. It's the same fatigue people feel with Call of Duty and Pokémon as of late. It just feels like I've been playing the same game again and again since I first played Melee. Yes, I know that things like gravity being lower or moves being a few frames faster make a world of difference in the meta, but I'm not overly concerned with that.

Sure, they've consistently implemented several optional extras like events, custom moves, and spirits, but I'm playing the game for the core gameplay, not the extras. And the core gameplay is just stale to me now.

I personally really don't know how they would substantially fix that problem and still keep it a Smash Brothers game. I totally understand your point of view especially if you've been playing for awhile, but I really don't see them fundamentally changing anything about the core gameplay of Smash. Mario Kart has also been practically the same game every system, just a little more refined each time. The main draw to these series' is simplicity. Anyone can play them, which is a lot different from normal fighting games which usually have a pretty high barrier to entry. Any crazy new mechanics like a Powerstone system would disturb that balance. The only way I could personally see them evolving the formula is exactly the way they are going about it with Ultimate. New modes like Stamina, Smashdown, Squad Strike, new characters that play completely different from existing fighters, etc.

 

[Quillion]

I personally really don't know how they would substantially fix that problem and still keep it a Smash Brothers game. I totally understand your point of view especially if you've been playing for awhile, but I really don't see them fundamentally changing anything about the core gameplay of Smash. Mario Kart has also been practically the same game every system, just a little more refined each time. The main draw to these series' is simplicity. Anyone can play them, which is a lot different from normal fighting games which usually have a pretty high barrier to entry. Any crazy new mechanics like a Powerstone system would disturb that balance. The only way I could personally see them evolving the formula is exactly the way they are going about it with Ultimate. New modes like Stamina, Smashdown, Squad Strike, new characters that play completely different from existing fighters, etc.

The main draw to Pokémon is also simplicity, and people have been coming out of the woodwork with ideas on how it can innovate without throwing away its simplicity.

While you mention Mario Kart, that series has accumulated elements to the core gameplay over time that don't change its simplicity:

• Super Mario Kart as a base (of course): items, hopping, drifting, mini-turbos and all.
• Slipstreaming/drafting as introduced in 64 (though made more explicit as of Wii). Plus, it introduced polygonal graphics if that counts for anything...
• Fan-favorite tracks from earlier games as introduced in Super Circuit (albeit standardized into its current form in DS).
• Ability to select your kart independent of the driver as introduced in Double Dash (later refined in DS, and again in 7 in a way).
• Online play as introduced in DS.
• Motorbikes, ramp tricks, and multi-level mini-turbos based on how long you drift, all introduced in Wii.
• Ability to build your kart-rider combination, gliding, going underwater, and a refined coin system that boosts your top speed, all introduced in 7.
• Anti-gravity mode and super-fast 200cc mode, both introduced in 8.

With Smash, I agree that suddenly turning it into a six-button fighter with crazy stick motions while keeping the platform elements would be bad. But I have a few ideas on how they can implement new mechanics into Smash's button+direction input system. Here's one:

We could have a super/EX move system; a proper one that could coexist with Final Smashes. You could build up a meter with up to three charges, and by pressing the Y button (by default; can also be customized) with at least one bar of super meter, you essentially do a powered-up version of a corresponding special that expends the meter. They wouldn't be as cinematically flashy as Final Smashes, but they would be more focused and balanced that way. Heck, for many of them, they could even recycle the animations from the half-baked customs system of Smash 4. Imagine if Mario's neutral-B was the regular Fireball, but his neutral-Y would be the Fire Orb custom, but usably quick.

Just adding that and nothing else would breathe new life into Smash's core gameplay.

 

[Eremurus]

Let Smash Brothers die in peace. No more installments, and no more ports.

 

[Kalashnikov]

Nah, I don't think it should be ported. If they're gonna drop a new smash game, we should get a new smash, not a literal port. The game would get extremely stale.

 

[Quillion]

Let Smash Brothers die in peace. No more installments, and no more ports.

Not gonna happen as long as it prints money.

 

[Eremurus]

Not gonna happen as long as it prints money.

I'm leaning towards a port, myself. They seem to be really into that trend, lately.

 

[Pupp135]

I'm kind of conflicted on this. On the one hand, it'd be nice to keep every character in addition to the stages that we already have, which can realistically only be done with a port. On the other hand, I am curious on which directions SSB can take if a new engine is used for future games, and it seems to be the route that Sakurai is intending to do with SSB7 (I count the For games as two separate ones).

 

[Ben Holt]

Yes, but only if ALL characters are eligible to be playable. Assist Trophies, Spirit Events, Poké Balls, Mii Costumes, Deluxe Mii Costumes, etc.

Ultimate has the best gameplay of the series (shut up, Melee elitists), so I think it should be treated like an evergreen game like Team Fortress 2 or Fortnite.

Hell, I'd even pay the yearly $20 upgrade fees to get giant updates with new fighters, stages, Assist Trophies, items, Poké Balls, Bosses, modes, etc.

 

[Quillion]

I'm kind of conflicted on this. On the one hand, it'd be nice to keep every character in addition to the stages that we already have, which can realistically only be done with a port. On the other hand, I am curious on which directions SSB can take if a new engine is used for future games, and it seems to be the route that Sakurai is intending to do with SSB7 (I count the For games as two separate ones).

Again, there's nothing stopping them from recycling the models, animations, and coding while building up from there. How do you think Ultimate was made in the first place?

 

[Deleted member]

Yes I do think Smash Ultimate should be ported to future Nintendo consoles and if they did, one thing I want added in Smash other than characters I wanted is more details, like say a screen crack when characters get Star KO'd in Pokémon Stadium.

 

[Pupp135]

Again, there's nothing stopping them from recycling the models, animations, and coding while building up from there. How do you think Ultimate was made in the first place?

While Ultimate reused content from Smash For, the developers considered to make everything in SSB6/Ultimate from scratch on the new engine, meaning a ton of cuts (I’m happy that models were reused for Ultimate since we will soon have an 85 character roster).

 

[Quillion]

While Ultimate reused content from Smash For, the developers considered to make everything in SSB6/Ultimate from scratch on the new engine, meaning a ton of cuts (I’m happy that models were reused for Ultimate since we will soon have an 85 character roster).

I don't see any reason why they can't port the models, animations, and coding to a new engine that has room for new mechanics.