What are your thoughts on Spirit Mode?

[Diem]

Just posted this in the general discussion thread, but I figured I'd post it here too since it's interesting:

I had a feeling that the cutscene we saw for World of Light in the Direct was cut down for time, and I found evidence. At the very end of the trailer, we get a little clip of Galleem that clearly takes place during that initial cutscene, but is not present in the beginning of the trailer:

Interestingly, you can see some red lasers being shot out. It makes me think that we're going to get a scene of the characters fighting and being cool in some capacity before they get wrecked like we see.

Definitely looking forward to whatever the uncut cinematic is. Hopefully we get to see some of the characters absent from the trailer.

 

[Lodestar65]

I thought it was super disappointing until WoL came around and showed a full on RPG style mode for it, so now I'm interested. Also, forgive me for this dumb question, but why do people say it's Gacha? It seems to me that the summoning is more like crafting.

 

[soviet prince]

I thought it was super disappointing until WoL came around and showed a full on RPG style mode for it, so now I'm interested. Also, forgive me for this dumb question, but why do people say it's Gacha? It seems to me that the summoning is more like crafting.

because there ignorant and jump to conclusions

 

[Farbeitfromme]

You know, I took a look at the trailer again as well, and I'm getting even more interested. Smash Brothers is primarily about smashing other characters, and as much fun as the platforming elements can be, that's not really Smash's specialty. The Adventure Mode in this game seems to be focused on the Smashing part, and that's not necessarily bad. Plus, it gives the opportunity to pay homage to lots of popular characters, which is another element of Smash's appeal. The addition of a pretty overworld and boss fights is icing on the cake.

I'm not necessarily saying I'll like this better than what I or anyone else would have chosen, but in some ways in is more in line with Smash Bros' core values. While minimal cutscenes and story elements may be a disappointment, I think this could still be really fun. The developers are clearly putting effort into it, so it has to be worthwhile in some way.

As for the aesthetics of the Spirits, I agree that the differences in style are jarring, but there isn't much that can be done about that if they want the roster to be as large as it seems to be. Yes, it would have been nice to have shiny new art for the characters, but doing that would be a huge drain on resources and might sacrifice some of the personality and charm of the characters. I'm trying to imagine what it would be like to have all the pictures "match", but it just doesn't strike me as any better than the alternative when it comes down to it.

Of course, just my opinion based on what we know so far. As I said before, time will tell.

 

[Putuk]

I'm kinda in love with the idea.

Using a characters alt colors and items to make them a different character is something I'd do when playing with friends back when Melee was new. It didn't matter that a character wasn't in the game, we'd simply use our imagination to make them playable.

Seeing something like that become a whole mode is really neat. I can't wait to see what sorta combos they come up with.
Some of the customization options also look fun.

 

[Jexulus]

The lack of information on Primary Spirits has me a bit confused right now. From what I can tell, they don't appear to have their own abilities like Support spirits do. It appears that they only have their typing, stat boosts + a Might value that increase with level-up, and varying support slots. Maybe it's just that the only footage we have so far is either the Direct footage or in Japanese, but I'm concerned large swaths of Primary Spirits will be inconsequential.

 

[EricTheGamerman]

I really need to get my hands on the mode to figure out my opinions on it. I'm of the mindset that single player Smash adventure modes aren't inherently as amazing as I used to think due to my revisiting of Subspace and Melee Adventure recently. They have enjoyable portions, but they also are kind of generic in some places and don't actually have you doing much of anything. That said, my hope was that they would improve those sections instead or removing them entirely, so we'll have to see on that front how it feels.

Having proper cut scenes, boss fights, a world map with collectables and such, and an overall narrative is still super nice. They have the ability to make some of the Event Mode style matches play out really interestingly and uniquely too, so I hope it feels like that in game.

I'm just not super keen on Spirits themselves because they certainly feel like a step back from Trophies. They're less interesting from a visual standpoint, I'm going to miss the descriptions, and just the overall identity shift from trophies to Spirits feels wrong. Especially when they all just play roles as glorified equipment to allow for modifiers, and I'm not such a huge fan of the whole min-maxing thing this seems to be pushing. Again, this aspect could be fun, but I won't know until I have the game in my hands and have gotten some proper experience with it.

I'm about 50% in on the idea so far, but it's an attempt to both give players what they want in something Single Player and as something new, so I'll hope for the best.

 

[Al-kīmiyā']

The kid went outside with his toys, and other kids took them and are battling him.

Or mom or other guardian took away his toys.

Or he lost his toys.

I think it's the first one.

I was thinking about this some more. I think the apparent enemy leader does represent the protagonist's mother, and I thought of a way to better integrate this into the rest of what has been shown of the story.

I think the protagonist's mother has had one or more children, and she is forcing him to share his toys with them. It's a bit of a stretch, but the statues being covered in metal could be an allusion to the bronzing of baby booties.

Tabuu represented a male relative, so I think it makes sense for the story to have another enemy represent a female relative.

 

[verysleepywolf]

Honestly, it looks incredible.

They condensed everything down into one gigantic mode. The concept of trophies, event matches, and equipment are being turned into an mini-rpg with a massive map screen. And bosses!

No side-scrolling levels? I wouldn't mind a few at least. But you can't have everything. No sense in complaining because the mode looks expansive and awesome! I can't wait.

 

[BayonettaBobble]

I don't really get it. I don't understand what spirits do. So I don't have an EXACT thought on it, but the battles seem really interesting.

 

[Lime3037]

It looks better than what I initially thought of it. I like that it tries to be creative.
HOWEVER, it seems a little redundant with World of Light.
Mainly because, what's the objective of regular Spirits Mode? Gotta Catch 'em All?

 

[Ryu Myuutsu]

I personally think spirits mode is a waste of development resources, and has the potential to be another one of Sakurai's failed ideas that flop. Just like how Smash Tour, Custom moves and Brawls Sticker mode was.

This mode looks like he has expanded on brawls sticker mode, just rehashed the idea and renamed everything. I'm surprised most people haven't really mentioned or noticed this.

2 years from now it's going to be a mode that won't even be touched by people who buy this game on launch.

Can't speak for certain until we see it up close and experience it ourselves, so it be wise to reserve your judgement on something you still don't fully grasp.

 

[Alsyght]

Right now, I’m not too excited for Spirits mode. Partly because it’s not a Subspace Emissary and the fact that it looks like a glorified Smash Tour with extra stupid ****.

 

[Idon]

It's basically the equivalent of not getting the action-figure you wanted so you taped a picture of the guy you actually wanted over figures you already have.

 

[fewmets]

It looks better than what I initially thought of it. I like that it tries to be creative.
HOWEVER, it seems a little redundant with World of Light.
Mainly because, what's the objective of regular Spirits Mode? Gotta Catch 'em All?

World of Light is part of Spirit Mode. It's the main story mode of Spirit Mode. All of the mechanics that were shown off under the Spirits section of the Direct apply to WoL and feed into that, acting as a way to improve yourself outside of the core gameplay. There's obviously "catch 'em all" aspects to it, but they also play into the core game. Think Subspace Emissary and stickers. You could get stickers via other things, but they all fed back into SSE as equipment to power up your characters.

They also do have benefits outside of WoL too though, insofar as earning you gold towards buying things in the shop at the very least. And they act as an event mode of sorts, letting you play against all kinds of messed up game mechanics and wonky scenarios.

 

[Gks1]

Its amazing and looks fun, we have very options and a lot of hours with the games thanks to Spirits mode. The new collectable and new game mode, perfect. I don't know how they affect to the game but is sure that we only play with them for fun.

 

[meleebrawler]

I really need to get my hands on the mode to figure out my opinions on it. I'm of the mindset that single player Smash adventure modes aren't inherently as amazing as I used to think due to my revisiting of Subspace and Melee Adventure recently. They have enjoyable portions, but they also are kind of generic in some places and don't actually have you doing much of anything. That said, my hope was that they would improve those sections instead or removing them entirely, so we'll have to see on that front how it feels.

Having proper cut scenes, boss fights, a world map with collectables and such, and an overall narrative is still super nice. They have the ability to make some of the Event Mode style matches play out really interestingly and uniquely too, so I hope it feels like that in game.

I'm just not super keen on Spirits themselves because they certainly feel like a step back from Trophies. They're less interesting from a visual standpoint, I'm going to miss the descriptions, and just the overall identity shift from trophies to Spirits feels wrong. Especially when they all just play roles as glorified equipment to allow for modifiers, and I'm not such a huge fan of the whole min-maxing thing this seems to be pushing. Again, this aspect could be fun, but I won't know until I have the game in my hands and have gotten some proper experience with it.

I'm about 50% in on the idea so far, but it's an attempt to both give players what they want in something Single Player and as something new, so I'll hope for the best.

Spirits have been shown to have room for growth and can evolve into higher-tier versions, so it's not like you have to hunt for the best ones. You can also grind your favorite low-tier into something better.

 

[EricTheGamerman]

Spirits have been shown to have room for growth and can evolve into higher-tier versions, so it's not like you have to hunt for the best ones. You can also grind your favorite low-tier into something better.

Yeah, see... that’s not encouraging to me. If anything that’s less interesting than just hunting for the best ones to me. I’m not such a huge fan of the sitting around in menus optimizing those sorts of things (and from the look of things that’s all it is to upgrade them is glorified menus). I don’t know if Smash is the game that lends itself to that sort of grinding. It could be when I start playing, but I’ll have to see.

Furthermore, the whole so many more cross overs and match ups are possible point with Spirits really rubbed me the wrong way. They seem a little too proud of them in that regard, when I just see that sort of thing as modifiers with some extra creativity for exisiting characters and match ups.

 

[Jexulus]

Spirits have been shown to have room for growth and can evolve into higher-tier versions, so it's not like you have to hunt for the best ones. You can also grind your favorite low-tier into something better.

I think there's only some who evolve like that. My question more pertains to what the point is if it turns out none of the Primary Spirits have special abilities like the Support Spirits do.

 

[Mimic88]

Honestly I find it stupid and gimmicky- just like the stickers and consumables/custom moves in the story modes before it. Though the power-ups were really fun in the giant maze minigame in Wii-U Smash. That was really fun.

All that being said, collecting things is fun- and this provides an opportunity to collect a lot of things.

Melee had it right with the collectable trophies, I think.

I really don't like how there isn't a consistent artstyle for each Spirit. They all seem like ripped assets from their respective games and it comes off as lazy. Would have preferred if the artstyles were unified at least a little bit more, or if they just kept them as trophies.

Now of course my opinion could be changed. Maybe it will be really fun.

 

[Tempest]

Can't speak for certain until we see it up close and experience it ourselves, so it be wise to reserve your judgement on something you still don't fully grasp.

I disagree. I think it's safe to make an assumption based on previous trends, where sakurai develops modes that are fun for the first 2 weeks but then once finished it loses its charm and is a bore. Spirits mode is going to be just that and in 2 years time when the game has aged, it's not going to be touched by most members of the community who purchase the game on launch.

Don't believe me?
-Smash Run
-Smash Tour
-Custom Moves
-Sticker mode
-Equipment in Smash 4

Unless you are the minority who finds these modes and gathering these collectables enjoyable, most will move on.

But hey this is mainly an assumption. I hope I'm proven wrong on launch, but by the way sakurai described and explained the mode in the direct - I wasn't convinced.

 

[meleebrawler]

I disagree. I think it's safe to make an assumption based on previous trends, where sakurai develops modes that are fun for the first 2 weeks but then once finished it loses its charm and is a bore. Spirits mode is going to be just that and in 2 years time when the game has aged, it's not going to be touched by most members of the community who purchase the game on launch.

Don't believe me?
-Smash Run
-Smash Tour
-Custom Moves
-Sticker mode
-Equipment in Smash 4

Unless you are the minority who finds these modes and gathering these collectables enjoyable, most will move on.

But hey this is mainly an assumption. I hope I'm proven wrong on launch, but by the way sakurai described and explained the mode in the direct - I wasn't convinced.

You're describing literally every single-player mode in every fighting game ever. Play through however many times it takes to unlock stuff, then unless you're a high-score chaser in modes that support it, rarely play them again. And you're forgetting most characters have to be unlocked.

 

[Jexulus]

I disagree. I think it's safe to make an assumption based on previous trends, where sakurai develops modes that are fun for the first 2 weeks but then once finished it loses its charm and is a bore. Spirits mode is going to be just that and in 2 years time when the game has aged, it's not going to be touched by most members of the community who purchase the game on launch.

Don't believe me?
-Smash Run
-Smash Tour
-Custom Moves
-Sticker mode
-Equipment in Smash 4

Unless you are the minority who finds these modes and gathering these collectables enjoyable, most will move on.

But hey this is mainly an assumption. I hope I'm proven wrong on launch, but by the way sakurai described and explained the mode in the direct - I wasn't convinced.

I'm not sure this is comparable to Smash Tour of all things. Smash Tour was the kind of game where if you played it once, you've played it a million times, and its biggest hook was too much of a drag to get to and was sullied by the stat boosts.

Equipment and Custom Moves, with very few exceptions, were acquired randomly across all modes of the game and had no set mode where you could reasonably expect to find what you want. They were random drops and not the subject of their own mode.

Even in Brawl, Stickers were deliberately designed to take a back seat to Trophies and be inconsequential to their own purpose; that is, helping the player with stat boosts in exactly Subspace. Even on the highest difficulty Subspace could be beaten without the help of Stickers, and the fact that you both got duplicates for some stickers and *lost* stickers whenever you Game Over'd actively discouraged you from actually using Stickers. They were self-defeating in design and execution.

Smash Run was a console idea executed on a handheld and suffered because of it. It was hamstrung by hardware at the very least, though I can't imagine the stat boosts not making it frustrating if it were on consoles and designed as intended anyway.

As of now, we have no idea how Spirits will turn out, but we can at least see that it falls into none of the above pitfalls the other things did. Too early to judge the mode out of hand.

 

[meleebrawler]

I'm not sure this is comparable to Smash Tour of all things. Smash Tour was the kind of game where if you played it once, you've played it a million times, and its biggest hook was too much of a drag to get to and was sullied by the stat boosts.

Equipment and Custom Moves, with very few exceptions, were acquired randomly across all modes of the game and had no set mode where you could reasonably expect to find what you want. They were random drops and not the subject of their own mode.

Even in Brawl, Stickers were deliberately designed to take a back seat to Trophies and be inconsequential to their own purpose; that is, helping the player with stat boosts in exactly Subspace. Even on the highest difficulty Subspace could be beaten without the help of Stickers, and the fact that you both got duplicates for some stickers and *lost* stickers whenever you Game Over'd actively discouraged you from actually using Stickers. They were self-defeating in design and execution.

Smash Run was a console idea executed on a handheld and suffered because of it. It was hamstrung by hardware at the very least, though I can't imagine the stat boosts not making it frustrating if it were on consoles and designed as intended anyway.

As of now, we have no idea how Spirits will turn out, but we can at least see that it falls into none of the above pitfalls the other things did. Too early to judge the mode out of hand.

Don't you only lose stickers you collected in the stage, and not the ones you had equipped? Those were only lost after de-equipping them.

 

[Jexulus]

Don't you only lose stickers you collected in the stage, and not the ones you had equipped? Those were only lost after de-equipping them.

It's been so long since I've actually messed around with stickers that I'm not clear on the details. All I remember is you lost stickers through losing your stocks. Speaks to how inconsequential stickers are.

 

[Arthur97]

I'm not sure this is comparable to Smash Tour of all things. Smash Tour was the kind of game where if you played it once, you've played it a million times, and its biggest hook was too much of a drag to get to and was sullied by the stat boosts.

Equipment and Custom Moves, with very few exceptions, were acquired randomly across all modes of the game and had no set mode where you could reasonably expect to find what you want. They were random drops and not the subject of their own mode.

Even in Brawl, Stickers were deliberately designed to take a back seat to Trophies and be inconsequential to their own purpose; that is, helping the player with stat boosts in exactly Subspace. Even on the highest difficulty Subspace could be beaten without the help of Stickers, and the fact that you both got duplicates for some stickers and *lost* stickers whenever you Game Over'd actively discouraged you from actually using Stickers. They were self-defeating in design and execution.

Smash Run was a console idea executed on a handheld and suffered because of it. It was hamstrung by hardware at the very least, though I can't imagine the stat boosts not making it frustrating if it were on consoles and designed as intended anyway.

As of now, we have no idea how Spirits will turn out, but we can at least see that it falls into none of the above pitfalls the other things did. Too early to judge the mode out of hand.

The stat boosts were an integral part of Smash Run. To make the mode without them would just make the first five minutes a treasure hunt.

 

[Jexulus]

The stat boosts were an integral part of Smash Run. To make the mode without them would just make the first five minutes a treasure hunt.

The way I worded it was hella dumb, but this is essentially what I was getting at. The main hook of gameplay was stat boosts, which was an issue in Smash Tour too.

 

[Arthur97]

The way I worded it was hella dumb, but this is essentially what I was getting at. The main hook of gameplay was stat boosts, which was an issue in Smash Tour too.

It works a bit better in Run since you actively work for them and it's more involved overall. Do wish you could customize the settings a bit more.

 

[Lime3037]

After watching the Direct again, I'm much more open to the mode than I was previously. If anything, it will certainly keep me occupied, due to the LARGE amount of Spirits Within.

One thing that made me laugh, though. After watching the World of Light trailer again, I found it funny that, of all characters to show getting disintegrated, they picked Pigma Dengar. I mean, I think Pigma's awesome, but it's not exactly a sad thing that he was defeated...

 

[Buzzwole]

I think they either did a poor job explaining it, or its something I'm barely going to use.
World of Light looks great, but I can't see myself using Spirits all that much outside of it.
They seem like a combination of stickers from Brawl and equipment from Smash 4, which were two of my least favorite features in Smash.

They keep trying to push character customization into the games, and its something that I just don't care much about. There are already so many characters to choose from with such wildly different playstyles and abilities. Customizing characters on an individual basis just feels unnecessary.

I'll probably play through World of Light then never touch spirits again unless the whole concept ends up really surprising me.

That's just me though.

 

[TheMagicalKuja]

I was initially only mildly intrigued by Spirit Mode. It seemed disappointing and probably not something I'd care to spend several minutes on in a direct.

Then World of Light happened.

Granted, it was not the *sole* thing that made me hype, even though the memes are funny and the lyrics are cheesy in that KH flavored way.

But Gameexplain (yes, Gameexplain) analyzed in and it seemed that this mode will actually be pretty big and intriguing, with navigation playing a part and giving you the freedom to traverse however you like. *This* is what hyped me on the mode. Like, it might not have platforming but this is probably a huge event mode with multiple things to do to break up the monotony and have something to work towards. It's very cleverly designed.

 

[Smashoperatingbuddy123]

Looking forward to adventure mode

I wonder how many more boss’s there are

I hope they make a mode so you can fight the bosses classic all star style so you don’t have to play through again just it face them again.

 

[Ryu Myuutsu]

I disagree. I think it's safe to make an assumption based on previous trends, where sakurai develops modes that are fun for the first 2 weeks but then once finished it loses its charm and is a bore. Spirits mode is going to be just that and in 2 years time when the game has aged, it's not going to be touched by most members of the community who purchase the game on launch.

Don't believe me?
-Smash Run
-Smash Tour
-Custom Moves
-Sticker mode
-Equipment in Smash 4

Unless you are the minority who finds these modes and gathering these collectables enjoyable, most will move on.

But hey this is mainly an assumption. I hope I'm proven wrong on launch, but by the way sakurai described and explained the mode in the direct - I wasn't convinced.

I see it more comparable to Adventure Mode in Melee and Heroes vs Heralds in UMvC 3 which served as fun distractions from the main game. Granted, story modes by their nature tend to grant less replayability and the competitive side of the community may not touch anything that isn't 1v1, legal stages and gameplay with items but there are a lot of us there who still care for a decent single player experience in a fighting game to play once in a while on our own. And I'm not sure if calling me a part of the minority is accurate, when sites like this comprise about 5% of the total consumer base.

 

[Jexulus]

I have made a powerful mistake. I was checking out the Smash wiki to see what Spirits have been revealed, and I found this:

This mode rolls hella deep with the references. My mind started to race with the possibilities and my hype kicked into overdrive way earlier than I wanted to.

Help.

 

[lucasla]

I still see the 2d spirits as a thing that could be replaced by skill icons. I'm not entirely sold on them as spirits of real characters... It looks to me like glorified JPGs/PNGs I can find in google search for images.
If a "spirit" of a character just gives you fire resistance, why it's not just an icon indicating "fire resistance" in the slot instead of a character? It doesnt makes much sense to me, cause the 2d drawning of the character seems very irrelevant to me. But maybe that will change when I play the game.

 

[Putuk]

I have made a powerful mistake. I was checking out the Smash wiki to see what Spirits have been revealed, and I found this:

View attachment 176731

This mode rolls hella deep with the references. My mind started to race with the possibilities and my hype kicked into overdrive way earlier than I wanted to.

Help.

This one is definitly upgradeable to Model ZX.

 

[Bolshoi]

All in all, I like it. They made Event Mode more robust by basing them off the Spirit you'll be collecting, and, unlike Trophies that you'll only look at once, they made the Spirits actually do stuff. Also pretty curious to see how fleshed out World of Light is. There's so much they haven't shown us of WoL that almost anything could be hidden in there. Then again, they could have shown the bulk of it right off the bat, and it's not that expansive.

 

[Jexulus]

Oh, thank goodness:

Primary Spirits do indeed have abilities, but not all of them, as seen with Skull Man.

I was very worried because none of the pre-release material (EDIT: material in English) before Thursday's blog had any evidence that Primary Spirits came with abilities, and that it was just Support spirits. Now I have no hang-ups about Spirit Mode. I'm so beyond ready for this.

 

[Arthur97]

I do hope it's not packed with third party bosses. The menu icon is not reassuring.

 

[meleebrawler]

I do hope it's not packed with third party bosses. The menu icon is not reassuring.

Don't really see the issue with who owns the rights to the bosses, as long as they are good. So far Rathalos is the only odd one out in representing a series without a playable rep and third party, but you could do a lot worse than him since Monster Hunter was big on Nintendo, at least for a while.