Why Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Should Be Re-Released

Disclaimer: This piece is purely the opinion of its author, and does not reflect the position of Smashboards or its affiliates.

Last week, I talked about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as the last game in the series. For those who haven't read yet, read that article to preface this one first. For those who have read it, strap in and check out part two.

I have one answer: Re-release Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but keep expanding upon its ridiculous amount of content. The only problem in bringing all the content back and adding new content is the third-party content, but beyond those negotiations, I believe the rest of this should be doable.

1. Updated ports and DLC.

Legal problems are possible, but beyond that, the game could easily keep expanding through Downloadable Content. For fans currently satisfied by the new Super Smash Bros. content, this could be the ticket in. Nintendo could make a killing through doing this as well. Imagine, say, five characters and 10 stages charged at 30 U.S. Dollars / 25.6 Euro / 3350 Yen / Google for your country of choice.

Like every company, Nintendo doesn’t do DLC perfectly, but they’ve yet to disappoint in many cases. The Downloadable Content for Fire Emblem Warriors, Pokken Tournament, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, and even the most recent Octo Expansion for Splatoon 2 gave a very good run for its money.

The DLC wouldn’t have to be restricted to just new multiplayer content either; it could entail new single player content or new modes such as a physics mode replicating the other games. There’s a lot of possibilities, and they all look exciting.

2. This model has been proven to work with other games and sports.

World of Warcraft subsists on expansions with no sequel in sight. League of Legends, Dota 2, Overwatch, and even StarCraft releases are typically given some room to breathe. Every single Pokémon can be obtained in the Pokémon games!

Sports don’t really have sequels. Ruleset changes, sure, but tennis still plays like tennis, soccer still plays like soccer, and you don’t see anyone asking for “Football 2.” Nintendo could push this with Ultimate if there were a team dedicated to regularly updating it with new content.

3. Eventually, updates will have to end, and that’s okay.

They’ll eventually have to stop poking around with the game’s development. There’s always the dream of every single character being viable, but with 60+ characters, it’s a pipe dream at best. Even Project M had to stop updates eventually -The best way I can see these updates working is in big waves.

4. Nintendo has already proved capable of this model.

Splatoon and Splatoon 2 both updated with free content for over a year. Splatoon 2’s updates are on the horizon to end this December, which makes the lifespan of the game from launch to content complete a year and a half already. If Splatoon can succeed under this business model, why can’t Smash?

5. It’s the best compromise.

Which would you rather get? A Smash game that ends up abandoned in updates after a year and then a new one for the new console cycle, or a Smash game that flourishes as long as possible until the developers have an idea on how to reboot it (if ever)? Super Smash Bros. Ultimate may be the golden ticket to Nintendo really breaking into esports, as well as attempting to create their own game stylized like other regularly-updated titles, such as World of Warcraft, League of Legends, and Dota 2.

This will (probably) be the last part in this article series.

Author's Notes: What are your thoughts? Do you agree? Would you be okay if Super Smash Bros. Ultimate just continued adding on content forever? Let us know in the comments below!

 

I had exactly the same idea. I just can't see this being topped and if to continue this series I feel is the best to do it just keep releasing it for every future console with seasons like characters, stages, music, etc.

Or do a new crossover series say like some RPG or something as a spiritual successor to Smash.

 

I had exactly the same idea. I just can't see this being topped and if to continue this series I feel is the best to do it just keep releasing it for every future console with seasons like characters, stages, music, etc.

Or do a new crossover series say like some RPG or something as a spiritual successor to Smash.

I specifically think that changing small things like Mario's B down, de-cloning Daisy, deciding whether to make Charizard Squirtle and Ivysuar separate characters in the next game, adding a few new 3rd party characters, and changing the event matches and adventure mode would be fine. But the essentials of the game have gotten to the point where we've reached the most balanced game since the Nintendo 64 version. In all future versions of the game, all we need are minor tweaks to character's moves, extra Mii fighter classes, different stages, more or different music, a change in the items, better menu layouts, and possibly a few new 3rd party faces and a couple 1st party ARMS characters. Granted the roster should never reach above 100 characters in a 10x10 grid, and the only characters that should disappear from the roster in the next game should be Cloud, Corrin, and Bayonetta, and perhaps one of the two Belmonts being replaced by a different member of the Belmont clan to promote a Castlevania game. Merged character slots can now become a thing though.
Honestly, I hope that for the best, all later Smash Games are based on this game's programming, just with better visuals and possibly after seeing this many characters in a Smash game, it's easier to find out which characters make Smashers uncomfortable (Bayonetta, and Corrin) And perhaps in the future, Sakurai may make a multiplatform PC/Switch/3DS/WiiU fighting game like Brawlout with Goku as a guest character.

As for All Star mode, I think All Star mode has gotten so many characters that they'd have to combine it with the melee version of adventure mode and allow save points after each boss. (All Star mode should have bosses, if you truly want it to be an All Star mode)

Getting a Hollywood character in is far more complicated for reasons that should be obvious than upgrading a character they already have a license to playable status.

Also people need to stop treating ATs like they are an immovable rock that Sakurai will never change. Little Mac disproves this as does Dark Samus and Isabelle when she gets in.That’s Sakurai’s own word and I’ll paraphrase, “each game is made as if it is the last”. Just because K. Rool and Ridley weren’t in Smash 4 doesn’t mean Sakurai didn’t believe he did his best for that game. He could have walked away and considered Smash 4 his definitive game and no one would have blamed him. He came back because he believe he could do better with Ultimate and it shows with the product we’re getting. Along with DLC likely being a thing and the likelihood of the ballot affecting the game onto DLC and you’d be hard press to believe that Sakurai is deliberately holding characters back to hype the next game. Ultimate is being made as if it is the last game in the series.

How is a new game supposed to top Ultimate? People can argue for a reboot but right now you’ll be hard press to hype a straight sequel more than the Ultimate.

Daisy was considered for Smash4 but she was scrapped simply for Vegetables having nothing to do with Daisy, and a lack of ideas to make her an individual character from Peach, in the next game, Daisy will no longer be an echo, and will likely be as different as Wolf and Falco. Speaking of Wolf, they did a datamine and Wolf was originally intended to be DLC as his name appears on an unused list.
However, we should also know that some Assist Trophies were intended to be playable before they became Assist trophies, that way they could work on a character's moveset and model to prepare them for the next game. Prehaps we will get Krystal as playable, and perhaps we will instead get Miu and Faye playable instead, with Miu being an Echo of Falco or Wolf, and Faye being an Echo of Fox. Sakurai doesn't always like to play it safe, though he did this time in a bold move he has decided to fill as many popular requests that have withstood the test of time since people started requesting characters for Brawl in the forums.
Krystal was intended to be playable this time around. Prehaps we'll see a Sauria Adventures game released in the future starring Krystal as her own franchise like Donkey Kong had.