Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Development staff
Developer(s)	Bandai Namco Studios Sora Ltd.
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Masahiro Sakurai
Video game overview
Series	Super Smash Bros.
Release date(s)	INT 7 December 2018
Genre(s)	Fighting
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	E10+
Platform(s)	Nintendo Switch
Game order
Preceded by	Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズ SPECIAL, Dai rantō Sumasshu Burazāzu Supesharu^?) is the fifth installment in the Super Smash Bros. fighting series. It is a 3D on a 2D plane fighting game for the Nintendo Switch developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo. It was released on 7 December 2018.

Sonic the Hedgehog, along with every other character from the previous installments, returned along with a batch of new characters. This game also supports amiibo, including the Sonic amiibo.

Development

The first teaser for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate appeared during a Nintendo Direct on 8 March 2018. Back then, it was only known by the title Super Smash Bros.. It was formally announced during Nintendo's Nintendo Direct presentation at E3 2018.

Responsible for the development of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate are Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd., who were behind the development of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, with Masahiro Sakurai serving as the director. The intention of Sakurai's for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was to include every possible character from previous Super Smash Bros. games, which he knew would be both a complex problem for both development and licensing. He also intended to speed up the game by adjusting the characters' abilities. Sakurai knew that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was both a core title for Nintendo, and that it has a dedicated playerbase that he did not want to disappoint, and believed that he needed to complete these goals to satisfy both groups.

Inclusion of Sonic the Hedgehog

On 12 June 2018, it was announced on the E3 Nintendo Direct that every single playable character from the past four games would return. Among them is Sonic the Hedgehog, marking his third appearance as a fighter in the series. Like in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Sonic must first be unlocked in order to play as him. There are three methods to unlock Sonic:

• Play VS. matches, Mob Smash, Spirit Board or World of Light. He is the 17th character to be unlocked in order.
• Clear Classic Mode as Mario.
• Have Sonic join the player's party in World of Light.

In addition to Sonic's inclusion as a fighter, Green Hill Zone from Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Windy Hill Zone from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U make a return. Shadow the Hedgehog returns as an Assist Trophy, slowing players down using Chaos Control with the green Chaos Emerald. Knuckles the Echidna also makes an appearance as an Assist Trophy and will attack opponents by punching them, using the Homing Attack, or dig underground and use a powerful uppercut when summoned. Akira Yuki also appears as an Assist Trophy retaining his polygonal form from Virtua Fighter.

Classic Mode

Classic Mode in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has each fighter go through their own predetermined set of opponents and stages, sometimes with special rules or conditions put in place. Sonic's route is named "At the Speed of Sound", and all of his opponents are a mix between the game's fastest characters and references to other Sonic games in chronological order.

Round	Opponent(s)	Stage	Music	References
1	Fox	Green Hill Zone	"Green Hill Zone"	This round references the classic Sonic titles on the Sega Mega Drive. Fox is a representation of Tails.
2	Captain Falcon	Figure-8 Circuit	"Super Sonic Racing"	This round references the many racing games in the Sonic franchise.
3	Giant Metal Sonic	Fourside (Ω form)	"Open Your Heart"	This round references the final battle against Metal Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog CD.
4	Kirby (x3)	Halberd	"Sonic Heroes"	This round references Sonic Heroes. Each Kirby is colored after the three character types (blue for Speed Type, yellow for Fly Type, and red for Power Type). The round takes place on Halberd, which is a reference to Egg Fleet and Final Fortress, the last two stages of Sonic Heroes.
5	Sheik	Mushroomy Kingdom	"Seven Rings In Hand"	This round is in reference to Sonic and the Secret Rings, as the Mushroomy Kingdom is similar in appearance to some of the stages from the game.
6	Giant Incineroar	Windy Hill Zone	"Wonder World"	This round is a reference to Sonic Lost World. Giant Incineroar represents the final battle against Zavok in the game.
Bonus
Final	Master Hand (Master Hand and Crazy Hand on Intensity 7.0 or higher)	Final Destination	"Master Hand" ("Master Hand / Crazy Hand" on Intensity 7.0 or higher)	N/A

The player will unlock the Sonic Fighter Spirit after beating Classic Mode with Sonic.

Sonic the Hedgehog Spirits

Various other Sonic characters also make an appearance in the form of Spirits. Spirits are power up characters that can give fighters a boost in battle. They have replaced Trophies in this installment of the Super Smash Bros. series. They are either a Primary Spirit or a Support Spirit, can be one of five types, (Grab, Shield, Attack, Balanced or Neutral) and can come in one of four classes. In order from weakest to strongest class: Novice (★), Advanced (★★), Ace (★★★), and Legend (★★★★). All currently known Sonic Spirits include:

Primary Spirits

Image	Name	Type	Class	Support slots	Ability	Fighter(s)	Condition(s)	Stage	Rules	Summonable
	Dr. Eggman	Grab	Legend	3	Increased Electric Attack	Roy Metal Sonic	Bob-bombs will rain from the sky after a little while The enemy's shooting items have increased power Items will be pulled toward the enemy	Green Hill Zone	Hazard: Bob-omb Festival	Yes
	Super Sonic	Grab	Legend	3	Increased Speed	Gold Sonic	The enemy is golden The enemy will occasionally instantly gain a Final Smash	Windy Hill Zone	Sudden Final Smash	No
	Metal Sonic	Shield	Advanced	1	Increased Speed	Metal Sonic	Timed Stamina battle The enemy is metal The enemy starts the battle with a Rocket Belt	Windy Hill Zone	None	No
	Knuckles	Grab	Ace	2	Increased Fist Attack	None (unlocked by combining the cores of Gordo, Muddy Mole and a Grab type)				Yes
	Chaotix	Grab	Novice	3	None	Sonic, Pichu, and King K. Rool	The enemy occasionally turns invisible	Windy Hill Zone	None	No
	Big the Cat	Neutral	Novice	1	Increased Weight	Incineroar	The floor is sleep inducing The enemy is giant	Windy Hill Zone	None	No
	Gamma	Grab	Novice	1	None	R.O.B.	Stamina Battle The enemy's shooting items have increased power The enemy will start the battle with a Ray Gun	Frigate Orpheon	None	No
	Chaos	Grab	Advanced	1	Increased Water Attack	Metal Inkling	The enemy is giant after the enemy's at high damage The enemy is metal	Fourside (Battlefield form)	None	No
	Chao	Shield	Novice	2	Can Be Enhanced at Lv.99	Squirtle (x4)	The enemy becomes more powerful after eating The enemy is easily distracted by items	Windy Hill Zone	None	Yes
	Hero Chao	Shield	Ace	2	Fast Final Smash Meter	None (enhanced Chao spirit)				No
	Shadow the Hedgehog	Attack	Ace	2	Can Be Enhanced at Lv.99	Sonic	The enemy's dash attacks have increased power Hostile assist trophies will appear The enemy is easily distracted by items	New Pork City (Battlefield form)	Assist Trophy Enemies: Shadow Item: Timer	No
	Super Shadow	Attack	Legend	2	Increased Undamaged Attack & speed	None (enhanced Shadow the Hedgehog spirit)				No
	Omega	Grab	Novice	1	None	R.O.B.	Stamina Battle The enemy starts the battle with a drill The enemy is giant	Green Hill Zone (Battlefield form)	None	No
	Infinite	Attack	Advanced	2	None	Metal Sonic	The enemy is metal Controls are occasionally reversed	Big Blue	Hazard: Screen Flip	No

Support Spirits

Image	Name	Type	Class	Ability	Fighter(s)	Condition(s)	Stage	Rules
	Tails	Neutral	Ace	Increased Up Special	Fox	Gravity is reduced Hostile assist trophies will appear The enemy starts the battle with an enhanced Ray Gun	Windy Hill Zone	Hazard: Low Gravity Assist Trophy Enemies: Knuckles Item: Ray Gun
	Amy	Attack	Ace	Increased Shield Damage	Inkling	The enemy starts with a Hammer The enemy can swing the Hammer for a long time The enemy has increased move speed	Windy Hill Zone	Item: Hammer
	Rouge the Bat	Grab	Advanced	Increased Air Attack	Fox	The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power The enemy's melee blows will heal them when they hit The enemy has increased jump power	Fourside	None
	Cream & Cheese	Grab	Advanced	Increased Jump Height	Isabelle	Gravity is reduced The enemy takes less damage while in the air	Green Hill Zone	None
	Blaze the Cat	Shield	Advanced	Mouthful of Curry	Robin	The floor is lava. The enemy's explosion and fire attacks have increased power. The enemy starts the battle with a Fire Flower.	Green Hill Zone (Battlefield form)	Hazard: Lava Floor
	Jet the Hawk	Grab	Advanced	Increased Move Speed	None (unlocked by combining the cores of Pidgey and Akari Hayami)
	Silver the Hedgehog	Attack	Advanced	Slightly increases the power of grabbing and throwing attacks.	Sonic	The enemy starts with a Black Hole The enemy is easily distracted by items	Green Hill Zone	Item Battle
File:Sonic.the.Hedgehog.full.1392010.jpg	Sonic the Werehog	Neutral	Advanced	Increased Physical Attack	Wolf	The stage is covered in fog The enemy's physical attacks have increased power The enemy has increased attack power	Luigi's Mansion	Decreased Move Speed Increased Attack Power Hazard: Fog

Fighter Spirit

Image 1	Image 2	Name
		Sonic the Hedgehog

Other Spirits

Some Spirits from other series represented in the game utilize Sonic as their Spirit fighter. They are as follows:

Primary Spirits

Image	Name	Series	Type	Class	Support slots	Ability	Fighter(s)	Condition(s)	Stage	Rules	Summonable
File:Rayman.png	Rayman	Rayman	Neutral	Ace	3	Increased Jump	Sonic	The enemy's physical attacks have increased power Hostile Assist Trophies will appear Stamina Battle	The Great Cave Offensive	Assist Trophy Enemies: Sukapon	No

Support Spirits

Image	Name	Series	Type	Class	Ability	Fighter(s)	Condition(s)	Stage	Rules
File:Nico Fire.png	Nico Fire	Slot Car Rivals	Attack	Novice	Impact Run	Ness, Sonic and Fox	All fighters move faster and can't stop quickly	Big Blue	None
File:Able Sisters.png	Able Sisters (Labelle, Mabel, Sable)	Animal Crossing	Neutral	Ace	Increased Shield Durability	Sonic	The enemy starts the battle with a Drill	Town and City	None

Other notable Spirits include:

Primary Spirits

Image	Name	Series	Type	Class	Support slots	Ability	Fighter(s)	Condition(s)	Stage	Rules	Summonable
	Akira	Virtua Fighter	Attack	Legend	3	Increased Fist Attack	Ryu	The enemy's smash attacks have increased power The enemy's physical attacks have increased power Stamina Battle	Coliseum (Ω form)	Assist Trophy Enemies: Akira Hazard: High Gravity	No

World of Light

In the Adventure Mode "World of Light", Sonic and other fighters prepare to battle against a godlike being named Galeem and his army of Master Hands. Galeem unleashes a devastating array of bright yellow lasers which instantly captures anything they come into contact with. The attack puts the fighters into panic, as they all try to either fight back or run away. Sonic uses his speed to outrun the lasers and attempts to save Pikachu in the process. However, Pikachu is captured with Sonic being captured shortly after. Galeem manages to capture all of the fighters aside from Kirby, who escapes on his Warp Star. After this, Galeem envelops the entire galaxy in a burst of light. Kirby eventually crash-lands in the eponymous World of Light and sets out to free the captured fighters who are strewn throughout the world.

Eventually, the freed fighters manage destroy the shield protecting Galeem and beat him in a battle. With the being's power weakened, however, the world is soon taken over by its arch-nemesis, Dharkon, who envelops the world in darkness, and takes control of the remaining fighters and Spirits. After Dharkon's defeat Galeem returns to wage war. Soon, the fighters manage to defeat both Galeen and Dharkon once and for all.

Gameplay

The Adventure Mode has a world map that the character the player has chosen moves around in when not in battle. The player is trying to get to the center of the map, where Galeem is. Throughout the Adventure Mode, the player will find several obstacles.

The most common blockade found are Spirits. To progress, the player will need to fight them. The Spirits take the form of fighters that share common traits with them. After fighting them, the player will free the Spirit and they will be able to use it.

Another common blockade are possessed fighters. Every fighter that was devoured by light was possessed and turned evil. These possessed fighters are usually much more powerful than Spirits. After beating a possessed fighter, the player will be able to play as that fighter. Also, if the player beats a fighter that they have not unlocked in regular gameplay, they will also unlock it there as well. Sonic himself can be found in the Dark Realm, contained in the Legend of Zelda-themed Sacred Land area.

Music

Following the tradition of earlier Super Smash Bros, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has a number of music tracks from the Sonic series included in it. There are twenty in total, which can be played on both Green Hill Zone and Windy Hill Zone. By using the "My Music" feature, the player can adjust how often they want each available song to play on each stage. Most of the songs are available from the start, while the rest must be unlocked:

Name	Game of origin	Unlocking requirement
"Green Hill Zone"	Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)	Available from the beginning
"Scrap Brain Zone"	Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)	Available from the beginning
"Emerald Hill Zone"	Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)	Available from the beginning
"Angel Island Zone"	Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Super Smash Bros. Brawl remix composed by Jun Senoue)	Available from the beginning
"Sonic Boom"	Sonic the Hedgehog CD
"Super Sonic Racing"	Sonic R
"Open Your Heart"	Sonic Adventure	Available from the beginning
"Escape from the City"	Sonic Adventure 2	Available from the beginning
"Live and Learn"	Sonic Adventure 2	Available from the beginning
"Sonic Heroes"	Sonic Heroes	Available from the beginning
"His World" (instrumental)	Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)	Available from the beginning
"Seven Rings In Hand"	Sonic and the Secret Rings	Available from the beginning
"Knight of the Wind"	Sonic and the Black Knight	Available from the beginning
"Reach for the Stars"	Sonic Colors	Available from the beginning
"Rooftop Run"	Sonic Generations	Available from the beginning
"Wonder World"	Sonic Lost World	Available from the beginning
"Windy Hill - Zone 1"	Sonic Lost World	Available from the beginning
"Lights, Camera, Action!"	Sonic Mania	Available from the beginning
"Fist Bump"	Sonic Forces	Available from the beginning
"Sunset Heights"	Sonic Forces

Trivia

Sonic's artwork for the #SmashBrosCountdown

• Part of the #SmashBrosCountdown collaboration on Twitter, with six days left before the game's release the official Japanese Sega Twitter posted a Tweet representing Sonic's inclusion in the game.
• This is the first Super Smash Bros. game since the original Super Smash Bros. to not be announced alongside new hardware.
  • Moreover, this is the first time since Super Smash Bros. Melee that a Super Smash Bros. game has not been announced years in advance.
• This is the first Super Smash Bros. game to not feature the involvement of Satoru Iwata as he passed away in July 2015.
• The release date of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate falls one day after the late Satoru Iwata's birthday, 6 December, which was also the release date of Super Smash Bros. Wii U in Japan.
• This is the first Super Smash Bros. game to be released in the same year it was announced.
• This is the first Super Smash Bros. game since the original Super Smash Bros. to feature 2D illustrations on the box art.
• This is the first Super Smash Bros. game since Super Smash Bros. Melee, the second installment of the series, where no veteran characters were cut.
• This is the first Super Smash Bros. game to have none of its newcomers as starter characters.
• This is the first Super Smash Bros. game to have no unlockable stages.
• This is the first Super Smash Bros. game where the English voice actor for the Announcer has not been changed from the previous game.
  • Moreover, this is the first Super Smash Bros. game where Xander Mobus voices a playable character in the game.
• This is the first Super Smash Bros. game to not feature Trophies since the original Super Smash Bros.
• This is the first Super Smash Bros. game to have a vocal theme song in both English and Japanese.
• This is the first Super Smash Bros. game to allow Master Hand to be legitimately playable, via a brief gameplay sequence near the end of World of Light.
• With Sonic's inclusion in this game, he is the only third-party character to appear in three Super Smash Bros. titles.
• Sonic and Knuckles were both featured on the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate blog on 2 July 2018.
• Sonic's default head icon in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate bears a striking resemblance to several logos and icons in the Sonic series, namely the logo for Sonic Team.
• So far, Sonic is the only third party character with more than one stage representing his series.
• Unlike other installments in the Super Smash Bros. series, Sonic actually takes a bit of damage if he falls in any body of water, which is a nod to his inability to swim.
• This is the first Super Smash Bros. game in which two characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog series appear as Assist Trophies.
• Knuckles will not show up as an Assist Trophy when Green Hill Zone is chosen as a stage. This is likely due to the fact that he is a background character in the stage as well.
• This is the first Super Smash Bros. title in which there are three playable characters that are representatives from Sega: Sonic, Bayonetta and Joker.
  • Rodin from the Bayonetta series and Akira from the Virtua Fighter series also make appearances as Assist Trophies.
• One of Incineroar's alternate costumes resembles Big the Cat.
• The Spirit cores used to unlock the Sonic the Hedgehog series Spirits all represent the likeness of the characters they summon:
  • The Knuckles Spirit requires the cores of Gordo and Muddy Mole; Gordo represents Knuckles' spiked gloves and Muddy Mole represents Knuckles' digging ability.
  • The Jet the Hawk Spirit requires the cores of Pidgey and Akari Hayami; Pidgey is an allusion to Jet being a type of bird and Akari represents Jet's proficiency in riding Extreme Gear.
  • The Sonic the Werehog Spirit requires the cores of Togedemaru and Werewolf. Werewolf is obviously an allusion to how the Werehog was a more beastly form that Sonic turned into during the nighttime. Togedemaru, while less immediately obvious, is considered an "Electric Hedgehog" referencing Sonic's base form and species.
• Jun Senoue was requested by Nintendo to pick a song to arrange for the game. As he was allowed to pick any song he wanted, he picked a Mega Man track, specifically a medley of music from Mega Man in the style of a typical Sonic song. He was inspired to do so after seeing graphic novels from Sonic & Mega Man: Worlds Collide and Worlds Unite, specifically Sonic the Hedgehog/Mega Man: Worlds Collide: The Complete Epic and Sonic the Hedgehog/Mega Man: Worlds Unite Vol. 1: Deadly Fusion.

Videos

Sonic – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

External links

• Official website

Sonic the Hedgehog spin-off games

Sega Master System	Sonic Spinball (1994) · Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (1994)
Sega Mega Drive	Sonic Eraser (1991) · Sonic Spinball (1993) · Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (1993) · Wacky Worlds Creativity Studio (1994) · Knuckles' Chaotix (1995, 32X) · Sonic 3D Blast (1996)
Sega Saturn	Sonic 3D Blast (1996) · Sonic R (1997)
Sega All-Stars	Sega Superstars (2004, PS2) · Sega Superstars Tennis (2008, multi-platform) · Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (2010, multi-platform) · Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (2012, multi-platform)
Sonic Riders	Sonic Riders (2006, multi-platform) · Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (2008, multi-platform) · Sonic Free Riders (2010, Xbox 360)
Sonic Storybook Series	Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007, Wii) · Sonic and the Black Knight (2009, Wii)
Mario & Sonic	Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (2007, multi-platform) · Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (2009, multi-platform) · Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (2011, Wii) · Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (2012, 3DS) · Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (2013, Wii U) · Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (2016, multi-platform) · Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (2019, Switch)
Super Smash Bros.	Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008, Wii) · Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (2014, 3DS) · Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (2014, Wii U) · Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018, Switch)
Sonic Boom	Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (2014, Wii U) · Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (2014, 3DS) · Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom (2015, mobile) · Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice (2016, 3DS)
Arcade and redemption machines	Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car (1991) · UFO SegaSonic (1992) · Sonic the Hedgehog (1993) · SegaSonic Popcorn Shop (1993) · SegaSonic Cosmo Fighter (1993) · SegaSonic the Hedgehog (1993) · Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1993) · Sonic the Hedgehog (1993) · Air Circus (1994) · Curling Holiday (1994) · Sonic's Space Tours (1994/1999) · Sonic the Fighters (1996) · Sonic the Hedgehog (1997) · Sonic & Tails Spinner (2002) · CR Sonic (2003) · Sonic Spinner (2007) · Sonic Live! (2008) · Sonic Sports Basketball (2010) · Sonic Sports Air Hockey (2010) · Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Arcade (2011) · Sonic Athletics (2013) · Sonic Ghost Shooting (2013) · Sonic Brain Ranking (2013) · Sonic Dash Extreme (2015) · Sonic Blast Ball (2015) · Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Arcade Edition (2016) · Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Arcade Edition (2020)
Other	Puzzle Construction (1991, TeraDrive) · Sonic the Hedgehog's Gameworld (1994, Pico) · Tails and the Music Maker (1994, Pico) · Sonic's Schoolhouse (1996, PC) · Sonic Shuffle (2000, Dreamcast) · Shadow the Hedgehog (2005, multi-platform) · Sega Splash! Golf (2008, PC) · Sonic the Hedgehog (2008, Didj) · Team Sonic Racing (2019, multi-platform) · Sega Streaming Theater Sonic Edition (2021, PC) · Sonic Speed Simulator (2022, multi-platform) · The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog (2023, PC)
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Sonic the Hedgehog handheld games

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