Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズ SPECIAL), tentatively titled Super Smash Bros. is an upcoming fighting game for the Nintendo Switch, to be released worldwide on December 7, 2018. A surprise announcement at the end of the March 8th, 2018 Nintendo Direct, it will be the fifth installment in the Super Smash Bros. series. The game is scheduled to be released in 2018, a little more than four years after its predecessors, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. It features the return of every character that has ever been playable in the series, including fighters cut in subsequent installments such as Pichu, Young Link, the Ice Climbers and Snake. It also features Ridley as a playable character for the first time in the series' history, following years of fan requests dating back to Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Samus and Zero Suit Samus both return as playable characters, still resembling their appearances in Metroid: Other M, albeit with modifications. Samus's Charge Shot can now be charged and cancelled in midair, while Zero Suit Samus's Final Smash, Gunship, now features Samus standing atop her ship in her Power Suit, firing the Zero Laser.

The Metroid and Mother Brain Assist Trophies will return, as will the Frigate Orpheon stage from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. However, Dark Samus was not present during the Assist Trophy reveal, and Samus's alternate costume based on her has been removed.

A brand new metal remix of Brinstar Depths, arranged by Yasushi Asada, was one of three tracks revealed on the game's website on June 12, 2018. Whether it replaces the previous Melee version is unknown.

All amiibo released for the fighters with the previous game will be compatible with Ultimate as well. Additionally, new fighters (including Ridley) will receive amiibo, with Ridley's coming on the same day as the game's release.

Characters
Bolded characters are newcomers. The game will feature fewer newcomers than its predecessors, due to the inclusion of all 65 veteran fighters in the history of the series.


 * Mario (Super Mario Bros.)
 * Bowser (Super Mario Bros.)
 * Luigi (Super Mario Bros.)
 * Peach (Super Mario Bros.)
 * Rosalina & Luma (Super Mario Bros.)
 * Bowser Jr. (Super Mario Bros.)
 * Dr. Mario (Super Mario Bros.)
 * Daisy (Super Mario Bros., debuting as an echo fighter after acting as an alternate skin for Peach)
 * Link (The Legend of Zelda)
 * Zelda (The Legend of Zelda)
 * Sheik (The Legend of Zelda)
 * Ganondorf (The Legend of Zelda)
 * Toon Link (The Legend of Zelda)
 * Young Link (The Legend of Zelda, returning after being cut from Super Smash Bros. Melee)
 * Samus (Metroid)
 * Zero Suit Samus (Metroid)
 * Ridley (Metroid)
 * Kirby (Kirby)
 * King Dedede (Kirby)
 * Meta Knight (Kirby)
 * Fox (Star Fox)
 * Falco (Star Fox)
 * Wolf (Star Fox, returning after being cut in Super Smash Bros. 4)
 * Ness (EarthBound)
 * Lucas (EarthBound)
 * Captain Falcon (F-Zero)
 * Pit (Kid Icarus)
 * Palutena (Kid Icarus)
 * Dark Pit (Kid Icarus; acting as an echo fighter to Pit)
 * Donkey Kong  (Donkey Kong)
 * Diddy Kong (Donkey Kong)
 * Marth (Fire Emblem)
 * Ike (Fire Emblem)
 * Lucina (Fire Emblem; Acting as an echo fighter)
 * Robin (Fire Emblem)
 * Roy (Fire Emblem)
 * Corrin (Fire Emblem)
 * Pikachu (Pokémon)
 * Jigglypuff (Pokémon)
 * Lucario (Pokémon)
 * Mewtwo (Pokémon)
 * Pokémon Trainer (Pokémon, returning after being cut in Super Smash Bros. 4)
 * Pichu (Pokémon, returning after being cut in Super Smash Bros. Brawl)
 * Greninja (Pokémon)
 * Captain Olimar (Pikmin)
 * Little Mac (Punch-Out!!)
 * Villager (Animal Crossing)
 * Mega Man (Mega Man)
 * Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog)
 * Mii Fighters (Wii)
 * Wii Fit Trainer (Wii Fit)
 * R.O.B. (R.O.B.)
 * Mr. Game & Watch (Game & Watch)
 * Ice Climbers (Ice Climber, returning after being cut in Super Smash Bros. 4)
 * Duck Hunt (Duck Hunt)
 * Yoshi (Yoshi)
 * Wario (Wario)
 * Pac-Man (Pac-Man)
 * Shulk (Xenoblade)
 * Ryu (Street Fighter)
 * Cloud (Final Fantasy)
 * Bayonetta (Bayonetta)
 * Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid; returning after being cut in Super Smash Bros. 4)
 * Inkling (Splatoon)

The ending of the original trailer depicted the Smash Bros. symbol formed out of fire in midair, with a number of silhouetted characters at its base. Samus's shoulders, Bowser's horns and hair and Donkey Kong's hair were clearly visible, but the other characters were less clear.

Allusions to the Metroid series

 * The zoom-in on Samus's eyes when knocked off her feet when Ridley ambushes her in the beginning of A Piercing Screech, Ridley's debut trailer, may have been a reference to Samus's posttraumatic stress disorder episode from encountering Ridley in the Metroid 2002 manga, or his clone in Metroid: Other M.
 * In the same scene, Ridley is shown twirling Mario's hat and giving a dirty grin, alluding to how the Metroid 2002 manga expanded his characterization to give him a very dark sense of humor.
 * During the gameplay aspects of the trailer, Ridley is seen getting absorbed by a Metroid Assist Trophy that was presumably sent out by Pikachu, which most likely referenced how the Baby saved Samus by absorbing some of Ridley's energy in Metroid: Samus Returns, and to a lesser extent how Ridley's clone was ambushed by the Queen Metroid in Metroid: Other M. In addition, the beginning of the gameplay aspect has Ridley landing and then roaring while flapping his wings, which was similar to both his intro in both of his fights in Super Metroid and Neo-Ridley's intro in Metroid Fusion.
 * How Ridley dispatched of Mario by crushing his head resembled how Samus, in her PTSD episode upon seeing Ridley for the first time, hallucinated her parents heads being crushed by him.
 * His impaling Mega Man with his tail resembled how he mortally wounded Grey Voice in the manga.
 * Ridley's powered up neutral smash resembles the attack Ridley uses at the start of the boss fight against him in Metroid: Zero Mission. It also resembles the wave-based fire attacks Ridley used in the original Metroid.
 * Ridley's side smash resembles one of his attacks in Metroid: Other M where he grabs Samus, slams her against a wall, and then drags her across it, which was in turn based on a maneuver Ridley pulled on Samus when ambushing her in Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary.
 * His downward smash, in particular the impalement portion of it, resembles how he mortally wounded Grey Voice in the manga.
 * When undergoing his final smash, Ridley's pose when entering the final smash and later when actually using it resembles his pose on the Super Metroid box art.