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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: What We Know

Most Recent Update: 11:30 PM EST, Friday, June 15.

Notice: due to the massive amount of information and confusion, we’ve made and since corrected a number of mistakes. We mistook what we thought were Golden Plains and Mute City for 3D Land and Port Town Aero Dive; the former two have since been placed on the “missing” list for stages. In addition, we misidentified the new item Healing Field as being from ARMS. Our deepest apologies, and any further mistakes we will fix ASAP.

Well, the wait – at least the wait for information – is well and truly over. Super Smash Bros. for Switch, now officially christened Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, is due for a release this holiday year. Instead of doling out bits like with previous games, Nintendo and Smash’s creative wizard Masahiro Sakurai have decided to kick things off with a bang, announcing over sixty characters and a stage count in the high seventies. While we have a separate article for everything related to Nintendo at this year’s E3 – you can read that here – this will just be for Smash, and going into as much detail as we can reliably do.

DISCLAIMER: the huge amount of information shown in the Direct and ensuing footage means we may have missed some things. We will be updating this page with any and all relevant details, as well as any news Nintendo may release over the course of this week.

English Title: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Japanese Title: Super Smash Bros. Special

Release Date: December 7, worldwide – a first for the series.

Website: as ever, www.smashbros.com. On it there is a blog, though it’s unclear at this time how regularly it will be updated, or how involved Sakurai is with it.

E3 Presentation:

Characters:
  • Every single fighter who has previously appeared in a Super Smash Bros. game has returned as a playable character. In addition, most characters have redesigns.
  • Unlike previous Smash games, the vast majority of the roster will be unlockable. However, the criteria for unlocking them has apparently been designed to make unlocking fighters very easy.
  • Final Smashes now show cut ins for each character. They are also largely more immediate, avoiding the slower ones of games past.
  • Clone characters (Dark Pit and Lucina)  are now officially called “Echo Fighters.” They’re marked with an ϵ (Epsilon)-symbol on their roster number.
  • Several idle animations have been changed: Mario faces more towards the screen, Link holds his sword facing upward, Ike’s arm is more straightened out, Zelda’s whole stance has changed, and Donkey Kong faces more towards the screen.
  • NEWCOMER: Inkling is, unsurprisingly, based around ink. Inked opponents take more damage from attacks, and their walking is slower on enemy ink. As in Splatoon, the ink also draws from a meter that can be depleted. While shielding, pressing B refills the meter (however, when completely drained you can just press B without shield. Like in Splatoon, ink also appears to recharge slowly on its own). Dashing turns them into into a squid. Their Smash Attacks: Inkbrush (Neutral Smash), Blaster (Up Smash), Slosher (Down Smash). For Special Attacks: Splattershot (Neutral), Splat Bomb (?), Splat Roller (?). The Roller moves across the stage. There are two different ways to throw Ink-bomb. Final Smash is a Killer Wail. You can change direction (Up, down) before firing it. Eight available Inkling outfits. One of their taunts is “Booyah!”
  • NEWCOMER: Daisy, as a Peach Echo Fighter. While her moves look very similar, they behave differently. She has Blue Toad as her Special Attack, and many of her moves have flowers as special effects instead of hearts from Peach.
  • NEWCOMER: Ridley, with a design that appears to largely be new and Meta Ridley as an alternate costume. Like Charizard, he has three jumps. Neutral Special is a fireball that be charged to shoot multiple small blasts, but like in Metroid this also makes Ridley more vulnerable. Side Special is dragging an opponent across the ground, similarly to his cutscene in Brawl. His tail attacks all have a sweet spot on its tip. Final Smash involves knocking an enemy onto Samus’ gunship before hitting it with a fireball. Physically, Ridley is slightly shorter than Bowser in normal play, crouching most of the time. Has a taunt in which he stands up, greatly increasing his height.
    • Sakurai explicitly mentioned in Treehouse Live that they had difficulties including Ridley as playable character in previous titles thanks to his enormous size. But after the outcry from fans, especially from the west, they decided to give him a new shot.
  • Bayonetta’s two costumes return, with slight sound effect differences. She appears to have been nerfed in a number of ways, including her aerials having weakened knockback and Witch Time both lasting for a shorter time and no longer providing intangibility.
  • Bowser’s Final Smash, Giga Bowser, is now bigger and based on Yoshi’s Island; he goes into the background and attacks fighters onstage. His appearance is also less bold, and more similar to how he looked in Brawl.
  • Captain Falcon’s Falcon Punch triggers a slow-mo effect when successfully executed.
  • Cloud’s Limit Gauge will be displayed all the time on the UI. The Limit disappears in fifteen seconds if fully charged. Cloud also appears to have no vocal clips in the E3 build.
  • Donkey Kong’s new Final Smash unleashes rapid-fire punches, based on Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat. He has also gotten new facial expression animations. When carrying opponents, he only uses one hand.
  • Dr. Mario is not an Echo Character and has an at least somewhat revised moveset; his Down Aerial is now a stomp move and Meteor Smash.

  • Falco also has a new Final Smash, similar to Fox’s new Final Smash but with the Arwings acting in a more “wild” manner. Landmasters have been excised from Super Smash Bros.
  • Fox’s design is based on Star Fox Zero, and he appears to have a new voice. He also has a completely new Final Smash, where he takes down his foes in his Arwing with his Star Fox teammates. Fox Illusion can now be stopped by running into a shielded opponent.
  • Ganondorf’s Smash Attacks are now all sword moves. His appearance is based of Ocarina of Time again, with no confirmed alternate costumes. His Final Smash is now an attack from the Ocarina of Time version of Ganon.
  • Greninja’s Water Shuriken appears to be much smaller while fully charged, and Substitute appears to activate more quickly.
  • Ice Climbers: Whenever Popo isn’t around, Nana freaks out. Only Popo moves and attacks during grabs (or while being grabbed), limiting their ability to chain grabs. Both Climbers now aim Blizzard forward.
  • Ike now has two outfits from his appearance in Path of Radiance and Radiance Dawn. His voice also slightly changes between both costumes. His Neutral Special now goes much further when fully charged, creating more fires.
  • King Dedede can now inhale the Gordos he throws and spit them back out. One of his taunts has been replaced with his dance from his Brawl. He also has a new Final Smash inspired by Kirby Super Star Ultra: his opponent gets shot with missiles in a fighting cage, then gets smacked with Masked Dedede’s Jet Hammer.
  • Kirby’s down special received new object transformations, including a treasure chest from Breath of the Wild. He Down Aerial is now a stomp move, and his Dash attack is the one from Melee. He also appears somewhat faster than in Smash 3DS & Wii U. Kirby also makes an animation after copying an ability, though this can be canceled. He also appears able to inhale and spit out (at least non-explosive) projectiles.
    • Inkling Kirby can’t recharge ink.
  • Link’s default outfit is based around Breath of the Wild, with the more classic “Tunic of the Wild” as an alternate costume (both costumes each have four variants, with the second outfit retaining Link’s Dark Link and Fierce Deity looks). His Bomb will now be remote controlled, his Boomerang is different, and he no longer has access to the Hookshot. In a callback to many Zelda adventures, he is now able to shoot a Sword Beam when his damage is at 0% through a Smash Attack. His new Final Smash is the Ancient Bow and Arrow. He is also right-handed now. Additionally, his bow draws from BotW as well; he can pick up any arrow he’s fired that’s since his the ground, and for his next shot he’ll fire two at once.
  • Little Mac’s Final Smash is still Giga Mac, but he now just fires a rush of punches on the opponent after transforming. K.O. Uppercut now animates more like its counterpart, the Star K.O. punch, from the NES Punch-Out!!, and Jolt Haymaker no longer renders him helpless in the air. Visually, his costumes have been cut from sixteen to eight; alongside his pink hoodie and four of his regular costumes from Smash for 3DS & Wii U, he still retains two wireframe costumes: the “default” one and the one with the green hoodie.
  • Lucas’ Final Smash calls Kumatora and Boney. Further, unlike Ness, his PK Starstorm sends stars inwards to the center of the stage.
  • Mario has a few new aesthetic changes. Visually, Cappy has been added as visual extra to Mario’s hat and as a taunt. Mario’s Wedding outfit and Super Mario Maker Builder outfit are new alternate costumes, replacing his classic Fire Mario and “Wario colors” costumes. His NES Open Tournament Golf, Waluigi, pink Mario Bros., black Wrecking Crew, and green costumes are still there.
  • Marth now speaks English. Shield Breaker can now be angled, and Dancing Blade is faster – a trait that is found across the board. Of course, those changes also apply to Lucina.
  • Mega Man’s Final Smash now also features Bass and Proto Man. Leaf Shield is also much more viable a move: it starts up more quickly, can be thrown much faster, and the leaves are both faster and do not disappear after being hit.
  • Meta Knight has a new Galacta Knight inspired costume that visually goes further than his pink costume in Smash for 3DS & Wii U.
  • Mewtwo‘s Confusion is more viable, as Mewtwo can move after the animation faster than its opponent if the attack makes contact.
  • Mii Fighters’ proportions are adjusted. All three types – Brawler, Swordfighter, and Gunner – return. Their movesets has been “enhanced,” and they have voice options available. They are currently prepared to be usable in online battles unlike in 3DS & Wii U, though this is not 100% confirmed yet.
    • One odd quirk is that there have been no costumes shown for them, nor do any footage or screenshots show them with anything other than the default look. There is also no indication they still have custom moves. Most likely, more in-depth details about them are planned to be explained later.
  • Mr. Game and Watch’s animations are changed to more closely reflect the games the moves reference, such as becoming the player character in Ball as he performs a throw. His Final Smash is still Octopus, but it now grabs and drags opponents.
  • Ness’ Final Smash calls Paula and Poo. Some of his aerials have changed.
  • Olimar’s helmet gets cracked if he gets damage, but it restores quickly as soon as he lands on the ground. Alph remains an alternate costume.
  • Pac-Man’s new Final Smash is faster, where as Super Pac-Man he moves incredibly quickly in straight lines across the screen. Bonus Fruit also cycles more quickly, Fire Hydrant’s water spouts can be attacked by both Pac-Man and enemies, and Trampoline has changed. It seems as though it can always drop opponents no matter how many times it’s been used, and enemies seem able to strike it to become green and drop its next user.

  • Palutena now has “a set special attack” for each move, though we aren’t clear on what this means. However, her Down Special is now both a counter and deflector, suggesting it has incorporated her default Side and Down Specials from 3DS & Wii U, and she retains her custom move Explosive Flame. Comments by Nate Bihldorff that she “has her own moveset” seem to suggest she has either lost her custom moves, or that she has been given more distinct Special Moves that her default four in Smash for 3DS & Wii U.
  • Pikachu now has multiple female alternate costumes, with a notched tail and in one case the hat from the female Pokémon Sun & Moon trainer; one of these is Pikachu Libre from Omega RubyAlpha Sapphire, and Pokkén Tournament. Their Final Smash has also changed substantially; now Pikachu (and Pichu, who also uses it) turns into the Volt Tackle ball and dashes wildly automatically before firing a final electric blast.
  • Pit’s Final Smash is now Lightning Chariot. His Star K.O. now features him screaming “I NEVER LEARNED HOW TO REEEEEEEAAD!,” a line from Uprising.
  • Pokémon Trainer retains the Trio mechanic from Brawl: Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard. Pokémon can be freely changed during battle; there is no longer a penalty for sticking to one Pokémon the whole time. The female FireRed & LeafGreen Pokémon Trainer Leaf is available as alternate costume; her Pokemon have their shiny colorings. Pokémon Change can now be used in the air and much more quickly, alongside having invincibility frames. However, the latter will become less and less protective if spammed. Their Final Smash remains Triple Finish, with Mega Charizard X removed. Unsurprisingly given the time between Brawl and Ultimate, the male Trainer appears to have a new voice.
    • Squirtle’s Water Gun covers much more distance, and Withdraw is much faster. Its dash now involves it riding a small wave.
    • Ivysaur, unlike other Brawl characters like Zero Suit Samus and Olimar, retains Vine Whip as its sole recovery option. However, the improvements to Pokémon Change means they can be switched to Charizard immediately if need be, greatly improving it and the team’s viability.
    • Charizard’s Flare Blitz has well and truly replaced the now-removed Rock Smash (with much more damage and knockback), and Fly has a much greater distance.
  • R.O.B. received a new gauge to its chassis, which shows how much fuel remains for his recovery.
  • Robin’s remaining uses of Tomes and the Levin Sword are now displayed on the UI.
  • Rosalina’s neutral aerial is different. In addition, Gravitational Pull appears to make her automatically equip wearable items like the Rocket Belt and Bunny Hood.
  • Roy can now turn around during his Neutral special. As with Marth, Dancing Blade is much faster.
  • Ryu will always face his opponent in one-on-one matches.
  • Samus’ Charge Shot can be charged midair and can be canceled with Jump or Dodge. While she retains all her costumes from Smash for 3DS & Wii U, her black armor now uses yellow for its power lines and visor, instead of its previous blue. This makes the costume look less like Dark Samus.
  • Sheik has a new Final Smash, similar to both Grenina’s Secret Ninja Attack and Toon Link’s Triforce Slash.
  • Shulk’s Monado Arts can be directly selected now instead of repeatedly pressing B (This option is still available). Fiora is now part of his Final Smash.
  • Snake will be voiced once again by David Hayer. The Metal Gear FOXHOUND logo has been changed into an exclamation mark (presumably due to legal issues between Konami and Hideo Kojima). His Down Smash is now a double kick. His Final Smash has changed; now, he targets opponents with a crosshair before calling in an airstrike.
  • Sonic’s Homing Attack now places a target on opponents, and his Final Smash is even faster.
  • Toon Link has new expressions. He also has at least one new move, though which one is unclear.
  • Villager has an updated UI to show what item they’re holding, and they can now pick up items with grab.
    • If Villager pockets Link’s bomb, the latter can’t detonate or replace it, even if Villager is only holding it in their hand. They can also pocket the sword beam.
  • Wario’s Final Smash, Wario-Man, is no longer a character transformation with regular moves. It is now a “cartoon/comic dust cloud fight.” He also now has his iconic Shoulder Bash move, and his Forward Tilt appears to now be a backhand or slap.
  • Wii Fit Trainer’s face was changed, especially the eyes. Sakurai wasn’t sure if he should change it, but it was requested from the Wii Fit developers.
  • Wolf’s moves has been significantly upgraded. His new design is based on Star Fox Zero.
  • Young Link has inherited the mechanic of how Link’s Bombs in Smash for 3DS & Wii U would not damage him if they also hit opponents.
  • Zelda’s design is now based on A Link Between Worlds. Her new Final Smash is now “Triforce of Wisdom.” Her Phantom Slash works differently: it physically constructs each piece of the armor as you charge in size, distance, and power, and attack animation.
  • Zero Suit Samus’ Final Smash now involves her getting on top of her ship and fires in her Power Suit a devastating laser.
Stages:
  • General Notes: ever single past stage shown has a significant redesign that takes advantage of the Switch’s higher fidelity, at least every one from a game before Smash for Wii U (and possibly several introduced in that game). All stages have Battlefield and Ω forms. Stage hazards, such as the Pokémon in Saffron City, and Frigate Orpheon flipping, can be turned off, as well. More details on which are turned off to come.
  • 3D Land
  • 75m
  • Arena Ferox
  • Balloon Fight
  • Battlefield
  • Big Blue
  • Boxing Ring
  • Bridge of Eldin
  • Brinstar
  • Castle Siege
  • Corneria, which now has Star Fox Zero visuals.
  • Distant Planet
  • Dream Land (64)
  • Duck Hunt
  • Final Destination, which appears visually identical to Battlefield.
  • Find Mii
  • Fourside
  • Frigate Orpheon
  • A Game & Watch stage, though it’s unclear as to whether it’s Flat Zone 1, 2, X, or something new.
  • Garden of Hope
  • Gaur Plain
  • Gerudo Valley
  • Great Bay
  • Great Cave Offensive
  • Great Plateau Tower, a new stage based on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
  • Green Greens
  • Green Hill Zone
  • Halberd
  • Hyrule Castle (64)
  • Jungle Japes
  • Kalos Pokémon League
  • Kongo Jungle (Melee), now known as Kongo Falls. The logs making up the platforms now bob up and down as the players walk on them.
  • Living Room
  • Luigi’s Mansion
  • Lylat Cruise
  • Magicant
  • Mario Circuit (Brawl)
  • Mario Circuit (Wii U)
  • Mario Galaxy
  • Mario Maker
  • Midgar

  • Moray Towers, a new stage based on Splatoon. Can appear in both daytime and nighttime, the latter for Splatfests. During at least 1-on-1 matches, Judd and Lil’ Judd hold flags in the leading player’s color and jump in celebration upon the final K.O.
  • Mushroom Kingdom II
  • Mushroom Kingdom U
  • Mushroomy Kingdom
  • New Donk City, based on Super Mario Odyssey (name unconfirmed)
  • New Pork City
  • Norfair
  • Onett
  • Pac-Land
  • Palutena’s Temple
  • Pictochat, though it’s unclear whether it’s 1, 2, both, or something new.
  • Pilotwings
  • Pokémon Stadium
  • Pokémon Stadium 2
  • Port Town Aero Dive
  • Princess Peach’s Castle
  • Prism Tower
  • Reset Bomb Forest
  • Saffron City’s buildings are at a higher resolution, though the interactive and background Pokémon are both low-poly, like the original game. Fearow, Butterfree, and Moltres are back in the background; at least Chansey, Venusaur, Charmander, and Porygon come out of the elevator.
  • Smashville
  • Skyworld
  • Shadow Moses Island
  • Skyloft
  • Spear Pillar
  • Spirit Train
  • Summit
  • Super Mario Maker
  • Suzaku Castle
  • Temple
  • Tomodachi Life
  • Tortimer Island
  • Town and City
  • WarioWare, Inc.
  • Wii Fit Studio
  • Wily’s Castle
  • Wrecking Crew
  • Wuhu Island
  • Yoshi’s Story
  • Yoshi’s Island (64)
  • Yoshi’s Island (Brawl)
  • Umbra Clock Tower
  • Unova Pokémon League

Unconfirmed:

  • Venom: on Falco’s website page the image behind appears to be Venom however it could also just be a stylistic angle of Corneria.
  • Orbital Gate Assault: Again, on Falco’s page there is one image which appears to be in space and could be from Orbital Gate Assault, however it is hard to tell for sure.
  • Brinstar Depths: A new remix called Brinstar Depths was released. The music is a remix of the miniboss theme from Metroid which was also used on the original Brinstar Depths. The name implies it may be back.

Missing Past Stages. Note that this are not necessarily gone, just not yet shown:

  • Delfino Plaza
  • Dream Land (3DS)
  • Fountain of Dreams
  • Gamer
  • Golden Plains
  • Hanenbow
  • Icicle Mountain
  • Jungle Hijinx
  • Kongo Jungle (64)
  • Mario Bros.
  • Miiverse
  • Mushroom Kingdom (64)
  • Mushroom Kingdom (Melee)
  • Mute City (3DS)
  • Mute City (Melee)
  • Pac-Maze
  • Paper Mario
  • Peach’s Castle (64)
  • Pirate Ship
  • Planet Zebes
  • Poké Floats
  • Pyrosphere
  • Rainbow Cruise
  • Rainbow Road
  • Rumble Falls
  • Sector Z
  • Windy Hill
  • Woolly World
  • Yoshi’s Island (Melee)
Assist Trophies:
  • General Notes: Multiple Assist Trophies can appear onscreen at once. They can be KO’d if you damage them enough, and the player who defeats an Assist Trophy gets points. Of course, like previous iterations, some Assist Trophies can’t be knocked out.  All in all, more than 50 characters will apparently be included as Assist Trophies.
  • Andross
  • Badge Bunny, from Nintendo Badge Arcade. He summons a crane to grab fighters.
  • Bomberman
  • Burrowing Snagret, from Pikmin
  • Color TV-Game 15
  • Dr. Kawashima
  • Dr. Wright
  • Ghosts
  • Girahim
  • Hammer Bro
  • Jeff
  • Knuckle Joe
  • Knuckles, from Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Krystal, from Star Fox
  • Lyn
  • Metroid, which apparently can be frozen.
  • Midna
  • Mother Brain
  • Nintendog, now with a toy poodle design
  • Rodin, from Bayonetta. He attacks other fighters, then leaves an item.
  • Riki
  • Samurai Goroh
  • Sheriff
  • Starfy
  • Starman (EarthBound)
  • Squid Sisters, from Splatoon
  • Sukapon, from Joy Mech Fight
  • Takamaru
  • Waluigi
Pokémon:
  • General Notes: Poké Balls bounce at an angle and release the Pokémon now, rather than opening up right away on the ground.
  • Abomasnow
  • Abra (new)
  • Alolan Raichu (new)
  • Alolan Vulpix (new)
  • Bellosom
  • Bewear (new)
  • Darkrai
  • Deoxys
  • Eevee
  • Electrode
  • Entei
  • Goldeen
  • Kyogre
  • Latias & Latios
  • Lunala (new)
  • Meowth
  • Metagross
  • Mew
  • Palkia
  • Scizor
  • Solgaleo (new)
  • Staryu
  • Snorlax
  • Suicune
  • Togedemaru (new), who appears to be replacing Dedenne .
  • Xerneas
  • Zoroark
Items:
  • Assist Trophy
  • Banana, a new item in which users shoot the fruit out and are left with a Banana Peel.
  • Barrel
  • Beam Sword
  • Beehive
  • Black Hole, a new item
  • Bob-omb
  • Bomchu
  • Bomber, an exploding enemy from Kirby.
  • Boss Galaga, with several added visual effects.
  • Bunny Hood
  • Crate
  • Cuccoo
  • Dragoon
  • Drill
  • Fake Smash Ball, which explodes in an X-Bomb style fashion when broken.
  • Fire Flower
  • Food
  • Franklin Badge
  • Golden Hammer
  • Gooey Bomb
  • Hammer, which now releases the animation for breaking barrels in Donkey Kong upon hitting an opponent.
  • Healing Field, a new item that creates a space that will heal at least the fighter who threw it.
  • Heart Container
  • Hocotate Bomb
  • Hothead
  • Green Shell
  • Killer Eye
  • Launch Star, a new item from Super Mario Galaxy
  • Master Ball
  • Maxim Tomato
  • Motion-Sensor Bomb
  • Mr. Saturn
  • Ore Club
  • Party Ball
  • Poison Mushroom
  • Poké Ball
  • Ramblin’ Evil Mushroom, from EarthBound. Note that, due to only knowing about it from a screenshot on the official site, we have no idea of what it actually is or does. It may alternatively be an Assist Trophy, or a stage hazard (though that’s unlikely given the stage looks to be Gaur Plain). We think it might be a “living” item like Bob-ombs and Uniras, but may be entirely incorrect.
  • Ray Gun
  • Rocket Belt
  • Star Rod
  • Smart Bomb
  • Smash Ball. Now features a variant that acts like a soccer ball.
  • Spiny Shell
  • Super Leaf
  • Super Mushroom
  • Super Scope
  • Timer
  • Warp Star
  • X-Bomb
New Techniques:
  • Rapid strikes when you press and hold the attack button return.
  • Canceling Dash with a Smash Attack.
  • Attacking while climbing ladders is now possible.
  • Directional Air Dodge: It enhanced mobility, especially handy for recovery.
  • Excessive dodging shortens the duration of intangibility and gives dodging more cooldown. The player will be more vulnerable.
  • Rage still exists but provides somewhat less of a power increase.
  • Short Hop Attack at Any Time: Can be executed by pressing Jump and A at the same time.
  • Smash Attacks can be executed by pressing A and B just like in Super Smash Bros. 3DS & Wii U.
  • Perfect Shield: Can be executed, when the player release the shield button. We speculate that you have to time the release your shield right after the attack of your opponent. It will be executable without any penalties and risks, but the timing must be very precise.
  • Damage dealt increases in 1-on-1 battles. It was implemented to improve pacing to 1-on-1 battles.
  • In Time Battle, the player in the lead will occasionally flash with light for a moment.
  • Footstool jumps are returning but are less dangerous, as fighters on the ground can now tech during the footstool animation.
  • During Sudden Death, instead of Bob-ombs falling onto the stage, the Blast Zone will steadly shrink, along with the camera.
  • Stamina Mode appears to have changed slightly; characters who fall to zero HP fall to the ground like previous games, but then disappear in a small burst.
  • Screen K.O.s are substantially faster.
  • There is no confirmation custom moves will return. Comments regarding Palutena imply they may have been cut from at least the non-Mii fighters.
amiibo:
  • All current Super Smash Bros. series amiibo are compatible. This applies to other series amiibo as well as long as they are playable in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
  • amiibo-data from Super Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U can be transferred to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
  • Daisy, Ridley, and Inkling amiibo confirmed; at least the former two will launch alongside the game.
Other:
  • This is officially a brand new game, not an expanded or rebuilt port of Smash for Wii U.
  • Music: the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate official website has its own dedicated music section, which will apparently be updated “regularly.” The main theme is composed by Echochrome and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon composer Hideki Sakamoto. It also has remixes of “Brinstar Depths” from Metroid, the main theme of Breath of the Wild, and Vega’s theme from Street Fighter II. A myriad of new and old songs can also be heard within various trailers, among them “Jump Up, Super Star,” Brawl’s “Ocarina of Time” medly, and a remix of the theme for Tri Force Heroes. There are also several remixes of songs already featured in previous Smash titles, such as “Lost in Thoughts All Alone” or the leitmotif from Duck Hunt. While there is no confirmation that My Music will return, comments by Bill Trinen suggest it will be back.
  • Aesthetics: the game in general hues closer to the grittier and more subtle color scheme of Brawl than the bolder Smash for Wii U, with a bright, slightly washed out hues.
    • A particular aesthetic quirk is how the game appears to use cel-shading for a variety of effects, particularly with “elemental” attacks like fire and water. It gives these moves a visual flourish and makes them more prominent during fights.
    • In addition, characters leave broad, cartoon smoke trails when being launched.
  • Victory background is much more detailed, showing a grassy plain in front of a large setting sun.
  • Xander Mobus returns as the Smash Bros. announcer.
  • The game runs 1080p when docked, 720p in handheld mode. Both run at 60FPS.
  • The UI largely draws from Smash for Wii U, with large bold corners and shapes. It looks incredibly dynamic. In one-on-one fights, stock numbers will be shown on screen after KOs.
  • If you set a nickname/tag for your character, it displays at the bottom of the screen.
  • Damage percentage now shows decimal points in the tenths.
  • You start battles by selecting stages. After characters are picked, a dramatic “VS” image showing them against each other shows up for a second before the match starts.
  • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be compatible with GameCube controllers (We assume via the already released Wii U GameCube-adapter).
  • The English language title came from Nate Bihldorff.
  • According to Sakurai, the game’s number one goal was to include all previous fighters featured in the Super Smash Bros. series. Sakurai didn’t said any number, but he hopes fans won’t expect too many newcomers.
  • The demo includes Mario, DK, Link, Samus, Kirby, Fox, Pikachu, Ness, Corrin, Snake, Ice Climbers, Inkling, Mega Man, Bayonetta, Ganondorf, Little Mac, Pacman, Bowser, Pokémon Trainer, Zelda, Ike, Pit, Mewtwo, Sonic, Sheik, and Marth. The stages are Battlefield, Final Destination, Suzaku Castle, Princess Peach’s Castle, Onett, Moray Towers, Great Plateau Tower, Green Hill Zone, Wily Castle, Boxing Ring, Green Greens, Mario Galaxy, Skyworld, Kongo Falls, Coliseum, Town & City, Tortimer Island, Prism Tower, Spirit Train, Lylat Cruise, New Pork City, Saffron City, Frigate Orpheon.

As a final reminder, just remember that much of what we know is subject to changes, and we hope to perfect this collection as E3 continues.

13 comments
  1. Zero Suit’s Samus breast size was greatly decreased, she no longer resembles her Zero Mission/OtherM design anymore, instead she looks more like in Prime.

    Anonymous on June 12 |
    • i disagree, even had to double check too
      her breasts weren’t that big in Zero Mission/Other M either, opposed to her Smash WiiU appearance
      however, she has gained some muscle tone in return.
      so by conclusion, it seems like Sakurai wanted to make her look like in source material than the previous game (and who knows, Sakamoto might’ve asked for this too)

      ZenythSmash on June 15 |
  2. Dr. Wright was shown during the Smash Bros. Invitational as an Assist Trophy.

    Fuzzy Pickles! on June 13 |
  3. During the Smash Invitational the following additional Assist Trophies and Pokemon showed up: Dr. Wright, Hammer Bro, Starman (Mother), Mother Brain, Mew, Deoxys, Zoroark, Latias and Latios. There are also pictures of Entei and Goldeen on the website.

    William W on June 13 |
  4. I loved the Smash Bros presentation! For me I was very surprised at all the redesigns especially the Zelda characters though most are unchanged. I’m also surprised that they got freaking Daisy as an Echoes character in Smash Bros which changes a lot of things for me like Celica can come in as an Echoes character for Robin! Also can’t believe that all of the characters are back, really happy for the return of Snake (Bomber man got to be Assist Trophy), Wolf, Squartile and Ivysaur. Probably the biggest surprise was the reveal of Ridley as a playable character, a lot of Fans were happy with that of course! One thing to note that on the Smash Website, there was two empty spaces after Ridley does that mean there are going to be two new characters and if so is it going to be first-party or third-party?

    Also will you guys keeping doing Rate that Character?

    Other things, I’m excited for the new Fire Emblem Game Three Houses, I’m guessing you’re going to choose a house like in Fates which is fine by me. It looks like army formation is the central focus of this game. Daemon X Machina looks amazing!

    David Horan on June 13 |
  5. Question : Your confirmed stage list mentions Golden Plains and Mute City(Melee).
    I’m unable to find trace of those two stages. Could you tell me where you found them ?

    black_imperator on June 13 |
    • I’ve been looking around and can’t find evidence of the former; I or we may have mistaken a shot of 3D Land for it. We’ve moved it to the unconfirmed list. As for Mute City (Melee), it appears in the background of Captain Falcon’s character page.

      Wolfman_J on June 14 |
  6. Isn’t that Port Town Aero Dive ? I don’t think the Mute city Stage was using this kind of Start sign, and we can see the ship from that picture : https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8uNF8qfkenY/maxresdefault.jpg at the top of the background.

    black_imperator on June 14 |
  7. Kirby gets a new stomp Down air?

    KLCobalt on June 14 |
  8. why do you say the Healing Field is from ARMS? there’s no Healing Field item in that game

    CrystalForce on June 15 |
  9. small typo
    *Inkling

    ZenythSmash on June 15 |
  10. I think nobody have realized this, but Shiek has been redesigned from Twilight Princess to Breath of the Wild. Try comparing with BotW’s Shiek costume; they both share the similar armory.

    Also, Marth’s Japanese voice has been rearranged.

    zoniken on June 16 |