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Making the jump to buy a Nintendo Switch last year has been one of the best decisions I ever made. The console is worth the hype and praise it has been getting since the time of its release, and I’m pleased with everything this light and small device is capable of. While I still have a ways to go before my collection of Switch games become an impressive display of the best titles to play on the console, I’m already in good company with the few I have. Among those cherished few is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

 

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is Nintendo’s fighting game that features a number of popular and well-known characters across Nintendo’s long history of video games, both past and present. There are currently a total of 76 fighters in the Ultimate roster, and it’ll require frequent playthroughs to unlock them all (or purchasing them as DLC). This does not include the starter fighters you already have available, such as Mario, Kirby, etc.

Among the game modes and options you can play in Ultimate are Smash, Spirit Adventure, and Classic. Smash allows a player or group of friends to battle it out on the stadium with their main fighter of choice. Spirit Adventure features a sort of story mode called World of Light where you can unlock the other characters who have yet to join your current list of fighters, as well as spirits who can aid you in unlocking many other spirits to use in this part of the game. Finally, Classic Mode lets you choose a character who has their own unique battle path and opponents to fight 7 rounds followed by a final boss fight for rewards. But this is really just scratching the surface of what else you can do in Ultimate. There are timed trials and mini-games that will keep a gamer plenty entertained.

I’ve played Smash, World of Light, and Classic Mode so far and each one is a quick and fun experience you’ll hardly ever get tired of. There’s enough variety to keep you occupied, whether you can play Ultimate for 15 minutes or 2 hours at a time. My primary main fighter has been mostly Kirby, but Zero Suit Samus has been a close second. With so many characters to unlock, your main motivation will be to get everyone who are still missing. Friends have told me that if I’m impatient and want to unlock all the characters a lot more quickly, there are certain…cheats…er…techniques you can use to get the complete roster, minus the DLC characters. I haven’t utilized said methods just yet, partly because I kind of like savoring each challenger that pops up organically and randomly on their own. I’ll probably eventually apply these tactics to coax them out quicker. For now, I’m fully content with taking in the game at my own pace.

While I may not have played too many of the previous installments of the Super Smash series, the Wii’s Super Smash Bros. Brawl and the 3DS’s Super Smash Bros. being my only exposure to these games, I do enjoy a good fighting game once in a while to break up my predominantly RPG, story heavy gaming. One of the reasons I became a huge fan of the Super Smash series is how easy it is to fit this type of gaming into my tight schedule. If I don’t feel like playing a game that will require far more time and concentration, I can play a short round of Ultimate and satiate my gaming appetite. And Ultimate manages to take a familiar formula and make it even better than the ones that came before, if that’s even possible.

I’ve only just begun tapping into what Ultimate has to offer and I’m excited to see what else this fantastic game has in store for me.

Have you played Super Smash Bros. Ultimate? What are your thoughts on the game? Who are your favorite characters to play as?