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digitec plays: "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate"

12.12.2018

Translation: machine translated

When Mario fights Solid Snake in front of an F-Zero backdrop and Pikachu beats up Sonic in the Castlevania castle, it's Super Smash Bros time. In the latest edition for the Switch, all playable characters do the honours. We'll show you what the game is capable of in the livestream from 1pm.

When "Smash Bros" inventor Masahiro Sakurai approached Nintendo at the end of the 1990s with the idea of combining Nintendo characters in a fighting game, he was extremely lucky. He showed Nintendo a working prototype, including the trademarked Nintendo characters such as Mario and Link. Nintendo liked the game so much that they didn't send Sakurai packing, but instead offered him a contract. A stroke of luck: "Smash Bros" is one of the classics of the e-sports genre, even if it is more of a niche game. Even today, there are "Combo Challenges" with the Nintendo 64 version. The participants are judged on the clean execution of the most spectacular combos possible.

The game system has been the same since the first version almost 20 years ago: you try to knock your opponent off a platform. The more often you hit him, the weaker he becomes. You can save yourself at the last moment with double jumps and special moves, and just because you've taken more hits than your opponent doesn't mean the game is over! It's mostly about who flies off the edge first and not about who has taken the most. This gives the game an unpredictable component that Street Fighter, Mortal Combat and the like lack.

Like a good wine

"Smash Bros Melee" on the Gamecube was released in 2001 and has been the undisputed king when it comes to competitive Nintendo character brawling ever since. The pros agree: this was the best version, as it was more complex than the later Wii successor and therefore more for hardcore gamers. No wonder the Gamecube controller is still regarded as the input device par excellence to this day.

Now the latest version is set to topple the 17-year-old king "Melee" from his throne. "Super Smash Bros Ultimate" is not so much a brand new game. It is based on the Wii U version, which was released four years ago. However, Sakurai has given the Switch version a tonne of new game modes and setting options, adapted the battle system and, above all, integrated every character ever available in a Smash Bros. There are 76 in total so far, with two more available as DLC, but there are sure to be plenty more new characters to come. It is more or less the life's work of Masahiro Sakurai, a perfectionist who, according to his own statements, sometimes only slept a dozen hours a week in the past to make "his" "Smash Bros" perfect. Sakurai announced that this version would be the end.

One on all, all on one

"Ultimate" this version really is. It's not just the sheer overwhelming number of fighters (why would I ever want to fight a single match with the Wii-Fit woman?), but also the countless game modes and configuration options provide endless fun. There are over 100 arenas to choose from and you can also simply listen to 800 pieces of music from all eras. As if that wasn't enough, there is also the single-player mode "World of Light", in which you constantly encounter new challenges on a map in the style of "Supermario World" and your fighters are supported by so-called "Spirits". These are the characters from the Nintendo world that didn't make it into the game as fighters. However, they give you upgrades or boosts to help you survive the tough battles in "World of Light" mode.

Nintendo Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch, DE)

Video games

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Nintendo Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Switch, DE

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Simon Balissat

Teamleader Editorial

Simon.Balissat@digitecgalaxus.ch

When I flew the family nest over 15 years ago, I suddenly had to cook for myself. But it wasn’t long until this necessity became a virtue. Today, rattling those pots and pans is a fundamental part of my life. I’m a true foodie and devour everything from junk food to star-awarded cuisine. Literally. I eat way too fast.

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