Nintendo and developer Sora Ltd. aren’t messing around with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on Nintendo Switch. The game appears to live up to its name and then some, as director Masahiro Sakurai announced today that the game will feature more than 100 playable stages — as well as a few heroes from multiple series.
During an August 8 Nintendo Direct event, Sakurai revealed that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will feature 103 stages spanning the entire chronology of the series, and all of them will be available from the beginning. Each stage can be configured into “Battlefield” and “Omega” forms, as well, and a special “stage morph” option will let you transition from one into another in the middle of the fight. Over 800 songs will be available during fights, and any song from a particular series can be played across any of that series’ levels, even if it wasn’t from the specific game the level came from.
If you were worried about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate not having enough new characters, worry no more. Both Simon and Richter Belmont from the Castlevania series will be playable. Simon makes use of his classic Vampire Killer whip, cross, holy water, ax, and uppercut, and his Final Smash is a powerful “Grand Cross” that sends enemies flying away in a coffin. Richter is an echo character of Simon with a similar move-set, but he should appeal to those who loved Rondo of Blood.
Simon’s special stage is Dracula’s Castle, which includes a medley of 34 different Castlevania songs as well as the series’ classic villains like Carmilla and even Dracula himself. Dracula’s song Alucard will appear as an assist trophy, using moves he had in Symphony of the Night.
Other new characters include Chrom from Fire Emblem: Awakening — an echo of Roy — and Dark Samus. King K. Rool from Donkey Kong also joins the fight, and looks to be a heavyweight who can go toe-to-toe with the baddest fighters around.
Several new modes are also coming, including “Smashdown,” which removes characters from previous fights from your available options, and the elimination-style “Squad Strike.” For single-player fans, Classic Mode is returning, and a mysterious additional mode will be announced at a later date.
For more information on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, including details on assist trophies, check out the full Nintendo Direct event above. The game launches as a Switch exclusive on December 7.
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