All good things come to an end. After running for a solid three years, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s Fighter Pass finally came to a triumphant end with an addition very few (aside from leakers) saw coming nor thought was possible. Of Kingdom Hearts fame, plucky keyblade warrior Sora soars into the fray, joining the Smash Bros. family at long last. The final Smash Bros. Fighter broadcast brought with it a variety of different emotions, all riding the bittersweet feeling of this being Smash Ultimate’s final hurrah before drawing close the curtains on what is practically “Video Games – The Game”. In this article, we will go over our top 3 most liked and not as liked moments from Ultimate’s final broadcast.
Throughout both Fighter Passes Vol. 1 and 2, players have gotten a taste of a wide range of character and fighter types. The DLC offerings of Ultimate pushed the boundaries of the Super Smash formula by adding characters like Kazuya Mishima, Terry Bogard, Minecraft Steve, and more, many of them bringing unique techniques and gimmicks, making them truly stand out from their counterparts. After a mechanically rich and deep character like Kazuya, Sora feels akin to a breath of fresh air. It is not to say that there is anything wrong with having complex characters in Smash Bros. In fact, the game is in a much healthier and mechanically diverse meta thanks to so many new additions. The difficulty of learning new characters expands the playing field and raises the ceiling across all forms of play, whether it be casual or competitive.However, sometimes, having simple, straightforward characters is just what the game needs to balance out against the higher entry level fighters, to let a wider range of players (who are all incredibly eager to see and play as Sora) experience and enjoy the character without the need to memorize precise control stick motions or bizarre move set gimmicks. Whereas characters like Terry and Joker boast special combos and “awakened” states, the only real “gimmick” Sora has is… being very light and floaty (much like how he feels in his original games). As showcased by Game Director Masahiro Sakurai in the demonstration video, Sora is a fighter that thrives in the air with his floaty yet hard-hitting playstyle. Combine that with his magic abilities and long-reaching special attacks, and you’ve got a recipe for a character that is bound to be a lot of fun without the hassle. Easy to pick up, hard to master; perfectly balanced.
All of Ultimate’s DLC fighters came bundled together with stages, music, history, and love. We really see the attention to detail and care shine in the broadcast videos Sakurai hosts in anticipation of the character’s release, with the most prominent showcases being Terry and Sephiroth, doubling as video game history lessons as well as fighter demonstrations. The faithful recreations and adaptations of the fighters in-game, especially ones with canon special abilities and gimmicks, pays even more homage to the original games and delivers delicious fan service to devoted fans and players. Sora delivers this and more with his overall character presentation and unique stage. Unlike nearly every fighter in-game, Sora possesses four unique in-game renders, each portraying his appearance across four Kingdom Hearts Titles (KH 1, 2, Dream Drop Distance, and 3). Along with this, Sora gets unique-looking alternate color costumes that resemble special outfits from the aforementioned games. If that wasn’t enough, his Player 5 costume, the Timeless River variant, is reminiscent of his appearance during a section of Kingdom Hearts with the same name along with the accompanying monochrome 1920/1930’s Disney aesthetic. Paired with his fantastic character animation, moveset, unique sound effects and stamina-mode finisher, Sora is chock-full of homage and fan service, just on his portrayal alone. Bundling that with nostalgic musical themes, Sora’s personal stage, which is a whole beast in and of itself with its dynamic transformation and beautiful artwork, nods to the Kingdom Hearts series, giving us a fantastic and faithful recreation of a much-beloved character.
If you told me years ago that we would eventually get a game where Mario, Cloud Strife, Sephiroth, Sans, Minecraft Steve, Mega-Man, Ryu, Terry Bogard, and Sora would all be part of the same roster and fight each other while absolute bangers from the Persona soundtrack blasted in the background, I would have probably laughed in your face and told you to quit your pipe-dreaming.How wrong and cynical my younger self was.The madman Sakurai proved again and again throughout Ultimate’s development and DLC cycle that he and his team are not to be underestimated. The absolute legal and licensing nightmare of getting Sora into Smash Bros. is something that cannot be overstated, especially given how staunchly protective Square Enix and Disney can be over their intellectual property. It was what prevented Sora from being announced as a fighter for Smash 4 and what nearly prevented Cloud’s inclusion in Smash Ultimate. It is a universal miracle that any of these characters made it in at all and a sign of just how wild the folks over at Nintendo can truly be. Regardless, the gaming world is all the better for it.I’m never going to get used to seeing the name “Disney” alongside other companies during Ultimate’s credits.
Sora being a straightforward and forgiving character is a double-edged sword. Because of how simple his playstyle is making out to be, it’ll create a massive influx of “Sora-mains” who flood all playing spaces testing out and trialing the new fighter. Thanks to his aforementioned floaty playstyle, Sora’s edgeguarding abilities are incredibly powerful. His physical and magical attacks hit hard off-stage, with one mistake on the opponent’s side capable of rendering a stock lost if caught by Sora’s blows. Also, thanks to Sora’s air mobility and recovery options, he can take deep, off-stage risks and still make it back to the stage safely. His ability to use his side-special, a successive three-chained dashing attack, right after his up-special recovery, will make him one slippery opponent.By virtue of being a “sword” fighter, Sora possesses many disjointed and far-reaching attacks within his moveset. Pair that with his 3-hit combo and general mastery of the air and most of us on the receiving end are probably in for a bad time. His aggression is offset by his floatiness and light weight, meaning it won’t take much to send Sora to the blast zone and secure a stock. However, don’t let that lead you into a false sense of security. Lighter characters with fewer tools at their disposal have been able to wreak havoc across the roster before. Fun to play as and probably a total butt to play against. Perfectly balanced.
Despite how much care and detail the development team was able to give Sora in his Smash debut and portrayal, there were definitely things even they weren’t able to deliver on, despite those aspects being central to Sora’s character in Kingdom Hearts. Though most of the Square Enix side of Kingdom Hearts essential to Sora made it, albeit as background art and not full renders (Cloud and Sephiroth don’t count despite both making appearances in KH) almost everything that referenced Disney was immediately scrubbed from Sora’s debut. Donald and Goofy are nowhere to be seen and explicitly Disney elements/designs were removed from Sora’s stage, Hollow Bastion. All murals on the Dive to Heart version of the stage were altered as well to remove all Disney references. The only sole explicit Disney remnant we have of Kingdom Hearts through Sora is the Mickey symbol chain on his keyblade.With how notoriously protective Disney is over his properties, this was to be expected, even if it is quite disappointing.
With Sora’s inclusion, it marks the end of an era for Smash. Never again will there be a game of Ultimate’s roster or scope. I honestly think it is a missed opportunity for the game not to continue a DLC lineup of sorts, whether it be through new music, stages, or fighter costumes, once the DLC fighter support ends. However, with Sora finally rounding out the roster, support for Ultimate will ultimately dry up.This means no more future balance changes for characters. Unless something truly game-breaking is found, fighters in their current iteration, regardless of their overall strength or weakness, will be their final iteration once the Sora update and its balance patches arrive. It also means no more Smash related news to look forward to throughout Nintendo Directs for oncoming years.It’s a bittersweet feeling, seeing the game slowly come to its finale, but it is one that is well-deserved for the tirelessly working team behind it all. Nintendo, Sakurai, and Sora Ltd. have done a magnificent job in creating what is arguably the greatest crossover in video game history and no one will fault them for wanting to move on. All good things come to an end, whether we like it or not. At least in Ultimate’s case, it ends on a triumphantly high note, achieving what many thought to be impossible.
Sora joins the fray on Oct. 18 as the last guest on Fighter Pass Vol. 2.
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A Nintendo Switch trailer was also released.
According to SteamDB.
An announcement trailer was also released.