Ever since its introduction in 1999, the Super Smash Bros. series has become not just a dream fighting game of Nintendo all-stars, but in gaming as a whole. Where else are you going to find Mario fighting a Pikachu? Smash Bros' really gained popularity with the introduction of Super Smash Bros' Melee in 2001. Melee is still played to this day by its dedicated completive scene and has now become one of the greatest fighting games of all time.
Fast forward to Super Smash Bros' Brawl where the series became more than just a showcase of Nintendo's finest but video games enterally. With the inclusion of Snake from the Metal Gear series and the forbidden door being open with the introduction of Sonic the Hedgehog. Now gamers could at long last see who would win in a fight between two of gaming's biggest icons between the red plumber and the blue blur.
Sonic The Hedgehog Joins Super Smash Bros Brawl!
Sonic's introduction to me was the birth of "The Reveal". Where an announcement of a new smash fighter was newsworthy. It was no longer a "Oh that's cool" but now a new smash fighter became an event and was the coal in smash's hype train. Now with Sonic being shown, it felt like there was really no limit on who could show up. More third party characters would show up in later Smash games such as Megaman, Ryu, and so much more.
Fast forward to today we are now on the biggest Smash game yet in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. One of the taglines of the game being "Everyone is here!" and boy did they bring everyone. The game started out with over 70 of video game's biggest names. Not to mention DLC to boot. This is where "The Reveal" turns into "The Hype". With just about anyone open for the game, fans got hyped and even tried to leak (and when I say leak I mean estimated guess) to try to get one up on who could be coming.
However nothing lasts forever and now we have hit what seems to be the end of Smash Ultimate, but now Ultimate now faces a major problem... How do you turn the lights out and tell everyone that video game's biggest crossover party is over? Not only that, what do you do with Smash in life after Ultimate?
As I type this, there are only two more spots left in fighter pass 2 and there are no plans for a fighter pass 3 afterward, if this stays then we are at the end of Smash Ultimate as we know it. However, is this really a bad thing? After all, not all good things last. As of late Smash Ultimate has been getting a rocky reception with many big fans not sold on some of the DLC fighters such as Fire Emblem's Byleth and MinMin from Arms. The last DLC I think shocked people was Banjo and Kazooie from well... Banjo Kazooie. That was a huge moment as people wanted to see them since the first Smash game and with Rare (Who made Banjo-Kazooie) being bought out by Microsoft, it seemed like the dream was only going to be just that.
The dream becomes real as Banjo and Kazooie join the Smash Bros party.
I also think Banjo-Kazooie might have been the final GREAT fighter left. I sit here and think who else could possibly be announced that could meet the same hype as say a Sonic in Brawl and recently with Banjo-Kazooie? There would be a few that would get most happy such as say Crash Bandicoot or Master Chief but I'm not sure they would break the internet and gaming world as Sonic and Banjo did before them. It really begs the question are there any more golden relics that can join the party?
Since we are so close to the end we now hit a conflict. People are now not going to be mad as to who goes into the final two spots but as to who won't be there. It's now become less "Why X?" and more "Why not Y?". Byleth's reveal got people salty because it was another Fire Emblem fighter as many feel that Smash already has enough and there's still people who are mad over their inclusion. They announced there was going to be a fighter pass 2 before the announcement so that might have been a blessing as having Smash Ultimate end with Byleth would have soured a lot of people.
And I don't hate Byleth at all, I think they are a great inclusion to the game, my worry is now whoever the final fighter is better be a home run. If not it's going to be a case of wrong place wrong time and I don't envy who will get the final spot.
It just feels like no matter who gets in, people will be upset over it. I understand we can't make EVERYONE happy but now Smash has put itself into a corner, how do you turn off the lights for Ultimate?
The next question is what happens to Smash Bros after Ultimate? There's no way you can do something like Ultimate again with all the 3rd party IPs, it would be a legal nightmare, but you have to do something to advance the series. Nintendo went all out for Ultimate, how do you push the bar?
There were reports during Melee that the games creator and director Masahiro Sakurai would work countless hours to the point it would be a health concern. It just seems like the guy is working non-stop and honestly I think it's time for him to take a rest. This can be done one of two ways and both involve how I think Smash should go moving forward.
Smash has been going pretty much non-stop since 2014 with Super Smash Bros for 3DS and Ultimate was announced for Switch not long after. That's 7 years of non-stop Smash news, and content. Maybe it's just me but I'm kind of hitting burnout on Smash. I love the games but everyday it's more Smash rumors, news, and speculation, and there's nothing wrong with that, it just feels like getting a giant bowl of candy. It's exciting but after eating so much, you get sick. It could be a case of too much of a good thing but that also might be my own personal preference. I love Smash Bros but I think a break for both the series and for Masahiro Sakurai would not be dismissed by anyone. I don't mean like a year, I mean take a good 3-4 years off from the series.
Another problem I can see Smash coming to after Ultimate is again, what do you even do with it at this point? What can you do to advance the series? The only thing I can think of is something a ton of fans I think will hate and that's reboot the series. Everyone from Ultimate won't be back in six and who knows? Maybe Masahiro Sakurai will at last get some much needed rest and pass the torch to someone else. My fear is that whoever takes the torch from Sakurai is going to have some big shoes to fill, might even be too great for anyone to fill. A new Smash game that's a reboot and maybe the change could be good, but the change could also hinder the series and turn off a ton of its fans. I think a reboot of Smash could work but whoever is in charge has to be extremely careful with what they do with it. They got a golden egg, don't drop it.
What's next for Masahiro Sakurai?
In the end I'm excited to see who the final fighters will be in Smash Ultimate and I don't know if I'm excited to see what happens next with Smash as I am worried. But whatever Smash 6 brings, I will embrace it for better or worse. Who knows? Maybe there won't be a Smash 6 at all and Ultimate will be the end of the series. I think it would be bittersweet but lets be honest, Smash is too much of a money maker to just have it rest on the shelf for too long. After all, Ultimate in its Latin meaning is "to be final, come to an end".
