50 Fun Facts About Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Which fighter outruns Galeem's beams on a Warp Star to become the lone survivor in Smash Ultimate's World of Light?

Kirby pushes the Warp Star to warp speed and vanishes just before the beams reach him. He then crash-lands alone in a canyon of the remade world.

Whose last request to Masahiro Sakurai, made before his death, was a Smash Bros. game for the Nintendo Switch?

Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's president, made the request before he died in 2015. Sakurai said he wanted Ultimate to be the best game he could make out of respect for him.

Smash Ultimate became the best-selling fighting game ever by overtaking the record of which 1990s arcade hit?

Street Fighter II had sold about 15.5 million copies across all its versions. Ultimate overtook that total in 2019, within a year of going on sale.

Which hero, the top pick in a 2015 fan vote, became the final DLC fighter added to Smash Ultimate?

Sora arrived in October 2021 after Sakurai met a Disney representative at an awards venue. Until then the team had assumed the Kingdom Hearts rights would be impossible to secure.

Which block-building game supplied Steve, whose arrival forced Smash Ultimate's developers to rework every single stage?

Minecraft's Steve mines materials and places blocks in mid-fight, so every stage had to be adjusted. Talks about the crossover had begun roughly five years before he arrived.

Which Mario character's exclusion as a playable fighter in Smash Ultimate sparked a Change.org petition?

Waluigi was confirmed at E3 2018 as a non-playable helper once again. The backlash grew loud enough that Nintendo of America's Reggie Fils-Aimé publicly acknowledged his popularity.

Which common Mario enemy, free to players who registered early, became the first DLC fighter in Smash Ultimate?

Piranha Plant joined in January 2019, chosen because Sakurai wanted to add diversity to the roster.

Smash Ultimate's eight starting fighters match the starters of the series' first game, released on which console?

N64 players began with the same eight in 1999. Everyone else in Ultimate is unlocked through Classic mode, World of Light or simply by fighting battles.

Which Metroid villain, long called too big for Smash, was redesigned to stand upright so he could join Ultimate?

Ridley had been a high-demand request for years. In 2008 Sakurai called adding him impossible unless the character's size was sacrificed.

Which villain could Smash Ultimate players unlock a few days early by beating him in a limited-time boss battle?

Sephiroth, the villain of Final Fantasy VII, was the prize of the Sephiroth Challenge. His reveal trailer opens with him slicing Galeem in half.

Which rival of Galeem bursts from a crack in the sky leading an army of Crazy Hands in Smash Ultimate?

Dharkon forces Galeem to retreat and swallows the map in darkness. He also takes control of the spirits and fighters his rival was still holding.

Which longtime Smash boss becomes playable for one battle against fifty puppet fighters near the end of World of Light?

Master Hand joins the heroes once the light and dark spirits on the final map are balanced. His rampage through the puppets opens the path to the true ending.

Which mode from Super Smash Bros. Brawl did Sakurai use as the inspiration for World of Light in Ultimate?

The Subspace Emissary was the model, and Sakurai opened the new story with a cataclysm because he felt it would leave a greater impact on players.

Which song by Hideki Sakamoto, the vocal main theme of Smash Ultimate, underpins most of the game's original music?

Lifelight is sung by Erina Koga in Japanese and Abby Trott in English. An abridged version plays over the game's opening movie.

Which fire-breathing wyvern from Capcom's Monster Hunter series is the boss of Forest Hill in World of Light?

Rathalos is the first character in the series to appear as both a boss and an Assist Trophy, so he can also be summoned to fight on a player's side.

Which fighter, known for visions of the future, foresees his allies' doom just before Galeem strikes in World of Light?

Shulk can only look at his comrades in shock before the beams land. In his own game the Monado sword is what shows him glimpses of what is to come.

After rescuing Mario in Smash Ultimate's World of Light, players choose to free Marth, Villager or which third fighter?

Sheik, Marth and Villager each stand on a different starting route. Freeing one blocks off the other two, so the choice decides which way the journey begins.

In the city on the World of Light map in Smash Ultimate, several buildings are shaped like which objects?

Old Nintendo consoles such as the Famicom, GameCube and Wii stand in for tower blocks. Another building resembles the company's headquarters in Kyoto.

Which monstrous form of the Koopa King, a hidden final boss in Melee, guards Molten Fortress in World of Light?

Giga Bowser was invented for Smash because Sakurai felt the regular Bowser had grown cuter and less menacing. Beating him here frees Bowser himself as a fighter.

Sakurai said only three fighters could plausibly escape Galeem in World of Light: the survivor, Palutena and who?

Bayonetta and Palutena are also the last two fighters to be freed in the story. Both are placed right before the final battle.

What term did Smash Ultimate introduce for characters like Daisy and Lucina whose moves are based on another's?

Echo Fighters can be shown in their own slots on the character select screen or stacked with the fighters they copy. Fans had long called such characters clones.

Which Donkey Kong series newcomer joined Smash Ultimate thanks to popularity in the Fighter Ballot?

King K. Rool fights with a blunderbuss and a throwable crown. He growls like a real crocodile instead of speaking with a voice actor's lines.

Which Animal Crossing character, a mere helper item in the previous Smash game, became a full fighter in Ultimate?

Isabelle used to stand still and toss healing fruit to whoever summoned her. As a fighter she reels opponents in with a fishing rod.

Which Pokémon was the last newcomer revealed for Smash Ultimate's base roster, in a slot held open for Sun and Moon?

Incineroar was the one fighter not chosen when development began, because the Pokémon had not been created yet. The team simply left a space open.

Chrom finally became playable in Smash Ultimate with a moveset based on which fellow Fire Emblem swordsman?

Roy is the template, although Chrom's sword has no sweet spot. That makes him parallel his model the same way Lucina parallels Marth.

Smash Ultimate's first teaser, in March 2018, showed new fighters from which colourful Nintendo shooter series?

Splatoon's Inklings were the only new fighters on show. The teaser, part of a Nintendo Direct, did not even reveal the game's title.

Which returning Smash Ultimate fighter speaks with reused voice lines recorded by actor David Hayter?

Snake had his existing lines carried over rather than re-recorded. Announcer Xander Mobus, by contrast, came back to record new clips for the game.

Which living hat from Super Mario Odyssey accompanies Mario in Smash Ultimate, even joining in one of his taunts?

Cappy gets tossed in a circle during Mario's side taunt, then caught and put back on his head. It is one of several appearance updates given to returning fighters.

Which Smash Ultimate fighter lost an animation showing a feathered Native American after complaints of stereotyping?

Mr. Game & Watch's move copied Fire Attack, a 1982 handheld game about a cowboy defending a fort. Nintendo of America apologised and patched it out soon after release.

Princess Daisy made her playable Smash debut in Ultimate with a moveset inherited from which other fighter?

Peach hands Daisy her whole moveset, floating jump included. Daisy was unveiled at E3 2018, the first of the game's new near-identical fighters to be shown.

Which DLC fighter was unveiled at The Game Awards 2018 in a trailer joking that he was there to steal a treasure?

Joker, the Phantom Thief who leads Persona 5, shares his English voice actor with the game itself: Xander Mobus is also the Smash announcer.

Which RPG series supplied Hero, a DLC fighter whose costumes are the lead characters of four separate games?

Dragon Quest's Hero defaults to the Luminary of the eleventh game. His other outfits are the leads of the third, fourth and eighth.

Banjo & Kazooie's arrival in Smash Ultimate needed the blessing of which Nintendo rival, the owner of Rare?

Microsoft's Xbox chief Phil Spencer said the deal was easy to make thanks to a strong partnership with Nintendo. Talks had begun with Rare's studio head at E3 2018.

Terry Bogard, added to Smash Ultimate in November 2019, is the hero of which company's Fatal Fury series?

SNK introduced Terry in the first Fatal Fury in 1991. Sakurai gave him his look from the second game, believing it to be one of the most recognisable.

Min Min, the first fighter of Smash Ultimate's second Fighters Pass, represents which Nintendo Switch game?

ARMS supplied Min Min in June 2020. Her pass was built during the COVID-19 pandemic, with Sakurai and his team working remotely under stay-at-home orders.

Pyra and Mythra, a two-in-one DLC fighter in Smash Ultimate, come from which Nintendo Switch role-playing game?

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 supplied the pair in March 2021. Their stage, Cloud Sea of Alrest, is the only DLC stage that turns up in World of Light.

Which Tekken character joined Smash Ultimate in June 2021 as the second-to-last DLC fighter?

Kazuya Mishima's character poster shows him ready to drop Ryu off a cliff. Min Min is among the many fighters looking on.

Which Undertale character arrived in Smash Ultimate as a Mii Gunner costume, with a new arrangement of Megalovania?

Sans came as paid DLC in September 2019. The fresh take on his boss theme was arranged by Undertale's creator, Toby Fox, himself.

Which professor from Fire Emblem: Three Houses was the fifth and final fighter of Smash Ultimate's first Fighters Pass?

Byleth was announced and released in January 2020. Players can pick either the male or the female version of the character.

In Smash Ultimate, what name is given to each DLC bundle of one new fighter, a stage and several music tracks?

Challenger Pack is the term, and the first Fighters Pass gathered five of them. The free early-purchase fighter sat outside the scheme, with no stage or music of its own.

Which rule option, new in Smash Ultimate, makes the arena transform between two chosen locations mid-match?

Stage Morph makes the new arena's terrain rise straight through the old one as it sinks. Any fighter left outside the new boundaries when it finishes is KO'd at once.

Which minigame from earlier Smash games, missing when Ultimate launched, was added in an update in September 2019?

Home-Run Contest gives players ten seconds to batter Sandbag before launching it as far as they can. Until Ultimate it had been in every game since Melee.

Which is the highest of the four classes of spirit in Smash Ultimate, ranked above Novice, Advanced and Ace?

Legend spirits carry four stars. Some primary spirits can climb to a higher class by being enhanced once they reach level 99.

In the type triangle of Smash Ultimate's primary spirits, Attack beats which type, which in turn beats Shield?

Grab completes the loop, because Shield in turn has the edge over Attack. A fourth type, Neutral, is neither strong nor weak against anything.

In Japan, the full title of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate swaps the word Ultimate for which other English word?

Special is why Japanese players shorten the game's name to Sumabura SP. English speakers say SSBU or simply Ultimate instead.

Which Mexican player won Smash Ultimate at Evo 2019, beating Tweek twice in the grand finals after an early loss?

MkLeo, real name Leonardo López Pérez, lost in the round of 16 and fought back through the losers' bracket. By entrants it was the largest Smash tournament held up to then.

Which optional gauge in Smash Ultimate fills as fighters deal and take damage, then grants a weaker super move?

FS Meter, short for Final Smash Meter, also fills slowly on its own. The attack it unlocks is weaker than one earned by breaking a Smash Ball.

Which company developed Smash Ultimate alongside Sakurai's own studio, as it had the 3DS and Wii U games before it?

Bandai Namco's return meant the team did not have to be assembled from the ground up. That sped up preparation and helped make development shorter than usual.

Which villain from a 1996 Super NES platformer, who grows crystal wings, rules World of Light's Mysterious Dimension?

Marx was created by Masahiro Sakurai, the director of Smash, for a game he made before the series existed. Every one of the Dark Realm's three sub-worlds ends in a boss fight like his.

Which DLC stage in Smash Ultimate turns from red to blue or yellow depending on which Persona game's music plays?

Mementos stays red for Persona 5 tracks, turns yellow for Persona 4 songs and goes blue for Persona 3. The patterns on its platforms change each time too.