Boy.
That was a lot of game.
Nintendo revealed on Thursday how we’ll all lose our time and money because they did it. They cracked the code. They figured out how to give you the most bang for your buck PLUS a way to monetize and support the game for at least a year after release. 74 fighters, multiple stages across franchises/companies, music from said franchises, a gacha game mechanic that either changes your stats or adds certain effects to your fighter. AND a singleplayer mode where Kirby will have to square off against most of the roster in an effort to save the universe. Oh, and there’s a crazy amount of accessibility options, support for 11 languages even (you guys, there’s even a Dutch language option. Echt te gek voor woorden).
Incineroar brings the heat!
Honestly, this isn’t even where it ends. Also announced is a DLC pass that will grant owners 5 fighters post-release, who also come with their own stages and music tracks. They haven’t been revealed yet since development on them only just started. Though Nintendo was humble enough to ask of us only to purchase it if we have enough faith in their ability to deliver the goods. This was such a nice, wholesome video.
Poor, poor Luigi
As for predictions on who will join the roster, my vote goes to Goku who can go all the way to Ultra Instinct mode. Let him have a stage based on planet Namek and…
Wait! Don’t go…Come back!
*Ahem*
But in all seriousness, Goku does make some sense. With Bandai Namco co-developing the game and also being the owners to the Dragon Ball video game rights, coupled with the fact that Shonen Jump will be celebrating their 50th anniversary next year; you have to admit, it’s looking more and more likely.
The aforementioned gacha game mechanic/mode is called Spirits, but not the Spooky kind (Sakurai assured us). In it, you’ll be able to collect characters who will then sort of function as equipment for the main roster of fighters. Characters range from the featured franchises to some Nintendo deep cuts. These will then be able to modify your fighter’s stats or add bonuses like delayed damage from poison, etc. This mode is bound to speak to the collector in us and I see it having a profound impact on the community. If I had to level any criticism against this mode, then it’d be that I can see it becoming convoluted very quickly. Just trying to summarize into text took a lot of effort, so it’s a good thing this mode can be avoided if so desired.
The fated hero
A stray thought that really stuck with me after watching about 40 minutes of eye-candy is that the other big name publishers now have no excuse to put out barebones video games. Nintendo has raised the bar so high and left me in shambles. This should be the norm. An enormous amount of content and then DLC. I give up, I’m literally dumbfounded by how good this game will be to players.
This truly is the Ultimate Smash, so for Palutina’s sake, can Sakurai finally rest now!?
(For a full rundown of the announced details, you can head on over to the cool cats at Twinfinite)
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