Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - DADDY SAKURAI'S WILD RIDE HAS CONCLUDED

[Diogenes]

Since we're on the subject, my experience with WoL has been pretty decent so far. It's clear that the format has its limits; even with 70+ characters and a number of gimmicks there are quite a few similar feeling fights, and some setups turn into chaotic clusterfucks where winning has more to do with luck and your equipped spirits than actual skill. But overall, I'm enjoying it. I'd estimate I'm about halfway through and I'm still finding interesting fights and some decent map gimmicks, and any fights that I've found to be too difficult I've just left until later, for when I have stronger spirits and a bit more practice under my belt. It's not a spectacular mode, but I can't say it's worse than the jankiness of SSE's platforming.

I do kinda wish there were more events than fights and map puzzles, though. Mixing in some of the old minigames like target test or race to the finish could've helped reduce the burnout some people are feeling.

[Plasme]

I think this is possibly the worst story mode in any fighting game I've ever played. From my experience, the battles are either piss easy or ridiculously impossible without grinding spirits. Absolutely dreadful game design. This is cardinal sin rpg stuff.

The difficulty is also cheap and not due to good design. Giving the enemy an advantage through assists, huge defence stats, powerful items, multiple enemies at once and element factors (fire etc) is just bullshit. 

And then there is the lack of any story. I wasn't expecting much, but it's even worse than the likes of Dissidia NT on this.

The defences of this mode are a joke and kind of reveal how terrible it is. 'Play in chunks and not too much'. I hear that a lot, and it's not exactly a glowing defence is it? 'Don't play too much of it since it gets so repetitive'. And the argument that 'it gets really good after the 30 hour mark'; Jesus Christ. I'm not playing 30 hours of this shit to get there.

I know the multiplayer is great, but I wish everyone wouldn't idolise Sakurai so much that they can't admit World of Light is a fucking disaster.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

To be absolutely frank, I found the hyped endgame to be just as boring as the rest of the mode. Literally one new and interesting thing in it that’s cool is 

Spoiler

Fighting as Master Hand.

Other than that, it was literally just a boss rush of every other boss in the mode that you’ve likely fought about four times over by this point between WoL and Classic mode, and the platforming sequence isn’t really anything new.

Even the true final boss is just fighting two previous bosses at once ala Master and Crazy Hand.

 

[StaticMania]

7 hours ago, Plasme said:

I know the multiplayer is great, but I wish everyone wouldn't idolise Sakurai so much that they can't admit World of Light is a fucking disaster.

A lot of people already think this...so whatchoo talkin' about?

 

At best people just seem to tolerate it as a distraction. Some people find it fun, that's fine.

[Ruomarta]

7 hours ago, Plasme said:

I think this is possibly the worst story mode in any fighting game I've ever played. From my experience, the battles are either piss easy or ridiculously impossible without grinding spirits. Absolutely dreadful game design. This is cardinal sin rpg stuff.

The difficulty is also cheap and not due to good design. Giving the enemy an advantage through assists, huge defence stats, powerful items, multiple enemies at once and element factors (fire etc) is just bullshit. 

And then there is the lack of any story. I wasn't expecting much, but it's even worse than the likes of Dissidia NT on this.

The defences of this mode are a joke and kind of reveal how terrible it is. 'Play in chunks and not too much'. I hear that a lot, and it's not exactly a glowing defence is it? 'Don't play too much of it since it gets so repetitive'. And the argument that 'it gets really good after the 30 hour mark'; Jesus Christ. I'm not playing 30 hours of this shit to get there.

I know the multiplayer is great, but I wish everyone wouldn't idolise Sakurai so much that they can't admit World of Light is a fucking disaster.

Boy, I could not disagree anymore with this. And what you just said is not people defending it.

EDIT: And for the record, where was you when Sakurai said that this was more emphasis on fun and adventure and NOT story? However, I WILL admit that some of these fights are frustrating and/or repetitive.

[Plasme]

3 hours ago, Ruomarta said:

And for the record, where was you when Sakurai said that this was more emphasis on fun and adventure and NOT story? However, I WILL admit that some of these fights are frustrating and/or repetitive.

Just because Sakurai said it would have little emphasis on story that doesn't excuse how lazy it is.

Besides, the adventure mode is utterly unfun. You'll see, in a few years, when the appeal of a new smash has worn off, people will be tearing world of light to shreds.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

17 minutes ago, Plasme said:

people will be tearing world of light to shreds.

Eh...some people already are.

I mean, WoL does have it's issues, but the main reasons people like it and might still like is the way it incorporates elements of stuff you'd otherwise never see in a Smash game.

It's definitely not everyone's cup of tea, and I do have issues with it as well.

10 hours ago, Plasme said:

And the argument that 'it gets really good after the 30 hour mark'; Jesus Christ. I'm not playing 30 hours of this shit to get there.

Okay, I don't really see this argument going around much. If you're referring to if people said the endgame was good, that was the opinion you asked for.

 

19 minutes ago, Plasme said:

Besides, the adventure mode is utterly unfun.

Not really? I mean, it's subversive. But honestly, the effort put into spirits and the maps does give me more moments that are a blast than not. That in and of itself is part of the selling factor that people love. I mean, most spirit battles one can find fun or not, but even then, it's not really bad enough to suggest those who claim they have fun with are just fanboying for Sakurai. Heck, even with SSE, there are still plenty who enjoyed it for various reasons. Don't see why WoL has to be any different. And it arguably does have the potential to age better.

[KHCast]

Had they had little substantial story bits in between certain parts to give us a breather, I feel I at least,could have appreciated the mode much more 

Spoiler

Seriously, like maybe a small intro cutscene for each of the dark realm locations, showing Kirby enter and a notable captured character for that area, and maybe the boss. Or maybe a small interaction between Kirby and certain characters when they’re rescued. Idk didn’t have to be SE deep, but something that didn’t feel underwhelming either.

As it stands, it’s a time waster that shouldn’t be played in long playthroughs, but bursts. I’m burnt out by it so can’t even go back to new game +. 

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

Yeah,  while I overall like WoL, I ain't gonna defend the lack of substance in cutscenes and story.  Both are present,  but damn,  this mentality Sakurai has of "fun more than story" really hurts the experience. More of those would have aided greatly in keeping things from feeling too stale at times. 

[Ryannumber1gamer]

There's a certain ironic downfall with the fact that there is so much lost potential present with World of Light that it's laughable. We have what is literally the biggest crossover in gaming, and yet there is very very very little interaction that's being present in terms of actual crossover.

We have a game with Mario, Sonic, Pac-Man and Mega Man, four platforming icons, and in terms of strictly story - nothing, absolutely, positively nothing is done with it whatsoever. People say that you can't make a coherent story with 70+ characters, but at the very least, let us see them interacting. Even if it's nothing but pure and total fan-service, at least that would be more substance than literally doing nothing with it. Even if it was Mario and Sonic trying to silently one-up each other, or shooting each other a glare of rivalry, or Sonic and Mega Man giving each other a thumbs up, or something, at least it would be something.

 It doesn't need to be deep meaningful story that's going to make you sit and think about stuff for hours on end, but at least just having small simple interactions would capitalise on having these characters together. As is, it is just yet another reason why the adventure mode is completely lacking. 

[StaticMania]

WoL just needs to be shorter. There's a bunch of concepts that could've also been brought back to make the mode less repetitive. Some "Race to the Finish" style levels, some completely random "Break the Target" areas like in Smash run, some enemy gauntlets, and more.

Shorter, mainly because there's just a lot of fights already that are really similar to others.

SPICE IT UP.

[Ruomarta]

2 hours ago, KHCast said:

Had they had little substantial story bits in between certain parts to give us a breather, I feel I at least,could have appreciated the mode much more 

  Hide contents

Seriously, like maybe a small intro cutscene for each of the dark realm locations, showing Kirby enter and a notable captured character for that area, and maybe the boss. Or maybe a small interaction between Kirby and certain characters when they’re rescued. Idk didn’t have to be SE deep, but something that didn’t feel underwhelming either.

As it stands, it’s a time waster that shouldn’t be played in long playthroughs, but bursts. I’m burnt out by it so can’t even go back to new game +. 

 

1 hour ago, JokerJovahexeonJoranvexeon said:

Yeah,  while I overall like WoL, I ain't gonna defend the lack of substance in cutscenes and story.  Both are present,  but damn,  this mentality Sakurai has of "fun more than story" really hurts the experience. More of those would have aided greatly in keeping things from feeling too stale at times. 

Okay on these notes I can definitely agree with you both. Like Sakurai, you could at least made some of the fights more robust while having more cutscenes. Also...

Spoiler

Do ya'll remember when I said that some of these spirit fights were frustrating as fuck?? I will always stand by this, no matter how much I liked WoL( and who find this superior to SSE in Brawl). I can't remember exactly all of those fights in particular, but I can name one and that was with the Pauline spirit. And MY GOD THE RAGE I WAS FEELING!! No matter what primary spirit(whether it was Legendary or not) or support spirits I had, I always had my ass handed to me or accidentally fell off the stage. And it's not because that Peach(who was being possessed by Pauline) kept kicking my ass, oh no. It's because she kept running away from me very quickly, even when I had characters like Sonic(I know that Sonic isn't playable until much later, but this should give you an indicator of how long it took me to unlock this spirit). Now with that right there, you might be thinking that it's not that hard(depending on your skill and playstyle) or that I should've just came back later when I had the right spirits for the battle. I did do the latter(after like ten times or so); however, even WHEN you think you have the perfect setup, you still fucking fail!!! And it's not only because of Peach scurrying away at every turn, but because of THESE TWO!

And for those of you that have obtained the Pauline spirit in WoL or at least tried to, then you know I mean. But hey, I was able to obtain the damn spirit(hallelujah), but through a GOD DAMN FLUKE because in my thirtieth tried( yes thirtieth because I counted) she miraculously fell off the stage(this was five or six hours after I defeated Galeem and Dharkon to get the true ending). And I thing about it is that I was playing Russian Roulette by clicking the random button when choosing a fighter during that period of my playthrough(won with Jigglypuff of all characters(no offense to her but still)). Honestly, because of the victory being a fluke, it doesn't feel like it was rightfully deserved.

 

P.S: Wow, I can't believe I went on a tangent like that. Sorry if my post comes off as a little overboard, lol. I usually don't rage like this, even when I'm in tense situations with somebody, but damn that fight was impossibly brutal. I know that these battles are to represent the spirit they have, but still.

P.P.S: I didn't mention the other fights because it wasn't near as rage-inducing or frustrating as this one. I mean some of them were, but not to this level.

 

[Meta77]

Finally beat WOL using only kirby. And what a freaking blast it was. Seriously probably the most fun ive had in a single player in a smash game in years. The final battle was also super fun. Lil kirby held out. If anything I wish it was longer. I did every spirit battle and while some were hard they were no where as hard as other games side things like say FFXV or P5.

[Wraith]

Datamine reveals minor new information on Joker and a codename for a new fighter.
 

Spoiler

 

 

Joker is able to wall jump and seems to be decently fast.

The Dragon Quest Hero class is called "Yuusha" in Japan, which directly translates to "Brave."

 

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

Based on past evidence for insiders, many are beleving that said "new fighter"

Spoiler

is Erdrick

from

Spoiler

Dragon Quest 3

which is Sakurai's favorite

Spoiler

Dragon Quest

game. Somewhat akin to how Sakurai praised Persona 5 and voila, we've got Joker!

[Sapphirine Wind]

Spoiler

Dragon Quest? Man, that's an awesome addition! I know Erdrick is most likely if Sakurai gets the pick (I've heard that Nintendo made the decision though?), but if it's not him, I hope it's V's protagonist... But I imagine he's not as popular.

Either way, I wonder what the Final Smash will be?

It seems that if Goku's not getting into smash, his art style sure is.

 

[Mega]

Okay, but what if the brave has to do with a certain game...

Where you also default?

A girl can dream, okay? Haha.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Spoiler

Dragon Quest could happen?

Akira Toriyama provided character designs for Dragon Quest...

and Dragon Quest is only a word off from a certain other series

Goku, Vegeta, Frieza and Yamaha confirmed bois

 

[dbzfan7]

Spoiler

Brave could also mean BRAVE FENCER MUSASHI EH...EH...EEEEH!...Alrighty!

 

[Zaysho]

Spoiler

Boy am I glad I really like the base roster, because I personally do not care about Joker (I'll probably check out P5 if it comes to Switch though) nor am I all that interested in a DQ rep unless it was, like, Bianca or Yangus.

I'm still a bit skeptical because I feel there are hurdles for DQ, but if it happens then cool. It's a series I wouldn't mind seeing get a push even if the current speculation doesn't excite me. Music will probably be a pain in the ass to get like with Cloud, though.

I am kind of hoping the designation might mean a Bravely character instead though. Not really huge on that game either, but I'd love to see Edea, personally.

 

[Dejimon11]

Spoiler

Oh man if it is a Dragon Quest character can't wait for him to get the same treatment as Cloud 

 

[Salamander]

Interesting.  This lines up with a slightly more detailed 5channel leak I'd seen a while ago on Persona Central (because it also contained details on Joker's stage):

Spoiler

Quote

Erdrick

Stage is Alefgard

Erdrick (Male) and Erdrick (Female), 2 colors each of Anlucia and the Dragon Quest XI Hero

Slime appears on screen with a skill

Achieved through active collaboration on Square’s side

To the benefit of overseas marketing for the DQ series

If this is correct, then it's not just Erdrick; it's a little more than that.  (Anlucia is apparently from Dragon Quest X, by the way.)

This would also line up with a confirmed upcoming Switch release, obviously.  So it's starting to seem fairly plausible.

[Cayenne]

For those who want to get all the spirits, here's a very big list showing which cores summon some of them. All of these combinations are pretty good references of what the characters do or what they are!

Spoiler

Super Mario:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Cat Princess Peach:   Baby Peach + Rover

Birdo:    T-Rex + Starly

Shadow Mario:    Eddy + Vince + Any Neutral Core

Master Cycle:    Mach Rider + City Tripper + Excitebike + Any Attack Core

Paper Mario:    Cut Man + Cardboard Box + Any Neutral Core

Shadow Queen:    Vivian + Gengar

 

Support Spirits:

 

Gold Mario:    Metal Mario + Super Mushroom + Fire Flower

Thwomp:    Rock Pikmin + Rocky

Nabbit:    Duster + Any Support Core

Sprixie Princesses:    Wanda + Princess Shokora

Cappy:    Boo Mario + Ezlo

Professor Elvin Gadd:    F.L.U.D.D. + Poltergust 5000

 

Donkey Kong:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Baron K. Roolstein:    Dr. Crygor + Kritter + The Creature & Flea Man

 

The Legend of Zelda:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Ruto:    Zora + Princess Shokora + Any Shield Core

Koume & Kotake:    Charlotte Aulin + Freezie + Fire Flower

Demise:    Ghirahim + The Imprisioned

 

Support Spirits:

 

Epona:    Rapidash + Malon

Moon:    Majora's Mask + Any Support Core

 

Metroid:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Fusion Suit:    Chozo Statue + Metroid

 

Yoshi:

 

Support Spirits:

 

Super Happy Tree:    Whispy Woods + Bonus Fruit + Any Neutral Core + Any two Support Cores

 

Kirby:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Daroach:     Count Canolli + Mouser + Any two Neutral Cores

Dyna Blade:     Super Star + Beat + Cucco + Any Shield Core

Galacta Knight:     Shovel Knight + Knight Man + Meta-Knights

Masked Dedede:     Hammer Bro + Wrestler & Reporter

Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright:     Baxter & Forthington + Slugger & Green Glove

Queen Sectonia:    Zinger + Princess Shroob

 

Star Fox:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Andross (SNES Star Fox):    Porygon + Commander

 

Support Spirits:

 

Great Fox:    Landmaster + Arwing + Any Neutral Core + Any Support Core

 

Pokémon:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Scizor:     Zebesian + Sidestepper

Kyurem (Black Kyurem):     Kyurem + Zekrom

Kyurem (White Kyurem):     Kyurem + Reshiram

 

Support Spirits:

 

Togepi:     Gordo + Mega Eggdozer

Jirachi:    Star Rod + Luma + Starlow

 

F-Zero:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Samurai Goroh:     Takamaru + Sakura Samurai + Tac + Any Attack core

 

Earthbound/Mother:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Absolutely Safe Capsule:     6 Shield Cores + Mr. Saturn

 

Support Spirits:

 

Mr. Saturn:     Specknose + Qbby

Ultimate Chimera:     Blargg + Pyoro

 

Fire Emblem:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Cordelia:     Severa + Kaitlin & Katie

Ephraim:     Eirika + Frey & Freya

Micaiah:     Sothe + Pitch + Any Grab Core

Xander:     Camilla + Leo + Elise

 

Support Spirits:

 

Hector: Lilina + Any Support Core

 

Game & Watch:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Octopus:     Octoman + Octorok + Oil Panic + Any Two Shield Cores

 

Support Spirits:

 

Chef:     Chef (Personal Trainer: Cooking) + Huey + Any Support Core

 

Animal Crossing:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

DJ K.K.:     Labrador Retriever + 9-Volt & 18-Volt

Resetti:     Mettaur + Dugtrio + Muddy Mole + Any Two Attack Cores

Tom Nook:     Maruhige Shop Owner + Shop Assistant + Any Neutral Core

 

Support Spirits:

 

Blathers:     T-Rex + Fishman + Bettle

Pete:     Cucco + Postman + Any Support Core

Phyllis & Pelly:     Mio and Mayu Amakura + Pitch

Tortimer:     Old Man Lobber + Koopa Troopa + Any Support Core

 

Kid Icarus:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Pit (Original):     Centaurion + Cupid + Any Grab Core

 

Support Spirits:

 

Phosphora:     Elec Man + Rotom

 

Pikmin:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Louie:     Snorlax + Postman + Any Grab Core

Plasm Wraith:     Hakkun + Eddie + Any Neutral Core

 

Wario:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Jimmy T.:    Don Flamenco + Kalypso

 

Support Spirits:

 

Mona:     Ouendan Cheerleaders + Ayumi Tachibana

 

Wii Fit:

 

Support Spirits:

 

Tree:     Whispy Woods + Sudowoodo

Warrior:     Seliph + Heracles

 

Punch-Out!!:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Super Macho Man:     Machamp + Balrog + Urban Champion Fighter + Any Attack Core

 

Xenoblade:

 

Support Spirits:

 

Formula:     Mech + Robobot Armor

Poppi α:     Tora + Flare

 

Splatoon:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Spyke:     Big Urchin + Unira

 

Support Spirits:

 

Inkling Squid:     Blooper + Huey + Any Support Core

Judd:     Judge + Meowth + Any Neutral Core + Any Support Core

Squid Sisters:     Blooper + Meloetta (Aria Forme) + Ouendan Cheerleaders

Flow:     Shop Assistant + Madame Couture

 

Metal Gear:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Raiden:     Solidus Snake + Rosemary + Any three Attack Cores + Any Support Core

 

Sonic the Hedgehog:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Knuckles:     Gordo + Muddy Mole + Any Grab Core

 

Support Spirits:

 

Jet the Hawk:     Pidgey + Akari Hayami

 

Mega Man:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Protoman:     Dr. Light + Roll + Any Shield Core

Yellow Devil:     Waddle Doo + Diskun

 

Support Spirits:

 

Rush:     Chibi-Tot + Boney + Any Support Core

 

Pac-Man:

 

Support Spirits:

 

Mother Fairy:    Great Fairy + Fairy Bottle

 

Street Fighter:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Yun & Yang:    Young Cricket + Mio & Mayu Amakura

 

Support Spirits:

 

E. Honda:    Sumo Bros. + Piston Hondo

Dhalsim:    Fire Man + Great Tiger

Ibuki:     Shinobu + Ayumi Tachibana

 

Bayonetta:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Rodin:     Brewster + Aegislash

 

Castlevania:

 

Support Spirits:

 

Julius Belmont:    Juste Belmont + Reinhardt Schneider

 

Smash Bros.:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Master Core:     Master Giant + Master Beast + Master Edges

 

Other:

 

Primary Spirits:

 

Starfy (The Legendary Starfy):     Moe + Old Man Lobber + Mermaid

The Wandering Samurai (Rhythm Heaven):     Sakura Samurai + Ghosts

Barbara the Bat (Jam with the Band/Daigasso Band Brothers):     Rouge the Bat + Prince Saruno + Any Grab Core

Dillon (Dillon's Rolling Western):     Wheelie + Sandshrew + Any Attack Core

Wonder-Red (The Wonderfull 101):     Wonder-Blue + Drake Redcrest

Ribbon Girl (ARMS): Elite Beat Divas + ChuChu

 

Support Spirits:

 

Jill & Drill Dozer (Dril Dozer):    Drill Man + Duster

Ninjara (ARMS):    Shinobu + Shadow Man

 

Source: SmashWiki. You can see all their stats and abilities there.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Spoiler

I'm honestly pretty doubtful it's DQ. Not because it's inplausible mind, but because of the fact "Brave" is just far far too broad as a description. Joker's codename was Jack - which fits with Jack Frost as the Persona mascot. Brave can fit into a lot of things and a translation for a class in Dragon Quest, and Sakurai liking DQ3 isn't enough for me unfortunately, otherwise you could run that logic to try include the likes of Gino as the leaked fighter. Because literally the only other piece of evidence right now for me to add with this is the rumour that Square is due another rep.

In short, like the Grinch leaks, I'm gonna be taking this with a lot of salt until we've got more evidence. In all honesty, Nintendo were pretty smart with the codenames, it makes it harder for leakers to get details like IIRC - they did for Roy and Ryu in Smash 4. Or even going further back, how about the infamous time where dataminers were able to get literally leak the entirety of PlayStation All-Star's roster from the closed beta complete with character portraits of all characters, instead of just names?

 

[KHCast]

 

I won’t be too bummed about Erdrick, he definitely has reasons going for him, and dragon quest as a franchise I’d say has earned a spot. I can see it being a great marketing strategy since joker already lured many into the fighter pass, and they’ll probably be a few other popular, super hype worthy picks to warrant its purchase regardless, that they can do with using a slot or 2 as a promotional/marketing strategy choice for either region. Like I could for example see Spyro or Crash despite their large western followings being souly included to mainly spread interest their franchises to japan/eastern countries, similarly to how DQ might be being used to promote its franchise to the west. 

However personally speaking, I’d have rather square go with someone like 2B, Lara, Sora or another FF pick, mainly cause I never had a big interest in DQ compared to those other games. But I’m for sure interested in seeing how they work with it here if DQ is indeed getting in. Plus maybe smash will get my curiosity piqued.