Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct Overview - November 1st

Quite a few things announced, but for a quick breakdown on this Smash Direct's highlights go as follow.

Character Announcements

Paid DLC is Announced as well.

Features a lot of grappling and cancel frames.

Echo Fighter of Ryu, but with more fire and based on Super Street Fighter 2.

First Announced paid DLC character, but is early adopter bonus (See below)

Amiibo Launch Line Up

Dates are tentative

07/12/2018

• Inkling
• Ridley
• Wolf

15/02/2019

• King K. Rool
• Ice Climbers 
• Piranha Plant

Available 2019

• Ken
• Isabelle
• Young Link
• Pichu
• Daisy

New Upgrade System: Spirits

Not the spoopy kind.

Taking on the previous upgrading system from Smash 3DS/Wii U, this new Spirit system is tied in with the new story mode. But for the most part, this is will augment your fighter with a Spirit's power from another franchise. Split into four levels: Novice, Advanced, Ace, and Legend.

They're split into Primary and Support Spirits, with Primary affecting how you play the most and support being stat changes. This new addition will also feature its own supporting game modes with a training and adventuring mode to garner new and more power Spirits to add to your collection. There's also a crafting system and they're able to be infused with your Amiibo to further power them up. Beware of greater challenges as they can be maxed out versions for even greater boons and difficulties. 

Very similar to previous system, also fighting at a lower power will yield more rewards when hunting them.

Multiplayer Details

How matchmaking and game modes will function

Multiplayer is no longer split between "For Fun" or "For Glory", and is now tied to a matchmaking system that will factor in your preferred game mode/modifiers, GSP, and geo-location.

Otheriwse known as GSP.

This is your global performance measure against an initial 100,000 players. This will rise and fall based on how well others player, and is tied per character. Also, to stop foul play you will be kicked from a match if your repeatedly self-destruct. Elite Smash will also be available, which is basically the "professional scene" and will affect balance changes based how that performance metrics for that. Part of this new multiplayer dynamic will feature a banner system called Smash Tag which will keep track of the opponents you've faced. And as extra personality, you'll be able to greet your opponents before a fight with predetermined lines linked to your D-Pad. And before the fight, you'll be able to pass the time by doing warm up matches against CPUs or the training room.

Spectator mode is back with a new lobby system called Battle Arena. This is a new mode that will allow you to play with others in a more organised manner online. With its house rules and queue/spectate mode, this will allow people to float between fighting and chatting on the Nintendo Switch App. A supporting app for the game is Smash World, TBA other than 2019, this will be a free service to post and share with your Smash friends/competitors.

Assist Tropy List additions

There is now 59 for those counting

• Yuri Kozukata - Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water
• Isaac - Golden Sun
• Black Knight - Fire Emblem Path of Radiance
• Thwomp - Super Mario Series
• Spring Man - ARMS
• Wily Capsule- Mega Man 7
• Flies & Hand - Mario Paint
• Tiki - Fire Emblem Awakening
• Vince - Art Academy Series
• Guile - Street Fighter Series
• Akira - Virtua Fighter Series

Mob Smash

A Returning Game Mode

Back in Smash

Century Smash will have Miis and All-Star Smash will unlocked fighters on rotation. Not much else.

Story Mode

Sort of

I'm crying of joy.

Whilst the previous entry lacked a main campaign/story mode, this will seek to rectify it. With the aforementioned Spirits, a brand new opening cut scene was shown with its own selection of voice acting. The teaser shown has Kirby be the only fighter to escape what is a swarm of Master Hands and something that looks closely like Tabuu from Brawl. A sprawling map was shown with a host of challenges, it looks like you'll fight against a horde of evil cloned fighters with their own host of Spirits. Nothing else can be said with it being speculation, but the standard of CGI is clearly rising and that the theme song has lyrics.

Paid DLC Announcement

A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

No details on the characters, but the DLC will be sold in packs that will contain a new fighter (not an echo), stage, and their own assortment of soundtracks. A welcome idea to making them have more value. This will come in five batches, again TBA, with the ability to be purchased singularly or as one. £5.39/€5.99 and £22.49/€24.99 respectively. This will go on for about a year post launch.

Also, as previously mentioned with Piranha Plant this will be available for purchase alone at a later date. However, if you purchase the game before 31st of January 2019 and activate the My Nintendo Gold Points before then you will unlock it once it's released. Also, pre-ordering the game on the Nintendo Switch Store will reward you with double the My Nintendo Gold Points worth up to £6/€7, available until 09/12/18.

Smaller Additions

A quickfire to highlight these new things.

•  Mii fighters have more costumes and their voices can be customised.
• The game will feature 11 languages with their own VOs for Japanese, English, French, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Nederlands, Russian, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), and Korean.
• Teammates' transparency can be adjusted for easier readability.
• In-game currency of gold can purchase Spirits, items for Spirits, and soundtracks.
• Smash Tags can be exchanged for Gold.
• Tips and character guides can be found in Help menu.
• Brightness and audio is has TV and Handheld settings.
• Custom balance system (not available in wireless/online)

And that's it, everything in Smash Ultimate announced before launch. Not their biggest and baddest Direct, but it did what it need to do confirm things and prove that it is the Ultimate edition. Personally, this only cemented things but I do hope that the new Spirit system is better than the previous iteration. What about you? Comment below your thoughts and I'll see you in Smash.