Super Smash Bros. "Ultimate" ... Or Is It? 

Its nice to hear someone else critiquing the lack of game modes, that's something that has really turned me off from playing smash bros a lot since Smash 4

I was REALLY praying for a "subspace emissary 2" but really bummed out to see "jpg collecter"

Not to mention how lots of the older characters have uninspired movesets that haven't changed since melee. Sonic's music tracks are more inspired than his moves.

I won't deny it, I saw this video in my recommended bar and the title made me wince, just a bit. But after giving it a watch...... just, damn. It was incredibly refreshing to hear some well thought out criticisms on this game that I hadn't ever given much thought to. You make some very valid points on all of this, the characters especially. I still get flashbacks to the war in the live chat during Byleth's reveal.

29:46 Yo a Sonic stage where it's a flooded Station Square with Perfect Chaos occasionally attacking would be cool

"If you can explain a storyline in 2 or 3 sentences, it's not a story, much less an adventure." -Me, after playing world of light.

I despise the "Daddy Sakurai" thing. What was once a cute little nickname made by Etika (rest in peace) has turned into a phrase used to shut people up and make them look like they've wronged Sakurai and should be ashamed. These people should be ashamed for ruining Etika's most popular phrase (aside from "MEWTWO"). Before Etika went through the downward spiral that lead to his unfortunate demise, I remember saying, loud and clear, "I never want to hear the words "Daddy Sakurai" come out of anyone's mouth but Etika's", and it disheartens me that the OPPOSITE happened only a matter of time after I said that. The Smash Bros. fanbase has more respect for people who go out of their way to SPOIL Sakurai's hard work and effort through leaks than they do people who say they want some character the Smash fanbase feels like picking on, especially Waluigi.

I'm a fire emblem fan, and I agree that Smash has too many Fire Emblem characters, but I still wanted Byleth, because Fire Emblem Three Houses is my favorite game of all time. My problem with Fire Emblem representation in Smash is that some of the character choices are really dumb. Lucina, a character who makes a brief appearance in part one of Fire Emblem Awakening, and only starts to really matter in part 2, is in alongside the two main characters of the game, who are in it from the prologue. And then there's Corrin, who is from what is agreed to be by most fans one of the worst games in the series, and not only that, but is also one of the worst characters in that game, so why are they here? Oh because he was added before the game came out. People outside of the Fire Emblem fandom might justify Corrin because "she's unique since she turns into a dragon" but that's not why a character should be chosen. Every other character makes sense. Marth was from the first game. The Radient games and Three houses are some of the best games in the series with some of the most iconic characters. Awakening is the game that basically revived the franchise, but it already has two perfectly fine characters. Roy is a stretch, but he's a veteran and incredibly popular among Smash fans that it doesn't make sense to get rid of him. That's why I think the ideal FE representation in Smash would be 6 characters, one of which is an echo. Marth, Roy, Ike, Robin, Chrom, and Byleth.

I guess Brawl in the Family said it best: "In this series, though, the real fighting takes place offscreen."

Before I watch this, I already know this is gonna hurt, since I love ultimate. I'm open to hear your thoughts though.

Ultimate - Ey this is cool. **Modded Brawl** - Y E S

I loved trophies. I used to go through and read all of the information about them. It was like a Nintendopedia. And I still think Subspace Emissary is one of the best stories ever told in a Nintendo game. The novelty of seeing all your favorite characters together in top of the line CG cutscenes was cool, but the cutscenes themselves were super effective at what they were trying to do and they did it all without saying a single word.

Lets be honest, every Smash is shit. None of them had the common ducking decency to invite Gex, the greatest video game character of all time smh smh

There is no Kirby Dreamland 3 representation whatsoever. No Hyper Zone 1 and 2, No Kirby 64 boss theme nor Miracle Matter, Not much of anything for Kirby as a whole ironically

10:10 to 10:25 I can't stress this enough. Smash on top of being a great game on it's own, is also possibly the best form of advertising when it comes to video games. Melee introduced me to a lot of Nintendo series which when I was a kid only knew about the big 4 (Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, Kirby). I learned about Metroid, F-Zero, Earthbound, Fire Emblem, even retro games like Ice Climbers and the Game and Watch collection of toys. I even learned about games like Custom Robo through the in-game trophies. Brawl introduced me to Kid Icarus and Metal Gear Solid (I only ever owned Nintendo consoles and an Xbox 360), and Smash 4 got me into Punch Out. Before Ultimate I knew next to nothing about KoF or the NeoGeo, and despite not liking Hero as a character I learned about Dragon Quest's importance in the gaming industry. I don't think I've ever seen a better example of marketing games than a character cameo in Smash.

Mr. Game and Watch has been in Smash in 2001 and they STILL haven't added remixes of music from the G&W Gallery games.

"I think it's genuinely not funny to write people off as ravenous beasts who are just pissed because their favorite character didn't get in" PREACH 👏 IT 👏

And now that the dlc is done, I’m left feeling rather hollow with ultimate. You have this MASSIVE roster, but nothing to do with them. No real substantial single player so there’s no joy in seeing Sora run through hyrule or Steve beating up octolings, there’s not even a “remix” mode that shuffles the spirits with post-launch spirits on the map.

Eh, difference in priorities I guess. For me Smash was mainly about mashing different flavors of action figures together, and as the games have gone on I feel like the characters themselves have done good at being action figures. It feels like I'm matching Simon Belmont up against Sonic, not like I'm plying a fighting game character with their aesthetic on top. Also, while personally I can get being disappointed for newcomers, I usually look at it in the respect that someone out there probably appreciates a given newcomer that I don't want that much more than I do. I'm not a big Banjo fan, but I don't really feel like it's my place to say, "I wanted Sol Badguy instead," when so many people love Banjo. Does that apply to every character? No. But the ones it doesn't, well, I feel like they're the exception more than the rule. Plant was less an instance of trolling to me and it felt more like the dev team just wanted to do something really bizarre and unorthodox. Again, probably would've wanted someone like Kazuma Kiryu instead, and this time without the safety net of any real demand from anyone else, but at the same time I kinda admire that willingness to get really creative. Maybe it's the difference between a half-empty half-full perspective. Like I said, Smash for me is about mashing action figures together, and those action figures to me have only gotten more refined as time goes on, even if every now and again I have to put up with their weird quirks. In that respect, Ultimate really is ultimate to me. And while I do really respect Sakurai's work, and would also defend the game on what I believe its merits to be, I don't think those two necessarily have to be intertwined. I have massive respect for him, and I do believe he puts a lot of effort into what he does (seriously, the guy worked through Tendonitis) and I believe that you can make a case for him on the basis of that effort. But I also know that he's not the only guy working on this game, and that stuff can be messy. Stuff like the timing of Xenoblade versus Fire Emblem's release, like, I don't really think they're trying to hide anything there, they were under no real pressure to give an excuse for Rex not being included anyway. Maybe it's just devotion clouding my perspective. Anyway, you're valid, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I can live with someone not seeing the things I do in Ultimate. Nothing is made for everyone, but I guess Smash Ultimate was made for me. That and I was fine with World of Light I guess. I play Smash to fight so fighting a lot doesn't really bother me. But I can't really fault anyone for having different priorities so, hey, you do you buddy. P.S. Except on the music, we got 50 SNK tracks and no other Smash game can attest to that. Checkmate.

I couldn’t agree with you more, especially your point about “Daddy Sakurai.” Super Smash Bros. is a product, not a gift, and I don’t owe Sakurai in particular, or Nintendo in general, *anything.* If they make what I like, I’ll spend money on it. If they don’t, I won’t. I don’t have to be “grateful” to McDonald’s for the food I buy from them, especially if I don’t like a new menu item, and I don’t have to be “grateful” to media companies either.

I completely agree whit disliking the whole daddy sakurai mindset I feel like a extremely small yet vocal part of the fan base like to harass those who have different opinions. It almost makes you not want to have an opinion in fear of being bashed to death for having one. You dont like a character "hoes mad" "you ungrateful bastard" having a different opinion or a different perspective on something doesn't make you entitled like these people claim. Whenever a new character is announced I see people making these outrageous claims about hate on the character before anyone says anything about said character. These people are just toxic and have a mindset of just shut up and take it which doesn't make sense to me considering I see more people complaining about the people complaining than there is actual people complaining! Always cherry picking the extreme examples to nullify any criticism and unfortunately this has created a toxic image for the smash community leading to the moniker other fan bases give to community being "nintendrones" which I dont agree is true at all but only is reinforced by a community that creates more problems than there actually is. It Is okay to HAVE an opinion wether its criticism or praise,something the smash community fails to accept which is just the sad reality.

12:40-12:51 So what you're saying is that the arguement of characters games being announced after a Smash game has its development started makes that character not allowed to be in Smash as a playable character is a bullshit lie. I'm glad to now be informed of this

this kinda makes me want a "brawltimate" mod that puts all the singleplayer content from brawl into ultimate with its giant roster and better gameplay. that would be a ton of fun

I really love Smash Ultimate alot, but I gotta be brutally honest, part of me feels like this game was rushed in development due to the lack of content this game has outside of the playable characters & stages, especially during launch. No trophy collection, no break the targets, no stage builder, no home-run contest, no Event Mode etc. Yeah I know Stage Builder & Homerun contest were later added into a patch, but that also tells me even more signs that the game was rushed in development due to adding in two features that should've been in the base game in the first place. Again I love this game, I really do, but rushing a game out for the holidays is a big no-no for me.

Really great video, I especially agree on that last point you made. I really wish people would stop shutting down criticism because all I ever see is people complaining on both sides of the spectrum instead of engaging in interesting discussions and speculation (especially with new additions to the roster).

I think the main problem with the roster and the DLC, is that as you mentioned, people make expectations and criteria as to who and why should be included like "I hope the newcomers would be more meaningful" "I want someone that represents a new franchise" "the newcomers should be icons of gaming history", etc.. In other words, people set themselves up for disappointment without accepting the fact that Nintendo is just doing things primarily for profit, that doesn't mean they don't care about the games they make or that the developers, don't put passion into them, but rather that smash is as much a giant commercial as it is a celebration of gaming and gaming history. All that said, there's nothing wrong with having expectations or thinking that such and such character should be included because they're important, or that X character shouldn't be here because they don't deserve it, etc. I just think people get too defensive about things that boil down to personal preference.

Technically speaking Sonic has never received a remix. That Angel Island one was from a Sonic Remix CD that came out around the same time.

The Smash Bros fan community has done a lot to harm my perception of the series. The way mobs of people form group think has absolutely obliterated my interested in even having discussions with people about the series. Responses to my long, thought-out explanations of my grievances and concerns about various aspects of Smash Ultimate with a generic "you're just a hater, we all like the things you're complaining about and you're just bringing everyone down" rhetoric is the same sort of treatment from "fellow fans" that led Pokemon Alpha Sapphire to be my final entry in the Pokemon franchise, and is why I've been getting very close to outright hating the Sonic franchise in the 3 years since the disappointment that was Sonic Forces. My takeaway from this problem is simply stated, but I'll never find a concise way to efficiently explain: the internet was a mistake. Today, people's voices (er, words they've posted to the web) are more prominent and reach more people than ever before, and companies now address criticism/demands but sometimes for the wrong reasons (and in Sega's case, almost exclusively all the wrong reasons). Studios are now more and more scared to take risks or trust their own instincts, because as countless opinions are just a click away these days, instead they may overcorrect and completely remove (rather than refine or rework) not-entirely-bad aspects in future games when fans complain and end up playing things safe, which can sometimes yield a less-enjoyable experience than even past bad games **cough*SonicForces*cough** Games on their own aren't what's turned me into a jaded, cynical gamer who is disappointed with almost every game. It's the internet, witnessing mobs that all come together to try to turn once highly subjective points into societally-agreed-upon objective points, in critical cases like "werehog bad", or in apologist cases like "hoes mad" and how these quotes echo and ripple through the industry, eventually acknowledged by critics and journalists, and coming right back to the very people who make these games, who wind up directly making changes (or not changing what should be changed) that I dislike on the basis of the most vocal groups instead of just having their own vision fully realized. If it weren't for the internet allowing people to find other people who have the same positive or negative opinion as each other and amplify the group's opinion through an echo chamber to the point that it starts to sound like mass consensus (even if the masses don't agree with the group's sentiment) because their voices have become the loudest of the material's audience, I feel like the Sonic series wouldn't be in a second dark age right now, and Piranha Plant wouldn't have been in Smash Ultimate (and even if Sakurai did still add Plant, he wouldn't be receiving half the harassment he's received) TL;DR - the internet has ruined entertainment media for me

This “move sets and how fun they are are more important than what character it is” argument is pretty invalid when you consider that Smash was created and has become a major success specifically because Sakurai asked to use Nintendo characters instead of original ones.

It's not to disrespect his work, but I really hope this is Sakurai's last game. He's done a lot, but I'd love a new vision for the franchise. Get a fighting game dev on board, get directors from different gaming franchises to monitor representation, etc. I just think Smash could use a fresh start. Sure use Ultimate as a base but go wild with it

I feel that if "Hoes Mad" discourages someone from being disappointed in a character then hoes were indeed mad. I've sung hoes mad to myself so many times because it was true... I was salty. I was mad... No matter what someone is always gonna be disappointed in a character-- it's inevitable. That however doesn't mean they're not allowed to be mad/ disappointed. I will say however the party poopers deserve a clean "hoes mad" when they just wanna call others Nintendo shills for being excited.

The irony. Sega's Mascot saved his rival universe.

Ultimate needed an extra year to have that extra polish. While I respect all the work that Sakurai and his team put in, and I enjoy the game for what little time they had, there’s too many minor problems that prevent this game from being my favorite in the series (that goes to Brawl). The buffer system feels off, World of Light is atrociously tedious, online is abysmal, and we lost so many side modes in favor of spirits. I prefer the trophy system. They feel more valuable. The lack of a true successor to Subspace really felt lacking in both Smash 4 and Ultimate. I was disappointed that so many characters were still assist trophies, especially Shadow. The DLC Pass was okay. I didn’t really care about any franchise represented in it except Fire Emblem, ironically. The worst part of this game is the fanbase. “Don’t criticize Papa Sakurai because he put all that work into it! You’re just ungrateful!” This mindset holds up until it comes to Fire Emblem, in which it becomes, “OMG ANOTHER FIRE EMBLEM CHARACTER WTF SAKURAI” and “Haha anime swordsman bad”. People need to realize and allow the criticism of this game and be level-headed about it. I like this game a lot, but it has too many issues to gloss over.

This guys channel deserves way more appreciation than what it gets

At this point in the series, everyone is gonna get disappointed no matter what. Not to say that as an excuse for Ultimate’s flaws, because it has many of them, but that players value different things in Smash. Not everybody is gonna get the character they want, and if only the fan requested characters got in then speculation just wouldn’t be as fun. Piranha Plant was honestly a breath of fresh air just because it showed the unpredictability of characters. Sure, it wasn’t the character people wanted, but on that topic, people who want all these third party characters need to be reminded that this is a Nintendo game at the end of the day, and that third party characters are guests. Aside from characters, people who value Smash for its competitive nature won’t care much for the other modes in the long run after they play it once, and people who value Smash for its content could care less about balancing. Not to say that there aren’t people who care about both though, because I’m sure there are just as many of them. At the end of the day, there’s only so much that can be done to meet all these demands and I think Ultimate does well enough to accomplish the middle ground of all these demands. If Ultimate played like Melee but cut a lot of these modes out then it truly would be the Ultimate Smash game in the eyes of the competitive players, but possibly the worst one to the other side of the community. On the other hand, if Ultimate played like Brawl but kept all of the modes Brawl had and then some, with WoL being an actual sequel of Subspace, then Ultimate would be the Ultimate Smash game to those who value it for its content, but would be another crappy Smash game to competitive players. Of course, that’s not to say that Ultimate couldn’t do a better job at pleasing both crowds or those who are part of both, as the online is garbage, the game buffer feels off, and the long loading times are a bummer, among the other issues presented in this video, but all in all, considering what Ultimate was going for, I still feel Ultimate deserved its title. Loved the video, don’t agree with everything of course, but each point was well backed up. Agree to disagree to whoever reads this.

The effort this guy puts in to defend his opinion from childish people, Sakurai worshippers, and people that don’t pay attention to the video, is amazing. Even when people try to find any excuse they can to use against you, You really are not backing down against anybody. I hope you can change the Smash community forever.

I don't agree with everything you said about Smash Ultimate itself but holy shit I feel what you said about the "Daddy Sakurai" mentality... Honestly this isn't just an issue with Smash Bros but Nintendo in general where fans will let them get away with shit any other company would be roasted for just because they made games they like, Metroid Dread especially has spawned some pretty toxic supporters like the backlash Kotaku received over their emulation article.

I was kind of disappointed when they cut the only form of Sonic Rush representation from the game, Right there right on, especially since i think its the only song that was composed by Hideki Naganuma to make it into Smash.

This is exactly the kind of nitpicky video about Smash that I've been longing to see. In all seriousness, I was hesitant to watch this at first. Of course I didn't think it'd be vitriolic hatred, but Ii think deep down I was worried about watching one of my favorite games being scrutinized. It was that feeling that made me push through and evaluate your points thoroughly. Although I don't agree with some of the things you find issue with (I personally *adore* Piranha Plant), I cannot deny I completely agree with you on mostly everything else. The "story" mode, while having some very creative locales inspired by particular series, is lacking in exploration and unique combat variety. the implementation of Spirits (while welcome) feels like both a creative endeavor and a surprisingly painful lack of effort. The supplementary modes can be fun, but are also dulled down by virtue of the extended cast creating monotony. Single player content like Target Smash, Event Mode, and random Classic Mode that are not present in this entry are sorely missed. The music... *oh god, the music.* The imbalance in franchise representation through music is both baffling and truly sad. Long gone are unique and random remixes like Flat Zone and Gritzy Desert, only to be replaced with remixes of songs redone twice before (I'm looking at you Mario). Though I absolutely love the Delfino Plaza remix with every fiber of my being, and a whole lot more too, I think I would like it even better if *every* series received some equivalent banger, instead of feeling like simple afterthoughts. And I *100%* agree with the victory themes! Not only are they some not new, but they've all been sped up and some are even butchered in the process! I suppose I've just ended up reiterating points and venting, haven't I? To put it simply, I love this game and have enjoyed it immensely, but the implication that it has everything and is the 'Ultimate' experience is a naive notion. Sure, everyone is here, but besides that, what can truly be offered that past entries excel at instead?

Sonic is poorly represented in smash ultimate more than any other character . He only has 2 stages one of which being an uninspired crappy clone of Green Hill zone Like you mentioned in your video, while mega man got 17 remixes in ultimate, Sonic had none of that since brawl which is already more than a decade old this year. And despite Castlevania being a third party game franchise, not only did Richter get announced as another Castlevania rep, but Dracula is also one of the bosses in WoL. Tails who is Sonic's best friend could have made a great Sonic rep but ended being just a useless spirit while Eggman who is also an iconic video game villain could have made a great boss but got reduced to a mere spirit And to top it all, Sonic's movesets really suck. It is like his movesets got designed by a 10 yrs old who only played Sonic 06.Despite all this much time, his movesets remained the same At the end I feal Nintendo really hates Sonic and his franchise

For me, Ultimate went a little too heavy on the roster, and ignored a lot of the other content found in other games. Plus, World of Light is the epitome of filler. Why did they think 12 hours of boring same-y event matches was a good idea?

When you play online and you get a Wario stage with the GAMER song... And all you hear is silence. Or Envoirmental noises on a Pikmin stage.... Very hype battles will commense

The difference between the antidote and the poison is the dose. The two opposite sides of a character release is annoying. But then again, here I am bitching about them in the middle. The only thing I have to say is, Sakurai needs to step away from Smash and focus on creating something else. Man's a workaholic, I don't think the rabid opinion of the people are doing him good. He also seems jaded at this point. And personally, I would like a major Kirby game release on par with Mario Odyssey or BoTW

I see where you’re coming from with All Star being relegated to a mob smash mode, but honestly I understand why they did it. The roster is so massive, especially compared to Smash 4, that each run would go one of two ways: it becomes a tedious grind with several matches of about four or five characters, or five to eight matches with tens of characters in a single match (the latter of which already sounds like a mob Smash match). I think they made the right call with downgrading the mode, even though I’ll admit it takes away from what made it special.

One of my biggest problems in SSBU that they add content through updates I really don't like that habit, Nintendo has a habit of adding content that should've been in the base game through updates, they've done this with Splatoon 1 & 2, Mario Maker 1 & 2, ARMS, Super Mario Party, and now Ultimate. This habit is starting to become really old really fast, and needs to stop.

I understand all your criticisms and agree with a majority of them, though I would argue that Isabelle fits better into the catagory of "meaningful and gets people to pick up the game based on their inclusion alone or is a part of gaming history" better than a character like Rex for example. Animal Crossing is one of Nintendo's biggest franchises (Nintendo's 10th best-selling franchise in fact and that's not counting New Horizons), only increasing in popularity and sales figures with New Horizons' release, with New Leaf selling more in 2 months in Japan alone than Xenoblade Chronicles 2 did worldwide in a year and a half. With that in mind, Isabelle has become one of the franchise mascots after her first appearance back in 2012 (making her one of Nintendo's biggest gaming icons of the 2010s), appearing in every main-line and spin-off title since her debut to such a substantial degree that she's on every single game's cover. Given how much representation every other major Nintendo franchise has (including less successful franchises like Star Fox and Fire Emblem having much more representation) I think Isabelle was a great choice for both giving more credit to a hugely beloved franchise and for adding a recognisable character that would even appeal to those who weren't familiar with Smash, something I don't think a character like Rex would have accomplished. To sum up, while Isabelle wasn't as highly requested as Ridley or King K. Rool in the Smash community, I'd still consider her a big addition in the same vein albeit for a different audience. By which I mean, while a character like King K. Rool is a huge addition to Smash veterans and those nostalgic for the Donkey Kong series, Isabelle was just as huge of an addition to casual gamers and the wider market - a lot more than Villager given his very design took away from his appeal/recognisability due to being an intentionally blank slate and fully customisable character in the main-line Animal Crossing games. I can agree that the execution of Isabelle's moveset could have been better but I would dispute the claim she was a bad inclusion by concept alone.

I agree with you so much on the music segment It makes me wish sakurai didnt let the composers remix whatever they want. I know that sounds messed up but it ends up just being annoying when Castlevania, a NEW FRANCHISE, gets more music than some of the Nintendo owned franchises in the game.

Honestly it's pretty sad that the only new mode in Smash that we got with the second pass was the Sephiroth Challange and it wasn't even a permanent mode

>"""ultimate""" >when there's missing assist trophies

as part of the fire emblem community I can say we (to my knowledge) don't like how much we get. many people didn't want the characters that got in the game (such as chrom, corrin, and byleth) to be in it. many wanted just marth, ike, 1 other not represented class(such as lyn, hector, or ephraim), and MAYBE roy. it gives fire emblem a bad name in the place where it draws the most people. having 8 characters, where others feel like those slots are wasted.

I need someone like ZeRo reacting to this video. This video addresses a lot of things that are wrong with this community. Edit: Uhh forget ZeRo 😅😂

Yeah, that's my main problem with the game. A lack of substantial single-player content and modes. Spirits/WoL are only fun for so long, and the lack of descriptions for Spirits (which seems like something they absolutely could've incorporated) is extremely disappointing and lessens their value greatly in my eyes. What's also ESPECIALLY irritating is that many of the spirit fights are clever in concept, but there's no way to refight them ever (unless you hope and pray to RNJesus that they show up on the Spirit Board again, or replay WoL to the point where you can refight them ONCE). That seems like a massive oversight, because half (more like 90% tbh) of what Spirits are is their fights, due to not representing their franchises other than by...existing.

"It really feels to me like one big popularity contest now, or something like that. It's no longer just the big names getting more stuff than the rest, no, it feels like they get almost all of it. And that's not enjoyable to me no matter what you say." That, and what you said about Brawl is exactly how I feel about Smash and now and how I feel about Ultimate being called Ultimate being a completely bullshit title. I still think that Brawl is the best Smash game because of how much ground it broke in important new stuff but also took the time to actually fucking balance its representation in every way. Everyone got a healthy amount of focus that really shook the potential for lesser money making franchises to get more stuff. And then Smash 4 comes out and all those hopes are dashed. And Ultimate comes out with its fancy "oooo look at how much stuff we have" gimmick and those hopes are dashed once again when its all just fluff and more of the same for shit that already has enough.

This game is awesome but it's honeslty the textbook definition of quantity over quality

Personally, I love the inclusion of Piranha Plant. Not in the "haha sakurai trolled u goooooood" mentality. I just love oddball choices, as they can be just as unexpected and surprising as Joker or Terry. Ultimate's base newcomer roster lacked some oddballs, despite the fact that Smash Bros always added in those kinda oddball characters like Mr Game & Watch and Wii Fit Trainer since Melee. Piranha Plant, being a regular enemy character, a stationary one at that, fits right there with the oddball choices, and honestly, after three entries that had at least one oddball added, it would feel a bit weird to not have an oddball somewhere. It's what adds to the fun of it all. And to be fair, Piranha Plant DOES have a legacy, being one of the most recognizable Mario enemies of the entire franchise. Though, you can argue that Super Mario already has a lot of fighters in the roster, and certain characters deserve being in there over Piranha Plant.

About time someone put Sakurai's hard work talk on blast. It's made me question how honest he is about his work week. Also Piranha Plant's reveal sucks even more when you are someone who has Geno as your all time most wanted.

I will say that I enjoy this game. But when they revealed Shadow was an assist trophy....in the last freaking direct, I was pretty upset. I’ve never felt so conflicted because Simon got an echo in the same game he was introduced in, while Sonic has been in Smash for over a decade and still doesn’t have a second character.

The Mii “support” was definitely nerfed, and by a lot. Customization was somehow worse too It's funny how you seemingly look it over seeing how you main the gunner at least. Nevermind the -lack of outfits -lack of customizable weights and heights

I'm so happy to finally hear someone fight back against the daddy sakurai cultists.

Before I go on a small tangent. I like what you've said and you have great valid points about ultimate. Also note that I agree with you on these notions and that I can't say what hasn't already been said from your video. Now all i'm about to say is...thank god someone who has more subscribers said that the 'daddy sakurai' and the culture around 'hoes mad' is not funny to you because it is absolutely not funny to me. I find it annoying and disrespectful in my opinion and if I were to make a video on such a topic I most likely would not have made it as calm as you did mostly because it is like bullying...=v='. Anyway this was a great video to me. Hope u have a good one dude.

Ngl after seeing all your sonic videos I became a huge fan of this channel. I also saw you with another channel I like called J reviews and game apologist. Your videos are underrated and well made and you deserve way more subscribers. I thank you for making this video. Also just because I'll add some characters I wish were in ultimate. Doomslayer Phoenix wright/miles edgeworth Arle nadja Dante Big boss Bomberman Crash bandicoot Shadow the hedeghog

its so sad that now in 2021 people are having a better online experience with an unofficial switch emulator than native hardware.

With Etika leaving prematurely, with the Smash community gutted by the outing of so many predators and groomers and with the pandemic specially becoming a wrench to Nintendo's development, Smash sure seems like it has lose tons of momentum and importance, there are still characters to be announced but there is simply no hype around it anymore, it's as if the entire internet got burned out of Smash

The whole point of animations in fighting games are to show you the hit boxes.

Imagine being awake at 2 am on an exam day to watch Ultimate's direct. And what you get is watching your only wants put into the "DECONFIRM ASSIST SLAUGHTER".

Yeah, completely agree with World of Light, it needed what Subspace had!

Meanwhile Mario Kart is just chillin'

Honestly,I pretty much agree with most of this video especially the part on how immature the smash community is and the community calling people haters or say that they don't appreciate sakurais work just because they don't like some dlc characters picks. On top of that with the lack of modes like coin battle and event mode, a lackluster classic mode and adventure mode if you even want to call it that, and really bad online especially with the matchmaking system and with how the community acts with this, it makes me take the series less and less seriously and never wanting to play it competitive. At this point, the only time I get excited in smash bros ultimate is new dlc character announcement because honestly there nothing that much to get excited for in the base game. It doesn't feel like the ultimate smash bros game, it just feels like another good smash bros.

Damn I want Rex in Smash so much. That Mii Costume hurt me. And I was so disappointed with World of Light.

i definetly agree with the last part about "daddy sakurai" as a metal gear fan who is aware that these games are the result of a team's work, and not an indie game made by one person and published by a japanese conglomerate. i also agree with brawl being the best in the series, even though people in the melee competitive scene would either laugh or kick my ass if i said that in front of them. that being said, i have to admit that im more bummed out over knuckles not being playable instead of shadow, maybe it's because im much more emotionally attached to the first adventure game. but regardless, im pretty happy terry got in as a fan of classic arcade fighters, at least i get to have some fun with another character that's known for fisting.. .... that was awful im so sorry...

That was well worth the wait, so many well backed arguments and just like Splatoon and SoM, was so cathartic to see. As usual, I got some good laughs, especially that "For $20" bit, had to pause to let it out for a bit. Keep it up man, it's so amazing to see your hard work paying off with this much recognition you're getting. I hate smash.

I feel like super smash bros ultimate is the embodiment of "cram in every possible thing that we can just to try and appeal to the widest possible audience". Hopefully the next game in the series will focus more on re-evaluating what works and what doesn't to improve what we do have, because that's really the only way to move forward without it seeming like a step down.

Ahhh Jeb is talking about one of my favorite franchises ever, again I spend like 100+ hours on Smash 64 Melee was practically there since i have memory Brawl was my childhood I don't have "for 3Ds", but i can tell that is a good time Wii U and Ultimate share 3rd place on my favorite games of all time And the series introduced me to some of my all time favorites Pikmin and Xenoblade Chronicles

I cannot fathom why they haven’t added ANY new Zelda characters in smash since Brawl. We just have different versions of only 3 characters. Honestly I was pretty disappointed when they announced Piranha Plant, but he turned out to be pretty fun to play as.

Smash Run should've replaced World of Light, it has way more replay value by far. Over 75+ regular enemies and is always different. The fact that Spirit Board exists makes having World of Light completely unnecessary. I question why Sakurai keeps making some of these redundant game modes when most of them are similar to each other, on top of having so many menus in a party/fighting game like this?

Wanted to share some of my thoughts on this. I personally don't mind Isabelle and Incineroar, even if the former could have been a bit more interesting. The main gripe that I have with this game is that it was supposed to focus on the veteran fighters this time around. Many characters before Smash 4 had inaccurate or made-up movesets, and since the tagline revolved around every character returning, I expected to get some major changes to how they function. After all, if development time wasn't going into the newcomers as much for this game, this was the perfect chance to really dissect and fix some of the biggest problems with the veterans, with obvious examples being Ganondorf, and as you mentioned, Sonic. But they were barely touched at all, with some getting one move change or Mario getting Cappy and purple coins when he uses Up B. I wanted them to handle the old characters as they did with Game and Watch, updating animations and making moves reference the source material better, generally breathing new life into these characters that have been the same since their debut. But instead, we got less than what Smash 4 offered. Looking back at those Smash 4 directs, you can see where they took the direction of some of the returning characters, making them feel a bit fresher while also having plenty of new characters. It leads me to wonder where those "tens of thousands" of changes went from the jump to Ultimate. Overall, it feels like they prioritized the roster over the characters, and it's a shame seeing the reduced number of newcomers leading to this. It pains me knowing that the series staple characters will likely never get changed, seeing how they were handled when they were supposed to be the stars of the show for this game. Of course, losing All-Star and Events mode was a crime, but my main disappointment lies in how the supposedly best part about Ultimate, the characters, was implemented, and how great they could have been if things were different.

To this I say: to each their own. For me, Ultimate is my favorite Smash game, but I do understand all the criticism against it. Smash as whole isn't really something everyone is gonna enjoy, especially now. I also was personally disappointed by World of Light. I personally would have liked to see Melee's Adventure mode again. I personally love the competitive aspect of the game, but I see why you don't, and why you don't like a lot of the aspects of the game that you mentioned. One of the things that I really dislike about this fanbase is how judgmental they are towards other people's opinions. I was genuinely happy to see Terry finally be added to Smash, but a lot of my friends were so rude about it because they really wanted Hyabusa as an SNK representative instead. I'm not saying people aren't allowed to want other characters, but I don't think people should be rude to other people because of characters they've always wanted. Me personally, I've always wanted Sora from Kingdom Hearts in Smash, and while I may never get that, I could live with that if it weren't for the entire fan base being jerks about it. I think the biggest flaw of Smash is its fanbase because of how memey and judgemental it is. Personally my opinion tho. Thank you for sharing your voice tho, I love it when people come out and talk about their problems with the game, I do appreciate it. :)

3:47 That’s the second most disrespectful Kirby AI I’ve ever seen.

A round of applause for you, sir. I share many of these opinions. Ultimate is not "ultimate." It's pretty damn good, but it is absolutely *not* perfect for a casual single-player experience. World of Light and spirits was a good idea with bad execution, just not enough appeal or depth. There's barely any extra modes, and while it's good they added some more in patches they just should have been there from the start. And a little contrary to you, I appreciate nearly every fighter included (yes, even Piranha Plant and Byleth). My few exceptions are only out of disappointment cuz they feel lacking in terms of moveset. (Half the echoes, Isabelle, Toon Link, mostly those clones that could have more unique to them but just don't due to laziness...) The last direct was also very disappointing in terms of potential characters that were kept hidden but finally revealed only to unfortunately still be assists. I do highly appreciate Sakurai and his team's dedication, but that doesn't make their games perfect or free from criticism.

12:38 If I remember correctly, the development team was give art of Greninja while Pokémon it’s was also in development. They were already planning to put another Pokémon in the game from the start.

overall i feel like this game suffers from a "quantity > quality" approach. it feels like the mario odyssey of the smash series, in that they felt like milking the same base gameplay under a shallow assortment of varied conditions was a good excuse for "content". imo the best thing they could've easily done for this game is to pan out the unique unlocks (characters, stages, songs) throughout a longer time period when playing the game, considering just how much there is to take in. start with say 10 characters, 20 stages, and 100 songs, and set specific varied conditions and/or _long_ time frames to unlock a new one. keep it just long enough to make each new unlock feel special and rewarding, but also to allow the player some time to learn and appreciate the nuance of each unique piece of content. i feel like melee and brawl did this really well (probably helped with the smaller amount of things to unlock, and the more varied ways to unlock them), and there's no reason they couldn't have implemented the same feeling for ultimate by accounting for its higher quantity (besides catering to a content-hungry consumerist mindset). for ultimate, unlocking every unique piece of content within 10 hours makes it all a bit overwhelming and feels rather meaningless in the end. it's the same reason i find the freedom to meander around an open world or sandbox game (or, breath of the wild) to encourage a rather shallow video game experience in the end. it's not doing much to _provide_ a specifically hand-crafted, curated experience for me to immerse myself in. it instead asks more for me to come up with the fun myself, which feels like a shallow and lazy strategy for video game companies to find profit in (let the players do the work!). and i guess this ultimately boils down to how _i_ function as a person naturally (at least when it comes to consuming media). i think i just want specifically hand-crafted experiences with intentional nuance, limitations, and challenges to work through, not another world to feel lack of direction or purpose in -- i already feel that way with our current world, lol. that's why im escaping to the fantasy of video games. and world of light almost does that, but surprisingly it does a pretty good job like you say at becoming the same thing over and over again without much _inherent_ rhyme or reason, besides the lazy approach of being ... more content!!! i know im definitely in the minority saying all of this, but i just wanted to share it all here, because your video shares a lot of my sentiments with ultimate, and i feel it taps into the main issue i have with it, which (to summarize) is that it all just feels rather mindless. nonetheless i appreciate your sentiments a lot (also don't even get me started on the buffer system)

This video is really well made, and made me very upset by how much I agreed with it. I only have one issue that isn't based on opinion, which is the idea that a game release date shouldn't affect a fighters chance of being in Ultimate. The example you used, Greninja, is a bit questionable. As with Incineroar, a slot was already reserved at the start of development for a new Pokemon. All Sakurai was sent was a couple of concept mockups for the starters, and he chose Greninja. I doubt that Sakurai would do the same for Xenoblade Chronicles 2, considering the game came out two years into Smash Ultimate's development. I doubt that Sakurai would even have access to Xenoblade Chronicle 2 before the vast majority of character planning was set in stone. Hell, Incineroar was from a game that came out a year before Xenoblade and only 6-7 months into Ultimate's development, and even he wasn't decided on right away. He got the same reserved slot treatment as Greninja. As for Byleth, the way Sakurai spoke in the direct made it seem like Byleth got a bit of special attention to be included. If Three Houses wasn't as monumental as it was, I doubt Byleth would have been included. Corrin doesn't fall into the monumental category, but Corrin's inclusion lines up with most of the Pokemon, if we're going on the Japanese release date. Considering that Fire Emblem got the same Pokemon reserved slot treatment in Brawl, this kinda makes sense. Overall, you blatantly claiming that a 'game's release date affecting a character's inclusion in Smash was a lie' just left a bad taste in my mouth. You don't mention how these huge shoe-in franchises like Splatoon and ARMS had unnaturally long wait times for a character. You do mention how Pokemon, a franchise that has had a special reserved character slot system since Brawl, got a character within a year of release with Smash. I'm sorry, but Xenoblade would not get this kind of treatment. A game's release date CAN bar characters from Smash. Yes, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was huge, but that happened after it was released, which was way past the mark for an inclusion. DLC would have made sense, but they were too busy having fun with Piranha Plant. Other than that, this was a really good video, I just did not like that comment about release dates. I might edit this in the future as more arguments and counter points come up, so hopefully it doesn't grow outdated faster than the Grinch leaks.

I love sorting by new and seeing how he answers people’s questions a month after the video came out

As a rather huge fan of Ultimate and Smash in general, this video definitely makes me feel some kind of way. Not a bad way mind you, as your points DO hold some merit (though I find myself disagreeing with your take on Classic Mode, that's whatever). But anyways, as a huge fan of Smash, I was one of the "Daddy Sakurai" enforcers of sorts, calling any Waluigi fans upset at the Assist Trophy reveal to be wrong, disrespectful, and so on and so forth. This mask did start to crack with the November Direct, where I was admittedly disappointed with Incineroar being the last base game fighter to be added (though I will admit I LOVE him to death now, he's like top two in my favorite Pokemon list because of Smash), and Plant was, well Plant Gang got rather old rather fast. The first four DLC of the Fighters Pass were GREAT however, I love all four of them to death (ESPECIALLY Joker, Hero, and Banjo, them three are so fucking cool), and as such my mindset pursued onwards until Byleth. I wasn't happy, far from it actually, but I didn't want to come off as someone who was ungrateful for Ultimate, so I tried to like them. I really, really did. But lately, I've just been getting more and more frustrated with myself because, I can't, and part of me thinks I'm being a shit Smash fan for not liking Byleth, that I"m ungrateful and I should just be happy this game even exists. Your video gave me that final push to just say fuck it though, I don't NEED to be happy with every single character, and I thank you for that, really. Though this lil section kind of ruins the like finality of this comment, I do just want to say that while it's CLEARLY never been a franchise getting equal treatment show, seeing how FE, Pokemon, and Mario never fail to get a new fighter, the fact that Zelda (a personal favorite franchise of mine; I main Zelda and my favorite game of all time for a mighty long time was Link to the Past) hasn't received a new fighter since Brawl while FE keeps on getting new reps, eventually BEATING Zelda in terms of number of reps? It doesn't feel right man. AND MUSIC MY GOD SONIC GOT DONE SO WRONG. And not only that, Lost in Thoughts All Alone and Mario overworld themes having a bajillion songs is wack. And though you didn't address this, I feel that Metal Gear and Bayonetta just being in as instrumentals is a HUGE detriment to those franchises, as the lyrical versions of some of their songs are the best the franchise has to offer. Anyways, this is a great video and I hope you don't let the hateful comments get to you man!

I love you dude, the masses react to gripes with sickening indifference. "You take what you can get" or, "That's just the way it is" is repeated so often nowadays with a lot of things but I say keep caring, it hits a note with me. I respect your passion way beyond what I can convey with words.

It's really not that ultimate anymore.

Smash bros ultimate needed another year in the oven, change my mind.

At first, I thought this video would've been just a rant. But, I watched the video in full, and can say that you make a good point, and I agree with you. Smash Ultimate doesn't feel "Ultimate", and it annoys me how many fans of the series are willing to allow negative opinion and criticism. Anyways, great video overall.

i WARNED you about those STAIRS BRO. i TOLD u DAWG. but yeah, homestuck aside, I love your videos man. i deeply enjoy your criticisms on things people dont usually speak up on and I was similarly dissatisfied with ultimate and seeing my thoughts put out on display like this was refreshing.

I've definitely wanted more Sonic representation in Smash (not to mention Ryan or Jason voicing him). Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like Sakurai and Co. wish to prioritize that franchise in terms of fighters, stages, or even music, and that makes me really sad.

The executives at Nintendo want Smash Bros to be a showcase of their new games. We want Smash Bros to be a showcase of our favorite games.

If they add Spyro, I'll be satisfied.

It’s like you’re forgetting the game is literally just a big Nintendo & Friends advertisement lol

42:22 I agree I felt like Brawl was way more fun as an overall casual experience than ultimate

Not too into fighting games, but I LOVED Subsapce Emissary as a kid. Seeing this epic story playing out while also starring my favorite video game characters was awesome! I tried to be hyped for World of Light, but it was just too bare bones and...arcade-y for me.

This is honestly the truth for me. I actually never wanted to get Smash Ultimate. My own friends kept begging me to reconsider and buy Ultimate. The reason why I was so against/hesitent to get Smash Ultimate, was because of the hell I endured in Smash 4 3ds. For me, the worst Smash game I've ever played was Smash 4 3ds. The game was nothing but misery for me, and the fact that nearly every single one of my friends had to play competititvly really made me the Black Sheep of the friend group. Heck, it's kind-of happing again With Ultimate, only all 3 of them are pressuring me to Elite Bowser ( a character I have failed with time and time again, and have given up like multiple times.) I'm about hard-pressed to maybe put Ultimate down and never touch it again (for the 5th or 6th time... I've lost count). But if you were to look at my channel at that time (November of 2018 and then December 2018), you would have seen I got Ultimate. The reason for it, was because of Piranha Plant. A single newcomer threw me for such a crazy loop that I ended up pre-ordering the game on the last month, and then went and played it on release instead of waiting till christmas. The part I felt was an absolute insult for me was that I was officially finished with Ultimate after beating World of Light 100%. I had no need to continue the game, and only pick it up and play it casually. Yet from March 2019-December 2019 was when Ultimate for me started to go downhill for me. Heck, even the beginning of 2020 with Ultimate became a frustration for me. I actually hate King K. Rool, Snake, Ness, The Link Trio, and Jigglypuff, all because those characters give me hell even while playing as Bowser. A character, who of which my friends seem to love degrading, is the easiest character that can get into elite smash without so much trying. One of them has stated that he could elite Bowser blindfolded and he won't do it. If you want his youtube channel name, I'll give it here and everyone who reads this comment can spam "Elite Bowser Blindfolded-or you have no Kong". He would know that it was me who started it, but he brags so damn much about being able to do it, that he should be able to prove it. I bought Mario Tennis Aces, saw it had Piranha Plant, and I was like.... whelp, I wasted $80 (probably $100 now) Buying a game that gets me frustrated for a game that I could just laugh at.

Sonic must be so lonely being the only person from his universe as a playable character

Your saying of world of light being not fun is what i say. My friends kept saying to play the world of light mode but i tried it but never got captivated, never fun, and freaking anoying and hard.

All my problems with Ultimate stem from how the game FEELS to control. I am very used to Melee's physics and input system. In Ultimate, they added a buffer system. This means, basically, that you can input a command (attack, jump, roll, etc) early, and the game will remember your input and execute it as soon as possible. So in Melee, for example, if I am in an attack animation, I can't input another attack. I have to wait until my current attack is over before I can input another. If I try to input another attack early, nothing happens. This means I have to time my button presses precisely. In Ultimate, I can do the inputs for my next attack while the current attack is happening, and I'll do the next attack as soon as my current attack is done. This may be a matter of personal preference, but I HATE this. It makes the game feel clunky and imprecise. Again, as somebody who has nearly two decades of Melee muscle memory, I find that in Ultimate my character is constantly doing shit that I didn't tell them to do. Why did my character randomly roll when they landed? Oh, because I held the R button just a little bit too long after I air-dodged. Why did my character randomly up-B after getting hit, causing me to fall and die? Oh, because I was still holding B from a previous attack. I understand that the buffer system has its benefits and some people probably have the opposite problem with Melee's lack of a buffer system. But why can't the player CHOOSE to use the buffer system or not? Why can't I turn it off? Or reduce the number of buffer frames? It just serves as a frustrating barrier to entry if you have muscle memory from previous games. If this really is the "ultimate" Smash experience, isn't that something I should be allowed to customize? Not something that's forced on me?