‘Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’ Has Evolved Beyond ‘Nintendo All Stars,’ Says Director

When it first got its start back in 1999 on the Nintendo 64, Super Smash Bros. essentially served as a "Nintendo All Stars" fighting game, featuring a number of characters from the company's game franchises going at it in full-blown combat. But the director of the series believes that Ultimate has helped it grow past that.

In a new Famitsu column (translated by Siliconera), the director of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Masahiro Sakurai, stated that with this new release, it's no longer just about Nintendo's characters as a number of stars have made it a full blown gaming brawl for all.

His belief, according to the column, is that the series is more defined by the gameplay that it has to offer, and that seeing so many characters thrown into the mix make it more than just a routine one-on-one fighting game. To revert back to that simple formula would, well, keep it from being Smash.

Sakurai isn't wrong. Over the years, we've seen some key additions to the series that help it diversify beyond Nintendo's group, ranging from Street Fighter's Ryu to Pac-Man to Capcom's Mega Man to Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog and so on. And with the new DLC characters coming to the game starting next year, things are really going to get nuts, with Persona 5's Joker being the first to join the party.

As part of his column, Sakurai also issued gracious thanks to the staff and third parties that allowed the use of their characters within the game. He noted that "Everyone is here!" was some sort of a miracle and the deck is so stacked with playable characters, he's not sure how he's going to top it with a follow-up.

And even if we were going to get a sequel, Sakurai noted that it'd probably take some time. He's finally looking to earn himself some rest (well deserved, considering his tireless effort), and may revisit the series in about ten years' time. We're not sure if he's joking or deadly serious about that statement; but at least we have Ultimate to enjoy in the years to come.

With the characters that are unlockable in the core game and the others that are joining through DLC, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has more than enough to keep us busy. You can check it out now for Nintendo Switch in both physical and digital form via the Nintendo eShop.

(Hat tip to Siliconera for the details!)