Super Smash Bros., one of the most popular Nintendo franchises and one of the most popular fighting games period, arguably reached a peak. With Ultimate, they reached what many franchises would consider an apex. It’s like if Nintendo released a Pokémon with nearly all 1,008 creatures available- where can they possibly go next?
Smash Ultimate was a triumph and a celebration of gaming. non-Nintendo franchises found themselves represented, which is rare for a company that doesn’t usually play well with others. After that, what can they even do?
Why Super Smash Bros. Ultimate felt like a final sendoff
Smash Ultimate introduced 80 characters to the game, with classic characters like Mario, Donkey Kong, Luigi, Jigglypuff, Link, Isabelle and others appeared from Nintendo’s major franchises, but it didn’t end there.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Nintendo afterthoughts like Piranha Plant, Ice Climbers, Mr. Game & Watch, Lucas, Duck Hunt and Richter all made their way into the game, too. They didn’t stop there, either. Steve from Minecraft was eventually added. Joker from Persona 5 and Sora from Kingdom Hearts got slots in the game. As more DLC characters were added and the game kept expanding, it felt like a final sendoff.
To make that even more clear, this was the final game that creator Masahiro Sakurai will ever work on. If ever there was a “final” game in a franchise, it was this one.
What are Super Smash Bros’ options now?
However, it doesn’t seem like Nintendo wanted this to be their last game. Perhaps they jumped the gun, but they’re going to have to make another game that will likely not be as good or well-received.
Smash Ultimate released shortly after the Nintendo Switch console, which makes sense. Most major consoles (the Wii, the N64, the GameCube and many others had an iteration of the game) have featured the franchise. That also likely means that the next console, whenever that should release, will need one, too.
Assuming Nintendo doesn’t call it quits after the Switch (rumors of the Switch Pro have been rumbling for years but with no fruition), then more consoles are coming. That means they’ll need more exclusives and their top franchises will have to foot that bill.
Super Smash Bros may not be Pokémon, Mario, Zelda or even Animal Crossing, but people buy consoles for the game nonetheless. That almost requires Nintendo to think about what their next Smash game will be if they plan on releasing a console. Some of the best Smash Bros players would agree the game needs a facelift at the very least, and massive backend changes at best.
The next Smash Bros Game
There are plenty of characters who didn’t make it into this game. Waluigi was famously left off the roster. Several top notch Pokémon, like Mew, Groudon, Eevee (with all different Eeveelutions) and others, didn’t make it. There are still tons of characters and franchises they didn’t include.
The trouble is that if they include those, who gets left off from Ultimate’s roster? The next director of this franchise certainly has their work cut out for them. It’s almost impossible to go bigger and better for the sequel. With that in mind, it may be a good idea to go smaller. Smash isn’t a game predicated on anything but players fighting each other. The other game modes aren’t played all that much, but that might be where the future of the franchise is.
Instead of a massive game, make it smaller. Include maybe 30 characters and focus on giving the community more to do. Rather than add more characters, add more game modes.
It’s very unlikely that Ultimate (even the name sounds like it’s the last game in the franchise’s storied history) is the last game they make. It’s too important and popular to quit now. However, they backed themselves into a corner with the last release and may struggle to find a new direction in the future.
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