Although the Super Smash Bros. tournament at EVO 2018 was a disaster due to it being plagued by angry crowds and unprofessional players, the excitement surrounding the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is as real as ever. Today, during the Nintendo Direct focusing on the game, game director Masahiro Sakurai revealed tons of new information for the upcoming fighter.

Of those reveals, one of the more exciting is the number of stages and stage-related functions coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The game will feature 103+ stages, with Pokemon Stadium, Garden of Hope, Brinstar Depths, the Summit (Ice Climbers), Unova Pokemon League, Magicant, Gamer (Game and Wario), and Final Destination all returning. More than that, however, there will be new stages such as New Donk City Hall from Super Mario Odyssey.

While players can expect new stages such as the addition of Castlevania stages, Nintendo appears to be keeping true to its roots, as the N64 version stages are in the game and are designed to keep the old-school style first and foremost. It was also revealed that players would not need to grind to unlock any stage because they will be available from the start. Check out the Nintendo Direct stage showcase below:

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will also have a stage morph function, making it possible to switch between two stages mid-fight, which should create some interesting encounters. Also, stage hazards can be disabled, with any stage having the potential to be set up in a similar manner to Big Battlefield, meaning there will be 300+ playable stage versions.

Considering the vastly popular fighting game topped Twitter's charts during E3, it's likely this Nintendo Direct is just fuel to keep the Smash Bros. hype train going. Tell us, Ranters, what changes are you excited to see coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate when it launches this December?

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launches December 7 exclusively for Nintendo Switch.

Source: Super Smash Bros. Direct