Several games have become synonymous with the Nintendo Switch, owing to both their great quality and sales. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Animal Crossing: New Horizons are two, but even they have made way for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Both titles were so popular that they had years of post-launch support, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe even coming out in the Switch’s first year and wrapping up its season pass in what may be the console’s last. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s wasn’t active for as long, but its DLC dominated fan discussions for the length of its stay.
Once Super Smash Bros. Brawl introduced the idea of guest characters, appearing in Super Smash Bros. became an industry-recognized badge of honor. Sega and Konami jumped in immediately, with Capcom, Square Enix, and Bandai Namco joining in the next game. By Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, playable characters, Assist Trophies, Mii Fighter costumes, and Spirits included anything from indie characters like Shovel Knight to Microsoft representatives Banjo-Kazooie and Steve. It all culminated two years ago on October 18, 2021, with Kingdom Hearts’ Sora released as Smash Ultimate’s final DLC character, and there couldn't have been a better finale.
Why Sora Joining Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Was Such A Big Deal
There were several reasons why Sora ended up being the final character added to Smash Ultimate. A big one is the number of heads his announcement would turn, as he stands out even in a Fighters Pass shared with Minecraft's Steve. Kingdom Hearts, the franchise Sora hails from, is co-owned by Square Enix, which has several fighters in Smash Ultimate, and multimedia conglomerate Disney. For the longest time, Smash fans and even the series’ own developers thought that detail killed Sora's chances of inclusion. Even with its reputation, Super Smash Bros. wouldn't circumvent the legal nightmare that came with using a Disney property.
That is, until director Masahiro Sakurai met a Disney representative that was interested in Sora joining Smash Bros. More negotiations followed, but the biggest hurdle for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's team to overcome after that was apparently following Kingdom Hearts director and character designer Tetsuya Nomura's lore-centric guidelines. Everyone involved understood the gravity of a Disney and Square Enix crossover character now joining a Nintendo crossover that spanned the gaming industry, and wanted the result to live up to its potential.
Sora Marked Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s Grand Finale
With the addition of Sora, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate had completed not just its updates, but building a lasting legacy. There has never been a celebration of video game mascots as thorough as Smash Ultimate, and Sora’s trailer went out of its way to show it with every fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate welcoming Sora in. Smash Ultimate’s tagline “Everyone Is Here!” rang true not only in marketing its launch roster, but in its DLC as well.
Having been released on December 7th, 2018, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate spent three years ensuring it was the ideal Super Smash Bros. title, a crossover game that offered both fun fighting and flourishes that would please every character’s fans. Ending by joining its massive multiverse with Kingdom Hearts’ was almost poetic, and Sora's amiibo will soon mark Smash Ultimate’s final update. It's hard to imagine a future Smash title living up to Ultimate, but that means it’s free to try something new and let Super Smash Bros. Ultimate stand as the complete package it is.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available now on the Nintendo Switch.
