It wouldn't be called Super Smash Bros. Ultimate if it wasn't the culmination of the entire series, would it? At its E3 2018 event Tuesday, Nintendo pulled back the curtain on its flagship fighting game, and there's lot to go through.
And if all of this information has you dying for a release date, don't worry. Nintendo revealed Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is scheduled for a December 7, 2018 debut.
Every Smash Bros. character is returning
You read that right. Every single character that's ever been in a Super Smash Bros. game will be in Ultimate. And that includes the third-party DLC characters from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS such as Ryu, Cloud and Bayonetta.
Your favorite characters are getting reworked
In addition to a ton of characters, both new and old, Nintendo announced that many familiar characters will have new moves and capabilities to freshen up their gameplay. Many of these characters have been relatively unchanged since their first appearances, so Nintendo is refreshing the likes of Mario and Link to reflect new looks.
And the changes don't stop there -- in an extensive walkthrough, Nintendo announced major and minor tweaks to every character from Cloud, Ryu, Young Link, Bowser and beyond. Smash die-hards will be poring through the details for months to figure out what's exactly changed.
More characters means more Kirby variations.
NintendoClone characters are now Echo Fighters
These characters have minor variations, but look and sound distinct. For example, Daisy has been introduced as Peach's Echo Fighter, much like Dark Pit to Pit. Nintendo teased even more of these fighters would be in store for the future, but only a few were revealed initially.
New characters are joining the fray
You didn't think Smash Bros. Ultimate would just have old characters, right? Splatoon's Inklings, which were featured prominently in the initial Smash Bros. Ultimate teaser trailer, are confirmed to be in the game, with all of their unique moves in tow.
And yes, even Ridley is making an appearance. Practically every single forum post, tweet or blog post in the Smash Bros. fandom speculating about new characters has at some point included a mention of the frequent Metroid series antagonist. Nintendo has even spoken about why Ridley has been left out of previous entries. But in Smash Bros. Ultimate, Ridley's finally entering the fray.
You can use your old GameCube controllers, again
Miss out on one of those GameCube adapters for the Wii U version of Smash Bros.? Don't worry, they're coming back as Nintendo once again addresses the Super Smash Bros. Melee community's biggest request and enables support for GameCube controllers.
E3 2018: Everything you need to know about the biggest game show of the year.
E3 2018 coverage at GameSpot: Wall-to-wall coverage of the show from our sister site, GameSpot.
