Believe it or not, but one of the most intriguing teases to come out of today’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct wasn’t the deluge of new fighters entering the fray. Just before King K. Rool smashed onto the scene, Sakurai gave eager Smash fans a glimpse of the game’s new and improved menu system.
Gone are the clunky cursors of the Wii U era, and in its place a much more elegant solution for selecting one of Ultimate’s many gameplay modes. Front and center is an analog wheel which presumably uses the joystick for directional selection. The ZR button has also been conveniently mapped to a dashboard toggleable from right side of the screen. This allows for quick access to numerous options such as help manuals, wireless connections, notifications, and more.
Fun fact – the characters in the sphere are the original eight debuting way back in Smash 64! Minus the four secret fighters, of course.
Most mysterious, of course, are two heavily pixelated icons — one in the dashboard and one in the mode selection. While the former is anyone’s guess (built-in voice chat?), the latter is most surely a single player mode in the vein of Smash Run, Smash Tour, or the Subspace Emissary. Given the blurred iconography doesn’t seem to quite match any of the three listed above, our bet’s on something entirely new and exciting.
Whatever the case, it’s sure to keep Smash fans speculating for the weeks and months leading up to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s release on December 7th. Here’s hoping Nintendo lifts the veil on these enigmatic features sooner rather than later.
Check out our more detailed look at the blurred out area in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s main menu.
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Written by Matthew Weidner
When it comes to playing and writing about video games, Matthew aspires to be the very best, like no one ever was. Writing for Nintendo Wire and the thought of one day finally achieving a perfect, no death Super Meat Boy run fills him with determination.
