The next Super Smash Bros. is going to be truly Ultimate. Not content to dish out another slate of banal single-player modes, Sakurai has returned to the Adventure Mode model once more. Titled “World of Light,” what we’ve seen makes Subspace Emissary look like a bunch of kiddies playing around in the backyard by comparison — what a way to close the Direct!
Sakurai showed off the introductory cutscene to the mode, which looks… bonkers. The whole cast is in a locale reminiscent of Brawl’s intro/ending as some Safer Sephiroth wannabe Tabuu thing (named “Galeem”, apparently) sends out waves upon waves of Master Hands out before vaporizing everything and everyone with rainbow-colored tendrils. In the ensuring slaughter, only Kirby – sweet, precious, courageous Kirby – survives, leaving him the lone hero remaining to fight against the encroaching evil. It’s got voice acting, morbid demise, comedy (SNAKE), and a lyrical version of the Ultimate theme (Lifelight) that sounds like the anime opening to end all anime openings. Words can do it no justice, so watch it for yourself.
We get glimpses of how the mode works as well: Kirby (and other characters as you unlock them) traverse upon an open-world, engaging in Spirit Battles. All of the game’s myriad non-Kirby fighters are creepy detached red-eyed zombies now, so you’ll have to beat them up to restore their Spirits. Overworld exploration looks immensely varied, pulling on a variety of different properties like Splatoon, Pokémon, and more while appearing to have even some light puzzles — though side-scrolling à la Melee Adventure and SSE appears to be absent. We see one of the old Brawl bosses show up, and parts of the mode are apparently being kept secret for launch, so there’s even more to come.
Stay wired as we round up more of the Smash Direct and continue our coverage.
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Written by Amelia Fruzzetti
A writer and Nintendo fan based in Seattle, Washington. When not working for NinWire, she can be found eating pasta, writing stories, and wondering about when Mother 3 is finally going to get an official localization.
