Game review: Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Of course I bought this game. I doubt there's a single Nintendo fan in the world that isn't going to, even if many of them are going to complain.

It definitely has its problematic points. The fact that you start with 8 characters out of the 70+ to unlock means that everything you do for the first hour or two triggers a new challenger to fight and unlock, which actually gets a bit old after the third time you're interrupted in the middle of practicing or just randomly messing around.

I also can't decide whether I think the story mode and the associated spirits to unlock and manage are an interesting way to make Smash characters and battles that feel inspired by other games or just an irritating slog through a bunch of too-difficult gimmicky crap. Finding cool spirits is definitely a fun way to reminisce about some of the awesome games I've played in the past... but managing them in order to get to the point where I can actually win some of the harder battles is just a pain. And there's very little actual story to enjoy after the initial cutscene, either, which means I probably land on the "don't like" side of the scale for the story mode.

And as with every other Smash game, it really shines best with friends, which is a bit of a problem for someone like me who doesn't often invite other people to my apartment. To say nothing of the fact that I'm terrible at it, just as with every other fighting game I've tried.

For all the negativity above, though... it's still Smash, and it's still awesome to blast people away with Robin's spells, cut them to ribbons with Link's sword, or just punch them with Mario. For someone that grew up playing the original Smash Bros game, including literally everything from past games down to the stages themselves was a masterstroke. It's a blatant play on everyone's nostalgia, but that doesn't make it any less effective.

I don't know that I'd unabashedly recommend this one unless you know you'll have regular chances to play with friends. But even with its flaws, any Nintendo fan is going to find more than enough to enjoy in seeing so much of Nintendo's history in a single game.