Smashing Saturdays

Well guys and gals, the time has finally come in this installment of Smashing Saturdays. The game came out yesterday and I’m sure all of you are eagerly playing it (or buying a Switch soon in order to do so). It’s been a fun time bringing this segment back to life, and before we retire it once more, I hope you’ll all join me for one last hurrah. This final week had some great brawlers, cool items, stages, music and one shocking reveal even my craziest predictions couldn’t have forseen. All that plus one last Most Wanted Brawler! So let’s get Smashing!


There’s a part of me that’s still amazed Bayonetta made it into Smash Bros. Not because she’s not amazing, she clearly is, but just because she’s such an out there character. Few on the roster mix sexy, dangerous and insane so effortlessly. But after playing the games when they re-released on Switch, I really grew to love the character, and she’s just as powerful and over the top in this series. Sure, she’s no princess, but she’s nothing to sneeze at either.

Smashing Saturdays | Tiki

While I would love for Tiki to be playable, I’m still glad she made the cut as an Assist Trophy. The powerful Manakete usually looks like a cute little green-haired girl, but in reality she’s a 1000 year old dragon. Let’s just say you don’t want to make her mad (or comment about her age). I’m sure she’ll make a stalwart ally in Smash Bros.

Roy may be your boy, but he isn’t mine. That said, the fiery Fire Emblem combatant is a little more fun for me to play than Marth. I love his explosive power, even though he can be cumbersome to play. But at this point we’ve all become accustomed to slashy Fire Emblem reps, so I suppose I shouldn’t complain too much.

There’s some 800 songs in Ultimate including the How to Play music originally from Melee. Composed by Motoi Sakuraba, it is surprisingly dynamic and stirring. To take a listen, just click here.

Smashing Saturdays | Midgar
Run, Isabelle!

Midgar is a crazy stage, with constant Summons of monstrous beasts. I’d say my personal favorites are Ifrit and Ramuh, but they’re all pretty entertaining. The only complaint I have for this level is that I want even more from the Final Fantasy series to join it. Other than that, it’s golden.

For being one of the most powerful Legendary Pokémon, Mewtwo is sure a crappy fighter. Or at least the most recent iteration was, but hopefully that has changed in Ultimate. I don’t mind how technical his moves are, but he’s way too easy to launch. Maybe a powered up Shadow Ball and some unavoidable attacks would make this Pokémon live up to his legendary status.

I still am blown away by the first revealed DLC for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. I’ve guessed a lot of possible DLC characters, but Joker from Persona 5? A game that’s not even (yet) on a Nintendo console? Color me intrigued. As a fan of the Persona series, I’m very excited with this announcement, though I hope it reveals that Persona 5 might be coming to Switch soon. Regardless, Sakurai and company have guaranteed that I’ll be getting the Season Pass.

Okay, we have one more thing before you get back to playing Smash Ultimate. Join me for our final Most Wanted Brawler!


Most Wanted Brawler

Marx

I’ve had a lot of crazy guesses for who could be Most Wanted Brawler, but Marx may be the most well grounded. Why, you ask? Well, for two simple reasons. First of all, Sakurai is the Kirby guy, and we’ve gotten lots of characters from that series. Second, Ultimate has gotten a lot more villains than usual, so why not an adorable death jester? I knew you’d agree. Let’s move onto my speculation for how he might handle.

Smashing Saturdays | Marx Black Hole

Marx was made iconic as the final boss in the Milky Way Wishes segment of Kirby Super Star and Super Star Ultra. He’s a ridiculously powerful final boss, though his form in Ultimate would be more like it is in Star Allies. I think a lot of Marx’s attacks in Ultimate should be based off his unique moveset from Kirby Star Allies. Granted, he couldn’t have all of those crazy attacks, but the core ones should be fair game. As such, his Neutral B would summon his Jester Ball and plop Marx on top of it. This would provide better range for his attacks, as well as letting him roll around causing trouble. By pressing B again, Marx would kick the ball at an angle at foes. For his Down B, Marx would drop an explosive Time-Bomb Jester Ball, which would look identical but would explode instead. For his Side B, Marx would don his rainbow wings and rush forward. And finally, for his Up B, Marx would also don wings, but would instead fly up in an arc before opening a black hole, drawing items and nearby foes towards him. For his Final Smash, Marx would draw foes into an interdimensional tear, unleashing an array of attacks on prone foes, including thorny vines, crescents and culminating in a fusillade of glowing arrows.


Well guys, it’s been a lot of fun bringing Smashing Saturdays back. But now that Ultimate is here, it’s time once more to retire it. I might bring it back with some future unnamed sequel, but other than that probably not. So thanks for sticking with us, and if you still need your fix of Nintendo related news, be sure to keep reading my weekly installments of Nintendo Download!

Smashing Saturdays | Final

Josh Speer
Josh is a passionate gamer, finding time to clock in around 30-40 hours of gaming a week. He discovered Operation Rainfall while avidly following the localization of the Big 3 Wii RPGs. He enjoys SHMUPS, Platformers, RPGs, Roguelikes and the occasional Fighter. He’s also an unashamedly giant Mega Man fan, having played the series since he was eight. As Head Editor and Review Manager, he spends far too much time editing reviews and random articles. In his limited spare time he devours indies whole and anticipates the release of quirky, unpredictable and innovative games.