Trophies have long been a staple of the Super Smash Bros. series since the days of Melee, however Sakurai announced in today’s Nintendo Direct that trophies will not be featured in Ultimate, adding that they are very time consuming and hard to develop. That isn’t to say, however, that there won’t be something to replace it. SPIRITS HAUNT THEIR WAY INTO BATTLE! ….Sorry.
Spirits are small, 2D collectibles of characters from several different Nintendo and third party franchises, you can probably imagine how that would be easier to develop than full 3D models like trophies.
They are more than just mindless collectibles though, they also serve as a means to power up characters in battle. Similar to the stickers from Brawl or the equipment in Smash 4. A fighter will be able to equip one primary spirit that will enhance it’s raw power and a number of support spirits that will add additional abilities, such as auto-healing and making the fighter metal. Primary spirits each have a type: Attack, grab, and shield. These types form a weakness triangle of sorts with attack being strong to grab, grab strong to shield, and shield strong to attack. Basically, just a fun casual mode for those completionists out there.
“Spirit Battles” will be the primary way to collect them. Here you will face off against a fighter who somewhat embodies the …well, spirit, of the spirit you are trying to obtain. Win the battle and a mini-game, get the spirit.
Other information regarding spirits include: the ability to level them up, with some even taking on a new form once reaching a certain level, making new spirits using cores obtained by releasing the spirits you no longer need into the “real world”, and send spirits off on adventures to return with treasure. Finally, spirits seem to play a major role in the adventure mode teased at the end of the Direct.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will launch December 7th, 2018 for the Nintendo Switch.
