Does Super Smash Bros. Ultimate deliver a generational leap for Switch?
With Switch the single platform it needs to focus on for its latest game, developer HAL Laboratory is able to create the most feature rich entry in Super Smash Bros. series yet. Graphically speaking, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the best-looking game in the franchise: its 75-strong cast and many stages get revamped textures and lighting compared to the Wii U release of four years ago. It also succeeds as a sequel to two previous versions, by offering the de facto home console successor to Wii U, and more impressively, a stark upgrade over 3DS' visuals on the handheld side. Over the last week we've pored over the game from every angle, figuring out what makes - and breaks - the game next to these two versions. It's a remarkable achievement, but is it truly the greatest Smash title ever made?
First, let's acknowledge the sheer scope of the project. Weighing in at 14GB, Ultimate contains every character, mode and stage from the series' history - including previous absentees like Ice Climbers and Solid Snake. Notably, the Wii U and 3DS removed Ice Climbers, with HAL's determination to keep roster parity between the two machines. It's understood the 3DS struggled to render two characters per player - a technical limit that meant the home console version also missed out. On Switch? Well, everything is reinstated - though some aspects of the game still make Ice Climbers a tricky proposition. More on that later - but the bottom line is that this version at least gives you that option, along with many more, to play Smash however you like.
But with the new Ultimate, what's changed, and what stays the same? Compared to the Wii U version, there's a big distinction in the method of lighting. Director Masahiro Sakurai and his team could easily have rested on their laurels and handed in a direct port from Wii U to Switch - and for some that would have been enough. But instead, they've gone much further. For a start, its lighting model is drastically overhauled, giving every stage a starker, more vibrant appearance. Both current and last-gen versions run at a native, fixed 1920x1080 on your TV, by the way - but the new lighting gives Switch a brighter, cleaner presentation.
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