Photo courtesy of AntMan3001, Flickr.
“Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” has been one of the most popular video games of this generation, in part due to the additions of new fighters thanks to the game’s downloadable content. Adding onto the initial list of 69 playable characters, 13 additional fighters were added to the roster, one initially being a pre-order bonus with the other 12 being added in the game’s two Fighter Passes.
But alas, all good things must come to an end. Friday, Oct. 5 was the day the last fighter to be added to the game was announced. It was a bittersweet occasion, but a welcomed one all the same.
The reveal trailer began with all of the fighters being turned into Amiibo figures, the flaming Smash ball logo extinguishing to all but one flame. Mario is reawakened by this single fire, and grabbing it, he flings it into the air so the flame spins into a shape. Not just any shape, however. The flame is soon revealed to be a Keyblade, which shoots out a single ray of light that opens a keyhole in the sky.
In this calming light, all of the Smash fighters reawaken and watch in awe, as floating through the keyhole and flying around before cementing himself into Smash Bros. is none other than Sora, protagonist of the long-running franchise, “Kingdom Hearts.”
First starting with the original game in 2002, “Kingdom Hearts” is an action role-playing video game series that acts as a collaboration between Square Enix video game company and Disney. In that time, 13 games have been released in the series, while also spawning soundtracks, figurines, light novels and more.
The franchise, on top of having original characters, also features characters from Disney movies, the “Final Fantasy” series and the game “The World Ends with You.” Selling more than 32 million copies worldwide, this was a reveal that spawned cheers and tears from plenty of fans.
Game director Masahiro Sakurai said that the staff at Nintendo were incredibly aware of Sora’s popularity as a candidate for “Super Smash Bros.” In fact, when referencing a six-year-old popularity poll for the fourth game in the series, “Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U,” that had fans submit their requests for who they wanted the last fighter to be, the number one request was Sora. Although Nintendo decided that choosing him was not viable at the time, clearly they never stopped trying.
Sora being chosen for the last fighter in “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” was a choice that broke the Internet in all the right ways. Fanfare galore was shared on social media, critics praised the mood, and overall this saga of “Super Smash Bros.” ended on a high note. His presence has brought light to the fight, and one can only look forward to his Oct. 18 debut. It may be one small choice, but Sora’s presence has helped bring a little bit more light into the world.
aaceved3@ramapo.edu
