Yeah I remember, but I think he could've meant sort-of-retain instead of retain, like how most people don't consciously notice the difference between 320kbps and 192kbps in MP3s.
-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
Smash Ultimate’s single player modes seem to add a whole new dimension to the crossover aspect.
- Thread starter Phendrift
- Start date
Thanks for making this thread! I watched the Direct and didn't really realize that spirits and world of light were two different single player modes. Awesome to see so much single player stuff in this game.
Friendly reminder that so far, not a single Square-Enix spirit has been seen. Capcom and Konami in particular opened their entire vault to Nintendo, all to give fans a chance to get their dream character as a spirit. Meanwhile, S-E still can't bother giving us more than Cloud, a stage, two MIDI songs and two Mii costumes. (And apparently a Geno picture for online.)
Great taste!
OP
OP
Well, technically World of Light is an adventure mode inside of the Spirits tab on the menu. Other modes inside the spirits tab include Spirit Board, Battles and modes to train them. But yeah there are spirits battles in World of Light, but I focused on world of Light in the OP separately because of it's unique elements.
Here I tried to find a tweet explaining
World of Light is the big icon. This menu is accessed by selecting "Spirits" on the main menu
To be honest, I don't have high hopes for this at all. The Smash series has never been able to capture a good single-player mode, they've all ended up being rather tedious with Brawl being easily the worst example. Even when they do end up having an amazing idea (Smash Run), they end up kneecapping it and decide to toss it out rather than refine it. I'm expecting to play maybe an hour of it, then move on to the real meat of the game.
So there are at least two modes that feature Spirits: the story mode, World of Light, and this game's version of event mode, called Spirit Board.
Spirits consist of videogame characters — hundreds of them, probably thousands — that have been separated from their bodies by the events at the start of World of Light.
They are concept art/renders wreathed in light. And they come in two flavors: Primary Spirits, and Support Spirits.
Primary Spirits have varying power levels. Your fighter can equip one at a time, the Primary Spirit adding its power to your fighter.
Primary Spirits also have varying numbers of slots. In these slots, you can add Support Spirits.
Support Spirits don't increase your power. However, they do bestow modifiers. They can make you faster, larger, invisible; they can grant you super armor, make you jump higher, grant you resistance to wind or poison or weapons; they can make you spawn with certain items, automatically heal you or fill up your Final Smash meter faster.
The main way you collect Spirits is in Spirit Matches. Again, these appear in both Spirit Board and World of Light. Here, you fight an opponent — a Puppet Fighter — who has been possessed by a Spirit. And that Spirit has altered them.
For example, in one event, you fight a Puppet Fighter of King K. Rool who has been possessed by the Spirit of The Imprisoned from Skyward Sword. This has changed King K. Rool so that he is supersized, and unflinching, and black in color; he stands perfectly still in Gerudo Valley, and you must chip away at his stamina to defeat him; but the Spirit has also spawned an Assist Trophy of Ghirahim that constantly attacks you.
In other words, it recreated The Imprisoned's scenario from his base game, Skyward Sword. And upon winning, you'll have a chance to collect the Spirit. A shield will rotate around the defeated Puppet Fighter, and you have a limited number of shots from a special gun to hit the Puppet Fighter by shooting through gaps in the rotating shield. If you hit the shield, part of the shield will disappear so that it's easier to collect the Spirit next time.
Spirits can be leveled up by being used in battle or fed Snacks. This makes them stronger. Upon maxing out their level, some Spirits will evolve into stronger forms — for example, leveling up the Dixie Kong Spirit will evolve it into a Spirit of Dixie Kong and Kiddy Kong in the hovercraft from DKC3.
You can also buy Spirits with gold in the in-game shop. Sometimes you'll get duplicate Spirits. You can reduce your duplicate Spirits to their cores — there are three types: Attack, Shield, Grab — and then you can combine these cores to craft all-new Spirits.
Spirits can also train with Spirit Masters to learn new skills, modify their properties, grow stronger, etc, or even be sent on expeditions to collect loot for you while you're off doing other things.
There's a lot more, but that's the gist of it!
Last edited:
Need to save this post for whenever someone wonders how Spirits work.
Know the fact this is the simplest way to explain the mechanic I kind of understand why they spent so much time in the Direct.
It honestly feels more simple than it actually is
That's such a fantastic write up, thank you! I really appreciate it - sounds excellent! :)
It certainly is way different from past Smash single player content. I'm sad that trophies are gone, but I understand they take lots of time to make. And with the series growing with each game, it's hard to keep up with demands and putting new stuff in.
I'm still not sure how I'll like Spirits, it's kinda an RPG/gacha mix with event matches and stickers/stat customization from Smash 4. I do love event matches though, so there being lots of them is a good thing.
I'm still not sure how I'll like Spirits, it's kinda an RPG/gacha mix with event matches and stickers/stat customization from Smash 4. I do love event matches though, so there being lots of them is a good thing.
Wait, Home Run Contest is out? Nooooooooooooooo!
I really miss the trophies since those were one of my favorite parts of Smash but I understand that it would be too demanding with the quantity of characters. That said, I completely agree with you and I'm really excited for the single player aspect of the game, including Spirits.
I'm not. They're not worth losing both trophies and adventure-style stages over. I'm still mourning the former, frankly; they were one of my favorite aspects of Smash.
I really can't wrap my head around the fact they had the perfect opportunity to finally tie trophies with gameplay, and they blew it in the most spectacular way.
Everything about this looks amazing. I was not too hot on Smash 4,yet I got both versions. Cannot wait for the release. Still deciding if I'm going to keep my Collectors edition Pre-order which comes with the GC Pad or if I go digital...
Agreed. After letting it settle for a bit and taking another look at it, this is looking like some the most refined single player modes Smash has offered. I will forever be bummed about losing Trophies, but I'm really warming up to the Spirits concept (that Paper Mario one is some funny shit, lol). Classic mode looks to be legit the best it has ever been, and World of Light is already leaving Subspace in the dust for with that Nintendo themed world map.
THANK YOU
I got the jist of spirits from the Direct but it was super unclear if or how they tied into World of Light. Now I understand!
I think it was just a practical decision. Think of all the extra characters, stages, assists, etc, they had to model and animate in this game.
Trophies were, by Sakurai's own admission, a black hole on resources. They were nice but if the choice came between that and a single player mode that's actually worth a damn, I'd go for the latter any day of the week. After the fourth game in particular, they were getting exasperating to collect, becoming the only point of single player rather than a supplement to it.
That got my attention real quick. They made it like evolving Pokémon, lol
Looks great, SSE was good but the platforming segments were pretty lame so I'm glad they are not bothering. Every character having their own Classic mode roster is great too, had no idea about Ryu's gimmick that's incredible.
This mode was the last straw that made me preload the game. It seems really good.
Well, that and piranha plant tbh
Well, that and piranha plant tbh
While I don't personally mind because I never played it anyway, I'm genuinely curious why Home Run Contest was cut. Resource-wise, it's as simple as placing a Sandbag and a Home Run Bat on a flat platform.
Great thread OP and to be honest you did a way better job of explaining the single player than Sakurai did in the Direct. I think classic mode looks amazing but I thought Melee was the same, in that everyone had a unique set of fights? Either way this is better with them being all themed. I so love how the single player content and the spirits give of a reason to show off the alternative costumes and means they won't all be boring colour swaps.
I hope there is an option to download HQ versions of all the songs.
I hope there is an option to download HQ versions of all the songs.
I honestly need to see how long and how fun World of Light is, because if it's short and disposable the whole thing falls apart. I really, truly, do not care about Spirits and I think they're a massive downgrade from Trophies, so WoL pretty much has to hold the entire game up on its own.
They shouldn't have butchered Stadium Mode as much as they did.
They shouldn't have butchered Stadium Mode as much as they did.
Ehhhh I don't know. I really don't think we should get our hopes up. Sakurai and the on-screen text during the Direct specifically said that we shouldn't expect too much story, and that the cutscene gave us an answer as to why the spirits exist, but the rest was left to our imaginations. Which of course could mean we can think about it for now, and then the game itself will have a story with more... but I am taking Sakurai at face value now. He thinks cutscenes are a waste outside of marketing. Which hey I could sort of agree, but you don't ultra fancy CG scenes to make interactions between these characters fun and interesting. I think this might still be fun compared to other Smash games, and a good evolution of what has come before, but it's not a revolution. It's not what this series needs for non-Smash people to really care. Which is a bummer to me. I really wish they went all-in on the crossover. I've said it before but a Smash story mode with the writing teams behind the Paper Mario games would be amazing. Have these characters interact in fun ways, not this sterile or self serious anime bullshit we saw in Subspace. It's clearly not a focus for them so I wasn't expecting it, but maybe someday.
OP
OP
I was sold the second they showcased Otacon's spirit with a black suit Dr.Mario fighting behind a giant silver R.O.B., imitating a Metal Gear bossfight. That was brillant.
Well, there's at least a tab for videos from adventure mode and other things, with Adventure mode specifically named and the others left as "others" which suggests Adventure mode will have a few videos at least, although it clearly won't be nearly as many as SSE had.
This is a really nice description. In fact, it triggered a vague childhood memory of me doing just that... with Smash Bros 64 of all things!
I can't remember the details, but one night I started doing one on one VS battles as Captain Falcon versus other AI fighters and I pretended Captain Falcon was like this superhero taking on all these villains with different super powers. Eventually I was teaming up with one of the old "villains" to take on twins in a 2 on 2 battle or some shit, lol. I was really getting into it.
Uh, so yeah, looking forward to all the crazy scenario's they cooked up for this
Single player actually looks deep and diverse to me. Curious how the final thing comes together.
you could really see that it is Sakurai last Smash. He know he can't put all the characters people want in the game, but with spirit, he can please everyone a little bit.
I mean, hech, they even have Sagi from Baten Kaitos Origins, im so happy!!!
I mean, hech, they even have Sagi from Baten Kaitos Origins, im so happy!!!
"Whole new dimension".
These are 2D pictures dude, that's it, not even new original drawings, just cheap copied old pictures clapped on a game system straight out of a mobile game, including gacha system.
Still extremely disappointed about this whole mode, specially if you think about that this isn't even new for the series!! Smash Brawl had a pretty similar system where you collected 2D pictures to make your character stronger.
I was pissed off as hell when they said they thought about something "new" and something "better" to replace trophies completely, when this is just a slight modified copy from something they already did.
I was like "Are you fucking kidding me? What a stupid cheap excuse" when I saw this.
These are 2D pictures dude, that's it, not even new original drawings, just cheap copied old pictures clapped on a game system straight out of a mobile game, including gacha system.
Still extremely disappointed about this whole mode, specially if you think about that this isn't even new for the series!! Smash Brawl had a pretty similar system where you collected 2D pictures to make your character stronger.
I was pissed off as hell when they said they thought about something "new" and something "better" to replace trophies completely, when this is just a slight modified copy from something they already did.
I was like "Are you fucking kidding me? What a stupid cheap excuse" when I saw this.
They may be "exasperating to collect" to you; obviously my experience was the exact opposite. That said, if you consider them the only point of single player, how is removing them an improvement?
I would gladly give up several stages and characters in exchange for trophies, I'm not even kidding. Hell, I'd be fine with the exact same trophies we had in 4. This singlehandledly turned the game into the opposite of "ultimate" to me.
I get it, I'm in the minority and most people don't care that much about trophies. We disagree, and that's fine.
Specially for a mode they already had before, including "spirits" to improve your characters, including a huge story part! All 2 Smashs ago.
Even the Spirit mechanics are used for cool series callbacks. That japanese stream that sakurai did showed that when you level up Naked snake enough he turns into Big Boss from Ground Zeroes! :O
There is going to be so much cool shit to see, November is going to feel like an eternity
There is going to be so much cool shit to see, November is going to feel like an eternity
Seriously lol, spirits are stickers"Whole new dimension".
These are 2D pictures dude, that's it, not even new original drawings, just cheap copied old pictures clapped on a game system straight out of a mobile game, including gacha system.
Still extremely disappointed about this whole mode, specially if you think about that this isn't even new for the series!! Smash Brawl had a pretty similar system where you collected 2D pictures to make your character stronger.
I was pissed off as hell when they said they thought about something "new" and something "better" to replace trophies completely, when this is just a slight modified copy from something they already did.
I was like "Are you fucking kidding me? What a stupid cheap excuse" when I saw this.
Those cheap events aren't shit
"Whole new dimension".
These are 2D pictures dude, that's it, not even new original drawings, just cheap copied old pictures clapped on a game system straight out of a mobile game, including gacha system.
Still extremely disappointed about this whole mode, specially if you think about that this isn't even new for the series!! Smash Brawl had a pretty similar system where you collected 2D pictures to make your character stronger.
I was pissed off as hell when they said they thought about something "new" and something "better" to replace trophies completely, when this is just a slight modified copy from something they already did.
I was like "Are you fucking kidding me? What a stupid cheap excuse" when I saw this.
We are in the real world here, where projects have limited resources and you have to decide where to spend them. Sakurai's team decided that it was more worth it to make a more beefed up single player content than modeling a lot of characters, and personally I support it.
You are judging Spirits just by visuals by comparing it with SSBB's stickers. The system behind Spirits and the mechanics are much more complex than some buffs you give to your character.
OP
OP
Way to miss the whole point. Like, I even acknowledged in the OP that I was originally disappointed because they seemed like stickers"Whole new dimension".
These are 2D pictures dude, that's it, not even new original drawings, just cheap copied old pictures clapped on a game system straight out of a mobile game, including gacha system.
Still extremely disappointed about this whole mode, specially if you think about that this isn't even new for the series!! Smash Brawl had a pretty similar system where you collected 2D pictures to make your character stronger.
I was pissed off as hell when they said they thought about something "new" and something "better" to replace trophies completely, when this is just a slight modified copy from something they already did.
I was like "Are you fucking kidding me? What a stupid cheap excuse" when I saw this.
