It isn’t often that I get games when they release anymore; but had to make an exception for Super Smash Bros Ultimate. I’ve been a Smash Bros fans since the first one released on the Nintendo 64 and have played every release since. Something about getting to have my favorite Nintendo characters duke it out.

Ultimate is no exception to that rule, but definitely sets a new bar as far as scale. Every Smash Bros game has introduced new characters, but each of them have also excluded some characters from previous games. This usually included whichever character I seemed to play the most. With Ultimate, not only did they add new characters, but they brought back every character ever released in previous games. Can’t tell you how bummed I was when Mewtwo was missing from Brawl and Snake was missing from the Wii U version. Now I can finally have Mewtwo fight Snake!

Not only is the character roster impressive, but so is the stage selection. While they don’t have every stage every introduced, they seem to have pulled together every iconic stage I can think of, include some classic stages from the 64 version (Peach’s Castle was on of my favorites). To top that off, every stage can be used for 8-player Smash. While it is impossible for me to keep track of everything going on, this was one of my favorite features introduced in the Wii U version. Was just a bummer that not every stage supported 8-players in that one. So much fun trying to play through the chaos and usually spending most of my time trying to spot my character.

They have also revamped Classic mode so each character has their own unique fight ladder. Each leading to a boss fight that isn’t necessarily with Master Hand. Wasn’t expecting to fight a dragon as the boss for one of the Fire Emblem characters. They also have a new story mode called The World of Light, where you start off with only one fighter. As you progress, you unlock Spirits to help your fighter get stronger; and you will also fight other Smash fighters who you can unlock in the story mode if you beat them. I haven’t played this mode that much yet, but liking it so far. As a final mention, they have included a very impressive music library from all the game series covered in Smash Bros. So much music that they setup a media player feature for you to create custom playlists and listen the music on the go.

The developers definitely put their all into this game and it shows. In my opinion, this is a must buy for any Smash Bros fan. Even if you aren’t a big fan of fighter games or are just a big Nintendo fan, I’d say to give it a try. While it is a fighter, it stands apart from most fighters so much that even if you aren’t great at it, you can still have a blast. Even in the matches I lose, I’m still having fun. Heck, if you have a Switch, just get it.