 Warning! This article contains spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.
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Template:Infobox CVG Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズ Special Dai Rantō Sumasshu Burazāzu Special?, lit. "Big Brawl Smash Brothers Special") is a fighting game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo. It is the fifth installment in the Super Smash Bros. series and was released for the Nintendo Switch on December 7, 2018.
On August 8, 2018 it was announced via a Nintendo Direct stream that Simon Belmont and Richter Belmont, two iconic characters from Konami's Castlevania franchise, would appear as playable characters. Richter is considered as an "Echo" character, which is a cosmetic copy of another character (Simon), meaning both have the same moveset.
Renowned characters and enemies also appear in the game, including Alucard as an "Assist Trophy", the Mummy, Medusa, The Creature and Flea Man (Igor), the Werewolf, Carmilla, Death, Kid Dracula, and of course, Dracula himself. A Castlevania stage called "Dracula's Castle" was also introduced and is themed after the final stage of the original NES Castlevania, featuring the Clock Tower and Dracula's room. The game features 34 music tracks from across the series.
Due to the inclusion of all the above, Castlevania is the third-party series to feature the most content in any Smash Bros. game and the first one to present an Echo fighter (before the inclusion of Ken of the Street Fighter series a few months later).
Gameplay
Super Smash Bros. is a fighting game starring characters from various video games (primarily Nintendo's own stable of games, although later games in the series have brought in guest fighters from other companies such as Konami, Capcom and Sega). In normal gameplay, two to eight players square off on stages usually consisting of several platforms.
The goal of the match is to knock the opposing fighters off the stage through the use of the character's own weapons and abilities or with weapons and items that appear randomly across the battlefield, such as swords, food, ray guns, bombs, hammers and Pokeballs. As fighters are hit, their damage level increases, causing them to be knocked away farther when hit by powerful weapons and/or "Smash Attacks" until they cannot recover to the edge of the stage, or are simply launched right off.
Simon and Richter Belmont
Moveset
Each Belmont will come armed with the legendary Vampire Killer whip, which is a slow albeit longer weapon than any other that the rest of the fighters will wield in this game. They also use well-known sub-weapons such as the Axe (Neutral Special), Cross (Side Special) and Holy Water (Down Special), as well as some of Richter's characteristic moves such as the Uppercut (Up Special), Slide, Slide Jump and Tackle (Dash attack) for both characters. The Belmonts' "Final Smash" is the Grand Cross, which traps foes in a coffin before blasting them with said attack.
The main difference between Simon and Richter comes from the Holy Water attack. Simon's attack is fire-based, while Richter's is Aura-based (much like Lucario's attacks).
Unlocking the Belmonts
Simon and Richter are unlockable characters and must be defeated by the player before they become playable. They can be unlocked by different means:
- by defeating them in the World of Light mode: Simon is located in the Light Shrine on the notheasternmost part of Map 1 (World of Light) and Richter is found in Dracula's Castle on the southwestern part of Map 2 (World of Dark)
- by completing Classic mode (random)
- by completing VS mode matches (random)
Classic Mode
Each character has a special route in Classic Mode, featuring 6 battles against enemies, a special mini-game, and a final confrontation with a boss. Simon's route is called Smash-vania and features battle against monstrous and/or dark characters, mimicking a Castlevania adventure. Richter's, Smash Echoes, pits him against all Echo Characters from the game (himself being an Echo Fighter). Both routes end with a race minigame and a final duel with Dracula.
The routes are as follow for Simon and Richter:
| Classic Mode: Smash-vania (Simon) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Battle | Stage | Music | |
| 1 | VS Incineroar (black) and King K. Rool | Dracula's Castle (Battlefield) | Vampire Killer (New Remix) | |
| 2 | VS Ridley (giant) | Luigi's Mansion (Final Destination) | Out of Time | |
| 3 | VS Bayonetta and Dark Pit | Umbra Clocktower | Bloody Tears / Monster Dance | |
| 4 | VS Charizard (blue) and King Dedede (green) | Kalos Pokémon League | Beginning | |
| 5 | VS Bowser, Ganondorf, and Mewtwo | Reset Bomb Forest | Theme of Simon Belmont | |
| 6 | VS Richter | Dracula's Castle | Divine Bloodlines | |
| 7 | Race to the finish | Minigame | N/A | |
| 8 | VS Dracula | Dracula's Castle (boss) | Nothing to Lose / Black Night | |
| Classic Mode: Smash Echoes (Richter) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Battle | Stage | Music | |
| 1 | VS Dark Samus | Norfair | Multiplayer (Metroid Prime 2: Echoes) | |
| 2 | VS Daisy | Golden Plains | Mario Tennis / Mario Golf | |
| 3 | VS Lucina | Arena Ferox | Destiny (Ablaze) | |
| 4 | VS Chrom | Colosseum | Id (Purpose) | |
| 5 | VS Dark Pit | Reset Bomb Forest | Dark Pit's Theme | |
| 6 | VS Ken | Suzaku Castle | Ken Stage | |
| 7 | Race to the finish | Minigame | N/A | |
| 8 | VS Dracula | Dracula's Castle (boss) | Dance of Illusions | |
Other Castlevania features
Items
Death's Scythe appears in the game as an attacking item, with the ability to outright kill a fighter whose damage level is high enough.
Alucard appears as an "Assist Trophy", a secondary character who, when summoned by the titular item, will fight on the player's behalf for a short period of time. Alucard uses the Crissaegrim to hit opponents at short range, transforms into a bat to reach foes at long distance, and can dodge attacks by using Mist Form. Like other Assist characters, he can be attacked and KO'ed by opponents, but he is quite challenging.
Stage
The "Castlevania" stage is called Dracula's Castle. It is a revamped version of Dracula's Castle from its original Castlevania incarnation. Popular to the series, sticks will appear on the stage which can be broken in order to obtain useful items.
Classic bosses from the franchise also appear based on the two games both Belmonts originally come from: Castlevania and Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. As such, Medusa appears in her floating bust form as seen in her introductory appearance in the first game, and The Creature once again tags along with the Flea Man (Igor, who had not appeared in any game since his introduction back in 1986). A Mummy and a Werewolf also known to appear, as well as Carmilla in her floating mask incarnation from the same game (which in turn is based on her first appearance in Simon's Quest). Death also makes an appearance, as well as the shadows of Dracula and Kid Dracula. All enemies are only acting as cosmetics and do no attack players.
A larger and flat version of this stage appears when players confront Dracula.
Dracula
Dracula appears twice in the game: as the zone boss of Dracula's Castle in the Adventure Mode World of Light (Map 2) and as a final boss in Classic Mode for Simon, Richter, Pac-Man, and Luigi. Dracula can only be hurt in the head: attacks below this area do not harm him and cause a misty effect.
He fights in a similar way to his traditional appearances:
- Hellfire: Three fireballs.
- Dark Inferno: Five alternating fireballs that must be ducked or jumped over.
- Dracula can use a circling variation of this attack, much like Graham Jones does in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow.
- Fire pillars.
- Bat Moon: A swarm attack where Dracula transforms in the form of several bats.
When defeated, Dracula refills his health bar and transforms into his second form. Contrary to other bosses, no health item is given to the player at the beginning of phase 2. In this second part, Dracula attacks include:
- An electric blast
- Fireballs
- A claw attack
- An earthquake attack
- A player-seeking projectile attack
- A jumping attack
Once his health bar is depleted, Dracula explodes and the player is awarded points (Classic mode) or rewards (Adventure Mode; including the two Dracula spirits).
Music
There is a total of 34 pieces of music related to the Castlevania franchise in Ultimate, with both new as well as classic pieces of music.
- An "Original" means the track is directly ripped from a previous Castlevania game. A "Remix" means the track was specifically arranged for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Spirits
The following Castlevania characters appear as Spirits (supporting entities obtained in Adventure mode, Spirit Board, or unlocked by fulfilling certain requirements).
Spirits are divided into two categories:
- Primary Spirits: Enhance the fighter's stats and may have up to three slots for a Support Spirit to be equipped in.
- Support Spirits: Will give fighters skills.
Spirits are also divided into four types, which have strengths and weaknesses:
- Attack: Strong against Shield, weak against Grab.
- Shield: Strong against Grab, weak against Attack.
- Grab: Strong against Attack, weak against Shield.
- Neutral: No strength or weakness.
Finally, Spirits also are classified by rank, which symbolizes their basic power:
- ★: Novice
- ★★: Advanced
- ★★★: Ace
- ★★★★: Legend
| Castlevania Primary Spirits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Type | Class | Slots | Base Stats | Ability | Unlock Condition |
| Alucard | Shield | ★★★★ | 3 | ATK 2,320 DEF 1,483 |
Sword Attack ↑ | Defeat in World of Light or Spirit Board |
| Charlotte Aulin | Attack | ★★ | 2 | ATK 910 DEF 744 |
Magic Attack ↑ | Defeat in World of Light or Spirit Board |
| Dracula | Neutral | ★★★ | 3 | ATK 1,594 DEF 1,331 |
N/A Can Be Enhanced at Lv. 99 |
Defeat in World of Light (boss) |
| Gabriel Belmont | Neutral | ★★ | 3 | ATK 929 DEF 645 |
N/A | Defeat in World of Light or Spirit Board |
| Hugh Baldwin | Attack | ★ | 1 | ATK 631 DEF 363 |
Sword Attack ↑ | Defeat in World of Light or Spirit Board |
| Jonathan Morris | Grab | ★★★ | 2 | ATK 1,669 DEF 1,311 |
N/A | Defeat in World of Light or Spirit Board |
| Juste Belmont | Attack | ★★ | 2 | ATK 932 DEF 689 |
N/A | Defeat in World of Light or Spirit Board |
| Kid Dracula | Grab | ★★★ | 2 | ATK 1,062 DEF 1,352 |
Jump ↑ | Defeat in World of Light or Spirit Board |
| Leon Belmont | Grab | ★★ | 1 | ATK 1,038 DEF 799 |
N/A | Defeat in World of Light or Spirit Board |
| Maria Renard (child) | Grab | ★★ | 2 | ATK 1,024 DEF 773 |
N/A Can Be Enhanced at Lv. 99 |
Defeat in World of Light or Spirit Board |
| Maria Renard (adult) | Grab | ★★★ | 2 | ATK 1,783 DEF 1,458 |
Additional Midair Jump | Evolution only (from Child Maria) |
| Mummy | Grab | ★★ | 1 | ATK 910 DEF 1,090 |
Speed ↓ | Defeat in World of Light or Spirit Board |
| Nathan Graves | Attack | ★★ | 1 | ATK 927 DEF 822 |
N/A | Defeat in World of Light or Spirit Board |
| Reinhardt Schneider | Neutral | ★ | 3 | ATK 466 DEF 381 |
N/A | Defeat in Spirit Board |
| Shanoa | Grab | ★★★ | 2 | ATK 1,696 DEF 1,279 |
N/A | Defeat in World of Light or Spirit Board |
| Soma Cruz | Neutral | ★★★★ | 3 | ATK 2,510 DEF 1,893 |
Giant Killer | Evolution only (from Dracula) |
| Trevor C. Belmont | Shield | ★★★★ | 3 | ATK 2,369 DEF 1,646 |
N/A | Defeat in World of Light or Spirit Board |
| Castlevania Support Spirits | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Type | Class | Slot Cost | Ability | Unlock Condition |
| Carmilla | Shield | ★ | 1 | Fire/Explosion Resist ↑ | Defeat in World of Light or Spirit Board |
| Death | Attack | ★★★ | 2 | KOs Heal Damage | Defeat in World of Light or Spirit Board |
| Dracula (2nd Form) | Neutral | ★★★ | 2 | Unflinching Charged Smashes | Defeat in World of Light (boss) |
| Hector | Shield | ★★ | 1 | Death's Scythe Equipped | Defeat in Spirit Board |
| Julius Belmont | Attack | ★★★ | 1 | Side Special ↑ | Summon from Juste Belmont and Reinhart Schneider |
| Medusa Head | Attack | ★★ | 1 | Air Defense ↑ | Defeat in World of Light or Spirit Board |
| Shaft | Shield | ★ | 1 | Magic Attack ↑ | Defeat in World of Light or Spirit Board |
| The Creature & Flea Man | Shield | ★★ | 1 | Poison Damage Reduced | Defeat in World of Light or Spirit Board |
| Werewolf | Attack | ★★ | 1 | Dash Attack ↑ | Defeat in World of Light or Spirit Board |
| Yoko Belnades | Neutral | ★★ | 1 | Magic Attack ↑ | Challenge Unlock |
Vampire Killer trailer description
- Main article: Vampire Killer (trailer)
The trailer starts with a castle shown in the rain. A hooded figure advances under the rain before opening the doors to a dark corridor. Someone is heard screaming deeper into the castle: it is Luigi who is fighting Mummies. After his equipment proves to be ineffective, Luigi runs away in a room featuring a statue. As Luigi thinks he's safe, the statue animates and reveals to be Medusa, who scares Luigi away. As he runs, Luigi trips and falls face to face with Death who rips his soul with his Scythe. As Death contemplates Luigi's soul, he takes a direct hit to his skull from a chain whip. The holder is the hooded figure who reveals to be Simon Belmont. Simon throws a Cross to Death before the trailer switches to gameplay footage.
Later, Simon is seen fighting Dracula and taking a hit from a flame pillar. As Simon is seen in a bad position on the ground, with a giant fireball coming right at him, another chain whip destroys the fireball. It is revealed Richter Belmont is the one protecting Simon, stating: "Begone! You don't belong in this world, monster!" before the trailer switches to gameplay again.
Gallery
Characters
.png "Alucard Assist Trophy (SSBU).png (144 KB)")
Dracula's Castle stage
Vampire Killer trailer
Miscellaneous
Videos
