List of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate character trailers
Several playable fighters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate have been announced via promotional trailers. Continuing the trend from the character trailers for Super Smash Bros. 4, most trailers consist of original animation, done mainly with CGI animation, as well as gameplay clips that demonstrate a character's moveset. Most trailers begin with the animation of two geometric slashes forming the same cross used for the Smash logo, then the camera zooming into the cross (exceptions include initial broadcasts of trailers that reveal the setting and character(s) before revealing the fact that they are coming to Smash). At some point in most trailers, the relevant character(s) strike(s) a pose on a splash screen alongside their name and an introductory catchphrase, pun, or statement (e.g., "Ridley Hits the Big Time!" or "Joker Steals the Show!").
Below is a list of all the character trailers for the newcomers.
Animated trailers
Digital Frontier returned to produce multiple trailers featuring computer-generated animation. Exceptions are Joker's trailer (animated by Domerica in the style of Persona 5's cutscenes), Terry's (animated in-house with Bandai Namco in the Neo Geo pixel-like style), Byleth's (animated by Sanzigen and Koei Tecmo in the style of Fire Emblem: Three Houses's cutscenes)[1], Min Min's (animated in a comic book-like style like Little Mac's trailer in Smash 4), and Pyra and Mythra's (animated by Monolith Soft in the style of Xenoblade Chronicles 2's in-game rendered cutscenes).
Inkling
Inkling wasn't given a specific trailer, but made her debut along with the game's reveal on its teaser trailer, simply titled "Super Smash Bros. is coming to Nintendo Switch!", at the conclusion of the March 8, 2018 Nintendo Direct. The beginning of this trailer features a pair of male and female Inklings fighting each other, heavily based on the debut trailer for Splatoon at E3 2014. After a few seconds of fighting, the Inkling girl comes to a halt as the white background fades to black. She turns around to look at a large, fiery object behind her, the only source of light in the room, which is soon revealed to be the Super Smash Bros. logo. The camera pans to the logo with multiple unidentifiable veterans shown standing in front of it. Close-ups of Mario and Link (wearing the Champion's Tunic from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild) are shown. The camera cuts back to both Inklings staring towards the logo and veterans, while the screen fades to white, followed by a provisional logo, title and release date of 2018 for the game.
Inkling was only officially announced as a newcomer in the "Everyone is here!" trailer, shown in Nintendo's E3 2018 presentation on June 12th, with both female and male variants being playable.
Ridley
Ridley's trailer, titled "A Piercing Screech" (狩猟の魔爪, Demon Claws of the Hunt), was first shown at the conclusion of Nintendo's E3 2018 video presentation on June 12th. The trailer opens with a dark room with a spaceship aesthetic. In this room, Samus, Mega Man and Mario are seen walking cautiously on a narrow bridge. Mega Man is grabbed off-screen and then pierced by a tail (and his "lost a life" sound is played), then Mario is snatched and smashed by a claw. Samus turns around, seemingly shocked, but regains her composure and readies her arm cannon, only to find Mario's hat laying on the ground. After 2 loud stomps, Ridley bursts out of the ground in front of Samus, whose eyes show her to be extremely terrified, followed by Ridley who appears in the reflection, lets out a screech, and strikes a pose as the tagline "Ridley Hits the Big Time!" appears on screen. He tauntingly twirls Mario's hat on his finger briefly before the trailer transitions to in-game footage. After Ridley uses his Final Smash on Samus, the Ultimate logo is shown on screen, and the trailer cuts back to animation. Ridley looks over the destruction before growling as he watches Samus ejecting from her suit, leaping out from an explosive fire towards Ridley as the trailer concludes.
The pose Samus takes before Ridley is revealed is heavily similar to her pose in the final shot of the Metroid segment of the Melee opening movie, where she is seen fighting against Ridley.
Simon and Richter
Simon and Richter's trailer, titled "Vampire Killer" (ヴァンパイア・キラー, Vampire Killer), was first shown at the beginning of the August 8, 2018 Super Smash Bros. Direct. It opens to a dark and stormy night outside of Dracula's Castle; someone in a dark cloak is seen entering the building as Luigi is heard screaming from within. The trailer cuts to Luigi inside the castle attempting to use his Poltergust G-00 to fight off a pair of mummies; this fails, and Luigi flees. He pauses in a chapel in relief, only to resume running as he encounters Medusa. Luigi's flight is brought to an end when he trips and finds himself before Death, causing him faint as the villain steals his soul. Suddenly, the cloaked person uses a metal whip to sock Death in the face. He throws off his cloak and reveals himself to be Simon, as the tagline "Simon Lashes Out!" appears, before throwing a Cross to defeat Death. Gameplay footage of him is shown, demonstrating his moves.
Simon is then seen walking on the stage version of Dracula's Castle as Dracula himself appears. Simon is damaged by Dracula's Hellfire as the trailer cuts back to animation, showing Dracula attempting to land the killing blow on a downed Simon; suddenly, another whip appears, destroying the attack. This whip is revealed to belong to Richter, who continues to fend off attacks as his tagline, "Richter Crosses Over!", appears. Richter's moves are then demonstrated through gameplay footage and Alucard is briefly shown as an Assist Trophy. "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate × Castlevania" then appears on the screen (with a Cross as the ×). Afterwards, Luigi's soul is seen attempting to return to his body when Carmilla appears at the window, causing him to scream in terror again.
King K. Rool
King K. Rool's trailer, titled "The Rivals" (ライバルたち, Rivals), opens with art depicting various Nintendo heroes and their respective arch-nemeses or rivals of Super Smash Bros. facing off, such as Mario trying to save Peach from Bowser, Link protecting Zelda from Ganondorf, Kirby facing Meta Knight, Fox and Falco fighting Wolf, and Samus fighting Ridley. It is then revealed that it was a TV show being watched by Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong who are lounging lazily in their treehouse when they are interrupted by the ground shaking, as Donkey Kong lets out a loud yawn. They run to the window to find the source as a giant shadow looms overhead. A silhouette of what appears to be King K. Rool is seen, but this is promptly revealed to be King Dedede in disguise. Dedede laughs at the surprised Kongs, unaware of the real King K. Rool looming behind him, who proceeds to send Dedede flying with a claw strike. King K. Rool's tagline, "King K. Rool Comes Aboard!", appears and the King menacingly grins at the Kongs, whose eyes pop out in surprise.
King K. Rool roars and is then seen in actual gameplay. After he uses his Final Smash on Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, the trailer cuts back to animation as Donkey Kong, having taken a blow, slides across DK Island before recovering and charging towards King K. Rool alongside Diddy Kong. King K. Rool charges towards him in the same manner. The three leap into the air and their respective blows meet in a massive explosion, followed by the Ultimate logo. The trailer then cuts back to gameplay depicting Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong taunting next to a downed King K. Rool, celebrating his apparent defeat, before he rolls away. A giant King K. Rool then runs up and stomps on the Kongs, burying them, and the trailer ends with a taunt of his own.
The final gameplay scene of the trailer is a reference to the final boss fight in Donkey Kong Country, in which K. Rool feigns his defeat as the Kongs celebrate and fake credits scroll by the screen, only for him suddenly spring back into action to attack the Kongs.
In the original airing of this trailer, at the end of the August 8, 2018 Smash Direct, as Mr. Sakurai is closing the presentation the screen shakes and a stomping noise is heard, hinting towards King K. Rool's imminent appearance as the trailer begins.
Isabelle
Isabelle's trailer, titled "All In A Day's Work" (NTSC)/"A hard worker's dream" (PAL) (はたらきものの夢, A Hard Worker's Dream), first aired near the end the September 13, 2018 Nintendo Direct. It opens with Isabelle doing some tidying around the office, when the option to tell her to take a break shows up; the player chooses to tell her this, but she insists that she enjoys working. She then adds that she wishes "the mayor wasn't so busy with the campsite and Smash," and briefly ponders becoming mayor herself, but quickly dismisses the idea. Suddenly, Pete arrives and gives her a letter. To her surprise, it is then revealed to be a Smash invitation; her tagline, "Isabelle Turns Over A New Leaf!" appears, and the trailer cuts to gameplay of her moveset, and finally the Ultimate logo. The trailer concludes with Isabelle in Onett facing the camera and saying "I hope you'll cheer me on!"
In the September Direct, immediately after Isabelle's trailer was a teaser trailer for the then-unnamed Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which opens with Tom Nook congratulating Isabelle for joining Smash.
Ken and Incineroar
Ken and Incineroar's trailer, titled "Clash of Flames" (NTSC)/"Fighting Fire with Fire" (PAL) (炎の激突, Clash of Flames), was first shown near the beginning of the November 1, 2018 Super Smash Bros. Direct. It opens with Little Mac fighting in Boxing Ring against an unseen opponent, who, after hitting Little Mac with a left hook, is soon revealed to be Ken, with his tagline stating "Ken Turns Up the Heat!" The trailer then transitions into the gameplay of him. Once the trailer cuts back to animation featuring him and Little Mac locked in combat, a glowing, yellow pair of eyes is seen beyond the darkened edge of the stadium. Ken manages to hit Little Mac with his Final Smash, and knock into the arena's screen, which promptly displays "K.O.".
After a brief celebration from Ken, the camera cuts to the background character, who then runs up to the ring, now ablaze with fire, to attack Ken. Ken gets out of the way, and the fiery challenger is revealed to be Incineroar, with its tagline stating "Incineroar Enters the Ring!" Ken gives a remark before the two collide in battle, and then the trailer transitions into gameplay of Incineroar. After using its Max Malicious Moonsault on Ken, he is sent flying into the screen, which then says K.O., and Incineroar does a victory laugh and pose. The trailer ends with King K. Rool, Bowser Jr., and Villager (each armed with boxing gloves) preparing to fight, with Incineroar sighing in exasperation.
Joker
First trailer
In the middle of The Game Awards 2018, the entire arena blacked out, interrupting the show, and a trailer, titled "Take Your Heart" (心の怪盗団、オタカラをいただく, The Phantom Thieves of Hearts Take a Treasure), began to play, starting with a static screen. The screen then turns red, showing the Phantom Thieves of Hearts logo, with Joker stating, "This is Joker. I've infiltrated the theater." While Joker runs across the screen, the Phantom Thieves comment on the situation off-screen.
- Ryuji Sakamoto: Wait, seriously? He went alone to the Game Awards?!
- Ann Takamaki: But, it's so far away... Why is he there?
- Morgana: There's only one thing the Phantom Thieves of Hearts specialize in!
- Yusuke Kitagawa: ...He's there to steal a treasure! Have you already sent a calling card?
- Morgana: We're not the ones sending a card this time. In fact, we've been invited... Invited to steal the greatest treasure of all!
Joker then grabs a card and tosses it, and it transforms into a Smash Bros. invitation. Ann and Ryuji then react to Joker's inclusion with surprise ("WHAAAAT?!" "Smash Bros.?! Is this for real?!"). Smoke-styled art of the Smash characters appear (specifically Mario, Donkey Kong, Samus, Link, Fox, Kirby and Ness) then fly across the screen, to more commentary from the characters.
- Morgana: We'll be going up against the best of the best. Can't wait to see our fearless leader show his stuff!
The screen then transitions to black, before light shines on Joker, and he takes off his mask and unleashes Arsène, who says, "I am thou, thou art I. Show the strength of thy will, and rage against all challengers!", before fading away from Arsène's flaming face. The trailer, in text, then announces "Challenger Pack 1: JOKER from Persona 5!", fading to red when "from Persona 5!" appears on-screen. The Ultimate logo then appears in front of the red background, before appearing alongside "× Persona 5", using the Persona 5 logo.
The dialogue for the official version of the trailer from Nintendo's YouTube channel is changed to remove references to the Game Awards: Joker begins with, "This is Joker. The mission is go.", and Ryuji's and Ann's first lines are changed ("Wait a second! You mean... He went alone?!" "What's so important that he'd run off by himself?"). The rest of the dialogue, however, remains unchanged.
Second trailer
In April, a second trailer for Joker, entitled "The Masked Rebel", was uploaded to Nintendo's YouTube channel, itself the beginning of a 15 minute video detailing version 3.0.0 of the game. It begins similarly to the "Take Your Heart" trailer, showing Joker burst in, run off, and grab the Smash invitation, after which he faces the screen and a tagline appears stating "Joker Steals the Show!". The trailer cuts to showing Joker in game, and then continuously cuts to multiple clips of combat while facing off against multiple characters such as Mario, Link, Sonic, etc while some members of The Phantom Thieves make comments on the situation. Joker is then shown building his Rebellion Gauge. Joker then removes his mask and shouts "Persona!", summoning Arsène. Gameplay footage is then shown, presenting Joker's Persona boosted attacks and specials, such as Wings of Rebellion, Eigaon, Tetrakarn and Makarakarn.
The trailer then cuts to show combat on the Mementos stage. Various features of the stage are then shown off, such as the subway train hazard, randomly appearing walls and platforms, and other Phantom Thieves appearing in the background. Morgana then hints that Mementos has a "little secret". The music then changes to "Mass Destruction" from Persona 3 and Mementos is shown is to be blue. The stage's main gimmick is then revealed: The base color of the stage will change depending on the music. Then the music changes to "Reach out to the truth" from Persona 4 and Mementos becomes yellow. After a Smash Ball appears, Joker grabs it and activates his Final Smash, and initiates an All-Out Attack. As Joker's unique victory screen is shown, Morgana says "Smash is looking cool, eh Joker?". The trailer then cuts to the Phantom Thieves logo, before showing the Ultimate logo alongside the Persona 5 logo just as the previous trailer did.
Afterward, Joker is shown "stealing" King K. Rool's crown and Wario's bike.
Hero
The trailer, titled Heroic Encounter (伝説の勇者, The Legendary Hero), opens with Dharkon commanding puppets of Marth and Meta Knight to battle Link in a dark forest. The Hero from Dragon Quest XI is seen on a white horse, arriving just in time to save Link, who has been cornered by his enemies, leaping off his horse and taking both out with one sword swing in midair and sending both flying away. The Hero lands, with light shining on him, and his tagline, "The Hero Draws Near!", appears. Footage of the Hero in-game is then shown, culminating in him being surrounded by various puppet fighters and launched by a puppet Ganondorf. After he is KO'd, it cuts back to the CGI animation, showing the Hero slamming into a pillar as various Slimes watch, shocked. As he starts to rise back to his feet, an immense horde of puppet fighters approach, but he is suddenly joined by the heroes from Dragon Quest VIII and IV, as well as Erdrick from Dragon Quest III. The four heroes charge the horde together and the trailer switches back to gameplay, showing each of the other heroes as alternate costumes and ending with their Final Smash, which shows multiple heroes from different Dragon Quest games attacking together. The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate logo then appears, followed by "× Dragon Quest", using the Dragon Quest XI S logo.
Banjo & Kazooie
This trailer, titled Best Friends (仲間たち, Friends), opens nearly identically to The Rivals, re-using the illustrations of various heroes and arch-nemeses/rivals fighting, but with the addition of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong facing King K. Rool as well. The TV turns off and the trailer cuts to Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong's treehouse also as in King K. Rool's trailer, but they are now joined by a sleeping King K. Rool himself. A Jiggy flies into the treehouse, startling the two Kongs, and Diddy Kong wakes up King K. Rool before the three jump to the window, breaking it entirely this time. Looking outside, they witness a silhouette appear resembling Banjo & Kazooie, but this is soon revealed to be Duck Hunt in disguise. The dog begins laughing about the prank, only to be knocked out of the way by Banjo himself as he and Kazooie descend down from above. The bear and bird then pose as their tagline, "Banjo-Kazooie are Raring to Go!", appears, while Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and King K. Rool enthusiastically cheer for their appearance. They are then shown in-game battling various opponents, finally using their Final Smash on King K. Rool. Another cinematic then plays, in which King K. Rool is seen plummeting down the side of a cliff. He falls into the ground below, and a large rock covers the hole he creates. Banjo & Kazooie jump off the rock and land nearby; they then pose as various fighters pose behind them. The trailer cuts with a Jiggy-filled screen to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate logo, which is joined by "× Banjo-Kazooie". Banjo is then seen eating pancakes near a sleeping giant Ivysaur, who promptly wakes up and chases him and Kazooie off-screen.
The similarities between this trailer and King K. Rool's, as well as Banjo & Kazooie's general interactions with the three Donkey Kong characters, are references to their shared creator, Rare Ltd.; Rare is also referenced through the duo's tagline. The scene at the end of the trailer in which King K. Rool is buried in the ground and covered by a rock is a reference to the end of the first Banjo-Kazooie game, where the same thing happens to Gruntilda after she is defeated. The Jiggy-filled screen cut is a reference to the loading screens of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, which also use Jiggies filling the screen.
Terry
This trailer, titled –Breaking News– The Challenger (100メガショック!, The 100Mega Shock!), starts with a timeline of Nintendo consoles of many generations, going back from the Nintendo Switch to the Game & Watch, before going back to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, which was released in 1990 (1991 in North America). The screen then shifts to the right and highlights the Neo Geo AES, a game system created by SNK and released in the same year, whereupon it transitions to the Neo Geo AES startup screen. The next cutscene shows a Smash Bros. invitation letter rotating around while messages appear, saying "- 2019 - YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO SMASH. DON'T BE LATE. [S]". After the message, the cutscene shows the right hand of Kyo Kusanagi, the protagonist of The King of Fighters series, trying to grab the invitation letter but failing to do so, trembling in frustration. Ryo Sakazaki, the protagonist of the Art of Fighting series, appears and rushes toward the letter, but he also fails to grab it, with his hand shaking in frustration. Andy Bogard, Terry Bogard's brother, and Joe Higashi, a companion of Terry and Andy, also rush in to grab the letter; they fail to grab it as well. The cutscene transitions itself on top of a tower, where Geese Howard, the main antagonist of the Fatal Fury series, is standing. As the letter flies by, he smiles, and rushes toward the letter, but, like other fighters, he fails and falls into the bottom of the tower. The cutscene transitions once again, showing Nakoruru from Samurai Shodown and her hawk Mamahaha trying to grab the letter but failing as well. The next cutscene shows Iori Yagami, the rival of Kyo, where he, with his burning hand, tries to grab the letter; it slips through his hand just as he was about to grab it. After failing to grab the letter, Iori laughs maniacally. The unclaimed letter slowly falls onto the ground, only to get picked up by fighter in the form of a silhouette with a star on his back; that fighter, being rendered in 3D, reveals himself as Terry Bogard. He turns around, says “Hey, come on!”, and a tagline reads "Terry Faces the Fury!". The trailer ends with the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate logo, followed by "× Fatal Fury" appearing next to it.
The beginning of the trailer parodies the opening scene of The King of Fighters '94, where it shows an invitation letter from Rugal Bernstein, a recurring antagonist in The King of Fighters series (according to the letter "R" on the back of the envelope), and a right hand of Kyo Kusanagi burning the letter after grabbing it. The message accompanying it also appears in the original scene, only slightly altered to fit the atmosphere of Smash Bros., and the scenes in which other SNK characters are featured are also parodied from opening scenes of their respective games.
An extended version of this trailer, titled The Legendary Wolf, features gameplay of Terry after his tagline, while the background for this tagline has changed to red from the initial trailer's blue. The list of Nintendo consoles is also omitted from the extended version.
Byleth
This trailer, titled The Ashen Demon (風花雪撃, Wind, Flower, Snow, Strike), takes place at the end of Chapter 10 of Fire Emblem: Three Houses. It begins with an abridged version of the cutscene showing Solon, an agent of "Those who slither in the dark", summoning dark energy that engulfs around Byleth. This ends up sending Byleth to the void with Sothis, who scolds him for falling for Solon's trap. Sothis then asks Byleth if he is "prepared to die", to which he shakes his head in response. Sothis responds that she also does not want to die either, and states "And yet... There is no other choice...". After some confusion from Byleth, Sothis clarifies her statement and tells Byleth that he needs to join Smash. After brandishing a Smash Bros. invitation, Byleth is sent out of the void, with two slashes of light crossing together in the sky; Byleth comes flying out, and the screen declares, "Byleth Joins Smash House!" Solon is shown expressing disbelief at Byleth's return (with a statement spoofing his return from the actual game), and the trailer then switches to gameplay of Byleth, showing his moves with the Sword of the Creator, before he is beaten up by the other sword users. Byleth then returns to the void, this time with noticeable injuries. Annoyed and disappointed by the reunion, Sothis states "I see. Too many swordsmen, are there?" (a self-deprecating joke towards the abundance of fighters that use swords in the game) and then asks what Byleth plans to do after getting beaten by the swordsmen, and after a quick screen transition, the female version of Byleth is shown. Sothis, amused at Byleth's "cleverness" sends down Failnaught, Areadbhar and Amyr, three different signature weapons wielded by Claude, Dimitri, and Edelgard respectively. Light then circles around the two previous slashes (forming the whole Smash symbol), and female Byleth comes flying out with the weapons, and the screen declares, "Byleth Recruits ...Byleth!" After this, Solon is seen once more, completely shocked at female Byleth's appearance. The trailer then transitions to gameplay once more, with Sothis commenting on each one of the Hero's Relics' abilities: Areadbhar's long reach, Amyr's overwhelming power, and the speed of Failnaught. Byleth then grabs the Smash Ball, and performs the Final Smash, Progenitor God Ruptured Heaven. The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate logo then appears, followed by "× Fire Emblem: Three Houses". Byleth then walks towards three Pikmin and crouches as their buds turn into flowers.
Min Min
This trailer, titled Ramen time! (ラーメン大好き娘さん, The Ramen-Loving Girl), begins with Captain Falcon and Kirby eating ramen at the Mintendo Noodle House while a waitress smiles in the background. In a nearby arena, a tournament match between Spring Man and Byte & Barq is being held. After knocking out his opponent, Spring Man raises his arms in celebration when he notices a Smash invitation behind him. He grabs it and gleefully holds it up, but is immediately punched by Ribbon Girl, who attempts to take the letter. Ninjara quickly steals it from her, and several of the other fighters immediately attack him as a fight starts out over the letter. Back at the noodle house, the waitress catches sight of the tournament and leaves just as Captain Falcon finishes his ramen. The scene shifts back to the match, where everyone but Kid Cobra and Twintelle has been knocked out. The waitress snags the invitation and reveals herself as Min Min before punching the other two fighters and knocking them out with Dragon. Min Min poses, says “我愛拉麺!” in Mandarin Chinese (“I love ramen!”), and the tagline "Min Min Arms Herself!" appears. A gameplay montage follows which shows off Min Min's moves. During this, Min Min deflects Wii Fit Trainer's soccer ball on Wuhu Island, a reference to the volleyball-like V-Ball mode in ARMS. The montage ends with the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate logo followed by "× ARMS". In the epilogue, Min Min is seen enjoying ramen alongside Kirby while Captain Falcon - having replaced Min Min as the waiter - smiles in the background.
Steve
This trailer, titled A New Seed! (目を合わせてはいけません, Don't Make Eye Contact), opens with Mario fighting Peach, Mega Man, and Terry on Battlefield. Mario back throws Terry and jumps into Ω form Temple, where he fights Cloud and Pikachu before being KO'd by Sonic. As Mario flies off the screen, he breaks through the stage into a dark and blocky cave. Around him, sound effects of various Minecraft mobs can be heard while Spiders and Endermen stare at him from the darkness. Mario then looks towards a nearby wall as Steve mines into the cavern, cuing his tagline "Steve Rocks the Block!" The two stare at each other for a short time before Steve eats a piece of steak. Shortly afterwards, a Creeper appears behind Mario, causing Steve to back away from the cave, resealing it and leaving it with Mario to detonate. The trailer then showcases gameplay of Steve as well as alternate costumes for Alex, a Zombie, and an Enderman. The montage ends with the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate logo followed by "× Minecraft". The trailer then ends with Steve building a house in a victory animation.
Sephiroth
This trailer, titled The One-Winged Angel! (片翼の天使, One-Winged Angel), opens with Hero, Samus, and Richter being defeated by Galeem's forces. As several other defeated fighters look towards him, Galeem prepares to fire off a beam before suddenly being sliced in half from behind. Galeem's core turns to black as it falls apart, with the Master Hands crumbling to dust. In the distance, a figure can be seen, which Cloud immediately recognizes as Sephiroth. It then cuts to his tagline, "Sephiroth Descends to Battle!"; Sephiroth declares his intentions to wreak havoc on the Smash universe as he summons storm clouds and the trailer transitions to a montage of his gameplay. Following it, Bayonetta and Greninja launch a surprise attack on Sephiroth, but are easily defeated. He then lunges towards Mario and seemingly impales him with the Masamune, though it is revealed that Mario is merely hanging by his overalls. Cloud then rushes at Sephiroth, and Mario is flung aside as the two warriors furiously clash, which culminates in Cloud achieving Limit Break and unleashing Omnislash Ver. 5 on his nemesis, seemingly defeating him as the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate logo appears, followed by "× Final Fantasy VII" (or simply × Final Fantasy in the initial reveal). However, Sephiroth survives Cloud's attack, and ends the video with his own Final Smash.
Several references to the Final Fantasy VII series are shown in the trailer. Sephiroth's warping of the skies after killing Galeem is performed the same way he did in Advent Children. The same scene also has him saying "Now, I shall give Smash despair." referencing his line in the same movie, "I've thought of a wonderful present for you. Shall I give you despair?" The scene where he turns to the camera against a fiery background is a nod to the Nibelheim Incident in Final Fantasy VII. Sephiroth nearly striking Zelda on Fountain of Dreams directly references his infamous murder of Aerith Gainsborough. Him walking towards a black hole resembles his turning a dark tornado into a portal in Final Fantasy VII Remake. His near-impalement of Mario references his actual impalement of Cloud in Final Fantasy VII and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, and more closely resembles a similar impalement in Advent Children Complete. His ending dialogue with Cloud is taken word-for-word from the end of their battle in Advent Children, in addition to Cloud having used Omnislash Ver. 5 on him moments prior.
Pyra / Mythra
This trailer, titled One Day, Pyra Just Disappeared (ある日 ホムラがいなくなった, One Day, Homura Disappeared), opens with Rex travelling Alrest in search of Pyra, who mysteriously disappeared. He eventually finds her standing on Final Destination, where she reveals she had obtained a Smash invitation for herself, not Rex as he expected; she wields her Aegis Sword, spins around, and poses, cuing her tagline, "Pyra Blazes Into Battle!" Gameplay footage of Pyra is shown, showcasing her moveset. The trailer then cuts back to an animated portion where Pyra struggles to fight Link, Zero Suit Samus, and Dark Pit. Just as Link's bomb is about to explode, Pyra hears Mythra offering her assistance and transforms into her, slicing and deflecting Link's bomb, followed by Mythra posing for her own tagline, "Mythra Awakens!" Gameplay footage of Mythra is then shown, showing her different special moves and the ability for her and Pyra to freely transform into each other. After another animated portion where Mythra defeats Zero Suit Samus and Dark Pit, their stage is revealed, along with some background cameos. Mythra and Pyra then show their Final Smashes, in which Rex assists with both. Finally, Mythra encounters Shulk on Gaur Plain, and they exchange dialogue, preparing for a friendly battle; Mythra transforms into Pyra and they clash swords, upon which the trailer ends with the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate logo followed by "× Xenoblade Chronicles 2".
Kazuya
This trailer, titled The Iron Fist of Darkness (鉄の拳, The Iron Fist), opens on a barren rocky wasteland that contains a large volcano. A mysterious figure is seen carrying a defeated Ganondorf, slowly approaching the center of the volcano before tossing him inside. The camera soon pans up to reveal Kazuya as the aforementioned individual with the tagline "Kazuya GETS READY FOR THE NEXT BATTLE". Gameplay is shown, as well as a brief montage of him throwing Captain Falcon, Pit, Min Min, and Marth off of the same cliff as Ganondorf. Kazuya displays his purple aura, which gets stronger and more prominent as he tosses the fighters off the cliff one by one. After tossing Marth off, his devil gene form is revealed before showing more gameplay, including his stage, which features a cameo from Heihachi Mishima, his Final Smash and one of his victory screens. The trailer then cuts to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate logo, followed by "× Tekken". Afterwards, a brief cinematic is shown in which Kazuya attempts to drop Kirby into the volcano, but Kirby promptly escapes, floating away behind an oblivious Kazuya.
Sora
This trailer, titled The Last Key (最後のカギ, The Last Key), begins with the opening cinematic freezing mid-way through. It then transitions into an image of the burning Smash insignia from Inkling's trailer, with Cloud, Sephiroth, and nearly every first-party fighter in Ultimate staring into it from below. The flames forming the insignia dissipate, and all the fighters promptly become trophies; one flame falls from the insignia as it disappears, which awakens Mario. He slowly approaches the flame before grabbing and throwing it forwards. The flames dissipate to reveal the Kingdom Key within, which fires a beam of light behind the fighters to reveal a Keyhole, the light from which awakens the fighters. Sora emerges from it and happily flies around the fighters with Pixie Dust; he then lands, grabs the Keyblade, and poses, saying "Let's go!" ("お待たせ！"; "Sorry to have kept you waiting/Thank you for waiting"). His tagline, "Sora is Finally Here!", then appears, before transitioning into a gameplay montage. The montage ends with Sora jumping back to the insignia room (with the flames relit) and shaking hands with Mario as the other fighters from the beginning of the trailer cheer behind him in the final group shot. The montage ends with the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate logo followed by "× Kingdom Hearts".
Sora's reveal trailer contains multiple references to the Kingdom Hearts series. In particular, Mario's role in the trailer pays homage to King Mickey Mouse, who similarly briefly wields the Kingdom Key and summons Sora to save his denizens. Cloud and Sephiroth's prominent appearances in the trailer reference their respective roles in Kingdom Hearts, with the latter appearing as a boss in the series' first two installments.
Sora's voice clips was taken from one of his dialogue lines somewhere in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.
The initial airing of this trailer at the beginning of Sora's Mr. Sakurai Presents ended at the splash screen, omitting gameplay footage; the full trailer properly debuted at the end of the Presentation.
Other character reveals
Veterans
Uniquely, all of the returning characters in Ultimate were revealed simultaneously in the "Everyone is here!" (PAL)/"Challenger Approaching Intro Video" (NTSC) trailer, as well as the formal reveal of Inkling. Every character is given a number corresponding to their debut in the Super Smash Bros. series. The trailer opens up with a shot of Battlefield before showing fighter number one, Mario, emerging from a Warp Pipe before demonstrating gameplay footage of him, then moving on to Samus; Kirby; Bowser; Link; Donkey Kong; Fox and Falco; Marth; Zelda and Sheik, Villager; Meta Knight and Mewtwo; Sonic; Peach; then Pikachu. The Ice Climbers, who were absent from Super Smash Bros. 4, are shown on Summit; followed by the first in-game footage of Inkling; then Captain Falcon; Zero Suit Samus and Wii Fit Trainer; Charizard, Ivysaur, and Squirtle returning as part of Pokémon Trainer; Ness and Lucas; Ryu and Ganondorf; Ike; then Cloud. Snake appears on Shadow Moses Island and as he stands up, the text "EVERYONE IS HERE!" appears in front of him. The trailer then proceeds to show Jigglypuff and Pichu; Roy; Olimar and Diddy Kong; Lucario; Lucina and Robin; Bayonetta; Mr. Game & Watch and Greninja; Dr. Mario, R.O.B., and Duck Hunt; Pit, Dark Pit, and Palutena; Corrin; Bowser Jr.; Toon Link and Young Link; Rosalina & Luma and King Dedede; the Mii Fighters; Wario and Little Mac; Pac-Man; Shulk; Wolf; and Mega Man. After showing the game's full logo for the first time, revealing its title as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the trailer shows Luigi and Yoshi who, despite being two of the Original 12, are notoriously often revealed to be in the game late in development, something that Masahiro Sakurai commented on when revealing Luigi for Super Smash Bros. 4.
Daisy
Daisy wasn't given a specific trailer, but made her debut in Nintendo's E3 2018 presentation, after the "Everyone is here!" trailer. After noting that previous veterans Lucina and Dark Pit were marked with epsilons next to their number (which, unlike the rest of the cast, corresponded to the numbers of Marth and Pit respectively instead of their own debuts), Sakurai announced the Echo Fighter status of the former two, and that they were echo fighters of the latter two. He then promptly confirmed Daisy as another Echo Fighter, this time of Peach.
Chrom and Dark Samus
Chrom and Dark Samus both weren't given a specific trailer, but made their debut in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct in August 8, 2018. Following Richter's reveal as an Echo Fighter of Simon, Sakurai revealed Chrom and Dark Samus as two new Echo Fighters. After their short gameplay segments, it was revealed that Chrom and Dark Samus are Echo Fighters of Roy and Samus respectively. Directly after their reveal, it was revealed that players would have the option to either display echo fighters separately or together.
Piranha Plant
The trailer, titled "Piranha Plant Pipes Up!", features Luigi (next to a Green Shell) and a group of Yoshis dizzy. Mario walks across the stage, before a pot appears before him, with a Piranha Plant inside. The Piranha Plant then reveals itself, then dodges Mario's dash attack and executes its forward smash, knocking Mario out. The Piranha Plant taunts, followed by its splash art "Piranha Plant Pipes Up!", then transitions to gameplay showcasing its moveset.
ARMS character
On March 26, 2020, a Nintendo Direct Mini announced that Challenger Pack 6 would contain an ARMS character. All 15 characters of the ARMS roster as well as Biff were then shown to be possibilities, and their release date was revealed to be sometime in June 2020. These characters were: Spring Man (who is represented as an Assist Trophy, Mii Costume and spirit in the base game), Ribbon Girl (who appears as a Mii Costume and spirit in the base game), Min Min, Twintelle, Ninjara (all of whom are spirits in the base game), Master Mummy, Mechanica, Byte & Barq, Kid Cobra, Helix, Max Brass, Lola Pop, Misango, Springtron and Dr. Coyle. Finally, on June 22, 2020, it was revealed that the ARMS character is Min Min, likely in part due to popularity and confirmed to be influenced by the request of the ARMS producer. In her Final Smash, she is joined by Spring Man, Ribbon Girl, Master Mummy, Mechanica, Twintelle, and Ninjara; Ninjara also appears as a Mii Fighter costume. Master Mummy, Mechanica, Byte & Barq, Kid Cobra, Helix, and Max Brass were added as spirits, while all of the game's fifteen fighters, including Lola Pop, Misango, Springtron, and Dr. Coyle, appear on advertisements in the background of Spring Stadium. However, Biff does not appear in the game in any capacity.
Trivia
- According to Sakurai, Ridley's reveal trailer with Ridley taking out Mega Man and Mario was going to be a lot tenser until Sakurai and the team decided to make the trailer more balanced.[1]
- Luigi's appearance in Simon's trailer may be a reference to an easter egg in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate; there is a letter found alongside a corpse which mentions Mario as the writer's brother, Mushrooms and Pipes.
- Luigi also notably uses the design of the Poltergust G-00 from Luigi's Mansion 3, which was, at the time, not even announced by Nintendo.
- Ironically, Simon attacks Death with his cross, but his tagline is a pun on the whip, while Richter attacks Dracula's fire with his whip, but his tagline is a pun on the cross.
- If one listens closely in the first Ultimate teaser trailer, a small, faint excerpt from "Lifelight" can be heard. This excerpt is heard in-game during the World of Light opening cutscene, as it is explained how puppet fighters are created, and it reappears at the beginning of Sora's trailer.
- Dedede's inclusion in King K. Rool's trailer was done to add a feel of collaboration.[1]
- Isabelle's trailer is the only trailer whose splash art is shown in multiple languages other than Japanese, English, and Korean. This is likely due to her trailer being entirely text-based, thus making it necessary to translate it entirely.
- Isabelle's trailer is also the only trailer to have a different tagline in Japanese; all other characters use "参戦!", but Isabelle's features hiragana writing of the first kanji character ("さん戦!") to form a pun, as she is referred to as しずえさん in Animal Crossing. "さん" is also in a lighter shade of yellow than the regular "参", likely to emphasize the pun.
- Additionally, Isabelle's trailer is the only character reveal that also served as part of the reveal trailer of a separate game.
- Isabelle's reveal trailer was made by Digital Frontier.[1]
- Simon and Richter's trailer is the only base game trailer to show the crossover graphic; conversely, Piranha Plant's trailer is the only DLC trailer not to show the crossover graphic.
- Piranha Plant's reveal trailer is the only trailer for a DLC fighter in Ultimate to not be animated in a cinematic, but exclusively use edited in-game footage.
- Banjo & Kazooie's trailer is the only character reveal trailer to recycle assets from a previous trailer.
- According to Sakurai, this was a cost-cutting measure due to the trailer's already-high production costs.[1]
- There is an error present at the beginning of the non-Japanese versions of Terry's trailer. When a list of all the Nintendo consoles is shown, the release years of the NES and SNES are those of the Japanese years (1983 and 1990, respectively). However, when the camera zooms in to focus on each Nintendo console, their release years change to that of the North American release years (1985 and 1991, respectively).
- Despite making an appearance in Byleth's reveal trailer, Solon does not appear in-game in any capacity. Likewise, Niall and Aegaeon appear in Pyra and Mythra's trailer, but do not appear in-game.
- Terry's reveal trailer was produced by Bandai Namco.[2]
- Min Min appears at the beginning of her trailer without her mask and with normal human arms and eyes. This depiction differs from the ARMS universe, where fighters with the ARMS ability of extendable ARMS are always shown to have coiled arms even when constricted to normal length and a spiral pattern in their irises. Fighters are also rarely if ever depicted without a mask (barring Byte & Barq, Helix, and Springtron, as they are non-human, as well as Mechanica, who fights with a mech instead), as it is explained in ARMS to be a regulator device that prevents their ARMS from extending and contracting uncontrollably.
- The initial livestream of Steve's reveal trailer coincided with a massive surge of Tweets that caused Twitter's servers to briefly crash, likely due to the sheer volume of reactions to the reveal. Both Masahiro Sakurai and the official Minecraft account acknowledged the crash afterward.
- Pyra, Mythra, and Kazuya are the only characters with an ESRB reminder when showing what game/series has crossed over with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
- Sora's trailer features the most playable characters in the CGI portions of any reveal trailer with 66 characters, including Sora himself, and counting the male and female versions of Villager, Corrin, and Byleth, as well as Pokémon Trainer and Charizard separately.
- Aside from Dr. Mario, Zero Suit Samus, and Mythra, who are the same entities as Mario, Samus, and Pyra respectively, the only characters that are absent from the trailer are Falco, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Mr. Game & Watch, Dark Pit, Duck Hunt, the Mii Fighters, and all of the non-Final Fantasy third-party characters.
- Additionally, while the female Pokémon Trainer and male Wii Fit Trainer are present, the male Pokémon Trainer and female Wii Fit Trainer (which are the default costumes for those characters) are not.
- Aside from Dr. Mario, Zero Suit Samus, and Mythra, who are the same entities as Mario, Samus, and Pyra respectively, the only characters that are absent from the trailer are Falco, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Mr. Game & Watch, Dark Pit, Duck Hunt, the Mii Fighters, and all of the non-Final Fantasy third-party characters.
- The original concept for Sora's reveal trailer was initially to have Mario swing the Keyblade to open the door, but due to only Keyblade wielders being able to use Keyblades, this idea was changed.[3]
- Masahiro Sakurai released a YouTube video on the subject of these trailers and revealed many aspects of their creation[4]:
- These trailers are a response to the cutscenes of Subspace Emissary being leaked online before the game released by media groups, defeating their purpose as a reward for playing the game. The trailers were made with the purpose of being shared online without providing major spoilers for in-game content.
- Sakurai was primarily the only scenario writer for these cutscenes, with the sole exception being for the Pyra & Mythra trailer, which was handled by Monolith Soft.
- The CG models used in these trailers are not the same as the in-game models, but touched up versions that visually hold up under higher resolutions and close-ups.
- Developers use a special debug mode with replay features to capture in-game footage.
- All trailers had to receive approval from the original rightsholders for all characters and properties featured in said trailers.
- A portion of the manuscript for the Ridley trailer was shown.
- The storyboards, animatic, and previsualization for a portion of the Min Min trailer were shown.
- Masahiro Sakurai released another YouTube video discussing the development of these trailers and showed some pre-release footage to explain how they changed over time[5]:
- Sakurai suggested the scene of Alex using Elytra start at the beginning of the flight path, then pan right horizontally and end with the vanishing point at the center of the screen.
- Sakurai made several photographs with a model jet to visualize the camera angle of the Highwind escaping Northern Cave, which is present in Sephiroth's reveal trailer.
- The CG segments of Sephiroth's reveal trailer were initially brighter and more saturated, and Sakurai suggested changing the lighting and color contrast to be more visually in line with Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
- Several camera angles were changed in the Pyra & Mythra trailer to make the footage more dynamic and exciting.
- Kazuya's red eye glint was changed to be stronger and sharper.
- Sakurai recorded footage and screenshots from Tekken games to help match said games in the trailer more closely.
External links
Official Super Smash Bros. YouTube channel
