Let’s Get To Know Some Of Super Smash Bros Ultimate’s More Obscure Spirits Better

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate won’t be out for a while yet, but all of the preliminary footage and information has meant people have gotten glimpses at all the various Spirits they will be able to collect and equip in the game. A lot of these are common characters who have appeared in major series, like Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Animal Crossing, and Kirby. But the great thing about the game is that lots of smaller games are being represented here too. While we don’t know how worthwhile or viable these characters will be until the game launches, it might be wise to get to know some of the more obscure folks who will show up. There are a lot of people out there who might be relatively unknown. We’re going to go through a few of them.

We’re going to start with the Nintendo Pocket Football Club Football Player. Paritybit and Nintendo have released two soccer simulation games that allow people to create and manage their own soccer teams. This involves recruiting players, training them, arranging matches, designing uniforms, and hoping they do their best on the field with your guidance. The original game appeared on the Game Boy Advance in Japan in 2006, while the sequel showed up on the Nintendo 3DS in Japan and Europe. It is a very good soccer management game and the sort of title people who played Kairosoft’s Pocket League Story might enjoy. Its player was one of the first Super Smash Bros. Ultimate characters shown in screenshots and game footage.

Another character showing up is Panel de Pon’s Lip. She’s not a totally unfamiliar face, as her Lip Stick has been an item since Super Smash Bros. Melee. But the actual Panel de Pon game in which she appeared showed up as Tetris Attack outside of Japan and this fairy may not have the same recognition as other characters. People know her item, but maybe not her! She was the only fairy who retained her sense of self when Thanatos, an evil king, tried to take over the kingdom and brainwash her friends. She’s strong enough to save everyone.

DeMille is a big deal too. Most people who think of AlphaDream will remember the Mario & Luigi RPG installments the developer created. However, it made another Game Boy Advance RPG that behaved similarly. Tomato Adventure was a Japan-exclusive title with a combat system very similar to Mario & Luigi. DeMille was a young man who hated tomatoes, which is basically a crime when you live in a place called the Ketchup Kingdom. King Abira, the villain who looks like a giant, anthropomorphic tomato-baby, kidnaps DeMille’s girlfriend and is generally trying to make life bad for everyone in Ketchup Kingdom, so it is up to him and his new friends to save the day. He is known for using Gimmicks, which are toy-weapons that required specific button presses during minigames to deal damage.

We also can’t forget Welt. This Soma Bringer hero makes an appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a Spirit. Back in 2008, Monolith Soft made this game for the Nintendo DS. It is an action-RPG where people can pick from eight different characters as a playable heroes. Welt is one of the members of Pharzuph Division 7, and actually helps introduce players to the world due to him being the newest member of the group at the very beginning of the game. He may seem like a standard RPG sort of hero, due to being a sword-wielder. He and Idea are pretty much the main characters of their game and are the ones with the most bearing on a plot where mysterious Visitors are appearing in the world and people are wondering about the secrets of Soma, a force used to power many things in the game’s world.

There are going to be a lot of characters people will meet for the first time, thanks to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s Spirits. One can only hope it will get people curious about Nintendo’s history and interested in older games. There are a lot of obscure and unfamiliar characters here, and I’ve only tried to touch on a few that haven’t been discussed yet. Once people get their hands on the game, maybe enthusiasm for people like the Hotel Dusk’s Kyle Hyde, Ouendan’s cheerleader, and Joy Mech Fight’s Sukapon will get people interested in those classic niche games again.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will come to the Nintendo Switch on December 7, 2018.