‘Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’ special edition includes snazzy Pro Controller

By Gabe Gurwin August 28, 2018

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Nintendo Switch exclusive Super Smash Bros. Ultimate releases this December, and it’s poised to take over many players’ lives for the foreseeable future. If you’re planning on devoting your next few months to mastering the Wombo Combo, the game’s special edition just might be for you.

Launching alongside the standard version of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on December 7 for $140, the special edition includes a steel book game case as well a Switch Pro Controller with white handles and the famous Smash Ball across the top. The controller will also be sold separately for $75, and those interested in purchasing GameCube controllers with the Smash Bros. logo will be able to do so, as well — with the controller adapter, these can be used on Switch.

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We’re certain to see fans divided on which controller is the “correct” one for use in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The GameCube controller has been a staple of the series since Melee released in 2001, but the Switch Pro Controller might be the best console controller Nintendo has ever made. We particularly love it for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and it includes the same motion controls found in the Joy-Con controllers.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will feature every single fighter ever included in any of the series’ other installments, but it will also include several new characters. These include Simon and Richter Belmont from Castlevania, King K. Rool from Donkey Kong Country, Chrom from Fire Emblem: Awakening, and Ridley from the Metroid series. All stages also have multiple “forms,” as well, giving competitive players more options for where to play their opponents, and new multiplayer modes will shake up how you battle your friends during parties.

If you’re looking to pick up some other Nintendo Switch games over the next few months, Nintendo has you covered, as well. Beginning on September 28, “starter packs” for Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Splatoon 2 will be available for $60 each. The packs include the game as well as a strategy guide, and given the amount of collectibles in Breath of the Wild and Odyssey, you’re almost guaranteed to use the guide at least a few times.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

Gaming

Nintendo introduces a new Super Smash Bros. Switch OLED for Black Friday

Super Smash Bros. Nintendo Switch OLED.

Nintendo unveiled all of the Black Friday deals and bundles it plans to offer in the coming weeks. These offerings are headlined by a brand new Nintendo Switch bundle with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate that has never been available before.
The Nintendo Switch -- OLED Model: Super Smash Bros. Ulitmate Bundle costs $350 and comes with a code for the fantastic 2018 crossover fighting game as well as three months of a Nintendo Switch Online Membership. The bundle's Joy-Cons feature a design based on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Unfortunately, this deal includes neither Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's Fighter Passes nor the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. Nintendo says this bundle will be released on November 19, although they've already been spotted in some stores.
The other big new offering from Nintendo this holiday season is the Super Mario Party + Red & Blue Joy-Con Bundle. It costs $100 and includes a download code for Super Mario Party in addition to Red and Blue Joy-Con controllers. Keep in mind that this bundle includes 2018's Super Mario Party, not 2021's Mario Party Superstars, which remastered a lot of content from the series' older games.
https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1721527869355049300
Nintendo also plans to offer bundles that have been available before, like the Nintendo Switch Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Bundle and Animal Crossing: New Horizons Nintendo Switch Lite.
Various game discounts for Switch games will also go into effect on November 19. In terms of Nintendo-published games, people can expect Everybody 1-2-Switch! and Nintendo Switch Sports to be discounted by $10, titles like Luigi's Mansion 3, Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 to have $20 discounts, and for Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Mario Strikers: Battle League, and Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes to all be available $30 cheaper than usual. Sadly, it does not look like Nintendo itself will offer any major deals surrounding this year's The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
All of these bundles and deals will become available on November 19.

Gaming

It’s Super Mario Bros. Wonder’s subtle changes that make it special

The flagpole is knocked away in Super Mario Bros. Wonder

While I’m only partway through Super Mario Bros. Wonder, I’m already utterly in love with the game.

As our glowing review outlined, it’s a highly polished 2D platformer that’s approachable for anyone to play and elicits a joyous and vibrant sense of wonder. But for me, what makes Super Mario Bros. Wonder special aren't so much the wild Wonder effects or elephant transformations. It's the subtle touches. These elements might not be immediately noticeable or relevant to most, but they all work together to create an experience that’s a step above most other platformers.
Changes enhance enjoyment
Super Mario Bros. Wonder isn’t afraid to show that it’s different from previous Mario games through small moments and changes. One instance that illustrates this early on is in one of the first Bowser Jr. fights. It starts like all his New Super Mario Bros. boss fights do, with him getting in his shell and spinning toward Mario. At first, I was disappointed that Nintendo was just doing the same thing again, but after the first hit, that changed. Bowser Jr. activates a Wonder effect and changes in size for the following two stages of his fight. It's a moment of surprise that subverts my expectations, which are based on decades of Mario games. This is a small moment and reference that many Super Mario Bros. Wonder players probably won’t even internalize. Still, it is a smart way to show how the platformer differs from what came before.

Gaming

All Captain Toad locations in Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Toadette talking to captain toad.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is taking the series back to its 2D roots with a new and exciting art style and a ton of new mechanics. Alongside new power-ups and badges, this title has perhaps the largest amount of collectibles and hidden secrets of any game in the series. Between all the Wonder Seeds, Wonder Flowers, Flower Coins, and more, there's no shortage of things to do as you run, jump, and flip your way through all the various worlds. Among all the playable characters to choose from, one non-playable character makes his triumphant return. Captain Toad has managed to make his way to the Flower Kingdom, but this intrepid explorer is not so easy to find. Each time you interact with him, he will reward you with some Flower Coins and a hint at an upcoming world, so let's hunt down all his locations in Super Mario Wonder.
All Captain Toad locations

Captain Toad appears in five unique spots on the Super Mario Bros. Wonder world map. Talking to him at each spot will give you a little bit more of his story, plus the aforementioned rewards.
First Captain Toad location