Did Leaks Really Ruin an Awesome Smash Bros Direct? (A Smash Direct Analysis)

[Commander]

I'm just looking at the reactions towards a the direct and it's pretty much a "are you fucking kidding me?" I'm just going to talk about the leaks right now before diving into the stuff people should care about. Leaks are usually more or less false information which buries the truth, we can't clutch to them like they're the prophets. So if you got upset over the character reveals due to that, that's all on you. You hyped yourself up for something that possibly wasn't going to happen. And for those whining about your character not being in, just get over it. I have 18 characters I'd love to get into smash and many of which I'd main even if they're awful characters, but that doesn't mean I'm not happy with a pretty damn good roster. There are 75 flipping characters. I don't think people are seeing that. 75 of the 80 have been revealed. And there's a possibility of a second DLC wave. The characters aren't even the thing that I was getting mad over. Like there's something worth getting mad over, but let's save that for later as this is a mature talk. Let's...unfortunately start with the characters:

 

Ken and Incineroar

 

So Ken is a special snowflake being an echo fighter that kind of got his own character trailer...an it was pretty awesome. RIP Little Mac. There's just no way that you can simply walk it off. As for Ken, I really like Ryu but wished he moved a little bit faster...which Ken really kind of does that which pleases me. That was a really cool trailer...but it was the first half. So I'm not the biggest fan of Incineroar, but that had to be my favorite character reveal trailer in the smash bros history. He was pretty badass looking and the ending killed me...RIP Ken. He just got here and he's already in the hospital. As for Incineroar, I really, really like what they did with him and I could see him turning into one of my mains. This is coming from a guy who was indifferent. He reminds me a bit of bowser which I love, but kind of fixed a few reasons I don't main Bowser. Great trailers but there seems to be one character people are really upset about:

 

Piranha Plant

 

So I think there's a misunderstanding here. I'll explain what I think went on in the development room. First off, this character was not planned by Sakurai when first making the game. What likely happened is that they reached their goal both under the time constraint and more likely underbudget and decided to take time to put work into a low investment character. The assets to the Piranha Plant were all around so character modeling it probably didn't take much time to develop. So if you say he's an awful character replacing "Geno" or "Isaac", he didn't. Think of him more as a unique extra added. When it's put that way there's two options regarding this: put some money to add one more fighter or just not use the money and have no bonus fighter. If you wish he didn't exist, that's fine, but I welcome any extra addition to the smash roster. I probably won't use him much but I'll at least be willing to test him out. I do think he should be free DLC and not a preorder bonus, but oh well.

 

Now onto the secret mode people were waiting for:

 

Spirit Mode

 

I'll be blunt, this disappointed me for two reasons. The first was that I didn't believe we'd have an adventure mode as the Smash team looked to be focused on the multiplayer aspect. The bigger thing I was upset about was the removal of trophies. I love trophies and they were probably one of the things I loved collecting in Brawl in which I almost 100% it (couldn't be intense boss rush RIP). Stickers are fun to collect, but they can't replace trophies. As for my thoughts on the mode, I kind of like the idea itself. It's an inferior mission mode to Melee but it still seems to be decent enough to take on challenges meant to represent certain franchises. I'm sure we'll be getting a golden sun based one which could be fun. It's a neat idea for meddling around and being a collectathon, but not as good as trophies. It's a good substitute since it seems trophies may take too much development time which is a necessary evil which I'm willing to sacrifice. The lack of trophies did make my mind consider skipping this game if that says anything of how much I like them. Pics are fine as well, but alas it's not trophies. It's just not the same. I don't think I'd play too much of this mode though but hey, I like seeing representation of my favorite lord, Micaiah. Please FE Warriors, at least include her in the sequel. Also I do find it cool that certain spirits can evolve.

 

Online and Multiplayer

 

So this is just a lot of bells and whistles features and I feel some are good and some are not. I'm not a big online...oh shit I forgot you have to buy online now (if and whenever I get to getting a switch). Well I guess I'm not an online player so many of these things don't affect me. I do like how there's an elite rank which recording those matches might be more interesting but I just see it as a lot of resources put into something that will not get much use. Voice chat on your phone? Really? Do they really think we're going to do that? I droned most of this out (still upset about the trophies) but I did see one cool little feature. I really do think the handicap feature is pretty good as it lets people play as their mains against people who aren't as good. My sister hates when I use mains so sometimes I have to gimp myself using characters I rarely use like Palutena and Rosalina. Good change, but not a dealbreaker. I hope that stays a staple for the rest of the franchise if there's any more.

 

New Assist Trophies

 

I don't think very many people got excited over this, but this was the first thing I got super hyped and excited about. Fatal Frame! They brought that girl from Fatal Frame which is amazing considering I don't think a lot of younger people have even heard of that game. Never played it, but the concept was pretty cool so representation is nice. Then the Black Knight comes in which his heroes quotes which yes, hearing all the VA is so nice and crisp. That Tiki assist was also nice to see. And Shadow and Isaac are back as assist trophies probably killing the fans moods, but oh well. I'd have to look back at the direct because I don't remember them all. Tiki made me very happy being a fire emblem fan and all.

 

Smash Costumes Being Bought Through Coins

 

This was a good direction. There was so much filler content in Smash Wii U that it lead up to 120 bucks in DLC, but it seems they won't be doing that this time. Maybe they'll add free updates adding new costumes which would be pretty cool and the way to go. I mean 25 bucks worth of DLC is much cheaper than the Wii U...I don't want to think about it total. It's a good change and while a bit more tedious would make being Mii Chrom from the Fire Embull meeting Luchina more worth it. Good change and a better practice imo. 25 bucks for 6 fighters (or was it 5) is a bit high, but a more fair price then what we had before.

 

World of Light

 

I was indifferent to Smash Ultimate...then this happened. It's...so beautiful. Instead of whining or complaining about all the things that weren't likely going to happen, we should be happy with the one thing never thought to happen actually come true. Adventure mode...after 17 years, yes, 17 years, is back and better then ever. 10 years if you count Sub space embassy. It's been 10 years, my friend since we've had our roster go on an adventure. The fact we open up on the same cliff at the end of Sub-space is a kick in the nostalgia. Then we hear some good old English VA...from Marth and Zelda? And cue the death of everyone but the lovable puffball...again (we'll probably get Mario very quickly...Mario vs Kirby all over again).

 

And when you think this game couldn't get any more epic, it just opens up to an English version of the song...that we can understand and just throw things at us left and right what we can do. I looked back and it seems collecting spirits will play an important part in this, but...I'm not sure if we'll have adventure maps (which would be a sad loss) where you go and collect stuff. But something is for certain: our boy, Galleon is back cuing that there will be boss battles. We don't know how good it'll be. Maybe it'll be almost as good as Subspace or maybe it'll be better. Only time shall tell. It seems spirits are the big theme though so I wonder if we'll even fight some in battle. But alas, I might be biting my tongue for speaking of things we don't know. We just needed this mode back and it's back so it's a good day.

 

Now for those of you who still have complaints or are angry about the direct, I shall direct the most suited destination for such feedback:

 

Spoiler

 

[Filthy Casual]

I've been thinking for months whether or not to get a Switch. I thought with Smash Ultimate, I would be entering into the Switch's life cycle during the correct time. Sadly, for me, the trailer didn't do enough to convince me...

 

...until I saw Piranha Plant was playable. I remember laughing my ass off when I saw him. For me, he seems to be more of a character added for a laugh. I honestly don't think they "took a slot" from Geno or Isaac, either, as those slots were likely planned months in advance, anyway (essentially, what you said about the team being done months earlier). I look forward to buying my Switch so I can troll everyone with Piranha Plant!

[LeoYT]

[ShadeStrider]

Incineroar alone set this Direct for Disappointment. He was my least wanted.

 

Sakurai genuinely thought he was a better Rep then:

 

Grovyle

Sceptile

Dusknoir

Darkrai

Decidueye

Zoroark

 

et cetera.

 

Still buying the game, but the direct was the most disappointing thing since my son. 

 

[Godot]

He is a better rep then all of those mons.

[Chase]

C’mon man. I don’t even follow Smash leaks or the game much  at all and I know how the ‘Mons roster tends to shake up.

 

Both Fire Emblem and Pokémon tend to stick to recent relevance. We also knew it was going to be an Alolan starter if anything because lately the starters have been more iconic Smash reps and somewhat unique in movesets or easily implemented as characters. (Yeah, amalgamations like Ridley are fair game now - and the earlier ‘Mons reps are not necessarily starters even up to Lucario.)

 

That narrows your alternatives to Primarina and your wanted Decidueye.

 

I tend to like grass types and Decidueye is cool - but I think the bigger outrage is how many people drank the Grinch’s Kool-Aid.

[Godot]

4 minutes ago, Chase said:

C’mon man. I don’t even follow Smash leaks or the game much  at all and I know how the ‘Mons roster tends to shake up.

 

Both Fire Emblem and Pokémon tend to stick to recent relevance. We also knew it was going to be an Alolan starter if anything because lately the starters have been more iconic Smash reps and somewhat unique in movesets or easily implemented as characters. (Yeah, amalgamations like Ridley are fair game now - and the earlier ‘Mons reps are not necessarily starters even up to Lucario.)

 

That narrows your alternatives to Primarina and your wanted Decidueye.

 

I tend to like grass types and Decidueye is cool - but I think the bigger outrage is how many people drank the Grinch’s Kool-Aid.

That is what I hated the most about the Grinch Leak.  It was clearly fake, but it gave people fake hope and made the confirmation and reconfirmation sting more.

[Commander]

2 minutes ago, G'doots said:

He is a better rep then all of those mons.

Amen to that. He may not be as loved in Pokemon, or be worthy of a Pokken tournament, but I will gladly welcome the wrestler with open arms. He deserves this and I feel bad he's getting hate due to all these leaks. Though I do think being the last revealed character probably wasn't the best choice (K. Rool or Ridley would've been a smarter choice to hit her home).

 

8 hours ago, Filthy Casual said:

...until I saw Piranha Plant was playable. I remember laughing my ass off when I saw him. For me, he seems to be more of a character added for a laugh. I honestly don't think they "took a slot" from Geno or Isaac, either, as those slots were likely planned months in advance, anyway (essentially, what you said about the team being done months earlier). I look forward to buying my Switch so I can troll everyone with Piranha Plant!

So funny story is that when I heard people talking about Piranha Plant, I thought they were talking about Petey Piranha which I thought "Well, I guess that makes since as he's a pretty recurring character." My face was kind of priceless seeing what it really was. Gotta give a round for Sakurai fooling the entire community which really makes the DLC true wildcards we really can't guess. Maybe one is Geno, maybe one isn't. I do have a possible idea what they could be, but I'd rather wait for one reveal to go into my theory.

 

7 hours ago, ShadeStrider said:

Still buying the game, but the direct was the most disappointing thing since my son. 

Well when you make coverage on every leak and news expecting things which these devs, mind you, don't have to do to make a ton of money...you're going to be disappointed. As for your Pokemon choices, Hunter said they weren't going to make a roster character anything pre Gen VII which would be a dumb move for a very represented franchise and that pretty much only leaves Decidueye and Incineroar...so tell me which one sounds better: A character who primarily uses a bow in a game with quite a number of characters who use a bow as a weapon or a wrestler when there is not a single wrestler in a fighting game. After seeing him in action, I can say Incineroar was a much, much better choice and really show great representation of fighting type Pokemon (despite being dark type).

 

Do you actually have a son or is that one of those weird sayings?

 

7 minutes ago, G'doots said:

That is what I hated the most about the Grinch Leak.  It was clearly fake, but it gave people fake hope and made the confirmation and reconfirmation sting more.

On the bright side, maybe the amount of leaks will go down since "legit" sources seem to get ignored and turned down over fake ones like this. I'd be down for it to be easier not to get the roster spoiled which would probably be easy if topics weren't popping up left and right about it.

 

Here was my mood while watching the Incineroar part of the direct due to the Grinch Leak:

Spoiler

 

Seeing everyone's reaction to the direct:

 

(replace I was with it was)

 

 

[Godot]

Also Incineroar is our 1st wrestler and our 3rd grappler.  Decidueye would have been our 6th archer and 31st Zoning/Spacing character.

[ShadeStrider]

I’ve actually hated Incineroar since his release in Sun and Moon.

 

His design was worse than Emboar and Delphox.

 

I think he really is the only “Bad”  newcomer on this Roster. I didn’t even mind Corrin or Bayonetta’s presence. I didn’t get mad that Bayonetta “took Snake’s spot”.

 

And even I didn’t really believe the Grinch Leak. I gave it a 30% chance of being real. Highest chance I’ve ever given a leak. But still unlikely.

 

I actually wouldn’t have minded if Ken was the last newcomer.

 

Incineroar got hate even before the Grinch Leak, probably because a lot of people hated his design.

 

[Gentleman Jaggi]

Personally I felt the Direct was pretty weak because they spent way too much time explaining in length stuff that just wasn't that interesting. With the character reveals out right at the beginning the only major thing to look forward to for the remainder of the Direct was a potential Story Mode - and with that asinine reasoning for why Smash 4 didn't have one every additional minute the stream got closer to its announced length of 40 minutes just made me more disgruntled. Did we really need that much details on how Spirits work, how they can be leveled, something about sub-Spirits and whichever else they detailed. (I kind of tuned out halfway through until it finally switched to another topic.) Add onto it that Sakurai is honestly an atrociously boring host and most of the Direct just felt like a waste of time.

I don't care for either of the revealed characters, so I was just sitting through a 35 minute borefest (with the only break in that being Piranha Plant's Wii Fit trainer-moment) until the last five or so minutes finally had something interesting crammed into them.

[ShadeStrider]

12 hours ago, G'doots said:

Also Incineroar is our 1st wrestler and our 3rd grappler.  Decidueye would have been our 6th archer and 31st Zoning/Spacing character.

 

At least Decidueye doesn’t look Generic.

[Commander]

25 minutes ago, ShadeStrider said:

 

At least Decidueye doesn’t look Generic.

 

This might seem out of left field but Decidueye is actually the most generic of the three and Incineroar is the least generic so I don't know what you are talking about. Incineroar is my least favorite of the Gen 7 starters, but...why am I fighting with someone who is salty anyways?

 

4 hours ago, Gentleman Jaggi said:

Personally I felt the Direct was pretty weak because they spent way too much time explaining in length stuff that just wasn't that interesting.

 

Funny how you're the first person being honest here and I can't disagree with what you said since it did fill like a lot of padding for the 40 minute mark. I feel this was more directed as a presentation to show off how online will be good over anything...which would be quite boring for people who care more about the single player stuff or local. It's directs though and they usually have 50% disappointment. 20 minutes would have definitely been better and they should've saved Ridley for this direct to add something in the middle. Oh well too late now.

 

4 hours ago, Gentleman Jaggi said:

Add onto it that Sakurai is honestly an atrociously boring host and most of the Direct just felt like a waste of time.

I miss Bill. I mean Iwata was my favorite to see present stuff but...we can't really...ever see that again. I do think Sakurai is really good at transitioning into those trailers and teasers which kind of usually make those directs. Remember how we got trolled into believing only certain characters were going to be in (believing some were getting cut) then cue Snake for the hype train. Oh that was a grand time.

[Chase]

In all fairness, I think ShadeStrider may have been referring to how Inineroar was the most generic Pokemon starter in Alola, and not prospective Smash character. If that's the case, I'd be willing to agree there, only because I do think Primarina and Decidueye are fairly creative and Incineroar has a bad case of the "literally was almost yet another Fire/Fighting type" syndrome.

 

That being said, I'm pretty excited for Incineroar in Smash, because I tend to enjoy playing SuMo better with Litten as my starter than I do with Rowlett.

[DerogatoryTrainer]

[YinYang9705]

it was less the leaks and more the pacing of the direct that murdered it tbh, I was bored throughout the entire spirits mode presentation because it was just up gradable stickers, and the options presentation because why save the options for the last direct before launch not helped by ken and incenaroar being the safest pick imaginable + plus the pirrana plants poorish timing meaning alot of people were left rather disappointed at a mediocre direct

[ShadeStrider]

15 hours ago, Chase said:

In all fairness, I think ShadeStrider may have been referring to how Inineroar was the most generic Pokemon starter in Alola, and not prospective Smash character. If that's the case, I'd be willing to agree there, only because I do think Primarina and Decidueye are fairly creative and Incineroar has a bad case of the "literally was almost yet another Fire/Fighting type" syndrome.

 

That being said, I'm pretty excited for Incineroar in Smash, because I tend to enjoy playing SuMo better with Litten as my starter than I do with Rowlett.

Someone who finally gets what I mean.

[Godot]

No, a lot of us get what you mean.  Your viewpoints are just heavily dictated by personal bias.

[Tringus]

I don't know about any of you, but I actually didn't mind the direct.  I'll be honest, I was kinda banking on the Grinch leak being real, but I wasn't toxic about it when it was fake, I just wanted Banjo and Shadow for the most part.

 

To be fair, it felt like either way, the roster was going to be leaked.  It seems to be a recurring theme when it comes to newer Smash games.  Whether the Grinch Leak was real or fake, or the Kencineroar leak was real or fake, it was bound to happen either way.

 

I'll be honest, either way I still got what I wanted.  On the hand of the Grinch Leak being real, I would have gotten Shadow, Isaac, Geno, and Banjo.  This would have been the best case scenario, but even now, that really did seem too good to be true.  On the hand of the Grinch Leak being fake, I would get Incineroar, who is one of my favorite starters.  Some of the characters from the Grinch Leak would have been great for DLC... Except Sakurai pulled a Thanos and made a good portion of them either Spirits or Assist Trophies (Even Skull Kid was silently put on the Assist List.).  However, this does not deconfirm Spirits as playable DLC fighters.  Personally, I think we still have a great roster because...

 

 

P I R A N H A. P L A N T.

 

Yes, you heard me right.  Piranha Plant.  Both loved and hated, THIS by far was probably the best surprise Sakurai has ever given us.  It shook up the Smash fandom, and piped all of our hopes and dreams for sure.  Our dreams either came true, or turned into nightmares, depending on if you like him or not.  I am really, really glad this character wasn't leaked, because it was the best surprise. 

 

After the reveal, too?  WORLD OF LIGHT?! I was in awe at the whole thing.  I can only hope that the story doesn't get leaked out there, because that would truly be a shame after all of the development team's hard work.

 

Now as for my opinion if leaks ruined the direct?  I say no, because we still got surprises.  Normally I don't mind leaks, but I strongly wish that the DLC and story of World Of Light was NOT leaked.  Sakurai has put his heart and soul into this game, and I feel like the hype has been tempered because of leaks from people like Vergeben.  Not to throw stones or anything, but I do hope something is done for after what's happened so far.