Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is far and away Nintendo’s biggest mascot brawler to date, boasting the largest selection of characters, items, stages, and music in the series’ history. But while the game combines all of the best elements from previous installments into one package, there is one recent feature that it leaves by the wayside: custom moves.
In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS, players could acquire different special moves for most characters while playing through Smash Run and other modes. These were typically slight variants of their standard specials, but they afforded players the ability to tweak a character’s moveset to their liking. However, it appears this option won’t be making a comeback in the next game.
During a recent hands-on demo with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, GameSpot asked a Nintendo representative if custom moves will return in the Switch game, and he confirmed they will not. Likewise, the Nintendo rep confirmed that equippable items, which could also be acquired in certain modes and used to customize characters’ stats in the 3DS and Wii U installments, have also been removed from this installment.
That said, there is still one character whose moves you’ll be able to customize in Ultimate: Mii Fighter. Just as before, you can choose between several different options for each Mii Fighter class’s special attacks. There will also be new costumes with which to customize their appearance; for instance, those who purchase the game’s Fighters Pass will receive a Mii Fighter costume modeled after Rex, the protagonist of Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
Ultimate also introduces other ways to customize your fighters in the form of Spirits. These collectibles replace trophies in the Switch game and can be unlocked by completing challenges on the Spirits Board or through the single-player World of Light adventure mode. Each Spirit comes in one of two varieties. The first, Primary, can be equipped to your character and confers a stat boost. Primary Spirits also have slots that can be outfitted with Support Spirits, which further augment your fighter with special skills or abilities.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launches for Nintendo Switch on December 7. Those who register the game via My Nintendo by January 31, 2019 will receive an additional fighter, Piranha Plant, for free sometime around February. You can read more about the game in our roundup of everything we know about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
