Summary
- Super Smash Bros. 6 should take notes from MultiVersus and implement a team-based twist for a new gaming experience.
- By emphasizing Smash's old doubles format with unique character abilities, Super Smash Bros. 6 can innovate and keep players engaged.
- Super Smash Bros. 6 can learn from MultiVersus' cooperative direction to enhance its existing doubles format and stay ahead in the game.
At the moment, many players are waiting for the promised return of MultiVersus. Using properties under Warner Bros.’ Umbrella, this platform fighter took many people by surprise in the summer of 2022, with not only a free price tag and availability on multiple platforms, but a unique co-op twist to the genre. While Super Smash Bros. Had been mostly dominated by duels or mass free-for-alls, MultiVersus emphasized its 2-on-2 format with synergistic moves and perks. It was a great alternative to Super Smash Bros., especially after Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s post-launch support had concluded.
Unfortunately, the good times couldn't last, and support for MultiVersus petered out before its open beta ended in the middle of 2023. The game is set to launch in early 2024, and rumors say that MultiVersus could have news about its release soon. However, during its hiatus, speculation also flared up about the next Super Smash Bros. Entry. Chances are good that the upcoming Nintendo Switch successor will host a Super Smash Bros. 6 at some point, so the most pressing question is what form it will take. Regardless of how MultiVersus fares upon its return, the next Smash Bros. Should still learn a few things from its platform fighter peer.
The Next Super Smash Bros. Could Benefit From MultiVersus’ Team-Based Twist
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the ultimate Super Smash Bros., exactly as its title claims. With all the characters, most of the stages, and so much more from past titles, it's hard to describe Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in any other way. However, being the pinnacle of its franchise means the next Smash Bros. Sits between a rock and a hard place. Unless Nintendo pulls a Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with an updated Super Smash Bros. Ultimate release on its next console, a new Smash Bros. Game will have to build its content back up from nothing.
Building Around MultiVersus’ Doubles Format Could Be Smash’s Next Hook
The only other option for Super Smash Bros. 6 is to bring something new to the series that not even Ultimate had. Fans have discussed the possibility of an arena fighter Super Smash Bros., but copying MultiVersus’ defining co-op focus would let Smash keep its platform fighter trappings. One of the reasons why MultiVersus got so much attention was that it emphasized Smash’s old doubles format through its character abilities, something Smash has never tried. It may be time for Super Smash Bros. 6 to attempt a team-based approach, and it has plenty of ways to do so.
How Super Smash Bros. 6 Can Adapt MultiVersus' Teams
Just by examining MultiVersus’ roster, many ways to update Super Smash Bros. For synergistic team play become apparent. Even characters built around direct fighting, like MultiVersus’ Assassin and Bruiser classes, have at least one trait that directly affects teammates, like Finn the Human’s coin system. This is even more apparent for MultiVersus’ Support fighters, although Super Smash Bros. Will need to think carefully about including play styles like that, as their very presence implies a full commitment to team-centric gameplay.
What Super Smash Bros. Can Do To Emphasize Its 2v2 Format
Super Smash Bros. Doesn't need to limit itself to MultiVersus’ strategies, either. The Smash franchise already has access to concepts that could spice up team pay, like rebuilding its cast around custom special moves to allow two teammates to assume different roles through loadouts. Nintendo's iconic roster also has plenty of teamwork-oriented abilities in their repertoire, like Mario and Luigi using Bros. Attacks from Mario & Luigi by jumping on their teammates, or Kirby buffing allies with his series' co-op interactions. Smash already has a functioning doubles format, and it would be easy to build it up further. MultiVersus’ cooperative direction could be just what Super Smash Bros. 6 needs to stay at the top of its game.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Released
- December 7, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
Gaming icons clash in the ultimate brawl you can play anytime, anywhere! Smash rivals off the stage as new characters Simon Belmont and King K. Rool join Inkling, Ridley, and every fighter in Super Smash Bros. History. Enjoy enhanced speed and combat at new stages based on the Castlevania series, Super Mario Odyssey, and more!
Having trouble choosing a stage? Then select the Stage Morph option to transform one stage into another while battling—a series first! Plus, new echo fighters Dark Samus, Richter Belmont, and Chrom join the battle. Whether you play locally or online, savor the faster combat, new attacks, and new defensive options, like a perfect shield. Jam out to 900 different music compositions and go 1-on-1 with a friend, hold a 4-player free-for-all, kick it up to 8-player battles and more!
- ESRB
- E for Everyone: Cartoon Violence, Comic Mischief, Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Super Smash Bros.
- Platform(s)
- Switch
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
