Several games have become synonymous with the Nintendo Switch, owing to both their great quality and sales.The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the WildandAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsare two, but even they have made way forMario Kart 8 DeluxeandSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate. Both titles were so popular that they had years of post-launch support, withMario Kart 8 Deluxeeven coming out in the Switch’s first year and wrapping up its season pass in what may be the console’s last.Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s wasn’t active for as long, but its DLC dominated fan discussions for the length of its stay.
OnceSuper Smash Bros. Brawlintroduced the idea of guest characters, appearing inSuper Smash Bros.became an industry-recognized badge of honor. Sega and Konami jumped in immediately, with Capcom, Square Enix, and Bandai Namco joining in the next game. BySuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, playable characters, Assist Trophies, Mii Fighter costumes, and Spirits included anything from indie characters like Shovel Knight to Microsoft representatives Banjo-Kazooie and Steve. It all culminated two years ago on Jul 26, 2025, withKingdom Hearts’ Sora released asSmash Ultimate’s final DLC character, and there couldn’t have been a better finale.
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Why Sora Joining Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Was Such A Big Deal
There were several reasons why Sora ended up being the final character added toSmash Ultimate. A big one is the number of heads his announcement would turn, as he stands out even in a Fighters Pass shared withMinecraft’s Steve.Kingdom Hearts, the franchise Sora hails from, is co-owned bySquare Enix, which has several fighters inSmash Ultimate, and multimedia conglomerate Disney. For the longest time,Smashfans and even the series’ own developers thought that detail killed Sora’s chances of inclusion. Even with its reputation,Super Smash Bros.wouldn’t circumvent the legal nightmare that came with using a Disney property.
That is, until director Masahiro Sakurai met a Disney representative that was interested in Sora joiningSmash Bros. More negotiations followed, but thebiggest hurdle forSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate’s teamto overcome after that was apparently followingKingdom Heartsdirector and character designer Tetsuya Nomura’s lore-centric guidelines. Everyone involved understood the gravity of a Disney and Square Enix crossover character now joining a Nintendo crossover that spanned the gaming industry, and wanted the result to live up to its potential.
Sora Marked Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s Grand Finale
With the addition of Sora,Super Smash Bros. Ultimatehad completed not just its updates, but building a lasting legacy. There has never been a celebration ofvideo game mascots as thorough asSmash Ultimate, and Sora’s trailer went out of its way to show it with every fighter inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimatewelcoming Sora in.Smash Ultimate’s tagline “Everyone Is Here!” rang true not only in marketing its launch roster, but in its DLC as well.
Having been released on December 7th, 2018,Super Smash Bros. Ultimatespent three years ensuring it was the idealSuper Smash Bros.title, a crossover game that offered both fun fighting and flourishes that would please every character’s fans. Ending by joining its massive multiverse withKingdom Hearts’ was almost poetic, and Sora’s amiibo will soon markSmash Ultimate’s final update. It’s hard to imaginea futureSmashtitle living up toUltimate, but that means it’s free to try something new and letSuper Smash Bros. Ultimatestand as the complete package it is.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimateis available now on the Nintendo Switch.
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