#sometimes i get frustrated we see ganondorf only in half dark places

[lunian]

men.......

[thefabledlegendsloz]

A Strange Historian

Pretty clean right now but will become mature over time.

4,376 words

There aren’t any warnings that I can think of for this chapter.

Link rounds the corner from the stream behind one of his neighbors houses, carrying a pot of water hoisted over his shoulder, making his way towards his neighbor’s wheat field. He makes his way over the hill thinking of his cozy life in Hateno village and how someday it’s going to be torn from him as he will need to save Hyrule from evil forces. He looks at the back of his left hand where the triforce of courage sits, unchanged since the day it appeared when he was about seventeen. He finds, despite his worries, he has an insatiable desire to roam and explore. So much so, he often thinks of leaving the village to satisfy this wanderlust. The only reason he hasn’t yet is he hasn’t a reason to. Even if it’s as ridiculous as being asked to make deliveries to other towns for trading. Grimacing, he reaches the field and lowers the pot as his neighbor addresses him.

“I really can’t thank ya’ enough for helping me with the farm work, Link. Are you sure there isn’t anything I can do for ya’ in return?” He says with a slightly concerned look. “No really, it’s fine!” He says, “It gives me something to do when I’m not studying or doing my patrols.” His neighbor turns to face him completely, “how are your studies going anyhow? Have ya’ found anything new?” Link sighs and shakes his head, “No. I don’t get it. There Has to be more, cause it feels like I’m missing so much information... Like I’ve barely scratched the surface.” Sympathy in his eyes, his neighbor nods, “I’m sure you’ll find more soon, Link. Don’t give up. In the meantime, would ya’ like a snack? My daughter just finished baking some muffins about an hour ago.” Link smiles softly but shakes his head, “No thank you. As much as I would love to, I’ve gotta go make my noon patrol around the town.” “Well stay safe, Link. I hear the other scouts have been spotting monsters more frequently as of late, and as courageous as you are, I’d hate to see something bad happen to ya’.” Link meets his gaze, “Thanks, sir. But rest assured I’ve been practicing my archery too so I don’t have to engage in close combat.” Link then walks to his house to put his gear on, running his thumb over the back of his hand absent-mindedly.

Link walks up to the house he’s called home since the mark appeared on his hand a few years ago. In his studies, he discovered that in his last life, he bought this house mere hours before it was to be demolished, only to buy out all of the renovation services in a matter of days. Throughout his childhood, the elders would tell him and the other children that perhaps one day, the legendary hero will be reborn again and that the community would keep the place clean for him should he return to the little village. If someone had told him then that he’d live there eventually, he probably would have laughed at them, saying, ‘I can’t possibly be the legendary hero.~’

Slipping on his cap and belt, he started looking for his bow and quiver, knocking over a stack of books he had lying on his desk. He started cleaning the mess when he found an older looking page he had bookmarked. Lifting the book a bit, he ran his hand over the page to smooth it down a bit as he read, ‘In the age of the wild, a century after the great calamity ravaged Hyrule and the surrounding lands, the hero spent a majority of his time in Zora’s Domain with king Sidon, who at the time was still a prince. He’d live out his days there until he died at the supposed age of a hundred-and-ninety-three years, taking into account his hundred year slumber. Whilst devastated by the loss of the king, when asked, Sidon replied with this; ‘As grim as it sounds, I knew it would come to this one day, being a different species. However, I don’t regret a minute of it.’

He closed the book and finished picking up the rest, equipping his bow and quiver and making to leave the house for the afternoon. As he made his way to the outskirts of the town, he thought about another thing he had read during his studies, ‘In the age of twilight, when the usurper king, Zant threatened to shroud the land in permanent twilight and take over Hyrule, the legendary hero had to work with another twili to save his friends and break both of their curses. They subsequently saved the kingdom of Hyrule in the process, having discovered that the dark king Ganondorf had housed his power in Zant while he set about creating a physical form.’

Link almost didn’t realize it when he reached his destination, thoughts preoccupied with the things he had read. He shook it off as he began scouting for monsters. His sword and shield ready incase there was an ambush, which there usually wasn’t, but there was an incident about a month and a half ago with one of the other scouts. Link found that hunting monsters during his shifts would curb his need to explore temporarily each day, however, not completely. While it gave him something a bit exciting to do, it was never very far, only within the Hateno region. As he scanned the surrounding brush while he walked through the lightly wooded area, he stumbled across one of the other scouts. Being careful as to not spook her, so as to not be struck by her blade, he asked, “Phoebe. You find anything?” Despite his effort not to startle her, she tensed up. Link was thankful she didn’t swing at him. She relaxed before her brows knit, “Damnit, Link! You scared the crap out of me! And no I haven’t seen anything yet. I’m starting to think that the monster population is going back down...” chuckling lightly he replied, “We can’t be sure of that. Anything could happen, like a giaNT SPIDER! GIANT SPIDER ON YOUR NECK!!!” He shouted as he lightly ran his fingertips on the back of her neck to mimic the creature, leaping back just in time to avoid her sword as she shrieked loudly, wildly swinging her sword around aimlessly. “LINK THAT ISN’T FUNNY!!! Goddess above, stop doing that!”

Link couldn’t hold back the guffaw that tore from his lungs as he doubled over. “I’m just teasing you, Phoebe, sweet Hylia!” He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye while phoebe stood there, red faced and pouting. “You’re so mean sometimes, ya’ know?” She said as Link collected himself. “You know very well spiders skeeve me out...” “I know, I know. I’m sorry.” He said, mischief in his eyes. “No you aren’t! I know that look.” She whined as she crossed her arms. However, even she was fighting a smile now. “Can’t help it Phoe. You’re like a little sister to me. I Gotta poke fun. Keep you on ya’ toes!~” He beamed. She looked at link, “You learn anything since last month.” She asked, referring to his studies. “No, not yet anyways. I’ve been going in circles and it’s starting to drive me crazy. I feel like I’ve barely learned anything. Like I’m missing so much context.” Link frowned, thinking about the small pile of books on his desk. “Five books can’t Possibly be it, Phoe. There has to be more out there...” He said, almost not addressing her anymore as his thoughts returned to exploring.

“Well, in any case, I hope you discover what you’re looking for. I should get going to my section anyways... Ooh! My friend, Shelby made muffins today! You should grab one and hang out with us after patrol.~” she grinned at Link. “Sounds good, Phoe! Heh, maybe I can finally convince her to try my recipe for once. She’s so dead set on family tradition. I’ll see you then!” He said as they split in opposite directions. “See you then!” She shouted over her shoulder.

After about three hours of searching and finding nothing, he was about to call it an afternoon and head back towards town when he heard something a ways off into the woods. Straining his hearing, he held still and listened for the sound again. He heard a faint shout of frustration from a little ways west and what sounded like a couple bokoblins. Reaching for his bow, he quickly but quietly made his way towards the commotion further down the path.

Ducking behind a tree, he saw two red bokoblins and one blue surrounding a tall man wearing a purple and blue cape and mask that looked like the wings of some kind of giant bird. He noted how it also had a long, dog-like tail, and thought how it didn’t look like any bird he’s ever seen. Other than that, the cloaked figure was wearing a thick, dark brown coat, dark grey leggings, and white boots and gloves with gold accents. However, other than the cape, the most striking thing he wore was a long blue scarf that ended in long tassels, had the triforce sewn onto one end and small triangles lining all- no, most of the scarf.

The man’s book bag was lying on the floor, contents spilled out in the dirt. Oddly though, Link noted, the man didn’t seem to be afraid, despite his apparent lack of any weapon to protect himself with. Reaching for an arrow and knocking it into his bow, he pulled back and aimed for the head of the blue bokoblin to stun it. As the arrow let loose and whistled through the air and hit the bokoblin in the eye, the hooded man pulled a concealed, silver and gold throwing knife from his white boot and threw it at the same bokoblin, looking to take a similar approach of ‘take the strongest down first’.

As the bokoblin lay dead on the path, disintegrating into a plume of maroon smoke, the two red bokoblins chanced a look in Link’s direction as the cloaked man swiftly pulled two more daggers from his boot and struck them both down. After they disappeared leaving only a fang and a couple horns, the man looked up at Link. Putting his bow away, Link stepped out from behind the tree to check up on him, as is protocol when a scout helps a traveler.

Approaching the hooded figure, he asked, “Are you alright?” The man began to collect his things while saying, “I had it under control, boy. I don’t need anyone looking out for me.” “Fair enough.” Said link as he started picking up books too. As he handed them back to the figure, he noticed the cover of one read; ‘age of the great sea: vol 2’ and had the triforce of courage sit just above the title. “Here’s your books, sir... I can’t help but notice though that this one is one of the tomes dedicated to the legendary hero. I want to ask, where did you find this? I’ve been studying just this for years now and I’ve hit a dead end. In fact, I was about to give up hope in ever finding another one.” He said, grabbing a small elixir that rolled to the side. “Ive been hunting the tomes myself for a very long time, studying as you have. Might I add, however, you look strikingly like the hero himself, only, with a goatee... I wouldn’t be surprised if someone said the same beforehand and put the idea in your head that you are the hero reborn. Heh, what would be the odds though? Am I right?” He scoffed, putting the rest of his stuff in his bag and standing up, pulling link up with him.

Link quirked a brow at his words and pulled his archery glove off, holding his hand up for the man to see. “Funny you should say that, sir.” he said confidently, smug grin on his face. The hooded man stood still as a board and went quiet. For a moment, Link wasn’t sure when he’d finally respond. The man cautiously reached his own hand out to take his and examine the mark with a ghosting touch. His hands were almost shaking as he stuttered, “I-it’s you. I-...” He paused, links hand in his own. Expression unreadable as his face was covered with the hood that pulled over the top half of his face, large goggles built in, and the large, blue scarf covering the lower half.

Link’s brows knit a bit as he carefully pulled his hand away. The man softly apologized before Link asked, “So what brings you to these parts, sir? If you don’t mind my asking, of cour-“ “Will you accompany me in my travels for the missing tomes??” The man interrupted with a slightly wavering voice. Link paused before speaking, “What?...” he then thought, ‘well I did need a reason to leave...’ The figure stammered, “ For-forgive me, Link. It’s just, you said you’ve been studying these things too and fell in a dead end, and I have an extensive library of tomes and artifacts that could prove useful to your goal. I was asking if you’d like to join me in searching for more artifacts and books, foolishly thinking you’d say yes to a complete stra-“ “Yes.” It was Link’s turn to interrupt. He nodded and repeated himself, “Yes, I’ll join you. Just let me grab some things and talk to a couple people first.”

The man paused in disbelief. “You...you’re agreeing?” He quietly asked. Link thought about it for a second, he would be leaving his only friends, though he has told them about his desire to leave, and they reassured him that it would be fine so long as they wrote to each other regularly. Link nodded, “Yeah, something was bound to change in my life soon anyways, being the hero reborn after all. I’ve yet to go on some life changing journey, and who’s to say this isn’t how it starts? Besides, I could always defend myself with my sword and bow.” He said, shooting a look at the man at his last statement as if to say, ‘Don’t try any funny business’. “...Got it...” the man said with more confidence in his voice.

Link started making his way back into town with the figure walking about two feet behind him. Once they made it to his house, he told him to sit tight while he ran a couple errands first, and to help himself to the bowl of fruit that sits on the table. Link jogged to the building near the edge of town that the community built for the scouts as a sort of barracks. He checked in with everybody and told them the situation. Most of the others were happy to see that Link was finally able to go on an adventure and bid him farewell, knowing this trip could do him some well. Some others though were concerned he agreed so fast and made sure he had plenty of arrows. “Thank you, guys.” he said, “have any of you seen Phoebe.” A few nodded and told Link she was at the little overhang the town used as a public kitchen. “Thanks again! Goodbye!” He said as he quickly left the room, waving goodbye with a grin.

When he got there, Phoebe and Shelby were already sitting at a table and talking. Shelby spotted Link first and waved jubilantly at him. “Hi Link! We almost thought you weren’t gunna show up! I kept the muffins warm for you!” Phoebe turned to him, “Yeah Link, where have ya’ been?” He sat at the table with them, grabbed a muffin and told them about who he found. As he was explaining, Shelby was excited for him, but Phoebe was concerned. “You said yes awfully quick, Link. Now I know you’ve had a hankerin’ to explore and stuff, but are you sure about all this?” Link nodded confidently, “Yeah, he can help me tremendously with my studies and I’ll finally be out and about, exploring the land of Hyrule. Besides, if he tries anything, he’ll only meet the sharp end of my sword.” He reassured her, though her expression didn’t completely lift. “I just want you to be safe, Link. Everyone knows you’re the hero reincarnate, but you’re still my best friend. I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to you.” He nodded, “Thank you for the concern, Phoe, really. I know you’re worried for me, but... I don’t know, something about him is oddly familiar... maybe it has to do with my past lives or something. All I know is that, for whatever reason, I feel...comfortable around him? If that makes any sense. It probably doesn’t...” Her expression finally shifts. “Well if that’s the case, I suppose you’re fine. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about you, it’s that your intuition is really strong. If your gut says he’s okay, then he probably is... But I still want you to be careful, alright?” She lifts her gaze to meet his. “Of course, Phoe. I’ll be careful.” He said. “Can I have a few muffins for the road? I’m not sure when I’ll be back, but I’ll try to make it as soon as possible.” “Yeah! Take as many as you want.” Shelby held out the basket for him. He grabbed a few and set them in his bag as he stood from his seat, hugging both of them tightly. “I should get going then. I don’t want to keep him waiting for too long. I love you guys, take care of the village while I’m gone! I’ll be sure to write!” He shouted behind him as he ran off towards his house. “Bye Link!” They shouted in unison.

He opened the door to his house and set his bag on the table to pack his things before speaking, “Hey, I’m back. I’m gunna go-...” he stopped when he looked up to see that the man wasn’t still at the table. He quickly looked around and found him sitting on the edge of his bed across from the desk holding one of his books. “Oh, there you are.” Link mumbled as he climbed the stairs to the platform that served as his bedroom. “Im gunna pack my things now, so could I see my book, please?” He asked. “Oh, of course, Link. I was just skimming through it a bit while waiting for you to return.” He stated, handing him the book before standing up. “I’ll meet you out front.” He said as he walked down the stairs. “Okay. Be there in a minute.” Link said over his shoulder as he grabbed his books and papers, some blank parchment and some pencils, and a photo of him and his friends he keeps on his nightstand. Running down the stairs, he grabs some food, water, and a bag holding all his rupees before leaving his house and locking the door behind him.

“You ready?” The man asked, removing some sort of necklace from his pocket. “Yeah. What’s that?” He asked, pointing to the metal disk in his hand. It appeared to be some sort of pendant, but then the hooded man pressed a button and it swung open like a pocket watch to reveal a small screen on the top panel, and a few diamond shaped buttons on the bottom panel. “This old thing? Well, have you read about shieka technology from about a couple centuries ago?” He asked, turning to face him fully. “Uh, yeah... Yeah I have. Is it shieka technology? It looks so different from the illustrations in the book... they usually have weird patterns and glowing lines.” He replied. “Hmm, no. I made this myself using their technology, tweaking it to my specific needs.” He stated easily as though unraveling the intricate inner workings of shieka technology is something you just do over the weekend. “You make it sound easy.” Link retorted. “Ah, well, you could say I’ve had some first hand experience regarding the subject.” The man said casually.

“Just how old are you, sir??” Link asked, abruptly. “I am many millennia old, I’ve seen many of the old legends unfold.” Link was put off to say the least. ‘Many millennia??’ “You’re not human, are you?” He asked, confusion evident in his expression. “Goddesses No! I’m nowhere near human!” He said, head moving back, almost looking offended at the question. “Hmm, well, in turn, I suppose it’s only fair to tell you how old I a-“ “You’re about twenty-two years old, you’ll be twenty-three in August.” The man listed off like it was common knowledge. “H-how?-“ “you’re the reincarnation of the legendary hero, dear boy. Your last incarnation died in August around twenty-two years ago.” The cloaked figure told him. It checked out in Link’s mind, so he dropped it. “Okay, so, what does this thing do?” He asked, returning to the pendant the man held.

“This is similar to the shieka slate in that it contains a map as well as the ability to teleport me and whatever I have my hands on. I have many different locations all over Hyrule and even beyond that I have saved in this to teleport to at a moments notice. It also has the ability to store items of any weight in the form of information that you can pull out at any time. Pretty neat huh?” The man then proceeded to show Link an example of each feature before awaiting his reply. “Woah... this is incredible, sir!” At that, Link had another thought. “You know my name cause I’m the hero reborn, but I don’t know your name.” Link said, tilting his head slightly with a curious look. “Ah, fair point, dear boy. You may call me Jacque, master Link.” The man answered. “Master? Fancy. I’ve only heard of my past incarnations being called that periodically. No one has called me that. At least, not in this lifetime so far.”

Jacque stilled, the hand holding the pendant lowering slightly. “Heh. I suppose it is a bit different to what you’re used to, huh? Never the less, we should be off. Look,” he points to a screen folds out from underneath the pendant, “we’re going to make a stop at my place real quick to drop a few things off and get you settled before we begin diving into all this... Only if you’re comfortable with that, of course...” Looking at the screen at where Jacque pointed, he recognized the area from a map he read once that traveling merchants carry with them. It was in the far western part of the lost woods next to the korok forest. “Yeah, that’s fine. Your house is in an odd place. I’ve heard legends of the lost woods and how anybody who goes in without knowing the proper way to go will only be spat back out where they started.”

“I built my house there for that specific reason, dear boy. It’s a good home defense system, seeing as the only ones who know how to traverse the forest anymore are the koroks themselves.” Link nodded, mumbling in agreement. Jacque then asked, “You ready? Teleportation takes some getting used to, so don’t be surprised if you feel a little dizzy the first few times while you get used to it.” He warned, holding the pendant in front of the young man. “Yeah, let’s go!” And Jacque tapped on the icon where his house is, put his free hand on Link’s shoulder, and pressed a diamond shaped button on the bottom panel. In an instant, they were inside a huge mansion, decorated lavishly with enormous crystal chandeliers, long, plush futons, many sculptures depicting scenes from many of the legends he had heard throughout his childhood. There were two wide, curved staircases that led to an open corridor on the second floor with a balcony overlooking the main entrance. There were large windows with elaborate drapes made of expensive looking fabric, and marble tile flooring that held beautiful patterns of curly-cues and fleur-dis-lees dancing across their surfaces.

Link had to regain his balance before speaking. “Now This is incredible...” Link said, gawking at the intricate decor, almost at a loss for words. “It’s usually either green or blue in your past lives, but I’ll ask you anyways, dear boy. What’s your favorite color?” Jacque asked, bending slightly to meet his height. The young man thought for a second before answering, “Soft lavender.” He replied, fidgeting slightly with the hem of his green tunic. “Why do you ask?” Jacque chuckled lightly before stating, “You’ll see soon, but before I go tend to that, here’s a map of the place until you get used to it here. Make yourself at home, master Link.~” He hands the small map to link before he goes upstairs. “Just, don’t come in here for a few minutes. It’s a surprise.~” he added before dipping into one of the rooms. “Okay, Jacque. I’ll just be checking things out.”

As Link followed the map and began looking around the place, he couldn’t help but think about the situation. ‘You’re at a strangers mansion on a supposed rest stop, you’re gunna go on a quest with him in search of more information for both of your studies, you know next to nothing about him, yet he seems to know almost everything about you, and yet despite all this, you trust Jacque?’ He stopped walking once he reached the kitchen. ‘Yet I can’t help but feel there’s something familiar about his voice... I hope my guts are right. He seems genuinely interesting...’ And with that thought playing in his mind, he sat at the large dining-room table and pulled out one of the muffins he brought. As he started eating, he wondered, ‘ I knew him in a past life? He did say he was many millennia old after all... Maybe we were friends?’

[selie1412-blog]

 Lets see how many Waluigi fans I can trigger with this post. Super Smash Bros Ultimate will be my first video game review. I believe everyone of there internet is familiar with this game series by now. If not, then what rock have you been living under for the past 20ish years.

The review will be split into two parts. First the review for the storyline, and then the review for the multiplayer section. It will become obvious as you continue reading. I sure hope you do so...

Spoilers of the story mode will be shown below. Proceed with caution. 

Super Smash Bros Ultimate: 

With an arsenal of 76 fighters to choose from and various assist trophies, cough Waluigi cough, from many different games and pokemon to also join in the battle the possibility for this game seems endless. Although, then Mr. Sakurai of course had to go above and beyond literally everyone’s expectations to add the spirits section which includes characters from countless other games, adding approximately 1200 new characters to the game. (I know that there is more than this, but the last hundreds is just spirits of all the fighters so I was not counting them.)

Summary: 

The World of Light story mode for Smash Ultimate takes place when a new villain, Galeem, eliminates all the fighters and brainwashes them into serving its needs - basically turning them into his puppets. This all goes along to its plans except for the precious start child, Kirby, Mr. Sakurai’s beloved creation (well other then the entire Smash series). Kirby is then faced to *read in Morgan Freeman's voice* save the entire world! Then after beating Galeem for the first time a new villian emerges from the darkness, Dharkon, who seems to hold an impressive grudge again Galeem. The two seem to be in a constant battle with the recovered fighters only watching from the sidelines as their battle takes place. 

For the multiplayer section of the game the format of it has changed drastically from Smash 3 and Smash 4 respectively Smash 3Ds and Smash Wii U. The rule section is now a mandatory passage into the game and the stage selection now comes before the character selection. The rules also can not be changed once you select them unless you back out all the from the match to change them. Multiple other features have also been implemented such as smashdown and a tournament mode. Spirits can also be used in multiplayer battle as well between friends.

Review:

I have to give some kudos (Shinichi AUGGGG!!! Sorry little fangirl episode. I apologize for the interruption.) to the story line overall. The plot was something unique and unexpected, and oddly entertaining considering the sheer lack of cutscenes and lore to go along with it. Being able to come up with a interesting storyline like it has after the Subspace Emissary is quite impressive. When watching through the Smash Directs waiting for the game to release I absolutely knew that there was going to be a new story mode to go along with this game, but I was unsure on what exactly it was going to be because the Subspace Emissary seems almost perfect. The World of Light appears to be a battle of good and evil where one can not appear without the other, yet can not survive without each other. I believe MatPat's description of the lore can be one possible interpretation of the story mode, but I also believe that there are others as well. In creating my review of this integration I did use The Game Theory’s theory for some inspiration and guidance, so I will be drawing off of that as a source. 

Galeem and Dharkon physically seem to represent light and darkness respectively, so it would be obvious that they would be enamines. Then why do they both encapture all of the fighters who are supposed to be on the good side. Why would they both do so. Well the short and simple answer of that is that, as the cut senses show that is not the point. In the aspect of Galeem and Dharakon the fighters are meaningless, they have no value. Going back to the origin of it all, the fighters are supposed to simply represent a child playing with them and bringing them to life. In a matter of light and darkness the person playing or controlling the figure decides on how that they will behave. By the fighters being abducted by Galeem and Dharkon itis a simple change of hands. I mean even Master hand, general of Galeem, and then Crazy Hand, general of Dharkon, can easily represent order and discord. Each are traits of it varios counterparts. We, the player, are simply spectators watching a match between rivals of sorts. Each side has a general, 3 captains, various amounts of sargents (being the abducted characters), and then plentiful amounts of pawns (being the Spirits themselves). This battle we witness between the two is an war between light and darkness. 

The ending of story more is only obtained through defeating both Galeem and Dharkon at the same time. This is the true ending which will set all the spirits free. If only defecting a single one then the other will destroy the world. Each which is called the bad ending. This true ending then meaning that light can not exist without darkness and then darkness can not exist without light. If simply darkness exists then the world will be thrown into chaos and discord while is only light exists then nothing would get done and everything will cease to exist. A balance is needed for harmony to happen. Throughout the final map of the game as spirits were defeated Galeem and Dharkon constantly fought for power to overtake the other. The player, not shown, represent this balancing act. The act of calming and defeating both of the large giants restored order to the world, adn allowed life to continue. Quoting Kingdom Heart, (Its a good game series lay off!) “ The closer you get to the Light, The Greater Your Shadow Becomes.” In order to maintain a balance as light grows the darkness should also grow. As the balancer in the game you are returning balance to the world that was taken out of balance when Galeem first tried to overtake Dharkon by taking all of the fighters into its own ‘hand’, and then when it was taken out by the balancer the shift in powers went over to Dharkon who’s power rose. Think of it as a see-saw, as one side rises the other sinks, but if you then release the side the rose it will then sink and the other side will rise.

(Wow! That was a lot of writing just on the lore, lol. I congratulate all who actually read through that.)

The playthrough of the story mode itself I was sadly a bit disappointed int. With The Subspace Emissary you could play multiplayer and there was even some playforming that characters could travers. I was sad when both of those features were taken out of the game. The graphics of the story mode itself was impressive though. I could see the real dedication to each aspect of the map, and how they tried to fit each portal area to a certain theme to a game. Like there was a Monster Hunter area, Bowser's Castle, Legend of Zelda, and a Castlevania. The avatar of every single character was impressive as well. I mean creating all of the sprites especially fro this one small thing was no small feat, so that trait I appreciated. I know the big theme for Smash Ultimate is, “Got to go fast” as quoted from the Sonic the Hedgehog series, but sometimes its a little nice to stop and smell the roses. Like in the story mode! I would honestly sacrifice about half of the spirit battles in spirit mode to have some fun platform levels of some sort. Even if it was just put in as minigames I would be happy. Like Hit the Target or Find the Exit from melee, or maybe even just reskining some of the platform levels from Subspace with a HD addition to it and throwing it into World of Light. Any of that would be amazing! I believe that added a lot of fun to the overall story mode itself, and it was one of the main reasons that made me actually want to replay and beat the story mode multiple times because it was something a bit different from the rest of the game. It made the story mode very unique, and it made it stand out.

As for the multiple player section there was a number of new additions and fighting formats that actually improved the overall experience and gameplay of it, but there was also some aspect that made me frustrated at. My favorite aspects by far was the implications of the smash down and tournament sections. The have finally added a tournament section, and that makes me soooooo happy! I no longer have to make homemade tournament charts!!! T^T The shashdown is also very helpful to play with people who are really only good with one person, and that one person can pretty much wipe you out no matter what you do. It adds a lot of fairness to the game which succeeds in making it a lot more fun for the people out there who are good at a lot of characters, but not really good at just one (I actually sit in between these people. I have 3 mains who I like to fight as a lot, but I am decent at pretty much everyone else in the game. Well except for Mr. Game and Watch and Olimar. My mains by the way are: Mewtwo, Ganondorf, and Lucas.)

My main drawback with the multiplayer section of the game is actually how the rule selection is set up. For tradition Smash mode you have to go through the process of first choosing your rules for the match, picking you stage, and then choosing you fighter. This is path you always have to go down when entering in the smash mode after exiting the game. if you finish a match it just takes you back to the stage selection section. The problem exists when you finish a match, but you realize you made a mistake in the rule creation. In order to fix it you first have to back all the way out of the match, then open up the select rules tab that you specifically created for this match set, then edit what you want, finally save it, and then back out after selecting it and proceeding onto the rest of the match. Now this would not be as much as a problem if you were able to set a rule tab as default, so you could enterally skip that one step and continue onto the match. Also, if you were allowed to edit the rules while inside the match selecting process such as when you are choosing you stage because you forgot to turn off the stage morph or stage hazards or you start selecting you character and realize that the match is still on time and not on stock. If these features were implemented then the rule section would only need to be opened when it was needed to create a new set of rules. I am not saying that I dislike the aspect of creating a custom set of rules to use for match because I think that is a very nice user friendly option for the players, but I do think that it need a little more work to be better. This is a new feature that just needs a few bugs worked out, and the it would be perfect.

For the fighters and the battles themselves, I have stated previously that the theme of Smash Ultimate is, “Gotta Go Fast,” so that is what everything is. The speed of all the characters have improved - making all the heavy characters now usable competitively - as well as the final smashes. This speed change has really made the game itself into the fastest, most adgil, and adaptive are the best. So it is no surprise that Sonic, Mewtwo, and Inkling has all made it into the top tiers for being if not the fastest, most adgil, and adaptive characters in the game respectively. The final smashes on most of the characters have changed in one way or another, some for the better and some for the worse.  There is now a feature also to do diagonal air doges as well which helps out considerable for air movement and combat. Also the idea of perfect shielding has been improved, so it grants the player a chance attack the opponent when their defences are down a bit. There is not really much else to say in this area.

I am not going to touch on the classic mode much or the all-star mode much because they are pretty much the same as the previous game. Classic mode you fight about 6 battles with the last being either Master Hand or both Master Hand and Crazy hand at varying levels of difficulty. All-star mode is continuous matches with short breaks in between which goes on until you fight and defect every single smash fighter. I will only say this, which I have already stated before, I missed the small platforming levels inside Classic mode. It added something different to the overall flow which was a nice change of pace and mixed up the game some. 

Overall Smash Ultimate is an amazing game that has blown not only mine but everyone elses socks off. From the vast amount of characters included to the thoughtful and in depth storyline, and all of the new features that it includes. I sincerely believe that Mr. Sakurai has outdone himself, and is in need of a well needed vacation. He has done an amazing job at trying his best at making every fan and every series present in this game feel loved. With all of that though I will be honored to give Super Smash Bros Ultimate an astounding score of a 9/10. Splitting each part up into its various categories the World of Light Story mode receives a not too shabby 8.5/10. This is because of the lack of platforming areas (tear) and for the lack of official lore or true story line which has left a lot of fans trying to actually deceivers what it means, me included (given my own interruption above). Then with the multiplayer section receiving an impressive 9.5/10. Only docking off points for the wonky rules section which could possibly be fixed in a later update. 

Once again thank you very much for reading my update. If you actually succeeded in reading all of it. I apologize it was a bit long this time around, but there was a lot of content I had to cover.  If you have any further comments or additions I may have missed please put them in the comments below or simply PM me. Again, I will state this every time, if anyone has any requests for anything they wish for me to review in the future please once again post them in the comments below or PM,

Finally, if anyone is interested you are welcome to join my discord server where we will talking about various anime, manga, video games, and other sources of media. I have posted the link below! :)

 https://discord.gg/tvBR8Jn