Nintendo recently unveiled Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s new Kingdom Hearts stage, the latter of which includes series character cameos and other Easter eggs. Director Masahiro Sakurai revealed Sora as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate final character. The protagonist of Kingdom Hearts, Sora was officially confirmed as the last character in the Fighter Pass Vol. 2, and he will release on October 18. Sora's arrival will mark the end of the fighting game's ambitious crossovers.
Sora was previously theorized to be the final Super Smash Bros. Ultimate character after a 4Chan user claimed Disney music was requested for a Smash Bros. trailer. The leak gained validity after it correctly predicted the showcase’s October 5 airdate. Suggesting the final character would be from Kingdom Hearts, the leaker claimed Nintendo approached Disney Music to license several tracks for its digital presentation. A day prior to the reveal, Masahiro Sakurai hinted even non-Smash Bros. players should watch Tuesday's reveal stream, but his statement that players might not recognize the character made Sora's confirmation a surprise to some.
The Nintendo stream revealed the final stage being added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which will accompany Sora for his roster debut. The stage, Hollow Bastion, includes several character cameos, including Sora, Riku, Roxas, Xion, Terra, Ventus, and Aqua. Ascending from Rising Falls, the stage's moving platform brings fighters up close and personal to the center of the Kingdom Hearts franchise, Hollow Bastion, allowing the castle to be seen in all its glory. Several intricate details of Hollow Bastion can be seen throughout a match, including the difficult obstacles present in the area in the first Kingdom Hearts.
When time is running out or stocks are low, the stage will transition to what Sakurai called the “Dive to the Heart” arena. The stained glass background will change periodically, showing portraits of various franchise characters. The cameos include Riku, Sora's lifelong friend and rival, as well as Xion, an imperfect replica of Sora derived from his memories of Kairi. Terra, one of the main protagonists in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, also appears, as does Ventus and Aqua, other main characters from the same title.
The series cameos add a special spark to the final Super Smash Bros. Ultimate stage, bringing the Kingdom Hearts franchise to life on the Switch's flagship brawler. The small touches and series references are a welcome nod to the Disney RPGs.
The Kingdom Hearts stage captures the artistic stylings of the original games, and veterans of the franchise will notice the many easter eggs Nintendo included. The Kingdom Hearts series cameos in the Dive to the Heart phase of Hollow Bastion are a fitting ending to fights involving Sora, and it's a wonder how his yet-unrevealed Final Smash "Sealing the Keyhole" might play out on the special stage.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available for Nintendo Switch.
Source: Nintendo/YouTube