The End of an Era
Many would say that Super Smash Bros is one of, if not the, most ambitious video games in history. From the game's birth by Sakurai Masahiro in 1999, to the culmination of everything just this October—with Sora as the final Smash DLC character to Super Smash Brothers Ultimate. It's a game that truly transcended barriers, from Japanese fan-favorites making it in, to Western fan-favorites taking the internet by storm. Even the reveal of Ultimate was something to behold, as it really brought back "everyone", like it said it would. From favorites like Snake to characters that phased out like Pichu—Ultimate's announcement and subsequent DLC announcements really brought a community together. Months of speculation and eyes on Smash was really an experience to behold.
And just this October, we got the revelation of the final Smash DLC character.
Sora as the final Smash character really fits in with the theme of his character and what he represents for so many people. From the beginning of the trailer, we see all the characters as statues, frozen as we return back to the very scene that started Ultimate—the burning fire of the Smash symbol in Inkling's eye. The light of that huge fire fades away to a single spark of fire, one that Sora represents as the last character. We then have Mario step forward to summon, to bring light, Sora. And as a ray of blinding light descends onto the characters, Sora appears.
His trailer is handled so wonderfully, so differently to the other DLC trailers—with his entrance immediately sparking the incredible theme to Kingdom Hearts, Simple and Clean. It's definitively unlike Sephiroth's reveal trailer, or the Hero's, both of which were part of the World of Light storyline in Ultimate. They brought incredible animation and action to their trailers, ramping up the excitement in the mystery of who would be revealed in the trailer—but Sora's trailer completely juxtaposes all of that. His trailer is an immediate bomb of emotion for anyone who loves Kingdom Hearts, and perhaps for those who don't. Through the music and the almost delicate way that Sora is introduced, it's extremely nostalgia-inducing. From the music to the bright personality of Sora that shines through even in the trailers, everything about Sora's introduction was as if a piece of what made Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts was plucked straight from the game into Ultimate.
Sora as the last Smash character is quite frankly a miracle within itself. As the character who was actually the top vote in the Smash Ballot—a vote that allowed for people to submit which characters they wanted to enter into Smash—but these results weren't revealed due to the consideration that they did not want people to hound at the companies involved about their characters' rights. For so long, people lived in either denial that it was never going to happen, because Sora was Disney property and Disney's notorious claim on their IPs was a hell no man could make out unscathed, or in the blind belief that Sora would be in Smash. It all really came down to whether or not Disney was willing to relinquish their hold on Sora, and for so long it was one of the most speculated parts of the Smash community, right behind the question of who would be revealed in the next trailer.
In the end, I think that there could not be a more perfect character to finish the long awaited Smash Ultimate. From both the licensing hell that Sakurai went through for the fans to the crossover boy himself, Sora, I don't think there could've been a better character that would've satisfied as many people as Sora did. You just have to look at the compilation of tears and screaming from various reactions to the reveal, to know.
Maybe this is the end of Smash, and maybe it won't be. It truly feels like the end of an era of gaming. But I think that if Smash were to end here, with Sora, it would be an ending most people would be fine with.
