History Trivia / SuperSmashBrosUltimate

** [[Franchise/KingdomHearts Sora]] takes this to another level where it is shown that all of his main outfits in the games are available as the different player skins. It then went even further when it was revealed that those outfits all would get alternate skins based on various drive forms in the series... except for the original, which instead has the Timeless River look on it. Sakurai himself even notes that no other character in the game has so many different outfits.

* EnforcedMethodActing: Creator/ErikaHarlacher [[https://twitter.com/ErikaHarlacher/status/1070901086557396992 stated]] that Ann’s BigWhat to [[VideoGame/Persona5 Joker]] joining ''Smash'' was her own genuine reaction.

** In a 2020 podcast, game journalist Imran Khan claimed that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLg0CVc5vrk&t=1551s Sakurai tried to get Sora as a DLC character but Disney turned him down]], specifically Disney Japan. Fans took this as definitive proof that Sora would never get into ''Smash.'' Sakurai's only statements on the matter after Sora finally did get confirmed is that it took extended talks.

* CelebrityVoiceActor: By lieu of [[Franchise/KingdomHearts Sora]] appearing in the game as DLC, Creator/HaleyJoelOsment counts as this by default.

** Months before the final Mr. Sakurai Presents, an anonymous source on 4chan claimed that Nintendo had requested permission from Disney to use Kingdom Hearts music in a "digital event" to take place on October 5. Come that date, and Sora would be announced as the final DLC character.

** Incineroar is voiced in Japanese by Creator/UnshoIshizuka, who died of esophageal cancer 4 months before the release of ''Ultimate''.

** The reason that Cloud [[NoDubForYou still isn't dubbed in English]] is because Cloud's English voice actor prior to 2020, Steve Burton, is a union member and the game's dub is a non-union project. Other union actors who appear in the game get around this by using pseudonyms or [[UncreditedRole not appearing in the credits]], but Burton's contract required that (a) he [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake used to be]] the only one who could voice Cloud in English, and (b) that he must be credited using his real name in any project he appears in before he got replaced by Creator/CodyChristian. Furthermore, the Creator/CrispinGlover Rule in the SAG-AFTRA collective bargaining agreement]] prevented Square Enix and Nintendo from just [[FakeShemp re-using Burton's archived audio of Cloud from past appearances]] without paying a ridiculously large amount of money. All of these rules and red tape combined make it impossible for Steve Burton to voice Cloud in ''Smash'', in any shape or form and this is unlikely to change any time soon, as Yoshinori Kitase has confirmed Cody Christian will only be Cloud's voice actor in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'' and no other project.

** The reason that Cloud [[NoDubForYou still isn't dubbed in English]] is because Cloud's English voice actor prior to 2020, Steve Burton, is a union member and the game's dub is a non-union project. Other union actors who appear in the game get around this by using pseudonyms or [[UncreditedRole not appearing in the credits]], but Burton's contract required that (a) he [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake used to be]] the only one who could voice Cloud in English, and (b) that he must be credited using his real name in any project he appears in before he got replaced by Creator/CodyChristian. Furthermore, [[UpToEleven the Crispin Glover Rule in the SAG-AFTRA collective bargaining agreement]] prevented Square Enix and Nintendo from just [[FakeShemp re-using Burton's archived audio of Cloud from past appearances]] without paying a ridiculously large amount of money. All of these rules and red tape combined make it impossible for Steve Burton to voice Cloud in ''Smash'', in any shape or form and this is unlikely to change any time soon, as Yoshinori Kitase has confirmed Cody Christian will only be Cloud's voice actor in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'' and no other project.

** The reason that Cloud [[NoDubForYou still isn't dubbed in English]] is because Cloud's English voice actor at that time before the end of the 2010s, Steve Burton, is a union member and the game's dub is a non-union project. Other union actors who appear in the game get around this by using pseudonyms or [[UncreditedRole not appearing in the credits]], but Burton's contract required that (a) he [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake used to be]] the only one who could voice Cloud in English, and (b) that he must be credited using his real name in any project he appears in before he got replaced by Creator/CodyChristian. Furthermore, [[UpToEleven the Crispin Glover Rule in the SAG-AFTRA collective bargaining agreement]] prevented Square Enix and Nintendo from just [[FakeShemp re-using Burton's archived audio of Cloud from past appearances]] without paying a ridiculously large amount of money. All of these rules and red tape combined make it impossible for Steve Burton to voice Cloud in ''Smash'', in any shape or form and this is unlikely to change any time soon, as Yoshinori Kitase has confirmed Cody Christian will only be Cloud's voice actor in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'' and no other project.

** [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts Sora]] takes this to another level where it is shown that all of his main outfits in the games are available as the different player skins. It then went even further when it was revealed that those outfits all would get alternate skins based on various drive forms in the series... except for the original, which instead has the Timeless River look on it. Sakurai himself even notes that no other character in the game has so many different outfits.

** Zigzagged with ''Kingdom Hearts''’ content. On one hand, Sora averts the voice issues the other Square Enix-created characters faced with still being voiced by Haley Joel Osment in recycled clips, indicating his contract was not as strict as Steve Burton’s. In addition, the Keyblade still has [[DisneyOwnsThisTrope the Mickey Mouse emblem]], despite the expected [[AdaptedOut absence of other Disney characters and elements]], though Sakurai does directly mention Maleficent during Sora’s presentation. Played straight, though, with the music, as while Sakurai merely stated it wouldn’t be right to have world-exclusive themes, the lack of any remixes indicates there was an issue with music licensing.

* NoBudget: [[https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sakurai-suggests-low-budget-release-reveal-for-banjo-kazooie-in-smash/ According to Sakurai]], the budget for the DLC characters' gameplay overviews practically ran out after Joker's flashy trailer, which is how the "mock livestream" setup, "Mr. Sakurai Presents", came about for the gameplay overviews for Hero, Banjo & Kazooie, Terry, Byleth, Sephiroth, Kazuya, Sora and a special set-up at home under quarantine for Min Min, Steve and Pyra/Mythra. Fan reactions to this setup have been very positive regardless.

** Sakurai originally had no plans to alter Wii Fit Trainer's appearance, but the ''Wii Fit'' devs requested that he [[ArtEvolution update her face]].

** One of the reasons why [[MsFanservice Mai]] [[BuxomIsBetter Shiranui]] wasn't included with the rest of the SNK cameos was because CERO's (Japan's equivalent of the ESRB) restrictions prevented her from appearing in a game rated for all ages.

** Ditto was planned to be a Poké Ball Pokémon all the way back in ''Melee'', but was scrapped due to difficulties getting it to work. 17 years later, Ditto finally ended up appearing in ''Ultimate'', functioning exactly how it was planned to in ''Melee'' (transforming into an AI controlled copy of the player who summoned it).

* SerendipityWritesThePlot: The original idea for a ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' fighter was to have Rex and Pyra/Mythra fight together, but it turned out to be rather complex to implement within the game's limitations, so that idea was scrapped in favor of just Pyra/Mythra. Having Rex stand at the background like the less detailed Pokemon Trainer would also be a technical nightmare given how many of him would have to be rendered if a match only consisted of the also very detailed Aegis Girls and as per Sakurai, could hardly be justified since Rex can fight himself unlike Pokemon Trainer. The best way to implement him was thus instead to make him a taunt like Morgana, reflecting his enthusiastic support of the Aegis duo, and an AssistCharacter for Pyra and Mythra by conducting their Final Smash as well as bask with them in their opening and closing animation.

%%* AllStarCast: ''Ultimate'' is considered to be a DreamMatchGame featuring a large amount of notable voice actors voicing playable, {{assist|Character}}s, and [[NonPlayerCharacter non-playable]] characters.

** When Sakurai's staff went to SNK for approval of selected songs from their game library to come with Terry, 50 of them were proposed with the prospect that an amount between 10 and 20 would make the cut. They gave the OK to ''every single one of them''. As a result, ''Fatal Fury'', or rather, SNK collectively (via the representation of ''The King of Fighters'', ''VideoGame/AlphaMission'', ''VideoGame/{{Athena}}'', ''VideoGame/PsychoSoldier'', ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting'', ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'', ''VideoGame/IkariWarriors'' and ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'') has the most amount of music for a DLC and third-party franchise and the third most amount of music available for any given franchise in the game, only losing out to ''Mario'' and ''Fire Emblem''.

* IKnewIt:
** Many people expected that the Inklings would be among the first, if not '''the''' first newcomer announced for the next iteration of ''Smash'', due to the immense popularity of ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}''. The Inklings were the first confirmed characters for ''Ultimate'' alongside series staples [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] and [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]], although actual gameplay for the characters wasn't shown off until E3 2018.
** When Link's silhouette was shown in the Inkling teaser, many people assumed that the character had been updated to reflect ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', and if so, that he would also have his Tunic of the Wild as an alternate outfit in order to still represent the classic green outfit. Both things checked out come E3 2018.
** Since the [[VideoGame/IceClimber Ice Climbers]] were cut from ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' solely due to issues making their duality gimmick work on the 3DS, fans assumed that the fifth ''Smash'' game would bring them back by virtue of releasing on stronger hardware. Sure enough, when the E3 2018 presentation revealed them, nobody was surprised (but many were still excited).
** Many people were expecting [[VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes Dark Samus]] to be an Echo Fighter for Samus, due to a suspicious absence of both her Assist Trophy and Samus' Dark Samus outfit. [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Chrom]] was also expected, due to Robin's Final Smash not being shown off in his/her character video[[note]]Amusingly, Robin's Final Smash is ultimately unchanged, and this was never officially revealed in any previews for the game[[/note]]. They were both confirmed on the 2018/8/8 ''Smash'' Direct, and Sakurai even teased those who made these predictions, saying "You ''may'' have seen this coming" immediately after revealing them.
** Fans had been expecting [[Franchise/{{Castlevania}} Simon Belmont]] as a newcomer as far back as ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'', both due to fellow Creator/{{Konami}} fighter [[VideoGame/MetalGear Solid Snake]] appearing in that game and due to Simon's home series having appeared more often on Nintendo consoles than the latter's. Snake's return and fellow Konami character VideoGame/{{Bomberman}}'s introduction as an Assist Trophy made the anticipation even greater. This all culminated in an incident on August 7, 2018 where the ''VideoGame/{{Galaga}}'' medley sample on the official ''Super Smash Bros.'' Website/YouTube account accidentally got renamed [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaIISimonsQuest "Bloody Tears/Monster Dance"]] before being changed back. Simon ended up getting his introduction trailer during the ''Smash Bros.'' Direct the next day.
** Fans were predicting that several characters who got DLC Mii Costumes in the previous game were ballot consolation prizes[[note]]especially with the implications of Bayonetta being planned before the Ballot ended[[/note]] and that most of them would appear in the next game as playable. The Inklings were confirmed as the first newcomers in March 2018, Chrom and King K. Rool were confirmed in August, and Isabelle was confirmed in September. Out of the remaining Mii Costumes, only [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Lloyd]] currently remains without an appearance in the game.
** Sakurai has left multiple statements indicating that characters (including veterans like Snake and newcomers like Chrom and Dark Samus) are included by "popular demand". While some speculated that these were ''Smash'' Ballot choices, it wasn't until Sakurai released a column in ''[[https://sourcegaming.info/2018/08/22/more-information-about-the-smash-direct-sakurais-famitsu-column-vol-561/ Famitsu]]'' after the August 2018 Nintendo Direct that he officially revealed that the ''Smash'' Ballot greatly influenced the roster for ''Ultimate''. Before that, Nintendo had also promised that they would use the ballot for future ''Smash'' games.
** Isabelle's absence as an Assist Trophy, popularity in the Ballot, and Mii costume in the previous game led to people correctly guessing that she would be a newcomer for the game. While most people thought she would be an Echo Fighter, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNiSs1ASL80 at least one person accurately guessed she'd be a unique fighter]][[note]]well, unique enough to not be considered an Echo Fighter, at least[[/note]].
** The hidden mode from the August 2018 Direct being called "Spirits" and involving all or most of the characters getting killed was a foregone conclusion since Sakurai first teased at it, with many piecing it together from the blurred text and the trend of characters dying in the past few reveal trailers.
** Considering ''Ultimate'''s focus on Echo Fighters and the fact that Ken Masters is the original {{Shotoclone}}, it was taken for granted that he would be revealed as Ryu's Echo Fighter. Sakurai even references the above-mentioned fact that Ken is the original clone in fighting games.
** Many people guessed that Incineroar and Ken would share a reveal trailer due to both of them being fire-based physical fighters and ''Smash Bros.'' generally having a fire-based theme. And since both Ken and Incineroar are combat-based fighters, many also guessed that their reveal trailer would be set in the Boxing Ring.
** As The Game Awards 2018 were airing literally just hours before the game released, it was thought that Nintendo would unveil the first DLC character from the Fighters Pass at the event as a final surprise before the launch. Sure enough, "Challenger Pack 1" was unveiled during the event, with Joker being announced as well.
** After it was shown that Stage Builder was removed, there has been speculation about it being added back in an update. Nintendo leaked its return via a commercial posted on April 9, 2019.
** It was theorized that since Bayonetta came with her iconic handguns, Sakurai may have loosened up on the use of realistic firearms after ''Brawl''. Sure enough, this was proven true once Joker was shown using his pistol.
** Many people expected female Inkling to represent Futaba’s Spirit due to their resemblance to each other.
** Due to the ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' series being the TropeMaker for the EasternRPG, a personal favorite of Sakurai's, and having an updated version of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'' coming to the Switch in 2019, observers expected a ''Dragon Quest'' character to be added as DLC. They also correctly guessed that the [[MascotMook Slime]] would be represented by Kirby in its Spirit Battle.
** Due to Nintendo and Microsoft having arranged a partnership with each other involving the Xbox Live Service and the porting of Microsoft-owned games like ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' to the Switch, there were theories that this would lead to a Microsoft-owned character showing up. Most assumed it would be [[VideoGame/BanjoKazooie Banjo and Kazooie]] due to that series' history with Nintendo. This came to pass when the two were revealed at E3 2019. Everyone knew that Spiral Mountain would be Banjo & Kazooie's home stage. People also predicted that they would use expendable items in their moveset (they get five Gold Feathers, used to perform Wonderwing, per stock), that the Mighty Jinjonator would be their Final Smash, and that ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' characters (fellow Creator/{{Rare}} creations) or VideoGame/DuckHunt (a similar "mammal and bird" duo) would appear in their trailer.
** A 2019 video ad that showcased upcoming July Switch releases, and also featured a snippet of Hero's gameplay, was later hastily changed to say "Summer", which had most fans believing this accidentally tipped off a release within the month for Hero. They turned out to be correct once he was launched on the 30th.
** A dataminer had uncovered 16 dummy character slots among the files for World Of Light, with 6 of them seemingly being used by Piranha Plant and the Fighters Pass characters (although it was revealed that Hero and Banjo & Kazooie don't use up said slots). A select few believed that this meant there would be more DLC planned after the Fighters Pass, and this was confirmed to be the case after Terry was revealed.
** People have been using post-release Spirit Events as a measure for whether a title would get in as a DLC fighter. After all, logic dictates that if that character is a DLC, then its spirits wouldn't be featured as a standalone event. Indeed, many games for the Nintendo Switch have Spirit Events to commemorate their release. And yet surprisingly enough, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' never got one. Sure enough, Byleth, the main protagonist of ''Three Houses'', appears in ''Ultimate'' as the final character in the first Fighters Pass.
** Most fans expected the Fighters Pass format to continue in 2020 onward. This is indeed the case, as Fighters Pass 2 was announced within Byleth's showcase.
** There was the assumption that Fighters Pass 2 would be the final phase of DLC, despite Sakurai not explicitly saying so during the presentation for Byleth. He later confirmed it [[http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/02/no_smash_ultimate_dlc_expected_beyond_fighters_pass_2_no_future_smash_games_planned in a Famitsu column article in February 2020]].
** Due to her massive popularity amongst both the staff and fans, as well as having won the ''VideoGame/{{ARMS}}'' Party Crash Bash over Ninjara, many fans have called Min Min being the ''ARMS'' fighter prior to her reveal.
** Several fans assumed that since Spirits are a replacement for trophies, this wouldn't prevent any of them from getting a character promotion like Mewtwo and Lucas in ''4''. Min Min becoming playable removed all doubt over this.
** For a good while, some fans argued the possibility that any character that already had a piece of art used for their spirit could simply use a different one, should they become playable. This was proven after Min Min's launch, as her fighter spirit makes use of [[https://nintendowire.com/news/2017/04/21/new-arms-art-showcases-lovable-minmin/ a drawing that showcased her]] before ''ARMS'' launched.
** Alex was expected to arrive as an alt skin for Steve long before he was confirmed as playable.
** Kirby's Steve hat was theorized by some fans to just be Kirby, but in ''Minecraft'''s signature voxel style. The Steve presentation shows that this is indeed the case.
** Due to the relative notable absence of gaming/''Smash'' news on Nintendo's part during November and early December 2020, some fans assumed that there would be a fighter reveal being prepared for that year's Game Awards, like with Joker two years prior. That came true, as [[https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1337034342913216514 the announcement for it was posted]] several hours before the event would start.
** The topic of specific noteworthy series coming with an oddly minimal amount of content in the base game was an extended debate, as that could have supposedly pointed to the arrival of more content from them such as fighters and spirits as DLC. This was eventually confirmed with ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''[='=]s Sephiroth coming via Fighters Pass 2, adding more content to bare bones material from that game. He was soon followed up by ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2''[='=]s Pyra and Mythra, whose game had a relatively lacking amount of content compared to the first ''Xenoblade'' in the base game.
** Barret and Tifa were expected to receive Mii costumes, which they did with Sephiroth's arrival.
** For a good while, Fighters Pass 2 was seen by fans as an opportunity for Sakurai to finally add playable ''Xenoblade Chronicles 2'' representation after missing out on the base roster, even if it wasn't Rex. In addition, [[https://smashboards.com/threads/pyra-mythra-social-thread.463497/#post-22694287 at least one fan]] near-accurately theorized how Pyra & Mythra may operate as fighters in ''Smash''.
** A few fans assumed that the ''Monster Hunter'' Mii costumes would return from the previous game, for the sake of promoting ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterRise''. Ditto in regards to a spirit event.
** Technical issues displaying Rex and Pyra/Mythra at the same time as duo fighters (particularly the amount of detail that their designs would be required to render at once) was correctly theorised as the main determining factor behind the former being passed over and settling for the latter.
** Most people guessed that if Sora made it into the game, there’d be no explicit Disney references or imagery. They turned out to be [[ZigzaggedTrope mostly]] right, as with the exception of the Keyblade still bearing a Mickey Mouse keychain, no Disney world songs or spirits appear.

** Creator/MiyuIrino and Creator/HaleyJoelOsment reprise Sora in their respective languages. This marks the first time a member of the ''Smash'' roster is voiced by a CelebrityVoiceActor, and the first Square Enix-affiliated fighter to have an English voice after Cloud, Hero and Sephiroth went undubbed.

* SerendipityWritesThePlot: The original idea for a ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' fighter was to have Rex and Pyra/Mythra fight together, but it turned out to be rather complex to implement within the game's limitations, so that idea was scrapped in favor of just Pyra/Mythra.

* NamesTheSame: There's Sora, the main character of ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' and last DLC character in this game, and Sora, Ltd., the game's development studio. Sakurai acknowledged this in Sora's reveal, and explained that the word is Japanese for sky.

* NoBudget: [[https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sakurai-suggests-low-budget-release-reveal-for-banjo-kazooie-in-smash/ According to Sakurai]], the budget for the DLC characters' gameplay overviews practically ran out after Joker's flashy trailer, which is how the "mock livestream" setup, "Mr. Sakurai Presents", came about for the gameplay overviews for Hero, Banjo & Kazooie, Terry, Byleth, and a special, at home under quarantine set-up for Min Min and Steve. Fan reactions to this new setup have been very positive regardless.

* PreOrderBonus: Of a sort: from December 17 - 22, 2020, players who purchased the Sephiroth DLC or Fighters Pass Vol. 2 could play the Sephiroth Challenge, which features him as a boss. If they cleared the challenge, they could play him and his stage before the general release on December 22, 2020.

** ''Ultimate'' features content from ''VideoGame/{{Snipperclips}}'', made by a group that once named themselves the Super Flash Bros. after their love for the series.

** Playtesters for the game [[https://twitter.com/Meshima_/status/1070696178788925440 include Japanese competitive ''Smash'' players]].

** During the final presentation, Masahiro Sakurai acknowledges the “Can it run ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}''?” meme, saying he heard the game Doom Slayer is from can run on any computer.
** Later in that presentation, Masahiro Sakurai expresses his disbelief that "he" is in ''Smash''. Sakurai claifies that he isn't talking about Mario, but Sora, which is a reference to the "Mario is finally in ''Smash''" meme.

** Within seconds of the 3.0 update (which includes Joker and the stage builder) the server immediately overloaded due to many people trying to update the game at once. It also managed to take down the eShop for ''everyone'' as well since many people were trying to buy either the Joker DLC or Fighters Pass. [[HistoryRepeats History repeated]] when [[Franchise/KingdomHearts Sora]] joined the battle with the 13.0.0 update.

** Within seconds of the 3.0 update (which includes Joker and the stage builder) the server immediately overloaded due to many people trying to update the game at once. It also managed to take down the eShop for ''everyone'' as well since many people were trying to buy either the Joker DLC or Fighters Pass.

*** Similarly, the [[VideoGame/Persona5 Phantom Thieves]] cameos on Mementos utilize edited models from ''VideoGame/Persona5DancingInStarlight''.

** This game and ''VideoGame/SuperBomberman R'' mark the first time Creator/DavidHayter gets to reprise his role as Solid Snake after Creator/KieferSutherland took over Snake duties in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain''[[note]]Though that was as Venom Snake/Big Boss, not Solid Snake[[/note]]. Before these two games, the last time Hayter played Snake was in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker''.

* WhyFandomCantHaveNiceThings:
** Nintendo went '''nuclear''' when ''Smash Ultimate'' was leaked more than two weeks ahead of schedule, striking down [=YouTube=] channels (such as that of longtime game soundtrack uploader Crunchii) that uploaded music videos, Classic and World of Light videos, and generally a wide assortment of ''Smash'' footage.

** There were quite a number of "generally accepted rules" within the community itself when it came to speculating the eligibility of a character actually being a viable DLC potential or not. The most common ones were: 1) if the character is already a Mii Fight Costume or Assist Trophy, they won't be playable, 2) every company gets '''1''' representative. The only problem is Sakurai himself has never said this was a specific rule and the latter specifically got rather swiftly {{Jossed}} the second Ken was confirmed. Fans were quick to try and move the goalpost since Ken was an Echo Fighter, but then DLC characters like Joker, the Dragon Quest Hero and Sephiroth all further blew holes into that theory.