History HilariousInHindsight / SuperSmashBrosUltimate

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* Not too long after the game's E3 2018 presentation, [=YouTuber=] Alpharad [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XSC73scH_0&t=19s made a video]] concerning a bracket[[note]]done in the Wii U game, and with Expys and a Mii Gunner[[/note]] of the three (at the time) newly announced newcomers ([[MemeticMutation and]] [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} Sans]]). And although the video ended with Alpharad [[spoiler:sadly announcing this means Sans would be in ''Smash'']], the video had unforeseen circumstances involved. Namely, [[spoiler:before putting in "Sans", he briefly considered adding a Mii Swordsman modeled after Chrom, but decided against it [[TemptingFate because]] "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMJhLWpU5l4 he's not coming back]]"]]. It is made more hilarious when it was announced that a Mii Fighter costume based after Sans will be in the game.
** Another example related to Alpharad, he was doing a [[SelfImposedChallenge Nuzlocke Run]] of the game's World of Light mode. In the second run's final episode (first streamed in November of 2020), the run ended with Cloud doing a lot of work in the episode [[spoiler: and while not the one who defeats Dharkon and Galeem, was responsible for getting him through the BossRush]]. Come the Game Awards in December, what better an opponent after putting in so much work, than Sephiroth?
-->'''Alpharad:''' There isn't a Sephiroth boss fight in this game before, but like, suddenly, there's going to be. And nobody will know where it came from.
* Plenty have been joking about ''Ultimate'' being the DarkerAndEdgier ''Smash'' game since its ominous reveal trailer. So far, every announcement of a newcomer has involved at least one of Nintendo's beloved childhood characters getting very explicitly murdered. Ridley's reveal sees him crushing Mario's neck and stabbing Mega Man with his tail, Simon's has Luigi get his soul ripped out by Death, and King K. Rool's has him downright rabbit-punching King Dedede very violently. All of this makes it seem like those memes weren't actually all that far off. And then there's the opening to ''World of Light'', ''[[DownerBeginning hoo boy]]''...
* There were already comparisons/predictions to ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' before the film even came out, with both plots taking place after after a lot of characters [[spoiler:are disintegrated]], and it's up to whoever's left to set things right. By the end, it's not hard to imagine that they both also have [[spoiler:a slightly different villain to go up against after the first one (Dharkon and Past Thanos)]], and [[spoiler:many, if not all the characters end up coming back in time for the final battle]].
* Many people were making jokes on how the Final Smashes were very similar to ''Persona 5''[='=]s cut-ins, jokingly stating that Joker was confirmed a DLC character. Cue Joker being the first character announced for the Fighters Pass.
* The infamous Grinch "leak" predicted Banjo and Kazooie even before [=E3=] 2019 as well as Ken back in November 2018.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBLWZL6ON4E&lc=UgxPK3s1gWFSDNYqNWl4AaABAg.8txlzh7-_bS8uBZrwpdlT8 BroskiPlays! posted a video of the 10 most obscure spirits]] where he explicitly states that while ''VideoGame/{{Cubivore}}'' was a Nintendo game published by Atlus in North America[[note]]It was mainly developed by a short-lived company called "Saru Brunei", with Intelligent Systems also serving as co-developers of the game.[[/note]] and was included as a spirit, to [[TemptingFate "not get your hopes up for Persona"]] because ''Cubivore'' was already represented by a trophy back in ''Melee''. The video was uploaded ''one week'' before Joker was announced as DLC.
* Back when Joker was the only fighter revealed for the first Fighters Pass, a leak claimed that the remaining four fighters would be [[Franchise/DragonQuest Erdrick]], [[VideoGame/NinjaGaiden Ryu Hayabusa]], [[VideoGame/{{Minecraft}} Steve]], and [[VideoGame/{{DOOM}} the Doom Slayer]]. While the leak ultimately turned out to be false, Erdrick and Steve would wind up being added to the game regardless, with Erdrick being an alt for [[VideoGame/DragonQuestXI the Luminary]].
* [[https://twitter.com/VioletLunaChan/status/1078228367420338176 Another tweet from December 2018]] where a user gave their predictions for the DLC characters and the two characters at the very top of their list for most likely candidates were none other than [[AccidentallyCorrectWriting "a Dragon Quest protagonist and Banjo-Kazooie"!]]
* Joker's 6th [[PaletteSwap outfit]] reskins him to look like Goro Akechi in his Crow outfit. Then in Akechi's trailer for ''[[UpdatedRerelease Royal]]'', Joker and Akechi do the opposite, with the former giving the ''latter'' his exact same haircut and look.
* One installment in the ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' series was called ''Fatal Fury Special''. Said game is an update to ''Fatal Fury 2'' that brings back veterans not present in the original release, although not all of them, and refines its gameplay. Things eventually went full-circle with the inclusion of its lead Terry Bogard in this game, which has ''Special'' as its subtitle in the Japanese version, brings back every ''Smash'' veteran, and improves on ''3DS/Wii U''[='=]s gameplay.
** More of a bittersweet laugh but for the second time, Creator/{{Capcom}} and Creator/{{SNK}} get to face off in something that ''isn't'' a proper ''[[VideoGame/SNKVsCapcom Capcom vs. SNK]]'' game (the first being ''VideoGame/Tekken7''). To take it further, both games had Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment on the development team.
* A Twitter user by the name of [=SPlatinum_=] posted [[https://twitter.com/SPlatinum__/status/1175858163817623560 a meme comic]] where Terry Bogard asks the Smash community not to get upset just because a character they don't want got in, before revealing the last Challenger Pack of the first Fighters Pass to be Byleth. The fact that they got that information correct proves themselves as a glorified prophet.
** Similarly, a Twitter user known as Francis (AKA franmm127) posted [[https://twitter.com/franmm127/status/1213305064833658881 a what-if comic]] showing what would happen if Byleth got included, getting insults from all sides, only for the fellow BaseBreakingCharacter Corrin to pat Byleth in support, saying [[LightNovel/GoblinSlayer "You'll get used to it."]] This came approximately ''two weeks'' before the official reveal.
* The concept of using Wii Fit Trainer to represent the Ring Fit Trainees and Gust Bellows as Ring from ''VideoGame/RingFitAdventure'' was used in a [[https://twitter.com/GaleemL/status/1184963395541450753 fanmade spirit post on Twitter]].
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbPzbGNzIFk This video]], made before the release of ''Ultimate'' raps the names of all the (pre Fighters Pass) fighters in the game in the style of the "[[Anime/{{Pokemon}} Pokerap]]". The second half, where the rapper is listing off characters he wants in the game is supposed to parody the mindset of fans who go crazy if their favorite character doesn't get in, but it did manage to correctly predict Joker, Banjo and Kazooie, and Steve, and its other picks include Sans and Bomberman, who made it in as Mii costumes.
* On April 15, 2018, before the first gameplay trailer for Ultimate [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPx5l55pYqM a fake leak showcasing Spring Stadium was uploaded online]], as well as the characters [[VideoGame/{{ARMS}} Spring Man]] and [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Decidueye]]. Come June 29, 2020 and the stage itself is in the game. And while the characters shown didn't become playable, two characters from their debut games did, Incineroar and Min Min.
* In ''VideoGame/ProjectM'', one of the many examples of DivergentCharacterEvolution they gave Ganondorf to differentiate him from Captain Falcon was turning his Forward Smash into a fast Warlock Punch, changing it from an elbow strike to an OffhandBackhand. That same OffhandBackhand was given to Captain Falcon here, to replace the very same Smash attack. Likewise, their rework of his sword taunt to be a slashing version of the Warlock Punch is before this game replaced all his Smash attacks with sword attacks (including his famous [[FanNickname Doriyah]], which the aforementioned sword slash Warlock Punch is basically a one handed version of).
* ''Smash Bros.'' gets to host the showdown between [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid Solid Snake]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud Strife]], and not ''VideoGame/PlayStationAllStarsBattleRoyale'', despite both characters being considered among the most recognizable faces of the brand.
* The entirety of the ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie''[=/=]''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' FandomRivalry and the infamous "Steveposts" that came with it became this once Steve (along with Alex, a Zombie, and an Enderman under the same umbrella) was added to the game in October 2020, putting both he and Banjo and Kazooie in the same ''Smash'' game.
** Even better, [[https://arch.b4k.co/v/thread/433785893/ the very first "Stevepost"]] (which featured the "Grotesque Steve" model used in all later posts) was posted to Website/FourChan on October 1, 2018. Exactly 2 years later, and...
** Back when Banjo was revealed, the posts were hilarious in a ''different'' way, as the posters were absolutely sure that Steve would get in over Banjo. Since the latter got in first, people started mocking the posts online as a result. Then over a year later, with Steve appearing from a white background in his natural blocky appearance, plus coming in the middle of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic which ''greatly'' slowed down DLC production, it can now be interpreted as Steve becoming TheAtoner for the meme in question.
* On September 30, 2020, ''Did You Know Gaming?'' released an updated video regarding [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f22jg0jATOs ''Super Smash Bros Ultimate'' leaks]]. When regarding VideoGame/{{Minecraft}} leaks, Remix states that no content from that game ever appeared in Smash. One day later and Steve, along with Alex, Zombie, and Enderman, would be announced for the game with their own stage.
* On AprilFoolsDay 2019, the official Kirby website [[https://www.kirby.jp/squarekirby/ joked]] that Kirby himself became square like fellow Hal Laboratory character [[VideoGame/BoxBoy Qbby]]. One year later and after swallowing Steve, Kirby himself becomes [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EjabLZuXcAAYTQ-?format=jpg&name=small square]].
* Back in April 25, 2019, [[WebVideo/WhatIfXWasInSmash BrawlFan1]] [[https://youtu.be/waGy2WwofSE created a speculative move-set for Steve]] in ''Smash Bros'', with the general theming being a [[MechanicallyUnusualFighter very complex]] move-set that revolves around "crafting it" with the various materials to be obtained. Certain aspects of the move-set, such as leaving Steve with a weak punch if left without any tools and requiring materials for it to work, end up part of the official depiction of Steve in ''Smash Bros'', [[https://youtu.be/RTJoK8XATpw as BrawlFan1 himself noted]] [[https://youtu.be/AUChkQnaaCAthe in his reaction video]].
%%** This situation is actually a repeat of Banjo and Kazooie, whom he ''also'' made a moveset for. The kicker is that both games are owned by Creator/XboxGameStudios, meaning that every single character he covered that they own[[note]]Kind of; Microsoft announced that they were buying Creator/{{Bethesda}}, meaning they own ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' which [=BrawlFan1=] also did a video on.[[/note]] is now in ''Super Smash Bros.'' Until [[VideoGame/OriAndTheBlindForest Ori]] and [[Franchise/{{Halo}} Master Chief]] got videos, anyway.
* Not long after ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' released, Seteth making odd or silly requests became a meme. Seteth's voice actor even read some of them while in character. One of these [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrmiAj7eb44 requests]] involved shenanigans on Garreg Mach Monastery's ''Minecraft'' server. Thanks to ''Smash'', both games have officially crossed over, and it is indeed possible to plant TNT around the monastery.
* Before the base game's launch, the insider Vergeben had assumed, without using any of his usual sources, that ''Minecraft'''s Ender Dragon would be included as a day-one DLC boss. The kicker? Not only did this not happen, and not only did ''Minecraft'' content not arrive until Fighters Pass 2, but when the Ender Dragon ''did'' get representation as a spirit, the character that was used for him was Ridley, [[{{Irony}} who was no longer a boss by that point]].
* [[https://www.ssbwiki.com/File:SSB4-Wii_U_Congratulations_All-Star_Cloud.png Cloud's All-Star mode congratulations screen]] in the ''Wii U'' version features a recreation of [[BigBad Sephiroth]] behind a wall of flames (a common theme for him after the Nibelheim incident), except [[DudeLooksLikeALady Sephiroth]] is replaced by [[LongHairIsFeminine Palutena]]. With the release of ''Ultimate'', cue Sephiroth being confirmed as [[DownloadableContent DLC]] as part of Fighters Pass 2!
** Additionally, in [[https://twitter.com/Stoic_Miiverse/status/1064358297615126528 this fan art by Stoic Seraphim]], several Square-Enix-created characters vie for Cloud's attention to get a Smash invite, with Sephiroth egging him the most. Over two years later...
** ''VideoGame/PMEXRemix'', a massive collaborative ''Brawl'' mod that took off in late 2020, featured Sephiroth as a fighter. The kicker is that it started getting attention only a few weeks before his official ''Smash'' debut.
* Spideyhog, the director of ''Mini Rumble / Riot Rumble'', an animated web series akin to [[WebAnimation/OneMinuteMelee One Minute Melee]], posted a [[https://twitter.com/Spideyhog/status/1337124451641593858 teaser]] for the next episode with Sephiroth VS [[{{VideoGame/Blazblue}} Hakumen]]. The same day later, the former is revealed at The Game Show Awards 2020 as the third DLC Fighter for Pack 2. Naturally, he found out about this and posted his [[https://twitter.com/Spideyhog/status/1337190376252329986 reaction]].
* A fan jokingly placed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snbI7T7Eq7w One-Winged Angel - REBIRTH]] as a joke Smash soundtrack should Sephiroth become playable on late April 2020. Come the 2020 Game Awards where he is indeed in Smash and the video in question is flooded with comments regarding how he seen the future.
* Also in late April 2020, a ''Final Fantasy VI'' fan webcomic artist drew a [[https://www.deviantart.com/clarakerber/art/Patreon-Reward-Sephiroth-Gets-Invited-837964273 short comic where Sephiroth announces he got an invitation to Smash, only for the other Final Fantasy villains start to fight him for it]]. It was drawn by request from a subscriber to the artist's Patreon, so the requester is seen as a prophet.
* During Hero's livestream, Sakurai not-too-subtly alluded to the notoriously poor selection of songs ''Final Fantasy VII'' came with in the base game, by noting how unfortunate it would be if ''Dragon Quest'' only came with two songs. Come Sephiroth's addition via Fighters Pass 2, it got 9 additional songs, making it a total of ''11'' songs over ''Dragon Quest'''s 8. Evidently, Square-Enix got the message.
** A Christmas-themed comic by Wooden Plank Studios had Cloud receive a music CD containing more of his game's songs as a gift, to which he summarily said "Finally!!". Fans shared the sentiment when Sephiroth was revealed and coming with more songs for a December release, a little under two years later.
* This [[https://twitter.com/ZoroCarl0s/status/1296892415777935362 Fighters Pass 2 prediction drawing by the Twitter user ZoroCarlos]] assumed that Rex and Pyra would arrive in the fourth slot, which they did...[[RightForTheWrongReasons but with Pyra as the fighter and Rex as the assist, instead]].
* Sothis' "too many swordsmen, are there?" line, seemingly addressing the fan perception of the roster having too many swordfighters, became funnier after the back-to-back additions of Steve/Alex, who can upgrade their swords along with the rest of their arsenal, Sephiroth, whom had the memetic reputation from his home game of wielding [[{{BFS}} too]] ''[[{{BFS}} much]]'' [[{{BFS}} sword]], and Pyra and Mythra, who are as much swordsmen as they are [[LivingWeapon sword-people]].
* Pyra/Mythra joins Pokémon Trainer as the second transforming character in the ''Ultimate'' roster. Both composite fighters can roughly be linked through a character from Pyra/Mythra's [[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2 game of origin]] - Poppi, a RobotGirl who goes through a three-stage "evolution" similar to a Pokémon and can switch freely between them, and whose final form is directly modeled after Mythra in-universe.
* Lucina was criticized by some fans for going through a perceived AdaptationPersonalityChange to make her more aggressive and cocky. Mythra, who is archetypically and visually similar to her, is depicted with the same sort of personality but it's ''actually'' faithful to her game of origin.
* The main reason ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past's]]'' Zelda (with a dress more based on ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds A Link Between Worlds]]'') was chosen over ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild's]]'' Zelda was because the latter Zelda was more into research than magic or fighting, and Sakurai didn't think her character was suited for a playable role as a result. Two years later, ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'' comes out, makes [=BoTW=] Zelda playable, and gives her a Sheikah Slate to fight with [[spoiler: and another moveset with her magic unlocked, so in the end she could have been given a unique moveset ''or'' played just like her ancestors]].
* Out of every third-party IP to be included in the base game, ''VideoGame/GetsuFumaDen'' was often considered to be the most obscure, only having a single song picked from ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDespair'', in which it did a fuller and no less random guest appearance. Three years later, the game actually wound up having ''Undying Moon'', a Switch-bound remake announced during the Indie World stream on April 14, 2021.
* In 2019, a Twitter user [[https://twitter.com/DevTwoThousand/status/1172602003471642625?s=19 posted a meme]] selecting Banjo, with Kazooie being replaced by [[Videogame/{{Tekken}} Kazuya Mishima]]. Two years later, Challenger Pack 10 is revealed to be Kazuya himself.
* Ganondorf in ''Ultimate'' have been associated with [[{{Kiai}} "DORIYAH!"]] Then comes [[Franchise/{{Tekken}} Kazuya Mishima]], a character who always says said kiai liberally. Even funnier is in his trailer, his first victim is Ganondorf.
* Also on the topic of Ganondorf being given [[AMoltenDateWithDeath the Heihachi treatment]]: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDIGames "No! Not into the pit! It BURNS!!"]]
* '' Tekken Tag Team Tournament 2'' Wii U port featured many Tekken characters dressing up in various Nintendo character costumes. Come ''Ultimate'', and a Tekken rep can now actually take on the actual Nintendo characters.
** Speaking of Wii U, Bandai Namco developed ''VideoGame/PokkenTournament'', a ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' fighting game that shares inspirations from ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}''. With Kazuya joining Smash, he can now take on four, (technically five) Pokémon from that game, (Pikachu, Charizard, Mewtwo, Lucario, and Pikachu Libre).
* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosCrossover'' has Mario, Luigi, Samus, Mega Man, Link, and Simon playable, with the last of these being a newcomer to ''Ultimate''.
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* The main reason ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past's]]'' Zelda (with a dress more based on ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds A Link Between Worlds]]'') was chosen over ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild's]]'' Zelda was because the latter Zelda was more into research than magic or fighting, and Sakurai didn't think her character was suited for a playable role as a result. Two years later, ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'' comes out, makes [=BoTW=] Zelda playable, and gives her a Sheikah Slate to fight with [[spoiler: and another moveset with her magic unlocked, so in the end she could have been given a unique moveset ''or'' played just liker her ancestors]].

* The main reason ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past's]]'' Zelda (with a dress more based on ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds A Link Between Worlds]]'') was chosen over ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild's]]'' Zelda was because the latter Zelda was more into research than magic or fighting, and Sakurai didn't think her character was suited for a playable role as a result. Two years later, ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'' comes out, makes Zelda playable, and gives her a Sheikah Slate to fight with.