Welcome to Who’s That Spirit?!
An on-going series (with a suggested name change) in which we uncover the origin of
each and every Spirit & Spirit Battle in Super Smash Bros.
Ultimate.
Spirits are based on characters and items from either the history of Nintendo or video
games in general, and each battle against them is specially tailored to reflect that
Spirit and its origin, whether through the character it possesses, the stage, music selection,
or even the items--they all serve as clues and connections to the Spirit’s origin--sometimes
in surprising ways.
It’s all incredibly clever and often even more obtuse.
So in Volume 2, we’ll be breaking down seven more of the characters we’ve encountered
in these Spirit Battles in an effort to answer Who’s That Spirit?!
Ashley is the young witch from the WarioWare series who debuted in WarioWare: Touched.
And the character she possesses isn’t too hard to understand.
After all, it’s a Mii Fighter dressed like Ashley herself, specifically a Swordfighter
as the sword becomes her staff when in costume.
The more clever idea involves her assistant, the demon Red, and how a tiny version of Ridley
with his red coloring serves as his stand-in.
Yeah, I could see Ridley as a demon.
You’ll find her Spirit within a small town on the World of Light map.
A strange place at first for a little witch, but all the WarioWare games take place in
Diamond City, so this location works really well.
And fittingly enough, she appears on the WarioWare, Inc. stage with her own theme song playing.
As for her conditions, the left and right controls will suddenly reverse throughout
the match, which seems to have more of a connection with her Assist Trophy than Ashley herself
as the Trophy can cause a variety of effects if a player gets too close.
Although it could be argued that this is a kind of hex, as she does threaten to cast
them in her song.
The hostile Assist Trophy that appears is her own so between the Mii costume and the
Trophy itself, Ashley is pretty well represented.
The final condition is that magic attacks aren’t as effective against her, which makes
sense being a magic user herself.
You’re not gonna get much of a traditional witch duel here.
Once the Spirit Battle is won, the actual Ashley Spirit is a Legendary Support that
increases the charging speed of the Final Smash Meter.
This is somewhat like a magic meter so her connection to it does work.
She’s also a Neutral-type Spirit, probably since she never really handles problems directly.
The artwork of Ashley is pulled from her recent appearance in WarioWare Gold.
Beedle is the friendly shopkeeper who appears in multiple Legend of Zelda games, although
this one in particular is from his debut in The Wind Waker.
He possesses the body of Shulk in his swimming trunks because that pretty much matches his
own outfit in the game.
Shulk just needs a beetle symbol to complete the look.
However, Beedle is joined by Toon Link in his default costume, presumably there to prevent
the shopkeeper from getting harrassed.
The fight is set on the Battleground version of Gaur Plain, which is a little odd because
there’s a Wind Waker stage in the game, the Pirate Ship.
However, Beedle isn’t a pirate so maybe this version of Gaur Plain is meant to represent
the many islands found in the Wind Waker?
Or more specifically, one of the bigger islands as the music that plays is Dragon Roost Island,
which is a strange choice considering that one of the other songs is the “Great Sea
and Menu Select” mash-up, and players do usually find him in the middle of the ocean.
However, Beedle’s shop does appear near Dragon Roost Island so it seems Gaur Plain
is meant to represent that location specifically.
The conditions of the battle have more to do with Beedle as a lover of bugs, particularly
his namesake, rather than his role as a shopkeeper.
Items will be pulled toward him and those items are the Beetle, which can cause more
than a few problems.
Fortunately, he’s susceptible to them as well.
Once he’s defeated, the Beedle Spirit that you earn is a Master Spirit, which unlocks
a shop on the World of Light map where new Spirits and items can be bought.
Strangely, nothing else about this location really ties in with Beedle as it’s in the
middle of the woods rather than near an island.
But it does emphasize his role as a shopkeeper and explains why he’s a Neutral-type Spirit.
You just can’t keep a good salesman down.
Ashley Robbins is the main character from the Trace Memory series although its sequel
never released in North America.
She possesses Isabelle in her red winter outfit, which most closely resembles her own.
Isabelle was likely chosen because she’s the most normal of the characters available.
She doesn’t really have special abilities and while the Villager could also fill this
role, Ashley herself tends to be quiet and reserved, preferring to use her mind, matching
Isabelle just a bit more.
But she’s also proactive in trying to accomplish her goals, perhaps explaining why she’s
an Attack-type Spirit.
In Trace Memory, she befriends a ghost named D whom only she can see which is why the Villager
takes part in the battle but is invisible the entire time.
The fight takes place on the Luigi’s Mansion stage with the Brawl version of Luigi’s
Mansion’s main theme for the music.
This fits Ashley perfectly as Trace Memory has her exploring the Edward Mansion on Blood
Edward Island in search of answers to her past and D’s lost memories.
This matches the Spirit Battle’s location on the World of Light map as well since it’s
found in the foggy overgrown woods.
Obtaining the Ashley Robbins Spirit reveals her to be a Support type that removes fog
from a stage, a reference to how Ashley is all about finding the truth or clearing the
haze from the past.
The artwork actually comes from Trace Memory’s sequel, Another Code R: A Journey into Lost
Memories where she’s two years older.
An odd choice considering her Spirit Battle references her first game entirely.
Right away, the Spirit for the Girl from Hajimari no Mori is incredibly fascinating.
And this is in no small part due to the fact that this girl actually has a name, Komurasaki.
She’s a yokai that the protagonist meets soon after arriving in the countryside village
where his grandfather lives.
Ostensibly, the goal of the game is to find a way to reunite with Komurasaki, but there’s
more to it in this adventure game where the protagonist explores the village, helps the
people, and learns more about the state of Donburi Forest, which was cut down years ago
and has yet to grow back.
And the lack of that spiritual power may force Komurasaki’s tribe of yokai to leave.
Of course, the Spirit battle finds ways to represent all of this.
Komurasaki possesses the body of the green female Villager and while it doesn’t match
her color scheme, their eyelashes do match somewhat.
Even more so than that though, the nature-loving aspect of the Villager makes perfect sense.
This illuminates why she’s a Shield-type Spirit as she wants to defend nature itself.
She’s also joined by Ness in his white outfit which puts him in the role of the Protagonist
from Hajimari no Mori, especially since he always wore a white shirt in the game.
The stage is set on the Battlefield version of Duck Hunt, mirroring the state of the cleared
Donburi Forest.
The music is the “Yuyuki Medley,” a new remix from the Japanese exclusive, Yuyuki,
and another game from the developers of Hajimari no Mori.
It’s a fitting choice to say the least.
The conditions of the battle really capture the mood of Hajimari no Mori.
The stage is covered in a thick fog, matching many of the scenes that take place in the
Donburi Forest.
And Komurasaki herself favors down specials, which plants and grows trees, tying directly
back into her motivation as Komurasaki wants to restore the forest so her tribe doesn’t
have to leave.
This also explains why her Spirit Battle is located in the thick overgrown woods on the
World of Light map.
When the player obtains the Komurasaki Spirit, it’s a Support that allows the Super Leaf
to be equipped at the start of battle.
This ties into her being a yokai as the Super Leaf is related to tanukis, just with a Mario
twist.
Tanukis are another kind of yokai who would place a leaf on their head in order to transform
making for a pretty cute connection between different yokai.
Andy is one of the main characters from the Advance
Wars series and a commanding officer of the Orange Star Army.
For the Spirit Battle, Andy possesses Dr. Mario in his red costume which matches his
own outfit.
It makes a certain amount of sense that Dr. Mario would be in a position of command, he
is a doctor after all.
And he’s joined by 8 tiny Snakes which act as his army, just like in Advance Wars.
It works especially well thanks to Snake’s role as a soldier and all of his military
gear.
The battle takes place on the Halberd which is the only military-esque setting in Smash
Ultimate beyond Shadow Moses Island.
That one may have been a little too on the nose.
The music that plays is “Filled with Hope” from Steel Diver: Sub Wars, another military-based
game from Nintendo.
And his battle is located near a military complex on the World of Light’s map.
The kid’s got a theme.
Like the other Spirit Battles, the conditions for this fight tie into Andy as a character.
We already talked about his army of tiny Snakes who must be defeated in order in win, but
the enemies will also heal when at high damage, a direct reference to Andy’s CO Power which
heals his units.
Finally, explosive items spawn constantly, adding to the chaos of war and how a lot of
military hardware is used in the Advance Wars games.
When he’s defeated, the collected Spirit is a Primary with no extra abilities although
he is a Grab-type.
This may relate to how he fixes machines with his wrenches and generally goes hands-on when
not commanding troops.
The artwork, however, comes from Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising.
Strangelove is a Metal Gear Solid character that many may not be aware of if they haven’t
played Peace Walker.
She was one of the designers of Peace Walker, an early Metal Gear model, and installed the
AI system within the machine.
In Metal Gear Solid V, it’s revealed that she was the mother of Hal Emmerich.
This connection to the series makes her location on the World of Light map make even more sense
as she’s found near a military-like base.
She’s a Grab-type as well, perhaps tying into to her love of robotics and going hands-on
with them.
Or maybe it’s a reference to her getting a little grabby with the character, Paz, in
the Peace Walker game.
For her Spirit Battle, she possesses the body of Bayonetta who is probably the closest to
a normal woman in the Smash Ultimate roster.
And hey, she’s got a British accent just like Bayonetta.
If enough times passes, she’ll be joined by a supersized R.O.B. who takes the role
of a Metal Gear.
The fight takes place on Midgar, matching the industrial setting of a lab while also
staying dark, as Strangelove is an albino and needs to stay out of the sun completely.
The music that plays is fitting as it’s the Main Theme from Peace Walker.
The conditions specify that only Strangelove has to be defeated as the R.O.B. reinforcements
serve mainly as distractions.
They could also be difficult to defeat as R.O.B. would be metal as well, making R.O.B.
much harder to defeat than Strangelove herself, though this can be avoided if Strangelove
is defeated quickly enough.
The Spirit that can be equipped is a Support that allows the player to begin the battle
with a Rage Blaster.
This could tie into her anger at Naked Snake for the death of The Boss as Strangelove also
loved her.
Brewster, from Animal Crossing, can always be found at The Roost, a café where villagers
can get coffee.
So of course the Brewster Spirit possesses a fellow bird, being Falco in his green outfit
to match Brewster’s own green feathers He’s also joined by fellow villagers, the male
and female Villagers along with Isabelle.
These Animal Crossing characters seem to love their coffee!
Maybe that’s why he’s a Shield-type Spirit as he protects his customers from exhaustion
as they go about their day.
The battle takes place on the Luigi’s Mansion stage, likely chosen to match the interior
of The Roost since the Animal Crossing stages take place outside.
And this is further emphasized thanks to the music as it’s “The Roost” from Animal
Crossing: Wild World.
Even Brewster’s Spirit can be found near a town on the World of Light map.
The conditions of the battle state that only Brewster has to be defeated in order to win.
The reinforcements in the form of the Villagers and Isabelle appear during battle, but they’re
only meant to simulate customers.
We have to take down the head honcho himself in order to win.
Certain items will also appear in large numbers after a certain amount of time and these take
the form of food like coffee, iced tea, cake, and other café menu options.
At least Brewster keeps everyone fed.
His Spirit is a Support which makes players immune to slumber floors and falling asleep
in general which makes perfect sense since that’s one of the main benefits of coffee.
And his artwork is taken from his recent appearance in Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
The Spirit Battles might be at their most impressive when discovering how they relate
to lesser known characters.
Every fight is interesting in its own right, but it’s the unknown ones that can be the
most fun to learn about.
Obviously, there are so many more to cover as we continue with this series, but which
one is your favorite so far?
And which Spirit origins have you asking...Who’s That Spirit?!
In fact, we already answered some of those in Volume 1 where we covered Master Belch,
Blaze the Cat, and more, so tap the link right on the screen to discover more spirited backstories!
But definitely let us know what Spirits you’d like us to cover in the next episode by posting
in the comments below.
And of course be sure to subscribe to GameXplain for more on Smash Ultimate and other things
gaming.