Welcome to Who’s That Spirit?!
An on-going series 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 3, 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?!
Rayman is the main character from Ubisoft’s Rayman series and best known for his wild
worlds and limbless character design.
He possesses the body of Sonic in his black coloring which might not make sense at first,
but the choice of black is key.
Because of this, Sonic himself could be seen as running around with just his white gloves,
pale body, and shoes, mimicking Rayman’s own limbless design.
But the element that really hammers this home is the condition of a hostile Assist Trophy
appearing.
In this case, Sukapon, the limbless character from the game, Joy Mecha Fight, and another
nod to Rayman’s design for this Spirit battle.
The fight takes place on the Battlefield version of the Great Cave Offensive which could be
a reference to the final level in Rayman Origins, the Land of the Livid Dead.
Meanwhile the music is “Sunset Heights” from Sonic Forces which comes across as another
odd choice.
But perhaps this is meant to tie into Rayman’s own levels where he has to run fast and avoid
obstacles, just like Sonic.
These levels might also explain why Rayman is found near a minecart on the World of Light
map.
After all, they are literally on rails.
The other conditions include the enemy’s physical attacks having increased power, tying
into Rayman’s powered-up punches and kicks from his games, and the fact that this is
a Stamina battle, a likely nod toward the multiple hits that Rayman can take in his
games.
Once the Spirit Battle is won, the actual Rayman Spirit is a Primary Neutral type.
Maybe this neutrality is due to Rayman taking it easy most of the time until he’s called
into action.
Despite being a Primary, Rayman also grants a boost to the player’s jumping ability,
something he’s quite good at thanks to his hair propeller.
The artwork of is taken from Rayman Origins rather than the more recent Rayman Legends.
Tsubasa Oribe is a Japanese high school student with dreams of becoming a pop idol in Tokyo
Mirage Sessions #FE, the crossover game between Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem.
Of course, that’s just a simple explanation has she and a host of other young people in
the entertainment industry work together to fight monsters known as Mirages that aim to
steal Performa, the essence of those who pursue their dreams.
But this dream of stardom is what ties together Tsubasa’s Spirit Battle.
She possesses the body of the Inkling in the schoolgirl outfit.
And since Tsubasa is still in high school herself, this makes perfect sense.
Even the location of the battle on the map is within the city, calling back to Tokyo.
The fight takes place on the Battlefield version of the Boxing Ring which is a great setting
to have a modern audience like most concerts.
The music is “Style Savvy: Trendsetters” from the same game which focuses on fashion,
another tenet of the pop industry.
Speaking of, the main condition of this battle is that hostile Assist Trophies will appear.
In this case, it’s the Squid Sisters, who focus the camera on themselves.
So yeah, we have a whole concert performance happening for Tsubasa’s Spirit Battle.
It’s pretty cool seeing what that would be like in Smash Ultimate.
Once she’s defeated, the Tsubasa Spirit that you earn is a Primary Shield Spirit.
This makes sense as Tsubasa is extremely protective of her friends.
However, her Spirit can also be enhanced once it reaches level 99, changing it into Tsubasa’s
Carnage Form, which she takes during battles.
This enhanced version also enhances the player’s jumping ability, a nod to her being able to
fly since she bonds with Fire Emblem’s Caeda, who rides a pegasus.
You know, this game might sound a little weird to those who never played it, but you should
totally try it.
Coraline comes from a StreetPass game on the Nintendo 3DS, Ultimate Angler, which involved
fishing with Guests that players StreetPassed with.
Coraline served as your guide along with her father.
Possessing Isabelle makes perfect sense then as she comes equipped with her own fishing
rod.
This also ties into the only condition of the battle which is that Coraline favors side
specials.
It also explains why Coraline is a Grab-type Spirit as she loves to catch things.
Beyond that, Isabelle’s winter costume matches the colors of Coraline’s outfit relatively
well.
However, Coraline is joined by a Mii Gunner wearing the Inkling clothes and a pirate hat
filling in as the player character that Coraline is guiding.
Appropriately enough, Coraline’s Spirit is found near a lake on the World of Light
map so she can do some fishing.
And her Spirit Battle even takes place on Wuhu Island, and specifically the boat section
which can be necessary for fishing you know.
The music is “Mii Plaza,” a reference to Coraline’s origins in a StreetPass game
that heavily involved the Miis.
The Coraline Spirit itself is a Support type that allows Players to begin a match with
the Boomerang equipped.
While there’s no direct connection between her and boomerangs, it might be the closest
approximation to casting something out and reeling it back in.
At this point, the Freezie is probably better known as an item in Super Smash Bros. than
its original role in the original Mario Bros. game.
There the Freezie would appear from pipes and break in the center of platforms, coating
the entire thing in ice and making it much slippier for Mario and Luigi.
For its Spirit Battle though, the Freezie possesses the Ice Climbers in their light
blue costume, perfectly tying into its color and the fact that it’s, you know, cold.
It’s kinda what the Ice Climbers are all about.
Even the Spirit itself can be found in the frozen mountains at the northern edge of the
World of Light map.
It’s a Grab-type for this fight as well since the Freezie captures whoever it hits
in solid ice.
The battle takes place on the Mario Bros. stage with the Mario Bros. music, both easily
referencing the Freezie’s origins.
And the conditions make sense as well with the Ice Climbers beginning with a Freezie
equipped and many more spawning constantly during the battle.
When equipped, the Freezie Spirit is a Support type that allows players to begin with a Freezie.
Cool.
Soren debuted in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance where he takes the role of a mage as well
as being Ike’s chief strategist.
He has a cold and blunt personality, but he trusts Ike completely as his closest friend.
So it works that he possesses Robin for his Spirit Battle since Robin is also a strategist.
Robin wears his green outfit which is the closest to matching Soren’s own clothes
and he’s appropriately joined by the young Ike.
This nature likely also ties into his Shield Spirit type as his strategies are designed
to protect his friends.
The fight takes place on the Battlefield version of Temple which matches many of the ruins
that are fought around in Path of Radiance.
Neither he nor Ike are royalty so the Castle Siege map wouldn’t quite work.
This also explains why Soren’s Spirit is found near the entrance to the thick forest
as he would often use the woods to provide cover for Ike and his fellow mercenaries.
The song used is “Victory is Near” from Path of Radiance.
There are three other songs from that game in Smash Ultimate, but two are related to
villains while the third is the “Crimean Army Sortie.”
Ike and Soren do fight for the Crimeans, but they are ostensibly mercenaries.
So “Victory is Near,” which plays when a map is almost won, is the most fitting of
the songs.
As for the conditions, Soren favors Special moves and these all use Robin’s tome attacks
tying into Soren’s abilities as a mage.
In addition, every fighters’ magic and PSI attacks have increased power providing more
of a sense of a magical duel.
Obtaining Soren’s Spirit reveals that it’s a Support, and it increases the power of magic
attacks like Zelda’s and Robin’s.
Again, this a callback to Soren’s role as a mage and his proficiency with magic.
Unsurprisingly, his artwork comes from Path of Radiance rather than its direct sequel,
Radiant Dawn.
Min Min is one of the more recent characters in Smash Ultimate, debuting in 2017 with the
release of ARMS.
She possesses the female Corrin in her orange costume, matching the orange that Min Min
herself wears.
But the bigger reason for the selection is because Corrin is a dragon, matching at least
part of Min Min’s motif, specifically the dragon arm that can shoot an energy beam.
That’s one of Corrin’s key moves.
Even better, Corrin can extend her own limbs in order to hit opponents, just like Min Min
or any fighter from ARMS.
The fight takes places on the Omega version of New Pork City.
While Min Min’s stage in ARMS is the Ramen Bowl right outside her family’s restaurant,
there’s no clear evidence that this takes place in a huge city although she is from
the immensely populated China.
That said, she is found in a small town on the World of Light map rather than the big
city.
There is a small piece of architecture in the Smash stage that somewhat matches Min
Min’s hometown that could be the key tie-in.
But then there’s also the idea that that the choice of New Pork City could be more
of a ramen reference as pork and pork-based broths are quite common in ramen.
The music that plays is Dragon Driftway from Mario Kart 8 which was also a China-inspired
location.
The dragon motif is quite fitting as well due to Min Min’s Dragon arm that she always
wears in official artwork.
Her battle conditions make this a Stamina Battle, fitting for a fighting game character,
and that she has increased move speed.
This choice comes across as a bit strange as Min Min only has an average speed within
ARMS.
But increasing the power of her dash attacks does make some sense as Corrin performs a
drill like move, somewhat mimicking Min Min’s punches.
Once defeated, the Min Min Spirit is a Primary Attack type which makes sense considering
her status as a fighter.
However, there aren’t any special abilities associated with her.
Top Man originally appeared in Mega Man 3 as one of the eight Robot Masters Mega Man
had to defeat.
So of course Top Man possesses Mega Man for this Spirit Battle, specifically Mega Man
in his yellow and black costume which is the color Mega Man becomes when using Top Man’s
Top Spin attack in Mega Man 3.
More importantly, there are actually 4 Mega Men that players need to defeat, which seems
a bit odd until you realize that they’re supposed to represent not only Top Man but
the three tops he sends out to attack during his boss fight.
Top Man’s stage is also well represented thanks to the music, which is Top Man’s
level theme.
The choice of the Omega version of Distant Planet matches Top Man’s stage from the
game quite well as that took place in a massive greenhouse filled with plants.
Despite that, Top Man’s Spirit can be found on a large stone staircase on the world map
which is perhaps a reference to sending a top spinning down stairs?
As for the conditions, the fight is a Stamina Battle with each enemy only have 30 HP.
They’re not exactly hard to defeat but Top Man wasn’t the toughest Robot Master in
his game either.
In addition, Top Man favors special moves and has increased attack power when badly
damaged.
While we’re not sure what the latter has to do with Top Man, the special move he prefers
is naturally his own Top Spin dash.
The Top Man Spirit is a Support type that allows players to begin the battle with a
Screw Attack equipped.
Considering it’s the closest thing to letting fighters spin, we think it’s pretty appropriate!
It’s the small details that tend to make each Spirit Battle the most interesting.
The ones that make you wonder why Sakurai and his team made that choice.
We can’t wait to discover even more of these as we continue on, but what detail is your
favorite so far?
And which Spirit origins have you asking...Who’s That Spirit?!
Don’t forget to check out our previous installments where we covered WarioWare’s Ashley, Blaze
the Cat, and more!
You can easily watch them all by clicking the playlist link right on the screen!
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.