Fighting Games Friday: Bring Forth the Smash Bros. Clones!

With support for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ending following the arrival of Sora from Kingdom Hearts a little over a month ago, there have been hints that the Smash Bros. brand as a whole could take a break. After all, where could Nintendo and Masahiro Sakurai possibly go after literally making the, well, ultimate installment? Sakurai is a true workaholic and will never be able to stop working on video games, but it’s evident that he’ll want to take a break from Smash Bros. He also acknowledged how difficult of a time Nintendo would have in making a new one without him. This might be the true end for Smash Bros. as we know it.

This means one thing: Bring on the Smash Bros. clones. Franchise fans and people who like party-driven vs. fighting games will get their fix from Ultimate for a while, but that will only go for so long outside tournament players and the ardent fans who watch them. For everyone else, there will be other games to play.

Take one recently announced: MultiVersus, a crossover featuring a wide variety of Warner Bros. characters. It’s also a title that WB themselves let become one of the largest poorly-kept secrets around after details of the game’s feature set and even footage leaked over the last month. You could also make the argument that Space Jam: A New Legacy was secretly promotion for this game with the movie getting temporarily lost in WB cameos, as our own Drew Young did.

Similar to (surprise) how Smash Bros. can be practically played, MultiVersus will be a colorful four-player versus fighting game that will feature a slew of familiar faces. WB made it immediately clear that the game will have a worthwhile roster by announcing 13 of them alongside the reveal, all of whom are very familiar faces. This includes (*breathes*) Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, Shaggy (because of course), Bugs Bunny, Arya Stark (from Game of Thrones — they really did it), Jake the Dog, Finn the Human (both from Adventure Time), Steven Universe, Garnet (also from Steven Universe), Tom and Jerry, and an original character named Reindog. This is already a solid roster, and they’ve beat the competition by having a person of color as one of the first unveils, and there are undoubtedly more to come.

When I said developers should bring on the Smash Bros. clones, I was also referring to Nickelodeon All-Stars Brawl, the reception to which depends on the community you ask about it. There’s fun to be had with the game thanks to its solid foundations, but the overall package was lacking. The game launched in an unpolished state, with the online play being barely functional on one platform (Xbox). The roster choices raised questions too, like only including two of the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

But one big issue was prominently shown before the game launched: The lack of voice acting. There are those who claim voicework is a tertiary concern for games, but let the comparatively soulless feel of ASB’s matches prove otherwise. There was potential that voices could be added through a post-release patch, but its lack of placement on sales charts makes it unlikely that Nickelodeon will put up the cash to add it in. Nick games are known for getting sequels, so here’s hoping they’ll remember it for a potential follow-up.

MultiVersus is not making this mistake. Familiar voices like Kevin Conroy, George Newbern, Tara Strong, Eric Bazua, and Maisie Williams as Batman, Superman, Harley Quinn, Bugs Bunny, and Arya Stark, respectively. (It’s very funny that Newbern is reprising his role as Clark Kent here but couldn’t return as Sephiroth in SSBU.) Other characters will have new voices providing work, like Abby Trott as Wonder Woman, Bazua also as Tom and Jerry, and Daniel DiVenere playing Steven Universe of Zack Callison. Still, at least they’ll all have voices.

There’s one key catch here, though. Instead of paying for a base package that includes a bunch of characters and buying others through DLC, this title will be entirely free-to-play. Packages with content including characters and customization equipment will be available by seasons, though WB hasn’t even hinted at how much everything will cost. If other f2p games are a good indication, and they likely will be, this could get expensive in a hurry if anyone wants all the content.

It also sticks out like a sore thumb that the game is coming to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, and PC. Switch is notably absent here. This game would have an audience on the system, but either the developers don’t think the game could run it well enough (tough to believe), or WB thinks the audience is too occupied with SSBU. Either way, it’s an odd decision, but a future port shouldn’t be ruled out.

MultiVersus is set for a release in 2022. Before it arrives, developer Player First Games plans to hold playtests for the online play, which will include rollback netplay for the best connections and cross-platform play. It will actually be playable online, unlike a certain other game; I’m not talking about Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl there.

Whether this will be the last of the Smash Bros. clones remains to be seen in the near future. Don’t be surprised if another company decides to release another one of their own, though it probably won’t be Sony.