10 Weird, Quirky, and/or Interesting Moments from the Super Smash Bros. Direct

Infendo Radio was begging to be recorded right after yesterday’s Super Smash Bros. Direct, so I didn’t get a chance to post all of the news that came out of the broadcast. And since, at this point, you surely know all of the main points that came out of the Direct, this post is focusing on some of the strange and unusual moments from Sakurai’s presentation. If, for some reason, you skipped out on the Direct, watch it on YouTube by clicking here.

• Soundtrack Glee: The music at the beginning and end of the Direct sounds great. At the beginning, the theme for the most recent iterations of Smash Bros. plays, but it seems to have more energy and layers this time around. The music that plays near the end, before the Pokemon focused trailer, is a brand-new medley of themes from previous Smash Bros. games. Both sound awesome and have me really excited for the final soundtrack. Get the rest of the list after the break:
• Go go Gogoat!: Players can ride Gogoat when it appears out of a Poke Ball! Throughout the Smash Bros. series, Pokemon have added a great amount of variety to battle. Players could directly interact with some, such as Bonsly. Now Gogoat is making an appearance in Smash Bros., and it will suitably be ride-able.
• “Direct to you”:Sakurai never used the usual “direct to you” line that has become a mainstay in Nintendo Direct broadcasts, though he was about to…twice. Only dedicated Nintendo Direct followers found this really funny.
• Mega Excitement: Mega evolutions, from the newest generation of Pokemon games, will make at least two appearances in the new Smash Bros. games. Lucario’s mega evolution will cause its aura attacks to be at maximum power, while the function of Charizard’s mega evolution has been shrouded in mystery.
• Nintendo Schooling: As I was watching the Direct, the first “trophy quiz” that came up confused me a bit: I thought maybe there would be a new mode in the games that would allow players to take quizzes of some sort to, I don’t know, earn coins or something. That’s not the case: the four trophy quizzes that were scattered throughout the Direct were simply meant to entertain fans. And Pseudo-Palutena in particular was a very entertaining inclusion, for those of you who have played Kid Icarus: Uprising.
• Make Me a Match, Find Me a Find: There won’t be any online ranking system for Super Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS. However, there will be a matchmaking system in place that is based on players’ skill. It’s unclear exactly how this will work, so it will be interesting to find out more.
• Icy Blues: Rosalina and Luma have an interesting moveset that is reminiscent of the Ice Climers’ moveset. Together, they’re clearly going to be a unique fighting team, but one has to wonder whether they’re replacing the Ice Climbers, as the latter haven’t been confirmed for the games.
• Don’t Be Bossy: It was interesting to learn about the Yellow Devil boss fight in the Wily’s Castle stage, and the prospect for more boss fights in other stages is intriguing as well. However, I wonder whether players will be able to turn these boss fights on and off as they desire. What do you think? Leave a comment below letting us know.
• Mysterious Assistance: According to Sakurai, “[assist trophies] figure into All-Star mode, so I [Sakurai] would like to put in as many as possible.” Am I the only one who thought this was really cryptic? Exactly how are assist trophies going to figure into All-Star mode? Will they simply be unlockable as the player plays All-Star mode? Leave your thoughts on this in a comment below (along with all of your other thoughts pertaining to the items on this list!).
• Sakurai’s Substitute: After announcing the inclusion of Master Balls to the game, there is a brief shot of a Pokemon substitute with nothing of Sakurai but his voice. Later, it also appears as though Greninja has a substitute attack of some kind. It’s unclear how this move will work exactly, but Pokemon fans likely got a kick out of Sakurai’s “substitute.”

So there you have it. Just some tidbits I wanted to point out that I found interesting. What were your favorite small moments from the Direct?