The Team Dignitas Smash Brothers were fortunate enough to attend E3 to try out the newest addition to the Smash Bros. series, Ultimate! Lucky played against other world renowned Smash players at the Invitational tournament and HugS played plenty behind the scenes. After some play time, Hugo "HugS" Gonzalez and Joey "Lucky" Aldama shared their first impressions of the game!

What were you most surprised or impressed by with the new game?

Lucky: I was easily surprised the most with the return of directional air dodging.

The new dash canceling mechanic allows players to perform any attack out of dash or turnaround. What are your thoughts on this new addition?

Lucky: I think it’s great since it gives you more options out of movement, instead of run up shield or wavedash back.

With changes like standard Battlefield and FD stage variants, dramatic finishing blows, and score displays between stocks, the game seems more eSports oriented than ever. How do you think these changes will affect Smash’s growth as an eSport?

HugS: I think Nintendo is trying to market to eSports more than ever. However, without a direct announcement of their involvement within the space, it still feels like they’re just dipping their toes. Hopefully this is a sign of more concrete things to come.

How did you like Fox in the new game?

Lucky: I’m not very familiar with Smash 4 Fox, but compared to Melee Fox I was very disappointed.

Smash Ultimate will be bringing all previous members of the cast back. Which Smash veteran are you most excited to see return?

HugS: As a Samus main through and through, I can always count on my favorite character returning.

What characters did you try out? Any favorites? Why?

Lucky: I tried a decent amount of the available characters but Marth and Mewtwo were my personal favorites. Their movement and hitboxes really felt great and stood out.

Run up shield was a popular and effective strategy in both of the post Melee Smash games. Does this remain true? Why is this strategy less effective in Melee?

HugS: It seems the strategy will remain effective in Smash Ultimate. While it’s a viable mixup in Melee, putting up your shield leaves you susceptible to shield pressure, which is less of a factor in the following games as shield release is a much quicker option than in Melee.

Melee is known for its precise and intuitive movement. How is the movement in the new game?

Lucky: It’s better than Smash 4, but it's still missing a bit to leave me content. I really think something felt off about the new dash dancing and I think that fixing wavelanding for platform movement would make the movement feel amazing. Wavedashing wouldn’t be necessary but it would only help the movement honestly.

Aerials were estimated to have ~50% less landing lag than their Smash Wii U counterparts. What benefits does this have on gameplay? And how will this operate differently from L-cancelling?

HugS: It definitely improves the speed of the gameplay and the options that are available to you from the air. However, in Melee, all aerials are available with L-cancelling, whereas in Ultimate, I’m not sure which moves will have a level of landing lag that allows for their competitive use.

What kind of playstyle(s) do you think will be rewarded the most in the new game? Aggressive or defensive play? A little of both? Why?

Lucky: It’s really hard to say with the limited time we had with the game, unfortunately. The game mechanics greatly resemble Smash 4, so a defensive playstyle seemed to work the best for me.

What new characters or stages are you most excited about?

Lucky: Inkling by far due to the movement and feel of the character's dash. I wouldn’t say there are any stages that I am looking forward to though.

Knockback has changed in Ultimate, sending characters very fast initially and then slowing down right away. How is this knockback system going to affect punish game?

HugS: I believe this change will make combos more difficult, as characters will be launched away on many hits, without dying. To me, it seems as though it’ll slow down the game and make exchanges less exciting. I think it’s an awful mechanic.

Who will have an easier time transitioning to the new game? Smash for Wii U or Melee players?

Lucky: Smash Wii U players for sure. The game really feels and looks like it is based around the Wii U version in the first place.

I’m sure you were relieved to play with a Gamecube controller, but how did you like the alternative controller options?

Lucky: I only tried the Switch Pro controller for a few matches and it was pretty weird since the button layout is slightly different. I think most current Smash players would prefer Gamecube, but I could easily see newer players being happy with the Pro controller.

Perfect shielding (AKA power shielding) was reinvented, this time around perfect shield is determined by when you drop shield rather than putting it up. How do you think this parry-like mechanic will impact gameplay when people get better at this technique?

Lucky: I really want to find out how it will be applied over time myself. For now, it really just looks like hitting a shield is a very bad idea in this game which is unfortunate for offensive shield play that Melee players crave. Landing lag on a lot of aerial moves has been reduced which would be great for avoiding shield grab or for spacing out a shield grab and punishing. Parry pretty much takes a lot of that away if people start getting good at it.

What character do you hope makes the final roster?

Lucky: Goku since Dragon Ball FighterZ is coming to the Switch this year!

The ledge mechanics still do not allow for ledge hogging, but the ledge grab range has been reduced significantly. Do you expect edgeguarding to be a more important aspect of the game than Smash for Wii U?

Lucky: The Melee players were having a hard time adjusting since we aren't familiar with Smash 4 ledge mechanics in the first place. The Smash 4 players adjusted very fast to the point where edge guarding still didn't look possible.

Did you converse with any game developers about Ultimate? Were they looking for feedback from the pro players?

Lucky: Yes, the devs were asking for feedback and taking notes. We were also allowed to email them further feedback if necessary.

The percentage system has been changed to include tenths of percents, do you think this relatively small change will impact gameplay?

HugS: I believe at the highest level this may be a factor, as there will be players who find different, optimal options on tenths of percents.

Air dodges, spot dodges, and rolls all get “staled” the more they are used in a row. Do you see this having an impact on top level play?

Lucky: I think it's a good change that would make shielding a bit weaker or at least have some consequences. Although, now that we have the parry mechanic it's hard to see shielding not being overpowered.

Do you see yourself competing in Smash Ultimate tournaments in the future?

HugS: I’ll probably dabble but stick to Melee. The game is still very different from the game I prefer, but I’m glad they’ve made a game that will seemingly play close enough to Smash 4. That way, players of Smash 4 can transition smoothly to the latest iteration.

Although the new game left some mechanical changes to be desired, there has definitely been a change in Nintendo's views on eSports. There were many positive changes from Smash 4, and the version we saw seems like a strong starting point. Hopefully the developers will take the feedback from the amazing players who tested the game at E3, and improve the game further. Thanks again to Lucky and HugS for sharing their thoughts!