Nintendo finally revealed the Mario 35th Anniversary Collection in a surprise Direct drop on September 3, and this could end up meaning some big things for Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
While the Direct didn’t feature a new fighter reveal, leaving fans anxiously awaiting the release of Challenger Pack 7, they did announce an upcoming online tournament. The catch is that only Mario stages, fighters, and items will be legal.
The tournament is set to begin later this year, with the Japanese Smash Bros Twitter revealing that it will start in November and last until December.
Additionally, at least for Japanese players, they can win a special Smash Ultimate Mario Bros 35th Anniversary coin for the top 100 players and 200 select “lottery participants.”
『大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズ SPECIAL』では、スーパーマリオシリーズのファイター、ステージ、アイテム限定の「オンラインチャレンジ」を開催。成績上位者＆参加者抽選でプレミアムメダル当選のチャンスも。11月～12月頃の実施を予定しています。#スーパーマリオ35周年https://t.co/PpPYKJFhzX pic.twitter.com/ydHgt8IMfU
— スーパーマリオブラザーズ35周年 (@supermario35th) September 3, 2020
While it’s not confirmed, it’s possible that on the Japan side of things, the tournament will be using the country’s exclusive ladder mode – something that fans in the west have been eager to experience for themselves.
That said, the fact it’s taking place in November is quite intriguing.
Is a Mario fighter next?
As previously noted, the Mario Direct didn’t include a Smash DLC fighter reveal, but it’s possible that Nintendo thought that announcement could potentially drown out the other news they had. (Smash news begins at 7:20)
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Both Waluigi and Geno are very popular candidates for Smash DLC and you’d think that one of them would have been announced to celebrate Mario’s anniversary.
It’s possible that the next Smash Ultimate DLC, if they’re in fact from a Mario franchise, could coincide slightly with the November tournament.
As Dexerto previously reported, a new trend has been discovered called amiibo Theory. According to this theory, a new Smash DLC fighter is revealed in the days leading up to or after a wave of amiibo drops. So far, this has been the case with every single wave of amiibo.
With the Joker and Hero amiibo releasing on September 25 in Japan and October 2 in North America, it’s been suggested that the next DLC could come anywhere from September 7 to October 12.
This would give players, assuming the fighter is from a Mario franchise, some time to practice with it before and then have it be eligible for the big tournament.
Of course, even if this isn’t the case, Nintendo gave Mario fans a lot of content to look forward to this fall with new games, remasters and even a Mario Battle Royale game.