Actually it's 8.

Mario
Kirby
Donkey Kong
Link
Samus
Yoshi
Fox
Pikachu

So the 64 starting roster (without the four unlockable characters).

I've never played a Smash game before and I don't really care for fighting games in general, but I'm more and more interested in Smash Ultimate every day.

How do you guys think this one would do on-boarding a totally new and unfamiliar player?

A lot better than the last one, honestly. Because this one at least has a significant single player mode. It's not that hard of a game to get into as long as you're not trying to be uber competitive or something, and if you like unlocking things, well it'll scratch that itch.

Is it easy for young players (7-9 year olds)? Are there complicated combos to learn?

There are advanced moves but by design it's pretty simple to pick up and play. I dunno, we haven't officially opened it yet but my nine year old will get a lot of play on it for sure, probably my 5 year old as well.

Right on. Definitely interested in picking it up.

I wonder if there'll be some sort of assist mode for kids, similar to what Mario Kart had. If it does, then that'd seal the deal. I'd love to play this, or anything else for that matter, with my kids.

does the dock ever go on sale? Its listed for $90, looks like Walmart/Amazon gets it down to about $70. but still seems pretty high to enable my laziness about moving the dock between TVs.

Yeah, that's about as cheap as it gets. I bought one last Christmas, but honestly I should have just spent the money on an extra switch, considering you get an extra dock and an extra set of joycons.

Don't get the third party docks, since there are some that potentially brick your switch.

Jeff Gerstmann summed my exact feelings up perfectly on the recent Bombcast. I love the idea of Smash Bros (the attention to detail, the love for their obscure old stuff, the roster) but the worst part is the actual playing. I wish they would take this same Nintendo lore and love and make a game in literally any other genre then the one they're currently making. I buy it everytime and get an hour or two enjoyment looking through stuff but the gameplay does nothing for me. The new one continued this trend.

I love the Bombcast but haven't listened to the most recent one yet. Gerstman seems to be the most hard to please person in gaming journalism sometimes, but I respect his opinion quite a bit.

I found an open box one at Best Buy for $50. Having two docks has been a blessing: one in my studio and one in the game room.

I'm only about halfway through but I can safely say anyone who owns a Switch that likes artistic styled games like Journey or Ori and the Blind Forest you need to pick up Gris which just came out this week. It might be the best looking game I've ever played.

Was just eyeing that one. It looks stunning. Will probably be my next pick up after I finish Celeste.

My NES Joycons shipped today and will be here Wednesday.

Same here. That's pretty exciting for a completely unnecessary thing I spent money on!

Nostalgia is expensive sometimes. 😉

I wish Smash Bros had the option WWE games have where you pay five bucks and it unlocks everyone. I would pay it no questions asked.

Eh I dunno. Part of the fun for me is unlocking characters. Plus I don’t like to encourage micro transactions more than game developers already force them at us. I get it though the Smash roster has a lot to unlock.

Mine arrived today. They're really nice and shipped and packaged well. Solid, heavy and well-made.

Yes, they're kinda unnecessary, but they look badass and now I don't need to buy an NES mini-system.

Agreed completely. When I first got the game, I tried for about 30min to do the various cheats to unlock characters but now I am just enjoying playing and randomly getting a new foe every 10min or so.

I got one off Amazon for $60, works perfect and an absolute must for multiple TVs around the house. Wish I bought the extra a long time ago.

Starlink digital deluxe edition, which includes the game plus all the released DLC, without having to buy the physical toys, is discounted to 39.99. Even for Ubisoft, that's kind of crazy.

Decker did your kids get Let's Go Eevee for Christmas?

Yup, complete with Pokeball controller.

I got Super Smash Bros and I’m so lost. I’m not good at fighting games in general but is there a trick to winning?