Fighting game fans have been eagerly awaiting the announcement of the first member of the Fighters Pass 2 DLC, which will contain six all-new fighters. A previous Nintendo Direct, which also announced that development of the DLC fighters had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, revealed that the fighter would hail from the popular high-energy punch-centric fighter ARMS.
Today, producer Masahiro Sakurai – broadcasting from his very own home! – presented a video officially announcing the ARMS fighter: none other than Min Min! Min Min is an 18-year-old noodle enthusiast whose family owns a ramen shop. She fights with unique extending ARMS made from ramen noodles – plus, instead of hands, she possesses a variety of powerful add-ons including a boomerang-like ring and a laser-shooting dragon!
Min Min, who was suggested to Sakurai by ARMS produced Kosuke Yabuki, has a long-range focused fighting style with the ability to punch her opponents from a great distance while cleverly avoiding counterattacks. She can extend both her left and right ARMS, which are controlled by the A and B buttons respectively. The right ARM can also switch attachments depending on whether a heavy or wide-range attack is needed.
According to Sakurai, Min Min will excel at defeating heavier opponents, but will be less effective against opponents with a powerful air game. In addition to her punches, she will also be able to perform martial arts-inspired kicks, some of which will even be able to deflect opponents’ attacks. She can escape from attacks by using her ARMS to propel herself high in the air, and the mouth of her dragon attachment can “bite” and grip the edge of the stage when she is knocked off.
Min Min’s Final Smash is, of course, a barrage of punches capped off by a burst from her dragon laser. However, she won’t be performing it on her own – several of the other fighters from ARMS make a guest appearance to punch opponents along with her!
Challenge Pack #6 will be released on June 29, 2020, and will cost approximately $6.99 USD. Players who have already purchased Fighter Pass 2 will automatically receive the pack. In addition to Min Min herself, it will feature 18 music tracks from the game as well as a new ARMS-based stage, Spring Stadium. The stage offers platforms which can boost players’ jump ability as well as an arched partial ceiling which can lead to exciting midair accidents and collisions.
Sakurai’s video also featured many other exciting Ultimate-related announcements. In particular, a total of five new alternate costumes for the Mii Fighters will be added as paid DLC, costing $0.75. The Mii Brawler will be able to dress up as Ninjara from ARMS, Heihachi from Tekken, and Callie from Splatoon. Meanwhile, the Mii Gunner can step into the role of both Callie’s fellow “Squid Sister” Marie and none other than Fallout’s very own beloved mascot, Vault Boy. This latter costume was especially unexpected, as no hints regarding a potential Fallout appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate had been dropped prior to this announcement.
Finally, a significant quality-of-life change will be coming to the game’s Spirit Battles feature. Players will now be able to re-challenge Spirits they had defeated and captured freely, with the game recording each new high score. This will allow Smash fans to retry difficult Spirit battles, try out the new DLC fighters against various Spirits, or simply re-challenge beloved favorites.
Additionally, Spirits who also appear as Mii Fighter costumes (such as the titular character of Cuphead) will have their Spirit Battles updated so that the player will now face a costumed Mii Fighter. These updates are planned to be rolled out gradually as more and more costumes are released.
Sakurai also excitedly showed off a brand new Amiibo figurine featuring Persona 5’s Joker, who was the first DLC character revealed as part of the first Fighters’ Pass. He also confirmed that an Amiibo featuring the second Fighters’ Pass 1 character, the Hero from Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, is also currently in development.
While other DLC announcements might be similarly delayed due to ongoing coronavirus-related difficulties, Sakurai and his team are still hard at work. We excitedly await the remaining five fighters in the second Fighters’ Pass!
Are you excited to give Min Min a try? Let us know!
