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Super Smash Bros.
Ultimate
27 Accessibility Features

We've documented 27 accessibility features for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, including Adjust Speed, Custom Difficulty, Select Difficulty, No Button Combos and No Repeated Pressing. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Getting Started but it also has features in Visual, Reading, Navigation, Difficulty, Audio and Communication to reduce unintended barriers.

This report is created with input from accessibility experts and the player community to help people find games that have the accessibility features they require. Once you have found potential games on the database, there are excellent specialist accessibility sites that offer in-depth reviews to guide your purchasing decisions.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a light-hearted cartoon-style brawling game where multiple players choose well-known video game characters to fight. Play involves using your character's move-set to outwit and beat your opponents. You wear down their energy to be able to hit them off the stage and gain points. It stands out for the exuberant fighting that focuses on skill and timing more than gore and injury.

External examiner, Adam Kosakowski, first checked Super Smash Bros. Ultimate accessibility 2 years ago. It was re-examined by Ben Kendall and updated 8 months ago.

NotesAccessibility Notes

Difficulty of CPU fighters can be customized in several different ways, including overall AI, overall power, and starting damage percentage. When playing against another player you can't make the game any easier or more difficult beyond customisation of your controls, and quick reactions and reflexes are essential, especially against more skilled players. Additionally, to play at a really high level, you need to remember all the different actions and buttons needed to use all our different attacks, which are plentiful.

To perform basic attacks and move, you don't need to rapidly press buttons, hold down buttons, or press multiple buttons simultaneously. However, to perform more advanced special attacks and combos, different characters require different combinations of the above actions. Depending on the character you play as. Rapidly repeated button presses can be replaced with holding a button instead.

The right stick can be mapped with several different action types. When mapped to an attack you can press the stick in a direction and perform that attack in that direction. You can use lots of different types of Nintendo controllers from past consoles to suit your play style, even back to the N64 controller, which only has one joystick.

The vault menu has a Tips section where a player can review tutorials and notes on each playable character, techniques, stages, items, and more.

All text is high in contrast, and during fights, the text that states your damage % is very large, but some of the text in menus is smaller and falls below 1/20th the height of the screen. The indicators in fights of how many lives you have left are quite small and can be low in contrast.

On larger stages, the camera can zoom out quite a lot to accommodate all players, making each character quote small and hard to see, subsequently making navigation more difficult. Each player has a high contrast but sometimes small player indicator above their heads when in multiplayer (ie. P1, P2, P3 etc.) which is a different colour for each player. The game doesn't rely on colour alone to communicate anything. Some stages have moving backgrounds, but many stages have static ones.

DetailsGame Details

Release Date: 21/01/1999, updated in 2018

Price: 23% off

Out Now: Switch

Skill Rating: 8+ year-olds

Players: 1-8 (8 online)

Genres: Fighting, Traversal and Action

Accessibility: 27 features

Components: 2D Side-On

Developer: Nintendo (@Nintendo)

Costs: Purchase cost, In-Game Purchases and In-Game Pass

 

ControlsControls

We've documented 9 accessibility features for Controls in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate which deal with how you control the game, different options for alternative inputs and whether you can remap these settings to suit your needs.

Gamepad

Can play with the following:

Multiple Buttons & Single Stick: Can play with multiple buttons and a stick.

Multiple Buttons & Two Sticks: Can play with multiple buttons and two sticks.

Remap Controls

Can customise the controls for the game as follows:

Remap Buttons: Can re-map all buttons so that you can use alternatives that better suit your play.

Remap Sticks: Can remap the stick controls to controller buttons for easier access of direction controls.

Button Combinations

Specific button operation required to play

Holding Down Buttons Optional: Holding down buttons for prolonged periods (a second or more) is not required or can be switched to toggling the action on and off. This is in addition to the movement stick/button which is not considered a hold for this purpose.

Rapid Repeated Pressing Optional: Quick, repeated button pressing (more than 2 times a second) is not required, can be skipped or switched to holding a button to trigger a repeated action.

No Simultaneous Buttons: Only one button or key required at a time, in addition to direction stick(s).

Controller Vibration

Vibration Optional: Controller vibration not used in the game or you can disable it.

Informative Vibration: Controller vibration indicates events or interactions in the game, echoing visual and audio cues. This can provide additional information about progress, approaching enemies or hitting a target.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls

If you want to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Controls accessibility:

DifficultyDifficulty

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Difficulty in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate which deal with how you can adjust the challenge of play, and whether this is locked once chosen or can be adjusted as you play.

Difficulty Options

Select Difficulty: Select the level of difficulty from a range of presets. This not only offers a way to adjust the challenge of a game but enables you to do so without dealing with individual criteria.

Customise Difficulty: Customise different aspects of the game to create a challenge of an appropriate level. Adjusting elements individually enables you to tailor gameplay to suit your needs and style of play.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Difficulty

If you want to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but it doesn't offer the Difficulty accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Difficulty accessibility:

Getting StartedGetting Started

We've documented 4 accessibility features for Getting Started in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate which deal with what support is offered to get started with the game. This includes customising the experience when you first open the game via any onboarding processes it provides as well as tutorials and other assistance when you first start playing.

Assistance Getting Starting

These features aid your play of the game in terms of cognitive load on learning controls, dealing with pressure and coping with the environment and challenges.

Tutorials: There are helpful tutorials and instructions on how to play. Information is provided in a timely manner, with appropriate level of detail.

Practice Area: You can practice freely without opponents or time pressures. This can be a specific practice option, or the ability to play levels with the easiest opponents to improve understanding and skill.

View Control Mapping: You can view a map of controls during play. This clearly displays the mappings of actions to buttons/keys/mouse/keyboard without having to leave the game. This includes games that always display buttons to press during play.

Adjust Speed: Adjust the speed of the game at critical moments or throughout, or rewind play for a second attempt, to ease reaction times. By slowing the game, you have more time to interpret what is happening and then execute your actions. It also reduces the pressure on getting things right quickly or the first time you attempt them.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started

If you want to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:

ReadingReading

We've documented 3 accessibility features for Reading in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate which deal with how much reading or listening comprehension is required, how well the game provides visual and audible access to the text and whether subtitles and captions are a good fit for purpose.

Reading Level

How much reading is required to play the game's main path or story and how complex the language is. The presence of voiced characters doesn't reduce this requirement, as it's recorded as a separate datapoint.

Moderate Reading: Moderate reading required. The quantity and complexity of reading are at a level that a high school student (14-year-old) would appreciate.

Text Visibility

High Contrast Text: Text colour contrasts to the background or can be adjusted to be. The text in menus, instructions and other information is presented in high contrast with a solid background.

Voice Acted

Some Dialogue is Voice Acted: Some of the game dialogue and narrative is voice acted. This reduces the pressure on reading all the dialogue text, although not everything is provided audibly.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Reading

If you want to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:

NavigationNavigation

We've documented 3 accessibility features for Navigation in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate which deal with how the game provides guidance and assistance to navigate its worlds. These are only for games that have traversal and exploration in 2D and 3D spaces.

Clarity

Clear Mission Objectives: The game provides clear, structured missions with directional guidance and advice on which can be attempted next. This also indicates (ideally on maps where they are provided) which missions can't be attempted because you do not have the appropriate items yet.

Head-Up Display

Game Map: View a map of the game world during play, with the landscape, points of interest and missions highlighted throughout the entire game. This enables the orientation of the player and the world, confirming a direction of movement and the location of destinations or points of exploration.

Menu Navigation

Menu Audio Cues: Navigating menus provide an audio cue for each selection.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation

If you want to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:

VisualVisual

We've documented 4 accessibility features for Visual in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate which deal with how you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game.

Interactive Elements

Outline Interactive Elements: Characters, platforms and enemies can be outlined or highlighted for visibility. This can be with a large border around the character or a special visual mode that adjust the colour to make characters more visible.

Visual Distractions

No Busy Backgrounds: No distracting backgrounds or you can make them static or blank. This includes the absence of other movement elements in the background that might distract or confuse the action. Where foreground contrast is high, this includes games with some movement in the background that doesn't make it overly difficult to distinguish what is happening.

Audio Cues for Visual Events

Menu Audio Cues: Navigating menus provide an audio cue for each selection.

Colour Options

Colour Blind Friendly: Game doesn’t rely on colour or can switch to colour blind friendly mode with double coding or similar way to avoid colour dependance.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Visual

If you want to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:

AudioAudio

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Audio in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate which deal with how you can adjust the audio of the game and whether audio cues compensate for aspects of the game that are hard to see.

Adjustable Audio

Balance Audio Levels: Set music and game sound effects separately. This enables you to select your preference as well as ensure critical game sounds aren't obscured by other audio.

Play Without Hearing

Play Without Hearing: No audio cues are necessary to play the game well.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Audio

If you want to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Audio accessibility:

CommunicationCommunication

We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Communication in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate which deals with how you can communicate with other players in the game and what options are available to customise and control this interaction.

Player-to-Player Online Communication

This is how players communicate with each other in online games. This can be to plan strategy, chat as they play or co-ordinate resources.

No Online Chat (Or Preset Phrases Only): Game is played online but no verbal or textual player communication. This includes games that offer no communication or communication with word-less icons, sounds or preset phrases.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Communication

If you want to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but it doesn't offer the Communication accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Communication accessibility:

System Accessibility Settings

In addition to the accessibility features provided in the game, you can also use system-wide accessibility settings:

Nintendo Switch
Nintendo Switch has some built-in features, including a lockable zoom, that can be used on all games.
 
Read more about system accessibility settings.

VSC LogoAccessibility Report supported by VSC Rating Board, PlayabilityInitiative and accessibility contributors Andy Robertson, @NEATWithAdam and Ben Kendall


Taming Gaming Book Written by parents for parents, the database complements the in-depth discussion about video game addiction, violence, spending and online safety in the Taming Gaming book. We are an editorially independent, free resource without adverts that is supported by partnerships.

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