Smash Bros. Countdown
The Smash Bros. Countdown was an event hosted by the Japanese Super Smash Bros. Twitter account, @SmashBrosJP, which featured other promotional Twitter accounts counting down to the release date of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The event started on November 27th, 2018, ten days away from the game's release date, and lasted up until the actual release date, December 7th.
In total, 22 accounts (including @SmashBrosJP itself) were involved in the event, and each posted a piece of promotional material, such as a screenshot or an illustration. The concept is similar to the character posters from the previous game, which featured franchise artists illustrating pieces for Smash Bros.; however, the countdown was not limited to newcomers, unlike the posters.
The full countdown can be viewed through a Twitter Moment. Additionally, the English language accounts @NintendoVS and @NintendoEurope reposted most of the promotional material in English.
10 Days Left
On the first day, the participants were @SmashBrosJP and @mario_odysseyJP, the official Super Mario Odyssey account.
The Smash Bros. contribution is a simple, minimalist image to introduce the concept.
The Super Mario Odyssey contribution is a short animated video. It features Cappy and Mario, in the form of the number 10, bouncing on-screen. The camera zooms in to reveal Mario, similar to the E3 2017 trailer for Super Mario Odyssey; however, he assumes his pose from the game's box art, which then transitions into the box art itself. This video was also reposted by @SuperMario_UK, the official European Mario account.
Super Smash Bros.'s contribution.
- Mario artwork Ultimate.png
Super Mario Odyssey's contribution. The full video can be viewed here.
9 Days Left
The second day's participants were @KONAMI573ch, the official Konami account, and @CAPCOM_MHB, the official Monster Hunter account.
Konami's contribution is an illustration of Simon Belmont and Richter Belmont, while the Monster Hunter contribution is an illustration of Mario and a Rathalos.
Konami's contribution.
Monster Hunter's contribution.
8 Days Left
The third day's participants were @dobutsuno_mori, the official Animal Crossing account, and @officialpacman, the official Pac-Man account.
The Animal Crossing contribution is an illustration of Villager and Isabelle leaving their village, with several villagers looking on as they depart. This illustration was later reposted to the English language Animal Crossing accounts, @animalcrossing and @AC_Isabelle.
The Pac-Man contribution, the only one to originate from an English-language account, is a screenshot of Pac-Man and Mr. Game & Watch on Pac-Land.
Pac-Man's contribution.
Animal Crossing's contribution.
7 Days Left
The fourth day's participants were @bomberman573, the official Bomberman account; @Kirby_JP, the official Kirby account; and @FFVIIR_CLOUD, the official Final Fantasy VII account.
The Bomberman contribution is an image of a Bomberman mascot suit running from an explosion.
The Kirby contribution is a screenshot of seven Kirbys on Green Greens, with six of them showcasing new Copy Abilities (Simon Belmont, King K. Rool, Inkling, Ridley, Isabelle, and Incineroar).
The Final Fantasy contribution is an illustration by Tetsuya Nomura, character designer of the Final Fantasy franchise, that depicts Cloud, Mario, Link, and Kirby in a chibi style.
Bomberman's contribution.
Kirby's contribution.
Final Fantasy VII's contribution.
6 Days Left
The fifth day's participants were @XenobladeJP, the official Xenoblade account, and @SEGA_OFFICIAL, the official SEGA account.
The Xenoblade contribution is a screenshot of Zeke, a character from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, saying "Six days to go, chums!" This screenshot was coupled with the announcement that Mythra would receive a "Massive Melee Mythra" outfit in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, based on her Spirit design in Ultimate.
The SEGA contribution is an illustration of Sonic by Yuji Uekawa, the lead character designer of the Sonic series, based on his character artwork in Ultimate.
- Xenoblade artwork Ultimate.jpg
Xenoblade's contribution.
Massive Melee Mythra in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, based on her appearance in Ultimate.
SEGA's contribution.
5 Days Left
The sixth day's sole participant was @Pokemon_cojp, the official Pokémon account.
Their contribution is a collage of every Pokémon character in Ultimate, including those summoned through Poké Balls and Master Balls. This was also coupled with the announcement of the Partner Pikachu and Partner Eevee spirits from Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, which were added to the game post-launch.
Pokémon's contribution.
The announcement of the Partner Pikachu and Partner Eevee spirits.
4 Days Left
The seventh day's sole participant was @ZeldaOfficialJP, the official The Legend of Zelda account.
Their contribution is an illustration by Yusuke Nakano, character designer of the Zelda series, that features the playable Zelda characters reaching for the Triforce.
The Legend of Zelda's contribution.
3 Days Left
The eighth day's participants were @FE_Heroes_JP, the official Fire Emblem Heroes account; @platinumgames_j, the official Platinum Games account; @FireEmblemJP, the official Fire Emblem series account; and @yoiko_minecraft, the official account for the YouTube comedy duo Yoiko, which comprises Japanese comedians Shinya Arino and Masaru Hamaguchi.
The Fire Emblem Heroes contribution was an illustration in that game's chibi style, featuring the playable characters and Assist Trophies battling on Castle Siege.
The Platinum Games contribution is an illustration of Bayonetta and Rodin by Yusuke Hashimoto, a director, producer, and illustrator at Platinum Games.
The Fire Emblem contribution is a screenshot of the seven playable Fire Emblem characters on Arena Ferox.
As noted in their Tweet, Yoiko are not featured in the game itself; however, they had previously appeared at Japanese pre-release tournaments for Ultimate, and also announced that they would be streaming an official Let's Play of the game.
Fire Emblem Heroes' contribution.
Bayonetta's contribution.
Fire Emblem's contribution.
Yoiko's contribution.
2 Days Left
The ninth day's participants were @metalgear_jp, the official Metal Gear account, and @3DS_Palutena, the official Kid Icarus account.
The Metal Gear contribution is a render of Solid Snake (taken from Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection).
The Kid Icarus contribution is a screenshot of Pit in his "peace sign" victory pose; it was coupled with the unveiling of the Pit (Victory) AR Card for Kid Icarus: Uprising, which had never been released previously.
Metal Gear's contribution.
Kid Icarus's contribution.
The Pit (Victory) AR Card.
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1 Day Left
The tenth day's participants were @ROCKMAN_UNITY, the official Mega Man account, and @SplatoonJP, the official Splatoon account.
The Mega Man contribution is an illustration by Yuji Ishihara, character designer of Mega Man 11, featuring Mega Man in his Ultimate and Mega Man 11 designs.
The Splatoon contribution is an illustration of an orange Inkling girl on Battlefield, having painted the number 1 with orange ink.
Launch Day
On launch day, Joker was announced as a DLC fighter at The Game Awards 2018. In tandem with the announcement, @p_kouhou (the official Persona account) posted an illustration of Joker by Shigenori Soejima, character designer of the Persona series.
Persona's contribution.
