How Long is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate‘s Story Mode?
As a long-time Smash aficionado, perhaps my favorite addition in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is World of Light – an grandiose single player adventure with an epic scope spanning over 1,000 battles. For players aiming to save the galaxy from the invading Galeem, how long will it take to see the credits roll?
A War Against Light: The Story So Far
World of Light opens with a dazzling cinematic: beams of light immobilize and vaporize nearly the entire Smash roster, with only Kirby surviving thanks to his Warp Star. This devastating attack comes from Galeem, a cosmic entity seeking to blanket the universe in an endless bright glow.
After this dramatic opening, Kirby awakens alone on an enormous world map dotted with hostile puppet fighters, labyrinthian dungeons, and overpowered boss guardians. To reset balance in the galaxy, he must rescue spirits, rebuild an army of Smash allies, and ultimately confront Galeem directly.
Spirits – A New Form of Power
As Kirby explores, he encounters spirits wandering the realms. These apparitions empower fighters with specialty skills and buffs, adding a tactical layer to otherwise standard Smash battles. With their aid, Kirby growsmighty enough to free more captured fighters, slowly building momentum in his crusade against Galeem.
It‘s an engrossing adventure spanning dozens of unique realms, all gorgeously rendered with artistic flair. Now the pressing question: just how long does this epic quest last?
Main Story Analysis
For players focused solely on plowing through critical path content and reaching the climax, completing World of Light will take around 24 hours. This involves:
- Traversing the main map routes
- Fighting major enemies like boss guardians
- Unlocking a core group of fighters
- Minimal exploration off main roads
Essentially, if you make a beeline for story essentials, you‘ll control Kirby in around 1 day‘s worth of active gameplay. This estimated runtime comes from aggregating completion times submitted to HowLongToBeat, a database of user-generated gaming statistics.
As a comparison, here is how World of Light‘s main scenario stacks up against previous Smash games‘ core single player modes:
| Game | Mode | Main Story Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Smash 64 | 1P Game | ~1 hour |
| Melee | Adventure | ~2 hours |
| Brawl | Subspace Emissary | ~8 hours |
| Smash for Wii U | Classic, All-Star, Stadiums | ~5 hours |
| Ultimate | World of Light | ~24 hours |
Smash Ultimate sets a new bar with World of Light‘s length, packing in around 24 hours of content focused purely on the critical piecing together Kirby‘s journey.
100% Completion Time
However, for us Smash devotees obsessed with discovering all goodies, completing all optional challenges, and grinding out every reward, getting 100% map completion extends World of Light‘s duration exponentially.
If you aim to do everything possible across the sprawling global map, expect a 70+ hour journey. This covers:
- Finding all hidden paths
- Unlocking every fighter
- Maxing out skill tree branches
- Finishing all mini-games
- Upgrading spirits
- Opening every treasure chest
It is a staggering scope reflecting Ultimate‘s "everyone is here" philosophy – no stone goes unturned! Some of my personal tips from a completionist warpath:
- Utilize strong area-of-effect attacks when going for 100% map exposure
- Equip auto-heal over temporary stat boost spirits to sustain longevity
- Use fighters with wide coverage ( Inkling, Palutena) on maze-like terrain
With patience and dedication, you too can overturn every last rock across over a thousand tile spaces. The sheer volume makes this easily Smash‘s largest single player campaign yet.
Does World of Light Ever End?
I can confirm from my 70+ hour playthrough that yes – World of Light does eventually conclude after besting both phase 1 and phase 2 final bosses!
Once the credits finish rolling, you unlock a New Game+ allowing another romp through on increased intensity. So while World of Light can definitively end, its scale grants incredible replay value.
Additional 1P Modes – Classic, Century, More
Beyond World of Light, Smash Ultimate packs numerous supplementary solo modes adding to potentially endless gameplay:
Classic Mode: each fighter has a unique gauntlet plus custom giant/boss battle
Century Smash: defeat 100 fighters to get the best time
Smashdown: every used fighter gets locked out round-by-round
Platforming Levels: over 50 creative platform levels with various objectives
When combined with online battles, local Versus, and the rotating event schedule, Smash Ultimate delivers nearly infinite content for all player types – far beyond what any previous franchise entry has provided.
We may never see another crossover fighter with the same exhaustive breadth. So for fellow Smash fans, dive into World of Light, take your time exploring, and savor unlocked every last goodie across 70 hours. The Ultimate single player ride is long and rewarding!
