The current roster of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is not only massive, but also a quality representation of everything currently available on the Nintendo Switch, with even indie titles like Undertale and Cuphead represented with Mii costumes. However, what Nintendo is willing to allow to represent the console at this point seems to be afraid to point at the more unsightly blemishes of the company’s history, like Vroom in the Night Sky.
For those unaware of what Vroom in the Night Sky is and what it has to do with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, it is currently the lowest rated game on Switch according to Metacritic. Coming in at an amazingly low 17, the game ranks lower than legendarily terrible games like Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn and Blades of Time, making it a unique example of the Nintendo Seal of Quality.
As a result of Vroom in the Night Sky‘s low Metacritic score, as well as the overall quality of the game itself as some players have become familiar with, fans have leveled some criticism on the Nintendo Seal of Quality. The seal itself is essentially a representation that each game that appears on the company’s systems, like the Switch, lives up to some sort of standard that Nintendo requires. Considering how famously difficult it can be for a developer to publish on the Switch, especially indie developers like Team Cherry with Hollow Knight and Game Grumps with Dream Daddy, players expected the Seal of Quality to mean something substantial for some time.
While Vroom in the Night Sky doesn’t disprove the quality of this approval system on its own, players still hoping to see their favorite titles come to Switch have begun to question why the process is so difficult for other games. Among other games at different levels of development quality, from nearly broken games like Radiation Island, to titles that simply failed to live up to their own hype like Hello Neighbor, faith in the Nintendo Seal of Quality has slowly dipped over time. However, with Vroom in the Night Sky‘s biggest issue really just being that the game is boring and repetitive, rather than unplayable, there is room for Nintendo to save face by incorporate the title’s somewhat fitting art style in with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
The game itself is admittedly pretty hard to play for any extended play sessions, as Vroom in the Night Sky quickly becomes repetitive and the overall presentation of the game is fairly lackluster. However, while it might not be intentionally broken like developer DoubleMoose’s Goat Simulator, it still has that type of base level enjoyment to it, worth checking out with friends to see exactly how bad it can get like how fans often enjoy the cult classic film The Room. On top of that, the art style fits in perfectly with other cartoony games that have joined the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster, even if the overall design of the game is fairly bland and uneventful.
So, if Nintendo wants to save face from the critical failure that is Vroom in the Night Sky, the best bet might be to embrace the game and bring the title character Magical Girl Luna into Smash Ultimate. The design of the character might actually be one of the best things that the game has going for it, even if the graphic fidelity that displays her in game doesn’t quite do the design justice. Overall, she looks like a fairly overdone anime character, complete with needless accessories like a winged cape, a broom on her back, and an oversized witch’s hat, all of which could fit perfectly into the Smash Ultimate roster at this point.
One thing that has held back a number of characters from making the cross-over into the Super Smash Bros. series has been the tentative way that previous games introduced characters from non-Nintendo properties. However, with players now able to take control of everyone from Final Fantasy 7‘s Cloud to Beyonetta, going third party with fighters clearly hasn’t been an issue since the Super Smash Bros. Wii U began bridging these gaps. That’s not even mentioning the fighting styles of some of the more recent fighters, like Joker and Villager, expanding what really counts as combat and how creative the team can get with established character’s unique styles.
Looking at everyone that is available in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate now, it’s hard to argue that Magical Girl Luna would be a complete outlier among the already colorful cast of characters. In fact, this series may be the only place where a new fighter that can attack with a broom, rings, and a Vespa would fit in well enough to not bat an eye. Naturally, it isn’t exactly how Magical Girl Luna would fight that would turn heads, but her inclusion at all, which would again go a long way to help Nintendo’s reputation by laughing at itself for having given Vroom in the Night Sky the Seal of Quality in the first place.
Adding parody characters is nothing new to fighting games, with characters like Dan from the Street Fighter series being built intentionally bad in order to highlight the joke that he represents. This would be the perfect way to implement a character like Magical Girl Luna, effectively being able to both laugh at and with the game, as well as giving Nintendo a chance to publicly laugh at themselves. While Nintendo doesn’t have an overtly negative reputation, situations like Vroom in the Night Sky tend to stick and feed whatever negativity that unsatisfied players may want to throw towards the company for either low quality titles or region specific content in Smash Ultimate.
Another option that Nintendo can attempt, as has often been the case for including obscure characters in Smash Ultimate, is through Spirit Board events and adding characters like Magical Girl Luna into the game as a Spirit. However, in this case, something as off to the side as the Spirit Board just might not be enough to really highlight this character and the full level of strangeness that comes with Vroom in the Night Sky. Embracing the embarrassment here in a real way that makes it clear to fans that Nintendo understands the criticisms and is willing to roll with the punches.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available now for Switch.
Vroom in the Night Sky is available now for Switch.
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