Nintendo just held their final Nintendo Direct before the release of Super Smash Bros Ultimate, one of the most anticipated games of the holiday season. They covered new characters, multiple new features and modes, as well as various online options and added content to purchase. There was a huge amount of information, and I recommend you watch the entire Direct (just click the little video box below) for all the news. However, some of the most notable moments from the Super Smash Bros Ultimate Direct left fans bewildered. In a stunning feat of ingenuity Nintendo announced the game’s final character, a playable plant. With hopeful Waluigi fans hanging on for dear life, Nintendo cut the rope and laughed while they plummeted into depths unknown.

Smash Bros Ultimate Direct Turns Heads

After the previous Nintendo Direct, we knew that there was still more left to uncover. This final Nintendo Direct was key to keep hype levels high, and for the most part, they delivered. The start of the presentation showed off two new characters, Ken and Incineroar.

Fans of Street Fighter will undoubtedly recognize this character; he’s a personal favorite of mine, too.

Incineroar hails from the Pokemon Sun and Moon games, and plays much like a professional wrestler. He throws enemies with powerful grabs, taunts often, and is a hulking presence on the battlefield.

These two new characters, plus the 72 shown above, make the final total of playable characters 74. That sounds like an odd number to end on, so at this point, I was hoping for one final announcement. The golden announcement (and purple), one could say.

New Amiibo and a Season Pass

Nintendo announced earlier in the year that they were planning a new line of Amiibos for the release of Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Once again, you can open your wallet and purchase these plastic caricatures of your favorite characters. There’s plenty of use for them in the game, so the price is somewhat justifiable. There’s a slew of figures coming out, with a handful available new release and some coming out next year.

At this point, between the Gamecube controllers, a copy of the game, the new amiibos, and a new pair of pants, you might be asking yourself “How can I spend even more money?”. Fear not, as you’ll be able to pick up a slew of DLC that will release within a year of the game’s launch. Nintendo announced the Fighter’s Pass, a package deal that includes all planned DLC for a discounted price. If you want to go a la carte, you’re welcome to do that as well. You can pick up the individual DLCs (which all include one new stage, character, and song) for around $5.99 USD.

Free Limited Time Plant Offering

Nintendo also wanted to try out something new; a gift for players who purchase the game before January 31st. You’ll most likely have to pick it up from Nintendo’s website or through their digital store to receive this once-in-a-lifetime offering.

“This is it. This is the time for Nintendo to reveal the L.” I thought to myself as the promotional video started. When I started writing about Waluigi being included in Super Smash Bros Ultimate, it was kind of a joke. Now, it’s actually ridiculous. With such a huge roster of characters (and the unfathomable amount of support characters), to exclude a mainline Mario character seems like a weirdly intentional mistake. Nevertheless… “This is it.”

WHAT.

Everyone has a different opinion about this inclusion. It’s a weird one, regardless of the “limited time offer” intrigue surrounding it. It’s a lowly Super Mario Bros enemy, akin to a Goomba or a Koopa. Even if we forget about Waluigi (and I won’t, I swear to God), this is an odd pick. There are two ways this can work out: either it’s the most over powered character in the game, or it’s utter trash. You can’t pick “the plant” and just perform on an average level. In a fight between Dan from Street Fighter and Piranha Plant from Super Smash Bros Ultimate (for real, what), it’s either a dead tie or a complete blow-out from the plant. If you’re going to double down like this, Nintendo, you gotta go all the way. At this point, you might as well just kill off the entire roster and replace them with ghosts.

Everyone is Dead and They’re All Ghosts (Except Kirby)

Besides the plant announcements and other numerous details, Nintendo gave us a good look at some bigger features of Ultimate. First up was the Spirits system, which is incredibly complicated and I will refer you back to the full presentation above. Basically, you’ll complete fun and quirky themed matches, and if you’re successful, you’ll gain a “Spirit”. These can be equipped onto your chosen character, buffing their strength and power. There are countless features with the Spirit system, which includes leveling them up, training them, sending them on missions, and much more. It also seems directly tied into the story mode, dubbed Super Smash Bros Ultimate: World of Light.

We were left with a trailer for the story mode, which features the biggest pop culture massacre this side of Avengers: Infinity War. In all honesty, I’m mostly excited for this extensive single player mode. I’m also really hyped to unlock the entire roster as well. Super Smash Bros Ultimate is looking like one of the best fighting game packages ever created, with a huge selection of collectible content. I can’t wait to play it, even if it does have some odd roster choices.

Check out the insane trailer for the World of Light mode below:

Really though, they said the words “Luigi” and “echo fighter” in the same sentence, and Waluigi is no where to be found. It’s got to be a joke, right? Unless… Waluigi is in the game. Well, we’ll have to wait until December to find out.