Fans of the franchise “Super Smash Bros.” have been excited ever since the newest installment of the series for the Nintendo Switch was officially announced.

During Nintendo Direct, an online presentation, in which Nintendo announces future titles coming to their consoles, the trailer for the newest “Super Smash Bros.” for the Switch was revealed.

“I’m most excited for the Inklings as that’s all we know for sure and that we don’t we don’t have to wait for too long,” said Nicolai Vetrovec, an avid Smash fan and player. 

This upcoming “Super Smash Bros.” game will be the fifth installment in the series, otherwise known as “Smash 5.” 

While the trailer did not feature any gameplay, it did confirm that the Inklings, characters in the Splatoon series, will be playable characters in the game.

The first actual gameplay of “Smash 5” will most likely be seen at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3.)

Set for June 2018, E3 will be inviting several of the top competitive “Super Smash Bros.” players to compete in the first “Smash 5” tournament, just as they did before the release of “Smash 4.”

The characters Nana and Popo, or as they were known in previous “Smash” games as Ice Climbers, are also confirmed to be in “Smash 5.” 

Countless trailer analysis videos have speculated that returning characters will be different in “Smash 5” based on their latest game. 

For example, in the trailer, the silhouette of Link, from “The Legend of Zelda,” seems to resemble the version of Link that is featured in “Breath of the Wild,”  “The Legend of Zelda’s” most recent title.

Besides the potential for new characters being added to “Smash 5’s” roster, just the idea of “Super Smash Bros.” coming to the Switch is already getting people excited.

“One hundred percent I’m going to buy “Smash 5” when it comes out,” said senior Darren Chia, who is known to bring his Switch to school.

What “Smash 5” will surely take advantage of is the portability of the Nintendo Switch, which allows two players to play on the same device.

“I am most excited for the multiplayer function of the Switch and how Smash will take advantage of this,” said Chia.

“It’s actually making me consider whether I should buy a Switch or not,” said senior John Ty.

While the franchise was originally intended to be played  solely as a party game, it quickly evolved into a more competitive scene. Those who are the most excited for this game are such players.

Senior Bryce Gantt, who considers himself a competitive Smash player, definitely cannot wait for “Smash 5’s” release.

“I started playing smash when I played melee at my friend’s house at a very young age and my favorite is melee mainly due to nostalgia,” said Gantt.

“Super Smash Bros. Melee,” the second game in the series, was released in 2001. Since his early days in childhood, Gantt has been playing “Smash” very frequently and his passion for the game is yet to cease. 

Gantt actively plays “Smash 4” in tournaments hosted after school at Cal. He has even attended a local tournament to test his mettle.

‘The only tournament outside Cal High I have attended is ‘Melee’ at the [Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment] in Oakland and I got to losers quarters,” said Gantt.

The competitive scene for “Smash”, while lesser known, is still wildly popular amongst players of various ages. 

There is even a club at Cal that meets after school that is solely dedicated to Smash.

Fans of the “Smash” franchise will revitalize the Nintendo Switch’s popularity once “Smash 5” releases later this year.