This entry will be the last for this set, covering the major entry for Smash Ultimate: Galeem and Dharkon.
Galeem is the first of two antagonists of the World of Light story mode in Smash Ultimate. It is the ending to the main arc of storytelling that has been occurring since the Wii release of Brawl, using the same location from the end of its story mode for the beginning of this one. Galeem itself has three main physical attributes to take note of; the core of the being is an orb of light, with appearance similar to a halo, the angelic wing appendages around the core, and the coloring of the underside of those wings, whose reds and blues are very reminiscent of the colors used in the logos for Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U. Its first act is to take its many master hand clones, absorb their energy, and send a burst of light beams out. When the cast assembled on the cliff nearby are hit by these light beams, they are consumed by them and vanish from the area. Only one character, Kirby, is able to escape the event while the master of the Light reshapes the world to its liking. Spirits of secondary characters from the many connected franchises are left to wander, while Galeem creates puppet clones of the main cast and adds spirits to them, while keeping the real forms of the characters under lock and key. Kirby’s job from here is to travel Galeem’s new world, free the spirits and other fighters from its control, and go confront the area bosses and Galeem itself. These puppet fighters are exactly like their normal counterparts with different colors being the main way to distinguish them. They are very meaningless, however, due to the sheer amounts of them that Galeem mass-produces. Once confronted and defeated, Galeem’s influence weakens significantly. It may not be completely gone, but it’s a start! Of course, at a moment of triumph, another being appears to take control in the power vacuum: Dharkon.
Dharkon. The leader of darkness, and the other side of the coin to Galeem’s light. In general form, Dharkon is not too different from Galeem. Replace the angel wings with dark tentacle-like thorns, the halo core with an eye like a predator, and change the color palette to that of the dark reds and blacks of the Brawl logo from E3 2006, and it fits like a glove. After getting sucked into the world beneath Galeem’s creation, “The Dark World”, the path to each area boss is clear and straightforward. Once dealt with, Dharkon flees to the final area, the Warzone.
This area is where the two forces of light and darkness come together. You find four fighters and many powerful spirits here. The true Master and Crazy Hand are found here, and they defect from their respective masters once defeated. They help clear the remaining fighter copies, turn the first form of the warzone into it’s purified, second state, and make each side equal. Once your roster is complete and your spirits are ready, there are three options to close the story. Two of them are incorrect, those being fighting the other being by themselves. The bad endings are two different actions resulting the same fate: Either Dharkon corrupts everything and the fighters seem to die, or Galeem is able to rewrite everything again permanently. The good ending involves The Gauntlet, a three-phase battle. The first is a vertical platforming course, the second is a boss rush with all of the area bosses from before, and the last is a fight against both Galeem and Dharkon, made easier due to the warring godly beings hurting each other with you trying to beat both of them. Once beaten, the two fall away into the sea, shredded into pieces, and their powers overload and release. The balance has been restored, and the trapped spirits are all freed. The main story of the series comes to a close.
Next week, the reasoning for their design and juxtaposition will be compared to a potential explanation for other subtextual decisions throughout the series.
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