Honestly, if you were around for the lead-up to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in 2018, you remember the "Everyone is Here" moment. It wasn't just a marketing slogan. It was a promise. But the physical manifestation of that promise—the Super Smash Bros banner—became something much bigger than a simple promotional image. It turned into a living document of gaming history. Every time a new DLC character was announced, fans didn't just rush to YouTube to watch the trailer; they rushed to see where that character would sit on the mural. It’s a masterpiece of composition. It’s also a nightmare for whoever had to keep rearranging it.
The mural, officially titled "Everyone is Here!", was illustrated by Yusuke Nakano and his team at Nintendo. You might know Nakano’s work from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time or Twilight Princess. He has this specific way of blending realistic textures with heroic, almost classical poses. When you look at the Super Smash Bros banner, you aren't just looking at a collage. It’s a seamless, panoramic battle scene that stretches across an incredible digital canvas. It’s art. It’s a historical record of every fighter to ever grace the series, from Mario and Link to the "impossible" additions like Sora and Steve.
The Evolution of the Mural
When the game launched, the banner was already massive. But then came the Fighters Passes. This is where things got tricky for the design team. Imagine having a finished painting and then being told you have to squeeze eleven more people into the middle of it without ruining the flow.
They did it, though.
Take a look at how Joker or Banjo-Kazooie were integrated. They weren't just tacked onto the ends. They were woven into the existing groups. This created a sense of community among characters that have absolutely no business being in the same universe. Where else do you see a realistic soldier like Snake standing near a cartoonish yellow mouse like Pikachu, and it somehow makes visual sense? The Super Smash Bros banner achieved a stylistic cohesion that should have been impossible. It used consistent lighting—a warm, amber glow coming from a central point—to tie these wildly different art styles together.
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The Grinch Leak and the Great Banner War
You can't talk about the Super Smash Bros banner without mentioning the Grinch Leak. It was perhaps the most infamous "leak" in the history of the medium. A blurry photo surfaced online showing a printed version of the mural, but it included characters that hadn't been announced yet, like Ken from Street Fighter and Banjo-Kazooie. It looked so real because the leaker had supposedly faked the entire panoramic extension of the art.
The internet went into a meltdown. People were analyzing the pixels of a blurry cloud. They were looking at the way a character’s foot overlapped another’s. It proved just how much weight the banner held in the community's mind. When the actual final roster was revealed, and the Grinch leak was proven false, it almost felt like a relief. The real mural was better. It was cleaner. It was official.
Why the Composition Actually Works
Most posters are boring. They put the main guy in the middle and everyone else in a triangle. The Super Smash Bros banner ignores that. It uses a horizontal flow that encourages your eyes to travel from left to right, like a story.
On the far left, you have the "OG 12" from the N64 era. It’s a nod to the roots. As you move right, the chaos builds. You’ve got Ridley diving from the top, Sephiroth looming with his massive wing, and Min Min extending her arms across half the frame. It’s densely packed but never feels cluttered. That’s a very hard line to walk. If you move one character three inches to the left, you might obscure the face of another fan-favorite. The layering is dense.
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- Mario is the anchor, obviously.
- Link and Samus provide the "serious" action poses.
- Kirby and Jigglypuff add the pops of color and soft shapes.
- Third-party icons like Sonic and Mega Man are placed where they can shine without overshadowing Nintendo’s home-grown talent.
The sheer scale of the file must have been astronomical. We’re talking about a digital file that needed to be high-enough resolution to be printed on massive convention center walls, yet detailed enough that a kid could have it as a desktop wallpaper and see the stitching on Mario’s overalls.
How to Get the Banner for Yourself
Because the Super Smash Bros banner is so iconic, everyone wants a piece of it. But getting a high-quality version isn't as simple as right-clicking an image on Google. Most of those are compressed and look like garbage when printed.
If you’re looking for a physical version, you have a few options. Nintendo released a limited edition physical print through their My Nintendo rewards program years ago, but those are now collector's items that go for way too much money on eBay. Most people end up going the custom route. You can find "ultra-wide" prints on sites like Etsy or specialized poster shops.
But a word of advice: make sure you’re looking for the "Final Version." There are dozens of iterations of the Super Smash Bros banner floating around online that were captured before Sora was added. If you don't have the Keyblade wielder in there, is it even the complete mural? Probably not.
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Printing Specifications for Nerds
If you're going to print this yourself, you need the right aspect ratio. The mural is extremely wide. A standard 24x36 poster frame isn't going to work. You're looking at something closer to a 1:4 or even 1:5 ratio.
- Resolution: You want at least 300 DPI for a sharp print.
- Source: Find a "stitched" version from the official Smash Bros website archives.
- Material: Canvas actually looks great for this because it mimics the "painting" feel of Nakano’s style.
The Cultural Impact
The Super Smash Bros banner became a template. You see it everywhere now. Whenever a big crossover happens in movies or other games, fans immediately start making "Smash-style" banners. It’s become a shorthand for "everyone is here." It represents a peak in gaming crossover culture that we might never see again. The licensing alone for that single image—getting Disney, Square Enix, Sega, Capcom, Bandai Namco, and Microsoft to all agree on where their characters sit—is a legal miracle.
It’s more than a marketing asset. It's a tribute to Masahiro Sakurai’s vision. It’s a visual representation of a celebration that lasted over three years. Every character represents a different era, a different genre, and a different group of fans. When you look at the banner, you aren't just looking at characters; you're looking at your own history with a controller in your hand.
Actionable Steps for Fans
If you want to fully appreciate or own the Super Smash Bros banner, here is what you should actually do:
- Hunt for the 12K Rips: Community members on Reddit and Twitter have spent hours "stitching" the high-res assets from the official website into 10,000+ pixel wide images. Search for these specifically if you plan on doing a large wall print.
- Check the "Sora Edition": Always double-check the far right side of the image. The final official version includes Sora from Kingdom Hearts floating near the top right. If he’s missing, you have an outdated version.
- Use it for Multi-Monitor Setups: This is the single best wallpaper for three-monitor setups. Because it is so wide, you can span it across all three screens without losing the "action" in the bezel gaps.
- Analyze the "Line of Action": If you're an aspiring artist, look at the "flow" of the characters. Notice how the weapons (swords, blasters) all point toward certain focal points. It’s a masterclass in directing a viewer’s eye through a crowded space.
The era of Ultimate is technically over, but the Super Smash Bros banner remains the definitive visual summary of that golden age. It’s the closest thing the gaming world has to the Bayeux Tapestry. It tells a story of competition, collaboration, and the sheer joy of seeing a cartoon plumber fight a dark god from a JRPG. It shouldn't work, but it does. It works perfectly.