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Super Smash Bros Ultimate World of Light Walkthrough - Adventure Mode, World of Light Map, Skill Tree

Super Smash Bros Ultimate’s marquee single-player mode is called World of Light. Here’s what you need to know.

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Guide by Jake Green Contributor
Updated on

Super Smash Bros Ultimate is finally here, uniting 74 iconic video game characters to battle it out for dominance. There’s the usual multiplayer matchup modes, as well as the return of Classic Mode and online play. There’s also a fully-fledged single-player campaign called World of Light. In it, players slowly uncover a map filled with Spirits and corrupted fighters, solving minigames along the way. It's a pretty substantial affair, with a skill tree, and even a few puzzles to solve. To help you get to grips with World of Light, and to ensure you know how to clear some of the obstacles you'll encounter, we've put together a Super Smash Bros Ultimate World of Light Walkthrough.

If you’re looking for more on Super Smash Bros Ultimate, you should head over to our Super Smash Bros Ultimate Guides Hub. It’s where we’ve been busy collecting all of our Super Smash Bros Ultimate guides content. There’s essential tips and tricks, detailed breakdowns of every fighter, and a look at the fastest way to unlock characters.

Super Smash Bros Ultimate Adventure Mode Guide

World of Light is Super Smash Bros Ultimate’s main single-player campaign. It tasks players with awakening the rest of the roster, by collecting Spirits and uncovering a huge map. There are a bunch of different sections to explore, a few minigames to clear, and hundreds of Spirits to battle and collect.

Cover image for YouTube videoSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate - World of Light - Nintendo Switch
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How to Unlock Fighters in Super Smash Bros Ultimate World of Light - World of Light Character Locations

In Super Smash Bros Ultimate World of Light, you’ll only have access to Kirby at first. To unlock more characters, you’ll need to find them on the map. You’ll see them represented by trophies, and you’ll need to beat them in a fight to win them. We’ve included a list of all of the fighter locations below:

  • Bowser - Castle Dungeon to the North
  • Captain Falcon - Racetrack, Villager’s Path
  • Diddy Kong - Jungle Japes Zone
  • Donkey Kong - Kongo Jungle
  • Dr. Mario - Ribbon Road
  • Duck Hunt - Poison Woods
  • Falco - Space
  • Fox - Heart Pool, North West of Ribbon Road
  • Ice Climbers - Ice Mountain, NW of map.
  • Inkling - Console City
  • Isabelle - East Town, via secret path in NW Town
  • Jigglypuff - River Woods, Sheik’s Path
  • King Dedede - Gourmet Food Race
  • Link - Great Plateau
  • Little Mac - Head back to Lumiose City after beating Power Plant Zone
  • Lucas - NW Town
  • Mario - Starting area
  • Marth - Starting ring, you’ll have to choose from three options, you can return later.
  • Mega Man - Metal Gear Base, south of Toadstool platforms
  • Mii Brawler - Sacred Lands
  • Mii Gunner - Alola Islands
  • Mii Swordfighter - East town, Sheik’’s Path
  • Mr Game & Watch - Pac - Maze
  • Ness - Magicant Land
  • Olimar - Toadstool platforms, Marth’s Path
  • Pac-Man - Toadstool platforms, Marth’s Path
  • Peach - Castle Dungeon to the North
  • Pichu - Power Plant Zone
  • Pikachu - Rapids to the North
  • Pit - Temple of Light
  • Pokemon Trainer - Jungle Japes Zone, to the South
  • Ryu - South of Toadstool platforms there’s an entrance to the World Tour Zone (Street Fighter)
  • Samus - Head across the canyon after beating Temple of Light
  • Sheik - Starting ring, you’ll have to choose from three options, you can return later.
  • Shulk - Waterfall Peak
  • Simon - Temple of Light
  • Snake - Metal Gear Base
  • Toon Link - Forest Hill Zone
  • Villager - Starting ring, you’ll have to choose from three options, you can return later.
  • Wii Fit Trainer - Lumiose City
  • Yoshi - Ribbon Road
  • Young Link - Sacred Lands
  • Zelda - Sacred Lands
  • Zero Suit Samus - Volcano

Super Smash Bros Ultimate World of Light Full Map

The map for Super Smash Bros Ultimate World of Light is huge, made up of iconic Nintendo game locations. Each has its own minigame, and fighters that can be awakened. We’ve included an image below:

Super Smash Bros Ultimate World of Light Barriers

As you play through World of Light, you’ll come across a few barriers that you’ll need to clear. For many of them, you’ll need a specific Spirit to get past. Usually, the required Spirit is nearby, though without knowing what you’re looking for, you’ll just have to grind out all of them. We’ve been playing a ton of World of Light and have been noting down which Spirits you’ll need to clear each barrier. We’ve listed them below.

  • Main Gate - There are three switches that you’ll need to hit in order to open the main gates guarding the Temple of Light Zone. They are found to the North, East, and South areas of the map.
  • Pilot the Wild Goose - The Wild Goose is Pico’s vehicle from F-Zero. You’ll need Pico to access it.
  • Boulders - to clear the many boulders that litter the World of Light map, you’ll need the Bomberman Spirit.
  • Wooden Bridge - Bord & Cord and Barst are needed to rebuild wooden bridges.
  • Boat - To use the Boat you’ll need the Kapp’n Spirit
  • School Bus - Kapp’n can also be used to drive the school bus.
  • Computer - Hal Emmerich is needed to hack into the computer.
  • Mushroom Platforms - The Kamek Spirit is needed to raise the Mushroom Platforms in the Mushroom Forest

Super Smash Bros Ultimate World of Light Difficulty

World of Light can be pretty challenging as the difficulty ramps up pretty quick. If you find yourself struggling, just head into the Options menu and change the difficulty. You can do this anytime you’re on the map, though be aware that you’ll earn fewer rewards on Easy mode.

Super Smash Bros Ultimate World of Light Skill Tree

There are some RPG elements in Super Smash Bros Ultimate this time around. While playing, you’ll earn Spirit Cores. These can be spent in the Skill Tree, which applies to any fighter you’re using. The skill tree has attack, defense and speed upgrades, and you can toggle the effects on and off in the Skill Tree menu. To earn more Spirit Cores, you just need to play World of Light. Playing on a higher difficulty will grant more Spirit Cores per game.

For more on Super Smash Bros Ultimate, you'll want to visit our Super Smash Ultimate Guides Hub. There's also our Super Smash Ultimate Spirits Guide for everything you need to know about Spirits, and our guide on the fastest way to unlock characters in Super Smash Ultimate. Finally, you'll want to take a look at our Super Smash Ultimate Character Guides. There's one for every single fighter in the game, with movesets, Alternate Costumes and more.

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