Spirit (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)

Spirits in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate are characters that have lost their physical forms, and act as collectible power-ups that can be equipped to fighters to grant them special abilities in battle. They are featured prominently in the game's Adventure mode, World of Light, where most characters except for the playable fighters themselves are shown being reduced to this form through disintegration from Galeem's attack. Spirits consist of characters from various Nintendo and third-party franchises, and can be seen as similar to stickers from Super Smash Bros. Brawl and equipment from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, while they also replace trophies from earlier installments.

The main method to obtain spirits is through spirit battles, in which players fight a CPU-controlled puppet fighter containing a specific spirit. The battle conditions, stage and music track for each spirit battle, as well as the fighter(s) fought during the spirit battle, reflect the character of the spirit. Spirits are divided into four classes of power, each represented by a star rating: Novice (one star), Advanced (two stars), Ace (three stars), and Legend (four stars). Two types of spirits can be obtained: primary and support. Primary spirits have one of four strength types: red, limegreen, deepskyblue, and neutral, with attack being strong against grab, grab against shield, shield against attack, and neutral having no advantage or disadvantage against the other three. Support spirits are equipped on top of primary spirits and grant the fighter specials skills, such as increased jumping, or equipping them with a specific item.

Beating a spirit battle within the Adventure mode instantly gifts the spirit to the player. In the Spirit Board, however, after beating a puppet fighter, the next screen shows the fighter under a dark sky dazed and surrounded by a round, spinning shield, where the player has a chance to obtain the spirit by firing a gun through the opening of the shield. If the player times the shot correctly, the dark sky clears and the spirit is acquired. If the player unsuccessfully hits any part of the shield, it is broken off and they do not win the spirit, though the damage carries over to the next battle. The shield rotates faster the higher rank the spirit is. If the player fails, but has enough Spirit Points, the player can spend some Spirit Points for a retry, with more powerful spirits requiring more Spirit Points per retry. Players can use two items to aid hitting the puppet fighter, both of which can stack: Shield Spacer and Sluggish Shield. Shield Spacer removes a portion of the shield while Sluggish Shield slows the shield's movement.

Spirits have levels, which they get after participating battles (winning or losing) or after being fed snacks, which are gained through various means including but not limited to winning a spirit battle with a weaker spirit than the opponent or purchasing them through shops. After reaching the 99th level, certain spirits can be enhanced, often making them stronger such as increasing rank or giving special attributes, but restarting the spirit to level 1. This is denoted by a silver border next to the type icon, which turns gold if the spirit is enhanced.

Master spirits are an unequippable type of spirit, appearing in the World of Light. Their strength in spirit battles is always neutral. After they are defeated, they unlock one of three activities – Gym, Dojo, or Explore – or a shop in Shopping. In the Gym, the player can leave up to four primary spirits to have them level up overtime. In the Dojo, up to four primary spirits can be left to learn special styles that increase some stats while weakening others (in the case of Slowpoke, spirits can forget styles they have learned). This process can be accelerated by paying Spirit Points. In Explore, the player can send primary and/or support spirits to the Ruins, Caves, or Jungle to search for treasure. The expedition lasts for multiple real-time hours, and can be canceled at any time. Upon its completion, the player receives rewards (including Spirit Points, coins, and inventory items), and any primary spirits sent on the expedition also gain experience points. In Shopping, the player can purchase inventory items, Skill Spheres, and other spirits. Each store has a high likelihood of selling a specific type of spirit; for example, in Anna's Emporium (Anna's shop), there is a greater chance of spirits with equipment appearing. Spirits are also occasionally sold at a discount.

List of spirits
The numbers next to primary spirits indicate the number of support spirit slots they have available, while the numbers next to support spirits indicate the number of slots they take up when equipped to primary spirits.