Super Smash Bros. Ultimate pays homage to plenty of different game franchises through things like spirits, assist trophies and, most notably, the massive amount of playable fighters in the game. With everyone from Pikachu to the recently released Sora from Kingdom Hearts being available on the game's DLC-packed roster, it's a miracle that almost every single character has a personalized and reference-packed Classic Mode. Castlevania's Simon Belmont has probably one of Smash Ultimate's best Classic Modes, especially for long-time series fans.
Each Classic Mode route in Smash Ultimate, regardless of the character, typically consists of six battles, a bonus game and a final boss. While the bonus game is the same for every character, the six battles and the boss fight vary depending on the main fighter. Simon Belmont's Classic Mode, called Smash-vania, is best described as being Smash Ultimate's take on the vast number of monsters and enemies that have appeared throughout Castlevania.
The first battle in Simon's Classic Mode route is against King K. Rool and Incineroar. While K. Rool is in his default color pallet, Incineroar is using his darker black and red pallet swap. The fight takes place on the Battlefield form of the Dracula's Castle stage, with the Smash Ultimate remix of "Vampire Killer" playing in the background. While some think this battle references two monsters from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, the stage and music more than likely point towards the original Castlevania.
More specifically, it appears as though King K. Rool represents the Creature monster and Incineroar represents a Flea Man. Similarly, the second battle in this route is against a giant Ridley on the Omega version of Luigi's Mansion. This one's a bit more straightforward since "Out of Time" plays during the battle, which also happened to be the song that played on the stage that featured the Giant Bat enemy that Ridley is standing in for.
The third fight features Simon taking on Bayonetta and Dark Pit, though the two fighters aren't on a team in this battle. This battle appears to be referencing the characters of Carmilla and Laura. Carmilla is a recurring Castlevania enemy and boss who's often depicted as a giant floating mask or as a woman with wildly flowing hair. This is supported by the fact that Carmilla is often flanked by her servant Laura, which is who Dark Pit seems to be referencing here.
There's also a case to be made that Bayonetta is referencing Shanoa, the main character from Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. While there isn't too much of an explanation as to who Dark Pit would be referencing, if this is indeed the case, Bayonetta is used in Shanoa's spirit battle. Given how the previous fights have all referenced iconic Castlevania monsters, this battle is likely meant to reference Carmilla and Laura.
Next up is another team battle against Charizard and King Dedede, both of which are in their blue team outfit. The stage is Kalos Pokémon League and the battle music is "Beginning" from Castlevania: Arace and Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. Given the music, this battle is probably referencing the Lesser Demon and Cyclops from Castlevania III, though some fans believe that this battle is actually referencing Slogra and Gaibon from Super Castlevania IV.
Charizard being blue in this fight might actually point to this battle specifically referencing Symphony of the Night, as the Lesser Demon first had a blue pallet in that game. The Cyclops was actually the opposite case, as the enemy was blue in Castlevania III but red in later games. This battle is likely referencing the more iconic versions of these characters while also referencing the first game both enemies have appeared in.
The final two battles and the boss fight in Simon's Classic Mode route are sorts of one collective reference. First up, Simon battles Bowser, Ganondorf and Mewtwo, all three of which are meant to act as the three bosses that Simon battles in Super Castlevania IV before facing off against Dracula. After this, players face off against Richter Belmont in a battle that seems to reference when Richter was brainwashed by Dracula in Symphony of the Night.
The boss fight is against Dracula himself, as he's fully designed boss in Smash Ultimate. There's the standard bonus game between the fight against Richter and the boss fight against Dracula, though the bonus game is always the same in every Classic Mode route. The previous two battles both feature the player taking on some of the vampire's more iconic minions from throughout the series before they can battle Dracula himself.
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