Why did we see two completely different reactions to a pair of posts about the same game? It’s simple: One was just your standard, scheduled promotional tweet, and the other featured the return of one of the most feared men in Nintendo history: Matt. Interested in a tougher challenge in #NintendoSwitchSports? Try entering ZR + R + A or ZL + L + → at the difficulty selection screen. pic.twitter.com/UI62lApxvw — Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) August 12, 2022 Matt is the opposing computer Mii shown on the right in the image above. He is the secret legendary opponent that you can face in the Nintendo Switch Sports sword fighting game by entering a certain button combination on the difficulty selection screen. If he looks familiar, it’s probably because you remember struggling to beat him back in the early days of the Wii… Or you’ve seen the countless memes featuring him that have been made since then. The Legend of Matt dates back to Wii Sports, the Wii launch title that graced our living rooms in November 2006. It was here that Miis made their big debut, and Matt with them. Matt is known as the boxing champion in Wii Sports. He is the last fighter you face in Boxing, wearing a pair of silver boxing gloves that you can claim after defeating him. Matt would return in 2010’s Wii Sports Resort, this time as the Swordplay champion. He is the final boss of Swordplay Showdown and is very hard to beat. While Matt may have flown under the radar at the height of Wii Sports’ popularity, years later, many gamers on the Internet began making jokes that greatly exaggerated Matt’s skill level. Yes, he’s hard to beat at Boxing and Swordplay, but he’s not the God the internet would have you believe he is. According to knowyourmeme, the original meme that started the modern Matt love is an image posted on Reddit that says, “15 Characters Who Could Beat Thanos (Even With The Infinity Gauntlet) In Seconds.” The image below that title is a photo of Matt from Wii Sports, with the caption, “The Pro We Need.” This started a new trend of jokes about Matt’s raw power, including memes referencing Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Shaggy from Scooby-Doo, and more. That brings us to Nintendo Switch Sports, the sequel to the Wii Sports series due in 2022. But for Matt fans, there was a big catch. Switch Sports pushed Miis out of the spotlight, replacing them with a new type of avatar. While Mii NPCs were mostly out of the picture, players could play as their Mii, leaving hope that Matt would eventually show up. While fans waited, many even designed their own Mii to look like Matt to play as the legendary character online. Fast forward to late July, when Nintendo updated Nintendo Switch Sports, adding the new Legend mode explained above. Finally, Matt is back for revenge and fans couldn’t be more excited. Check out some of the best reactions on social media below, like people deciding to buy the game because of Matt, players getting destroyed by Matt, and more. nintendo brought back my boy matt as a secret boss for switch sports and called him a legend! feels my wii. pic.twitter.com/LJJzGWWFBL — JOLLY J✨ (@DynamoSuperX) August 12, 2022 IS THIS MATTE?! I’m about to buy Switch Sports. I need this flashback. https://t.co/P0VL8FIx63 — PKSparkxx #BlackLivesMatter (@PKSparkxx) August 12, 2022 sports mat switch is really cheating i played 6 games with it in chambara and won only one ROUND it feels like it reacts instantly to attacks so you just have to hold the block and HOPEFULLY it drains enough to not react to your block direction changes still i will win pic.twitter.com/YGXissuhQp — Viridian (@ViridianSSB) August 12, 2022 You are right Nintendo Matt is a legend — WeegeeFett (@Weegee_Fett) August 12, 2022 WHAT — Tea | Avid My Enjoyer (@Teascient) August 12, Matt the Legend! pic.twitter.com/nKAJJVdUMQ — BryanD (@The_BryanD) August 12, 2022 I was very tired, but he was very strong. pic.twitter.com/1hPMgcZQuO — GamingBoy256 (@GamingBoy256) August 12, 2022 A Nintendo cheat code? In 2022??? And it brings out Matt?????? W — TAHK0 ☕️ (@TAHK0) August 12, 2022 pic.twitter.com/lfo36UvZEo — Huntgbunt (@huntgbunt) August 12, 2022 Yes, “Legend” is right pic.twitter.com/gmpC6TDlEe — 🎮awesomelink234🏳️⚧️🦊🔜 Birthday in 6 days 🎂 (@awesomelink234) August 12, 2022 If you’re up for the challenge, you can take on Matt on Switch Sports right now. Just be ready to lose. For more on Switch Sports, you can check out our review where we said: “Switch Sports sticks very much to what made its predecessors memorable: intuitive motion controls, the ability to easily pick up a group of people and move , and some killer menu music that can get stuck in your head all day.” Nintendo Switch Sports screenshots Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
