In today’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate-focused Nintendo Direct, series director Masahiro Sakurai announced that not only is the newest character another member of the Fire Emblem series, but six more DLC fighters are on the way.
Byleth is the protagonist from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, bringing with them not only the Sword of the Creator but also the three legendary weapons from the game. Players will be able to choose from both the male and female versions of the character, similar to Wii Fit Trainer and Pokemon Trainer. You can add them to the roster starting Tuesday, Jan. 28.
As this is the eighth Fire Emblem character to make it into the Smash series, Sakurai worked to differentiate them from the other fighters by making their weapons feel unique. Sakurai describes Byleth as a “distance demon” in the video. With poor maneuverability and a short grab, Byleth makes up for such drawbacks with powerful lance, axe, and bow attacks.
All the weapons a professor needs
Depending on the direction of the command entered, Byleth’s weapon will change. For Neutral Smash and Up Special attacks, they use the Sword of the Creator, which can transform into a whip to give a fair amount of reach. When using Side attacks, Byleth will switch to the Areadbhar, a long-reaching pole-arm weapon that does extra damage at the tip of the blade. For Down attacks, Byleth switches to Aymr, a huge axe that can meteor strike opponents. They also have access to the Failnaught bow, a Neutral Special with a charge that cannot be fired until fully charged and causes heavy damage.
Byleth’s Final Smash is called “Progenitor God Ruptured Heaven,” which might be the most dramatically-titled attack in the game. With it, Byleth teams up with the god Sothis to deliver a devastating attack.
Along with Byleth, the DLC will include a new stage, the Garreg Mach Monastery, which showcases several characters and locations from the game. The DLC will also include 11 new tracks from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, including reworked versions of the main theme in both Japanese and English. A new Fire Emblem Spirit Board will also be available to obtain spirits from the game.
More DLC packs coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Sakurai also announced Fighters Pass Vol. 2 today, which will include six new characters and is currently in development. In the video, Sakurai apologizes for releasing the second Fighters Pass when characters have yet to be revealed and asks for players to only purchase the DLC if they are “OK with that”. Sakura also states that Nintendo has already decided on the characters for the second Fighters Pass. With a smile on his face, he continues, stating that “even if I receive many requests regarding potential candidates on Twitter, I’m afraid it would be very hard to consider them. But I still hope you look forward to it.”
Pre-ordering Fighters Pass Vol. 2 also will grant you the Ancient Soldier Costume for the Mii Fighter character, based on armor from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
The content of Fighters Pass Vol. 2 is currently in development. While a release date for the first of the new characters has not yet been announced, the video states that all six challenger packs will be available by Dec. 31, 2021.
