WhenSuper Smash Bros. Ultimatedropped on the Nintendo Switch in the winter of 2018, it boasted a nigh-on overwhelmingly robust roster. Not only did it collect every single character from every single previousSSBiteration, pitting tons of famous Nintendo characters from different franchises against each other in infectiously fun combat, it also introduced a bunch of new ones.Castlevania,Street Fighter,Donkey Kong– all of these franchises and more had new representatives in the game. And we haven’t even gotten into the DLC yet. Since the game’s release two years ago, new characters have dripped in semi-regularly, with folks like the Piranha Plant fromMario, Terry fromFatal Fury, and friggin' Banjo & Kazooie coming to play. Now, as part of a Nintendo livestream (h/tgamesradar), maestroMasahiro Sakurai, the director ofUltimate, has announced the latest and greatest character to come to the stage. But the character… might feel a little familiar.
You see,SSB Ultimatehas seen some flack in the fan community for heavily favoring characters fromFire Emblem, Nintendo’s internationally successful JRPG. There were seven characters from that universe available to play as before factoring in DLC, and they all feel fairly similar aesthetically and similar to play as. Anime-styled hair? Flowing cloaks of armor? Swordplay, flirting with some magic? You now basically know what it’s like to play as aFire Emblemcharacter inSSB Ultimate. And while the characters do have subtle differences for true believers (Ike is slow and powerful, Chrom has tons of magic, Marth digs fire, etc.), fans were itching for some variety in new character announcements. Would we get Dante fromDevil May Cry? Something crazy, like aTetrisblock? Waluigi, finally?
Well, nope. We got anotherFire Emblemsword fighter. Specifically, Byleth, the main character of recent Switch gameFire Emblem: Three Houses. Indeed, upon first glance, Byleth looks like just about every otherFire Emblemfighter. But there are some key differences that might make them a unique experience to play. For one: You can choose your gender of preference, with Byleth’s skin coming in both male and female varieties. Also, they’re notjustadept with a sword – they also have a bow, halberd, and axe, all borrowed exactly fromThree Houses. And, these different weapons provide different ranges of attack – you don’t have to get super close to someone to do some damage, unlike otherFire Emblemcharacters. Finally: Sakurai is obviously having fun with this creation. In the announcement video, he dabs on us, gives us binary counting lessons, and friggin' gives us the finger! What a guy! I don’t know about you, but I’m going to exercise an open mind when I get in my first play session as Byleth.
Check out the full livestream from Sakurai below, and marvel at how much fun this guy is having.Super Smash Bros. Ultimateis available wherever you buy video games; Byleth is available starting January 28. What are you gonna play in 2020? Here’s some of our mostanticipated upcoming games. Plus, take a trip down memory lane with ourfavorite Nintendo 64 games of all time. And did you know there’s such a thing as a “Nintendo PlayStation”?!
