The inevitable has happened, although perhaps far sooner than we imagined… In today’s Super Smash Bros Ultimate presentation, it was announced that Byleth from Three Houses will be joining as the 5th DLC Fighter, from 29th January 2020 (UTC).
Similar to Robin and Corrin, players can choose to fight as both male and female versions of Byleth. As you’d expect, Byleth fights with their signature Sword of the Creator, but to mix things up (and reduce complaints although good luck with that), they can fight with other hero relics as well.
The Sword of the Creator is Byleth’s default weapon, used for regular attacks. It’s also used during upward inputs, such as Byleth’s Up Smash, which launches foes into the air, and Up Special, which reels in foes and can be used to grab onto edges.
For sideways inputs, Byleth wields Dimitri’s Areadbhar instead. Because it’s a lance, it has a longer reach than the Sword of the Creator. This long range extends to the Side Smash attack, which can also be angled. However, its damage is concentrated on its tip.
Downward inputs cause Byleth to wield Edelgard’s Aymr. This mighty axe has a meteor effect when used during a Down Air attack. But to really appreciate its power, you need only witness its Down Special, which charges a devastating blow with a brief moment of super armour.
Lastly, Byleth will borrow Claude’s Failnaught for some of their neutral moves. During their Neutral Air attack, Byleth will spin around using the bow. For their Neutral Special, they will obviously fire an arrow. But this can also be charged up into a powerful beam attack.
To finish off their foes in style, Byleth can use their Final Smash: Progenitor God Ruptured Heaven. This is based on their special move in Three Houses, except it goes full anime.
When selecting Byleth, the odd colour variations are for male Byleth, while the even ones are for female Byleth. The Player 3, 4 and 5 colours are based off the three House Leaders, while Player 6 is based off Sothis. Finally 7 and 8 are based off Byleth after an event near the middle of the game.
Alongside Byleth, there will be a new stage: Garreg Mach Monastery. This stage will cycle through four areas: the marketplace, reception hall, bridge and cathedral. In each area, there will be guest characters in the background.
- Marketplace: Dimitri, Dedue and Ingrid
- Reception hall: Edelgard, Dorothea and Petra
- Bridge: Claude, Lorenz and Hilda
- Cathedral: Rhea, Seteth and Flayn
Furthermore, 11 songs from Three Houses will be added, including 2 new arrangements.
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses Main Theme (JP) [new]
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses Main Theme [new]
- Fodlan Winds
- Blue Skies and a Battle
- Tearing Through Heaven
- Chasing Daybreak
- Between Heaven and Earth
- Paths That Will Never Cross
- The Apex of the World
- The Edge of Dawn (Seasons of Warfare) (JP)
- The Edge of Dawn (Seasons of Warfare)
Finally, there will be a new spirit board. Interestingly, there appears to be brand new artwork for some of the characters (Dorothea, Ingrid, Hilda, Seteth and Rhea). Huh, this can’t be the only place where they’re planning to use this artwork, right?
By the way, if you were wondering about the suspicious pose that Mr Sakurai made in the video thumbnail, he was using his fingers to count to 17 in binary. This was a sly reference to Three Houses being the 17th game in the series, if you treat Heroes (or BSFE) as a mainline game.
Also, for those disappointed that their favourite characters or franchises haven’t made it into Smash yet, don’t forget there will be a 2nd wave of DLC Fighters now that the current one has finished. In fact, Sakurai announced that the next wave will have 6 fighters, one more than before. The ride never ends!
