Fire Emblem’s Byleth revealed as Smash Bros Ultimate’s fifth DLC character

Nintendo has finally revealed the final character as part of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Fighter Pass, confirming Byleth from the Fire Emblem franchise is joining the fighting game.

Months of speculation, rumors and deconfirmations by leakers were laid to rest when series creator Masahiro Sakurai showed off the game’s fifth DLC fighter Byleth during a special January 16 stream.

Byleth is the main character in the Fire Emblem: Three Houses game on Nintendo Switch, a tactical role-playing game that released in the summer of 2019. The game received high praise among players and critics, and now Super Smash Bros. players will be able to use the character alongside other classic Nintendo stars.

Byleth is playable as both a male and female in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and Nintendo have confirmed that fans will be able to do the same in Smash Ultimate, meaning that players have two different looks to play as in-game.

The character becomes the seventh member of the Fire Emblem franchise to join Smash Bros. Ultimate, with only Super Mario have more fighters from its franchise. Many expected to see the fifth DLC character come from outside of Nintendo’s stable of games, but they opted to stay in-house and bring Byleth into the fold.

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The character will also come with three different weapons which are used based on the directional button pressed by the player, with a sword, axe, and bow and arrow all available to damage to your opponents. The DLC pack also comes with its own custom stage, built to look like Three Houses’ Garreg Mach Monastery, and will show four different areas during combat: the marketplace, reception hall, bridge, and cathedral.

Unfortunately, fans will have to wait before they can get their hands on Byleth, with Sakurai confirming that the DLC won’t be made available to download until January 28.

While the Fighters Pass may be finished, there are still more fighters on the way. As Nintendo announced back in September, there are still plans for additional DLC down the line. Byleth now joins the likes of Persona’s Joker, Dragon Quest’s Hero, Banjo and Koozie and Terry Bogard as the latest to appear in Nintendo’s flagship esports title.

It will be interesting to see how the pro scene reacts and how the meta develops in the coming months with this shakeup.