Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Gains It's 80th Fighter!

Masahiro Sakurai, the director of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, unveiled the game’s newest fighter who will be available on January 28th. Enter Byleth, the renowned mercenary and professor from the Fire Emblem series, is ready to teach Super Smash Bros. Ultimate players a lesson in battle.

During a video that was released on January 16th, Sakurai demonstrated Byleth’s unique ranged playstyle and revealed the Garreg Mach Monastery stage. He also revealed 11 new music tracks from the Fire Emblem series that adds to the already impressive musical library in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

The content will be available to players who already own the Super Smash
Bros. Ultimate Fighters Pass or purchase Challenger Pack 5 separately. Byleth won’t be the last character coming to Smash, it was revealed that Ultimate Fighters Pass Vol. 2, which will include six more fighters currently under development.

Players that purchase the Fighters Pass Vol. 2 will get access to six more yet-to-be-announced Challenger Packs as they release. Each pack includes one new fighter, one stage, and multiple music tracks. Those who purchase Fighters Pass Vol. 2 will also receive an exclusive costume for Mii Swordfighter, the Ancient Soldier Gear from the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild game, available in-game starting Jan. 28. The price for this new season pass is $29.99.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the biggest crossover of video game characters in history. With the addition of Byleth, that makes 80 playable characters available to players to choose from. Byleth’s inclusion in the roster will change the tide of every battle they appear in, with clever strategic choices motivating each defensive posture and offensive attack in their move set. With a sword, axe, lance, and bow in hand, prevailing in combat will often come down to selecting the right moments to hold ground or advance.

Byleth’s accompanying stage, the Garreg Mach Monastery, also features a variety of cameos from popular characters in the Fire Emblem series, including Edelgard from the Black Eagles, Claude from the Golden Deer and Dimitri from the Blue Lions. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will also receive a new Spirit Board, which features some of the other popular characters from the Fire Emblem series, along with a new classic mode route, “A Heroic Legacy,” which highlights classic Fire Emblem stages throughout the series’ storied history.

Additionally, new Mii Fighter costumes inspired by Cuphead, Rabbids, Altair, and various Mega Man games will be available for purchase on Jan. 28. Players who purchase the Cuphead Mii Fighter costume will also receive a new music track, Floral Fury, which was originally featured in the game’s classic Cagney Carnation boss battle.

Finally, two fighters from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will have amiibo figures available for purchase at select retailers beginning on Jan. 17: Samus’s mysterious doppelganger, Dark Samus, and Simon Belmont’s whip-wielding echo fighter, Richter.

Additional new fighters, stages, and music will also be coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate through the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Fighters Pass Vol. 2. Players can also continue to purchase the current Fighters Pass for a suggested retail price of $24.99 to gain access to the first five Challenger Packs. Playable fighters Joker, Hero, Banjo & Kazooie and Terry Bogard are all available now, with Byleth joining on Jan. 28. For only $5.99, players can also purchase the packs individually.