The Hero from Dragon Quest is making his way to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate today, bringing a new fighting style, plenty of DQ whimsy, and a brand-new stage. That’s not all, though, as version 4.0.0 is bringing with it a range of other new updates as well.
Hero is free for those who purchased the Fighter Pass, though the character can be purchased separately for $5.99
Today’s brief video with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate‘s director Masahiro Sakurai provided a detailed overview of the game’s latest addition. As we already knew, the Hero comes in four variants: DQIII, DQIV, DQVIII, and DQXIS. Each has the same fighting style, though is voiced by a different voice actor.
Hero’s moveset is, unsurprisingly, based heavily on the Dragon Quest games. The Frizz family serves as the primary special, with the Zap spells for left and right attacks, and Woosh for the recovery/up attack. Holding the button longer allows Hero to charge spells further, so for instance, Woosh becomes Swoosh, which then becomes Kaswoosh.
The down special pulls up a menu of random spells from the series, ranging from the instant-KO spell Thwack to Snooze, Heal, and Zoom, among others.
All these require MP, which Hero recovers by performing basic attacks. Hero’s Final Smash is similar to Mega Man’s, in that it brings together all the heroes from every mainline Dragon Quest game for an ultimate attack.
Hero brings with him the Yggdrasil’s Altar stage, featuring a moving platform that flies around important landmarks from Dragon Quest XI, including the holy tree itself. The background tracks are pulled from each DQ game represented, such as VIII‘s battle theme or XI‘s overworld exploration theme.
What Else is in the 4.0.0 Update
Smash Bros. Ultimate version 4.0.0 is adding even more to the game than just the Hero, though.
There are the usual new Mii Fighter costumes that go along with the new fighter, like a Slime hat or Veronica outfit.
There’s also a new Online Tourney mode that lets players compete in huge tournaments against other players — and, of course, requires a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. These online tourneys have pre-set rules and will regularly feature special themed events.
Spectate Mode is getting a prediction feature, where players can guess who will win and earn points for their involvement; these points can then be spent on in-game items.
Those finding Adventure Mode a tad too challenging can take advantage of the new Very Easy difficulty level, designed for those who want to enjoy the experience without the stress of difficult combat. However, Final Smashes are getting a time limit, so players can’t just hold on to their FS move until the best moment.
Finally, the video editor is getting some new features, including the ability to place a saved screenshot in the middle of a video and to play videos that have been added to Shared Content back to back.
This makes two of the promised five fighters coming to Smash Bros. Ultimate via the Fighter Pass. The first was Joker from Persona 5, and next is Banjo-Kazooie, but that leaves two as-yet still unknown slots to fill.
