‘Super Smash Bros Ultimate’ introduces Byleth from ‘Fire Emblem’ as its new character
Nintendo’s popular fighting game “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” is getting another new character. This time, it’s Byleth, a professor and skilled mercenary and the star of “Fire Emblem: Three Houses.”
The new character, which includes both female and male versions, comes to Smash Ultimate on January 28, along with a new song and a stage based on the Garreg Mach monastery, where “Three Houses” mostly takes place. Byleth, who’s well-known for being skilled with various weapons, can use a bow, an axe and the famous Sword of the Creator from “Three Houses,” depending on which direction the character is attacking.
It costs $5.99 to buy Byleth individually, or $24.99 for a pass that includes other characters.
“Fire Emblem,” a turn-based fighting game, has found success in Japan. But its long playtime and hardcore role-playing aspects, like how characters may die if they lose in battle, may have kept it from being as universally appealing overseas as the “Super Smash” and “Mario Kart” franchises have been.
As “Smash’s” game director Masahiro Sakurai pointed out on Thursday, fans of “Smash” don’t need to know the backstory of a fighter to play them. But if they’re curious — “Fire Emblem’s” first entry in the franchise was on the Famicom console in Japan in 1990. Since then, the franchise has had 17 main games.
The two franchises often crossover: “Smash” already features seven fighters from previous “Fire Emblem” games. Marth and Roy are among the game’s most popular characters. But “Three Houses” has already seen more success than most of its predecessors.
“Fire Emblem: Three Houses,” which launched in July, marked the biggest launch of a “Fire Emblem” game in the US, according to NPD Group, which declined to share exact numbers. Nintendo declined to share sales data on a single game title.
So far there have been a mix of reactions on Twitter, ranging from delight to annoyance.
During the announcement, Nintendo teased that it’s adding six more fighters to “Smash” throughout this year and next.
