During today’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct, Sakurai revealed that Byleth from Fire Emblem: Three Houses would be the final character being introduced in the game’s first Fighters Pass. If you already own the Fighters Pass, Byleth will be available to play on January 28th in the US and January 29th in Europe. The character will also be available to purchase separately for $5.99 / £5.39 / €5,99.
Taking a deeper dive into Byleth’s moveset, Sakurai demonstrated just how diverse a character Byleth can be on the battlefield. The character has four different weapons (sword, lance, spear, and whip) and which weapon you use depends on the direction of your attack. What Byleth lacks in mobility, they make up for in range, with many of their weapons having a longer reach than other Fire Emblem counterparts. Byleth’s outfits include male and female choices, different designs for each of the three houses, and color-swapped designs to match other characters in the game.
The new stage, titled Garreg Mach Monastery, is a traveling stage that takes the players to different locations in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. The first area is the Marketplace, which includes destructible stands that widen the length of the stage. The second area takes you indoors into the Reception Hall with high-reaching chandeliers that can come crashing down onto the fighters below. Players are then taken to the Bridge which behaves much like Zelda’s Bridge of Elden stage. Finally, everyone is transported to the Cathedral, which includes a couple of basic platforms. Each area in the new stage includes a cast of characters from Fire Emblem: Three Houses to interact with.
Along with Byleth and the new stage, this last batch of DLC also includes eleven new music tracks, a handful of new spirits, and a new Classic Mode titled Heroic Legacy.
The Direct includes a history lesson about the Fire Emblem franchise, instructions for counting in binary, and the intricacies of Street Fighter 2’s many releases because nobody can make Sakurai laugh as much as Sakurai. The Direct also breaks down Byleth’s unique move set in detail, making it well worth a watch for those looking to become familiar with the character ahead of their January release.
Arriving alongside Byleth on January 28th (US) and 29th (EU) are five new Mii Fighter costumes. Near the end of the video presentation, Sakurai also confirmed that that the previously announced Fighter Pass Vol. 2 would contain six new characters.