The last fighter of the first fighter pass has been revealed as Byleth, from Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
The knowledge of Byleth’s inclusion was a secret from most of the company, with only those directly relevant aware of the situation. Sakurai acknowledged, and joked, about the perception there was too many Fire Emblem fighters in the title already, but assured people that Byleth was no just another sword fighter.
Byleth – appearing in either male or female forms – wields not only the Sword of the Creator, but three other Hero’s Relics: the spear, Areadbhar; the axe, Aymr; and the bow, Failnaught. These are the relics of the three house leaders from the game, and represent their support for their professor in the battle.
The weapons can be equipped and used via directional prompts. By default, the Sword of the Creator is used – it can be used as both a blade, and a whip. It can also function like Simon’s whip in regards to grabbing ledges.
Areadbhar has a lot of reach – it can be adjusted when attacking to point slightly upwards, making attacks more damaging. The tip of the spear does more damage than the shaft. If it’s used too close, counters are pretty effective against it.
Aymr is slow, but strong – it can be charged to create a devestating blow. Additionally, charging this attack gives Byleth super armor that not even a falcon punch can penetrate. When it hits the ground, nearby characters will be launched a little bit. Grabs, however, defeat this weapon easily.
Failnaught can be used in melee, with Byleth spinning the bow around to attack. But its real power comes as a ranged weapon – it can be charged to launch devestating light arrows. The drawback is that once the weapon is far along in the charge, it can’t be cancelled, and must fire.
As such, Byleth has a lot of versatility at their disposal, and is able to use a variety of attack styles to keep opponents on edge. Their Final Smash – Progenitor God: Ruptured Heaven – is an almighty strike from the Sword of the Creator, powered up by Byleth’s internal companion, Sothis.
The new stage coming with Byleth is the Garreg Mach Monastery. The level will begin in the marketplace at the castle gate, then cycle to the reception hall, the bridge, and finally the cathedral. Similar to Byleth, this stage has a lot of different parts to it: the Marketplace is a traditional stage, which can be widened by destroying the stalls at either side; the reception hall has chandeliers that players can drop onto opponants; the bridge is incredibly long; and the cathedral has several floating platforms. Each location in the level will have guests from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, watching the battle.
11 new songs from Three Houses will be added as well. These songs will be available on every Fire Emblem level, and not just Garreg Mach.
Several Mii costumes were also announced during the presentation. Altaïr (Assassin’s Creed), Rabbids (Rabbids franchise/Rayman), MegaMan X (Megaman X) and Megaman.exe (MegaMan: Battle Network) were revealed, alongside Cuphead (Cuphead) who will also have a song – Flowery Folly – accompanying him.
The upcoming Smash Amiibo were also revealed – Richter and Dark Samus.
But this wasn’t all. Sakurai reconfirmed his love and dedication to the game, and said that it felt akin to a celebration of gaming to him. He revealed that there would be another Fighter’s Pass, with 6 new fighters. He stated that the choices were all already set in stone. Sakurai did reveal that there would be a bonus for purchasing the pass, though: a set of Ancient Soldier Gear for a Mii Fighter, from Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
The Nintendo Direct may be found embedded below. What do you think about Byleth getting in? Let us know in the comments below!