So far, three of the Fighter’s Pass Vol. 2 DLC characters have been revealed for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on the Nintendo Switch. In the two years since the game’s release, many fan theories have been invented to find out how Nintendo chooses the game’s DLC fighters, but Vol. 2 has proved that it is very difficult to guess who can make the cut. Several of these theories were debunked last year, and this is making fans realize how difficult it is to discover director Masahiro Sakurai’s plans for the game!
A fan theory that persisted online is that third parties would not receive multiple DLC fighters. The Super Smash Bros. franchise expanded from previous entries to include third-party fighters, but Nintendo was careful how many characters to add from outside publishers. Both Microsoft and Square Enix received DLC fighters in Final, in the form of Banjo-Kazooie and Steve for the former, and Hero and Sephiroth for the latter. Sephiroth’s inclusion also crushed the theory that Nintendo is focusing exclusively on heroic characters from third-party publishers, rather than villains.
Another fan theory unmasked by Fighter’s Pass Vol. 2 was that the presence of a Spirit in the game meant that the character would not appear as a playable fighter. The first fighter revealed for this set of DLC was Min Min, a character who debuted in ARMS. Min Min had previously appeared as a Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but went on to become a full-fledged fighter, giving hope to other characters currently in the game as spirits.
Although Spirits can no longer be seen as a way to unmask playable fighters, it appears that Mii Fighter costumes are still indicative of characters who will not be able to enter the game via DLC. ComicBook.com predicted that Geno would not enter the cut at Fighter’s Pass Vol. 2 after the revelation that Sephiroth would be included in the game. A few days after this article aired, Nintendo revealed a Mii Fighter skin for the character. King K. Rool is a playable character who first appeared as a Mii Fighter skin, but that was in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U / 3DS. The character made the cut in the next game, proving that there is (eventual) hope for those added as Mii Fighter skins.
One theory that has not yet been challenged is the Amiibo theory. Fans used the release dates for Amiibo numbers based on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate correctly guess when most of the DLC fighters would be revealed. The theory is not infallible, but it seems quite accurate. Readers can find out more about it here.
At the end of the day, it looks like Nintendo and Masahiro Sakurai will always make the call that they think is the right one for the game, no matter what the fans think will be the case. It’s fun to speculate and create that kind of theory, but at the end of the day, it seems that the game’s DLC fighters are much more difficult to guess than anyone could imagine!
Is there any theory you subscribe to when it comes to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate? Which character do you think will be revealed next? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about games!