A second Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC character may have been leaked recently via an anonymous source on the Japanese message board 5channel. Historically one of the least reliable sources for rumors, this specific 5channel leak has just grown much more trustworthy after an entirely separate leak was confirmed early Saturday morning. However, before breaking the rumor down, here's the rumored second Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC Character: Erdrick of Dragon Quest fame.
On December 10, an anonymous 5channel poster claiming to have insider Super Smash Bros. Ultimate knowledge provided a list of upcoming announcements, as their first notes reconfirmed the arrival of Persona 5's Joker as DLC for the game. Next was that Joker's map would be "Mementos" and would feature a Jack Frost appearance. The leaker goes to on say that Joker's inclusion is due to Atlus marketing two upcoming games, P5R and P5U, a Persona 5 complete edition for Switch and a new fighting game, respectively. P5R is planned for 2019, while–and here's the important part–P5U has been delayed due to Arc System Works instead prioritizing a Granblue fighting game.
Since nothing beyond Joker's announcement at The Game Awards 2018 is confirmed from these notes, it'd be easy to dismiss these rumors as falsehoods. However, on Saturday morning that changed, as Arc System Works' fighting game Granblue Fantasy Versus was announced for 2019, adding evidence that the 5channel poster's leaks are potentially accurate.
The 5channel poster's second comment is where they leaked Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's next DLC character. Here's the full comment, for authenticity's sake:
Erdrick
Stage is Alefgard
Erdrick (Male) and Erdrick (Female), 2 colors each of Anlucia and the Dragon Quest XI Hero
Slime appears on screen with a skill
Achieved through active collaboration on Square’s side
To the benefit of overseas marketing for the DQ series
As many might agree, Erdrick is one of, if not the most well-known character from the Dragon Quest franchise. The original three Dragon Quest games were known as "Erdrick Trilogy" as they were mentioned heavily in the first titles and then became the protagonist in the third. Erdrick is also mentioned heavily in Dragon Quest Builders, and likely in its upcoming sequel, Dragon Quest Builders 2, too. Perhaps Square Enix has future plans for more Erdrick-related releases, as well.
Suffice it to say, Erdrick makes a lot of sense as a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC character, especially considering Dragon Quest is one of Square Enix's largest franchises next to Final Fantasy. And since Final Fantasy is already featured in Smash Bros. with Cloud Strife, Dragon Quest would be the next priority.
Of course, this 5channel leaker may have just been lucky and was listing assorted rumors in the hopes of some of them coming true. Of course, there's always a chance that plans change prior to announcement or release. In other words, it's best to continue considering these leaks as rumors until proven otherwise.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available now exclusively on Nintendo Switch.
Source: Persona Central