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Even with a roster the size of 69 characters (not including echo fighters), Sakurai and the development team evidently determined that having one of the biggest character rosters in a fighting game wasn't enough. That's where DLC characters came into play: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate received two volumes of the Fighters Pass, bringing 12 additional characters, respectively. Some were surprised to even receive a Fighters Pass at all, but Fighters Pass Vol. 2 was even more shocking for fans, expanding the roster far beyond to the 82 characters present in the game.

Finally, almost three years after the game released, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's 82 character roster is filled with tons of iconic characters from across gaming. Ultimate's DLC in particular mostly expanded the third-party offering of Super Smash Bros., whilst including some more recently popular Nintendo characters like Min Min from Arms. Overall, the DLC for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate held a lot of great surprises, even from characters fans weren't necessarily clamoring for.

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Piranha Plant - Super Mario Bros.

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Technically not part of any of the Fighters Pass Volumes, Piranha Plant was the first official DLC addition to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Added as a pre-order/early adopter bonus for Ultimate, Piranha Plant was a strange addition as the first post-launch character. Piranha Plant is an unusual trap character with several tools to tack on damage quickly and at their own pace. All of Plant's specials (Poison Breath, Ptooie, Long-Stem Strike) all work in service to keeping characters at bay from a distance.

Even though many saw Piranha Plant's addition initially as confusing for a character slot, the classic Mario enemy has gained a bit of a subtle following. Piranha Plant is certainly silly, but considering they were the prelude character to the forthcoming DLC passes, many were quick to forgive since he wasn't "stealing" a spot per se. Piranha Plant was a solid appetizer character that's grown in popularity with time.

Joker — Persona 5

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Kicking off the Fighters Pass with a bang, Joker from Persona 5 was the first major DLC addition to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. As the leader of the Phantom Thieves and the protagonist of Atlus' popular JRPG, the agile and powerful thief is a potent and technical character. Joker's easily one of the best characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: He has a varied and excellent combo game, quick speed on the ground and in the air, and powerful kill power with his Persona Arsene, which also serves as a unique comeback mechanic as well. Joker's universal capability allows for several unique playstyles, both offensive and defensive.

Morgana said it himself; Joker is also definitely one of the flashiest characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, emulating the style of Persona 5 well in Ultimate's art style. Even those unfamiliar with Persona were quick to recognize how Joker was an interesting and exciting addition to the game. The Phantom Thieves and Persona 5 have quickly achieved massive popularity among fans, so Joker's inclusion in Ultimate is no wasted spot at all.

Hero — Dragon Quest

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In a back-to-back JRPG inclusion, the second character added in the first Fighter Pass is Hero, the silent protagonist of the formative Dragon Quest JRPG series. Primarily represented by the Luminary from the latest Dragon Quest 11, Hero's alternate skins encompass the protagonists of Dragon Quest 3, Dragon Quest 4, and Dragon Quest 8. Hero's specials all revolve around spells from the Dragon Quest series, especially his down special, which opens a rotating menu of specialized magic from the series. Hero's an incredibly unique Link-esque character with enough Dragon Quest flavor to make his movest interesting and fun.

What's interesting about Hero's design is that, while Dragon Quest fans have a lot to appreciate in his moveset, his abilities and magic menu are easy enough that any player can pick up and play. Hero's moveset is functionally a bit zany; his randomized menu has various silly RNG-based magic, among other stronger and useful spells. Hero may be a zoner, but his fun factor is definitely high, and his ease of use certainly makes them an awesome addition to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Banjo and Kazooie — Banjo-Kazooie

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Next up in the first Fighters Pass was a much-requested classic character that fans have been asking for: Banjo and Kazooie. In a similar vein to Piranha Plant, Banjo and Kazooie is a bit of a utility-based character who has similar trapping capability. All of their specials and some of his attacks are all representative of his platforming abilities in Banjo-Kazooie itself, which transferred into Smash, basically means their moveset excels at zoning characters and tacking on big damage with stray hits. While they're not especially difficult to play, their ease of access comes with the trade-off of being a sub-par character.

In a way, that was somewhat disappointing to fans of Banjo-Kazooie, because a lot of his moveset becomes overly reliant on his strongest tools. In particular, his Wonderwing side special is an incredible attack to use in comparison to nearly every other ability in his moveset, which ends up making his playstyle a bit polarizing. Conceptually speaking, Banjo-Kazooie is a great addition, but a year later, his moveset is unfortunately underwhelming compared to the other DLC characters.

RELATED: Every Xbox Rep in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Terry — Fatal Fury, King of Fighters

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Following in the footsteps of the traditional fighting game characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Terry from Fatal Fury and King of Fighters joined the roster as the third Fighters Pass character. Similar to the abilities of other Smash shotos Ryu and Ken, Terry has a suite of normals and specials all derivative of his movesets from the traditional 2D fighting games he hails from. Like Capcom with the Street Fighter characters, Terry is the perfect SNK representative.

Many were quick to enjoy Terry at first; a mechanically complex character who was familiar to Ryu/Ken players, yet with distinct moves that were powerful and flashy. Not to mention his super commands, activated as part of his "GO" comeback mechanic at 100% damage, made him a dangerous opponent as games went on. His potent damage dealing combo game helps offset his fairly weak recovery. Overall, he is an incredibly faithful representative of SNK and King of Fighters, and Terry fits into the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster quite well.

Byleth — Fire Emblem: Three Houses

The last addition to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's first Fighters Pass ended up being a bit controversial, but Byleth from Fire Emblem was the 75th character. Many were fairly disappointed when Byleth was first announced for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and for understandable reasoning. "Not another Fire Emblem character," some would say, but arguably over time, Byleth has come into their own as a respectable addition to Ultimate. However, compared to other Fire Emblem characters on the roster, Byleth is arguably the most unique.

Byleth's diverse usage of the Heroes Relics throughout their moveset creates a varied zoner playstyle with versatility. While they're not as super straightforward as characters like Marth/Lucina or Ike are, Byleth doesn't have any of the complex resource management that Robin players have either. All of Byleth's specials and aerial attacks emphasize a different zoning tool that's powerful in its own way, plus Byleth's recovery is incredible, if a bit linear. Byleth is definitely not as easy to play as some of the previous DLC characters, and while some may not be thrilled that Byleth is on the roster, they do present a very unique moveset to Smash.

Min Min — ARMS

DLC Fighter Min Min In Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Kicking off Fighters Pass Volume Two for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Min Min from the Nintendo Switch fighting game ARMS made their way to the roster. Given the flash-in-the-pan popularity of ARMS at launch, Min Min happened to be the most popular pick from the game. Like ARMS, Min Min's long-arm attacks are all designed around massive disjointed hitboxes, serving as a majority of her moveset. Min Min is all about keeping opponents at distance, hot-swapping arms to deal the most damage.

Depending on the level of play, Min Min can be a bit of a gimmick character, who excels in creating almost comically massive disjointed space between opponents. Min Min is definitely beatable, but is certainly a character that requires a degree of knowledge of their moveset (and frame data, for competitive players) beforehand. All in all, especially with the waning popularity of ARMS over time, Min Min isn't a particularly exceptional addition to the Ultimate roster, but was presumably an inevitable addition that isn't disappointing.

Steve/Alex — Minecraft

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One addition that caught many fans by surprise was Minecraft's Steve, the default character from Mojang's iconic survival game. The wacky adventures that players could go on in Minecraft became a worldwide phenomenon back in 2012, and has since gone on to become one of the most popular and ubiquitous video games of all time. It's fair to say a ton of fans were hyped by Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's inclusion of Steve (alongside Alex, Enderman, and the Zombie). His moveset certainly matches Minecraft as well; players mine for materials to build better weapons, which all coinicide with Steve's normal attacks and specials.

Steve definitely falls under a similar category of Dragon Quest's Hero; they're both faithful recreations of iconic characters in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate sandbox, while both playing very distinctly compared to other characters. Steve's building block abilities are straight out of Minecraft, and while his moveset does allow for some unconventional play, he has been reined back so as not to cover the whole stage in blocks. Minecraft's representation in Smash is unique and silly, and even if he's not the most exciting character to play, there are just some things Steve can do that others can't.

RELATED: Every PlayStation Rep in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Sephiroth — Final Fantasy 7

Adding to the selection of playable villains on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's roster, Square Enix once again brings another Final Fantasy 7 character to the roster. Sephiroth, Cloud's nemesis and main villain of Final Fantasy 7, makes his way to Ultimate alongside a brand new stage and an expanded Final Fantasy soundtrack. Wielding the gigantic Masamune, Sephiroth is an aggressively-oriented zoner with interesting mix-ups and setups perfect for putting opponents into an edgeguard situation.

Continuing the trend of iterating on the zoner archetype in unique ways, Sephiroth is just as unique as Cloud's implementation in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Given he's one of video games' most iconic JRPG villains, his place on the roster alongside Cloud makes a lot of sense, even if many fans didn't think it'd ever happen. He also adds a different method of zoning playstyle for fans of disjointed sword characters, offering more tools to punish players' mistakes, rather than keeping them out.

Pyra/Mythra — Xenoblade Chronicles 2

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Since Shulk has held his place on the Smash roster since the previous Nintendo console's Smash entry, it only makes sense that Xenoblade Chronicles 2 gets some love. Especially given the equally popular Blade sisters Pyra and Mythra, many Xenoblade fans wanted them to join Smash as well. Lo and behold, both were able to join as a combination character, similar in design to Zelda/Sheik from Super Smash Bros. Melee. Mythra is an agile and combo-oriented character designed to tack on the damage, while Pyra is a slower and hard-hitting character meant to confirm kills.

While it wasn't to the same extent as Byleth, Pyra/Mythra saw similar controversy if only because they were "another anime swordfighter" added as DLC. However, the overall character's design is free-form and strong enough that their place on the roster is more than deserved. Mythra's combo game is strong and varied, while Pyra's kill potential is strong with most of her moveset. Together they make a strong hybrid offensive character that's relatively easy to pick up and play, but tough to master.

Kazuya — Tekken

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The penultimate Super Smash Bros. Ultimate character is another shoto, though from a very different fighting game. Kazuya from Tekken joined the Smash roster, a surprisingly late addition from Bandai Namco, which had assisted with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's development. Like Ryu, Ken, and Terry before him, Kazuya brings with him his high-damage, high-hit combos, along with plenty of special cancel combos and strings that make him extremely dangerous up close.

Kazuya, due to the nature of Tekken as a fighting game, is a bit more complex next to the other comparable fighting game characters. Tekken is a fighting game known for longer combos and strings, chaining together multiple specials to optimize damage and kill incredibly early. Kazuya embodies that in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate wholeheartedly, which means he's difficult to play effectively, especially when inputting motion specials on a GameCube controller. He is a neat addition to Ultimate's roster, but he is most certainly not the most approachable character for anyone to play.

Sora — Kingdom Hearts

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Finally, as the last character added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the unthinkable happened. Many figured it was impossible due to licensing issues spread between Square Enix and Disney, but the addition of Sora from Kingdom Hearts has finally come to Ultimate. Sakurai revealed that Sora was the most requested fighter from the Smash ballot back in 2015, and for good reason. Sora's moveset and personality is almost perfect for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: He's a floaty character with auto-combos similar to his abilities in Kingdom Hearts, along with the classic Final Fantasy-esque magic he was capable of casting as well.

Sora is a bit unusual compared to the rest of the cast because he feels like a mishmash of multiple Super Smash Bros. characters put together. However, those willing to approach Sora with an open mind will find a very unique disjoint character that has a lot of combo potential. Plus, his moveset and combos are relatively straightforward, alongside an amazing recovery, making him incredibly easy to fight as. It's tough to say how he shapes up with the rest of the cast, given how he only released just this week, but first impressions on Sora are a simple and fun character.

Overall, the DLC for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has, as cliche as it is to say, made the Nintendo game one of the biggest gaming crossovers of all time. Multiple publishers, consoles, and iconic franchises have been represented in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's roster. Even the base roster was already strong enough with all of the Smash characters from history added, but characters from both Fighter Passes have expanded the roster even further beyond what any expected from the platform fighter. Smash may never be the same after Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but given the aptly-named subtitle, it may not even matter when this is the best Smash game.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available now on Nintendo Switch.

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