Fans of Nintendo's commercially and critically adored Super Smash Bros. series have had quite a few bits of exciting news lately. The recent early access arrival of Mewtwo as a playable character, combined with the imminent return of Lucas and the ability to vote for other fan-favorite characters to join the roster, have given gamers a lot to talk about.
The latest update to the game, which brings the 3DS iteration up to version 1.06, brought with it the ability to add current and future downloadable content, but some files that arrived with the DLC may have given away at least two planned additions to the fighting games' shared roster.
It would appear that these two challengers will be none other than the fan-favorite Fire Emblem protagonist Roy (a character that hasn't made a playable appearance in the franchise since Melee on the Nintendo GameCube) and a brand new third-party fighter in the form of Street Fighter's Ryu.
According to an eagle-eyed Reddit user that goes by the handle "shinyquagsire23," some code found within the latest update features sound files for victory themes. These themes, for anyone not already in the know, play briefly whenever a character wins a match, which would imply that both Roy and Ryu are joining Super Smash Bros. as downloadable fighters.
Gamers should take this news with a grain of salt, but it's worth noting that Polygon has reached out to the Reddit user after learning of his past experience with looking into the coding found within multiple Nintendo systems and titles. Still, given the all too fresh and fake Rayman leak, it's better if fans keep their expectations in check – especially since plans for this unofficial content can change at a moment's notice.
Admittedly, Ryu and Roy seem like no-brainer additions for their own reasons. Roy, alongside Mewtwo, were two characters that many fans were sad to see removed from Super Smash Bros. in the transition from Melee to Brawl, while Ryu is an iconic gaming mascot that originated from a franchise that has long been a part of Nintendo's history.
If this leak is true, it'll be interesting to see what it means for future downloadable fighters. If these characters are already planned, then how much more room and development time does the Big N have set aside for fighters suggested by the recently started fighter ballot initiative? Only time will tell, but in the meantime stay tuned to Game Rant for more news on Super Smash Bros..