Some Smash Fans Seem to Be Unhappy With New Fire Emblem Character

This morning, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Director Masahiro Sakurai took the time to reveal a new character. Soon, players will be able to play as Byleth from Fire Emblem Three Houses. However, looking at the likes versus dislikes on the video, it’s evident that some fans aren’t happy with the reveal.

Currently, the video is sitting at a nearly 50/50 split between likes versus dislikes. Compared to the most recent character reveal for Terry Bogard, which sits comfortably at an overwhelming approval rate. Why the divide? Well, it seems fans are upset that it’s another Fire Emblem character.

Given that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has the most extensive roster in the series’ history, which includes every fighter introduced throughout the years, this was bound to happen to some extent. The game now has eight fighters from the Fire Emblem series, a long-running SRPG that began in the early ’90s. Given that the series has so many entries, it’s clear that these iconic characters will be up for inclusion in the Nintendo crossover brawler.

Players also seem not to like that Byleth is another sword user, which the roster is already full of. However, with 80 characters now available, this is bound to happen. This puts a spotlight on the series as a whole, which began on the Nintendo 64 with a roster of 12. Players continue to want new characters, but now it seems they just want the characters that they want.

I’m in a position right now where I don’t want new Smash characters. Instead, I’d like to see Sakurai move away from the series as a whole and try something new. With each character reveal, the team seems to be creating the “ultimate” Smash, and I hope that’s the case. Our demand for content is overwhelming at times, and this is just the most recent case of it, given that it happens often.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate isn’t going anywhere, and I’m sure we’ll see new characters in the future. However, the fan approval rate may limit the scope at which those character reveals were planned to roll out. Or, it could just be time for Smash to move away from the Fire Emblem series.

What are your thoughts on Smash getting a new Fire Emblem character?