Every Paid DLC Fighter Ever Added to Super Smash Bros
Super Smash Bros. changed forever on October 23rd, 2014, when Nintendo announced during the “50-Fact Extravaganza” that Mewtwo would be returning as paid downloadable content for Smash 4. It was the first time in the series’ history that players would need to pay for a fighter – and it opened the door to one of the most expansive DLC programs in Nintendo’s history. Across Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, a total of 20 fighters were added as paid content, including some of the most celebrated and controversial characters in the game’s history. Here is every paid DLC fighter ever released for Super Smash Bros., in the order they were released.
Mewtwo
Mewtwo holds the distinction of being the very first paid DLC fighter in Super Smash Bros. history. The legendary Pokémon had been a fan-favorite since Melee – where he was a starter character – and his absence from Brawl and early Smash 4 had been a source of persistent disappointment among fans. His return was announced during the 50-Fact Extravaganza in October 2014, initially as a free bonus for players who registered both the Wii U and 3DS versions of Smash 4 on Club Nintendo before March 31st, 2015. Players who met that threshold received Mewtwo on April 15th, 2015; everyone else could purchase him on April 28th, 2015. His Smash 4 design brought back his floaty, trick-based playstyle from Melee with updated attacks and visuals. The announcement of paid character DLC was significant not just for Smash but for Nintendo as a whole – the company had historically been resistant to paid DLC, and Mewtwo’s return signaled a new era of post-launch content support.
Lucas
Lucas from EarthBound Beginnings (Mother 3 in Japan) was the second paid DLC fighter released for Smash 4, arriving on June 14th, 2015. Like Mewtwo, Lucas had been a veteran – he debuted in Brawl as a representative of the beloved but largely Japan-only Mother 3 – and his omission from Smash 4’s base roster had confused fans who expected returning veterans. His DLC return was announced at the same Nintendo Direct that revealed Mewtwo’s release date, positioning him alongside the news that a Smash Ballot would be held to determine future characters. Lucas’s moveset in Smash revolves around PSI – his psychic powers including PK Thunder, PK Fire, and PK Freeze – which differ just enough from Ness’s similar moves to give him a distinct mechanical identity. His inclusion was welcomed as the restoration of a popular character who had been sidelined without clear reason, and his return in Ultimate as a base roster character confirmed his permanent place in the series.
Roy
Roy from Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade arrived as paid DLC for Smash 4 on June 14th, 2015 – the same day as Lucas – but his path to DLC was less clean: he was leaked weeks before his official announcement via data-mining of the game’s 1.0.6 update. Roy had originally been added to Melee specifically to promote The Binding Blade, which was scheduled to release in Japan shortly after the game – making him the only character in Smash history whose home game released after his Smash debut. When The Binding Blade never received a Western release, Roy became a legacy character tied to a game most Western players had never played. His Smash 4 DLC incarnation updated him from a Marth clone into a more distinct fighter with a reversed fire damage distribution on his sword – dealing more damage at the base of the blade rather than the tip – and a faster, more aggressive playstyle. He returned as a base roster character in Ultimate.
Ryu
Ryu from Street Fighter became the first third-party paid DLC fighter in Smash history when he was released on June 14th, 2015 – joining Lucas and Roy as a trio of DLC drops. His inclusion was the most mechanically adventurous DLC decision Sakurai made for Smash 4: for the first time, a Smash character received traditional fighting game inputs. Ryu’s Hadouken, Shoryuken, and Tatsumaki Senpukyaku could each be executed using the standard Smash button presses, but players who input the original Street Fighter motions – quarter-circle forward, forward-down-forward – received powered-up versions of the moves. It was an explicit gesture of respect toward fighting game tradition that made Ryu feel genuinely different from every other character on the roster. He came packaged with Suzaku Castle as his DLC stage. His inclusion opened the door to every subsequent fighting game character added to Smash – Bayonetta, Ken, Terry, and Kazuya all followed the precedent he set.
Cloud Strife
Cloud Strife arrived as paid DLC for Smash 4 on December 15th, 2015, following an announcement that genuinely shocked the gaming world. The reveal during a Nintendo Direct in November 2015 was unexpected enough to crash Nintendo’s servers and trend worldwide within minutes. Cloud had no historical connection to Nintendo platforms – Final Fantasy VII had originally launched exclusively on PlayStation in 1997 – which made his inclusion feel like proof that Smash’s DLC era was willing to break from any previous logic about which characters belonged. His moveset was built around his Limit Break gauge: landing attacks fills the meter, and a full Limit Break dramatically powers up his specials including the Finishing Touch, an almost comically powerful spinning attack. He came with Midgar as his stage, featuring summons – Ifrit, Ramuh, and Odin – that transform the battlefield during matches. Cloud’s DLC release was accompanied by his home series’ first appearance on Nintendo hardware in years, as Final Fantasy VII’s music arrived on Nintendo’s platform alongside him.
Corrin
Corrin arrived as paid DLC for Smash 4 on February 3rd, 2016, announced alongside Bayonetta during a December 2015 Nintendo Direct. The character is the protagonist of Fire Emblem Fates – at the time of announcement, an upcoming game that had not yet been released in the West – making Corrin one of the rare Smash characters added primarily as promotional material for an upcoming title rather than as a response to fan demand. The announcement was controversial: with Marth, Lucina, Robin, and Roy already on the Smash 4 roster, adding a fifth Fire Emblem representative felt disproportionate to many fans who wanted characters from underrepresented franchises. Corrin’s moveset is built around their ability to transform limbs into dragon appendages, creating a uniquely fluid style that blends sword combat with ranged spikes and dragon-form specials. They remain one of the most debated DLC inclusions in Smash history – not for poor design, but for the optics of expanding an already large franchise representation.
Bayonetta
Bayonetta is the only character in Smash history to earn their spot through a direct public vote. The Smash Ballot, opened in April 2015, invited players worldwide to nominate any character they wanted as future DLC. Bayonetta was announced at the same December 2015 Direct as Corrin and released on February 3rd, 2016 – described by Sakurai as the top-ranked character among those that were realistically feasible to produce. She arrived with Umbra Clock Tower as her stage and a moveset centered on her Witch Time mechanic: a counterattack that, when triggered correctly, slows opponents and opens them up for extended combos. In competitive play, Bayonetta became one of the most controversial characters in Smash history – dominant enough in tournament settings that many players and commentators felt she was broken, leading to multiple patches that reduced her strength. Despite the controversy, her design was widely praised as inventive and faithful to her source material, and her legacy as the ballot winner makes her inclusion permanently significant.
Piranha Plant
Piranha Plant is arguably the most surprising character ever added to Super Smash Bros. – not because of their power or franchise significance, but because of what they are: a generic enemy from the Mario series with no name, no story, and no individual identity. Announced during the November 2018 Ultimate Direct as a standalone DLC fighter (not part of any Fighters Pass), Piranha Plant was available as a free limited-time bonus for players who purchased Ultimate before January 31st, 2019, and as a purchasable character from February 1st, 2019 onward. The character’s inclusion was part of Sakurai’s design philosophy of proving any character can work in Smash with enough creativity – and Piranha Plant’s moveset, built around toxic spores, fireball shooting, and a venomous bite, demonstrated that premise convincingly. They were included without a dedicated DLC stage or music pack, making them the most stripped-down DLC offering in the game’s history.
Joker
Joker from Persona 5 launched the Fighters Pass Vol. 1 era when he was revealed at The Game Awards in December 2018 and released on April 17th, 2019. His announcement was one of the most genuinely shocking moments in Smash history – Persona had no Nintendo platform history at the time, and the game had been a PlayStation exclusive since its 2016 launch. Joker’s moveset introduced the Rebellion Gauge: a meter that fills as he takes damage, and when charged, summons Arsène – his Persona – who enhances every aspect of his kit dramatically. With Arsène active, Joker’s attacks hit harder, his recovery becomes far more powerful, and his counter transforms into a devastating Tetrakarn. He came with Mementos as his stage, which shifts color palette dynamically depending on the Persona series music playing. His release also accompanied the announcement of Persona 5 Royal for Nintendo Switch, marking a major expansion of the Persona series onto Nintendo hardware. Joker set the tone for a Fighters Pass era that would prioritize legacy-defining characters over safe, predictable picks.
Hero
Hero brought Dragon Quest to Smash for the first time when he was revealed at Nintendo’s E3 2019 Direct and released on July 30th, 2019. Rather than selecting a single protagonist from the 35-year-old franchise, Sakurai included four: Luminary from Dragon Quest XI, Erdrick from Dragon Quest III, Solo from Dragon Quest IV, and Eight from Dragon Quest VIII – all sharing the same moveset but available as alternate costumes. Hero’s defining mechanic is the Command Selection: his down special opens a randomized menu of 4 spells drawn from a pool of 21 total, including Kamikazee (instant self-destruction with massive blast radius), Hocus Pocus (wildly random effects), Metal Slash (one-hit KO on metal fighters), and Whack (an instant-KO chance on any opponent). The randomness generated serious competitive debate about fairness, but made Hero uniquely entertaining to watch and play. Dragon Quest’s importance in Japan – where it is a genuine cultural institution that has caused national absences when new entries release – made Hero’s inclusion feel long overdue.
Banjo & Kazooie
Banjo & Kazooie’s DLC reveal at E3 2019 was one of the most emotionally resonant moments in the entire Smash Ultimate DLC era. The bear and bird duo from Rare’s legendary Nintendo 64 platformer had been on fans’ wish lists since Melee – Sakurai had considered them at the time – but Rare’s 2002 acquisition by Microsoft had seemingly closed that door permanently. The reveal trailer showed Banjo & Kazooie arriving on Spiral Mountain to the genuine delight of everyone watching, and even Microsoft’s official Xbox account tweeted congratulations. Their moveset faithfully translates moves from Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie: Egg Firing, Wonderwing (a brief invincibility dash), Beak Buster (a diving slam), and Rear Egg as a projectile. They were released on September 4th, 2019. The collaboration between Nintendo and Microsoft on Banjo & Kazooie – and the goodwill it generated – directly paved the way for Steve’s inclusion a year later, marking a genuine shift in the relationship between the two competing platforms.
Terry Bogard
Terry Bogard from Fatal Fury completed the Fighters Pass Vol. 1 lineup when he was released on November 6th, 2019. Terry was the first SNK character ever playable in a Nintendo-published game, bringing one of fighting game history’s foundational franchises to Smash for the first time. Sakurai gave Terry traditional fighting game inputs as he had with Ryu: Terry’s Power Wave, Burning Knuckle, Rising Tackle, and Power Dunk can be executed with either the Smash-style button press or the original SNK directional motions, with the classic inputs triggering stronger versions. Terry also features a unique mechanic: at 100% damage or more, he gains access to his super moves – Power Geyser and Buster Wolf – available only through specific input combinations. His DLC pack was extraordinary in terms of content volume: Terry came with 50 music tracks from across multiple SNK franchises, the largest soundtrack addition of any DLC fighter in the game’s history. King of Fighters Stadium, his stage, features no bottom blast zone, creating uniquely aggressive horizontal knockout scenarios.
Byleth
Byleth closed out Fighters Pass Vol. 1 and generated the most mixed reaction of any fighter in the entire DLC run when they were announced on January 16th, 2020 and released on January 28th, 2020. The protagonist of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Byleth became the sixth Fire Emblem character on the Ultimate base roster – a franchise that many fans felt was already disproportionately represented in Smash. The announcement stream comments were dominated by complaints, and Sakurai was reportedly aware of the backlash potential during the presentation. From a design standpoint, however, Byleth’s moveset was genuinely creative: each of their four specials uses a different weapon from Three Houses – the Sword of the Creator, the Areadbhar lance, the Aymr axe, and the Failnaught bow – giving them four distinct attack angles and a range-heavy playstyle unlike any other Fire Emblem character. Garreg Mach Monastery, their stage, travels between four distinct locations from Three Houses. Byleth’s reception improved significantly over time as players engaged with their mechanics.
Min Min
Min Min from ARMS opened Fighters Pass Vol. 2 when she was released on June 29th, 2020, following months of speculation about which ARMS character would be selected. The March 2020 Nintendo Direct Mini had announced only that “a fighter from ARMS” was in development – triggering community debate about which character would be chosen before Min Min was revealed on June 22nd. Her moveset is built entirely around her extendable arms: both arms are controlled independently using the game’s L and R triggers, allowing players to charge and switch arm types mid-fight. She can equip Ramram, Megawatt, or Dragon arm types by pressing up on the directional pad, each with different properties and ranges. Min Min is unique among Smash fighters in that her playstyle is almost entirely long-range – she has virtually no close-quarters options and must use her arm reach advantage to control space. Her inclusion was notable for bringing ARMS, a Nintendo Switch launch title, into the Smash roster and demonstrating that Fighters Pass Vol. 2 would include characters from Nintendo’s newer IPs alongside third-party guests.
Steve
Steve from Minecraft arriving in Smash on October 13th, 2020 generated a reaction unlike any other DLC reveal in the game’s history. The announcement video on October 1st cut abruptly to Steve’s face staring blankly into the camera, followed by the Smash Bros. Fighter tagline – and the reaction was immediate pandemonium. Minecraft is the best-selling video game of all time, but its blocky, anti-aesthetic visual design made Steve look fundamentally alien next to the Smash Bros. roster. His moveset was the most complex ever designed for a Smash fighter: Steve mines blocks from the stage terrain itself, gathering materials that determine his crafting tier – wood, stone, iron, gold, and diamond – each offering progressively stronger weapons and tools. The Minecraft World stage features six biomes with destructible terrain that players can interact with. Steve, Alex, Zombie, and Enderman are available as alternate costumes. Sakurai stated in his presentation that Steve’s moveset was the most technically demanding he had ever developed, requiring changes to virtually every aspect of Smash’s engine to accommodate the mining system.
Sephiroth
Sephiroth’s reveal at The Game Awards 2020 on December 10th was the most cinematic DLC announcement in Smash history. The trailer recontextualized the iconic destruction of Nibelheim from Final Fantasy VII – one of gaming’s most memorable plot moments – before cutting to Sephiroth descending from the sky to strike Cloud. It was the first time a Smash character’s reveal directly referenced the narrative relationship between two fighters already on the roster, treating Cloud and Sephiroth as what they actually are: adversaries. A limited Sephiroth Challenge event allowed players who had already purchased his pack to face him as a boss fighter early, starting December 17th, with his formal release on December 22nd, 2020. His moveset translates the Masamune’s extreme reach into Smash: he has the longest tipper range in the game, a one-wing mechanic that boosts his attributes when at a stock disadvantage, and a Supernova final smash that recreates the iconic summon from the original game. Northern Cave serves as his stage, featuring music from Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
Pyra & Mythra
Pyra and Mythra from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 were announced during Nintendo’s February 2021 Direct and released on March 4th, 2021 as Challenger Pack 9 – the only DLC pack in Smash Ultimate to include two distinct fighter forms. The pair share a fighter slot but operate as genuinely different characters: Pyra is slower and hits harder, built for power with fire-based attacks, while Mythra is faster and more technical, with a unique Foresight mechanic that grants a brief period of invincibility when dodging successfully. Players can swap between them at any time using their down special. The design created one of the most versatile characters in competitive play – opponents must prepare for two distinct threat profiles from a single fighter slot. Their stage, Cloud Sea of Alrest, features music from Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Their announcement came as a genuine surprise; many fans had expected a character from outside Nintendo’s catalog given the Fighters Pass Vol. 2 pattern, and the internal Nintendo IP pick generated discussion about the balance between first-party and third-party representation in the final pass.
Kazuya Mishima
Kazuya Mishima from Tekken was revealed at Nintendo’s E3 2021 presentation on June 15th and released on June 29th, 2021. His inclusion brought the second major fighting game franchise into Smash alongside Street Fighter, continuing a pattern of honoring the genre’s history that had started with Ryu in Smash 4. Sakurai went further with Kazuya’s fighting game inputs than with any previous character: his entire offensive toolkit is built around Tekken’s precision directional inputs, with 10-hit combos that require specific sequences of button presses in the correct order. His Devil Gene transform – triggered at high damage percentages – amplifies his power dramatically and gives him access to laser-based ranged attacks. His reveal trailer famously featured Kazuya throwing virtually every other Smash character off of a cliff, a direct reference to the defining moment of his backstory: being thrown off a cliff by his father Heihachi as a child. Mishima Dojo, his stage, features a breakable floor and an extensive Tekken music library. Kazuya is widely considered the most technically demanding character ever designed for the series.
Sora
Sora from Kingdom Hearts was the final paid DLC fighter ever released for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, revealed on October 5th, 2021 and released on October 18th, 2021. Masahiro Sakurai announced him as the most-voted character from the original Smash Ballot – the same survey that had placed Bayonetta at the top of the feasible shortlist – explaining that Sora had been the overall winner but was held back for years due to the extraordinary complexity of negotiating rights with both Square Enix and Disney simultaneously. Kingdom Hearts’ IP situation is uniquely complicated: the franchise is developed by Square Enix but the Disney characters within it are owned by Disney, requiring agreement from both companies. His moveset captures Kingdom Hearts’ floating, magic-centric combat: Sora has exceptional aerial mobility, three aerial magic spells (Thundaga, Firaga, Blizzaga) cycling through on his neutral special, and a Reversal Slash counter. His reveal presentation was notably emotional – Sakurai explicitly framed it as a farewell to a game that had defined nearly a decade of his career. Hollow Bastion serves as his stage, with music from across the Kingdom Hearts series.
