Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Fighters Pass (DLC) (Nintendo Switch)

I've spent a lot of time in the roster select screen of Smash Ultimate, and the Fighters Pass Vol. 1 is where some of my most-used characters came from. Five Challenger Packs, each bundling a fighter, a stage, and a music selection, rolled out across roughly a year and a half, and the lineup reads like a dream-cast voted on by people who actually know fighting game history: Joker from Persona 5, Hero from Dragon Quest, Banjo and Kazooie, Terry Bogard from Fatal Fury, and Byleth from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. The character designs are where this pass earns its keep. Joker is the flashiest of the five: his Rebellion Gauge fills as he takes damage, and once it's full, his Persona Arsene appears to supercharge his attacks for a limited window, creating a risk-reward dynamic that rewards knowing exactly when you're about to get hit. Hero leans into Dragon Quest's RPG roots with a Command Selection screen that pulls up a randomized spell menu mid-fight, giving him a genuinely chaotic edge in the right hands. Terry Bogard carries his Fatal Fury DNA in, complete with Power Wave and Burning Knuckle, and plays closer to a traditional 2D fighter than almost anyone else on the roster. Banjo and Kazooie handle like a nostalgia-loaded N64 reunion, with Banjo brawling up close while Kazooie fires eggs at range, and their Jinjonator Final Smash is the kind of fan-service moment that actually delivers on the hype. The stages are a mixed bag, and that's worth being honest about. King of Fighters Stadium is the standout, flipping Smash's usual knockout logic on its head: the only way to KO opponents is through the upper blast zone or by smashing them through the side barriers with enough force, which reshapes how you think about spacing and positioning. Mementos and Garreg Mach Monastery are visually strong. Most of the others do the job without much personality. The music situation is similarly uneven: Terry's pack ships with 50 tracks pulled from SNK's entire back catalogue, which is genuinely generous, while Hero's Dragon Quest music comes through in MIDI rather than orchestrated versions, a disappointment for anyone expecting full production value. Each pack also adds a new Classic Mode route and a Spirit Board, so there's single-player content here beyond just adding a name to the select screen. Byleth is the one fighter the community never fully forgave. Arriving as the eighth Fire Emblem character in Smash, with fan favorites still waiting on the sideline, the reaction was loud. The moveset is functional, covering multiple weapons including the axe Amyr, the bow Failnaught, the lance Areadbhar, and the whip-like Sword of the Creator for recovery, but the controversy at launch was real and the character remains divisive in a way the other four simply aren't. Who should pick this up? Anyone who is already deep into Smash Ultimate and wants more variety out of the roster, especially if Joker or Terry Bogard have been on your wish list. Casual players who do couch multiplayer a couple of times a month will get genuine mileage from the new stages alone. Competitive-minded players should know that Joker historically ranks high on community tier lists, so there's depth here if you want to put in the work. The pass is all fully released now, so you get everything at once with no waiting.

Alex · Scout Team

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