Hero (SSBU)

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Hero in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
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Universe	Dragon Quest
Availability	Downloadable
Final Smash	Gigaslash

“	The Hero Draws Near!	”
—Introduction Tagline

The Hero (勇者, Hero) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and the second third-party representative from Square Enix following Cloud. He was announced during the E3 Nintendo Direct alongside Banjo & Kazooie on June 11th, 2019 as the third DLC fighter and is the second downloadable character from the Fighters Pass. The Hero's default costume is the hero from Dragon Quest XI (Luminary), while the heroes from Dragon Quest III (Erdrick), Dragon Quest IV (Solo), and Dragon Quest VIII (Eight) also appear as alternate characters like Alph and the Koopalings, though unlike those alternate characters, here they are all listed simply as "Hero." The Hero was released on July 30th, 2019, and is classified as Fighter #72.

Mitsuki Saiga reprises her role as the Luminary, voicing him in all regions in place of his English voice actor. Nobuyuki Hiyama, Takeshi Kusao, and Yuki Kaji debut as the voices of Erdrick, Solo, and Eight, respectively.

Attributes

This article or section is incomplete. You can help SmashWiki by expanding or finishing it. The editor who added this tag elaborates: Attributes section needs information on Hero's strengths, weaknesses, and attributes

The Hero is a tall semi-heavyweight fighter. Contrary to his weight class, the Hero sports a tall frame—in tandem with his sword—that gives his attacks more reach, yet renders him vertically susceptible to combos; additionally, he sports an above-average damage output and KO potential, giving him attributes similar to those typical of a heavyweight. Collectively, the Hero has respectable mobility: in spite of having a slow walking speed, slightly below-average air speed and poor air acceleration, his dashing speed, initial dash, traction, falling speed, and fastfalling speed are all either average or above-average.

The Hero has a good defensive game, courtesy of his tall frame, his shield, and long sword. His naturally tall frame and long sword give his attacks impressive range, allowing him to keep a safe distance away from his opponent. In a manner reminiscent of the three Links, the Hero actually sports two shields: one which can naturally deplete, and another that remains by his side at all times. The Hero's shield can block projectiles while he is standing idle, walking, or crouching; its utility also extends to the first hit of his forward tilt.

Moveset

• The Hero's shield can block incoming projectiles, akin to Link, Young Link and Toon Link.
• The Hero's smash attacks have a 1/8 chance of having a critical hit effect, triggering a Special Zoom and dealing 2× damage and knockback.
• The Hero has an MP Gauge which depletes whenever he uses his special moves. The amount depleted varies based on the spell. The meter is restored over time (at a rate of one point per second), or when damaging foes with regular attacks.
  • The maximum amount of MP is 100.
• Just like Cloud and Bayonetta, his weapons will change depending on the alternate costume.
  • The Luminary uses the Supreme Sword of Light and Erdwin's Shield.
  • Erdrick uses the Sword of Kings and Shield of Heroes.
  • Solo uses the Zenithian Sword and Shield.
  • Eight uses the Dragovian King Sword and Dragovian Shield.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	A three-hit neutral attack, with the first two hits being slashes going straight up and straight down, and the final hit having him swipe his sword inward.
			3%
			4%
Forward tilt			5%	A two-hit attack, a back-handed shield bash followed up by an outward slash. The shield bash resembles Blockenspiel, and can also block many projectiles.
			8%
Up tilt			11% (blade), 9% (body)	An overhead arcing slash while jumping, similarly to the last hit of Link's up smash. Has huge reach, making it a potent anti-air. However, it has noticeable ending lag.
Down tilt			7%	Kicks forward while leaning on the ground with his arm. Having slightly more range than his neutral attack while having the same 6-frame startup, it launches vertically, which can make it a combo starter, albeit a fairly unreliable one because of its high endlag. Resembles Leg Sweep.
Dash attack			15% (blade), 13% (body)	A jumping slash attack similar to Link's. Very powerful, being able to KO at around 80% from the ledge. However, it has very slow startup.
Forward smash			18% (blade), 16% (body)	Performs a two-handed downward slash in front of him, resembling Ike and Ganondorf's forward smashes. There is a chance of a critical hit occurring whenever Hero performs this move.
Up smash			16% (blade), 14% (body)	A single upward thrust, which resembles Marth's up smash. Has decent vertical range, but extremely poor horizontal range, being unable to hit grounded opponents. There is a chance of a critical hit occurring whenever Hero performs this move.
Down smash			13% (blade), 11% (body)	A kneeling inward slash in front of himself followed by a kneeling outward slash behind himself, similar to Link's down smash. There is a chance of a critical hit occurring whenever Hero performs this move.
Neutral aerial			9%	Swings his sword around him, resembling Ike's neutral aerial. It launches at a diagonal angle, making it a somewhat decent combo tool.
Forward aerial			12% (blade), 10% (body)	A downward slash, similar to Roy's forward aerial. Somewhat slow, but it deals high knockback, enough to KO at around 100% at the ledge.
Back aerial			14% (blade), 12% (body)	A sword swipe behind his back, which resembles Toon Link's back aerial. Very slow startup for an aerial of its kind, but excellent power, KOing at around 85% at the ledge.
Up aerial			7%	Performs an upward kick. Somewhat resembles Ken's up aerial. Hero's fastest aerial in terms of startup, ending and landing lag, and the only one that can auto-cancel in a short hop. However, it has extremely short range, and is fairly weak.
Down aerial			16% (clean), 10% (late)	Thrusts his sword downward with one hand. The clean hit meteor smashes opponents.
Grab			—	Reaches out with his left hand.
Pummel			1.3%	Knees the opponent.
Forward throw			7%	Throws the opponent away.
Back throw			9%	Hero performs the tomoe nage, similar to Toon Link's back throw.
Up throw			7%	Heaves the opponent upward, akin to Mario's up throw. A great combo starter due to its low ending lag. It is also Hero's strongest throw, although it is rather weak for a KO throw.
Down throw			6%	Slams the opponent on the ground. A good combo starter at low percentages.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%
Edge attack Edge getups			9%
Neutral special		Frizz/Frizzle/Kafrizz	9% (Frizz), 18% (Frizz), 31% (Kafrizz)	A fireball that can be charged up to become Frizzle and Kafrizz, which are stronger variants that travel increasingly farther. However, unlike most chargeable specials, shielding or rolling does not store Frizz's charge.
Side special		Zap/Zapple/Kazap		An electric bolt that the Hero shoots from his sword. Can be charged up to become Zapple and Kazap, stronger variants. Kazap has super armor frames. All variations of Zap (with the exception of the first half of Kazap) are disjointed hitboxes and not projectiles, meaning that they cannot be reflected or absorbed.
Up special		Woosh/Swoosh/Kaswoosh		An attack that creates tornadoes beneath the Hero and launches him upward. Can be charged up to become Swoosh and Kaswoosh. Swoosh grants only slightly more vertical movement but noticeably more horizontal movement, while Kaswoosh grants dramatically more vertical movement and makes for a potent recovery move.
Down special		Command Selection	(see below)	The Hero chooses between an impressive variety of four randomly-selected spells from a pop-up menu, even standing in a "thinking" position. These spells require MP to use. Shielding closes the menu, canceling the move and allowing the Hero to open it again for a different set.
Final Smash		Gigaslash		Contains the other seven Dragon Quest heroes who are not playable, charging the Hero's sword with bolts of electricity, before the playable Hero unleashes it in the form of a slash.

Command Selection spells

Spell	MP Cost	Damage	Description
Oomph	16	1.6x damage dealt, 1.2x damage taken	Temporarily increases the Hero's attack power. However, it also slightly decreases the Hero's defense.
Snooze	16	-	A forward-moving projectile that sends opponents to sleep if it connects. The projectile grows larger as it travels but puts opponents to sleep for longer at close range. Unlike Sing, Snooze can affect aerial opponents.
Bounce	14	1.5x reflected projectile	A lingering spell that reflects projectiles. Like a Franklin Badge, Bounce lets the Hero move around and act while active.
Flame Slash	12	22%	A quick slash with the Hero's sword cloaked in flame. Deals considerable damage and knockback.
Kacrackle Slash	11	17%	A quick slash with the Hero's sword cloaked in frost. Freezes opponents.
Kaclang	6	15%	Encases the Hero in metal and prevents him from taking both damage and knockback for a period of time, but also prevents him from taking any action. It cannot be canceled once activated. However, Hero can still be KOed by another Hero using Metal Slash. Using Kaclang in the air will grant Hero a hitbox on his descent and allow him to move during it.
Zoom	8	-	Causes the Hero to fly up vertically from anywhere before coming down back onto the center of the stage. If Hero hits a ceiling, the move is interrupted.
Kamikazee	1	50.1% (close), 35.1% (far)	Causes the Hero to self-destruct, doing massive damage and knockback to nearby opponents. It appears to be unblockable and also appears to make the Hero intangible during the move's startup. In 1v1 battles, the opponent will get credit for the KO.
Sizz	8	13.5%	A flame projectile sent forward.
Sizzle	20	25%	A flame projectile sent forward quickly.
Psyche Up	14		Dramatically increases the knockback dealt by the Hero's next attack while only slightly increasing the damage.
Heal	7	Heals 11%	Heals the Hero for a small percentage. Repeated use will cause it to disappear from the menu until a KO is scored.
Acceleratle	13	-	Temporarily buffs the Hero's movement speed by a significant amount, similar to Lightweight; it also makes the Hero easier to launch.
Bang	9	15.5%	A small explosive flame projectile sent forward. Deals decent knockback.
Kaboom	37	28%	A projectile that explodes after a certain distance, similar to Stealth Burst. Possesses high knockback.
Hatchet Man	15	35%	A forceful, physical slash said to deliver a critical hit, triggering Special Zoom on-hit.
Whack	10	1%	A forward-moving projectile that has a chance of OHKOing. The probability increases the higher the opponent's damage.
Thwack	30	3%	Similar to Whack, except the attack is delivered as a large close range explosion.
Metal Slash	6	1%	A slash that OHKOs opponents that are metal or under the effects of Kaclang, but will only inflict 1% otherwise.
Hocus Pocus	4	(see below)	A spell with random effects, both positive and negative, and also can take the form of other Command Selection spells.
Magic Burst	All remaining MP	10.1%-48.8%	A powerful and massive blast that hits multiple times and is active for a few seconds. Consumes all of the Hero's remaining MP; The spell's power depends on how much MP the Hero has left.

Hocus Pocus Effects

Effect	Type
Positive	One of Hero's commands is granted for 4 MP instead of the value it usually consumes.
Positive	Makes him giant.
Positive	Makes him invincible.
Negative	Slowed down movement.
Negative	MP is reduced to 1.
Negative	Inflicts poison damage to himself.
Negative	Inflicts sleep on himself.
Negative	Makes him small.
Negative	Inflicts the flower effect on himself.
Neutral	Turns him invisible.

On-screen appearance

• Flies onto the stage using Zoom.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Charges in place as a purple aura envelops around him. References the original Psyche Up animation.
• Side taunt: Raises his sword vertically into the air.
• Down taunt: Fumbles in place as a Slime meanders in front of him.

Victory Poses

• The Hero raises his sword in the air, slashes twice and finishes in a pose.
• The Hero performs Kazap and strikes a pose.
• The Hero walks up to three Slimes, kneels down and looks at them with a smile.

Classic Mode: A History of Heroism

Every battle aside from the last one is a stamina battle, referencing the HP system in Dragon Quest and most RPGs. Additionally, every battle uses a song from the Dragon Quest universe regardless of stage.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Kirby (×3)	Gaur Plain (Battlefield form)	The Hero Goes Forth with a Determination	A reference to Slimes and She-Slime.
2	Hero and Tiny Robin	Yggdrasil's Altar	Unflinchable Courage	References the Hero and Veronica from Dragon Quest XI.
3	Hero	Temple	Wagon Wheel's March	A fight against the Hero from Dragon Quest IV, Solo.
4	Rathalos	Forest Hill	Fighting Spirits - DRAGON QUEST III	Dragons are recurring enemies in the Dragon Quest series. Rathalos could also be specifically referencing a Red Dragon, an enemy from the original Dragon Quest.
5	Hero and Tiny Pikachu	Gaur Plain (Battlefield form)	War Cry	References the Hero from Dragon Quest VIII and his pet Pig-Rat, Munchie.
6	Hero	Castle Siege (third transformation)	Adventure - DRAGON QUEST III	A fight against the Hero from Dragon Quest III, Erdrick.
Bonus Stage
Final	Robin and Giant Charizard	Dracula's Castle (Ω form)	Fighting Spirits - DRAGON QUEST III	Charizard is not announced in the loading screen. References the fight against the Dragonlord from the original Dragon Quest. In that fight, the Dragonlord starts off in his human form, but upon defeat he turns into a giant dragon for the second phase, much like here.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Unlike other fighters, the music that plays differs depending on the costume selected.

• The Luminary uses The Hero Goes Forth with a Determination
• Erdrick uses Adventure - DRAGON QUEST III
• Solo uses Wagon Wheel's March
• Eight uses Marching Through the Fields

Role in World of Light

The message that shows Hero's availability in World of Light

Due to his status as downloadable content, Hero does not have a legitimate role in World of Light. Instead, he is unlocked for use in the mode after freeing 10 fighters from Galeem's control. If loading an existing save file that meets this condition prior to downloading Hero, he is immediately unlocked.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
70		Hero	There is no fighter battle for Hero, this fighter is obtained by awaking 10 fighters after it is downloaded.

Spirits

Hero's Fighter Spirits can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 coins, but only after Hero has been downloaded. Unlocking Hero in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As Fighter Spirits, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and are purely aesthetic.

Additionally, the other three heroes have their own fighter spirits.

• HeroDQXIS.png

  1,324. Hero (DRAGON QUEST XI S)

• ErdrickTrans.png

  1,325. Hero (DRAGON QUEST III)

• HeroDQIV.png

  1,326. Hero (DRAGON QUEST IV)

• 

  1,327. Hero (DRAGON QUEST VIII)

In Spirit Battles

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
1,329		Cetacea	Dragon Quest Series	•Giant King K. Rool •Hero		9,500	Yggdrasil's Altar (Omega form)	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy has super armor but moves slower •Timed stamina battle	The Hero Goes Forth with a Determination	Luminary

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  The Hero's splash art.

• 

  Luminary crouching on Great Plateau Tower.

• 

  Luminary posing on Yggdrasil's Altar.

• 

  Luminary using Heal while Cloud uses his side taunt on Spear Pillar.

• 

  Luminary attacking Incineroar with his up aerial on Coliseum.

• 

  Luminary using Frizz on Gaur Plain.

• 

  The other Heroes (Solo, Erdrick, and Eight) on Palutena's Temple.

• 

  Luminary attacking Robin with his neutral aerial and Erdrick attacking Wario with his forward smash on Yggdrasil's Altar.

• 

  Luminary using Kazap on Battlefield.

• 

  Luminary striking Inkling with his forward tilt on Battlefield.

• 

  Luminary using Frizzle against Ridley on Yggdrasil's Altar.

• 

  Luminary hitting Fox with his up smash on Yggdrasil's Altar.

• 

  Luminary using his neutral attack against Fox on Yggdrasil's Altar.

Trivia

• When the Hero originally began development, he was planned to be silent, similar to previous Dragon Quest protagonists. However, with the addition of voice acting in the Japanese version of Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition (as the localized version of Dragon Quest XI had voice acting from the beginning), plans were changed and voices for the Hero were added.
• Ultimate is the first game with official voice acting for Erdrick, Solo, and Eight, and Masahiro Sakurai shared some interesting pieces of trivia about each of the Hero's voice actors and their recording sessions:
  • The Luminary's voice actress, Mitsuki Saiga, reprises her role from Dragon Quest XI S (thus technically making Ultimate her debut voicing the character), but was directed to have more energy in her vocals to better fit the style of Smash.
  • Erdrick's voice actor, Nobuyuki Hiyama, had also notably voiced Adult Link in Ocarina of Time, Smash 64, and Melee. Of the four Heroes, his recording session was completed the fastest due to his extensive experience. Sakurai also notes that his performance can be recognized as Guy Shishioh from The King of Braves GaoGaiGar.
  • Solo's voice actor, Takeshi Kusao, asked for a lot of detail on the backstory of the protagonist to help improve his performance.
  • Eight's voice actor, Yuki Kaji, apparently dreamed of doing voice work for the Dragon Quest and Super Smash Bros. series, and he was enthusiastic to fulfill both at the same time in Ultimate.
• Even though the Luminary has a voice actor in English, Rasmus Hardiker, he is played by Mitsuki Saiga in all versions of the game. Unlike Cloud, who couldn't be voiced in English because his voice actor is part of a trade union, the Luminary's English voice actor does not have this similar restriction, making the reasoning for not voicing him in English unknown. This makes him the second playable character in Ultimate to have an established English voice actor but is played by a Japanese voice actor in all versions of the game, the first being Cloud, both of whom are properties of Square Enix.
  • Additionally, this makes all versions of the Hero and Cloud the only characters to speak Japanese in non-Japanese versions of the game.
• According to a column by Masahiro Sakurai, there are restrictions from Square Enix that prevent certain Dragon Quest protagonists from encountering each other. However, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was given special exception in order to have the different Heroes as alternate character costumes.
  • Eight's addition as an alternate character costume was particularly due to requests from Western fans for the character.
• The Hero is the only DLC and third-party character to also have other characters appear as alternate costumes.
  • Additionally, the Hero's fourth and eighth alternate costumes are the first and so far only alternate costumes to feature a separate character that is not part of the default costume. In this case, it is Munchie.
• The Hero and Pokémon Trainer are the only characters to have a generic "descriptor" name while representing nameable characters that have optional canon names. Both the Hero and Pokémon Trainer also represent multiple individuals with different canon names via their alternate costumes.
  • While none of the Dragon Quest heroes have canonical names within their own games, Sakurai gave names to each hero in their demo video: Eleven, Arusu, Solo and Eight.
    • While many people call the Dragon Quest III hero "Erdrick" due to his earning of the title, "Arusu" originates from a cutscene in Dragon Quest III, where the hero's father calls out their name right before he dies. Within Ultimate, "Erdrick" is used for the Mii Swordfighter costume based on the legendary armor that the same character later wears.
  • While Ice Climbers also use a generic name in-game, their actual names (Popo and Nana) are recognized in the tips.
• The Hero is the first character to have a move that will always cause a self-destruct.
• The Hero's reveal trailer is the first and currently only reveal trailer to make references to World of Light, due to the presence of Dharkon and his puppet fighters.
  • It is also the first of any DLC character trailer to be completely 3D CGI-animated, as all previous DLC character reveals were done with the game engine or 2D animation.
  • It is also the only instance where a Square Enix character appeared in any CGI animation for the game, as Cloud has never appeared in such for either this or the previous entry.
• In Hero's reveal trailer, spirit versions of Meta Knight and Marth are seen teaming up. This is a reference to the Subspace Emissary, where the two characters are prominently featured in the level The Battlefield Fortress.
• The Hero's reveal trailer makes multiple references to the Dragon Quest games.
  • The scene where the Luminary rides a Gogoat is a reference to the horse riding mechanic in Dragon Quest XI.
  • The scene where the Luminary, Zero Suit Samus, and Zelda are sitting at a campfire references the camping mechanic in Dragon Quest XI.
    • Zero Suit Samus and Zelda also reference the party members Jade and Serena respectively.
  • The scene where Eight walks through poison to pick up the Beam Sword is referencing that players will often times have to walk through poison in dungeons and on the overworld to obtain items in the Dragon Quest games.
    • The Beam Sword could also be a reference to the Dragovian King Sword, a powerful sword (usually being the ultimate one) that appears in multiple games and is also the sword that Eight uses as his weapon in Smash.
    • It is also a reference to the first Dragon Quest game where the Mark of Erdrick, a mandatory item, was located in a poisonous swamp on the world map.
  • The introductory tagline, "The Hero Draws Near!", refers to the text that appears when the Hero encounters an enemy in battle.
  • The scene where the Luminary throws a barrel upward to reveal a Franklin Badge references the Mini Medal, a collectible item that serves as the currency for particularly rare and powerful items.
• The Hero's CGI trailer features a slight rendering issue: when the Luminary falls on the ground causing some Slimes to scatter, one of them appears in transparency through the Hero's hair for a few frames despite being behind a pillar itself being behind the Hero.
• The Hero's artwork pose in the panoramic banner is similar to Young Link's pose in his official render, but mirrored.
  • Similarly, the Luminary's artwork greatly resembles Young Link's artwork from Ocarina of Time, which is used for his fighter spirit; however, the positions of the sword and shield are flipped, since the Luminary is right-handed.
• In Japanese, Hero has a chance of calling out a spell's name, excluding the Command Selection spells. This makes him the fifth character in the series to have specific lines in the Japanese language track of a game replaced by generic grunts outside of Japan after Fox, Sheik, and Falco in Melee and Mewtwo in all of its playable appearances.
  • Kirby also follows this trait as well, making it the first Copy Ability of his to have such a distinction.
  • This is excluding Pit's Upperdash Arm and Power of Flight, as Pit is voiced normally otherwise in both English and Japanese.
• The Hero is the third playable character to feature a non-playable character in the panoramic artwork with them, featuring Slime alongside him. The first two are Olimar and Joker who feature Mr. Saturn and Morgana with them respectively.
• Eight is the second playable swordfighter to use a katana after Mii Swordfighter.
• Solo is the only one of the Hero's alternate costumes who does not hold a shield in his artwork.
• The Hero has 21 different spell commands, giving him the second highest amount of special moves behind Kirby and the highest amount of special moves at any one time of any character, as Kirby can only copy a maximum of 7 different special moves total in a single round of 8-player Smash.
• In Japanese, the announcer reads the pronunciation of the kanji, "Yusha", despite the game displaying the translated name of "Hero". This is unlike other characters, who display the romanized version of their names (such as "Reflet" instead of "Rufure"), and Villager, who uses the name "Murabito" instead of its translation (being "Villager").
• Hero is the only character who can use the same costume as the CPU for their Classic Mode routes.
• Hero and Ryu are the only characters who have stamina battles for their Classic Mode routes.
• Hero's Classic Mode is one of only three to feature a fight against a boss (in this case, Rathalos) outside of the boss round, the others being Bowser and Mega Man, and one of the few whose boss round does not feature a designated boss, instead fighting characters who are otherwise playable (in this case, Robin and Charizard).
• So far, Hero is the only character whose Fighter ability (in this case, his MP Gauge) can be fully utilized by Kirby.