Super Smash Bros.
Ultimate has been filled to the brim with an incredible variety of fighters across the
video game industry.
From every all-star fighter returning from previous entries to huge surprises like Sephiroth,
Piranha Plant, and Banjo & Kazooie.
At the time of this video, there’s still two DLC fighters left in Fighters Pass 2,
and we’ll likely see at least one of them at Nintendo’s E3 Direct on June 15th.
While rampant speculation is a daily occurrence for many Smash fans, I’d like to pitch an
idea for what I believe could be the perfect end to the second Fighters Pass, and general
DLC for Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
There’s one particular major Nintendo series that not only has been left out of the spotlight
for DLC, but hasn’t properly received a new fighter since Super Smash Bros Brawl:
The Legend of Zelda.
If you count Toon Link as a replacement for Young Link originally, then one could argue
the series hasn’t had any newcomers since Melee!
Sure, the cast got major re-works and updates this entry, and the bonus for purchasing all
of Fighters Pass 2 is an Ancient Armor Set Mii costume, but beyond that, the Zelda series
has notably missed out on a newcomer.
With one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises in its 35th anniversary this year, surely
we could see a new DLC character to represent it.
But...who?
Many speculate on various characters such as Impa, Skull Kid, Midna, or even Tingle...but
what if I said there’s a perfect fighter waiting for the invitation?
That’s right, not one, not two, but all four Champions of Hyrule from Breath of the
Wild and Age of Calamity as a single fighter.
This may sound completely ridiculous, but please, hear me out.
These four Champions represent some of the longest recurring species of characters in
the entire Zelda series.
Zora, Goron, Rito, and Gerudo.
They’ve all played important roles throughout the series, and shining a spotlight on these
Champions would finally give us some Zelda fighters in Smash that aren’t wielding the
power of the Triforce.
Mipha, Daruk, Revali, and Urbosa can function as a four-in-one transformation fighter similar
to Pokemon Trainer or Pyra & Mythra.
Unlike the special ladies from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, the Champions would not have an instantaneous
swap built for combo potential, functioning more like swapping Pokemon or the Sheik & Zelda
transformation of old.
This only scratches the surface, so let’s get into what their movesets would be!
Before we get into the nitty gritty of each of the four Champions of Hyrule, let’s start
with the special moves.
The main thing about the Champions is that they would all share the same special moves,
being their iconic abilities, while all of their standard moves would be unique to them.
Of course, the special moves would have some variance depending on the Champion being used.
Think of this as like a reverse of Pyra and Mythra, who shared most standard moves and
differed in the specials.
Each Champion sharing moves would be similar to each one granting Link the ability in Breath
of the Wild.
Starting with the Standard Special, this would be Mipha’s Grace: a chargeable move that
creates a water-spout whirlpool a set distance away from the Champion, similar to one of
her attacks in Age of Calamity.
Depending on the amount charged, this would either be a small splash of water or a large
water spout.
This water would mostly push opponents away, and only last for a second or two, similar
to other water-based moves in Smash.
Since this is Mipha’s Grace, however, if the Champion goes to stand in the water, they
will be healed slightly by a couple percent, similar to the healing field item.
When playing as Mipha, she’ll stand and charge her ability before sending it out,
healing slightly when unleashing the attack.
When playing as one of the other Champions, Mipha will appear in a spirit-like form just
behind the Champion, and healing can only be from touching the water.
Moving on to the Side Special, this would be Urbosa’s Fury: a chargeable move that
sends a bolt of lightning out away from the Champion.
This move would work similarly to Hero’s Zap and Zapple for earlier charges, causing
lightning to strike a short distance away.
The final charge works more like Pikachu’s Thunder, striking the Champion directly for
a small AOE blast of lighting around the player.
Using this at full charge will inflict a little damage on any Champion minus Urbosa.
When playing as Urbosa, she’ll stand and charge her lighting before snapping her fingers
to unleash the attack, not unlike Sephiroth.
When playing as one of the other Champions, Urbosa will appear in a spirit-like form just
behind the Champion.
Next is the Up Special, which would be Revali’s Gale: a recovery move that launches the Champion
into the air from a powerful updraft.
This won’t be chargeable, and will send the Champion to a medium height, similar to
Hero’s Swoosh, but without the damaging tornadoes.
Once at their maximum height, the Champion will pull out a paraglider and gently be able
to move horizontally as they slowly float downwards, almost identically to Peach’s
Parasol.
When playing as Revali, instead of pulling out a paraglider, he’ll be able to glide
through the air at a much faster pace, similar to Steve’s Elytra, or the gliding mechanic
for winged fighters back in Brawl.
While this may make Revali sound better at recovering, he wouldn’t stay at a slow constant
height, more likely to nosedive and speed-up as he changes heights.
The last Special Move is the Down Special, which swaps out characters just like Pokemon
Trainer, Pyra/Mythra, and more.
As mentioned earlier, this swap would be on the slightly slower side, not necessarily
used for combos.
The Champion would teleport away just like the Sheikah Slate teleportation, and the next
in line would immediately teleport in.
The default starting Champion is Mipha, then Daruk, Revali, and Urbosa, before looping
back to Mipha.
Like the other transformation fighters, the player can choose which Champion to start
the battle with.
There’s actually one Champion’s special we haven’t talked about yet: Daruk’s Protection.
This would be tied to Shielding, much like how Inkling can restore ink when pressing
the Special Button while Shielding.
Daruk’s Protection would serve as a counter enhancement to shielding that can only work
when standing on the ground.
It can only be used three times per stock, before being shattered and unusable until
the Champion dies and respawns.
If playing as Daruk, the Goron Champion presses his knuckles together to replace his shield
with Daruk’s Protection.
When playing as another Champion, Daruk’s spirit will appear behind them, holding his
arms out as the shield is replaced by Daruk’s Protection.
On a successful counter, the crystal-like barrier around the Champion is pushed out
and hits the opponent.
The third and final counter of the stock, while still countering the attack, will also
act as a Shield Break for the user.
This should deter players from relying on the counter too much.
We’ve talked about the shared special moves these Champions of Hyrule would utilize in
battle, but what about their individual playstyles?
As mentioned earlier, unlike Pyra and Mythra, who shared all but their special moves, the
standard moves are where most of the differences between these characters come in.
Naturally, each of the Champions are armed with their signature weapons from Breath of
the Wild and Age of Calamity.
Mipha’s Standard Attacks, Smash Attacks, and Aerial Attacks use the Lightscale Trident,
for wide-range spear attacks similar to Byleth’s lance or Sephiroth’s long-ranged sword.
Its reach won’t challenge the “longest range fighter” title, but Mipha would absolutely
have the best range of the Champions without using projectiles.
The Lightscale Trident would be equipped with a Tipper mechanic, similar to Marth, where
the best damage is dealt at the tip of the Trident.
Hitting from too close won’t be as devastating in damage, so spacing would be pretty important.
Most of her attacks would involve stabs and slashes.
Daruk’s Standard Attacks, Smash Attacks, and Aerial Attacks use the Boulder Breaker,
a slow, heavy blunt sword similar to Ganondorf’s in size.
The largest and heaviest of the Champions, Daruk moves slowly, wielding powerful Smash
attacks.
These would be comparable to Ganondorf’s, or even Ike’s.
The Boulder Breaker is large and blunt, so it does consistent damage throughout.
Daruk’s moves consist of various slashes, slams, and spins, as well as some strong Goron
punches!
Since he’s so slow, many of Daruk’s moves would have considerable end-lag, leaving him
open for an opponent to strike.
Revali’s Standard Attacks, Smash Attacks, and Aerial Attacks use the Great Eagle Bow,
a quick and long range-focused weapon firing arrows.
Most of Revali’s Smash Attacks involve shooting a flurry of arrows, similar to Mii Gunner’s
Side-Smash.
Some standard and aerial attacks use the Bow itself as a weapon, as well as some kicks.
Revali’s most powerful moves would be his fully charged side Smash, which can fire an
explosive bomb arrow at the end of the flurry, and his down aerial, which would fire a bomb
arrow downwards before he slams down with his talons.
Being a Rito, Revali would perform best in the air, being able to combo his aerials together
quickly.
Outside of his bomb arrow attacks, he’s not known for much power, and instead is much
better at racking up damage.
Urbosa’s Standard Attacks, Smash Attacks, and Aerial Attacks use the Scimitar of the
Seven and her Daybreaker Shield for mid-ranged sword attacks.
Her shield can passively stop projectiles when standing still, crouching, or walking,
much like each of the 3 Links and Hero.
Her attacks are mostly made up of stabs and slashes, mixed with some elegant spins and
twirls.
The Scimitar of the Seven isn’t a very long sword, so Urbosa’s reach isn’t too far
ahead of her.
Her Smash Attacks add an electric shock at full charge, slightly adding some range on
top of damage.
As a powerful warrior of the Gerudo, Urbosa is pretty balanced between dishing out damage
and KOing her opponents.
Of course, we can’t talk about a new Smash fighter without talking about their Final
Smash.
After breaking a Smash Ball and catching their target, the Champions of Hyrule board their
Divine Beasts, each stationed in a different corner, as they cinematically fire a large
beam.
The target is hit by all 4 beams for a powerful explosion of damage.
Essentially, it’s just like the iconic scene from Breath of the Wild.
It would be the most cinematic of Final Smashes for any of the Zelda cast, and that’s exciting!
The Divine Beasts are piloted by the Champions, after all, so it makes perfect sense to incorporate
them into the Final smash.
Now that we’ve talked at length about how The Champions of Hyrule can work as a transformation
fighter, there’s more we need to discuss.
Namely, what comes with each fighter: a brand new stage, and some music!
We already have the Great Plateau Tower in Smash, so what would work as another stage
from Breath of the Wild?
The moment when Calamity Strikes.
Okay, hear me out.
The stage takes place atop one of the four Divine Beasts, it’s such a small part of
them that it ultimately doesn’t matter which Divine Beast, just that it needs to be in
the middle of Hyrule Field, with a nice view of Hyrule Castle.
The ground and platforms are clearly made of the same Sheikah structure as the Divine
Beasts are.
The stage itself wouldn’t travel, but the background would play out a cinematic event,
much like Northern Cave that came with Sephiroth.
The peaceful Hyrule Field would eventually grow sinister as Calamity Ganon rises from
beneath Hyrule Castle, malice spreading through the land as the sky goes dark and hordes of
Guardians flood through the fields.
Guardian lasers firing in all directions from the background, and perhaps some of the Divine
Beasts entering the battle against Guardians.
After some time the Blood Moon will rise, and a bright light of Sealing Power will erupt
from Hyrule Castle, casting the background into a bright light, before resetting the
stage cinematic.
In the back of the stage platform, much like The Cloud Sea of Alrest, will feature various
guest appearances from characters in Breath of the Wild and Age of Calamity!
Zelda, Impa, the little Guardian, Master Kohga, and even the future Champions Sidon, Yunobo,
Teba, and Riju, here to cheer their ancestors on in battle!
Since the Zelda series is obviously already represented in Super Smash Bros.
Ultimate, all songs from the series will be made available on this stage, as well as some
new additions!
It would be incredible to get a Smash remix of all 4 Champion themes, perhaps referred
to as “The Champion’s Ballad.”
Beyond that, songs from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity could be added, such as the Battle
of Hyrule Field, In Dire Need, Rescue Operation, Master Kohga’s battle theme, and more!
There’s plenty of options, and new songs or remixes from Breath of the Wild would be
just as welcome!
Ideally, at least 7 new songs should be added, tied for the number of new songs added with
Minecraft.
Something fun with most of the DLC characters thus far are the different alternate costumes
they have.
It’s fun to see different references through various costumes and colors!
What kind of alts could The Champions of Hyrule get?
Well, we know that their default costumes would be their Champion garb: their iconic
look that’s even displayed on their amiibo.
One set of alts could be pre-Champion for each of them, something we see in Age of Calamity,
and another set could be the spiritual forms from Breath of the Wild.
Beyond that?
Perhaps colors representing their descendents, though Revali as Teba might be the only really
noticeable difference there.
Alts representing the namesake of their Divine Beasts could work as well!
Mipha as Ruto, Daruk as Darunia, Revali as Medli, and Urbosa as Nabooru.
There’s a lot of options!
Fighters Pass 2 is wrapping up soon, with only two DLC characters remaining for this
iteration of Smash.
We could very likely see both of them this E3!
As a major Legend of Zelda fan, I truly hope that one of these last fighters is from the
Zelda series.
Now that the series is celebrating 35 long years, it’s genuinely surprising how long
it’s been since a new fighter from the series was added to Smash!
With the sequel to Breath of the Wild on the way, and how successful this era of Zelda
has been, it absolutely makes sense for Mipha, Daruk, Revali, and Urbosa to receive an invitation
to this game filled with all-star characters.
Hopefully, I’ve made a good pitch for why The Champions of Hyrule would be a fantastic
addition to the roster, ending the second Fighters Pass with a bang, and that you’d
like to see them too!
If you have more ideas for how The Champions of Hyrule could work in Smash, share them
down below!
With that, thank you all so much for watching.
Make sure to subscribe to GameXplain for plenty more on Super Smash Bros Ultimate and the
Legend of Zelda, which I’m really hoping we see both of this E3!
Check out the videos on the right for more content you might be interested in!
Until next time...farewell!