All the way back in January of 2019, a bigSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateleak claimed to reveal upcoming DLC fighters for the ambitious crossover fighting game. The leak originated on a Japanese site called 5Channel, and claimed to reveal four characters that would be coming toSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateas DLC. Fast forward to October 2020, and two of the four leaked characters are now official, lending far more credibility to the leak than it had previously.
For those unfamiliar with this particularSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateleak, it claimed that Erdrick fromDragon Quest, Ryu Hayabusa fromNinja Gaiden, Doomguy fromDoom, and Steve fromMinecraftwere all coming as DLC. Eventually, Nintendo confirmed Erdrick fromDragon Quest, and then it just recently announced Steve fromMinecraftis also coming toSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateas its next DLC fighter.
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It stands to reason, then, that Ryu Hayabusa and Doomguy could very well be the nextSuper Smash Bros. UltimateDLC fighters. And in fact, they seem to be the most likely third-party characters for a few different reasons.
Ninja Gaiden
TheSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateroster is comprised of some of the most iconic video game characters in history, and while the bulk of it is made up of Nintendo-owned characters, there are some third-party faces as well. This includes characters like Solid Snake fromMetal Gear Solidand Cloud Strife fromFinal Fantasy 7, proving that characters don’t even need to have a prominent presence on Nintendo consoles to make the cut.
But while Ryu Hayabusa fromNinja Gaidenmay be more associated with Xbox in recent years, theNinja Gaidenseries originated on the Nintendo Entertainment System with the critically-acclaimed original trilogy. More recently, the Wii U received a port ofNinja Gaiden 3calledRazor’s Edgethat is widely considered to be the best version of the game. And currently, rumors are swirling that aNinja Gaiden Sigmacollectionis in the works that would bring all three games in the reboot trilogy to modern platforms, including the Switch. If such a collection actually exists, Ryu coming toSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateseems like it would be the perfect way to advertise it.
Doom
The other DLC character from the leak is Doomguy, also known as Doom Slayer. Doomguy has always been a major possibility, especially when one considers Nintendo’s strong relationship with Bethesda, which has already seen content from its games added toSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate. Bethesda has also made it a point to release its games on Nintendo Switch as well, with aDoom EternalSwitch portin the works.
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Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda may make it seem like Doomguy appearing inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimatewould be less likely now, but that’s not necessarily true. Microsoft also has a positive working relationship with Nintendo, allowing its characters likeBanjo-Kazooieand Steve fromMinecraftappear in the game. Since Microsoft clearly has no problem lending its characters to Nintendo forSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, there’s no reason why it would suddenly be stingy when it comes to Doomguy.
And not only that, but Microsoft is honoring Bethesda’s deals it made prior to the acquisition. This includes releasing some Bethesda-published games as PlayStation 5 timed-exclusives. Since the rest of theSuper Smash Bros. UltimateDLC characters have already been decided on, if Doomguy was coming to the game, it’s quite likely that the deal was already in place prior to Microsoft buying Bethesda.
Coincidence?
Of course, it can’t be ruled out that this is all just a coincidence. After all, the leaker could have just made lucky guesses based on the fact that the characters they listed are all iconic video game characters and Nintendo has made it a point to include third-party characters inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Not only that, but Ryu Hayabusa andDoomguyare both from hyper-violent video game franchises. While Nintendo has included characters from M-rated games in the past, like Solid Snake, the extreme violence inNinja GaidenandDoommay be a bit too much forSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate’s family-friendly image.
Plus, there have been plenty of otherSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate"leaks" that have claimed to reveal upcoming DLC characters, likeOverwatch’s Tracer, for instance. Until Nintendo makes some official announcements, though, the rumors will persist and fans will keep speculating. Until then,Super Smash Bros. Ultimatefans can look forward to more information on the game’sMinecraftDLC later this month.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimateis out now, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
