Byleth Added- Thoughts on the Character

The long awaited day has finally come upon us. Honestly from the beginning on Sakurai announcing the Fighters Pass it seemed like the hour would never come where all the characters were released. The constant pondering of what possible newcomer could come to the series that already has major star power from numerous franchises was what kept most up at night. Then, with each release or pending release of a new character, Smash players around the world eagerly await patch drops like it’s Christmas in July.

This patch was no different, at least for most. Despite Byleth having mixed to negative reactions of being added to Smash, I found myself in the same situation as Joker, Hero, Banjo, and Terry…. eagerly awaiting the drop of a new character to the roster. Personally I was neither overjoyed nor sad that Byleth got in the game, which as most stated felt like an eventuality because of Fire Emblems history with the Smash franchise. Diving into the character however, I went through more waves of emotion than any other DLC.

Byleth’s moveset is largely… underwhelming. When playing with my sister she summed it up perfectly in that “all her moves feel somewhat the same.” This quote comes from someone that not only doesn’t play Smash that often, but also has over 300 hours logged onto Fire Emblem Three Houses. Nothing particularly combo’s into another move, but everything has incredibly long range and power. Sakarai truly meant what he said when he stated Byleth was a “distance demon.” Her power and knockback in her moveset cannot be understated, and she may well have the most powerful Down-Smash in the game next to Ganondorf. Every Fire Emblem character that has been added has pretty much been a generic swordsman, bar Robin (and maybe Corrin). Players have wanted an ax or lance character for quite sometime now, but this is certainly not what anyone had in mind.

It does not feel like Byleth was made with the same love that brought us the previous 4 DLC characters, and that is what irked me. Joker and Banjo specifically to me felt like Sakurai deeply cared about the characters and their inclusion felt like a dream come true. Byleth felt like a marketing gimmick for an already best selling game, with a moveset that could have been great but just isn’t.