Dragon Quest Hero Coming To Smash Bros. Ultimate - Nintendo E3 2019 Direct

Update: While the Dragon Quest Hero reveal trailer started things out, the end of the Nintendo Direct brought another newcomer, and it was an even bigger surprise: Banjo-Kazooie, Rare's iconic bear and breegul duo. The two-for-one character releases this fall, marking their first appearance on a Nintendo console since 2003's Grunty's Revenge for Game Boy Advance. However, the biggest surprise was saved for the very end: a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is in development for Switch. The original story follows.

Per tradition, Nintendo has opted out of hosting an E3 livestream press conference for a prerecorded Direct. During its E3 show, Nintendo made good on its promise to reveal the newest DLC character to join the roster for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, coming in Summer 2019.

As speculated by plenty of people, Dragon Quest's protagonist is the next DLC fighter. Simply named Hero, the new Smash fighter leapt to the rescue of Link in a brand-new cinematic reveal trailer, cutting down both Meta Knight and Marth in a single strike. In Ultimate, Hero fights with his usual assortment of weapons and abilities. He relies on his sword and shield for his standard attacks and defense, and turns to using magic fireballs and whirlwinds for his special moves.

In the trailer, we see Hero joined by the other Hero protagonists from follow-up Dragon Quest games--specifically Dragon Quest 11, 8, 4, and 3. Nintendo confirmed that Hero can "take the form" of each of these protagonists, presumably via alternate costumes. The Nintendo Direct also delivered a September release date for Dragon Quest XI on Switch.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the largest title in the franchise to date, including dozens of characters from some of gaming's most notable series--and not all of them Nintendo. Since Ultimate launched, Nintendo has released additional DLC fighters to further flesh out the already massive roster. The first was Piranha Plant, one of Mario's most memorable enemies. It was followed up with Joker, the main protagonist of Persona 5. Dragon Quest's Hero will be the third of the six DLC fighters scheduled for the game.

As part of Nintendo's news on Tuesday, we also learned about a variety of new Amiibo figures, most of which come from the Smash line (Snake!). There's also one based on Link from the upcoming Zelda: Link's Awakening remake.

In our Super Smash Bros. Ultimate review, Edmond Tran wrote, "An inconsistent online mode and situational downers don't stop Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from shining as a flexible multiplayer game that can be as freewheeling or as firm as you want it to be. Its entertaining single-player content helps keep the game rich with interesting things to do, as well as bolstering its spirit of loving homage to the games that have graced Nintendo consoles. Ultimate's diverse content is compelling, its strong mechanics are refined, and the encompassing collection is simply superb."

More E3 news:

• New Xbox console, Scarlett, revealed
• Xbox Scarlett details: 8K, 120 FPS, SSD
• Elden Ring is From Software and George RR Martin's new game
• Cyberpunk 2077 release date announced
• Final Fantasy VII Remake release date announced
• Marvel's Avengers revealed