A Final Fantasy veteran is the new Super Smash Bros Ultimate fighter

Sephiroth Smash
(Image credit: Nibellion (Twitter))

Super Smash Bros Ultimate is bringing Sephiroth to the fighter roster, revealed at the Game Awards 2020. 

The new character was unveiled at The Game Awards 2020, which kicked off at on 4pm PT / 7pm ET, December 10 (that's 12am GMT / 10am AEST on December 11, for UK and Australian readers).

The Final Fantasy villain is confirmed to be coming "later this month", so before 2020 is done – though we will be getting an in-depth video presentation looking at the character's moves on December 17, as in the announcement tweet below.

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Sephiroth is definitely a surprising pick, but Fighters Pass Vol 2 has certainly had it fair share of surprises. The latest, Steve from Minecraft, was definitely a fun and widely appealing addition that brought in a new graphical style and playful moveset inspired by the Minecraft game. Before that, Min-Min was a smart choice, given the punching mechanics of 2017 Nintendo Switch game ARMS.

After Sephiroth there are only three after this upcoming announcement – so Nintendo only has so many more chances to introduce a DLC character worth the hype.

The beginning of the end

Masahiro Sakurai, game director of Super Smash Bros Ultimate, has reportedly confirmed that the incoming Fighters Pass is the last batch of DLC fighters for the Switch game.

The comments came in his column for Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu – at least according to summaries of the article posted online (with some help from Google Translate).

Blogger Ryokutya2089 quotes Sakurai in saying that "the breakdown of the six has been decided and we do not plan to make any more".

Those plans could always change in the future, of course, depending on when a new Smash Bros entry was being planned for, though Sakurai adds that "I and the people in charge of Nintendo have no idea what the future will be."

There's a big opportunity, though, with the eventual introduction of a Nintendo Switch 2 console – or Switch Pro, or Switch Max – to give the iconic fighting game a bit of a makeover from the currently low-spec console. 

Rumors of 4K upscaling to a TV, or a vivid miniLED screen on the handheld console, could elevate the punchy visuals and fun animations of Smash Bros Ultimate, while giving both the original roster and additional DLC fighters a bit of a facelift.

With the final Fighters Pass seemingly ending in 2021, it could be just the thing to ensure interest in Super Smash Bros Ultimate doesn't falter. 

Henry St Leger

Henry is a freelance technology journalist, and former News & Features Editor for TechRadar, where he specialized in home entertainment gadgets such as TVs, projectors, soundbars, and smart speakers. Other bylines include Edge, T3, iMore, GamesRadar, NBC News, Healthline, and The Times.