Hero (SSBU)
| Hero in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | |
|---|---|
     
| |
| Universe | Dragon Quest |
| Availability | Downloadable |
| Final Smash | Gigaslash |
| Tier | A (21) |
| “ | The Hero Draws Near! | ” |
| —Introduction tagline | ||
Hero (勇者, Hero) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and the second fighter from Square Enix after Cloud. He was announced during the E3 Nintendo Direct alongside Banjo & Kazooie on June 11th, 2019 as the second downloadable fighter from Fighters Pass Vol. 1.
The default Hero is the Luminary from Dragon Quest XI, while Erdrick from Dragon Quest III, Solo from Dragon Quest IV and Eight from Dragon Quest VIII also appear as alternate costume characters like the Koopalings and Alph. Unlike the Koopalings and Alph, however, they are all listed simply as "Hero". Hero was released as part of Challenger Pack 2 on July 30th, 2019 and is classified as Fighter #72.
Each Hero has a separate voice actor in all regions of the game; in the Japanese language, he has a chance of calling out a spell's name, excluding the Command Selection spells. The Luminary is voiced by Mitsuki Saiga, the character's Japanese voice actress in Dragon Quest XI S, in place of his English voice actor, Rasmus Hardiker. Nobuyuki Hiyama, Takeshi Kusao, and Yuki Kaji also debut as the voices of Erdrick, Solo and Eight, respectively, in all versions of the game.
Hero is ranked 21st out of 82 on the current tier list, placing him close to the top of the A tier. Hero is one of the most unusual characters in the game, boasting the single highest number of moves for a single character, thanks to his down special in Command Selection and variants of the rest of his special moves. Hero has amazing strengths in having a lot of disjointed range in his aerials, such as forward air, neutral air, and back air. He also has good ground speed and drift to aid his mobility. In addition, his smash attacks are notorious for having 1 in 8 chance to critical hit, with devastating KO power and damage if he lands them. Hero's special moves are arguably his biggest asset. His side special, Zap, most notably its 2nd form in Zapple, is a solid long-range poking tool to attack opponents at bay. His down special Command Selection gives him an extensive and dynamic amount of options, with some spells ranging from buffing his normals or speed (Oomph, Psyche Up, Acceleratle), an active reflector (Bounce), the easiest recovery back to the stage (Zoom), powerful KO tools (Hatchet Man, Flame Slash, Kaboom, etc), or instant KO moves that have a chance to KO extremely early (Whack and Thwack). All in all, this makes Hero one of the scariest characters to fight if he has the right options for the right situations.
Despite these strengths, Hero has several weaknesses. His spells rely on his MP Gauge, which can only be reliably replenished by hitting opponents with non-special moves: if he is very low on MP, he has a lot of trouble in neutral since he is unable to use his most beneficial spells. Hero also has below average frame data overall, making most of his attacks easy to parry or hold shield against. He also has a rather poor combo game, as he has few options to start or extend combos, while his up and down throws lose their combo potential after mid percents and his up aerial is fast but has a severe lack of range. His disadvantage state is mediocre, as his recovery is easy to intercept since it lacks a hitbox in the ascent, and he also has trouble landing due to his limited options. Finally, the sheer unpredictability of Command Selection means that Hero cannot reliably roll for his strongest spells, with some being devastating to use by accident (eg. Kamikazee, Kaclang).
Overall, Hero remains to be one of the most unpredictable characters in the game and a contentious character to debate on, with a lot of X factor and upset potential due to how much he relies on RNG. While his normals offset his specials, Hero is a force to be reckoned with in the right hands. Hero's representation in competitive play has also improved as the metagame progressed, courtesy of strong results from players such as Akakikusu, BeastModePaul, and Shion.
Attributes[edit]
Hero is a tall, middleweight swordsman. As a result, he has long range and his overall damage output is fittingly above-average, but he is prone to being hit easily and is very susceptible to combos. Hero has respectable overall mobility: he has a slow walking speed, slightly below-average air speed and poor air acceleration, but his dashing speed, initial dash, traction, falling speed, and fast falling speed are all either average or above-average.
Hero has a good defensive game. Similar to the three Links, Hero actually sports two shields: the standard shield action that every fighter has, and another equipped on his left arm most of the time. Hero's shield can block projectiles while he is standing idle, walking, or crouching. The wearable shield also affects the first hit of Hero's forward tilt by granting invincibility to his left arm, head, and left leg because of this shield's position, similarly to Palutena's dash attack and back aerial.
Hero possesses a unique fighter ability called the MP Gauge, which has a maximum of 100 Magic Points (MP) and will deplete whenever he uses a special move. MP is restored whenever he hits opponents with attacks, and also restores gradually over time. Although his special moves completely rely on the MP Gauge, they possess tremendous utility. His neutral special, Frizz, is a fireball that travels fast, far, and deals decent damage, allowing Hero to disrupt enemy approaches. In addition, unlike other Frizz spells, Frizz has low vertical knockback, making it possible to start juggles or even true combos. Frizz can be charged into Frizzle, which can beat other projectiles and KO near the ledge at reasonable percentages, or Kafrizz for even more damage, knockback, and traveling distance, turning it into a viable KO move even at mid percentages.
Hero's side special, Zap, has good range for its start-up, deals respectable damage, and KOs at very high percentages. Zap can be charged into Zapple, which grants even more range and damage while being a vertical KO move at high percentages, or Kazap, which results in an attack that sacrifices speed and range for power, being able to KO most opponents center stage at a mere 50%. Additionally, Kazap has damage-based armor that withstands up to 15%, allowing it to resist oncoming attacks. Zap and its variants are disjointed melee attacks, giving them excellent range and, contrary to their appearances, all the lightning bolts generated on hit are immune to reflection and absorption.
Hero's up special, Woosh, is a quick recovery move and is also Hero's fastest and most reliable out of shield punish. Woosh can be charged into Swoosh, granting more vertical distance and horizontal mobility, or Kaswoosh, which provides tremendous vertical distance. Additionally, all Woosh spells leave behind tornadoes, which serve as lingering hitboxes that can damage opponents and gimp opposing recoveries or setup into devastating setups from below the ledge. Finally, his down special, Command Selection, gives Hero a list of four random spells which offer a wide variety of effects. Most of these spells have significant advantages and few disadvantages, which can be seen here. The Command Selection can be canceled by inputting the shield button or by jumping, allowing Hero to repeatedly switch the menu of spells until he has an ideal set of them.
Hero's smash attacks all share a unique perk: they have a 1/8 chance of striking with a critical hit, doubling their damage output and significantly increasing their knockback, allowing them to KO at extremely early percentages. In addition, they cause the smash attacks to cause more shieldstun, making them slightly safer on shield. Even without this perk, Hero's smash attacks have some utility: his forward smash is his strongest smash attack in both damage and knockback, having large range to boot, making it terrific for hard reads or punishes, his up smash has high vertical range, being a reliable anti-air option, good for halting aerial opponents' approaches while remaining a good KOing tool (though it suffers from nonexistent horizontal range, being unable to hit grounded opponents), and his down smash is his weakest smash attack, though it is also his fastest and can be used to punish rolls or spot dodges. Thus, it is a reliable edge-guarding attack in its own right.
Hero's other grounded attacks still possess utility, even if they are less overwhelming than his smash attacks and special moves. Neutral attack has a respectable start-up, damage output, and good range, making it good for both damage-racking at low percentages, spacing, and for warding off immediate pressure. As stated earlier, forward tilt's first hit has blocking capabilities, making it a defensive option that can beat other moves or projectiles and then be followed up with a second hit—a sword slash—which offers better range, identical speed, and more power, allowing for setting up edge-guards or outright KOs near the edge.
Up tilt has a wide range, a respectable damage output, and decent start-up lag; these traits make it a fantastic anti-air option, a serviceable KO option at high percentages, and a much more consistent alternative to up smash. Down tilt has good range—superseding Hero's neutral attack—while offering the same speed and launching vertically; it can be used to hit opponents hanging on the edge and start set-ups. Dash attack boasts high power for an attack of its type at the cost of its high overall lag, being able to KO at 80% from the edge. Lastly, Hero's up and down throws sport some utility. Up throw is his strongest throw and has situational utility as both a combo starter and KO option, being able to KO before 200%, unlike his other throws. Conversely, down throw is a good combo starter at low to medium percentages, and can lead into dangerous set-ups.
Hero's aerial moveset, while not as good as that of many other swordfighters, is impressive nonetheless. Neutral aerial has a wide range around him and launches at a diagonal angle, being a situational combo starter and useful shield poking option. Forward and especially back aerials are both slow (with back aerial being among the slowest of its kind), but they are respectably strong and KO middleweights beginning around 100% and 85%, respectively. Up aerial has the lowest lag out of any of Hero's aerials and deals very low damage and knockback, enabling it to effectively initiate combos into itself or other moves, or even set up KO confirms at varying percentages. Lastly, down aerial is Hero's most damaging aerial, but also one of his slowest. Its clean hit is capable of meteor-smashing opponents, leading to KOs as low as 20% on offstage foes.
But for all the strengths that Hero has, they do come with a price. His access to his special moves is restricted by their reliance on MP. Without enough MP, he is unable to cast any spells, which may put him in great danger offstage, as Woosh will only give him a very small boost without MP. While his Command Selection is very versatile, its random nature means that a desired spell is unlikely to be available. Command Selection also renders Hero unable to move when the menu is open, with his only options being to jump or shield, both of which cancel the move and create a new set of spells when he uses the move again.
While this often is not an issue due to most of the spells having quick startup and good range, as well as the Hero player being able to select the spell quickly, this can sometimes pose a problem if the opponent is in a prime position to punish Hero, which can force the player to sacrifice an ideal set of spells by canceling the move or potentially cause them to panic and use the wrong spell altogether. On top of this, some of his spells have very little utility (such as Metal Slash, which deals 1% and extremely low set knockback against non-metal opponents), while one of them, Hocus Pocus, grants any one of a slew of effects, albeit with detrimental ones outnumbering and outweighing the possible benefits.
Many of Hero's attacks suffer from slow start-up lag (dash attack), high ending lag (up tilt, down tilt, and the second hit of forward tilt), or both (forward and back aerials). Due to being a tall middleweight with slightly above-average falling speed and a lack of any fast or invincible attacks, Hero is also very susceptible to combos. This weakness may be exacerbated further through Hocus Pocus' giant effect, and Oomph applying a 1.2× damage multiplier to attacks that hit him.
Hero's below-average frame data, high raw damage output, and attacks' high knockback values also collectively give him a limited combo game; only certain attacks (particularly neutral aerial, up aerial, up throw, and down throw) can successfully generate true combos. Even then, the fast start-up of Hero's grabs is offset by their very short ranges, while up and down throws' combo potentials wane noticeably past low and medium percentages, respectively. Up aerial suffers from poor range, and down tilt suffers from the aforementioned high ending lag, preventing it from performing any true combos.
Overall, Hero has many strengths and many weaknesses. While he does have a plethora of magic spells at his disposal, a high overall damage output, and a healthy number of strong KO options, he suffers from sluggish frame data, a susceptibility to combos, a reliance on random chance, a limited combo game, and finite resources that are slow to recharge. While there is some potential and strategy in Hero's normal moveset, victory or defeat will frequently come down to resource management and luck.
Update history[edit]
Hero received a mix of buffs, glitch fixes, and a single nerf via game updates, but was buffed slightly overall. Kaboom and Magic Burst's linking hits became more consistent thanks to gaining more hitstun, while Gigaslash's ending lag was decreased significantly. The only nerf Hero received was to Kafrizz: its final hit can now be reflected, absorbed, or blocked by passive shields.
Overall, Hero fares mildly better than he did when he was first released. Due to the other changes he received being strictly quality-of-life adjustments, Hero's competitive reception has remained virtually unchanged since his release.
The ending lag after bouncing when prone has been decreased to be in line with the rest of the roster.
The final hit of Kafrizz can now be reflected, blocked by passive shields and absorbed.- Magic Burst's looping hits deal more hitstun (0 → +2), preventing opponents from escaping them by using moves with intangibility at the start.
Using Zoom while under the effect of a Super Mushroom no longer expire until the end of the move. This prevents cases where Hero would become stuck in the animation indefinitely.- Fixed multiple issues with the initial hit of Gigaslash not granting opponents intangibility; it is no longer possible to perform the following glitches:
- Fixed an issue that caused opponents to take damage near a stage hazard, such as lava.
- Fixed an issue that caused opponents to lose 2 stocks if KOed at high percents. It no longer puts opponents in combat with no stocks remaining.
- Fixed an issue that caused opponents to not lose their Final Smash aura.
- Gravitational Pull and Pocket can no longer affect the explosion of Kafrizz.
- Kaboom's first hit has much less knockback scaling (100 → 40), making it less likely to knock the opponent out of range of the explosion at higher percents.
- Kaboom's first hit has gained a hitstun modifier of 4, preventing opponents from shielding or dodging the second hit afterward.
Hero’s placement in All-Star Mode is changed from being fought before Byleth to being fought between Mega Man and Daisy, matching the release date of Dragon Quest III rather than Dragon Quest XI S.
- Changed the length of vulnerability when crumpling to be consistent with other fighters.
- Gigaslash has less ending lag (FAF 31 → 16).
Moveset[edit]
- Hero has a unique fighter ability called the MP Gauge. His Magic Points (MP) are depleted whenever he uses his special moves, with the amount varying depending on the spell used. The MP Gauge has a maximum of 100 MP, and it is restored over time (at a rate of 1 point per second) or when damaging opponents with normal attacks.
- If Hero attempts to use a spell without the required MP, he will still perform the animation, but without the actual spell being performed. In the case of Zap, it still possesses a hitbox that deals 2%. Additionally, the "failed" sound effect from Dragon Quest will play when this occurs.
- If Hero hits an opponent or a shield with a normal attack, he will gain MP equal to 0.8× of the hitbox's or throw's base damage output; aside from shield damage, no other mechanics (such as the extra damage from charging smashes) will be applied. As shields receive 1.19× more damage from attacks, hitting shields will generally restore more MP unless the attack has reduced shield damage, such as his Critical Hit smash attacks. A resource for how much is gained can be found here.
- While Hero is standing still, walking, or crouching, any incoming projectiles that hit his equipped shield will simply push him back slightly instead of inflicting damage. It can block any amount of projectiles, regardless of their power.
- Hero's smash attacks have a 1/8 chance of inflicting a Critical Hit, which triggers a Special Zoom and deals twice as much damage. This subsequently increases their knockback by a significant amount, although forward smash and down smash have lower base knockback values as a slight compensation. Against shields, Critical Hits have negative shield damage outputs equal to the moves' base damage; this causes them to deal the same damage to shields as the standard versions and thus prevents them from easily breaking shields. However, Critical Hits still inflict more shieldstun due to their higher base damage outputs, making them safer on shield.
- The negative shield damage does not necessarily make a Critical Hit, and a standard hit inflicts the same amount of damage to a shield. This is due to the formula for damage to shields adding the shield damage after applying the stale-move negation/freshness multiplier, but before applying the 1.19× shield multiplier. The damage variation between a Critical Hit and a standard hit is roughly equal to the stale/fresh multiplier; thus, a fresh Critical Hit will inflict more damage, but a stale Critical Hit will inflict less damage.
- Hero cannot inflict a Critical Hit in the Home-Run Contest.
- A Critical Hit's sound effect varies depending on the Hero who inflicts it, although Erdrick and Solo share the same one.[1] These sound effects are sourced directly from their respective Dragon Quest games.
For a gallery of Hero's hitboxes, see here.
Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.
| Name | Damage | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral attack | 3% | An upward slash, followed by a downward slash, followed by another upward slash. Comes out on frame 6, making it slow for a neutral attack, but its disjointed hitbox makes it fairly useful for poking safely and warding off immediate pressure. | ||
| 3% | ||||
| 4% | ||||
| Forward tilt | 5% | An outward shield bash followed by an outward slash. Decent start-up, with the first hit coming out on frame 9. Hero's shield grants the first hit invincibility, like Palutena's dash attack and back aerial; in his case, it is granted to Hero's head and front leg on frame 9, as well as to his arm and shoulder on frames 9-11. The first hit does not rebound, leaving the opponent open to the second hit if the first hit blocks an attack. The second hit can KO at around 130% near the edge. However, it has 39 frames of ending lag if the second hit misses, making it highly punishable. The first hit resembles Blockenspiel, whereas the second hit resembles the Luminary's short-range greatsword attack in Dragon Quest XI. | ||
| 8% | ||||
| Up tilt | 11% (blade), 9% (body) | A hopping, overhead arcing slash, similar to Toon Link's up smash. It has a large range and respectable power (especially if Oomph and/or Psyche Up are active), which makes it a potent anti-air attack and serviceable KO option. However, it has noticeable ending lag, which results in it lacking any true combos. | ||
| Down tilt | 7% | A crouching front kick, similar to Lucario and Ganondorf's down tilts. It comes out on frame 6 like his neutral attack, but has slightly more range than it does and lowers Hero's hurtbox, which makes it a slightly safer poking option. Although it launches vertically, it is a fairly unreliable combo starter because of its rather high ending lag compared to many other down tilts. It lingers for a few frames, allowing it to be slightly better at starting combos if it hits during its final frames, much like Cloud and Sephiroth's down tilts. It resembles Leg Sweep. | ||
| Dash attack | 15% (blade), 13% (body) | A jumping downward slash, similar to Link's dash attack. It is powerful enough to KO at around 80% from the edge. However, it has a very high start-up (comes out on frame 21) and ending lag (29 frames). Based on the Luminary's long-range standard sword attack from Dragon Quest XI. | ||
| Forward smash | 18% (blade), 16% (body), 36% (Critical Hit blade), 32% (Critical Hit body) | A two-handed downward slash, similar to Ike and Ganondorf's forward smashes. Comes out on frame 17, but has 46 frames of ending lag, making it very unsafe. There is a chance of a Critical Hit occurring whenever Hero performs this move; if this happens, it becomes the strongest forward smash in the game, KOing every character while near the edge at 0% when fully charged. | ||
| Up smash | 16% (blade), 14% (body), 32% (Critical Hit blade), 28% (Critical Hit body) | An upward thrust, similar to Marth's up smash. Has decent vertical range but an extremely poor horizontal range, being unable to hit grounded opponents. There is a chance of a Critical Hit occurring whenever Hero performs this move; if this happens, up smash is powerful enough to KO as low as 30% when uncharged. However, it has 37 frames of ending lag, making it very unsafe. | ||
| Down smash | 13% (blade), 11% (body), 26% (Critical Hit blade), 22% (Critical Hit body) | A kneeling inward slash in front of himself, followed by a kneeling outward slash behind himself, similar to Link's down smash. There is a chance of a Critical Hit occurring whenever Hero performs this move. It is Hero's fastest smash attack and is useful for punishing rolls. Despite also being his weakest smash attack, it can KO at reasonable percentages upon landing a Critical Hit or if Oomph and/or Psyche Up are active. | ||
| Neutral aerial | 9% | A semi-circular slash in front of himself, starting from above his head to directly behind himself. It launches at a diagonal angle, which grants it slight combo potential. However, its combo potential becomes much more noticeable while Acceleratle is active, as Hero can follow up with forward aerial at high percentages for a KO confirm. It resembles the first portion of The Real Decoy, a Pep Power in Dragon Quest XI. | ||
| Forward aerial | 12% (blade), 10% (body) | A downward slash, similar to Roy's forward aerial. Slow start-up for an aerial of its kind (comes out on frame 14), but it is strong enough to KO at around 100% at the edge. It also covers a wide arc, making it a good spacing and approaching tool. | ||
| Back aerial | 14% (blade), 12% (body) | An upward slash behind himself, similar to Toon Link's back aerial. One of the strongest back aerials in the game, it boasts excellent power, KOing at around 85% near the edge. It also covers behind Hero very well, and is even able to hit slightly above him. However, it is one of the slowest back aerials in the game, hitting on frame 18. If both Oomph and Psych Up are active, it can break a full shield in one hit when fresh. | ||
| Up aerial | 7% | A stretch kick, similar to Lucario's up aerial. Hero's fastest aerial in terms of start-up, ending, and landing lag, and the only one that can auto-cancel with a short hop. However, it has an extremely short range and is fairly weak. Overall, it is fairly useful for combos, such as being a follow-up from down throw and immediate set-up into neutral aerial at low percentages and, upon auto-canceling, an immediate set-up into forward aerial and back aerial for a KO confirm at high percentages. Can also serve as a last-ditch KO option with Psyche Up and/or Oomph active. | ||
| Down aerial | 16% (clean), 10% (late) | A downward thrust. The clean hit meteor smashes opponents powerfully and makes it his most damaging aerial. However, it has a high start-up (comes out on frame 16) and landing lag. At mid percentages (30%-65% for middleweights), hitting with the meteor hitbox on a grounded opponent can lead to up smash for a potential KO confirm if up smash inflicts a Critical Hit, or if Oomph is active at 50%-60%. The attack's animation upon landing on the ground resembles the pose Erdrick assumes on Dragon Quest III's Super Famicom box art. | ||
| Grab | Grab (つかみ) | — | Reaches out with his left hand. Hero's grab range is very short, being the second shortest in the game. | |
| Pummel | Grab Kneebutt (つかみニーバット) | 1.3% | A knee strike. Average power, but it is marginally slower than other similar pummels due to its higher hitlag. He shares this distinction with Sephiroth. | |
| Forward throw | 7% | Plants his sword into the ground and then throws the opponent away. Low knockback, making it suited primarily for creating space or setting up an edge-guard. However, Oomph and/or Psyche Up grant it KO potential at high percentages while at the edge. | ||
| Back throw | 9% | Performs the tomoe nage, a judo throw. Like forward throw, it is suited primarily for creating space or setting up an edge-guard. However, Oomph and/or Psyche Up grant it KO potential at very high percentages while at the edge. | ||
| Up throw | 7% | Heaves the opponent upward, similarly to Mario's up throw. Due to its low ending lag, it can combo reliably into neutral and up aerials at low percentages. It is also Hero's strongest throw regarding overall knockback; unlike forward and back throws, it can KO at very high percentages (albeit primarily on platforms) without the need for Oomph and/or Psyche Up. Although it is rather weak for a KO option, Oomph, Psyche Up, and/or rage will improve its KO potential noticeably. | ||
| Down throw | 6% | A one-handed body slam. A good combo starter that can lead to either forward aerial or up aerial at low to mid percentages. It can also lead to Kafrizz or forward smash on larger targets at very low percentages. | ||
| Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge |
— | — | ||
| Techs | — | — | ||
| Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front) |
7% | Slashes behind himself, then in front of himself. Due to floor attacks having high shield damage, if Hero is buffed by Oomph and Psych Up, his floor attacks can break full shields if both hits connect. | ||
| Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back) |
7% | Slashes behind himself, then in front of himself. | ||
| Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip) |
5% | Slashes in front of himself, then behind himself. | ||
| Edge attack Edge getups |
9% | Climbs up and slashes inward. | ||
| Neutral special | Frizz / Frizzle / Kafrizz | Frizz: 9%, 6% (late) Frizzle: 9% (hits 1-2) Kafrizz: 19% (hit 1), 3% (hits 2-5), 10% (edge), 8% (edge, late) |
A fireball that can be charged up to become Frizzle and Kafrizz, which are stronger variants that travel increasingly farther and faster. Unlike most chargeable moves, Hero will always begin charging from the beginning if he cancels the move. He is also unable to launch the projectile if he lacks MP, forcing him to recharge his MP and use up any existing charge before he can use weaker variants again.
Frizz: A small fireball that is produced when the move is uncharged. It is quick to throw, but travels very slowly and is very weak. Frizz is the only variant of the Frizz spells that suffers from damage falloff, which means that it gets weaker and slower after traveling a certain distance. Like Fireball, its quick start-up makes it decent at both spacing and, at low percentages, setting up a dash grab to initiate a down throw combo. Frizz costs 6 MP to use. | |
| Side special | Zap / Zapple / Kazap | Zap: 3% (bolt), 2% (sword, no MP), 5% (sword + bolt), 12%/5% (lightning strike), 2.5% (lightning strike, high) Zapple: 6% (hit 1), 14%/10% (hit 2), 5% (hit 2, high) Kazap: 12% (lightning strike, high), 10% (lightning strike), 4% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2, front and back), 12% (hit 3, front), 10% (hit 3, back), 8% (hit 3, edge), 16%/12% (last), 6% (last, high) |
A series of lightning spells that can be charged to become Zapple and Kazap.
Zap: Hero swings his sword upward to emit a burst of electricity in front of himself. It has the fastest start-up and ending lag, but has the shortest range and is the weakest. The sword itself also has a hitbox during the swing, which enables it to deal extra damage, similarly to Wolf's Blaster. This also means Zap can still somewhat be used without MP, although the sword swing deals only 2%. Zap costs 8 MP to use. All variations of Zap's sword attacks are disjointed hitboxes and not projectiles. As a result, they cannot be reflected or absorbed. Despite their appearances, none of the lightning bolts generated on hit can be reflected or absorbed either. | |
| Up special | Woosh / Swoosh / Kaswoosh | Woosh: 7% Swoosh: 3% (hits 1-3), 4% (last) Kaswoosh: 3% (hits 1-5), 4% (last) |
A series of tornado spells that Hero uses for recovery. Can be charged to become Swoosh and Kaswoosh.
Woosh: A small and weak tornado that launches Hero slightly upward. It is very quick (comes out on frame 7), making it a good out of shield option. Woosh has set knockback, meaning that it will inflict the same amount of knockback regardless of the opponent's damage. Woosh costs 5 MP to use. While Kaswoosh offers the best vertical recovery of the three options, Swoosh offers the best horizontal recovery; that said, all three versions still have lackluster horizontal movement, especially at the apex of the launch. All versions of Woosh launch opponents in the opposite direction the Hero is facing, which can lead to gimps, stage spikes, and KOs, especially with Swoosh and Kaswoosh. All variants of Hero's up special are considered projectiles; as a result, opponents with reflectors can deal significant damage to Hero while he is attempting to recover simply by getting close and reflecting the tornado. | |
| Down special | Command Selection | (see below) | Hero chooses between a variety of four randomly-selected spells from a pop-up menu. These spells require MP to use. Shielding or jumping will close the menu, canceling the move and allowing Hero to open it again for a different set. By pressing the opposite direction when selecting a move or tilting the right stick in the opposite direction to select a move, Hero will turn around before unleashing the move, similarly to B-reversing. | |
| Final Smash | Gigaslash | 7% (trapping hit), 33% (cinematic) | Performs an upward slash. If it successfully hits an opponent, the seven non-playable Dragon Quest Heroes appear and bring their respective weapons together, which discharge a combined stream of electrical energy that is infused into Hero's sword. Hero then proceeds to perform Gigaslash while surrounded by the non-playable Heroes. | |
Stats[edit]
| Stats | Weight | Dash speed | Walk speed | Traction | Air friction | Air speed | Air acceleration | Gravity | Falling speed | Jumpsquat | Jump height | Double jump height | Empty landing lag |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | 101 | 1.88 – Initial dash 1.84 – Run |
0.98 | 0.11 | 0.008 | 1.01 | 0.01 – Base 0.045 – Additional |
0.094 | 1.57 – Base 2.512 – Fast fall |
3 | 29 - Base 15.5 - Short hop |
31 | 4 |
Command Selection spells[edit]
| Spell | MP Cost | Relative odds of appearing | Chance of appearing in the top slot of fresh menu | Damage | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bang | 9 | 16 | ≈5.8% | 1.5% (spark) 14%/12% (explosion) | A small, spark-like projectile that generates a small explosion after a set distance or on contact with opponents. Deals decent knockback, KOing vertically starting at around 130%. Cannot appear alongside Kaboom. |
| Kaboom | 37 | 20 | ≈7.3% | 2% (spark), 26%/21% (explosion) | A small, spark-like projectile that generates a large explosion after a set distance or on contact with opponents. The instant before the explosion pulls opponents in if they're close enough. Possesses high knockback and a very large explosion hitbox, KOing around 85% vertically. Cannot appear alongside Bang. |
| Sizz | 8 | 16 | ≈5.8% | 1.5% (bolt), 12% (flames) | A fiery, bolt-like projectile that travels quickly. On impact, it spreads out very briefly. Lacks KO potential onstage, but can KO opponents offstage. Cannot appear alongside Sizzle. |
| Sizzle | 20 | 20 | ≈7.3% | 3% (bolt), 22% (flames) | A fiery, bolt-like projectile that travels quickly and spreads out into brief flames on impact. Deals serious damage and travels very fast, being Hero's fastest projectile. Deals high knockback, KOing around 100% near the edge. Cannot appear alongside Sizz. |
| Flame Slash | 12 | 18 | ≈6.6% | 22% (blade), 17% (flames) | A quick slash with Hero's sword cloaked in flame. Deals considerable damage and knockback, especially regarding its blade hitbox, and has notable range both horizontally and vertically. It can KO middleweights at 90% from the center of Final Destination. |
| Kacrackle Slash | 11 | 18 | ≈6.6% | 17% (blade), 13% (frost) | A quick slash with Hero's sword cloaked in frost. It freezes opponents, with its blade hitbox freezing them for considerably longer than the frost itself. |
| Hatchet Man | 15 | 18 | ≈6.6% | 35% | A delayed downward slash which resembles his forward smash, triggering Special Zoom and a Critical Hit sound effect on hit. Has considerable start-up, but possesses extremely high damage and knockback output, making it capable of KOing early, around 45% from center stage and much earlier near the edge. It can also instantly break a full shield, similarly to a fully charged Shield Breaker. |
| Snooze | 16 | 17 | ≈6.2% | – | Hero extends his hand forward to launch a spherical, pulse-like projectile that sends opponents to sleep if it connects. It can pass through multiple opponents, but can also be blocked. The projectile puts opponents to sleep for longer at close range, but it becomes larger the farther it travels. Infamous for its ability to grant Hero a free charged forward smash, and therefore an early KO, if it hits a grounded opponent at mid percentages. Snooze can affect aerial opponents, which can KO offstage opponents should they be too far to maneuver towards the stage. However, opponents in the air are put to sleep for a much shorter amount of time, due to them receiving 40% of the knockback growth of the grounded hitbox. As a result, Snooze's clean aerial hitbox puts opponents to sleep for less time than its latest grounded hitbox. The projectile will not disappear until its active frames conclude, so it can be thrown at edges to affect recovering enemies. |
| Whack | 10 | 8 | ≈2.9% | 1% | Hero swings his hand forward to launch a slow-moving dark purple sphere. Has a chance to instantly KO the opponent, with a higher chance for it to occur the more damage the opponent has; the formula for Whack to instantly KO is 1 + (pt - 20) / (300 - 20) * 200 + 20 * (pH / 300), where pt is the target's damage pre-hit limited to between 20% and 300%, and pH is Hero's damage limited to 300% or less. As a result, the final rate is always 1% when the opponent is below 20%, and scales up to 100% when the opponent is just below 160%, with a maximum extra 20% chance if Hero is at 300%. The move is notoriously difficult to reflect, as the speed and direction of the reflected projectile depend on the speed and direction the erratically moving projectile was traveling at the moment of reflection. As such, it will often deflect into the ground or up into the air, and in some cases will move so slowly that it seemingly stays in place. Cannot appear alongside Thwack.
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| Thwack | 30 | 12 | ≈4.4% | 3% | Hero swings his hand forward to emit a large, dark purple blast directly in front of himself. Has a chance to instantly KO the opponent, with a higher chance for it to occur the more damage the opponent has. It has a very large hitbox and a windbox around it, which pulls nearby opponents in. However, it also has considerable start-up lag, a minimal damage output, and weak knockback. It can also be reflected, absorbed, and shielded. Cannot appear alongside Whack. |
| Metal Slash | 6 | 7 | ≈2.6%, ≈10% (metal opponent), ≈0.5% (Spirit Battle) | 1% | Hero slashes his sword forward. instantly KOs any metal opponent, including another Hero using Kaclang. When used against non-metal opponents, it will only deal 1% and weak knockback. If there is a metal opponent present when the menu is opened, it has a 4× greater chance of appearing. In Spirit Battles, however, a multiplier of 0.2× is applied to its appearance rate. |
| Kaclang | 6 | 5 | ≈1.8% | 15% (falling) | Encases Hero in metal and makes him impervious to both damage and knockback for a period of time, but also renders him inert. It cannot be canceled once activated. However, Hero can still be KO'd by another Hero using Metal Slash, and any well-timed attack is sufficient to punish him during the ending lag of the move. Using Kaclang in the air will grant Hero a hitbox during his descent (similarly to Stone) and allow him to move left and right until he lands. Cannot appear in the last 30 seconds of a timed match. |
| Kamikazee | 1 | 5 | ≈1.8% | 0.1% (hit 1), 50% (hit 2, close), 35% (hit 2, far) | Hero crosses his arms and begins to glow. After a few seconds, he explodes, instantly KOing himself and inflicting a large amount of damage and knockback to any opponent caught in its large blast radius. The explosion is unblockable, and its sweetspot is strong enough to KO many opponents at 50%-60%. The hitbox only lasts briefly, allowing opponents to dodge and avoid the explosion, even with sidesteps. Using this will count as a KO for the last opponent to hit him. Hero is intangible during the charge-up. Kamikazee does not appear to be available as a menu option during the World of Light Finale. |
| Magic Burst | All remaining MP | 5 | ≈1.8% | maximum: 4.2% (loop), 11% (last) | An enormous, spherical explosion that grows in size, similarly to a Smart Bomb's explosion. It hits multiple times and is active for a few seconds. Consumes all of Hero's remaining MP; the spell's power depends on how much MP Hero has left. The attack has an extremely large range, covering half of Final Destination, and with full MP, it can KO at merely 20%. Its sheer size and duration also mean that it is an incredible edgeguarding tool with sufficient MP, since it can cover every available option with little need for positioning on Hero's end. Due to these factors, along with the move itself being surprisingly quick to activate, it is widely considered to be one of Hero's best command specials (if not his absolute best one), and arguably the most feared, albeit only in circumstances where Hero has at least around half of his MP remaining. Additionally, the move is blockable, with each hit having slightly reduced shield damage. Projectiles can also cancel out the move, and he can be hit by physical attacks at the very beginning of the move's start-up, leaving Hero with no MP and at a great disadvantage, making Magic Burst a "high risk, high reward" move. The loop hits do very little knockback; as a result, Bowser and Kazuya can use their passive armor to retaliate quickly. The damage dealt is multiplied by 0.2 + 0.008MP, with the value being between 0.2× and 1×.
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| Oomph | 16 | 16 | ≈5.8% | – | Increases Hero's damage output by 1.6×, knockback output by 1.1×, and damage received by 1.2×. Only affects melee attacks. Lasts for 12 seconds. |
| Psyche Up | 14 | 16 | ≈5.8% | – | Increases Hero's damage output by 1.2×, knockback output by 1.2×, and shield damage output by 1.65×. Functions similarly to Revenge, and if stacked with Oomph, many of Hero's normal attacks will instantly break a full shield. Only affects melee attacks. Expires after landing a melee attack. As it only boosts the next melee hit that connects, pummels will use up Psyche Up, and stronger versions of Zap (Zapple and Kazap) will not gain increased KO potential, as both moves consist of two hits. |
| Acceleratle | 13 | 16 | ≈5.8% | – | Multiplies Hero's walking speed, dashing speed, air speed, air acceleration, and air friction stats by 2×-2.5×, depending on the stat. Functions similarly to Lightweight, but to a sufficiently high degree that Hero can outrun Sonic and can reach a maximum air speed that is more than 1.5× faster than Yoshi's. However, the sheer speed can make Hero more difficult to control, and it increases the knockback he receives by 1.1×. Lasts for 10 seconds. |
| Bounce | 14 | 16 | ≈5.8% | – | A lingering reflector that when projectiles are reflected by it, increases projectile damage by 1.5×, projectile speed by 1.4×, and projectile health by 1.1×. Like a Franklin Badge, Bounce lets Hero act while it is active, and overrides Hero's passive shield, allowing reflections even if he is standing and facing an opponent. One of Hero's best approach options against projectile users, due to his being able to perform any action while keeping an active reflector. Lasts for 12 seconds. |
| Heal | 7 | 7 | ≈2.6% | Heals 11% | Heals Hero by 11%. Starts with two charges, and resets to two after Hero is KO'd or scores a KO. |
| Zoom | 8 | 15 | ≈5.5%, ≈10.4% (close to blast line) | – | Hero jumps directly upward, going past the limits of the camera, then falls directly onto a random part of the stage, no matter where he was when the spell was used. Hero can act out of his descent while maintaining momentum, unless he performs an action that alters momentum. If used where there is a ceiling above Hero, he will collide against it, while still being able to act afterward. It is invulnerable as soon as Hero starts to fly. Has a 2× (≈53%) chance of appearing in Command Selection when 40 units (or closer) to the blast line. |
| Hocus Pocus | 4 | 3 | ≈1.1% | (see below) | A spell with random effects, either positive or negative, that can also take the form of other Command Selection spells. |
Approximations were done with the equation (X/S), with X being the relative odds of the move and S being the sum of all moves' relative odds, including the selected move's odds.
Hocus Pocus Effects[edit]
| Type | Chance of occurrence | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Positive | 4.88% | Makes him gigantic. However, it cannot be stacked with Mega Smash and a Super Mushroom. |
| Positive | 1.22% | Makes him invincible. |
| Positive | 3.96% | MP is replenished to 100. |
| Negative | 6.1% | Applies a timer effect to himself. |
| Negative | 6.1% | MP is depleted to 0. |
| Negative | 6.1% | Poisons himself, dealing 27.5% total. |
| Negative | 6.1% | Inflicts sleep on himself. |
| Negative | 5.49% | Shrinks himself. |
| Negative | 6.1% | Inflicts the flower effect on himself, dealing a maximum of 22% without button mashing. |
| Neutral | 6.1% | Turns him invisible. |
| Neutral | 47.85% | One of Hero's command spells will consume 4 MP instead of its standard cost.
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Announcer call[edit]
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This article could use additional or higher-quality audio files. The editor who added this tag suggests: Needs announcer calls from other languages. If you have a good audio file for this article, upload it here. |
While Hero's name is the same in Japanese, it is pronounced: "Yuusha".
- English
- Japanese/Chinese
On-screen appearance[edit]
- Flies onto the stage using Zoom and raises his sword vertically, similarly to his side taunt.
Hero's on-screen appearance
Taunts[edit]
- Up taunt: Puts away his sword and shield, then performs Psyche Up as it appears in Dragon Quest VIII.
- Side taunt: Raises his sword vertically into the air.
- Down taunt: Fumbles in place as a Slime meanders in front of him.
Hero's up taunt.
Hero's side taunt.
