Hero (SSBU)

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Hero in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
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Universe	Dragon Quest
Availability	Downloadable
Final Smash	Gigaslash

“	The Hero Draws Near!	”
—Introduction Tagline

The Hero (勇者, Hero) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and the second third-party representative from Square Enix after Cloud. He was announced during the E3 Nintendo Direct alongside Banjo & Kazooie on June 11th, 2019 as the second DLC character from the Fighters Pass. The Hero's default costume is the hero from Dragon Quest XI (Luminary), while the heroes from Dragon Quest III (Erdrick), Dragon Quest IV (Solo), and Dragon Quest VIII (Eight) also appear as alternate characters like Alph and the Koopalings, though unlike those alternate characters, here they are all listed simply as "Hero." The Hero was released on July 30th, 2019, and is classified as Fighter #72.

Mitsuki Saiga reprises her role as the Luminary, voicing him in all regions in place of his English voice actor. Nobuyuki Hiyama, Takeshi Kusao, and Yūki Kaji debut as the voices of Erdrick, Solo, and Eight, respectively.

Attributes

The Hero is a tall semi-heavyweight fighter. Contrary to his weight class, the Hero sports a tall frame—in tandem with his sword—that gives his attacks more reach, yet renders him vertically susceptible to combos; additionally, he sports an above-average damage output and KO potential, giving him attributes similar to those typical of a heavyweight. Collectively, the Hero has respectable mobility: in spite of having a slow walking speed, slightly below-average air speed and poor air acceleration, his dashing speed, initial dash, traction, falling speed, and fastfalling speed are all either average or above-average.

The Hero has a good defensive game, courtesy of his tall frame, his shield, and long sword. His naturally tall frame and long sword give his attacks impressive range, allowing him to keep a safe distance away from his opponent. In a manner reminiscent of the three Links, the Hero actually sports two shields: the standard one that every fighter has, and another equipped in his left arm most of the time. The Hero's shield can block projectiles while he is standing idle, walking, or crouching; its utility also extends to the first hit of his forward tilt, which in a similar manner to Palutena's dash attack and back aerial, grants invincibility to his left arm, as well as his head and left leg.

The Hero possesses a unique MP Gauge, a bar that starts at 100 and depletes whenever he uses his special moves. The amount depleted varies depending on the spell, but it can be restored over time or from attacking foes with standard attacks. Although his special moves completely rely on the MP Gauge, they possess tremendous utility. His neutral special, Frizz, is a fireball that can travel fast and far and deals decent damage, allowing the Hero to disrupt enemy approaches with this. Frizz can be charged into Frizzle or Kafrizz for more damage, knockback and traveling distance, turning it into a viable KO move even at 100%. The Hero's side special, Zap, can be charged into Zapple or Kazap: this results in the move becoming significantly stronger, and also turning into a viable KOing option. Additionally, Zap and its variants are completely disjointed, giving them fearsome range and rendering them immune to reflection and absorption. The Hero's up special, Woosh, can be charged into Swoosh or Kaswoosh. Woosh is a good recovery option, and is further amplified through charging it up, travelling far vertically and granting some horizontal movement. Additionally, Woosh leaves behind tornadoes, which serve as lingering hitboxes that can damage opponents and gimp opposing recoveries. Finally, his down special, Command Selection, gives the Hero a random list of four spells which offer a wide variety of effects. For example, the Bounce spell will reflect projectiles without sacrificing mobility. All of the other spells have significant advantages and little disadvantages to boot, which can be seen here. The Command Selection can be cancelled by inputting the shield button, allowing the Hero to repeatedly switch the menu of spells until he has an ideal set of them.

The Hero's smash attacks all share a unique perk: they have a 1/8 chance of striking with a critical hit, doubling their damage and knockback given, allowing them to KO at extremely early percents. Even without this perk, the 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 edgeguarding; 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 smash attack and can be used to punish rolls or spotdodges—thus, it is a reliable edgeguarding attack in its own right.

The 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 damage output and good knockback, making it good for both damage-racking at low percents and KOing at high percents. As stated earlier, forward tilt's first hit has blocking capabilities, which when coupled with its relatively low lag, makes it a safe defensive option that can be followed up with a second hit—a sword slash—which offers better range, identical speed, and more power, allowing for set-ups or outright KOs. Up tilt has wide range, which, coupled with its respectable damage output and decent startup lag, makes it a fantastic anti-air option and more consistent than up smash. Down tilt has good range—superseding the Hero's neutral attack—while offering the same speed and launching vertically; it can be used to hit opponents hanging on the ledge. Lastly, dash attack boasts high power for an attack of its type at the cost of speed, being able to KO at a mere 80% from the ledge.

The Hero's aerial moveset, while nowhere near as impressive as that of many other swordfighters, is impressive in its own right. Neutral aerial has wide range around him and launches at a diagonal angle, being a situational combo starter and useful shield poking option. Forward and back aerials are both rather slow (with back aerial in particular being among the slowest of its kind), but they both deal respectably decent knockback, KOing at 100% and 85% respectively. Up aerial has the lowest lag out of any of the 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 the 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.

Lastly, the Hero's up and down throws sport some utility: the former can not only act as a situational combo starter, but it is also his strongest throw, being able to KO before 200%, unlike his others; conversely, down throw is a good combo starter at low percents and can lead into dangerous set-ups.

But for all the strengths that the Hero has, they do come with a price. Since all of his special moves uses MP, the Hero is limited in the amount of special moves he can perform at a given moment until the MP Gauge recharges. If he runs out of MP or does not have enough, he will be unable to cast the appropriate spell, which is problematic when recovering off-stage, as the Hero's Woosh spell will only give him a very small hop. While his Command Selection is versatile, its random nature means that there is no guarantee that the appropriate spell will be available for the right situation. On top of that, some of his spells have little utility (e.g, Metal Slash, which deals 1% and extremely low knockback against non-metal opponents), while one of them, Hocus Pocus, grants the Hero a slew of negative effects, outnumbering the positive effects received from it. Furthermore, the majority of the commands will only work under certain circumstances, which cannot all be accounted for during a given usage.

Many of the Hero's attacks suffer from slow start-up lag (dash attack), high ending lag (up and down tilts), or both (forward and back aerials). The Hero's below-average frame data, alongside his high raw damage output and attacks' high knockback values, give him a limited combo ability, only having certain attacks like down tilt, up aerial, up throw, and down throw that can successfully generate true combos. Even then, up aerial suffers from poor range, down tilt suffers from aforementioned high endlag, and up throw only initiates combos at fairly low percentages. As stated earlier, his up smash's horizontal range is nonexistent; thus, it is the Hero's least useful move against aerial opponents and, by extension, his least potent grounded attack.

Due to being a semi-heavyweight with a tall frame, the Hero is vertically susceptible to combos, which is further exacerbated through his falling speed being slightly above-average, his fast-falling speed being exponentially high, and his lack of fast enough means of escaping them. His ability to be comboed fairly easily is pushed even further through one of Hocus Pocus's effects—which makes the Hero giant—as well as Oomph, which makes him take 1.2x the normal damage of any attack (this is further consequential in 1v1 battles).

All in all, Hero’s strengths do outshine his weaknesses. While he does have a plethora of magic spells at his disposal, high damage output, and overall high kill power, he suffers from susceptibility in combos, laggy moves, randomness with MP, and limited combos. This in turn ultimately makes him viable, but to what extent is unknown due to his recent release. While we don't know his viability relative to the cast.

Currently, Hero is banned in South Australia in competitive play, with many different reasons supporting it. The concept of his down special, Command Selection, granting random spells contradicts the tournaments' purpose to show off the skills that a competitor is capable of. Additionally, some moves, such as Whack and Thwack (and to an extent, Metal Slash, but only when facing another Hero), have properties that can instant KO an opponent if they connect properly, with the chances increasing the higher the opponent's damage. One of the most controversial moves is Hocus Pocus, due to the fact that it can cause random effects, majority of which are negative, and some of which cause the same effects as some items (such as the Super Mushroom, Poison Mushroom, and Super Star), which also contradicts the effects of items being banned. Another issue that was brought up was the language. Since utilizing Command Selection requires being able to read the commands, it proves unfair that players who cannot read the language the game is set to cannot tell what spells are being utilized by Hero. This can be unfavorable to both the Hero player and their opponents if they can't read what is on screen, as the former may end up accidentally selecting a spell that they didn't want and will harm them in gameplay (such as Kamikazee), while the latter may not be able to read the spells the Hero player is using and can't prepare for what they are using. With all these reasons, the South Australia Smash Central banned Hero in Australia, though it is stated this could change with future updates. This ban may carry over to other regions or worldwide.

Moveset

• The Hero's shield can block incoming projectiles, akin to Link, Young Link and Toon Link.
• The Hero's smash attacks have a 1/8 chance of having a critical hit effect, triggering a Special Zoom and dealing 2× damage and knockback.
  • The critical hit effect isn't based on an attack-by-attack basis, but rather, it goes into effect for each individual character that is hit by the move. This means one enemy may not receive the critical hit effect, but another will.
• The Hero has an MP Gauge which depletes whenever he uses his special moves. The amount depleted varies based on the spell. The meter is restored over time (at a rate of one point per second), or when damaging foes with regular attacks.
  • The maximum amount of MP is 100.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	A three-hit neutral attack, with the first two hits being slashes going straight up and straight down, and the final hit having him swipe his sword inward. Deals decent damage.
			3%
			4%
Forward tilt			5%	A two-hit attack, similar to Snake, a back-handed shield bash followed up by an outward slash. The shield bash resembles Blockenspiel, and can also block attacks. The slash can KO at around 130% near the ledge.
			8%
Up tilt			11% (blade), 9% (body)	An overhead arcing slash while jumping, similarly to Toon Link's up smash. Has huge reach, making it a potent anti-air. However, it has noticeable ending lag, which doesn't grant it any true combos.
Down tilt			7%	Kicks forward while leaning on the ground with his arm. Having slightly more range than his neutral attack while having the same 6-frame startup, it launches vertically, which can make it a combo starter, albeit a fairly unreliable one because of its rather high endlag compared to other down tilts. Resembles Leg Sweep.
Dash attack			15% (blade), 13% (body)	A jumping slash attack, similar to Link's. Very powerful, being able to KO at around 80% from the ledge. However, it has very slow startup and high ending lag. Based on the Hero's long-range standard sword attack from Dragon Quest XI.
Forward smash			18% (blade), 16% (body)	Performs a two-handed downward slash in front of him, resembling Ike and Ganondorf's forward smashes. It has slow startup and ending lag, making it very unsafe. There is a chance of a critical hit occurring whenever Hero performs this move, which can even one-hit KO if fully charged. The critical version has negative shield damage to prevent it from breaking shields, however due to its higher base damage it deals much more shieldstun, making it safe on shields.
Up smash			16% (blade), 14% (body)	A single upward thrust, which resembles Marth's up smash. Has decent vertical range, but extremely poor horizontal range, being unable to hit grounded opponents. There is a chance of a critical hit occurring whenever Hero performs this move. A critical hit from an up smash is extremely powerful, with uncharged versions being capable of KOing at as low as 30%.
Down smash			13% (blade), 11% (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 the weakest out of Hero's other smash attacks, although it is the fastest and does well at punishing rolls.
Neutral aerial			9%	Swings his sword around him, resembling Ike's neutral aerial. It launches at a diagonal angle, making it a somewhat decent combo tool. This combo potential is even more noticeable with Acceleratle, as Hero can follow up with forward aerial at high percentages as a KO confirm.
Forward aerial			12% (blade), 10% (body)	A downward slash, similar to Roy's forward aerial. Somewhat slow, but it deals moderately high knockback, enough to KO at around 100% at the ledge. It also covers a wide arc, making it a good spacing and approaching tool.
Back aerial			14% (blade), 12% (body)	An upward sword swipe behind his back, which resembles Toon Link's back aerial. Very slow startup for an aerial of its kind, but it boasts excellent power, KOing at around 85% at the ledge. It covers behind Hero very well, being able to even hit slightly above him.
Up aerial			7%	Performs an upward kick. Somewhat resembles Lucario's up aerial, although without a backflip at the end. Hero's fastest aerial in terms of startup, ending and landing lag, and the only one that can auto-cancel in a short hop. However, it has extremely short range, and is fairly weak; this doesn't grant it KO potential, although it offers many combo opportunities. Additionally, at high percentages on landing, this move can combo into forward and back aerial as a KO confirm.
Down aerial			16% (clean), 10% (late)	Thrusts his sword downward with one hand. The clean hit meteor smashes opponents powerfully. It is also his most damaging aerial. However, it is rather slow, and it has very high landing lag. At mid percents (30-65% for mid-weight characters), hitting with the meteor hitbox on a grounded opponent can lead into his up smash (if up smash is a critical hit, it can KO middleweights starting at 30%).
Grab			—	Reaches out with his left hand.
Pummel			1.3%	Knees the opponent.
Forward throw			7%	Throws the opponent away. Low knockback, making it suited only for positioning.
Back throw			9%	Performs the tomoe nage, similar to Toon Link's back throw.
Up throw			7%	Heaves the opponent upward, akin to Mario's up throw. A great combo starter due to its low ending lag, being able to combo into neutral aerial and up aerial at low percentages. It is also Hero's strongest throw, although it is rather weak for a KO throw.
Down throw			6%	Slams the opponent on the ground. A good combo starter that can lead to either his forward or up aerial at low-mid percentages.
Floor attack (front)			7%	Slashes behind himself, then in front of himself.
Floor attack (back)			7%	Slashes behind himself, then in front of himself.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Slashes in front of himself, then behind himself.
Edge attack			9%	Climbs up and slashes inward.
Neutral special		Frizz/Frizzle/Kafrizz	Frizz: 9%/6% (late) Frizzle: 9% (hit 1-2), 18% (total) Kafrizz: 19% (initial hit), 3% (hit 2-5), 31% (total)	A fireball that can be charged up to become Frizzle and Kafrizz, which are stronger variants that travel increasingly farther. Kafrizz in particular deals extremely high damage and knockback, KOing at around 60% near the ledge.
Side special		Zap/Zapple/Kazap	Zap: 12% Zapple: 6% (hit 1), 14% (hit 2), 20% (total) Kazap: 4% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2), 12% (hit 3), 16% (final hit), 38% (total)	An electric bolt that the Hero shoots from his sword. Can be charged up to become Zapple and Kazap, stronger variants. Kazap has super armor frames, and can KO extremely early (at around 40% near the ledge) if all hits connect. All variations of Zap (with the exception of the first half of Kazap) are disjointed hitboxes and not projectiles, meaning that they cannot be reflected or absorbed.
Up special		Woosh/Swoosh/Kaswoosh	Woosh: 7% Swoosh: 3% (hit 1-4), 13% (total) Kaswoosh: 3% (hit 1-5), 4% (final hit), 19% (total)	An attack that creates tornadoes beneath the Hero and launches him upward. Can be charged up to become Swoosh and Kaswoosh. Swoosh grants only slightly more vertical movement but noticeably more horizontal movement, while Kaswoosh grants dramatically more vertical movement and makes for a potent recovery move. Woosh comes out on frame 7, making it a good out of shield option.
Down special		Command Selection	(see below)	The Hero chooses between an impressive variety of four randomly-selected spells from a pop-up menu, even standing in a "thinking" position. These spells require MP to use. Shielding closes the menu, canceling the move and allowing the Hero to open it again for a different set.
Final Smash		Gigaslash	40%	Contains the other seven Dragon Quest heroes who are not playable, charging the Hero's sword with bolts of electricity, before the playable Hero unleashes it in the form of a slash.

Command Selection spells

Spell	MP Cost	Relative odds of appearing	Damage	Description
Oomph	16	16	1.6x damage dealt, 1.2x damage taken	Increases the Hero's attack power by 1.6x for 10 seconds. However, he also takes 1.2x more damage.
Snooze	16	17	-	A forward-moving projectile that sends opponents to sleep if it connects and can pass through multiple opponents, however it can be blocked. The projectile puts opponents to sleep for longer at close range, but gets larger at further ranges. 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; the clean aerial hitbox puts opponents to sleep for less time than the latest grounded hitbox.
Bounce	14	16	1.5x reflected projectile	A lingering spell that reflects projectiles. Like a Franklin Badge, Bounce lets the Hero move around and act while active. One of the Hero's best approaching tools against projectile users, due to him being able to perform any action while keeping out an active reflector.
Flame Slash	12	18	22% (blade), 17% (flames)	A quick slash with the Hero's sword cloaked in flame. Deals considerable damage and knockback, and has huge range in front of him, however only hitting with the blade itself grants high KO power. Capable of KOing midweights at earlier than 95% from the centre of Final Destination.
Kacrackle Slash	11	18	17% (blade), 13% (frost)	A quick slash with the Hero's sword cloaked in frost. Freezes opponents, the blade freezes for considerably longer.
Kaclang	6	5	15% (falling)	Encases the Hero in metal and makes him impervious to both damage and knockback for a period of time, but also prevents him from taking any action. It cannot be canceled once activated. However, the Hero can still be KOed 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 the Hero a hitbox on his descent and allow him to move left and right until he lands.
Zoom	8	15	-	Hero jumps directly upward, going past the limits of the camera, and then falls directly downwards onto a random part of the stage, no matter where he was when the spell was inputted. If used when there is a ceiling above Hero, he will shoot up until he meets the platform, at which point he will collide against it, while still being able to act afterwards. It has invincibility frames as soon as Hero starts to fly. It can be used as a last-ditch recovery if Hero will be unable to reach the ledge otherwise, and if Hero is close to a blast line (within 40 units), the odds of Zoom are multiplied by 3.
Kamikazee	1	5	50.1% (close), 35.1% (far)	Hero crosses his arms and begins to glow. After a few seconds, he explodes, instantly KOing himself and delivering heavy unblockable damage and knockback to any opponent in a large radius, and the sweetspot can KO many opponents within the 50-60% range. Using this will count as a KO for the last opponent to hit him. Hero is intangible during the chargeup. Kamikazee does not appear to be available as a menu option during the World of Light Finale.
Sizz	8	16	13.5%	A flame projectile sent forward. Lacks KO potential onstage, but can KO opponents offstage. Cannot appear alongside Sizzle.
Sizzle	20	20	25%	A flame projectile sent forward quickly. Deals high damage for its speed. Deals decent knockback, KOing around 100% near the ledge. Cannot appear alongside Sizz.
Psyche Up	14	16	1.2x damage dealt	Noticeably increases the knockback dealt by the Hero's next attack and increases the damage by 1.2x, acting similar to Revenge. Projectiles are not affected by Psyche Up, and will not use it up.
Heal	7	7	Heals 11%	Heals Hero by 11% damage. After being used twice, it will no longer appear for selection until Hero scores a KO or is KO'd.
Acceleratle	13	16	-	Temporarily buffs the Hero's movement speed by a significant amount, similar to Lightweight; it also increases Hero's launch rate.
Bang	9	16	15.5%	A small explosive flame projectile sent forward. Explodes on contact with opponents, or after a set distance. Deals decent knockback, KOing vertically starting at around 130%. Cannot appear alongside Kaboom.
Kaboom	37	20	28%	A projectile that explodes after a certain 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.
Hatchet Man	15	18	35%	A forceful, downward slash which resembles his forward smash, triggering Special Zoom on-hit. Has considerable start-up, but possesses extremely high damage and knockback, making it capable of KOing early, around 45% from centre stage, and much earlier at the ledge. It can also instantaneously break a full shield, similar to a fully charged Shield Breaker.
Whack	10	8	1%	Hero swings his hand forward, sending out a slow-moving dark purple projectile. Has a chance to instantly KO the opponent, with a higher chance for it to occur the more damage the opponent has. Deals next to no damage or knockback. Cannot appear alongside Thwack. The formula for Whack to instantly KO is 1 + (pt - 20) / (300 - 20) * 200 + 20 * (pH / 300), where pt is the target's percent pre-hit limited to between 20% and 300%, and pH is Hero's percent limited to 300% or less. As a result, the final rate is 1% when the opponent is below 20% damage, and scales up to 100% when the opponent is just below 160% damage, with a maximum extra 20% chance if Hero is at 300% damage.
Thwack	30	12	3%	Hero swings his hand forward, and a large dark purple spark appears directly in front of him. 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 startup lag. It deals only 3% damage and little knockback, and can be reflected, absorbed, and shielded. Cannot appear alongside Whack.
Metal Slash	6	7	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% damage, and weak knockback. If there is a metal opponent present when the menu is opened, the odds of Metal Slash are multiplied by 4, however in spirit battles, it is instead multiplied by 0.2.
Hocus Pocus	4	3	(see below)	A spell with random effects, both positive and negative, and also can take the form of other Command Selection spells.
Magic Burst	All remaining MP	5	10.1%-48.8%	A powerful and massive blast that grows in size, similar to a Smart Bomb explosion. It hits multiple times and is active for a few seconds. Consumes all of the Hero's remaining MP; the spell's power depends on how much MP the Hero has left. The attack has extremely large range, covering half of Final Destination, and with full MP, it can KO at merely 20%. Due to these factors, along with the move itself being surprisingly quick to activate, it is widely considered to be one of, if not the Hero's best command specials 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.

Hocus Pocus Effects

Type	Effect
Positive	Makes him giant.
Positive	Makes him invincible.
Positive	MP is refilled to 100.
Negative	Applies a timer effect to himself.
Negative	MP is reduced to 0.
Negative	Inflicts poison to himself, dealing 27.5% damage total.
Negative	Inflicts sleep on himself.
Negative	Makes him small.
Negative	Inflicts the flower effect on himself, dealing a maximum of 22% damage without mashing.
Neutral	Turns him invisible.
Neutral	One of the Hero's commands is granted for 4 MP instead of the value it usually consumes. Note: if the command is Magic Burst, it will consume all MP as usual.

On-screen appearance

• Flies onto the stage using Zoom.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Charges in place as a purple aura envelops around him. References the original Psyche Up animation.
• 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.

• 

  Hero's down taunt.

Idle poses

• Lifts sword in front of him.
• Assumes an attack stance.

• 

  Hero's first idle pose

• 

  Hero's second idle pose

Victory poses

• Left: The Hero raises his sword in the air, slashes twice and finishes in a pose.
• Up: The Hero performs Kazap and strikes a pose.
• Right: The Hero walks up to three Slimes, kneels down and looks at them with a smile. The camera angle before the Hero appears also references the first-person battle screens of most Dragon Quest games.

An arrangement of the ending phrase of "Overture", the main Dragon Quest theme.

• 
• 
• 

In competitive play

Notable players

Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the Spring 2019 PGRU, which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from February 1st, 2019 to July 7th, 2019.

Active

•  Ryuga (#33) - Co-mains Ike and Hero, and is regarded as the best Ike player in the world. Placed 65th at Super Smash Con 2019 using Hero and Ike.
•  Salem (#22) - One of the best Snake players in the world and prior to that, was also one of the best Shulk players in the world. Placed 49th at Super Smash Con 2019 mostly using Hero.
•  Tsu (#44) - Has a strong Hero secondary. Placed 9th at Umebura SP 4 using Hero along with Lucario.
•  Zackray (#12) - Has a strong Hero secondary. Placed 25th at Umebura SP 4 using Hero and Joker.

Ban

Hero's moveset, specifically Command Selection, has been controversial due to its randomness. Comparisons have been drawn between Command Selection and items, with the argument being that the unpredictable nature of both of them result in a decidedly uncompetitive environment, in which skill alone is not sufficient to win matches (coincidentally so as certain spells like Hocus Pocus grant abilities only found with items such as the Super Star and Timer). Furthermore, specific commands have also been the subject of controversy, such as Zoom which invalidates any attempts at edgeguarding, Whack and Thwack which are capable of KOing at absurdly early percentages, or Magic Burst which practically prevents the entire cast from recovering without much skill required on the part of the player using Hero. Random critical hits from smash attacks have also stirred conversation regarding Hero's skill factor, though not quite to the same degree as Command Selection. Finally, issues regarding language barriers have also been raised, as it is not uncommon for players to compete in regions which do not share their first language, which puts them at a significant disadvantage both when playing as or against Hero, through no fault of their own.

Many prominent smashers, such as Leffen, have advocated banning Hero, while others such as Dabuz have come out against a ban, arguing that the character has significant counterplay. The first region to ban Hero from tournaments was South Australia, who put the ban into effect on August 15th, 2019. . This was met with criticism, with players in the community such as D1 and ZeRo stating that it's too early to declare whether the character should be banned or not.

Classic Mode: A History of Heroism

Hero's congratulations screen.

Every battle aside from the last one is a stamina battle, referencing the HP system in Dragon Quest and most RPGs. Additionally, every battle uses a song from the Dragon Quest universe regardless of stage.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Kirby (×3)	Gaur Plain (Battlefield form)	The Hero Goes Forth with a Determination	A reference to Slimes and She-Slimes.
2	Hero and Tiny Robin	Yggdrasil's Altar	Unflinchable Courage	References the Hero and Veronica from Dragon Quest XI.
3	Hero	Temple	Wagon Wheel's March	A fight against the Hero from Dragon Quest IV, Solo.
4	Rathalos	Forest Hill	Fighting Spirits - DRAGON QUEST III	Dragons are recurring enemies in the Dragon Quest series. Rathalos could also be specifically referencing a Red Dragon, an enemy from the original Dragon Quest.
5	Hero and Tiny Pikachu	Gaur Plain (Battlefield form)	War Cry	References the Hero from Dragon Quest VIII and his pet Pig-Rat, Munchie.
6	Hero	Castle Siege (third transformation)	Adventure - DRAGON QUEST III	A fight against the Hero from Dragon Quest III, Erdrick.
Bonus Stage
Final	Robin and Giant Charizard	Dracula's Castle (Ω form)	Fighting Spirits - DRAGON QUEST III (Robin) Battle for the Glory - DRAGON QUEST IV (Giant Charizard)	Charizard is not announced in the loading screen. References the fight against the Dragonlord from the original Dragon Quest. In that fight, the Dragonlord starts off in his human form, but upon defeat he turns into a giant dragon for the second phase, much like here.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Unlike other fighters, the music that plays differs depending on the costume selected.

• The Luminary uses The Hero Goes Forth with a Determination.
• Erdrick uses Adventure - DRAGON QUEST III.
• Solo uses Wagon Wheel's March.
• Eight uses Marching through the Fields.

Role in World of Light

The message that shows Hero's availability in World of Light

Due to his status as downloadable content, Hero does not have a legitimate role in World of Light. Instead, he is unlocked for use in the mode after freeing 10 fighters from Galeem's control. If loading an existing save file that meets this condition prior to downloading Hero, he is immediately unlocked.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
70		Hero	There is no fighter battle for Hero, this fighter is obtained by awaking 10 fighters after it is downloaded.

Spirits

Hero's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 coins, but only after Hero has been downloaded. Unlocking Hero in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic.

Additionally, the other three heroes have their own fighter spirits.

• HeroDQXIS.png

  1,324. Hero (DRAGON QUEST XI S)

• ErdrickTrans.png

  1,325. Hero (DRAGON QUEST III)

• HeroDQIV.png

  1,326. Hero (DRAGON QUEST IV)

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  1,327. Hero (DRAGON QUEST VIII)

In Spirit Battles

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
1,329	File:Cetacea Spirit.png	Cetacea	DRAGON QUEST Series	•Giant King K. Rool •Hero		9,500	Yggdrasil's Altar (Omega form)	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy has super armor but moves slower •Timed stamina battle	The Hero Goes Forth with a Determination	Luminary

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  The Hero's splash art.

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  Luminary crouching on Great Plateau Tower.

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  Luminary posing on Yggdrasil's Altar.

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  Luminary using Heal while Cloud uses his side taunt on Spear Pillar.

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  Luminary attacking Incineroar with his up aerial on Coliseum.

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  Luminary using Frizz on Gaur Plain.

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  The other Heroes (Solo, Erdrick, and Eight) on Palutena's Temple.

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  Luminary attacking Robin with his neutral aerial and Erdrick attacking Wario with his forward smash on Yggdrasil's Altar.

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  Luminary using Kazap on Battlefield.

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  Luminary striking Inkling with his forward tilt on Battlefield.

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  Luminary using Frizzle against Ridley on Yggdrasil's Altar.

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  Luminary hitting Fox with his up smash on Yggdrasil's Altar.

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  Luminary using his neutral attack against Fox on Yggdrasil's Altar.

Trivia

• When the Hero originally began development, he was planned to be silent, similar to previous Dragon Quest protagonists. However, with the addition of voice acting in the Japanese version of Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition (as the localized version of Dragon Quest XI had voice acting from the beginning), plans were changed and voices for the Hero were added.
• The smoke particle effect on the Damage meter that indicates a fighter is badly damaged overlaps in front of the Command Selection window, potentially making it more difficult to quickly decide which command to use.
• According to a Famitsu column by Masahiro Sakurai, there are restrictions from Square Enix that prevent certain Dragon Quest protagonists from encountering each other. However, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was given special exception in order to have the different Heroes as alternate character costumes.
  • Eight's addition as an alternate character costume was particularly due to requests from Western fans for the character.
• The Hero is the only DLC and third-party character to also have other characters appear as alternate costumes.
  • Additionally, the Hero's fourth and eighth alternate costumes are the first and so far only alternate costumes to feature a separate character that is not part of the default costume. In this case, it is Munchie.
• The Hero's trailer is the first of any DLC character trailer to have completely original CGI animation; all previous DLC trailers either used the in-game engine, 2D animation, or (in the case of Corrin) pre-existing CGI animation.
  • It is also the only instance where a Square Enix character appeared in any CGI animation for the game, as Cloud has never appeared in such for either this or the previous entry.
  • It is also the second time an alternate character costume appears as part of any CGI animation for the game, the first being Inkling Girl and Inkling Boy in the opening of Adventure Mode: World of Light.
  • The trailer features a slight rendering issue: when the Luminary falls on the ground causing some Slimes to scatter, one of them appears in transparency through his hair for a few frames, even though it is behind him.
• The Hero's reveal trailer makes multiple references to the Dragon Quest games.
  • The scene where the Luminary rides a Gogoat is a reference to the horse riding mechanic in Dragon Quest XI.
  • The scene where the Luminary, Zero Suit Samus, and Zelda are sitting at a campfire references the camping mechanic in Dragon Quest XI.
    • Zero Suit Samus and Zelda also reference the party members Jade and Serena respectively. They also represent these characters in the Hero's Comrades Spirit Battle.
  • The scene where Eight walks through poison to pick up the Beam Sword is referencing that players will often times have to walk through poison in dungeons and on the overworld to obtain items in the Dragon Quest games.
    • The Beam Sword could also be a reference to the Dragovian King Sword, a powerful sword (usually being the ultimate one) that appears in multiple games and is also the sword that Eight uses as his weapon in Smash.
    • It is also a reference to the first Dragon Quest game where the Mark of Erdrick, a mandatory item, was located in a poisonous swamp on the world map.
  • The introductory tagline, "The Hero Draws Near!", refers to the text that appears when the Hero encounters an enemy in battle.
  • The scene where the Luminary throws a barrel upward to reveal a Franklin Badge references the Mini Medal, a collectible item that serves as the currency for particularly rare and powerful items.
• The Hero's artwork pose in the panoramic banner is similar to Young Link's pose in his official render, but mirrored.
  • Similarly, the Luminary's artwork greatly resembles Young Link's artwork from Ocarina of Time, which is used for his fighter spirit; however, the positions of the sword and shield are flipped, since the Luminary is right-handed.
• In Japanese, Hero has a chance of calling out a spell's name, excluding the Command Selection spells. This makes him the fifth character in the series to have specific lines in the Japanese language track of a game replaced by generic grunts outside of Japan after Fox, Sheik, and Falco in Melee and Mewtwo in all of its playable appearances.
  • Kirby also follows this trait as well, making it the first Copy Ability of his to have such a distinction.
  • This is excluding Pit's Upperdash Arm and Power of Flight, as Pit is voiced normally otherwise in both English and Japanese.
• The Hero is the third playable character to feature a non-playable character in the panoramic artwork with them, featuring Slime alongside him. The first two are Olimar and Joker who feature Mr. Saturn and Morgana with them respectively.
• Solo is the only one of the Hero's alternate costumes who does not hold a shield in his artwork.
• In German, Spanish, French, and Italian, the name tag and voice clip from the announcer on the victory screen is slightly different from the one used on the character select screen, instead featuring a noticeable translation of "the" ("der Held", "el Héroe", "le Héros", and "l'Eroe"). Hero shares this trait with Wii Fit Trainer, Pokémon Trainer, Villager, Inkling, and the Mii Fighters.
• Depending on which version of the Hero is being played, the Critical Hit sound effect from that Hero's respective game will play when a critical hit through a smash attack or Hatchet Man is landed.
  • Additionally, when the Hero charges a smash attack, the "player attacks" sound effect from the Dragon Quest series will play.
• Hero and Ryu are the only characters who have stamina battles for their Classic Mode routes.
• Hero's Classic Mode is one of only three to feature a fight against a boss (in this case, Rathalos) outside of the boss round, the others being Bowser and Mega Man, and one of the few whose boss round does not feature a designated boss, instead fighting characters who are otherwise playable (in this case, Robin and Charizard).
  • In addition, he is the only third-party character to battle Rathalos as his boss in his Classic Mode.
• So far, Hero is the only character whose Fighter ability (in this case, his MP Gauge) can be fully utilized by Kirby, as the ability won't automatically be discarded after exhausting the MP Gauge.
• When KO'd by reaching 0 HP in Stamina Mode, Hero uses his heavy knockback scream rather than the standard KO scream. This trait is shared with Mario and Dr. Mario.
• Because of heavy controversy regarding Hero as anti-competitive in Ultimate due to the large amount of randomness in his moveset, Hero is the fourth character to have been officially banned from any tournament matches, the first three being Meta Knight from Brawl, and Cloud and Bayonetta from Smash 4.