Sora Is the Newest Challenger in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

By Kevin Fox and Paste Staff | October 5, 2021 | 1:35pm

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Sora Is the Newest Challenger in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has announced their long-awaited final DLC character, Kingdom Hearts protagonist Sora. According to creative director Masahiro Sakurai, Sora was the most-requested fighter the Super Smash Bros. series has ever had, dating back to a 2015 poll for the 3DS/WiiU edition of Super Smash Bros.. Nintendo revealed Sora with a trailer that calls back to an old Super Smash Bros. release. Mario sees a fireball falling from the sky, and then it turns out to be a spinning keyblade, the iconic weapon of the Kingdom Hearts franchise.

The addition of Sora brings the total number of fighters for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate to 89 by Nintendo’s count. Sora comes from one crossover franchise to another, as Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts had the unique calling card of combining the characters and settings of Disney and the Final Fantasy franchise. Sora joins other Square Enix characters like his ally from Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy VII protagonist Cloud Strife. Sora will be added to the game on Oct. 18, $5.99 as part of Challenger Pack 11, and is automatically included with Fighter Pass Vol. 2.

Sora will be joined by three new Mii fighter costumes (costumes for the player avatars first created with the Nintendo Wii); they are an Octoling and the cat Judd (inspired by the Splatoon franchise), and the Doom Slayer (from Doom). The three costumes will be available for $0.75 each.

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Sora has some costume variations of his own. While his primary outfit is based off of the original Kingdom Hearts, he also gets color combination variants from Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, and Kingdom Hearts III. He has further variants based off of four other outfits from Kingdom Hearts II, including the “Timeless River” level, and an ultimate form from Kingdom Hearts III. His pose changes in the artwork for each costume, though his face and hair remain the same.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the fifth game in the beloved Super Smash Bros. franchise, a last-fighter-standing arena brawler series that draws characters from across Nintendo properties and outside properties like Metal Gear Solid and Pac-Man.

The Super Smash Bros presentation by series creator and director Masahiro Sakurai, who also voices Kirby character King Dedede, was charming and fun, featuring Sakurai playing coy during the Sora reveal, before explaining some of the development process and putting up posters of Sora’s different color combos. Sakurai explained that Sora has more straightforward combat controls than some DLC characters, but that weight is his disadvantage, while also showing off his aerial combat skills. You can watch the announcement video, the final “Mr. Sakurai Presents” direct showcase for this generation, below.