Super Smash Bros Ultimate could be getting an SNK character as its fourth downloadable fighter.
According to a listing on Nintendo UK's website (which has since been taken down), Super Smash Bros Ultimate's Challenger Pack 4 is planned for release before February 29th, 2020. As with Nintendo's other DLC packs for the game, it'll contain a fighter, a stage, and several music tracks. Most interesting, however, is the SNK Corporation copyright at the bottom of the listing. The Fighters Pass Challenger Pack 4 listing on Nintendo's Spanish website also bears the same trademark. Here's an image grabbed by Nintendo Wire before the listing was taken down:
Nintendo info-folks NanaKarobi and Sabi are claiming that the fourth DLC fighter is Fatal Fury and King of Fighters mainstay Terry Bogard. Sabi previously correctly predicted the release of Ori and the Blind Forest on Nintendo Switch. That doesn't mean this newest rumor is correct, of course, but it does lend some credence to Bogard as a DLC fighter. It's worth remembering that nothing's been officially confirmed yet and that Nintendo is remaining tight-lipped. We'll bring you more on this rumor as we get it.
Super Smash Bros Ultimate will have five DLC characters in total as part of its Fighters Pass. That's not counting Piranha Plant, who was a pre-order bonus and who is now downloadable as a separate character. The first three Fighters Pass fighters are Persona 5's Joker, Dragon Quest's Hero, and Banjo and Kazooie. Joker made his way to the game in April this year, while Hero was released in July. Banjo and Kazooie will launch for the game in late 2019. With that in mind, we're expecting to see the fourth fighter in early 2020, with the fifth finally arriving before February that year.
We're still in the dark as to who the next fighters could be. Terry Bogard hasn't been confirmed at all, and some Reddit users think it could be a mix-up with an SNK Heroines DLC fighter. Supposedly, the Smash Ultimate listing has the same trademark and file size as the SNK Heroines one. This has happened before though; the Hero challenger pack for Smash Ultimate shares a trademark and file size with a Dragon Quest Builders 2 listing, and Hero did come to Smash.
Bogard's inclusion in Super Smash Bros Ultimate makes sense. Director Masahiro Sakurai has spoken about being inspired by King of Fighters, which taught him to consider all types of players when making his games. It's also worth noting that SNK is rising in popularity in the West, in part thanks to the ACA NeoGeo series on Switch. It's not necessarily going to be Bogard though. Other possibilities include Samurai Shodown's Nakoruru, which would make sense given that the newest game in the series is headed to Switch in Japan this December. Metal Slug is also a popular franchise for SNK, so there's a possibility we could see a character from those games. Still, Bogard is the frontrunner; he's something of a mascot for SNK.
Would you be excited for Terry Bogard in Super Smash Bros Ultimate? Let us know in the comments below!
