Hero

The Hero is a title assigned to various main playable characters in the Dragon Quest series. Their background, appearance, skills, and roles of the heroes vary between the games as they are all unique characters from one another.

Four of these heroes appear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a singular downloadable character. Players can cycle between them through alternate skins, with the default choice being the Hero from Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age.

Naming
In the Hero's reveal trailer for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Masahiro Sakurai assigned each one a different nickname to differentiate between them. Their names are as follows:

They all represent a hero from a different Dragon Quest series game. Their origins are as follows:
 * Eleven is from Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age. Though he is officially known as the Luminary in his origin game, his nickname of "Eleven" stems from the fact his game is the eleventh in the series.
 * Arusu is from Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation. Within the Dragon Quest fan base, he is commonly referred to as Erdrick.
 * Solo is from Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, which is his default name in the game.
 * Eight is from Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King. His name stems from the fact his game is the eighth in the series.

Despite this, their nicknames are not used in-game at all; all menu screens and the announcer refer to all four incarnations of the character as "Hero". Their Spirit also refers to them as Hero, with their origin game in parenthesis.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
During the E3 2019 Nintendo Direct on June 11, 2019 (PST), the heroes of Dragon Quest were announced as DLC fighters for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, set to release during the summer of 2019 (PST) as the second fighter in the first Fighters Pass (as well as the third downloadable fighter overall), included within Challenger Pack 2. In a similar vein to Pokémon Trainer, Villager, Wii Fit Trainer, Robin, Olimar and Alph, Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings, Corrin, and Inkling, Eleven is the default skin for the character, while Asuru, Solo, and Eight can be chosen as alternative costumes. They all use a sword and shield, similar to Link, Young Link and Toon Link, and have access to magical abilities from their series, such as Sizzle. Many of their basic attacks use sword jabs and swings, with their shield able to block projectile attacks. Their magical attacks are limited by their MP gauge (which fills up over time or attack to fills its). Slime also appear alongside them during taunts. With the notable exception of Command Selection, Hero's special moves switch between three types of magical attacks depending on the charge level and costs higher amount of MP when charged for longer, much like Robin's Thunder. Hero's down special move, Command Selection, instead has him choosing a variety of four randomly selected spells from a pop-up menu similar to the one from the original game. Regarding weight, Hero is one of the lighter heavyweights, being lighter than Mega Man but heavier than Mii Swordfighter and Cloud. Challenger Pack 2, including Hero, the Yggdrasil's Altar stage, and music from the Dragon Quest series, was released on July 30, 2019 (PST). Hero is classified as fighter #72.

In Hero's reveal trailer, Link is shown dueling puppet fighters of Marth and Meta Knight, both of whom were created by Dharkon. Link is overpowered by both puppet fighters, who prepare to rush him for a final hit. However, throughout their battle, a horse is galloping towards Link and the puppet fighters. When the Marth and Meta Knight puppet fighters are about to attack Link one more time, the Hero - revealed to be Eleven - attacks from behind, knocking away the puppet fighters from Link. Several gameplay clips of Eleven are shown: Eleven is KOing opponents at first, but is later KO'd himself several times. The gameplay cuts back to CGI, showing Dharkon's puppet fighter army cornering a weakened Eleven. Asuru, Solo, and Eight join to assist Eleven, where all four Heroes rush towards the puppet fighter army. Gameplay footage of all four Heroes is shown, where they all work together to KO their opponents. The Hero's trailer ends with Asuru using his Final Smash.

The hero, Arusu, also has his own Mii Fighter outfit and headgear (called Erdrick's Armor and Erdrick's Helmet, respectively) that Mii Fighters can don. The outfit is exclusive to Mii Swordfighters, while the helmet can be worn by any Mii Fighter class.

Hero is the second fighter from Square Enix; following Cloud and preceding Sephiroth and Sora.

Classic Mode route
Aside from the final round, all matches in Hero's Classic Mode route are Stamina battles.

Special moves
All of Hero's special moves uses the MP Gauge mechanic. A certain amount of MP is required to perform various spells from each of Hero's special moves. If Hero does not have enough MP, the attack does not perform and a failing sound from Dragon Quest plays. He can recharge their MP by attacking an opponent, with each damage equating to the amount of MP he regains.

Frizz / Frizzle / Kafrizz
Frizz / Frizzle / Kafrizz are Hero's standard special move that appeared in the Dragon Quest series. Each of these spells can be used by Hero when he is charging his move automatically, however cancelling the move forces Hero to recharge from the very beginning.

Frizz causes Hero to throw a small fireball that is quick to charge but slower and weaker in the process. It costs 6 MP to use. Frizzle has Hero shoot out two intertwined fireballs that can split in two to deal powerful damage at a much faster rate, costing 16 MP to use. Kafrizz deals the most damage and knockback, but could put Hero at risk from a reflector move. This move exhaust 36 MP.


 * Names in other languages

Zap / Zapple / Kazap
Zap / Zapple / Kazap are Hero's side special moves, and are dependent on how long the side special is held. Zap causes Hero to cast a small electric bolt, fast but weak in the process. Zap cost 8 MP to use. Zapple casts a longer beam of electricity and deals more damage and more range, costing 18 MP. Kazap results in Hero electrifying his sword and slashing their opponents. This move cost 42 MP, the most exhausting of Hero's special moves.


 * Names in other languages

Woosh / Swoosh / Kaswoosh
Woosh / Swoosh / Kaswoosh are Hero's up special moves, each move dependent on how long the up special is held. Woosh summons a small tornado that slightly launches Hero upwards, and uses 5 MP. Swoosh creates a larger tornado that deals more damage and give Hero a boost in their recovery. It exhausts 9 MP in the process. Kaswoosh results in Hero summoning two large tornadoes that deals significant amount of damage, as well as giving Hero massive vertical momentum. Kaswoosh cost 18 MP for use.


 * Names in other languages

Command Selection


Command Selection is Hero's down special move, where he selects one spell from a pool of four random spells. The total amount of spells that Hero has is 21, however some spells cannot appear with others (e.g. Whack cannot appear on the same selection as Thwack). Each spells uses up different amounts of MP.


 * Names in other languages

The magical skills that can be selected from Command Selection are:

Gigaslash


Gigaslash is Hero's Final Smash, which is performed when Hero successfully strikes another fighter in front of him. It summons the other Dragon Quest heroes from I, II, V, VI, VII, IX, and X, all casting a bolt of lighting together and sending it to Hero's sword, who then slashes his opponent and launches them. It is one of the few Final Smashes to utilize a pre-rendered cinematic.


 * Names in other languages

Palutena's Guidance
Hero shares this stock conversation with all other Fighters Pass characters. It was originally used for Mewtwo, Lucas, Roy, Ryu, Cloud, Corrin, and Bayonetta in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, who are downloadable fighters in that game.
 * Pit: Who is THAT?
 * Palutena: I have no data on this fighter. I can't believe it!
 * Viridi: It must be an intruder from another dimension!
 * Pit: Whoever it is, the goal remains the same: to fight and win!

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate official website

 * The Hero from the DRAGON QUEST series joins Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a playable fighter! Wielding the Supreme Sword of Light and a trusty shield, he can slice his foes and block incoming attacks. When Hero pulls up his Command Selection screen, he’ll have access to a random selection of spells that could turn the tide of battle in his favor!

Trivia

 * Each of the heroes has a palette swap that references another character or class from the series: Eleven's is based on Angelo, Arusu's is based on the hero of Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, Solo's is based on the hero of Dragon Quest, and Eight's is based on Terry from Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation.
 * When playing on the Alefgard board in Fortune Street, Erdrick is mentioned by various characters.
 * The Hero is the first third-party character to have other characters from the same series as alternate costumes in the Super Smash Bros. series before Steve.