When it came to the Nintendo Direct tonight, everyone knew a Super Smash Bros fighter would be revealed. After all, the original tweet mentioned it, Sakurai himself mentioned it in a quote tweet shortly after…

And everywhere under the sun pointed it out at every turn.

Similarly, many people may have predicted it’d be a Xenoblade Chronicles 2 character as well. After all, Rex is a fairly popular choice, and the series has gotten a few calls for another newcomer in Smash.

So it’s again, only a logical choice here.

But we’re gonna hazard a guess that no one predicted exactly who said newcomer would be. Why? Well the trailer kind of says it all really:

A new DLC fighter for Super #SmashBrosUltimate has been announced! This fighter will release in March, so stay tuned for more information soon. pic.twitter.com/5yBSEMOyx9

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 17, 2021

Yep, as the title of the article suggests, Pyra and Mythra are the new playable character this time around, not Rex. What’s more, they’re not echo fighters or alternate costumes either.

No, they’re actually treated as one fighter instead. As a result, you can switch between the two at any time, depending on whether you want to use fire or electric type attacks in any given situation.

It’s an interesting setup, and one which we thought had kinda died out long ago. After all, the last three characters with this sort of setup were Zelda, Samus and Pokemon Trainer, and even those only ended up keeping their transformations in Ultimate due to sheer inertia.

But that’s not the case. We now have another transforming character, and one that’s being added to the game a good decade after the others to boot.

So it’s clear that nothing is off the table where newcomers are concerned here.

And that’s not the only thing that’s clear here. Nope, it’s also been made quite clear that Sakurai just loves to shatter people’s expectations too.

Since the very trailer for these characters outright mocks the idea that Rex would get into the game instead. It’s like he’s trying to tell both Nintendo executives and the fans that sure, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 might get a new character. But also at the same time, that no, said character won’t be the heavily marketed protagonist or some other obvious pick too.

So err… be careful what you wish for Geno and Waluigi fans. Cause for all you know, Sakurai might decide that Mallow or Captain Toad or Pauline or some other unlikely pick might be a better fit for Smash instead, expectations be damned!

Either way, the two will be added to the game in March this year. So check out the following screenshots to see them in action:

As well some other artwork made for them here:

Then tell us your thoughts on their inclusion as playable characters in the comments below, on the Gaming Latest forums, or on our Discord server today!

Source:

Pyra and Mythra Character Page (Super Smash Bros Ultimate Official Website)