Hero (Life & Death)

Hero (勇者, Hero) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Life or Death.
Hero is comprised of four different selectable protagonists from across the Dragon Quest series, being Eleven from Dragon Quest XI, Erdrick from Dragon Quest III, Solo from Dragon Quest IV, and Eight from Dragon Quest VIII. Despite being different protagonists from different games in the Dragon Quest universe, all four share the same moveset and name, with the only differences being their voices, swords, and shields.
Eleven is voiced by Mitsuki Saiga, Erdrick is voiced by Nobuyuki Hiyama, Solo is voiced by Takeshi Kusao, and Eight is voiced by Yūki Kaji. All four reprise their roles from previous Smash installments with new voice clips.
==How to Unlock==
Hero is available from the start of a new game and doesn't need to be unlocked.
==Moveset==
*Hero has a unique fighter ability called the MP Gauge. His Magic Points (MP) are depleted whenever he uses his special moves, with the amount varying on the spell used. The MP Gauge has a maximum of 100 MP, and it is restored over time (at a rate of 1 point per second) or when damaging opponents with regular attacks.
*If Hero attempts to use a spell without the required MP, he will still perform the animation, but without the actual spell being performed. In the case of Zap, there is still a hitbox that deals 2%. Additionally, when this occurs, the failed sound effect from Dragon Quest will play.
*If Hero hits an opponent or a shield with a normal attack, he will gain MP equal to 0.8× of the hitbox's or throw's base damage, affected by no other mechanics (not even the extra damage from charging smashes) except for shield damage. As shields receive 1.19× more damage from attacks, hitting shields will generally restore more MP, unless the attack has reduced shield damage, such as his critical hit smash attacks.
*While Hero is standing still, walking, or crouching, any incoming projectiles that hit his shield will simply push him back slightly instead of inflicting damage. It can block any amount of projectiles, regardless of their power.
*Hero's smash attacks have a 1/8 chance of having a critical hit effect, triggering a Special Zoom and dealing twice as much damage. This subsequently increases their knockback by a significant amount, although forward and down smash have lower base knockback values as a slight compensation. Against shields, critical hits have negative shield damage equal to the moves' base damage, causing them to deal the same damage to shields as the standard versions and thus preventing them from easily breaking shields. However, critical hits still inflict more shieldstun due to their higher base damage, making them safer on shield.
*The negative shield damage does not necessarily make a critical hit and a non-critical hit do the same amount of damage to a shield. This is due to the formula for damage to shields adding the shield damage after the stale-move negation/freshness multiplier, but before the 1.19 shield multiplier. The damage variation between a critical and non-critical is roughly equal to the stale/fresh multiplier, so a fresh critical will do more, but a stale critical will do less.
*Hero cannot critical hit in Home-Run Contest.
*Apart from Erdrick and Solo, each Hero uses a specific sound effect when a critical hit lands, which are directly taken from their respective Dragon Quest games. Erdrick and Solo share the same critical hit sounds.
 	Name 	Description
Neutral Attack 	N/A 	An upward slash, followed by a downward slash, followed by another upward slash.
Forward Tilt 	N/A 	An outward shield bash followed by an outward slash. The first hit resembles Blockenspiel, whereas the second hit resembles the Luminary's short-range greatsword attack in Dragon Quest XI.
Up Tilt 	N/A 	A hopping, overhead arcing slash, similar to Toon Link's up smash.
Down Tilt 	N/A 	A baseball slide. It resembles Leg Sweep.
Dash Attack 	N/A 	A jumping downward slash, similar to Link's dash attack. Based on the Hero's long-range standard sword attack from Dragon Quest XI.
Forward Smash 	N/A 	A two-handed downward slash, similar to Ike and Ganondorf's forward smashes.
Up Smash 	N/A 	An upward thrust, similar to Marth's up smash.
Down Smash 	N/A 	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.
Neutral Aerial 	N/A 	Swings his sword around him, similar to Ike's neutral aerial. It resembles the first portion of The Real Decoy, a Pep Power in Dragon Quest XI.
Forward Aerial 	N/A 	A downward slash, similar to Roy's forward aerial.
Back Aerial 	N/A 	An upward slash behind himself, similar to Toon Link's back aerial. If both Oomph and Psych Up are active, it can break a full shield in one hit.
Up Aerial 	N/A 	A stretch kick, similar to Lucario's up aerial.
Down Aerial 	N/A 	A downward thrust. The end of the ground attack is a reference to Dragon Quest III's Super Famicom box art.
Grab 	N/A 	Reaches out with his left hand.
Pummel 	N/A 	A knee strike.
Forward Throw 	N/A 	Plants his sword into the ground and then throws the opponent away.
Back Throw 	N/A 	Performs the tomoe nage, a judo throw, similar to Toon Link's back throw.
Up Throw 	N/A 	Heaves the opponent upward, similar to Mario's up throw.
Down Throw 	N/A 	A one-handed body slam.
Neutral Special	Frizz/Frizzle/Kafrizz	A fireball that can be charged up to become Frizzle and Kafrizz, which are stronger variants that travel increasingly farther and faster. Unlike most chargeable moves, Hero will always begin charging from the beginning if he cancels the move. He is also unable to launch the projectile if he lacks MP, forcing him to recharge his MP and use up any existing charge before he can use weaker variants again.
Frizz: A small fireball that is produced when the move is uncharged. It is quick to throw, but travels very slowly and is very weak. Frizz is the only variant of the Frizz spells that suffers from damage falloff, which means that it gets weaker and slower after traveling a certain distance. Frizz costs 6 MP to use.
Frizzle: Two intertwined fireballs that appear when the move is semi-charged. Frizzle is faster and stronger than Frizz. The two fireballs can actually break-off into separate fireballs if an opponent or attack lands on top of one of the fireballs. Frizzle is decently powerful, being able to KO at 135% near the edge. Frizzle costs 16 MP to use.
Kafrizz: The strongest version of Frizz that appears when the move is fully charged. It is a large, multi-hitting fireball deals extremely high damage and knockback, KOing at around 60% near the ledge. It also deals considerably high shield damage. Kafrizz has noticeable ending lag, though, so it can be reflected and punish Hero easily. Kafrizz costs 36 MP to use.
Side Special 	Zap/Zapple/Kazap 	A series of lightning spells that can be charged to become Zapple and Kazap.
Zap: An electric bolt that Hero fires from his sword. It has the fastest startup and endlag, but has the shortest range and is the weakest. The sword swing itself has a hitbox, so if the move is used up close, it will deal extra damage. This also means Zap can still somewhat be used without MP, although the sword swing deals only 2%. Zap costs 8 MP to use.
Zapple: A long-ranged bolt of electricity that is fired when the move is semi-charged. Has considerable range and deals great damage, making it an excellent move for spacing. Can KO at 155% from the center of Battlefield. Zapple costs 18 MP to use.
Kazap: The Hero raises his sword in the air and a lightning bolt strikes it, then performs a spinning outward slash around himself, similarly to Spin Attack. Kazap is a strong, situational finisher, KOing around 60% from center stage and around 40% near the edge if all hits connect. Kazap also has 15% damage-based armor and deceptively low ending lag. It costs 42 MP to use, the highest out of all Hero's spells.
Despite their appearances, all variations of Zap (with the exception of the first half of Kazap) are disjointed hitboxes and not projectiles. As a result, they cannot be reflected or absorbed.
Up Special 	Woosh/Swoosh/Kawoosh 	A series of tornado spells that Hero uses for recovery. Can be charged to become Swoosh and Kaswoosh.
Woosh: A small and weak tornado that launches Hero slightly upward. It is very quick, however, coming out on frame 7, making it a good out of shield option. Woosh has set knockback, meaning that it will do the same amount of knockback regardless of the opponent's percentage. Woosh costs 5 MP to use.
Swoosh: A larger tornado that hits multiple times and grants a better recovery, both vertical and horizontally. Swoosh costs 9 MP to use.
Kaswoosh: Two large tornadoes that hit multiple times and grant the highest vertical recovery, making it a potent recovery move. Can KO at 148% from the center of Battlefield. Kaswoosh costs 18 MP to use.
While Kaswoosh offers the best vertical recovery of the three options, Swoosh offers the best horizontal recovery; that said, all three versions still have lackluster horizontal movement, especially at the apex of the launch. All versions of Woosh launch opponents in the opposite direction the Hero is facing, which can lead into gimps, stage spikes, and KOs, especially with Swoosh and Kaswoosh. All variants of Hero's up special are considered projectiles; as a result, opponents with reflectors can deal significant damage to Hero while he is attempting to recover simply by getting close and reflecting the tornado.
Down Special 	Command Selection 	Hero chooses between a variety of four randomly-selected spells from a pop-up menu, even standing in a "thinking" position. These spells require MP to use. Shielding or jumping will close the menu, canceling the move and allowing Hero to open it again for a different set. By pressing the opposite direction when selecting a move or tilting the right stick in the opposite direction to select a move, Hero will turn around before unleashing the move, similarly to B-reversing.
Final Smash 	Gigaslash 	Performs an upward slash. If successful, the seven non-playable Dragon Quest Heroes appear and bring their respective weapons together, which discharge a combined stream of electrical energy that is infused into Hero's sword. Hero then proceeds to perform Gigaslash while surrounded by the non-playable Heroes.
===Command Inputs===
Spell 	MP Cost 	Relative Odds of Appearing	Description
Kaboom 	37 	20 	A small, spark-like projectile that generates a large explosion after a set 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.
Bang 	9 	16 	A small, spark-like projectile that generates a small explosion after a set distance or on contact with opponents. Deals decent knockback, KOing vertically starting at around 130%. Cannot appear alongside Kaboom.
Sizzle 	20 	20 	A fiery bolt-like projectile that travels quickly and leaves damaging flames on the ground in its wake. Deals high damage despite its speed. Deals decent knockback, KOing around 100% near the edge. Cannot appear alongside Sizz.
Sizz 	8 	16 	A fiery bolt-like projectile that travels quickly. Lacks KO potential onstage, but can KO opponents offstage. Cannot appear alongside Sizzle.
Flame Slash 	12 	18 	A quick slash with Hero's sword cloaked in flame. Deals considerable damage and knockback, and has notable range both horizontally and vertically. The blade has significantly higher knockback output than the flames. Capable of KOing middleweights at 90% from the center of Final Destination.
Kacrackle Slash	11 	18 	A quick slash with Hero's sword cloaked in frost. Freezes opponents; the blade freezes for considerably longer.
Hatchet Man 	15 	18 	A forceful, downward slash which resembles his forward smash, triggering Special Zoom and a critical hit sound effect on hit. Has considerable start-up, but possesses extremely high damage and knockback output, making it capable of KOing early, around 45% from center-stage, and much earlier at the edge. It can also instantly break a full shield, similarly to a fully charged Shield Breaker.
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. Infamous for its ability to grant Hero a free charged forward smash, and therefore an early KO, if it hits a grounded opponent at mid percentages. 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, having 40% the knockback growth of the grounded hitbox; the clean aerial hitbox puts opponents to sleep for less time than the latest grounded hitbox.
Thwack 	30 	12 	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. Deals next to no damage or knockback. Cannot appear alongside Whack. 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%, and scales up to 100% when the opponent is just below 160%, with a maximum extra 20% chance if Hero is at 300%. 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% and weak knockback, and can be reflected, absorbed, and shielded.
Wack 	10 	8 	Hero swings his hand forward, sending out a slow-moving dark purple sphere. Has a chance to instantly KO the opponent, with a higher chance for it to occur the more damage the opponent has. The move is notoriously difficult to reflect, as the speed and direction of the reflected projectile depends on the speed and direction the erratically moving projectile was travelling at the moment of reflection. As such, it will often deflect into the ground or up into the air, and in some cases will move so slowly that it seemingly stays in place. Cannot appear alongside Thwack.
Metal Slash 	6 	7 	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% and weak knockback. If there is a metal opponent present when the menu is opened, it has a 4× greater chance of appearing. In Spirit Battles, however, a multiplier of 0.2× is applied to its appearance rate.
Kaclang 	6 	5 	Encases 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, Hero can still be KO'd 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, similarly to Stone, and allow him to move left and right until he lands.
Kamikazee 	1 	5 	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 (though it can be avoided with dodges), 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 charge up. Kamikazee does not appear to be available as a menu option during the Kiss of Death Finale.
Magic Burst 	All Remaining MP	5 	A powerful and massive blast that grows in size, similarly to a Smart Bomb's explosion. It hits multiple times and is active for a few seconds. Consumes all of Hero's remaining MP; the spell's power depends on how much MP 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 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. Projectiles can also cancel out the move, and he can be hit by physical attacks at the very beginning of the move's startup, leaving Hero with no MP and at a great disadvantage, making Magic Burst a rather "high risk, high reward" move. The loop hits do very little knockback, allowing Bowser and Kazuya to Tough Guy through it. The damage dealt is multiplied by 0.2 + 0.008MP, with the value being between 0.2× and 1×.
Oomph 	16 	16 	Increases Hero's damage output by 1.6×, knockback output by 1.1×, and damage received by 1.2×. Only affects melee attacks. Lasts for 12 seconds.
Psyche Up 	14 	16 	Increases Hero's shield damage dealt by 1.65×, knockback output by 1.2×, and damage output by 1.2×. Functions similarly to Revenge and if stacked with Oomph, many of Hero's normal attacks will instantly break a full shield. Only affects melee attacks. Expires after landing a melee attack. Pummels count as melee attacks, and as such will use up Psyche Up.
Accelerate 	13 	16 	Multiplies Hero's walk, dash, air speed, air acceleration, and air friction stats by 2×-2.5×, depending on the stat. Functions similarly to Lightweight, but to a sufficiently high degree that Hero can outrun Sonic and can reach a maximum air speed more than 1.5× that of Yoshi. However, the sheer speed makes Hero more difficult to control, and it also increases knockback received by 1.1×. Lasts for 10 seconds.
Bounce 	14 	16 	A lingering reflector that increases projectile damage by 1.5×, projectile speed by 1.4×, and projectile health by 1.1×. Like a Franklin Badge, Bounce lets Hero act while active, and overrides Hero's passive shield, allowing reflections even if he is standing and facing an opponent. One of Hero's best approach options against projectile users, due to him being able to perform any action while keeping an active reflector. Lasts for 12 seconds.
Heal 	7 	7 	Heals Hero by 11%. Starts with two charges, and resets to two after Hero is KO'd or scores a KO.
Zoom 	8 	15 	Hero jumps directly upward, going past the limits of the camera, then falls directly onto a random part of the stage, no matter where he was when the spell was used. Hero can act out of his descent while maintaining momentum, unless he performs an action that alters momentum. If used where there is a ceiling above Hero, he will collide against it, while still being able to act afterward. It is invulnerable as soon as Hero starts to fly. Has a 2× (≈53%) chance of appearing in Command Selection when 40 units (or closer) to the blast line.
Hocus Pocus 	4 	3 	A spell with random effects, both positive and negative, and also can take the form of other Command Selection spells.
===Hocus Pocus Effects===
Type 	Chance of Occurance	Effect
Positive	4.88% 	Makes him giant. Note: Can not be stacked with Mega Smash and super mushroom.
Positive	1.22% 	Makes him invincible.
Positive	3.96% 	MP is refilled to 100.
Negative	6.1% 	Applies a timer effect to himself.
Negative	6.1% 	MP is reduced to 0.
Negative	6.1% 	Inflicts poison to himself, dealing 27.5% total.
Negative	6.1% 	Inflicts sleep on himself.
Negative	5.49% 	Makes him small.
Negative	6.1% 	Inflicts the flower effect on himself, dealing a maximum of 22% without mashing.
Neutral 	6.1% 	Turns him invisible.
Neutral 	47.85% 	One of Hero's commands is granted for 4 MP instead of the value it usually consumes.
* If the command is Magic Burst, it will consume all MP as usual.
* There is a small chance that the randomly-chosen spell will be Kamikazee, which further emphasizes the high-risk nature of Hocus Pocus.
==Other Animations==
Animation 	Description 	Notes
On-Screen Appearance 	Flies onto the stage using Zoom, and raises his sword vertically, similarly to his side taunt. 	
Taunt 1 	Puts away his sword and shield, and charges in place as a purple aura envelops around him. References Psyche Up's animation in Dragon Quest VIII. 	
Taunt 2 	Raises his sword vertically into the air. 	
Taunt 3 	Fumbles in place as a Slime meanders in front of him. 	
Star KO 	 	
Screen KO 	 	
Character Selection Screen	 	
Crowd Chant 	H - E - R - O! You're My Hero! 	
Victory Pose 1 	Hero raises his sword in the air, slashes twice and finishes in a pose. 	
Victory Pose 2 	Hero performs Kazap and strikes a pose. 	
Victory Pose 3 	Hero walks up to three Slimes, kneels down and looks at them with a smile. The camera angle before Hero appears also references the first-person battle screens of most Dragon Quest games.	
==Role in Classic Mode==
Like all other fighters, Hero appears in Classic Mode. Hero's Mini-Boss is unknown. 
===Eleven Ending===
===Erdrick Ending===
===Solo Ending===
===Eight Ending===
==Role in The Kiss of Death==
==Alternate Costumes==
Image	Number	Color	Notes	Unlockable?
 	01 	 	 	Default
 	02 	 	 	Default
 	03 	 	 	Default
 	04 	 	 	Default
 	05 	 	 	Default
 	06 	 	 	Default
 	07 	 	 	Default
 	08 	 	 	Default
 	09 	 	 	Unlockable
 	10 	 	 	Unlockable
 	11 	 	 	Unlockable
 	12 	 	 	Unlockable
 	13 	 	 	Unlockable
 	14 	 	 	Unlockable
==Smash Taunts==
===Palutena's Guidance===
===Snake's Codecs===
==Fighter Spirits==
Hero's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Hero in The Kiss of Death 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. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Life & Death.
File:The Luminary.png
File:ErdrickTrans.png
File:Solo Dragon Quest.png
File:HeroEight.png
==Trivia==
Category:Fighters in Super Smash Bros. Life or Death