Hero (Smash Plus)

Hero is a playable character in Super Smash Brothers Plus for the Nintendo Switch Plus. Representing the Dragon Quest universe, he is listed as fighter #87 in Smash's modified numbering system and is classified as a Middleweight fighter. He is hidden at the start of the game, but can be unlocked through random encounters in Versus Mode or by clearing Classic Mode with at least 10 characters on any difficulty level.
Hero is arguably the most versatile fighter in the game, in terms of number of possibilities. His special move output is impressive in terms of the volume of options at his disposal, both in terms of power options and unique attacks. And that doesn't factor in his random critical hits chance that exist for his Smash Attacks, or his projectile reflecting nullification ability that he shares with Link (though it now only operates when Hero is standing still, like Link's). However, this versatility comes at a cost. Firstly, many of his magic options are subject to random chance from his Command Selection special move, limiting their usefulness and rendering Hero's strengths to luck of the draw. Secondly, and more importantly, all of his Special Moves are tied to a Magic Meter. While this meter does fill slowly over time (and by dealing damage to opponents), it forces players to be skilled at resource management in order to maximize Hero's utility. Hero also comes with a relatively large hitbox for his weight class, making him particularly susceptible to combos. While Hero can be powerful in the right hands, there are certainly challenges to overcome to use him best. Hero has two normal jumps and no additional movement options.
==Moveset==
===Basic Attacks===
*Neutral Jab- Hero performs a three hit combo of sword slashes, alternating up, down, up in rapid succession.
*Side Tilt- Hero swings his shield forward with a bash attack, before following up with an outward slash from his sword.
*Up Tilt- Hero jumps up into the air and performs an overhead arcing slash from forward to back.
*Down Tilt- Hero performs a quick baseball slide kick that moves him forward slightly.
*Dash Attack- Hero jumps into the air and delivers a powerful forward slash with his blade that has high endlag if it misses.
*Grab & Pummel- Hero performs a short range grab with his non-shield hand. He pummels with a knee strike.
*Forward Throw- Hero plants his sword in the ground and then tosses the opponent forward a short distance.
*Back Throw- Hero performs a rolling overhead judo throw, tossing the enemy behind himself.
*Up Throw- Hero heaves the opponent straight up into the air.
*Down Throw- Hero slams the opponent into the ground, popping them up for further combo attacks.
*Neutral Air- Hero swings his sword around himself in a circle, covering a large radius around himself. Launches on contact.
*Forward Air- Hero delivers a powerful but slow forward slash from high to low.
*Back Air- Hero swings his sword in an upward arc behind himself.
*Up Air- Hero stretches up and performs a kick in front of himself at a high angle. Does very little damage, and is only useful for spacing.
*Down Air- Hero swings his sword straight downward. It will meteor foes if it sweetspots, and becomes Hero's most damaging aerial if it connects right.
===Smash Attacks===
*Special Gimmick: Critical Hits- Hero has a 1/12 chance of scoring a critical hit on any of his Smash Attacks. This will occur entirely at random, and if it does it will double the damage of the Smash Attack, while also greatly increasing the knockback. Critical hits have the same chance of happening regardless of the charge status of the Smash Attack.
*Side Smash- Hero performs a two-handed forward slash. Similar to Ike's forward smash, it has tremendous launching power if it connects, but bad endlag if it doesn't. At full power, and if Hero scores a Critical Hit, it becomes one of the most powerful Forward Smash Attacks in the game.
*Up Smash- Hero stabs his sword straight up into the air. The blade and Hero's body have two separate hitboxes, but is unable to hit opponents on the ground, even if they are standing right next to Hero. KO's at low percentages if it scores a critical hit.
*Down Smash- Hero performs a sword slash in front of himself followed by a sword slash behind himself. Even if Critical, it is the weakest of Hero's Smash Attacks, although it is also the fastest and has the least amount of endlag.
===Special Attacks===
*Special Gimmick: MP Meter- Hero has an MP meter located on his HUD, displaying how much Magical Power he has remaining. All of Hero's special attacks drain magic from the meter at varying rates. He begins with 100 MP, and the meter will recharge at a rate of 1 point per second. He will also regain MP (to the tune of 0.8 points per 1% of base damage) if he connects with an attack against an opponent. He will also gain slightly more MP if he hits a shielded opponent (1.19 points per 1% of base damage). Hero's MP meter is restored fully if he uses a Honey Syrup or is KO'ed.
*Neutral Special: Frizz/Frizzle/Kafrizz- Hero fires one of three fireball spells forward. The attack is charged to choose which spell is cast, increasing in both power and MP cost as the charge increases. Players can store the charge of the attack if it is fully charged, unique to all of Hero's magic attacks. Pressing the special button without charging will fire Frizz, a small fireball that does only minimal damage and costs 6 MP. A partial charge will cast Frizzle, which is two intertwined fireballs that fly a similar distance to Frizz, but do much more damage. Frizzle costs 16 MP. Kafrizz is the most powerful fire spell, creating a huge multi-hitting fireball that can KO at medium range percentages if it connects right. Kafrizz costs a whopping 36 MP.
*Side Special: Zap/Zapple/Kazap- Hero casts one of three lightning spells based on how long the special button is charged for. All these attacks act as extensions of Hero's hitbox, rather than projectiles that can be reflected. Little to no charge will cast Zap which sees the Hero extend his sword and fire a small lightning bolt forward for minimal damage. The sword has its own hitbox, giving it some utility if there is no MP to use. Zap costs 8 MP. A partial charge will cast Zapple, which works just like Zap except with a far longer lightning strike and more powerful knockback. Zapple costs 18 MP. A full charge will cast Kazap, which causes a lightning bolt to strike the Hero's sword, which he then swings around creating a powerful electric aura. One of Hero's most powerful attacks and reliable KO moves, it also costs the most MP of any of his specials (save for Magic Burst) at 42 MP. The charge on the lightning attacks cannot be stored.
*Up Special: Woosh/Swoosh/Kaswoosh- Hero charges energy and then summons a whirlwind to launch himself high into the air. Hero himself doesn't have a hitbox with this attack, but the more the attack is charged, the longer the whirlwind will linger on stage, allowing it to damage foes after it launches Hero. No charge will cast Woosh, which has a very small wind vortex that does only minimal damage, launching Hero a short distance. It costs 5 MP. Swoosh is cast if there is a partial charge, creating a longer lasting whirlwind and giving better recovery to Hero. It costs 9 MP. Kaswoosh is cast with a full charge, creating two tornadoes that circle each other, dealing multi-hitting damage to opponents caught in them and giving Hero a tremendous recovery boost. It costs 18 MP to use.
*Down Special: Command Selection- Hero adopts a thinking pose, and a menu with 4 randomly selected spells appears on his HUD. Players then choose one of the 4 spells to cast. If Hero is attacked, the menu will disappear. It will also disappear if players shield or jump, allowing them to try again and select 4 new spells. All spells cost MP. The spells at his disposal are:
**Magic Burst: Hero creates a powerful expanding explosion around himself, consuming all remaining MP in his meter to deal massive damage to opponents. Only the final hit has launch power, meaning it is best used in a crowd. The damage dealt will be greater depending on how much MP is used in the attack. Cost is Variable.
**Kamikaze: Hero will self-destruct, creating a powerful explosion that deals unblockable damage and knockback to foes caught in the radius. Using this will grant a KO to the last enemy who attacked Hero. Despite this, any KO's caused by Kamikaze are tallied before the KO against Hero is counted, meaning he cannot lose a match in a draw because of it. Kamikaze costs 1 MP.
**Hocus Pocus: Hero will cast a random spell from the Command Selection List, except for Magic Burst or Kamikaze. Hocus Pocus can also cast varying status effects on Hero, both positive and negative, such as poisoning, Super Mushroom, Metal Skin or Intangibility. Hocus Pocus costs 4 MP, regardless of the effect it casts.
**Metal Slash: Hero performs a powerful forward sword strike which instantly KO's any enemy who is encased in metal. Against anyone else though, it only does 1% of damage and no knockback. Metal Slash costs 6 MP to use.
**Kaclang: Hero will transform into a metal statue for approximately 4 seconds. During this time, he is immune to damage and to knockback, at the expense of all other possible actions. Once activated, Kaclang cannot be canceled. If used in the air, the falling Hero will have a hitbox to damage foes underneath him. Kaclang costs 6 MP to use.
**Heal: Hero will instantly heal 11% of damage. This move can only show up in the Command Selection twice. In order for it to appear again, Hero must either KO an opponent or be KO'ed himself, which will reset the counter on the move. Heal uses 7 MP.
**Sizz: Hero fires a long range bolt of energy that leaves lingering flames on the stage when it explodes, briefly. It has decent launch power, but does only minimal damage. Sizz costs 8 MP to use.
**Zoom: Hero will teleport himself directly upwards, randomly dropping down and reappearing on a different part of the stage. A useful getaway tool, it has a higher chance of turning up when near the Blast Zone, giving Hero a slight chance at a miracle recovery. Zoom uses 8 MP.
**Bang: Hero fires a small ball of energy that explodes on contact with the enemy, or after traveling a short distance. Deals a good amount of damage for the cost. Bang costs 9 MP.
**Whack: Hero fires a small ball of black energy forward that moves in a slightly erratic pattern. If the ball hits an enemy, it will deal only small flinching damage. However it has a chance (that chance increasing the higher an opponent's damage) of scoring an Instant KO. This can also happen to Hero, if it is reflected. Whack costs 10 MP.
**Kacrackle Slash: Hero performs a quick forward swing with his sword, encased in a frozen fog. If it connects, it will instantly freeze an opponent, with the blade freezing them longer than the hitbox on the fog. Kacrackle Slash costs 11 MP.
**Flame Slash: Similar to Kacrackle Slash, only with Hero's sword encased in flames. It deals a great amount of knockback, though the blade does far more than the actual extended flames off the sword swing. Flame Slash costs 12 MP.
**Acceleratle: All of Hero's mobility stats are increased twofold, giving Hero a tremendous amount of speed (though this doesn't improve attack speed). The effects last for 10 seconds, and can make Hero hard to control, as it makes him the fastest ground character briefly. Acceleratle costs 13 MP to use.
**Psyche Up: Hero's attack stats are dramatically boosted, but only for the next physical attack that he lands against an opponent. Effects can be stacked with other buffs, though not with another Psyche Up. The stat boost is canceled if no attack is landed in 10 seconds. Costs 14 MP.
**Bounce: Hero creates a shield around himself that lingers for 12 seconds. The shield will automatically reflect any projectile that hits it with a 1.5x damage multiplier. One of the most useful tools in Hero's Command arsenal. Costs 14 MP.
**Hatchet Man: Hero performs a super-powerful forward slash with his sword, which can instantly break any full shield it hits. Hatchet Man has tremendous power, but terrible startup time, and can be interrupted mid-attack. Costs 15 MP to use.
**Snooze: Hero fires a wave of energy forward that instantly puts any opponent hit by it to sleep, even if they were airborne when hit by it. A great setup move, it is costly at 16 MP.
**Oomph: Hero's attack stats are boosted for a period of 12 seconds, though this only applies to physical attacks. Can be stacked with Psyche Up to create some of the most powerful physical attacks in the game. Oomph costs 16 MP.
**Sizzle: A more powerful version of Sizz, in which Hero fires a long range bolt of energy that leaves lingering flames on the stage when it explodes. Far more powerful than its cousin, it also costs 20 MP.
**Thwack: Hero creates an X-shaped field of energy directly in front of himself. It only deals minimal damage to opponents it hits, but has a chance of instantly KO'ing them, with that chance going up at higher damage percentages. Unlike Whack, it also draws nearby opponents into the field. Costs 30 MP to use.
**Kaboom: A more powerful version of Bang, in which Hero fires a small ball of energy that explodes on contact with the enemy or after traveling a decent distance. It has impressive explosive power, but costs the most of all the Command Selection spells at 37 MP.
*Final Smash: Gigaslash- Hero performs an upward sword with his swing, sending any player hit by it into a cinematic cutscene. There, Hero is surrounded by other protagonists from the Dragon Quest series, who feed electrical energy into his sword. Hero then performs a powerful swing which launches foes as the cinematic ends and we return to the stage.
===Miscellaneous===
*Entry Animation- Hero appears on the stage after using Zoom and raises his sword in the air.
*Idle Animation 1- Hero lifts his sword in front of himself with a small smile.
*Idle Animation 2- Hero assumes an attack posture before returning to normal stance.
*Side Taunt- Hero raises his sword vertically into the air in a heroic gesture.
*Up Taunt- Hero sheaths his sword and charges a purple aura around himself briefly. If this taunt is completed in its entirety, it will restore 8 MP to the MP Gauge.
*Down Taunt- Hero stumbles in place as a Slime suddenly appears in front of him briefly.
*Victory Animation 1- Hero raises his sword in the air, slashes with it twice, and then assumes a heroic pose to end the scene.
*Victory Animation 2- Hero performs a Kazap attack, finishing on the sword slashing pose.
*Victory Animation 3- Hero runs up to three slimes, leaning down and smiling at them.
==Playable Skins==
The default skin for Hero is based on the Luminary, from Dragon Quest XI. His other playable skins are based on Erdrick, Solo and Eight--the playable protagonists from Dragon Quest III, IV and VIII respectively. Aside from aesthetic differences, there is no difference between the characters in how they play.
==How to Unlock==
Hero can be unlocked any of the following ways:
*Playing Versus Matches until he randomly shows up as a "Challenger Approaching" fight. Defeat him to unlock him.
*Clear Classic Mode with 10 Different Characters on any starting difficulty.
*Unlock him in the Finale of World of Light by defeating him.
*Pay 1,000 gold in a shop, where he can randomly appear (though rarely.)
Category:Super Smash Bros. Characters
Category:Super Smash Bros. (series)
Category:Smash Plus Characters