Mewtwo DLC for Smash Bros Purchasable

Fans of Super Smash Bros across all platforms know the pain of having their favorite character not be featured in the latest entry to the popular series. Mewtwo was a playable character only in the GameCube’s Super Smash Bros Melee but remains a fan favorite. Nintendo initially announced he would be returning as a playable fighter in both Super Smash Bros for 3DS and Wii U. The only way to unlock him, however, was to purchase both versions of Super Smash Bros and you would receive the Mewtwo DLC as a free download later on. Masahiro Sakurai, in an interview with IGN, talked about why the Mewtwo DLC wasn’t going to be a paid addition and instead a free update for those who own both versions. He spoke about the development time needed to add an entirely new character to a roster that already contains a large amount of content. It would also draw away from the brand quality, with fans potentially accusing Nintendo of holding back content that should have been in the base game. He also announced that there was no work on downloadable content currently and that instead all development efforts had been focused on releasing Super Smash Bros for Wii U.

Since then, however, Nintendo has confirmed to European gamers that Mewtwo will be available after going through a paywall. Specifically that “free download codes for Mewtwo will be distributed in spring 2015. The character will be made available to purchase as add-on content in the future.” There is no word on if this will extend to North American gamers but with the amount of people asking Nintendo to make him available separately. This is due to the fact that they do not want to pay an additional $60 or $40, depending on which version they already own, to access an additional character.

Another fan request, to make Ridley from the Metroid series a playable character, has also been answered. Sakurai, again talking to IGN, discussed why he made Ridley a boss character in the level Pyrosphere. He can be attacked and if enough damage is dealt he will join that players side fighting against other participants. Sakurai cited the desire to have “accurate portrayals” of famous Nintendo characters as the main reason Ridley is not a playable character. Instead he opted to have him included in the game in a way that stayed true to his character, as a huge stage boss. He also mentioned other stage bosses Metal Face and Yellow Devil as being included in the same way Ridley is, not quite playable characters but having a presence in the match.