The most recent Super Smash Bros. Ultimate leak has given fans a clue about which characters may arrive on the game's roster later this year, and the next Super Smash Bros. fighters could be two of the most memorable JRPG protagonists from the Tales franchise: Yuri Lowell and Lloyd Irving. Smash Bros. character speculation is almost a side hobby for many fans of the franchise, thanks to its eclectic cast thus far, and series creator Masahiro Sakurai has shown a willingness to port off-beat choices into the fighting game, provided they line up with his overall design philosophy.

The most recent Super Smash Bros. Ultimate character leak comes via 5ch.net, and while speculative posts like it are common on the message board, there's a reason fans are paying attention to this one in particular. 5ch.net was also the home of the 2018 Smash Ultimate DLC character leaks that stated Minecraft's Steve and Dragon Quest's Hero were on the way, and both of those predictions ended up being accurate. The anonymous nature of the original prediction means the most recent one could be from a different user, but enough people seem to believe they're from the same person that the rumor has taken off. According to the rumor, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's next DLC characters will be Yuri Lowell from Tales of Vesperia and Lloyd Irving from Tales of Symphonia.

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While they're characters who likely need little introduction in Japan, they may be more obscure for Western fans, especially those who aren't particularly invested in JRPGs. The Tales series has its share of fans outside of Japan, but it doesn't have the same reach as something like Final Fantasy in the Western world, which means the reported next Smash Bros. DLC characters won't be as easy to identify as the addition of Sephiroth to Smash Ultimate late last year. Yuri Lowell, in particular, is a character that would be a massive addition to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as he's so popular among fans of the series that he had to be removed from character popularity polls to allow other heroes a chance to win. Tales of Vesperia also received a Definitive Edition release in 2019 and was added to Xbox Game Pass in October 2020, which means Yuri's brand of roguish heroism been recently reintroduced to players.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Lloyd Yuri

Lloyd Irving, on the other hand, is from the Western Nintendo GameCube-exclusive Tales of Symphonia, one of the most popular iterations of the long-running franchise. While there's debate among fans about the best iteration of the series - with Tales of Vesperia a contender, as well - Tales of Symphonia is certainly one of its most iconic. The game performed extremely well in overseas sales, according to Bandai Namco, and Lloyd has already appeared in Soulcalibur. While not quite the same draw as a protagonist that Yuri is - Lloyd has been criticized by some as a bit more archetypal, and thus stale - he's still popular and, by way of Symphonia being so popular in the west, a likely choice, should Smash Bros. DLC fighters get imported from the Tales series.

Ultimately, both characters would be good fits for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which makes the Smash Bros. DLC character leak seem more viable. The only things working against them seem more like subjective concerns than actual limiting factors - wanting less JRPG characters, or being wary of yet more sword users being understandable but not concrete criticisms of Smash's overall direction. If the Smash Ultimate DLC leak proves false, the reaction to the new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate character rumors should give Nintendo pause when considering options other than the two Tales protagonists in any future plans; it's pretty clear they'd be a popular choice.

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