Fans of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate who were disappointed that Byleth (yet another Fire Emblem character) was the not-so grand finale of the first volume of the game’s DLC Fighters Pass might be especially irritated when they learn what almost came to be.
According to sources, Nintendo tried aggressively to get Sora, the main protagonist from the popular Disney/Square Enix franchise Kingdom Hearts to join the battle. However, the House of Mouse reportedly nixed that idea.
It’s easy to see why fans felt this character would fit in well alongside some of their favorite Smash characters.
Sora visits a number of cartoonish worlds throughout the Kingdom Hearts series, with his trusty keyblade in hand. One could very easily imagine him interacting with Pikachu, Mario, Sonic, Kirby, and the rest of the varied cast of characters playable throughout the history of this iconic fighting franchise.
This information was leaked by Imran Khan, one of the hosts of the Kinda Funny Gamescast and former senior editor for Game Informer magazine.
“They absolutely approaced Disney about getting Sora as a Smash Bros. character once,” Khan said, before also confirming that it was Disney who closed that proverbial door.
Of course, we’re not totally sure if the game in question was Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Khan did not specify when these talks took place. Both Kingdom Hearts and Super Smash Bros. have been around for a long while, and this conversation could have taken place anytime after the original Kingdom Hearts debuted on the PlayStation 2.
It makes sense that Disney was the fly in the ointment here. After all, Square Enix has done business with Nintendo in the past, adding Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII to the Smash Bros. roster. Disney has never signed off on one of its characters appearing in Nintendo’s fighting game series, and it looks like the odds of it happening in the future are very slim.
Sora was one of many fighters who were rumored to appear in the Fighters Pass DLC. The DLC saw Joker from Persona 5, Banjo and Kazooie from Banjo-Kazooie, Terry Bogard from Fatal Fury, and the Hero from the Dragon Quest series added to the game.
All eyes were on Nintendo for the announcement of the final fighter. Names like Master Chief from Halo, Dante from Devil May Cry, Ryu Hayabusa from Ninja Gaiden, and even Sora were being thrown around.
Then, Nintendo announced that it would be Byleth from Fire Emblem, a game that already features several characters on the roster.
However, The Fighters’ Pass Vol. 2 is set to come out for Smash Bros. Ultimate, and will add another six fighters to the roster. Whether or not Disney will come around on Sora’s inclusion remains to be seen.
