Today, an image has been circulating numerous message boards hinting at Ken (of Street Fighter fame) being included in the new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for Nintendo Switch.
The shot, which you can see in the video below, seemingly shows Ken standing among his new co-fighters, Pichu, Pac-Man, and Ivysaur (who is a part of the Pokemon Trainer fighter), on the game’s new Splatoon stage.
Now, while no one can say with complete certainty this is real, there are a number of reasons why we may actually be seeing a real image from the game and not an edit by a fan looking to get everyone riled up.
First and foremost, this Ken seems to be an original creation. His model is not from any previous Street Fighter game nor is his animation seemingly plucked from anywhere else. Yes, that ugly mug seems to be wholly original to this game.
Secondly, there is the fact that Ken’s foot is clipping through the floor, along with Pac-Man’s as well. This is something that fans have looked into in multiple Smash Bros. Ultimate videos and have confirmed that characters have clipped through the floor in this stage. It is an extremely important detail as most fakes would not even think to include something like this for the character they’re trying to include, much less the characters around him.
Lastly, is director Masahiro Sakurai’s inclusion of Echo Fighters in the game. If you look closely at the roster so far you’ll see that Sakurai seems to be trying to get a least two fighters from third-party games into the fighter and so the addition of Ken would make sense. It really would be a no-brainer (and probably not very time consuming) to add Ken as an Echo Fighter of Ryu.
All this being said, fans have made some pretty convincing fakes in the past especially when Super Smash Bros. for Wii U was about to release. There was the whole fiasco with the Rayman roster picture, which still looks pretty real to this day and a fan who put Palutena next to Mario in Smash for 3DS. While Palutena did turn out to be in the game, it was not the same model used in the fake picture and the person who made it eventually came out and explained how they did it.
Are you excited for Ken’s possible inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate? Let us know in the comments below!