'Smash Ultimate' DLC Character Predictions: Travis Touchdown Next? (Update)

It’s only been a couple of weeks since Super Smash Bros. Ultimate first launched for Nintendo Switch, but fans already know the first of five post-launch downloadable content (DLC) characters coming to the fighting game’s roster: It’s Joker from Persona 5.

The surprising decision to include a third-party character from a game not even on Nintendo Switch, combined with the news of an imminent announcement from No More Heroes developer Goichi Suda (also known by his nickname, Suda51), sparked rumors that series protagonist Travis Touchdown could be headed to Smash as well, but in a livestream presentation on Thursday morning, Suda51 was quick to confirm that the character won’t be coming to Smash Bros. Ultimate after all.

Watch the full announcement here:

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On Wednesday, Suda51 announced on plans for a two-hour December 20 livestream with Japanese gaming publication Famitsu. The stream will feature Suda exploring, Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, the newest game in Suda51’s cult No More Heroes series and the first in nine years.

In his tweet, Suda51 also teased “a huge announcement in store!” for the broadcast, which begins at 5 a.m. Eastern on YouTube.

Because of the recency of Nintendo’s own “huge announcement” at the 2018 Game Awards, which revealed the Persona 5 DLC for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, fans think Suda51 may announce No More Heroes as the next DLC for Nintendo’s hit fighting game, specifically revealing series protagonist Travis Touchdown as a playable fighter.

Another popular guess are Switch ports of the first two No More Heroes games, originally released on the Nintendo Wii between 2008 and 2010. Another potential announcement is No More Heroes 3, a full-blown third installment in the core No More Heroes series.

Speculation over what Suda51 will unveil during the livestream can be found across social media and in the comments section of Nintendo blogs. It’s not hard at all to find tweets that guess Travis will be a new Smash Bros. fighter. Other tweets speculate ports of the original games or No More Heroes 3.

Suda51 himself has publicly expressed his desire for Travis to become a Smash Bros. fighter. In a 2017 interview with IGN, Suda51 joked that he would force Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai to put him in the game.

“In all seriousness, next time [Sakurai] does decide to go and make a Smash Bros. game, I’m seriously going to tell him, ‘Put in Travis Touchdown. Come on, put him in the game,’” Suda51 said. “Every time we talk about this, partially in the middle he listens, he starts to laugh, and that laugh trails off… This time Sakurai-san, I’m not going to let you go. You’re not getting away.”

Created by Suda51, No More Heroes was released on the Nintendo Wii in 2007 (2008 in the U.S.) as one of the few M-rated games on the notoriously family-friendly console. Players took control of a 27-year-old assassin named Travis Touchdown who became a contract killer after winning a functional lightsaber (“beam katana”) in an online auction.

Although it had niche appeal and an unusual art style, No More Heroes earned acclaim for its creative gameplay (players could “slice” across the screen and perform gestures that imitated wrestling moves) and its hyper violent Quentin Tarantino-esque story. A sequel, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, was released in 2010.

Aside from a single HD port of the first game released on the PlayStation 3 and (only in Japan) Xbox 360, No More Heroes has been widely acknowledged as a third-party Nintendo franchise. This has led Travis Touchdown to become a popular “wishlist” character among Smash fans, though not to the degree of other most-wanted characters like Ridley and Simon Belmont (both of whom were added in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate).

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available now on the Nintendo Switch. Suda51’s livestream will take place on December 20.

Related video: Watch the first DLC pack reveal for ‘Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.’