Obviously, a dream come true for me. Their moveset is almost exactly how I pictured them, or better, minus elemental eggs. I love that I can act out of my up B, an annoyance I have with most characters that leads me to SDing all the time. And just so much variety--shooting eggs, ****ting bombs, swinging Kazooie down like a sword, jackhammering people into the air. All the moves that came from the original games are a delight, it's only the made-up moves that feel stale. I love Spiral Mountain, the detail they put into all the models at least lets me pretend this is what Banjo-Threeie would look like in modern graphics. The spinning doesn't bother me at all, if anything, I'm always missing the beautiful details in the middle of an actual fight. And the music is great. Mad Monster Mansion and Gobi's Valley are my favorite re-mixes, but Treasure Trove Cove, Spiral Mountain and Main Theme are so good too. Unlike a lot of Smash re-mixes of my favorite songs, all of them are amazing to listen to--only gripe is no Final Battle, and I feel like more Tooie boss music could have gotten in as the original versions (RIP Weldar). I was so worried that if Banjo & Kazooie got in there was a slight chance of them not being how I imagined--but they're that and more.
One of the more underwhelming reveals, wasn't really interested Hero, outside of the reveal of the other three Heroes, which are cooler than the default. However, after playing them I found them to be fun. Good recovery, love hitting people with Kazap, and some of the command selection spells are cool, though there didn't need to be so many. Snooze, bounce, kamikazee, heal, whack/thwack, and magic burst are cool. Though it's so easy to refill the MP meter there might as well not be one--I always feel dirty winning as them. Favorite is Eight, with Erdrick being a close second.
My most hype reveal outside of Banjo & Kazooie, lessened by the fact I was pretty sure he'd be the next Sega rep--gave me confidence in the Fighter's Pass. And while I enjoy the series he comes from, I wasn't a fan of actually playing as him. His guns and knives look so small that it's not visually interesting, and it took me forever to understand the Rebel's Guard mechanic. Really not a fan of tether grabs, so having Arsene for a good recovery is really nice, and his attacks become more visually appealing. Really great final smash, visually interesting stage, and awesome results screen. My interest in the character started really high, dropped considerably when first playing as him, got better as I understood the character more, but has kinda took a dive after that. Favorite songs are Our Beginning, Aria of the Soul, and I'll Face Myself. The main reason he was a hope for DLC was less about the character and more about getting that Persona music in, and they're great to listen to.
Byleth: The least hype reveal, though I was more meh than disappointed because I expected the last character to be the least hype, given the Fighter's Pass model--was disappointed it was Fire Emblem, still. That being said, they're the most interesting Fire Emblem character, and I'll likely actually play them, unlike the other FE characters. The moveset isn't as interesting as the reveal trailer tried to make it out to be, and doesn't really feel like a "new way to play", but unlike any other Fire Emblem character, I feel comfortable playing as them, and was surprised at how easily I was able to pick them up. I even surpassed Banjo & Kazooie in my GSP in just a few matches (had to correct that by going back to B&K afterwards). Not a fan of tether grabs, but at least with this one I haven't SD'd because of it, and hitting someone with a fully charged failnaught is fun. Not much to the character outside of that and Aymr.
Like with Simon, I was just curious seeing what he'd look like after speculating about him for days and only having 2D images to go by. While it might make some people groan, I do see him a bit as Ken in a trucker hat (though I see redneck Pokemon Trainer more). Not a fan of fighting games myself (I play Smash for the "celebration of gaming" aspect Sakurai talked about) and so his moveset does absolutely nothing for me, same with Ryu and Ken. Just confusing, and feels overly complicated to play. With all the other characters, I can at least name a few things I like, but really can't think of anything with Terry. His stage is kinda cool.
Overall, great pass. 2/5 of my hopes came true, one being my dream character, and 4/5 are fun to play as. I got the pass knowing I could have only liked Joker and Banjo & Kazooie and no one else, so that I could have a complete roster, and while the other picks weren't my cup of tea, some surprised me by how interesting they turned out to be. Sakurai puts a lot of love into all of these characters, and it shows, even with characters I was less enthused by. I can tell there's a lot of love to the fans of those characters and series.
