Smashmania: Our first credible leak? (No, it's not)

As always remember to take the leak with a grain of salt. Spoilers ahead, you've been warned.

Normally, I wouldn't post leaks, not only because the majority are false, but when they are actually true, it spoils the fun for everyone. However, this has enough material to be considered real.

Over on 4chan, one user shared an image showing what appears to be seven Super Smash Bros. Ultimate character renders. Featured here we see the Chorus Kids from Rhythm Heaven, Isaac from Golden Sun, Street Fighter's Ken, Isabelle from Animal Crossing, Shadow the Hedgehog, The Legend of Zelda's Skull Kid, and a mysterious female character that fans aren't quite able to pinpoint exactly.

Several hours after the initial renders image was posted, another was shared on 4chan showing Banjo and Kazooie, as well as Dixie Kong. It is unclear whether or not the two images were created / shared by the same person.

From everything we've seen so far, it doesn't look like anyone has definitively been able to match any of the renders up with existing artwork or assets. There have been comparisons to other characters and potential disconfirmations, but nothing seems 100% just yet.

Before we get into the details of why these could be or couldn't be legitimate, let's talk about the mystery female character in the first image. The most current guess seems to be Agnés Oblige from Bravely Default. It was recently claimed by frequent leaker Vergeben that another Square Enix representative would be playable in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Agnés would fit that bill as Nintendo published Bravely Default outside of Japan. Though, it is hard to see Nintendo adding a character from that game over Dragon Quest, Kingdom Hearts, Super Mario RPG, or even Chrono Trigger, but certainly not impossible. If this is true, this would mean a hard knock for Geno, since everyone is expecting him to be almost guarantee in Ultimate (I haven't played Super Mario RPG, therefore I'm not a Geno supporter. But with Ridley and King K. Rool already in, he's almost a shoo-in at this point).

Ken and Isabelle have also been mentioned by Vergeben, noting that both might be in the game as Echo Fighters for Ryu and Villager, respectively. Characters like Isaac, the Chorus Kids, Banjo Kazooie, and Shadow have either been rumored to be in for some time now or very highly requested, and in further defense of the Chorus Kids we know that Super Smash Bros. 4 had content from Rhythm Heaven in it and an icon for the series that went unused.

So are these character renders the real deal? It's hard to say.

On the one hand, it would be fairly difficult to fake these images (some people are saying that Agnés is a "blend between Marth and Palutena"). On the other hand, it's entirely possible to do it.

These character render images are reminding fans of the famous ESRB Super Smash Bros. 4 leaks that surfaced a few weeks before the game's release in Japan. A screenshot appeared on 4chan that showed new icons for unconfirmed veteran characters pasted over an original image that someone had shared asking 4chan users which characters they thought would be cut.

Jigglypuff, Ness, Dr. Mario, Mr. Game & Watch, Wario, and R.O.B. all had never-before-seen icons, and icons for newcomers Bowser Jr., Duck Hunt, Dark Pit, and Shulk were also added to the image. Additionally, characters like Snake, Ice Climbers, Pichu, and more were crossed out to show they wouldn't be making the roster.

Later, two more images surfaced showing full renders for Duck Hunt and Ness, which were then followed by five more images where Shulk's render, Dr. Mario's render, the stage select screen, the Customs menu, and another screenshot of the roster that revealed Bowser Jr.'s render and his Junior Clown Car were all seen. Within these images the name "ESRB0083" was shown for Player 1, effectively unveiling that the leaker had a tie to the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).

At that time, many fans were skeptical about the legitimacy of the aforementioned screenshots, attempting to debunk the character renders by comparing them to others. Despite this, the leaks turned out to be true.

Remember when everyone says this was fake? Remember when people said Shulk was a "photoshopped Little Mac"?

This could be a similar situation, but with all of that having been said it is worth pointing out that these new renders for Smash Ultimate vary in quality and seemingly style for some. The only thing he missed was gameplay.

At the end of the day, take these with a grain of salt — like you would with anything that hasn't been officially confirmed. Personally, this is the best image leak I've ever seen. It's well done, there are faults like some renders (Isabelle, Skull Kid, Dixie, Banjo-Kazooie), but let's remember: every leak is false until proven otherwise.

Do you think these potential Super Smash Bros. Ultimate leaks are legitimate? Let us know in the comments below.

Edit: it has been proven false. Sorry if I wasted your time in this.