Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

I don't really have a stake in the Zelda character front, but out of the options suggested, I'd definitely like Skull Kid. Outside of Zelda herself, the Zelda series has been surprisingly light on actual magic, so a character like Skull Kid who could use all sorts of magic abilities would be pretty nice (plus even though I don't play Zelda games much, I have played a lot of Majora's Mask, so there's an inherent bias there).

 

[Gengar84]

Rauru and Skull Kid I think don't even necessarily have to be in competition with each other... It's been so long since we got a new Zelda character, the new games are uber popular but it's not like the old ones are forgotten relics of gaming's past either, they'd play nothing alike, to me it really feels like there's enough room for both.

But yeah I want Skull Kid a lot more.

I agree. We haven’t had a unique Zelda character since Melee. I think we’re overdue for a couple more. I also don’t put any stock in “one-off” status as a means of gatekeeping characters. If the character is popular and has enough potential to have a creative moveset, that should be all that matters. I don’t think that was ever really a criteria, it’s just that certain characters have out prioritized others so far. Now that many of those highly requested characters are already in, that’s just less competition for the characters still waiting for their chance. Basically, just because something hasn’t happened yet, doesn’t mean it can’t.

 

[cashregister9]

Linkle and Age Of Calamity Impa unless something changes I personally feel may unfortunately be stuck in the

"This character was made during a collaboration between 2 companies and thus in a weird purgatory" dimension

Linkle, All Hyrule Warriors designs, Lana, Cia, The Dragalia Lost Cast, The specific White Mage design from Mario Sports Mix/Hoops 3-on-3, Rowan and Lianna from Fire Emblem Warriors are all stuck there in some way

Now it is very possible to leave that dimension, The Tokyo Mirage Sessions cast left unscathed and are now in Fire Emblem Heroes.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Hey guys. Do me a favor.

Zelda. Please give me a list of EVERY REMOTELY requested Zelda character.

I'm working on a little something, and if you'd like to help, by all means, PM me.

 

[Gengar84]

The ones I can think of off the top of my head are:

Impa
Skull Kid
Midna
Ganon
Rauru
Urbosa
Mipha
Daruk
Revali
Vaati
Girahim
Lana (my friend’s most wanted)
Linkle
Tetra

 

[Louie G.]

Zelda. Please give me a list of EVERY REMOTELY requested Zelda character.

Outside of anyone on Gengar's list, Tingle is obviously worth a mention and I've seen Sidon pop up a decent amount.

 

[Laniv]

Hey guys. Do me a favor.

Zelda. Please give me a list of EVERY REMOTELY requested Zelda character.

I'm working on a little something, and if you'd like to help, by all means, PM me.

Spoiler: Long list

Impa
Skull Kid
Pig Ganon
Toon Zelda (the WW one)
Spirit Zelda (the ST one)
Toon Sheik
Toon Ganondorf
Tetra
Fierce Deity Link
Medli
Makar
Midna (some pair her up with Wolf Link)
Tingle
Vaati
Ghirahim
Mipha
Revali
Daruk
Urbosa
Zant
Darunia
Saria
Mask Link (MM Link with Zora, Goron and Deku masks)
Demise
Beedle
Groose
Fi
Demise
Ravio
Hilda
Marin
Agahnim
Yuga
Ralph
Sidon
Tulin
Teba
Riju
Yunobo
Maz Koshia
Rauru (both of them)
Kohga
Dark Link
Triforce Heroes Link (working together in a stack)
Cia
Volga
Wizzro
Lana
Linkle
Deku Baba (Piranha Plant echo?)
Octorok
Moblin
Bokoblin
Lynel
Darknut
Stalfos
Cd-i Link

Just to name a couple. Might have forgotten some characters

 

[HyperSomari64]

Linkle and Age Of Calamity Impa unless something changes I personally feel may unfortunately be stuck in the

"This character was made during a collaboration between 2 companies and thus in a weird purgatory" dimension

Linkle, All Hyrule Warriors designs, Lana, Cia, The Dragalia Lost Cast, The specific White Mage design from Mario Sports Mix/Hoops 3-on-3 are all stuck there in some way

Now it is very possible to leave that dimension, The Tokyo Mirage Sessions cast left unscathed and are now in Fire Emblem Heroes.

This is the video game equivalent of "Android 21 Situation".
You could also add the CDi characters from Zelda, due to their ownership with Phillips.

 

[Gengar84]

If we were going to stick to a mainline incarnation of Impa, I’d go with Skyward Sword. She was the base for the Hyrule Warriors design and we don’t really have any character representation from that game.

 

[Godzillathewonderdog]

It seems like most of the characters I presume did well on the ballot, but aren’t fighters got a little something special in Ultimate. 3rd party characters either got assist trophies like Shovel Knight and Bomberman or spirits like Rayman, Shantae and Geno. Shadow’s assist trophy also returned with a bit more flare than in previous games.

As for the Nintendo characters Waluigi, Skull Kid and Isaac had their assist trophies return and received new Mii Fighter costumes/hats (Dixie Kong also received a hat). Isaac’s assist trophy was enhanced compared to the one in Brawl and the Moon was also made into an assist trophy which is intrinsically tied to Skull Kid. Krystal also got an assist trophy, and Toad was featured more prominently in Peach’s moveset.

The only notable characters who didn’t get anything special was Bandana Waddle Dee and Paper Mario who only got spirits, and since they are owned by Nintendo it’s not as notable as Geno or Shantae getting one. At least for Paper Mario him not getting a costume makes sense, meanwhile they easily could have made BWD’s bandana a hat or did what Streetpass did. Also there is at least a Paper Mario stage which returned from the 3DS version, meanwhile there aren’t any modern Kirby stages, not to mention they neglected to give Bandana Waddle Dee a trophy in the previous games… man my boy deserves better.

 

[pitchfulprocessing]

I think Rauru works fine as a newcomer, his proportions are unsual and would definitely have to be adjusted within reason, but I do think his abilites could make for an interesting moveset, there's enough to extrapolate on.

If I had any issue, it would just be that I think he's a boring character tbh. TOTK's story didn't do much for me in general, and Rauru I didn't really find engaging. I'm sure he could be done well in Smash to make him more stand-out.

 

[Gengar84]

I think Rauru works fine as a newcomer, his proportions are unsual and would definitely have to be adjusted within reason, but I do think his abilites could make for an interesting moveset, there's enough to extrapolate on.

If I had any issue, it would just be that I think he's a boring character tbh. TOTK's story didn't do much for me in general, and Rauru I didn't really find engaging. I'm sure he could be done well in Smash to make him more stand-out.

Yeah, I can understand that. I feel like I’m near the end of the game but I never really had an attachment to him as a character either. I mostly think he’d be cool for his unique design and abilities he gave Link. To be fair, I mostly like Impa because she looks cool and has a fun moveset in HW too.

 

[Kirbeh]

Impa
Skull Kid
Pig Ganon
Toon Zelda (the WW one)
Spirit Zelda (the ST one)
Toon Sheik
Toon Ganondorf
Tetra
Fierce Deity Link
Medli
Makar
Midna (some pair her up with Wolf Link)
Tingle
Vaati
Ghirahim
Mipha
Revali
Daruk
Urbosa
Zant
Darunia
Saria
Mask Link (MM Link with Zora, Goron and Deku masks)
Demise
Beedle
Groose
Fi
Demise
Ravio
Hilda
Marin
Agahnim
Yuga
Ralph
Sidon
Tulin
Teba
Riju
Yunobo
Maz Koshia
Rauru (both of them)
Kohga
Dark Link
Triforce Heroes Link (working together in a stack)
Cia
Volga
Wizzro
Lana
Linkle
Deku Baba (Piranha Plant echo?)
Octorok
Moblin
Bokoblin
Lynel
Darknut
Stalfos
Cd-i Link

Just to name a couple. Might have forgotten some characters

I know I harp on this a lot, but if you have really long lists, please use spoiler tags or organize them into a table.

 

[Will]

Impa
Skull Kid
Pig Ganon
Toon Zelda (the WW one)
Spirit Zelda (the ST one)
Toon Sheik
Toon Ganondorf
Tetra
Fierce Deity Link
Medli
Makar
Midna (some pair her up with Wolf Link)
Tingle
Vaati
Ghirahim
Mipha
Revali
Daruk
Urbosa
Zant
Darunia
Saria
Mask Link (MM Link with Zora, Goron and Deku masks)
Demise
Beedle
Groose
Fi
Demise
Ravio
Hilda
Marin
Agahnim
Yuga
Ralph
Sidon
Tulin
Teba
Riju
Yunobo
Maz Koshia
Rauru (both of them)
Kohga
Dark Link
Triforce Heroes Link (working together in a stack)
Cia
Volga
Wizzro
Lana
Linkle
Deku Baba (Piranha Plant echo?)
Octorok
Moblin
Bokoblin
Lynel
Darknut
Stalfos
Cd-i Link

Just to name a couple. Might have forgotten some characters

Brother can you calm down on the hitting the enter button, we got commas for a reason

 

[pitchfulprocessing]

Yeah, I can understand that. I feel like I’m near the end of the game but I never really had an attachment to him as a character either. I mostly think he’d be cool for his unique design and abilities he gave Link. To be fair, I mostly like Impa because she looks cool and has a fun moveset in HW too.

I think it falls more flat for me with Rauru because TOTK is trying to have a proper story and get you invested in the characters, and constantly interrupts the gameplay with story moments, so Rauru being unengaging is a lot more striking than if he wasn't really trying to have a character at all like your standard stand-in game avatar, because the story is clearly trying to do something with him. Someone like Impa doesn't really need to do much other than be a cool ninja in the games where she's a fighter, and she at least has a more distinct personality a lot of the time, though obviously not a complex one.

Personally, I think the ideal Zelda newcomer for me would be one of the Champions or Sages, and out of them I would go with Riju. Lightning scimitars are really cool and obviously fun, I like the idea of a shorter rushdown swordsman, and I think it'd be nice to get a darker skinned character playable beyond an alt costume. Sidon would be my alternative.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

Honestly i just think character wise Zelda is perfectly fine as is.
Maybe they can rework Young Link a bit but otherwise its good to me.

I think the series is more than well represented with items and stages, since Zelda has so many memorable things and setpieces.

Linkle and Age Of Calamity Impa unless something changes I personally feel may unfortunately be stuck in the

"This character was made during a collaboration between 2 companies and thus in a weird purgatory" dimension

Linkle, All Hyrule Warriors designs, Lana, Cia, The Dragalia Lost Cast, The specific White Mage design from Mario Sports Mix/Hoops 3-on-3, Rowan and Lianna from Fire Emblem Warriors are all stuck there in some way

Now it is very possible to leave that dimension, The Tokyo Mirage Sessions cast left unscathed and are now in Fire Emblem Heroes.

Sora also made it out of that dimension, since he's the protagonist of the final fantasy game with Disney characters.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

This is the video game equivalent of "Android 21 Situation".
You could also add the CDi characters from Zelda, due to their ownership with Phillips.

Not even remotely close.

Why would you even try to make a connection to Android 21 here?

 

[Will]

This is the video game equivalent of "Android 21 Situation".
You could also add the CDi characters from Zelda, due to their ownership with Phillips.

What is an android 21 situation? inserting an OC into your fighting game?

like this?

 

[BritishGuy54]

Nothing to see here. Accidental post.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Here’s a something I did. It’s an attempt at an alternate timeline Melee-sized roster circa 2018 with all of the original Melee’s gripes, such as 13 months of development, 6 clones.
View attachment 389453
I gave this roster the benefit of the doubt and assumed the project plan would start later. Also the lore here is that Smash didn’t exist until this point, so there’s a butterfly effect, such as no Kid Icarus revival yet.

Wouldn't Fire Emblem have died by then with no attempt at localization directly in response to Melee?

 

[1FC0]

I hope they include Rogue (aka "@") from Rogue, the original roguelike game. Considering the fact that that game created the roguelike genre, I think it deserves it. It may be a small game mostly known by UNIX lovers, but it also plays an important role in gaming history because it invented an entire genre. If anything, the fact that it is so poorly known despite being incredibly influential makes me only want to have it in Smash even more. I hope this unsung hero gets some love.

 

[Noipoi]

Nintendo’s biggest franchises: Mario, Pokemon, and Zelda.

Mario gets 8 characters. Pokemon gets 8 characters. Zelda has 6.

We gotta pump those numbers up. Two more characters next game.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Nintendo’s biggest franchises: Mario, Pokemon, and Zelda.

Mario gets 8 characters. Pokemon gets 8 characters. Zelda has 6.

We gotta pump those numbers up. Two more characters next game.

Got it.

Tingle and Bokoblin.

 

[1FC0]

Nintendo’s biggest franchises: Mario, Pokemon, and Zelda.

Mario gets 8 characters. Pokemon gets 8 characters. Zelda has 6.

We gotta pump those numbers up. Two more characters next game.

I think Pokémon is a whole lot bigger than Zelda is. And Mario is Nintendo's mascot.

 

[Kirbeh]

Nintendo’s biggest franchises: Mario, Pokemon, and Zelda.

Mario gets 8 characters. Pokemon gets 8 characters. Zelda has 6.

We gotta pump those numbers up. Two more characters next game.

Talon and Ingo as semi-clones of Mario and Luigi

 

[Louie G.]

Nintendo’s biggest franchises: Mario, Pokemon, and Zelda.

Mario gets 8 characters. Pokemon gets 8 characters. Zelda has 6.

We gotta pump those numbers up. Two more characters next game.

In other news, hope you guys are ready for four new Animal Crossing characters!

 

[pitchfulprocessing]

Wouldn't Fire Emblem have died by then with no attempt at localization directly in response to Melee?

Something I've thought about before is that I've never actually seen a source on this. There are multiple interviews stating it was Advance Wars which caused Nintendo to finally give Fire Emblem a full localisation, but I've looked into it and I can't find any primary source stating Melee was a factor. The closest is this section from the UK's Official Nintendo Magazine, but the writer, Thomas East, doesn't appear to have any citation or source for it and doesn't have a role in Nintendo that would let him know it, and the Official Nintendo Magazine isn't approved every word over by Nintendo, evidently lol.

The one thing I can see is that Wikipedia cites Game Informer issue 277 as having a section on Fire Emblem which mentions it, but that issue is out of print and no scans/screenshots of it are available online, so would need to order a used copy just to check what it actually says. The Melee story would make sense, so I don't doubt it could be true, but it would be good to have an actual source for it, I could just be missing something obvious.

 

[Gorgonzales]

Got it.

Tingle and Bokoblin.

Unironically I would be fine with this.

 

[Scrimblo Bimblo]

I think Rauru works fine as a newcomer, his proportions are unsual and would definitely have to be adjusted within reason, but I do think his abilites could make for an interesting moveset, there's enough to extrapolate on.

If I had any issue, it would just be that I think he's a boring character tbh. TOTK's story didn't do much for me in general, and Rauru I didn't really find engaging. I'm sure he could be done well in Smash to make him more stand-out.

TotK's story was really really bad imo. The characters too, they're barely characters. I think even BotW had a more interesting story (Link "resurrecting" after a century in a ruined Hyrule is an interesting premise, especially compared to "some rocks fell from the sky and all weapons rusted lol", and they even used it pretty well in my opinion... but I'm rambling).

But as far as Smash is concerned, Rauru has a cool design and would have cool abilities, so yeah no sour grapes from me.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

I mean

I will admit I completely forgot he was in Fortnite.

But saying that he can get in because he has a Nintendo appearance through Fortnite is very much a stretch. This gives me the same vibes as "Joker is fine because of Persona Q2" or "Cloud is fine because he's in that one Kingdom Hearts game for the GBA"

If he gets to be playable in Smash, it'll be due to Halo's influence and Microsoft's relationship with Nintendo. Nothing else.

 

[fogbadge]

Got it.

Tingle and Bokoblin.

sounds good

Talon and Ingo as semi-clones of Mario and Luigi

yeah sure why not

 

[pitchfulprocessing]

TotK's story was really really bad imo. The characters too, they're barely characters. I think even BotW had a more interesting story (Link "resurrecting" after a century in a ruined Hyrule is an interesting premise, especially compared to "some rocks fell from the sky and all weapons rusted lol", and they even used it pretty well in my opinion... but I'm rambling).

But as far as Smash is concerned, Rauru has a cool design and would have cool abilities, so yeah no sour grapes from me.

Yeah TOTK's story feels at odds with its game design. One of the biggest points against the game for me was how frequently I found myself getting interrupted with story sections that weren't engaging at all in opposition to how free and intuitive the core gameplay loop is. BOTW's open ended story that could be engaged with at its own pace aligns much more closely with the game's mechanical philosophy, and I think as a result is stronger because there's a lot more ludonarrative resonance you could say. It wouldn't be as bad if the story wasn't boring, but I thought it kind of was, so it definitely felt like a drag in points. The game still allows for some freedom in how you choose to engage with things, but there's I'd say a stronger emphasis on following a specific narrative path and talking to NPCs in a way that ends up being a detriment.

 

[Noipoi]

In other news, hope you guys are ready for four new Animal Crossing characters!

Finally. Another use for all those Amiibo Festival figures.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

In other news, hope you guys are ready for four new Animal Crossing characters!

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[SMAASH! Puppy]

What is an android 21 situation? inserting an OC into your fighting game?

A video game exclusive character that's made for, and is a part of a non-video game franchise.

I think it's pretty different from a video game character being jointly, or solely owned with another company, requiring negotiations in order to use. We already have characters like that (Geno, Sora, Rabbid Peach, etc.) being used in the game, it just doesn't happen often because they usually don't have a reason to add them given the negotiation barrier.

View attachment 389462

bottom text

Well...not everyone. Someone hated him enough to cut off the tips of his ears.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Well...not everyone. Someone hated him enough to cut off the tips of his ears.

Well yeah but "Almost Everyone Loves Raymond" doesn't roll off the tongue all that well.

 

[KingofPhantoms]

Zelda hasn't gotten a single newcomer that wasn't a Triforce wielder or another version of them, or any newcomers period since Brawl. While I don't think the series' representation in Smash is going to remain stagnant, it's probably going to take one of two things for another newcomer to be added:

1: Fans rallying in support one particular character or just one character happening to have a lot of support to begin with, as was the case with Ridley and K. Rool.

2: Sakurai or whoever's in charge of the next game taking another look at the series and it's characters and deciding if they're worth adding and developing a moveset for or if they can think of a good moveset for them.

This mostly doesn't account for any potential Echo Fighters, and it could be any character from an older game in the series to the most recent one. I'd like to think the next Smash game would be the series' best shot for a newcomer in years, but only time will tell.

 

[SharkLord]

Theres probably a lot of legal red tape that prevents this but i want to see a feature in stage builder where you can put the backgrounds from other stages on it instead of generic backdrops.

Like having green hill or Saffron city in the background of your stage



I thought you were talking about Isaac golden sun for a sec.

Yeah, Isaac's the first thing I thought when I saw "glowing han." Though, Isaac isn't just the guy with a big hand; He can also tend to his garden and throw rocks at people

Jokes aside Isaac does sound pretty cool just on the basis that he's an RPG hero with Earth as his element. Most RPGs that use elements will invariably dart to Fire, Light, or maybe Electricity as their "hero" element. After that, Water and Wind crop up a bit, maybe Darkness if we're being subversive, but Ice, Earth, and Plants are usually relegated to supporting roles. Getting a hero that uses Earth like Isaac is rare.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Zelda hasn't gotten a newcomer that wasn't a Triforce wielder

Technically, Link doesn't have the Triforce in BotW/TotK

Now that I did my joke...

Zelda hasn't gotten a newcomer that wasn't a Triforce wielder or another version of them since Brawl.

......every Zelda character is a variant of the same three characters. We never got anything else.

What did Brawl get that wasn't a Triforce wielder?

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

......every Zelda character is a variant of the same three characters. We never got anything else.

What did Brawl get that wasn't a Triforce wielder?

Technically Toon Link isn't one yet if he hasn't done the Triforce gathering, if I remember right.