Official DLC Speculation Discussion Volume II

[Pillow]

Now obviously this won’t happen for Ultimate’s DLC since we just got Sephi, but if we ever get another Final Fantasy character who should it be? Personally, I think Squall would be the best choice because of the mechanics they can implement with the Gunblade. However, Lightning is a fan favorite and a character that SE always tries to push while Tidus is very possible too because of how popular & beloved FFX is in Japan. A classic FF character like a class type from the NES games or Kefka would be amazing but I find that sorta unlikely just bc there would be very little hype for that. Not that it really matters for most cases but I feel like FF characters would be chosen more for popularity over anything else since they’re huge hype machines for Japan (and the west to an extent too).

Squall, Tidus, Lightning, Terra, and Cecil are all fine options and I could see any of them working in Smash. Personally I’d prefer Vivi or Kain though, despite them being secondary characters since they each represent 2 of the definitive mainstay FF classes in black mage / dragoon while still being cool characters in their own right. Kefka is awesome and all, but it would be very weird in this instance for the villain to arrive without the main character.

 

[Mamboo07]

Now obviously this won’t happen for Ultimate’s DLC since we just got Sephi, but if we ever get another Final Fantasy character who should it be? Personally, I think Squall would be the best choice because of the mechanics they can implement with the Gunblade. However, Lightning is a fan favorite and a character that SE always tries to push while Tidus is very possible too because of how popular & beloved FFX is in Japan. A classic FF character like a class type from the NES games or Kefka would be amazing but I find that sorta unlikely just bc there would be very little hype for that. Not that it really matters for most cases but I feel like FF characters would be chosen more for popularity over anything else since they’re huge hype machines for Japan (and the west to an extent too).

Vivi himself, playing as a black mage would be interesting.

 

[TechPowah]

As much as i'd like to see the rest of the series repped in some way besides Chocobo, Idon's right

Smash has made it clear both in the marketing and in game that they specifically are gonna stick to FF7 and not the others

Cloud and Sephiroth's character crests being just an FF instead of Meteor is basically a formality at this point

EDIT: as an addendum I almost wouldn't be surprised if the first FF character not from 7 is counted as hailing from a separate "series" rather than the FF7 logo turning into the general Final Fantasy logo

 

[Peripuff]

It's gonna be Tifa.
And no one else.

Let's face it, neither Square, Nintendo, nor Sakurai are interested in not choosing the most popular JRPG girl of all time.
Hell, if we got 7 FF characters, they'd all be from FFVII

If we got a third FF7 character, I feel like it could very well be Aerith too

 

[TechPowah]

To answer the original question though, I'd really like to see either Warrior, Noctis, or sue me, dare I say even Clive should that time come for the next Smash
Warrior since the game could always do with a cool medieval world and Warrior himself is pure greatness in Dissidia
Noctis, I personally like the idea of zipping around the game with his warp toss, and Noctis and Clive both being Action RPG characters by default would help lend to more defined movesets going forward
Clive is honestly im really stoked for what i've seen from FF16 and i do enjoy his design and moves a lot.

Other than that, Squall and Tidus i think would also be good choices if they took an approach similar to Cloud and based their movesets somewhat on their Dissidia kits

 

[SpectreJordan]

I mean, across different studios who have handled the series, Yoko Taro is the constant of Drakengard and Nier. He created the world, he is basically its Sakaguchi... if Sakaguchi had stuck around. I have no doubt he'd be involved, he's presided over the series up to the current day and he was intimately involved with 2B's inclusion in SoulCalibur. There's precedent of Square including him when 2B crosses over.

I mean, Gregg Mayles was involved in Banjo negotiations from the outset, and Rare doesn't even have legal standing in the use of the character, nor is Mayles Rare's head. He was, however, the director of the Banjo games.

I think it's quite the unrealistic proposition to suggest someone as integral to the series as Yoko Taro is to Nier wouldn't be made on board from the jump. It also just seems antithetical to how business is conducted over there, where I have to imagine that excluding him would be... just... disrespectful.

Hmm, interesting. I didn’t know that tidbit about SCVI. Do we know if that was from the beginning though or just during her development? You’re probably right tbh, but like I said Taro is an odd one so I don’t think it’d be out of character for him to not want to be there lol

Now obviously this won’t happen for Ultimate’s DLC since we just got Sephi, but if we ever get another Final Fantasy character who should it be? Personally, I think Squall would be the best choice because of the mechanics they can implement with the Gunblade. However, Lightning is a fan favorite and a character that SE always tries to push while Tidus is very possible too because of how popular & beloved FFX is in Japan. A classic FF character like a class type from the NES games or Kefka would be amazing but I find that sorta unlikely just bc there would be very little hype for that. Not that it really matters for most cases but I feel like FF characters would be chosen more for popularity over anything else since they’re huge hype machines for Japan (and the west to an extent too).

Terra, Tidus or Yuna would be my picks. If we get something besides FF7, I think 6 & 10 would be what they go with as they’re the most beloved entries in the series after 7.

I do agree with the others who stated Tifa would probably be the pick though. She’s so iconic & I also think she’d be a ton of fun to use.

 

[SNEKeater]

My pick for a FF character at this point would be Yuna, but yeah if we somehow get a third one it's probably going to be FFVII again. I'm 90% sure it would be Tifa. The only other choice I see is Terra from FFVI.

Not that I'd complain with Tifa, she's ****ing great and badass, but I'm more a fan of Yuna and Terra if we speak about FF girls.

You say that as if Japanese AAA development wasn't also aimed at Western audiences as much as, if not more than, their local gamers. Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, even Sonic are all more popular with Western audiences and they're their respective developers' biggest cash cows.

With how expensive AAA development has become it's completely unviable for a big game to appeal solely to the Japanese market, whereas tastes in the Western world are uniform enough that it functions as a single, massive and very lucrative market.

Give credit to Sony, theirs is the only console that has both computing power to run big and ambitious games and an audience willing to play Japanese games. They get flack for being all gritty and cinematic games but the PS4 is the console that turned Persona and NieR into household names.

Granted, dumb **** like removing the X-O swap in Japan can alienate audiences and they do need to put in the work to reassure people that they haven't ditched the market as a focus. But to want for them to fail can only hurt gaming as it is, because it's not like Final Fantasy XVI can exist on the Switch or sell well on the Xbox Series X. The alternative is that you just don't have those kinds of games.

Not to say, "Western AAA games" isn't exclusive of them. I mean... most multiplatform games from the biggest third party companies are precisely that. That's why I will never understand why people complain about Sony's library of games. Obviously, their games won't appeal to everyone, but that could be said about any company, including Nintendo. And generalize isn't helpful, I've seen people here define Sony's games as "third person movies" and similar descriptions, and that's just dumb. Some people do the same with Nintendo, saying they only do "colourful games for kids" and I think everyone here agrees that's obviously a stupid simplification.

And the flack you mention is mostly from a minority of people. Not the same situation but this reminds me of when Sword and Shield came out, and some people actually believed no one was going to buy it, or that very few people were happy or okay with the game. We all know the result and how well the game sold.
That's the most effective way to make a company know what you think. With your money. If they see that they're selling incredibly well they're not going to listen to the few people complaining on Twitter. Because yeah, in the grand scheme of things those people are a small part of their audience.

People complain about them basically shutting down Japan Studios (and I get why) but at the same time, most of their games if not all of them had mediocre sales at best, according to their expectations. People on the internet can cry as much as they want about "we're not getting Gravity Rush 3, **** them!!" which yeah, sucks, but if very few people bought the previous games, that's what you get. And I love some of the IPs Japan Studios worked on, but not gonna lie, I kinda feel some people really never cared about them until Sony closed them, and this is just another dart for them to throw at Sony, because before I never saw them talk about Gravity Rush, the Team ICO IPs, Legend of Dragoon, Puppeteer, Patapon or Ape Escape.

This isn't really different to how Nintendo has handled some of their IPs. F-Zero, Advance Wars, Golden Sun, etc. have fans asking for new games, but it's easy to ask for new games. If they wanna make a difference they will have to actually buy those games (if we get new ones) to show them that people are really interested in those series.

Sony has found their niche in the industry, and that niche is single player games with big stories and great visuals, and said niche of the market has granted them better sales than ever software wise, a ton of awards and prizes for a lot of their games, while the PS4 breaks records and being the fourth best selling console of all time as of now. And the PS5 is so far doing better than the PS4, and considering we're in a pandemic, that's impressive.
That doesn't mean they don't have other things. Everyone associates Nintendo with platformers or with fun games that are aimed at all audiences (which could be considered Nintendo's niche in the market), but that doesn't mean you won't get different products from them, because games such as Famicom Detective Club or Astral Chain are clearly different from Mario or Kirby.

 

[SpectreJordan]

Since people seem to get annoyed that conversation often steers towards the same popular characters (Hi Crash, Chief, Lloyd, Hayabusa, Pokemon, etc...!) & when the conversation does veer off to other characters it’s usually... the same group of niche Japanese characters (Hi Reimu, Arle, Adol, Dynasty Warriors rep, etc...!), how about we talk about western characters that don’t get enough discussion?

I’m going to start with my boy, Ezio from Assassin’s Creed.

Assassin’s Creed is one of the highest selling game series of all-time with 155 million copies sold, putting it just under Final Fantasy. The series has had a huge impact on open world video games, effecting almost all of them since Assassin’s Creed II. Nintendo’s own Breath of the Wild even has some AC DNA in it. The imagery of the white hooded assassins is one of the most recognizable in western gaming & almost everyone knows that they come from Assassin’s Creed.

The AC series has a rotating cast of protagonists, so there’s a lot of choices. But Ezio Auditore stands above them all as the most popular character in the series. He’s one of the only characters to star in multiple games, as he got his own trilogy of games from 2009-2011. Assassin’s Creed II & Brotherhood are still seen as the height of the series by many.

Ezio has a ton of potential for a moveset. The iconic wrist blade is a given. But he also wields a variety of swords, hammers & other hand-to-hand weapons. He also has a ton of gadgets such as smoke bombs. I’ve even seen a moveset that had his F-tilt having Ezio throwing coins; he does this in the games to attract peasants to flock around the coins & distract guards. I don’t know why but I love that idea in Smash & think it’d give him a ton of personality.

The series seems to do well in Japan sales wise. It’s also had crossovers with Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, Soul Calibur & of course, Smash.

It’s sort of crazy that Ezio doesn’t get more talk. But I think that’s due to core gamers being tired of Assassin’s Creed at this point; I have to admit I’m sort of in that camp as I haven’t played one of the new games in years, but I still love Ezio & his trilogy. I think most Smash fans’ Ubisoft focus being on Rayman also plays a role in how little Ezio is brought up.

I could actually see a repeat of Banjo/Steve happening in the future. Where both Rayman & Ezio get in, but Rayman is sort of a bonus as Nintendo’s focus is on getting Assassin’s Creed into a playable role.

This was fun so I’m gonna do write ups on a Fallout protagonist & Commander Shepard soon too. I’d love to hear other less talked about western characters too.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Honestly getting yet another FFVII character as the next SE fighter would be pretty disappointing.

Final Fantasy is too rich and varied a series to be constantly going back to the same game, no matter how vital and important it was. Cloud made sense, and given Sephiroth's status as one of the most famous JRPG villains of all time, it was understandable why he was chosen.

But another one from the same game just feels so unadventurous for a franchise that has many titles beloved both in the West and Japan that are ripe for inclusion in a game like Smash. I mean Tidus was fairly underwhelming as a protagonist to me, but I'd still sooner take him in a heartbeat than have Nintendo and Square Enix go to the same well again for fighters. Say what you will about Fire Emblem but at least their game representation in Smash is varied if nothing else.

 

[chocolatejr9]

Since people seem to get annoyed that conversation often steers towards the same popular characters (Hi Crash, Chief, Lloyd, Hayabusa, Pokemon, etc...!) & when the conversation does veer off to other characters it’s usually... the same group of niche Japanese characters (Hi Reimu, Arle, Adol, Dynasty Warriors rep, etc...!), how about we talk about western characters that don’t get enough discussion?

I’m going to start with my boy, Ezio from Assassin’s Creed.

Assassin’s Creed is one of the highest selling game series of all-time with 155 million copies sold, putting it just under Final Fantasy. The series has had a huge impact on open world video games, effecting almost all of them since Assassin’s Creed II. Nintendo’s own Breath of the Wild even has some AC DNA in it. The imagery of the white hooded assassins is one of the most recognizable in western gaming & almost everyone knows that they come from Assassin’s Creed.

The AC series has a rotating cast of protagonists, so there’s a lot of choices. But Ezio Auditore stands above them all as the most popular character in the series. He’s one of the only characters to star in multiple games, as he got his own trilogy of games from 2009-2011. Assassin’s Creed II & Brotherhood are still seen as the height of the series by many.

Ezio has a ton of potential for a moveset. The iconic wrist blade is a given. But he also wields a variety of swords, hammers & other hand-to-hand weapons. He also has a ton of gadgets such as smoke bombs. I’ve even seen a moveset that had his F-tilt having Ezio throwing coins; he does this in the games to attract peasants to flock around the coins & distract guards. I don’t know why but I love that idea in Smash & think it’d give him a ton of personality.

The series seems to do well in Japan sales wise. It’s also had crossovers with Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, Soul Calibur & of course, Smash.

It’s sort of crazy that Ezio doesn’t get more talk. But I think that’s due to core gamers being tired of Assassin’s Creed at this point; I have to admit I’m sort of in that camp as I haven’t played one of the new games in years, but I still love Ezio & his trilogy. I think most Smash fans’ Ubisoft focus being on Rayman also plays a role in how little Ezio is brought up.

I could actually see a repeat of Banjo/Steve happening in the future. Where both Rayman & Ezio get in, but Rayman is sort of a bonus as Nintendo’s focus is on getting Assassin’s Creed into a playable role.

This was fun so I’m gonna do write ups on a Fallout protagonist & Commander Shepard soon too. I’d love to hear other less talked about western characters too.

Forgive me for asking THAT question, but how popular is Assassin's Creed in Japan? I still feel like that's a factor to consider for Western reps, given both Banjo and ESPECIALLY Steve were popular over there. Doesn't help that that's arguably the main reason Rayman, Ezio's main competition, isn't in yet despite HIS popularity.

Also, wasn't there in AC Mii Costume? Wouldn't that hurt Ezio's chances?

 

[Garteam]

Oh don't worry

One of those will happen

Sony will learn the hard way that Western AAA gamers aren't the only demographic.

As much as I would love for this to be true and Sony to return control of the Playstation brand back to Japan, I don't think the PS5's rejection of its heritage will be enough to harm it.

Most people I met in high school or university that owned a PS4 really weren't using it much beyond a handful of releases each year. Their libraries usually consisted of the annual Call of Duties, their annual preferred sports games (NHL, NBA, Madden, etc.), and maybe one AAA action-adventure game like God of War or the Last of Us. Sony's treatment of Japanese devs and franchises during the PS5 era doesn't really bother them because, for many people, it doesn't really impact their experience.

Now, that is a largely anecdotal argument, but this trend is also pretty evident in the PS4's numbers. Persona 5 and Persona 5: Royal together have sold 4.6 million units since their release five years ago, the FF7 Remake sold 5 million copies on PS5 in a year, and (while exact data is hard to get for this game) MGS5: The Phantom Pain shipped about 6 million copies by the end of 2015 and Metal Gear's overall sales by 2018 were up about by 5 million from 2016's, although how much of this is owed to MGS5, Survive, or other games is unknown.

To put this in perspective, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare sold 30 million units in its first year (how much of this is owed to PS4 sales is unknown, but if we assume sales were divided equally between PS4, Xbox One, and PC, then we're looking at about 10 million copies), God of War 2018 sold 10 million copies in its first year, and Spider-Man sold 9 million units in its first year.

Furthermore, Sony has disclosed that the average PS4 user owns 8 to 10 titles. People with massive 30+ PS4 game collections are largely a vocal minority that is filtered out by a larger swath of more moderate fans when the entire consoles' sales numbers are being counted. Plus, 8 to 10 games would be about right for consumers who make 1 or 2 purchases annually over a four to six-year period.

This isn't a normative argument at all. I'm not trying to say that all PS4 users are fake gamers who don't actually care about the medium or that Japanese games are dead or anything like that. However, what I am trying to say is online forums may give the impression that the PS4's primary selling point was as an avant-garde machine designed to play only the most critically acclaimed and cutting-edge games. The PS4 has a great library, but that's really not the case. For many, the PS4 is the box in their living room for playing Call of Duty and Madden with buddies and easily streaming things to the TV. The abandonment of Japan really harms the Playstation brand if you have the former perception of what Playstation is, but it's largely irrelevant if you have the latter view of what Playstation is.

Granted, I could be wrong about this. It's still very, very early in the PS5's life. Perhaps Sony's treatment of Japan really will lead to the mass exodus of Japanese developers and franchises that many think it will and maybe that genuinely will cause the PS5 to underperform. Sony's management could also read the writing on the wall that this Western-centric approach is turning a lot of people off the PS5 and reverse it sometime in the generation. Alternatively, Sony's management continues making similarly unpopular decisions while high on the glue that is the PS4's success.

While a lot could happen over these next couple of years, however, that really doesn't change the fact that it's likely going to take far more than the current controversy to catch the eyes of general consumers and harm the PS5 fiscally.

 

[Guynamednelson]

Forgive me for asking THAT question, but how popular is Assassin's Creed in Japan? I still feel like that's a factor to consider for Western reps, given both Banjo and ESPECIALLY Steve were popular over there. Doesn't help that that's arguably the main reason Rayman, Ezio's main competition, isn't in yet despite HIS popularity.

Only sales record I could get thanks to VGChartz being laggy was that AC3 sold 160k in Japan.

& when the conversation does veer off to other characters it’s usually... the same group of niche Japanese characters (Hi Reimu, Arle, Adol, Dynasty Warriors rep, etc...!)

This is weekly LoLposting erasure.

 

[RileyXY1]

Forgive me for asking THAT question, but how popular is Assassin's Creed in Japan? I still feel like that's a factor to consider for Western reps, given both Banjo and ESPECIALLY Steve were popular over there. Doesn't help that that's arguably the main reason Rayman, Ezio's main competition, isn't in yet despite HIS popularity.

Also, wasn't there in AC Mii Costume? Wouldn't that hurt Ezio's chances?

Ezio was in a Soul Calibur game (Soul Calibur 5), and Ubisoft did get Mii Fighter costumes in CP5, one of which was Assassin's Creed related.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

I feel if we were to get yet again another Final Fantasy character, it'd be Lightning.

Tifa, and Aerith are Miis so they're ruled out unless we miraclely get another Fighters Pass which likely isn't happening.

 

[SKX31]

Microsoft were pretty ing * during the Don Mattrick, 8th gen turnover era, and their anti-consumer anti-used-games anti-backwards compatibility perpetual-Kinect perpetual-online nonsense bit them so hard in the butt that not only was Mr. Mattrick "offered" a very nice "lateral move" to Zynga (remember Zynga?) but it's been an uphill battle for Phil Spencer since then to regain the foothold of the one gen they weren't stumbling over themselves. I mean that launch presentation was one of the more significant -you's to consumers to date, and thus one of their biggest *-ups.

But Phil Spencer seems like a good guy, as far as heads of giant divisions of even bigger companies go.

Of the big gaming companies, and especially of the western big gaming companies, Microsoft actually seems the most amicable at the moment. They seem the most likely to cooperate and collaborate, and they have very little ego. They have fewer studio closures and I don't recall hearing too many stories of crunch within their walls, though I obv could be forgetting some. I mean, they can't really afford to be arrogant and coast like the other two, whoever is in third generally has to eat humble pie and make compromises in favour of the fans.

Total sidenote: Zynga's still a thing, and is developing Star Wars Hunters for the Switch (for an extra dose of coincidence: Mattrick was also one of EA's top dogs before he joined Microsoft). It's just that nowadays they've leaned so hard into "Get as many as possible to spend money on casual games" that they might as well be in an entirely different star system as far as console fans are concerned.

Now obviously this won’t happen for Ultimate’s DLC since we just got Sephi, but if we ever get another Final Fantasy character who should it be? Personally, I think Squall would be the best choice because of the mechanics they can implement with the Gunblade. However, Lightning is a fan favorite and a character that SE always tries to push while Tidus is very possible too because of how popular & beloved FFX is in Japan. A classic FF character like a class type from the NES games or Kefka would be amazing but I find that sorta unlikely just bc there would be very little hype for that. Not that it really matters for most cases but I feel like FF characters would be chosen more for popularity over anything else since they’re huge hype machines for Japan (and the west to an extent too).

It's a difficult question since FF has a lot of different characters they could include that would be potentially viable and interesting in their own right.

In the end, leaning towards Terra as my first choice. Has a lot that could make her mechanically interesting (whether it's her Esper transformation, spells or something else like her melee attacks) and she is a great character herself. Tidus / Yuna / Cecil are also great choices for similar reasons, although there's not many (if any really) main choices that would be bad. Yes, I'm saying that Lightning and Warrior of Light could still be good-to-great additions, despite XIII's flaws or how much I has aged.

The other FF villains seem to be in kinda wonky territory, but there I'm partial to Kefka as well. Or Exdeath really, because his Dissidia voice and his obsession with THE VOID is amazing. I need no other reason.

Forgive me for asking THAT question, but how popular is Assassin's Creed in Japan? I still feel like that's a factor to consider for Western reps, given both Banjo and ESPECIALLY Steve were popular over there. Doesn't help that that's arguably the main reason Rayman, Ezio's main competition, isn't in yet despite HIS popularity.

Also, wasn't there in AC Mii Costume? Wouldn't that hurt Ezio's chances?

I've looked this up in the past*. Consistent 100K+ seller, with AC2 was the first in the series to hit that mark. The more recent games usually do better than that, with Origins and Odyssey having strong first weeks. The series is definetely known over there, to say the least, and AC2 being the point where AC's sales began to accelerate does help Ezio's chances out.

I'm still a bit unsure re: Ezio's chances since the track "Ezio's Family" played when Altaïr's (AC1's protagonist) Mii was shown off, but if AC indeed gets a spot I'm kinda thinking that he'd be a frontrunner.

*(That answer was poorly formulated looking back, and a couple links were misplaced back then, so here's MediaCreate's Top 500 in Japan during 2010, where AC2 and related games appear.)

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Ezio will get into Smash via nepotistic family connections:

 

[Rie Sonomura]

Honestly getting yet another FFVII character as the next SE fighter would be pretty disappointing.

Final Fantasy is too rich and varied a series to be constantly going back to the same game, no matter how vital and important it was. Cloud made sense, and given Sephiroth's status as one of the most famous JRPG villains of all time, it was understandable why he was chosen.

But another one from the same game just feels so unadventurous for a franchise that has many titles beloved both in the West and Japan that are ripe for inclusion in a game like Smash. I mean Tidus was fairly underwhelming as a protagonist to me, but I'd still sooner take him in a heartbeat than have Nintendo and Square Enix go to the same well again for fighters. Say what you will about Fire Emblem but at least their game representation in Smash is varied if nothing else.

Is this where I start shilling Neku Sakuraba as a fourth SE rep??

 

[cashregister9]

I feel if we were to get yet again another Final Fantasy character, it'd be Lightning.

Tifa, and Aerith are Miis so they're ruled out unless we miraclely get another Fighters Pass which likely isn't happening.

It's also not the years 2006-2013 anymore

I could see Lightning as she is popular and has the unique weapon but If we do get another one it would probably be from a more well beloved game or a more well beloved character like Terra from 6 Tidus or Yuna from 10

The actual likely answer is Tifa or if we get an echo pass, Zack. Need to keep the Money train that is FF7 rolling a bit longer.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

The actual likely answer is Tifa

How though when as I mentioned she's a Mii?

I only see this happening if we get a Pass 3.

 

[Ivander]

Now obviously this won’t happen for Ultimate’s DLC since we just got Sephi, but if we ever get another Final Fantasy character who should it be?

Most likely scenario: Tifa.
Scenario I most want: Bartz.
Possible scenario if Sakurai wants to bring something unique for Final Fantasy: A Summoner like Yuna or a Job-Class switcher, like Onion Knight or Bartz. Or Terra to combine both Installs and Desperation Attacks.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

Fr tho

I just want TWEWY, one of S-E’s rising stars, to get some love

you got:
The most popular FF protagonist (Cloud)
The most popular FF antagonist (Sephiroth)
The face of the literal granddaddy of JRPGs (Hero)

so yeah I think it’s only fair another S-E IP gets a turn

 

[cashregister9]

How though when as I mentioned she's a Mii?

I only see this happening if we get a Pass 3.

The implication was that I cannot see us getting a non-7 character until at least Tifa gets in and since it can't be in this pass, it won't be for a while.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

The implication was that I cannot see us getting a non-7 character until at least Tifa gets in and since it can't be in this pass, it won't be for a while.

If Ultimate gets a Deluxe/Encore/expanded edition then maybe? I’d honestly prefer that to more DLC for Vanilla Ultimate as an expanded edition would allow more processing power (if it’s on Switch Pro/Super Switch), more base game single player content, maybe more complex characters that would make the OG Switch/Switch Lite explode (Pyra/Mythra would probably still remain as they are tho cuz adding Rex into the equation would likely still make the Super Switch catch fire)

or...y’know... Project X Zone 3 if they decide to let Square Enix join... Cloud & Tifa duo with a Sephiroth boss unit is guaranteed

 

[Mamboo07]

Fr tho

I just want TWEWY, one of S-E’s rising stars, to get some love

you got:
The most popular FF protagonist (Cloud)
The most popular FF antagonist (Sephiroth)
The face of the literal granddaddy of JRPGs (Hero)

so yeah I think it’s only fair another S-E IP gets a turn

Tomb Raider as well, Lara Croft is pretty iconic next to Chun-Li.

 

[Technomage]

By the way now I just beat the first Megaman Zero game and now I'd also like to have that version of Zero in Smash.

Also this song, please.

Yeah, I think that version of Zero can make it into the roster, even if Assist Trophies deconfirm characters and even with his AT in the game.

Yeah, I know. It's just that I've seen a lot of people seriously doubting a new company on the basis that we haven't gotten a new company in a while, and I don't think it's a possibility we should rule out yet.

Plus, it's pretty likely that one of the last 2 characters will be a trend-breaker, just like with FP1 (though what trend will get broken, I'm not completely sure); plus, since Byleth, an anticlimactic finisher, was the last character in FP1, and that FP2 was revealed with Terry, I got a feeling that whatever character was planned for FP1's finale could instead be moved to FP2's finale.

Now obviously this won’t happen for Ultimate’s DLC since we just got Sephi, but if we ever get another Final Fantasy character who should it be? Personally, I think Squall would be the best choice because of the mechanics they can implement with the Gunblade. However, Lightning is a fan favorite and a character that SE always tries to push while Tidus is very possible too because of how popular & beloved FFX is in Japan. A classic FF character like a class type from the NES games or Kefka would be amazing but I find that sorta unlikely just bc there would be very little hype for that. Not that it really matters for most cases but I feel like FF characters would be chosen more for popularity over anything else since they’re huge hype machines for Japan (and the west to an extent too).

I'd want Squall as the next FF guy, since I'd love to play as a character who uses a mechanical vibroblade; other reasons include his manual critical hit gimmick and songs that I'd love to see in Smash, such as:

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

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Also, while I'd be kinda okay with another FF7 character (I think), I do think FF7's feeling a bit oversaturated or overexposed.

Forgive me for asking THAT question, but how popular is Assassin's Creed in Japan? I still feel like that's a factor to consider for Western reps, given both Banjo and ESPECIALLY Steve were popular over there. Doesn't help that that's arguably the main reason Rayman, Ezio's main competition, isn't in yet despite HIS popularity.

Also, wasn't there in AC Mii Costume? Wouldn't that hurt Ezio's chances?

I don't think so; I think it'd only hurt the chances of the specific character itself.

 

[SharkLord]

Also, wasn't there in AC Mii Costume? Wouldn't that hurt Ezio's chances?

Altair is a weird question mark. On one hand, most Miis tend to be poor indicators of a series' chances... But on the other, Ezio is clearly the face of the series, even if Altair came first, and not having him as the sole representative of the series just seems weird. I hear Altair's more popular in Japan, but I'm not sure if that's sourced. There's also the added question of whether of not the Mii being from FP1 and not FP2 changes anything.

By default I'm kinda worried, but it's just a weird situation all around and I'm not quite sure what to say.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

Soooooo not sure if you’re familiar with this person on Twitter but:

Less than two months #E32021
Last week they told me that #Nintendo has big plans in store for this year, but Covid is making things difficult to organize. Unfortunately, due to the number of partners, I cannot confirm whether all plans will come to fruition, we will know on May 6 pic.twitter.com/EYvPIk0NWK

— Samus Hunter | Nintendo Leak and News Inside (@SamusHunter2) April 17, 2021

I heard that they are trying to organize some tournaments, one of Smash and one to publicize Splatoon 3, in a couple of weeks we will find out if the project will succeed. Obviously the Treehouse events and the Direct are certain...

— Samus Hunter | Nintendo Leak and News Inside (@SamusHunter2) April 17, 2021

But I have to say something extra... The train will make at least one more stop before reaching the end

— Samus Hunter | Nintendo Leak and News Inside (@SamusHunter2) April 17, 2021

Take with a grain of salt obvi, but I think some snippet of news may be sooner than we think

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Soooooo not sure if you’re familiar with this person on Twitter but:

Less than two months #E32021
Last week they told me that #Nintendo has big plans in store for this year, but Covid is making things difficult to organize. Unfortunately, due to the number of partners, I cannot confirm whether all plans will come to fruition, we will know on May 6 pic.twitter.com/EYvPIk0NWK

— Samus Hunter | Nintendo Leak and News Inside (@SamusHunter2) April 17, 2021

I heard that they are trying to organize some tournaments, one of Smash and one to publicize Splatoon 3, in a couple of weeks we will find out if the project will succeed. Obviously the Treehouse events and the Direct are certain...

— Samus Hunter | Nintendo Leak and News Inside (@SamusHunter2) April 17, 2021

But I have to say something extra... The train will make at least one more stop before reaching the end

— Samus Hunter | Nintendo Leak and News Inside (@SamusHunter2) April 17, 2021

Take with a grain of salt obvi, but I think some snippet of news may be sooner than we think

My immediate instinct was a relatively low key Fighter 10 reveal/release in May followed by a major Fighter 11 reveal at E3, but that's likely more wishful thinking than anything else.

 

[N3ON]

I would be happy if the next FF character was Tifa. I would also be happy if the next character is Aerith. I would be happy if the next character was Barret. I would embrace all the FF7 favouritism like I would embrace all the Gen 1 favouritism with a smile and a shrug at all the people flipping their lids like the asshole who had her most formative gaming years in the late 90s/early 00s that I am.

But for the sake of FF being much more than just FF7, and for the sake of being judicious, I would say Terra would be who I'd add next. I think FF6 is next most "deserving" (unfortunate as using that term is) to be represented. Plus I would be all over some FF6 music.

 

[Hydreigonfan01]

Soooooo not sure if you’re familiar with this person on Twitter but:

Less than two months #E32021
Last week they told me that #Nintendo has big plans in store for this year, but Covid is making things difficult to organize. Unfortunately, due to the number of partners, I cannot confirm whether all plans will come to fruition, we will know on May 6 pic.twitter.com/EYvPIk0NWK

— Samus Hunter | Nintendo Leak and News Inside (@SamusHunter2) April 17, 2021

I heard that they are trying to organize some tournaments, one of Smash and one to publicize Splatoon 3, in a couple of weeks we will find out if the project will succeed. Obviously the Treehouse events and the Direct are certain...

— Samus Hunter | Nintendo Leak and News Inside (@SamusHunter2) April 17, 2021

But I have to say something extra... The train will make at least one more stop before reaching the end

— Samus Hunter | Nintendo Leak and News Inside (@SamusHunter2) April 17, 2021

Take with a grain of salt obvi, but I think some snippet of news may be sooner than we think

That leaker was talked about on a recent PapaGenos video (not the latest one but the second latest one) and while they have gotten stuff right they've also gotten stuff wrong.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

That leaker was talked about on a recent PapaGenos video (not the latest one but the second latest one) and while they have gotten stuff right they've also gotten stuff wrong.

What exactly have they gotten wrong?

 

[Lamperouge]

How though when as I mentioned she's a Mii?

I only see this happening if we get a Pass 3.

I kind of assumed that everyone was talking about the chances of another FF character for the next Smash game, in which case, yeah, I think Tifa is probably the most likely choice.

 

[SpectreJordan]

Forgive me for asking THAT question, but how popular is Assassin's Creed in Japan? I still feel like that's a factor to consider for Western reps, given both Banjo and ESPECIALLY Steve were popular over there. Doesn't help that that's arguably the main reason Rayman, Ezio's main competition, isn't in yet despite HIS popularity.

Also, wasn't there in AC Mii Costume? Wouldn't that hurt Ezio's chances?

SKX31 covered the sales part pretty well. The recent AC releases seem to be in the top 3 highest sellers the month of their release.

I think the Altair Mii costume definitely hurts an AC character’s chances rn. But it was for FP1, so maybe it was negotiated for in 2018 or early 2019. Then when FP2 was greenlit in mid 2019(?), they decided to go after Ezio as a fighter. Tbh, I was mainly speculating on Ezio’s chances for the future of Smash instead of FP2. But who knows, maybe we’ll see him show up in a month!

 

[Freduardo]

If it were up to me and we got an FF character, it would be Kefka.

That said, if it were up to me, we would have gotten Kefka before Cloud or Seph.

I completely understand why it’s not up to me.

Still the best villain.

 

[cashregister9]

Soooooo not sure if you’re familiar with this person on Twitter but:

Less than two months #E32021
Last week they told me that #Nintendo has big plans in store for this year, but Covid is making things difficult to organize. Unfortunately, due to the number of partners, I cannot confirm whether all plans will come to fruition, we will know on May 6 pic.twitter.com/EYvPIk0NWK

— Samus Hunter | Nintendo Leak and News Inside (@SamusHunter2) April 17, 2021

I heard that they are trying to organize some tournaments, one of Smash and one to publicize Splatoon 3, in a couple of weeks we will find out if the project will succeed. Obviously the Treehouse events and the Direct are certain...

— Samus Hunter | Nintendo Leak and News Inside (@SamusHunter2) April 17, 2021

But I have to say something extra... The train will make at least one more stop before reaching the end

— Samus Hunter | Nintendo Leak and News Inside (@SamusHunter2) April 17, 2021

Take with a grain of salt obvi, but I think some snippet of news may be sooner than we think

My first thought was a Zelda direct. It would be able to reveal a bunch of stuff to get it out of the way so the E3 direct can have more and I also remember Kelios hinted at one.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

My first thought was a Zelda direct. It would be able to reveal a bunch of stuff to get it out of the way so the E3 direct can have more and I also remember Kelios hinted at one.

That would make more sense than anything else.

 

[Gnateb]

The "train will make at least one more stop before reaching the end" makes me think Zelda, too. Specifically Spirit Tracks/Phantom Hourglass, since Nintendo renewed a patent involving one of the two recently.

 

[Diddy Kong]

If we got a third FF7 character, I feel like it could very well be Aerith too

I think it will probably be Tifa, as I read she had crossed over before in another fighting game.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

I think it will probably be Tifa, as I read she had crossed over before in another fighting game.

Yeah... the Dissidia Final Fantasy series

idc what you say, Ehrgeiz NEVER HAPPENED. EVER.

 

[Dinoman96]

That Samus Hunter person isn't reliable, let's not give them attention.