Official DLC Speculation Discussion Volume II

[DanganZilla5]

So I want to ask a question that has been bothering me for quite some time. Why doesn't Contra get a lot of attention in speculation?

People always bring up Hayabusa as the last NES icon remaining but Contra has most of the same merits. It's an iconic NES game known for its difficulty, it got plenty of sequels with some of them on Nintendo systems, it got featured on the NES and SNES Classic consoles, and continued to get games including on Switch. Konami could definitely get a character in this pass and his only real threat is Alucard. So how come we don't talk about Bill Rizer like we do with Hayabusa? My only assumption is that it has to do with Tecmo: The fact that they don't have a rep yet and Hayabusa being their de facto frontrunner.

Right now I have ideas flowing around in my head for a Contra article. I want to convince people that Bill Rizer has a good shot at making it into this game. I think he is really underrated in speculation.

 

[Perkilator]

yeah I can’t attach an image but y’all know damn well who I’m talking about

Well, I did mention a female mech fighter.

Does a robot suit count? Because I know a certain someone who rocks it with one:
View attachment 298431

Just not the one you're thinking of.

 

[I.D.]

yeah I can’t attach an image but y’all know damn well who I’m talking about

Yes, who else but POPPIBUSTER BAYBEEEEEEE

 

[Deleted member]

There isn't really anything I want to say about this in regards to Smash, but earlier today, I saw this image of the latest Famitsu cover VIA twitter.

I don't know Japanese at all nor do I know who all the characters are on it, but they all are certainly from upcoming games for this year. It is surprising to see Master Chief on this thoe.

 

[DanganZilla5]

There isn't really anything I want to say about this in regards to Smash, but earlier today, I saw this image of the latest Famitsu cover VIA twitter.

I don't know Japanese at all nor do I know who some of these characters are on it, but they all are certainly from upcoming games for this year. It is surprising to see Master Chief on this thoe.

Master Chief is certainly an interesting choice, but it does make sense considering that it does have a decent fanbase (In Japan) and it's one of the more popular Xbox series in Japan (Which ain't saying much honestly). But Famitsu is Japan's biggest gaming magazine right? If so then this is notable indeed.

 

[N3ON]

There isn't really anything I want to say about this in regards to Smash, but earlier today, I saw this image of the latest Famitsu cover VIA twitter.

I don't know Japanese at all nor do I know who some of these characters are on it, but they all are certainly from upcoming games for this year. It is surprising to see Master Chief on this thoe.

And people wonder why there's so much anime in Smash; it's like they don't even know Japan.

I'm also surprised Chief made the cover though. Maybe three of the five people who own an Xbox in Japan work at Famitsu.

 

[RileyXY1]

I still think that Master Chief is unlikely because I don't think that a company would get two reps in a single Fighter Pass.

 

[NonSpecificGuy]

So I want to ask a question that has been bothering me for quite some time. Why doesn't Contra get a lot of attention in speculation?

People always bring up Hayabusa as the last NES icon remaining but Contra has most of the same merits. It's an iconic NES game known for its difficulty, it got plenty of sequels with some of them on Nintendo systems, it got featured on the NES and SNES Classic consoles, and continued to get games including on Switch. Konami could definitely get a character in this pass and his only real threat is Alucard. So how come we don't talk about Bill Rizer like we do with Hayabusa? My only assumption is that it has to do with Tecmo: The fact that they don't have a rep yet and Hayabusa being their de facto frontrunner.

Right now I have ideas flowing around in my head for a Contra article. I want to convince people that Bill Rizer has a good shot at making it into this game. I think he is really underrated in speculation.

I think it’s mostly because of Bomberman, Castlevania, and Metal Gear Solid. What I mean is Snake coming back was a big win for all of us Snake fans so we were good there. Castlevania got SO much stuff in base game; two characters making it the first 3rd party series to get two characters, the most music added to a new franchise in Smasg history before Terry, a whole lot of spirits, a new stage that had a ton of cameos, Alucard as an assist, and an exclusive series boss, so Castlevania fans are eating REAL well. Bomberfans had it the toughest with the assist trophy getting in but even after that, just this pass, we got what is probably the most ambitious Mii costume to date with multiple colors.

All things considered if Konami was getting another character this pass it seems like Bomberman would’ve come with them, and even despite all that it seems like if there is a 3rd Konami character coming in the future it will be Bomberman which will likely not be until next game or Ultimate Deluxe or whatever. Bill Rizer is a super iconic 8-bit character and it is reasonable to see him getting in but I think he’s not in the public eye because of all the things listed above. Put that alongside the fact that Hayabusa is the de facto 8-bit talking point and he’s got stiff competition in that department and when it comes to the shoots boy competition? Ooh boy. Master Chief, Doom Slayer, and even Jonesy are all possible candidates.

He’s definitely a character I, along with most everyone, wouldn’t see coming and that’s not a bad thing. It just means that he’s a dark horse character right now but that might change in the near future.

 

[Icedragonadam]

Well Microsoft is trying to appeal to the Japanese demographic. Contrast that with Sony. Pretty ironic too.

 

[chocolatejr9]

There isn't really anything I want to say about this in regards to Smash, but earlier today, I saw this image of the latest Famitsu cover VIA twitter.

I don't know Japanese at all nor do I know who all the characters are on it, but they all are certainly from upcoming games for this year. It is surprising to see Master Chief on this thoe.

Look, what REALLY matters is that both Disgaea 6 and Balan Wonderworld are on that cover. I couldn't ask for anything more...

 

[SharkLord]

So I want to ask a question that has been bothering me for quite some time. Why doesn't Contra get a lot of attention in speculation?

People always bring up Hayabusa as the last NES icon remaining but Contra has most of the same merits. It's an iconic NES game known for its difficulty, it got plenty of sequels with some of them on Nintendo systems, it got featured on the NES and SNES Classic consoles, and continued to get games including on Switch. Konami could definitely get a character in this pass and his only real threat is Alucard. So how come we don't talk about Bill Rizer like we do with Hayabusa? My only assumption is that it has to do with Tecmo: The fact that they don't have a rep yet and Hayabusa being their de facto frontrunner.

Right now I have ideas flowing around in my head for a Contra article. I want to convince people that Bill Rizer has a good shot at making it into this game. I think he is really underrated in speculation.

Good question

It's weird. Contra's one of the big retro classics and popularized the famous Konami Code (Though it didn't create it; That honor goes to Gradius). You'd think Bill and Lance would get some more attention. Maybe it's just lack of familiarity or something.

 

[Technomage]

Well Microsoft is trying to appeal to the Japanese demographic. Contrast that with Sony. Pretty ironic too.

Yeah, Sony has been going woke, and wokies do tend to hate Japan and anime.

 

[Guynamednelson]

I think it’s mostly because of Bomberman, Castlevania, and Metal Gear Solid. What I mean is Snake coming back was a big win for all of us Snake fans so we were good there. Castlevania got SO much stuff in base game; two characters making it the first 3rd party series to get two characters, the most music added to a new franchise in Smasg history before Terry, a whole lot of spirits, a new stage that had a ton of cameos, Alucard as an assist, and an exclusive series boss, so Castlevania fans are eating REAL well. Bomberfans had it the toughest with the assist trophy getting in but even after that, just this pass, we got what is probably the most ambitious Mii costume to date with multiple colors.

All things considered if Konami was getting another character this pass it seems like Bomberman would’ve come with them, and even despite all that it seems like if there is a 3rd Konami character coming in the future it will be Bomberman which will likely not be until next game or Ultimate Deluxe or whatever. Bill Rizer is a super iconic 8-bit character and it is reasonable to see him getting in but I think he’s not in the public eye because of all the things listed above. Put that alongside the fact that Hayabusa is the de facto 8-bit talking point and he’s got stiff competition in that department and when it comes to the shoots boy competition? Ooh boy. Master Chief, Doom Slayer, and even Jonesy are all possible candidates.

He’s definitely a character I, along with most everyone, wouldn’t see coming and that’s not a bad thing. It just means that he’s a dark horse character right now but that might change in the near future.

Regardless, I don't think the amount of Konami content already in Smash means that Contra isn't one of THE NES titles, and something you'd associate with the Konami Code more than Castlevania.

 

[SharkLord]

Well Microsoft is trying to appeal to the Japanese demographic. Contrast that with Sony. Pretty ironic too.

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[chocolatejr9]

Yeah, Sony has been going woke, and wokies do tend to hate Japan and anime.

I'm probably opening a can of worms, but why is that? Is it the culture or something?

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

The grappler and zoner archetypes. Sephiroth does take some cues from grapplers with his huge potential damage output and meh frame data on the normals, but his game plan is very much rooted in the zoner archetype. It seems to me that Nightmare would be more akin to Ganondorf than Sephiroth, with big dumb unga bunga attacks a playstyle focused on getting in and landing them rather than using them to keep oponents away.

To be honest, the description given sounds like he'd be Chrom, but a heavy. I don't know if that's laughable or terrifying but it would be interesting to find out.

That sounds more like Night Terror than Nightmare.

Anyone who encountered that thing in SC3 could confirm.

Nightmare would pretty much be unga bunga like Chrom, yes, but his mobility wouldn't be as good.

 

[RileyXY1]

I'm probably opening a can of worms, but why is that? Is it the culture or something?

Sony has aggressively censored a lot of anime games.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

I'm probably opening a can of worms, but why is that? Is it the culture or something?

They moved their HQ to California which is Woke Central and yeah

 

[Technomage]

I'm probably opening a can of worms, but why is that? Is it the culture or something?

Well, it's mostly about the hot anime chicks (though there's also a couple of instances of Lefties hating Attack on Titan for exposing the ugly true colors of their victim narrative).

 

[chocolatejr9]

Sony has aggressively censored a lot of anime games.

They moved their HQ to California which is Woke Central and yeah

Well, it's mostly about the hot anime chicks (though there's also a couple of instances of Lefties hating Attack on Titan for exposing the ugly true colors of their victim narrative).

Oh yeah, I forgot about that.

Maybe THAT'S why Master Chief's on the cover...

 

[N3ON]

There are cultural differences which can inform the content therein, but it doesn't have to do with wokeness - it's that Sony is investing in high-budget aesthetically realistic, cinematic, narrative-driven adventure games, which usually isn't Japan's thing. It's the west's thing.

They're leaving Japanese third-parties to pick up the slack, but many of them are pivoting westwards as well (and learning how to do it more successfully than when they took a hard turn and tripped over to themselves trying to cater to the west in the seventh gen).

Sony is also pivoting away from Japan being their priority release and supply-wise.

 

[helloiamhere]

There isn't really anything I want to say about this in regards to Smash, but earlier today, I saw this image of the latest Famitsu cover VIA twitter.

I don't know Japanese at all nor do I know who all the characters are on it, but they all are certainly from upcoming games for this year. It is surprising to see Master Chief on this thoe.

Other than SMTV protag and the Chiefster I have no idea who any of these guys are.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

There are cultural differences which can inform the content therein, but it doesn't have to do with wokeness - it's that Sony is investing in high-budget aesthetically realistic, cinematic, narrative-driven adventure games, which usually isn't Japan's thing. It's the west's thing.

They're leaving Japanese third-parties to pick up the slack, but many of them are pivoting westwards as well (and learning how to do it more successfully than when they took a hard turn and tripped over to themselves trying to cater to the west in the seventh gen).

Sony is also pivoting away from Japan being their priority release and supply-wise.

Truth be told I’d rather have Sony Japan back. Ape Escape was my **** and it makes me sad we’ll never see that make a comeback. Creativity over cinematic, I say

lowkey convinced they should sell their Japanese IPs to other companies

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Which is already the case in Soulcalibur.

Heck, it's so slow there that it might even get a boost in Smash and still be slow.

And it's only now that I realize everyone in SC has "bad" frame data because weapons.

Nightmare has relatively fast startup on his moves because of this, actually, though he still has some really slow moves.

But he's terribly unsafe on block and his movement isn't great... though VI greatly improved on the latter so that it's not a huge weakness anymore.

 

[JamesDNaux]

If we got a Contra character in Smash then their gimmick would be getting an extra stock by inputting the Konami code.

 

[Idon]

SMTV on the cover.

After 4 years of waiting...

This is the year.

 

[I.D.]

Content "guidelines" (totally not censorship) that suspiciously only seem to apply to Japanese games aside, SIE has made a lot of moves to remove Japanese influence from the Playstation brand and turn it into a more western centric one, like not putting any effort to attract small-mid Japanese devs (which is why you are suddenly getting games like Disgaea and Atelier being announced at Nintendo events instead), undershipping the PS5 in Japan compared to European countries with smaller market share (eg Spain), key members of SIE Japan Studio leaving the company, like the producers of Bloodborne and Gravity Rush (not like they were getting any work anymore other than development assistance to external projects) and even small petty stuff like removing the traditional Japanese button configuration of the Playstation controller (O to confirm, X to cancel).

You could say Sony doesn't care about Japanese games anymore unless they are big AAA stuff with worldwide appeal like Final Fantasy and Resident Evil.

 

[N3ON]

Truth be told I’d rather have Sony Japan back. Ape Escape was my **** and it makes me sad we’ll never see that make a comeback. Creativity over cinematic, I say

lowkey convinced they should sell their Japanese IPs to other companies

You can't say the games Sony makes now are bad games. Quite the opposite. They're just not the kind of games I want to play.

But my interest in most western IP has always paled in comparison to Japanese IP, at least since the west begun its preoccupation with "realism". I prefer the Japanese ethos when it comes to games.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

That sounds more like Night Terror than Nightmare.

Anyone who encountered that thing in SC3 could confirm.

Nightmare would pretty much be unga bunga like Chrom, yes, but his mobility wouldn't be as good.

That's what I meant by "but a heavy" since fast heavys don't really exist. A more aggresive take on the playstyle seems interesting though.

But my interest in most western IP has always paled in comparison to Japanese IP, at least since the west begun its preoccupation with "realism". I prefer the Japanese ethos when it comes to games.

I suspect that part of why this is a big thing is that "realism" is often confused with "good graphics" in the west (either especially, or maybe just in America) since how realistic things look is usually the selling point rather than how good it looks.

 

[JOJONumber691]

There isn't really anything I want to say about this in regards to Smash, but earlier today, I saw this image of the latest Famitsu cover VIA twitter.

I don't know Japanese at all nor do I know who all the characters are on it, but they all are certainly from upcoming games for this year. It is surprising to see Master Chief on this thoe.

MASTER CHIEF CONFIRMED! In all seriousness though I am shocked to see Chief on a Famitsu Cover like wow.

 

[Guynamednelson]

I suspect that part of why this is a big thing is that "realism" is often confused with "good graphics" in the west (either especially, or maybe just in America) since how realistic things look is usually the selling point rather than how good it looks.

Even though the goal is realism, a lot of "photorealistic" graphics in modern games seem to be more about how much the GPU needs to work, rather than actual photorealism or even visual clarity.

 

[Koopaul]

Yeah Sony has been making some pretty odd decisions lately that might come back to bite them in the butt.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

since fast heavys don't really exist.

But yeah, Nightmare is pretty much designed as a berserker character; decent movement, quick startup, but very unsafe moves if they whiff or get blocked.

Combine that with the stances and you might actually have a character with a simple game plan, but probably one of the most complex movesets.

 

[SmashCraftNin1064]

My first post in the forums!

To me, I don’t think its likely for Lloyd Irving to make it to Smash. The only time Smash celebrated an anniversary was with Little Mac and that’s pretty much it. And many people would think Lloyd will be another so called “anime swordfighter” and many costumes from the previous Smash game like Geno and Heihachi has returned so this lowers the chance for Lloyd. But he’ll be cool, has two swords unlike most swordfighters in the game, and Bandai Namco works for Smash but only has Pac-Man.

And here is my predictions on the final three:

Monster Hunter Rise Protagonist: We can get the other Monster Hunter costumes back along with the MHR protagonist. Maybe it’s too promote that franchise like what they did for Byleth (I think). Also, Monster Hunter is the best selling Capcom franchise and Rathalos is already in the game so it makes sense. Maybe Dante as a Mii swordfighter and Phoenix Wright as a brawler.

Rillaboom: I don’t like Pokemon but Gen 9 is the best selling Pokemon game on the Switch but has very few amount of Smash spirits representing that generation. Rillaboom seems the most likely since he would bring an interesting move set with his drum and will bring the fire (Incineroar), water (Greninja), and grass (for Rillaboom) types together. I can see Lloyd return as a Mii because of “Sword” and Shield and probably with a Urshifu brawler lol.

Crash Bandicoot: He’s a no-brainer. Mario, Sonic, and Crash were all rivals in the past. And since the remastered Crash games are in the Switch with Crash 4 recently coming out, Crash is like the only big video game mascot remaining. He just fits well in Smash. And I can see him being last because if Smash wants to end it with a bang.

As a wishlist, I’m wanting Crash (because he’s so iconic), Dr. Eggman (Seph is in and the Sonic franchise is poorly represented in Sonic as a character), and Waluigi (to see Twitter’s reaction and he’ll be very fun to play)

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Fair point. But we can go deeper: What happens when you mix the speed of Sonic, and the weight of Bowser?

Spoiler

 

[I.D.]

Yeah Sony has been making some pretty odd decisions lately that might come back to bite them in the butt.

I don't think so. The route Sony has taken has plenty of advantages too, even if it doesn't appeal to some. Not everything revolves around Japan after all.

It's just Japan, and fans of their games, that are **** out of luck in this new strategy. Thankfully for me I made the jump a while ago.

 

[Technomage]

My first post in the forums!

To me, I don’t think its likely for Lloyd Irving to make it to Smash. The only time Smash celebrated an anniversary was with Little Mac and that’s pretty much it. And many people would think Lloyd will be another so called “anime swordfighter” and many costumes from the previous Smash game like Geno and Heihachi has returned so this lowers the chance for Lloyd. But he’ll be cool, has two swords unlike most swordfighters in the game, and Bandai Namco works for Smash but only has Pac-Man.

And here is my predictions on the final three:

Monster Hunter Rise Protagonist: We can get the other Monster Hunter costumes back along with the MHR protagonist. Maybe it’s too promote that franchise like what they did for Byleth (I think). Also, Monster Hunter is the best selling Capcom franchise and Rathalos is already in the game so it makes sense. Maybe Dante as a Mii swordfighter and Phoenix Wright as a brawler.

Rillaboom: I don’t like Pokemon but Gen 9 is the best selling Pokemon game on the Switch but has very few amount of Smash spirits representing that generation. Rillaboom seems the most likely since he would bring an interesting move set with his drum and will bring the fire (Incineroar), water (Greninja), and grass (for Rillaboom) types together. I can see Lloyd return as a Mii because of “Sword” and Shield and probably with a Urshifu brawler lol.

Crash Bandicoot: He’s a no-brainer. Mario, Sonic, and Crash were all rivals in the past. And since the remastered Crash games are in the Switch with Crash 4 recently coming out, Crash is like the only big video game mascot remaining. He just fits well in Smash. And I can see him being last because if Smash wants to end it with a bang.

As a wishlist, I’m wanting Crash (because he’s so iconic), Dr. Eggman (Seph is in and the Sonic franchise is poorly represented in Sonic as a character), and Waluigi (to see Twitter’s reaction and he’ll be very fun to play)

Welcome to the club.

I do agree with you on Crash; he seems one of the two most likely chars to be added.

 

[Al-kīmiyā']

Yes, who else but POPPIBUSTER BAYBEEEEEEE

Who's that?

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Who's that?

Poppibuster, a DLC blade for Xenoblade Chronicles 2. They're a giant robot piloted by a remote controlled robot controlled by another robot.

Purposely confusing explanations aside, they're the best Shield Hammer in the game (meaning they're just OK) and their quest ties up some loose ends for Torra's story arc (ironically, Torra can't use Poppibuster, but everyone else can without the need for Overdrive Protocols to swap his Driver). Personality wise, they're alright. Poppi MK. II is literally just Poppi, but Poppibuster is pretty snarky, taking this uptight British butler kind of personality. Sadly, I think Poppibuster has less lines than Poppi MK. II. Haven't seen their Heart to Heart though so there may be a gem there.

 

[SNEKeater]

Truth be told I’d rather have Sony Japan back. Ape Escape was my **** and it makes me sad we’ll never see that make a comeback. Creativity over cinematic, I say

lowkey convinced they should sell their Japanese IPs to other companies

But you can have creativity in a "cinematic" game as well. The narrative of cinematic games being uninspired is very much a lie that keeps being repeated, just like "too many swordfighters in Smash".

Not Sony's, but Final Fantasy VII was for example a cinematic game back then. Maybe nowadays no one would consider it a cinematic game because actually we have another image of what's a cinematic driven game. Most of the big hitters in the first Playstation were games that were considered very cinematic. Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Tomb Raider, etc.

Also, hot take: I don't "like" associating creativity with more colorful games. I mean, a game being more colorful or cartoony won't make the game better, personal preferences aside. Back then we had a LOT of games with that aesthetic. Some never got sequels for other reasons, that's right, but we don't have to pretend all of them were amazing games that deserved more success.