Official DLC Speculation Discussion Volume II

[Shroob]

That's not fair! Sora is going to be released at 2am my time while I'm asleep!

Just don't sleep. Your body's needs are temporary, hype is eternal.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Waluigi's popularity to me can go one of two ways: The Ridley way or the Geno way.

Ridley's fanbase was loud since Brawl, always taking time to push the cunning god of death. They made sure to make it known that Metroid deserved to have its most iconic villain in the game. Ridley was a massive name in speculation as a result, and you could not go on a fan request list without seeing a passive mention of him. The Geno fanbase sat out Smash 4 and the ballot, and did not awaken from their cryogenic freeze until he was a Mii costume. In a game which aimed to push as many fan requests as possible after the ballot, their voices were heard too late because his demand ebbs and flows. Do not be surprised if Geno Speculation is much quieter the same way it was after Brawl.

Now, Waluigi definitely could go in either camp, but I lean the former. With so few big fan requests left that are first party, Waluigi is inevitably gonna take up a lot of oxygen. If you asked me how many traditional first party picks that are big fan favorites left, I would say three: Waluigi, Isaac, and Bandana Dee. There really are not that many first party picks that are on that K Rool, Ridley, Little Mac, Palutena, or if we wanna dip into brawl, Dedede or Diddy Kong tier. There really are a lot less big obvious fan favorites to pull from, so Waluigi as a result is just going to do better without as much competition.

It also helps that in terms of Mario reps, his competition is nowhere near as fierce as it was in say Smash 4. We got Rosa and Bowser Jr out of the way, paving the way for other Mario reps. He has Captain Toad/Toadette and Paper Mario as his main competition, maybe King Boo on a good day. But out of those, he is far and away the most popular. You do not see nearly as much Toad support off of smashboards compared to on it, and requests for the other two tend to be even less.

Waluigi is hard to pinpoint, but gun to my head I think he will rise in demand for the next game, for better and for worse.

You bring up an interesting point.

Waluigi, Isaac and Bandana Waddle Dee are probably the most popular first party character requests st the moment.

There are still other popular first party requests but those three are far and away the kings as of now. I wonder who will join them.

We probably will have a long wait before the next Smash (and that's fine, go play the game) and a lot can happen in that time. The landscape will most likely change and... I kind of want to make some predictions regarding first party requests.

Waluigi: I predict he's gonna be THE request for next game. He's on par with major third parties in popularity. I don't think that will go away anytime soon. Waluigi is only going to be more prominent as time goes on.

Isaac: Sadly, I think this was his last hurrah. Unless a new Golden Sun shows up, I don't think he's going to get any more popular. Golden Sun is only getting older and I think more and more people are just going to see him as an old request that will never happen. I see Isaac going the way of Geno. Increasingly irrelevant as time goes on outside of hardcore Smash speculation. And that makes me sad.

Bandana Waddle Dee: Conversely I can only see this guy getting more requested as time goes on. Bandana Waddle Dee is only going to keep appearing and if my prediction about Forgotten World is right, with a major playable role soon. This guy will probably get close to Waluigi in requests.

Ring Fit Trainee: I don't see this one getting a ton of requests. Unfortunately these kinds of games aren't popular with the hardcore community even if they are really good. This one has a more "expected" feeling and well that's fine. I have a feeling Ring Fit Trainee will become beloved like Wii Fit Trainer when they're included.

Akira Howard: As of now they aren't too popular. But I could easily see that changing if Astral Chain becomes a series. We have one successful game at the moment, and that can be enough like ARMS and Xenoblade show us, but I don't think they'll be super popular unless its shown the franchise has staying power. They have hardcore appeal so I think their fans will be more.... pushy then Ring Fit Trainee.

Impa/Skull Kid/Midna: This is a strange one. A Zelda newcomer is always a popular request but the problem is, the support is fractured so no one character gets the bulk of the support. That said, if we somehow Zelda fans do the smart thing and rally under one choice, I could see it being one of these three. Are either of them likely? I don't know. But this is about requests, not likelihood. Of the three, I think Impa has the potential to grow the most considering she's a recurring character.

Dixie Kong: Sadly I think Dixie is gonna stagnate and be the new version of Toad. A character everyone agrees has the star power to get in, but not many people will show a ton of passion for her. I could see her support exploding if a new game has her in it (she's never been unpopular) but I don't see her support being huge. Sizable and respectable, but not a megaton.

Octoling: I see this as a "expected but not wanted" character for a lot of people. Splatoon is mega popular and it could easily get another character, but outside of Splatoon megafans (to be fair there are a lot of those), I don't see a ton of passionate support for them.

Ninjara/Twintelle/Spring Man: So ARMS is a franchise that Nintendo is invested in. A sequel will probably be made soon, and I expect the whole roster from the first game will make a return. Since "everyone is the protagonist" I can see a lot of different requsts for different ARMS characters. Ninjara and Twintelle and huge fan favorites and I could see one of them getting pushed. Spring Man could be more popular as the poster boy and could get a bit of a Chrom treatment where he earns more Smash fans because he got treated "poorly." Regardless I think more ARMS discussion is in our future.

Pauline: This is a bit of a dark horse but I can see her pulling a Rosalina and getting so popular she becomes a spin off mainstay. This depends on whether she actually stays in spin offs. Starting roles like Odyssey will definitely boost her support.

There are also going to be lots of surprises in the future. There will be new characters we don't know about. There will be old characters that get resurgences. The future is wild. We will probably get even more super popular first part requests. It's just that we may not know who they are yet.

After all, Inkling became one of the most requested characters in their debut year. Anything can happen.

 

[TCT~Phantom]

You bring up an interesting point.

Waluigi, Isaac and Bandana Waddle Dee are probably the most popular first party character requests st the moment.

There are still other popular first party requests but those three are far and away the kings as of now. I wonder who will join them.

We probably will have a long wait before the next Smash (and that's fine, go play the game) and a lot can happen in that time. The landscape will most likely change and... I kind of want to make some predictions regarding first party requests.

Waluigi: I predict he's gonna be THE request for next game. He's on par with major third parties in popularity. I don't think that will go away anytime soon. Waluigi is only going to be more prominent as time goes on.

Isaac: Sadly, I think this was his last hurrah. Unless a new Golden Sun shows up, I don't think he's going to get any more popular. Golden Sun is only getting older and I think more and more people are just going to see him as an old request that will never happen. I see Isaac going the way of Geno. Increasingly irrelevant as time goes on outside of hardcore Smash speculation. And that makes me sad.

Bandana Waddle Dee: Conversely I can only see this guy getting more requested as time goes on. Bandana Waddle Dee is only going to keep appearing and if my prediction about Forgotten World is right, with a major playable role soon. This guy will probably get close to Waluigi in requests.

Ring Fit Trainee: I don't see this one getting a ton of requests. Unfortunately these kinds of games aren't popular with the hardcore community even if they are really good. This one has a more "expected" feeling and well that's fine. I have a feeling Ring Fit Trainee will become beloved like Wii Fit Trainer when they're included.

Akira Howard: As of now they aren't too popular. But I could easily see that changing if Astral Chain becomes a series. We have one successful game at the moment, and that can be enough like ARMS and Xenoblade show us, but I don't think they'll be super popular unless its shown the franchise has staying power. They have hardcore appeal so I think their fans will be more.... pushy then Ring Fit Trainee.

Impa/Skull Kid/Midna: This is a strange one. A Zelda newcomer is always a popular request but the problem is, the support is fractured so no one character gets the bulk of the support. That said, if we somehow Zelda fans do the smart thing and rally under one choice, I could see it being one of these three. Are either of them likely? I don't know. But this is about requests, not likelihood. Of the three, I think Impa has the potential to grow the most considering she's a recurring character.

Dixie Kong: Sadly I think Dixie is gonna stagnate and be the new version of Toad. A character everyone agrees has the star power to get in, but not many people will show a ton of passion for her. I could see her support exploding if a new game has her in it (she's never been unpopular) but I don't see her support being huge. Sizable and respectable, but not a megaton.

Octoling: I see this as a "expected but not wanted" character for a lot of people. Splatoon is mega popular and it could easily get another character, but outside of Splatoon megafans (to be fair there are a lot of those), I don't see a ton of passionate support for them.

Ninjara/Twintelle/Spring Man: So ARMS is a franchise that Nintendo is invested in. A sequel will probably be made soon, and I expect the whole roster from the first game will make a return. Since "everyone is the protagonist" I can see a lot of different requsts for different ARMS characters. Ninjara and Twintelle and huge fan favorites and I could see one of them getting pushed. Spring Man could be more popular as the poster boy and could get a bit of a Chrom treatment where he earns more Smash fans because he got treated "poorly." Regardless I think more ARMS discussion is in our future.

Pauline: This is a bit of a dark horse but I can see her pulling a Rosalina and getting so popular she becomes a spin off mainstay. This depends on whether she actually stays in spin offs. Starting roles like Odyssey will definitely boost her support.

There are also going to be lots of surprises in the future. There will be new characters we don't know about. There will be old characters that get resurgences. The future is wild. We will probably get even more super popular first part requests. It's just that we may not know who they are yet.

After all, Inkling became one of the most requested characters in their debut year. Anything can happen.

I mean, I wouldn’t compare the Isaac fan base to the geno fan base just yet.

For one, Isaac and his fans did not sit out smash 4. The fact is they have been an active lot which is very different from the Geno fans. Geno fans literally were underground for most of smash 4, seen as a relic of brawl speculation. Isaac fans pushed for him on the ballot and for base game.

The other thing is that Nintendo has revived Advance Wars. I legit was surprised by that. If advance wars came back, Golden Sun is likely gonna come back someday too.

So since he has had consistent smash demand and the field has narrowed, I wouldn’t be surprised if he stays strong. It also helps that Isaac feels much more…feasible than Geno does.

 

[Ivander]

What if this was the newcomer selection in SSBU Deluxe/Smash 6? Yes, there are open slots for a new Pokemon, Fire Emblem character, Xenoblade character, and the new Monolith IP getting a character. Octoling and Leon are Echo Fighters. I don't think Geno necessarily makes sense, but he's still a big request, so who knows, I threw him in any way. And yes, this is including DLC. But yeah, what do you guys think?

Sylux
Not the Chad Raven Beak

That aside, while I'm not against these characters getting in, this feels a bit too safe. Like I think the thing that hurts this for me is that aside from Gordon Freeman, there aren't exactly any "characters you didn't know you wanted". You know, like Sephiroth or Terry. Getting alot of fan requests is certainly good and nice, but there should definitely be some more out-there picks.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

Ninjara/Twintelle/Spring Man: So ARMS is a franchise that Nintendo is invested in. A sequel will probably be made soon, and I expect the whole roster from the first game will make a return. Since "everyone is the protagonist" I can see a lot of different requsts for different ARMS characters. Ninjara and Twintelle and huge fan favorites and I could see one of them getting pushed. Spring Man could be more popular as the poster boy and could get a bit of a Chrom treatment where he earns more Smash fans because he got treated "poorly." Regardless I think more ARMS discussion is in our future.

Another ARMS character is weird to me because while every character has their own quirks and can utilize different arm types, I feel like any other character wouldn’t really play that differently since Min Min embodies the gameplay of ARMS fairly sufficiently, at least IMO. Her moveset is fleshed out by her kicks, something other characters in ARMS can’t/don’t really do, and she has most of the cast in her Final Smash as well. Obviously a Chrom situation isn’t off the table, nor is a new character (or the characters that came after launch since I don’t think they’re in the Final Smash), but I think Min Min encapsulates the general gameplay fine enough that a second ARMS character is kinda unnecessary, I guess I feel?

 

[Speed Weed]

When you're serious you make really cogent points for some out there characters. I appreciate that.

I'm......honestly not sure what you're talking about unless you're referring to my grand crusade in the name of Opa-Opa, but thanks!

 

[7NATOR]

What if this was the newcomer selection in SSBU Deluxe/Smash 6? Yes, there are open slots for a new Pokemon, Fire Emblem character, Xenoblade character, and the new Monolith IP getting a character. Octoling and Leon are Echo Fighters. I don't think Geno necessarily makes sense, but he's still a big request, so who knows, I threw him in any way. And yes, this is including DLC. But yeah, what do you guys think?

Looking at this, one of the things I Imagine is if they added multiple FPS/Shooting characters into the game (Doomslayer, Master Chief/Gordon Freeman) they would share the Same main gameplan of representing the FPS Mechanics, so their moves would largely have similarity in terms of Shooting, using Melee in certain situations, Aiming, Crouching/prone state, Switching weapons, reloading, etc

Their unique quirks will come from representing the specific franchise they are from. So different Mobility (Doomslayer would be faster than Chief since Doom is a much faster game), Different Weapon and properties, and of course the Different characterization

For the roster as a whole, I don't exactly agree with it, I think with only 20 characters perhaps, but Especially if this is including DLC, I Imagine the actual Newcomer roster size to be Bigger than this. I guess the more characters added, harder to balance comes in, but even still I think there could be room for more characters if including DLC. somewhere around 30 or even 40

Also No Fighting game character added. I think we 100% gonna get at least one more since adding them is easier due to already having material fit towards Fighting, especially since Ryu and Kazuya already paved the way for 2D and 3D Fighters mechanics respectfully

 

[Idon]

What if this was the newcomer selection in SSBU Deluxe/Smash 6? Yes, there are open slots for a new Pokemon, Fire Emblem character, Xenoblade character, and the new Monolith IP getting a character. Octoling and Leon are Echo Fighters. I don't think Geno necessarily makes sense, but he's still a big request, so who knows, I threw him in any way. And yes, this is including DLC. But yeah, what do you guys think?

Can we PLEASE get ANYTHING from SMT for next smash.

PLEASE.

I BEG YOU.


Also Dante and Doomguy are my other most wanteds, but I think Doom might also be contingent on a new entry.

 

[WeirdChillFever]

To be fair I do see myself really supporting a Splatoon character to join the cast together with Octoling. Well, that is if I’m still around in these circles to do speculation.

 

[N3ON]

Waluigi isn't going to go the Geno way because even Geno wouldn't go the Geno way if he was owned by Nintendo, he probably would've been included a long time ago. I think Waluigi will get in next time, as even though it wasn't acknowledged via the DLC, I think the eruption of demand did not go unnoticed by Nintendo. And as I've said in the past, Waluigi holds a rare cache for a remaining first-party of being big with both casual and hardcore alike. People aren't going to give up on Waluigi any time soon, and he will be the main fan request going forward.

Isaac and BWD are both crippled by their own respective factors. However, if they were able to overcome them, they'd become quite likely. What Isaac needs is a new game. Until that happens, he's probably not getting in. Once it happens, he's probably highly, highly likely (or at least some GS character is). I don't know if his popularity will diminish. Not having a game hasn't precluded garnering an increasing amount of demand over time. If he remained active throughout DLC, the popularity would absolutely maintain. But he's been out of commission for three years now, we'll have to see how much he can rebound. He is in the very small pool of candidates with self-sustaining popularity from within the fanbase not contingent on getting active titles (like Geno, K. Rool, etc.), but whether that will be enough to keep him placing high remains to be seen. It's relatively inconsequential though imo, since like I said, it probably won't amount to inclusion until he actually gets a new game. And if/when that new game happens, his popularity will peak the charts.

BWD needs to break the Sakurai bias of preferential treatment for his own work. This will likely only happen if demand becomes so overwhelming it can't be ignored (which... may happen, but BWD is more contentious than someone like K. Rool. Though hey, so was Ridley). The other way is if someone else takes over Smash. Then he'd become much more likely.

The other characters are going to need new games to keep them aloft. Not that they'll be entirely bereft of popularity, it just won't be as impressive as the increasing polarity towards third-parties. At least not until we start getting first-parties again. There's going to be a lot of new Pokemon/FE/Xenoblade talk once names fill in the placeholders, which will get stale, and there will be attention on Ring Fit and Astral Chain, but the rest is mostly hinged on the games we end up receiving these next few years.

 

[Garteam]

I really think Waluigi and Isaac are here to stay. If they were fads, their fanbases would've migrated after the assist reveals. If they didn't migrate then, they would've migrated during the DLC speculation, as first parties generally had a tough uphill battle during this period. There's just too much loyalty for me to not think they'll be popular choices come Ultimate Deluxe or Smash 6.

I have similar feelings about Bandana Waddle Dee. People have been batting for him since Smash for's DLC and, by the virtue of much of his previous competition already getting in and his role in the Kirby series continually expanding, his growth really doesn't seem like it's going to stop going into post-Ultimate speculation.

 

[Mushroomguy12]

Good Vibes Gaming uploaded a new video with numerous content creators thanking Mr. Sakurai for his work and dedication on the Super Smash Bros series.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

The big x factor for a lot of the first parties is going to be the games/media between now and the next Smash. That's the advantage of a Bandana Dee and potentially Dixie as well. In the case of the former Japan loves him, and there's a decent chance his role will at worst have the same prominence he's had in the last decade. In the case of the latter, K Rool was the biggest competition she had brand wise, and if DK as an IP get s bigger via stuff like the theme park expansion, presence in Mario adjacent films, and whatever games are to come out? She might have some pretty good odds in 5-8 years. I'd say something similar for Impa who's benefited a lot from the Age of Calamity appearance and could very well be utilized again.

 

[MBRedboy31]

The big x factor for a lot of the first parties is going to be the games/media between now and the next Smash. That's the advantage of a Bandana Dee and potentially Dixie as well. In the case of the former Japan loves him, and there's a decent chance his role will at worst have the same prominence he's had in the last decade. In the case of the latter, K Rool was the biggest competition she had brand wise, and if DK as an IP get s bigger via stuff like the theme park expansion, presence in Mario adjacent films, and whatever games are to come out? She might have some pretty good odds in 5-8 years. I'd say something similar for Impa who's benefited a lot from the Age of Calamity appearance and could very well be utilized again.

I think there’s a bigger anti-X factor that could be at play, though, which is whether or not the next Smash will focus on a large roster. While it seems unlikely that they would want to cut characters like and, it’s something that we have absolutely no idea about currently. If they do cut these characters, I imagine that characters like BWD and Dixie will fall by the wayside in terms of support since a lot of series fans will campaign for their lost veterans instead.

 

[Momotsuki]

Four hours left, huh?

 

[EricTheGamerman]

Well, it's been a fun ride I just wanna say once again. Really looking forward to playing Sora after all this time and then seeing those completed menus. It's a shame we couldn't have gotten another 4 characters to fill out that bottom row, but that's such a minor complaint given Sora is going to be the last one on the menu haha.

 

[N3ON]

To be fair I do see myself really supporting a Splatoon character to join the cast together with Octoling. Well, that is if I’m still around in these circles to do speculation.

Splatoon will get further support as well by virtue of clearly being successful enough to merit further representation, but until we get a character who would be incontrovertibly unique, and that character seems decently plausible, it's going to be somewhat hindered by supporting a character so likely to wind up as a derivative of Inkling.

 

[WeirdChillFever]

Splatoon will get further support as well by virtue of clearly being successful enough to merit further representation, but until we get a character who would be incontrovertibly unique, and that character seems decently plausible, it's going to be somewhat hindered by supporting a character so likely to wind up as a derivative of Inkling.

True, but personally I’ll be supporting characters like Cap’n Cuttlefish and the Squid Sisters regardless of whether new options open up in Splatoon 3. Again, provided I’m still interested in a ride once the time comes

 

[DaybreakHorizon]

Well, it's been a fun ride I just wanna say once again. Really looking forward to playing Sora after all this time and then seeing those completed menus. It's a shame we couldn't have gotten another 4 characters to fill out that bottom row, but that's such a minor complaint given Sora is going to be the last one on the menu haha.

A Pass 3 would've been pretty wild to be completely honest, but honestly SORA IS IN SMASH AND HE'S RELEASING TODAY AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

 

[WeirdChillFever]

More importantly, it’s Octoling Wig day my friends!

 

[EricTheGamerman]

Actually, how would you all design a hypothetical Pass 3 (yeah I know I'm doing this as Sora is coming out and speculation is literally over) with the constraints of the game's code for the remaining fighters and stage. You have 4 character slots and 2 stage slots (remember, that last slot gets used in other menus, so it's technically a used spot).

I think mine would be:

1. Crash Bandicoot with N'Sanity Beach as a stage
2. Akira Howard with Neo Tokyo as a stage
3. Dixie Kong with DK music
4. Waluigi because I need to throw his fans a bone and I've got one last open character only slot for that

 

[SneakyLink]

More importantly, it’s Octoling Wig day my friends!

Also Judd hat day.
Judd is ready to declare that he wins the match!

 

[PeridotGX]

i still can't belive that after decades of support, he's gonna be in in just a few short hours

Spoiler: Big image

oh my beloved judd hat, just a short while longer.

 

[N3ON]

No no no, today is the day Isabelle can finally hang out with bff Doom Slayer. Tiny little Doom Slayer. As it was written, so shall it be done.

 

[Momotsuki]

If I had to add another four characters to fill the CSS...

• Reimu (With Hakurei Shrine stage)
• Porky
• Madotsuki (With Madosuki's Room stage)
• Master Hand (As Fighter #00, he'd be first on the CSS, before Mario)

Bias? What bias? You're the bias!

 

[Hydreigonfan01]

No no no, today is the day Isabelle can finally hang out with bff Doom Slayer. Tiny little Doom Slayer. As it was written, so shall it be done.

This is the actual big news tbh.
Sora? Who's he? Never heard of him.

 

[pupNapoleon]

You bring up an interesting point.

Waluigi, Isaac and Bandana Waddle Dee are probably the most popular first party character requests st the moment.

There are still other popular first party requests but those three are far and away the kings as of now. I wonder who will join them.

We probably will have a long wait before the next Smash (and that's fine, go play the game) and a lot can happen in that time. The landscape will most likely change and... I kind of want to make some predictions regarding first party requests.

Waluigi: I predict he's gonna be THE request for next game. He's on par with major third parties in popularity. I don't think that will go away anytime soon. Waluigi is only going to be more prominent as time goes on.

Isaac: Sadly, I think this was his last hurrah. Unless a new Golden Sun shows up, I don't think he's going to get any more popular. Golden Sun is only getting older and I think more and more people are just going to see him as an old request that will never happen. I see Isaac going the way of Geno. Increasingly irrelevant as time goes on outside of hardcore Smash speculation. And that makes me sad.

Bandana Waddle Dee: Conversely I can only see this guy getting more requested as time goes on. Bandana Waddle Dee is only going to keep appearing and if my prediction about Forgotten World is right, with a major playable role soon. This guy will probably get close to Waluigi in requests.

Ring Fit Trainee: I don't see this one getting a ton of requests. Unfortunately these kinds of games aren't popular with the hardcore community even if they are really good. This one has a more "expected" feeling and well that's fine. I have a feeling Ring Fit Trainee will become beloved like Wii Fit Trainer when they're included.

Akira Howard: As of now they aren't too popular. But I could easily see that changing if Astral Chain becomes a series. We have one successful game at the moment, and that can be enough like ARMS and Xenoblade show us, but I don't think they'll be super popular unless its shown the franchise has staying power. They have hardcore appeal so I think their fans will be more.... pushy then Ring Fit Trainee.

Impa/Skull Kid/Midna: This is a strange one. A Zelda newcomer is always a popular request but the problem is, the support is fractured so no one character gets the bulk of the support. That said, if we somehow Zelda fans do the smart thing and rally under one choice, I could see it being one of these three. Are either of them likely? I don't know. But this is about requests, not likelihood. Of the three, I think Impa has the potential to grow the most considering she's a recurring character.

Dixie Kong: Sadly I think Dixie is gonna stagnate and be the new version of Toad. A character everyone agrees has the star power to get in, but not many people will show a ton of passion for her. I could see her support exploding if a new game has her in it (she's never been unpopular) but I don't see her support being huge. Sizable and respectable, but not a megaton.

Octoling: I see this as a "expected but not wanted" character for a lot of people. Splatoon is mega popular and it could easily get another character, but outside of Splatoon megafans (to be fair there are a lot of those), I don't see a ton of passionate support for them.

Ninjara/Twintelle/Spring Man: So ARMS is a franchise that Nintendo is invested in. A sequel will probably be made soon, and I expect the whole roster from the first game will make a return. Since "everyone is the protagonist" I can see a lot of different requsts for different ARMS characters. Ninjara and Twintelle and huge fan favorites and I could see one of them getting pushed. Spring Man could be more popular as the poster boy and could get a bit of a Chrom treatment where he earns more Smash fans because he got treated "poorly." Regardless I think more ARMS discussion is in our future.

Pauline: This is a bit of a dark horse but I can see her pulling a Rosalina and getting so popular she becomes a spin off mainstay. This depends on whether she actually stays in spin offs. Starting roles like Odyssey will definitely boost her support.

There are also going to be lots of surprises in the future. There will be new characters we don't know about. There will be old characters that get resurgences. The future is wild. We will probably get even more super popular first part requests. It's just that we may not know who they are yet.

After all, Inkling became one of the most requested characters in their debut year. Anything can happen.

Fun game.

I fully think Dragaux will be more likely than the Ring Fit Adventurer

I also see ARMS 2 as having different box art covers- since they only chose explanatorily-named blue boy and common-name pink girl to showcase the games to parents, who would actually be buying the game. I think the next Boxart wiill feature Min Min the biggest, but also have Twintelle, Ninjara, and one other male character.

Sylux
Not the Chad Raven Beak

That aside, while I'm not against these characters getting in, this feels a bit too safe. Like I think the thing that hurts this for me is that aside from Gordon Freeman, there aren't exactly any "characters you didn't know you wanted". You know, like Sephiroth or Terry. Getting alot of fan requests is certainly good and nice, but there should definitely be some more out-there picks.

This is an odd statement. If you knew what characters were wanted, they wouldn't be characters you knew were wanted.

 

[Evil Trapezium]

Actually, how would you all design a hypothetical Pass 3 (yeah I know I'm doing this as Sora is coming out and speculation is literally over) with the constraints of the game's code for the remaining fighters and stage. You have 4 character slots and 2 stage slots (remember, that last slot gets used in other menus, so it's technically a used spot).

I think mine would be:

1. Crash Bandicoot with N'Sanity Beach as a stage
2. Akira Howard with Neo Tokyo as a stage
3. Dixie Kong with DK music
4. Waluigi because I need to throw his fans a bone and I've got one last open character only slot for that

1. Bandanna Waddle Dee with Target Test Stage builder customisation
2. Crash Bandicoot with Time Twisting Machine stage
3. Miles Tails Prower with more Sonic music
4. Sgt. Cortez with Space Station stage

Time to Split!

 

[WeirdChillFever]

Also Judd hat day.
Judd is ready to declare that he wins the match!

100%!

Actually, how would you all design a hypothetical Pass 3 (yeah I know I'm doing this as Sora is coming out and speculation is literally over) with the constraints of the game's code for the remaining fighters and stage. You have 4 character slots and 2 stage slots (remember, that last slot gets used in other menus, so it's technically a used spot).

I think mine would be:

1. Crash Bandicoot with N'Sanity Beach as a stage
2. Akira Howard with Neo Tokyo as a stage
3. Dixie Kong with DK music
4. Waluigi because I need to throw his fans a bone and I've got one last open character only slot for that

Honestly, I myself would go more lowkey with a seperate Echo Pack of Octoling (Splatoon 3), Impa (Age of Calamity) and Jeanne (Bayonetta 3) with Master Hand as bonus fighter. The stages would be the World of Light “Battlefield within Battlefield” stage and the return of Rainbow Road.

EDIT: Sora was kind of the perfect finale, so I don’t think going through the motion again with a full Third Pass would be the way to go. My picks are a lot subtler, with a direction on future-proofing the game and light padding in areas, while invoking some senses of finality through the addition of Master Hand, Jeanne as Echo to the last “final character” and Rainbow Road which is an iconic “final stage” in its own right. They wouldn’t really diminish Sora as final pick, but would stand on their own as final few as well.

 

[pupNapoleon]

Another ARMS character is weird to me because while every character has their own quirks and can utilize different arm types, I feel like any other character wouldn’t really play that differently since Min Min embodies the gameplay of ARMS fairly sufficiently, at least IMO. Her moveset is fleshed out by her kicks, something other characters in ARMS can’t/don’t really do, and she has most of the cast in her Final Smash as well. Obviously a Chrom situation isn’t off the table, nor is a new character (or the characters that came after launch since I don’t think they’re in the Final Smash), but I think Min Min encapsulates the general gameplay fine enough that a second ARMS character is kinda unnecessary, I guess I feel?

The other ARMS characters could be as different as Isabelle to Villager, Ness to Lucas, or Wolf to Falco to Fox.
Also how I see Diddy to Dixie.

Having them play a little bit similarly is what makes their gameplay feel of the same world.

 

[WeirdChillFever]

If you add a second ARMS character I do think you have to be a bit more concious in seperating them from Min Min, so I don’t think someone like Spring Man would really work.

Max Brass however would be a fun Mighty Glacier take on the ARMS style, and Dr. Coyle has a lot of tricks up her sleeve to make her stand out on her own.

 

[pupNapoleon]

Looking at this, one of the things I Imagine is if they added multiple FPS/Shooting characters into the game (Doomslayer, Master Chief/Gordon Freeman) they would share the Same main gameplan of representing the FPS Mechanics, so their moves would largely have similarity in terms of Shooting, using Melee in certain situations, Aiming, Crouching/prone state, Switching weapons, reloading, etc

Their unique quirks will come from representing the specific franchise they are from. So different Mobility (Doomslayer would be faster than Chief since Doom is a much faster game), Different Weapon and properties, and of course the Different characterization

For the roster as a whole, I don't exactly agree with it, I think with only 20 characters perhaps, but Especially if this is including DLC, I Imagine the actual Newcomer roster size to be Bigger than this. I guess the more characters added, harder to balance comes in, but even still I think there could be room for more characters if including DLC. somewhere around 30 or even 40

Also No Fighting game character added. I think we 100% gonna get at least one more since adding them is easier due to already having material fit towards Fighting, especially since Ryu and Kazuya already paved the way for 2D and 3D Fighters mechanics respectfully

Are you saying you don't want a fighting game character? Smash is a fighting game. We only have Little Mac, Min Min, Kazuya, Ken, Ryu, and Terry. I'd love to get Scorpion, Sub Zero, Nightmare, and Sukapon.

Also... Smash Ultimate literally ported the previous game, and it only had 6 newcomers in base, plus five echoes. If we get a DX version, I cannot see how they would do more in base- just bringing it all back takes development time. And there is more they would need to bring back. On top of this, we did have four returning veterans plus two returning pre-echo echoes. It is possible to consider Wolf, Ice Climbers, Squirtle, and Ivysaur newcomers, as far as programming. But even then it is simpler, as it had been done before.

As for the similarities in FPS characters- I agree. The fighting characters share some similarities without being the same. I think having these types of tropes actually makes Ultimate even better.

Which is why it isn't possible for us to see just a few cuts- you'd have to cut a substantial portion of the roster to free up enough time to make a lot of newcomers, as is bringing a ported character. Hence, the next game is either a directors edition, or a complete reboot.

 

[Sucumbio]

Well, it's been a fun ride I just wanna say once again. Really looking forward to playing Sora after all this time and then seeing those completed menus. It's a shame we couldn't have gotten another 4 characters to fill out that bottom row, but that's such a minor complaint given Sora is going to be the last one on the menu haha.

I'd love to see AT upgrades as a possible 3rd pass.

Alucard, Shadow, Zero and Black Knight.

 

[pupNapoleon]

Can we PLEASE get ANYTHING from SMT for next smash.

PLEASE.

I BEG YOU.


Also Dante and Doomguy are my other most wanteds, but I think Doom might also be contingent on a new entry.

Spirits.

I'd love to see AT upgrades as a possible 3rd pass.

YES!

Alucard and Black Knight.

Hell no.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

More importantly, it’s Octoling Wig day my friends!

Yeah… the enemy kind

I don’t much like the enemy octolings they’re scary

the playable ones from octo expansion however are my babies and I hope they make it next game

 

[pupNapoleon]

The big x factor for a lot of the first parties is going to be the games/media between now and the next Smash. That's the advantage of a Bandana Dee and potentially Dixie as well. In the case of the former Japan loves him, and there's a decent chance his role will at worst have the same prominence he's had in the last decade. In the case of the latter, K Rool was the biggest competition she had brand wise, and if DK as an IP get s bigger via stuff like the theme park expansion, presence in Mario adjacent films, and whatever games are to come out? She might have some pretty good odds in 5-8 years. I'd say something similar for Impa who's benefited a lot from the Age of Calamity appearance and could very well be utilized again.

It is hard to predict characters.
Isaac seems like he would have been a shoein long ago- he is from the only Nintendo RPG franchise to not get a character, yet we have 8 from FE (somehow 5 million sales in top game is considered amazing, and that is largely thanks to the Smash inclusion in the first place), and two from Mother, despite the game having been dead for an eternity, with a story that is absolutely finish.

Meanwhile, DK was the long-reigning 4th biggest franchise, in sales, for Nintendo. He has intense video game history, and is known well beyond the gaming community. Yet it takes a decade for each new character to get in. We never got Toad, or Eevee, or Meowth, or Tom Nook/KK Slider.
Sometimes the obvious picks just stay on the sideline, and I don't expect that to fully change- though with more emphasis on fan demand, it is possible we will see them, indeed.


Hypothetical Pass 3 time... All right. My goal will be to surpass the previous pass, since that seemed to be the goal for Pass Two. For this, all of them will have echo characters with them- though these echoes will be Ken Level, and not all of the echoes will be for the character being bought.

1- Scorpion/ Sub Zero
2- Meowth / Team Rocket (comes with Dixie Echo)
3- Crash Bandicoot (Tails Echo)
4- Lara Croft (with Impa echo)
5- Dragaux (with Octoling as an echo)
6- Master Cheif/ Doom Slayer

 

[Shroob]

Spirits.

YES!


Hell no.

How can one say no to a beautiful face like this

 

[Idon]

Spirits.

Can't wait for Smash 6's new character referencing gimmick that acts effectively as implicit character deconfirmations!!!

 

[SharkLord]

Waluigi's popularity to me can go one of two ways: The Ridley way or the Geno way.

Ridley's fanbase was loud since Brawl, always taking time to push the cunning god of death. They made sure to make it known that Metroid deserved to have its most iconic villain in the game. Ridley was a massive name in speculation as a result, and you could not go on a fan request list without seeing a passive mention of him. The Geno fanbase sat out Smash 4 and the ballot, and did not awaken from their cryogenic freeze until he was a Mii costume. In a game which aimed to push as many fan requests as possible after the ballot, their voices were heard too late because his demand ebbs and flows. Do not be surprised if Geno Speculation is much quieter the same way it was after Brawl.

Now, Waluigi definitely could go in either camp, but I lean the former. With so few big fan requests left that are first party, Waluigi is inevitably gonna take up a lot of oxygen. If you asked me how many traditional first party picks that are big fan favorites left, I would say three: Waluigi, Isaac, and Bandana Dee. There really are not that many first party picks that are on that K Rool, Ridley, Little Mac, Palutena, or if we wanna dip into brawl, Dedede or Diddy Kong tier. There really are a lot less big obvious fan favorites to pull from, so Waluigi as a result is just going to do better without as much competition.

It also helps that in terms of Mario reps, his competition is nowhere near as fierce as it was in say Smash 4. We got Rosa and Bowser Jr out of the way, paving the way for other Mario reps. He has Captain Toad/Toadette and Paper Mario as his main competition, maybe King Boo on a good day. But out of those, he is far and away the most popular. You do not see nearly as much Toad support off of smashboards compared to on it, and requests for the other two tend to be even less.

Waluigi is hard to pinpoint, but gun to my head I think he will rise in demand for the next game, for better and for worse.

Adding on to this, Geno and to a lesser extent Ridley weren't exactly at the peak of relevance post-Brawl. Metroid ground to a halt after Other M, and Geno was... Y'know, Geno. The guy pretty much vaporized after the Superstar Saga cameo until the Smash 4 Mii. Waluigi, on the other hand, is a fairly recurring side character throughout the Mario spinoffs like Mario Tennis and Mario Party, so he still has some new appearances for his fans to celebrate until a hypothetical new Smash game next generation. I feel like the Waluigi support's gonna keep on trucking until Smash 6.

 

[AreJay25]

Just a few more hours until 5 million Sora players hop online only to get obliterated and drop the character