Elma for Smash Ultimate: Strength comes from experience. That’s true on any planet.

[Rie Sonomura]

If you don't mind me asking, are there any third-parties in particular (besides KOS-MOS) that you do want?

A Tales of Character, Neku Sakuraba (who might be Second Pass material), Shantae (and super pipe dream Gunvolt) if indies count, and Rayman

I’d like Phoenix Wright on the Capcom side but again, let the others (except maybe Konami) catch up first since Konami doesn’t have much else to choose from

 

[Calamitas]

I feel the same way about the “all third party” thing and how adamant ppl are that Spirits deconfirm

Plus the go to third parties a lot of ppl suggest really aren’t my cup of tea...

Unpopular opinion: I personally don’t give a crap about Doom Slayer, Ryu Hayabusa, or Nightmare, and I personally think Capcom shouldn’t get a fourth rep until Bamco gets a second and/or Square Enix gets a third and/or Sega gets their fourth (it’ll probably be Kasumi Yoshizawa as per the Joker datamine hint). Konami is good as is unless they decide to throw in like, Revengeance Raiden or something (as Bomberman’s an AT)

But if Elma gets in (or KOS-MOS) then I will happily accept whomever else comes my way

Honestly, same. There's literally only two third-party characters left that I'd actually accept and like, and I can't really see either of them having a good chance of making it in. Characters like Ryu Hayabusa or Doom Slayer would only evoke a big old "meh" from me.

 

[jahkzheng]

I'm guessing this has already been brought up here, and I just wasn't lurking at the time... but the fact that they got have the voice work of Cassandra Morris licensed for Morgana is a pretty nice step made for Elma. Cuz we can assume her Final Smash or something might include Lin. Like with the Joker release, I'm guessing an Elma release would have a few references and performances by other cast members from the main game.

Again, I gotta assume you guys have mentioned this already cuz I know you've made looser connections than this to make a case for Elma having a toe in the door, heh.

 

[Senatiator]

I refuse to give up on Elma in Smash until the bitter end. And I have a feeling there’ll be a second fighter pass and/or more standalone DLC, so all the more reason to keep fighting the good fight.

Until we know what Caitlin Glass’s NDA role is, or what Hiroyuki Sawano’s secret project is... I do not think Caitlin’s NDA is Edelgard after Vee got let go, Edelgard sounds like Kira Buckland a la 2B.

Also you know how Rare spirits were cut content upon release and then Banjo happened? The fact Xenoblade 1 and 2 are mentioned in Spirits code but not X... maybe soon, X WILL be added.

To quote Elma when her Overdrive Gauge hits 50, “It’s not over yet!”

Some people are speculating that Tara Platt is the new voice actress for Edgelord. She did voiced Zero of Drakengard so I can see the resemblance with 2B.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

Another argument in Elma’s favor, I think, is that she CAN bring other X Spirits with her. Aside from Elma herself, the only other X Spirits are Lin, Lao, Tatsu and a random Skell. She can come with spirits of say, Gwin, Irina, Nagi, L, Commander Vandham, etc.

 

[SorrowOfAcheron]

Just got back from Area 51 and saw them working on a Xenoblade X sequel.
Putting technology to good use.

 

[chocolatejr9]

Just got back from Area 51 and saw them working on a Xenoblade X sequel.
Putting technology to good use.

Whew, I was starting to worry that they were the one government facility NOT doing anything. Thanks for the news.

 

[Sunny-Zee]

Just got back from Area 51 and saw them working on a Xenoblade X sequel.
Putting technology to good use.

You’re just saying that because
-A: there are half-joking talks of a raid on Area 51 in September
-and B: that Elma is actually an E.T.
Speaking of True Elma, I fixed the broken image in my Cluster Art Bomb from a while back, and I have found a couple more.

Spoiler: Let’s make it THREE FOR THREE!

Artist: Kina-Lee

Artist: Aeviann

And these last three are by Dany36

Enjoy!

 

[Calamitas]

Another argument in Elma’s favor, I think, is that she CAN bring other X Spirits with her. Aside from Elma herself, the only other X Spirits are Lin, Lao, Tatsu and a random Skell. She can come with spirits of say, Gwin, Irina, Nagi, L, Commander Vandham, etc.

I think we already discussed this at some point in the past, too.
Really though, whenever I look over all the arguments pointing towards Elma, I really can't help but to feel that she objectively does have the strongest case out of any first-party character that's not from an upcoming game. But of course, people still ignore her in the larger speculation, because something something, fighter's pass is totally confirmed to be third-party only, something, something but big "hype" third party character has much better case, something something any new Nintendo character would be scraping the bottom of the barrel, or some other drivel like that.

Just got back from Area 51 and saw them working on a Xenoblade X sequel.
Putting technology to good use.

Come to think of it,

Spoiler: X spoilers

according to X' timeline, when did Elma first land on earth again? Wasn't it around thirty-five years before the start of the game, so in 2021?

 

[Pallex]

I think we already discussed this at some point in the past, too.
Really though, whenever I look over all the arguments pointing towards Elma, I really can't help but to feel that she objectively does have the strongest case out of any first-party character that's not from an upcoming game. But of course, people still ignore her in the larger speculation, because something something, fighter's pass is totally confirmed to be third-party only, something, something but big "hype" third party character has much better case, something something any new Nintendo character would be scraping the bottom of the barrel, or some other drivel like that.



Come to think of it,

Spoiler: X spoilers

according to X' timeline, when did Elma first land on earth again? Wasn't it around thirty-five years before the start of the game, so in 2021?

30 years. The departure from Earth happened during July, 2054. The arrival to Mira happened two years later. So it's either 2024 or 2026.

 

[PSIGuy]

I wonder if Takahashi was counting on releasing a sequel to X by the time Elma was meant to land on the planet... a game dealing with the consequences of her landing on the planet, even. Not that I necessarily expect him to be able to make this deadline mind you, just a bit of wishful thinking.

 

[Calamitas]

So in my tendency to notice most likely unimportant patterns, here's something that came to my attention: So far, all each Fighter's Pass character has been "closer" to Nintendo than the last. What I mean is: We started with Joker, who has absolutely zero connection to anything Nintendo to the point where you wonder why anyone thought he's a good fit for Smash. Then we're gonna get Hero, with Dragon Quest having a long history with Nintendo, and even having its start on the NES, though the series has also been on other consoles. And then we're gonna get Banjo, who outright used to be a Nintendo character.
Clearly, this means that the next Fighter's Pass character is gonna be a third-party character that's even closer to Nintendo, with the one after that being an outright Nintendo character. Quod erat demonstrandum.

 

[chocolatejr9]

So in my tendency to notice most likely unimportant patterns, here's something that came to my attention: So far, all each Fighter's Pass character has been "closer" to Nintendo than the last. What I mean is: We started with Joker, who has absolutely zero connection to anything Nintendo to the point where you wonder why anyone thought he's a good fit for Smash. Then we're gonna get Hero, with Dragon Quest having a long history with Nintendo, and even having its start on the NES, though the series has also been on other consoles. And then we're gonna get Banjo, who outright used to be a Nintendo character.
Clearly, this means that the next Fighter's Pass character is gonna be either a third-party character that's even closer to Nintendo, with the one after that being an outright Nintendo character. Quod erat demonstrandum.

Question is, who's closer than Banjo, yet is still a third party?

 

[Flyboy]

Question is, who's closer than Banjo, yet is still a third party?

Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright both fit the bill...

 

[Calamitas]

Question is, who's closer than Banjo, yet is still a third party?

Probably some third-party that only ever was released on Nintendo consoles? Bugger if I know who fits that bill, though.

 

[Flyboy]

Probably some third-party that only ever was released on Nintendo consoles? Bugger if I know who fits that bill, though.

This is how Marina Liteyears can still win

 

[Sunny-Zee]

Probably some third-party that only ever was released on Nintendo consoles? Bugger if I know who fits that bill, though.

Shantae has been mostly on Nintendo platforms dating back to the GBC.

 

[ColtonS25]

Question is, who's closer than Banjo, yet is still a third party?

My first genuine thought was Geno considering his appearance in SMRPG and Superstar Saga. He only really has legs from Nintendo fans, so he’s about as first party that a third party can be. Otherwise I’d say Phoenix Wright or Rayman (he’s not as close but still fairly close to Nintendo in general).

 

[Rie Sonomura]

What about KOS-MOS? Since Monolith Soft technically belongs to Nintendo now, but Bandai Namco still owns her copyright. Ever since Monolith joined Nintendo tho, KOS-MOS has been exclusively on Nintendo systems like the 3DS iirc

 

[ColtonS25]

What about KOS-MOS? Since Monolith Soft technically belongs to Nintendo now, but Bandai Namco still owns her copyright. Ever since Monolith joined Nintendo tho, KOS-MOS has been exclusively on Nintendo systems like the 3DS iirc

I did think about KOS-MOS, but I wasn’t sure because of how her games (or was it just one? Whoops, should really play Xenogears/Saga so I know more about her) only came out on PlayStation. And she’s also jointly owned by Bandai, which admittedly might be a plus considering they work on Smash. I do think she’s up there as well, though.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

I did think about KOS-MOS, but I wasn’t sure because of how her games (or was it just one? Whoops, should really play Xenogears/Saga so I know more about her) only came out on PlayStation. And she’s also jointly owned by Bandai, which admittedly might be a plus considering they work on Smash. I do think she’s up there as well, though.

She’s been in both Project X Zone games (the second also having Chrom, Lucina and Fiora), and some other crossovers on DS/3DS. And of course, Xenoblade 2 alongside Shulk, Fiora and Elma.

 

[Nonno Umby]

Question is, who's closer than Banjo, yet is still a third party?

I would say that Phoenix Wright, Layton/Inazuma Eleven/Yokai Watch, Ryu Hayabusa, Travis Touchdown, Shantae, Leon form RE (4 was a big deal during the GC era) and maaaaaaaaaaaaaybe Hollow Knight (the Switch port was announced by Reggie himself during E3 2018 and they dedicated a long segment to Silksong during this year's Treehouse) are TP characters that are usually associated with Nintendo. At least they are the first ones that came to my mind.
And maybe Dragalia Lost, altought I don't know if it is really a TP IP or if it is owned by Nintendo.

 

[Calamitas]

Speaking of speculation-worthy things, there's this image floating around in other threads of an european starling, which is supposedly a hint at something Nintendo related. (I don't have the image right now, but it should be easy enough to find.) I also read someone mention how the european starling as actually an invasive species to North America.

So it's basically of an alien in America, and it's a hint at something upcoming Nintendo-related. Hmm.
I know it probably means nothing for us but let me hope dammit

 

[SorrowOfAcheron]

Speaking of speculation-worthy things, there's this image floating around in other threads of an european starling, which is supposedly a hint at something Nintendo related. (I don't have the image right now, but it should be easy enough to find.) I also read someone mention how the european starling as actually an invasive species to North America.

So it's basically of an alien in America, and it's a hint at something upcoming Nintendo-related. Hmm.
I know it probably means nothing for us but let me hope dammit

mfw

 

[Phoebe3315]

I thought about it. Maybe 1 of the 2 characters left won't be 3rd party. Before Sm4sh DLC, there were only four 3rd party characters in the game. Then that DLC almost doubled the amount with 3 more. We technically only got 1 more unique 3rd party character with Ultimate, and now at least 3 are confirmed for the fighter pass. One more will total 12 unique 3rd party characters. If 4/5 of the fighter pass characters are big 3rd party characters people can easily get excited about, that should be enough to sell it even if there's one character who (maybe 95% of) the smash audience doesn't know. Oh, and uh... 7/10 of the unique newcomers so far are not human and the other 3 are guys. Maybe they'll add another woman, for variety? The vast majority of the 3rd party characters I'm hearing in speculation though are animals or guys.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

Soooo Edelgard’s VO was indeed confirmed to be Tara Platt

Caitlin Glass’s NDA role is still a mystery...

The plot thickens...

 

[Calamitas]

Soooo Edelgard’s VO was indeed confirmed to be Tara Platt

Caitlin Glass’s NDA role is still a mystery...

The plot thickens...

There's still the chance that she voices another character in the game.
But really, at this point, it'd honestly be easiest if we could just ask her if she can tell us about the roll yet. Though I doubt that she'd respond to any kind of message like that.

 

[GolisoPower]

There's still the chance that she voices another character in the game.

I'm looking through the cast of characters right now, and honestly, I'm not sure any of them are Caitlin Glass.

Sothis is obviously out of the question, as I think she's voiced by Cherami Leigh based on what I managed to hear from that one Nintendo Direct. Unless I'm wrong and that's Kira Buckland.

Rhea, to me, could be Laura Post, I'm not sure.

The Female Byleth...I dunno, but I don't think she's a Caitlin Glass kind of guy.

Really, none of the female characters I'm looking through really scream Caitlin Glass to me.

EDIT: Newp, just found out Rhea's voiced by Cherami. Sothis, on the other hand, I now think she's voiced by Kira Buckland.

EDIT: Newp again, Cassandra Morris is voicing Sothis. I'm really not catching up with these FE castings.

 

[Calamitas]

I'm looking through the cast of characters right now, and honestly, I'm not sure any of them are Caitlin Glass.

Sothis is obviously out of the question, as I think she's voiced by Cherami Leigh based on what I managed to hear from that one Nintendo Direct. Unless I'm wrong and that's Kira Buckland.

Rhea, to me, could be Laura Post, I'm not sure.

The Female Byleth...I dunno, but I don't think she's a Caitlin Glass kind of guy.

Really, none of the female characters I'm looking through really scream Caitlin Glass to me.

EDIT: Newp, just found out Rhea's voiced by Cherami. Sothis, on the other hand, I now think she's voiced by Kira Buckland.

EDIT: Newp again, Cassandra Morris is voicing Sothis. I'm really not catching up with these FE castings.

Could be that she's just voicing a character that hasn't been revealed yet. Of course I wouldn't want that, but let's acknowledge the possibility.

 

[chocolatejr9]

I'm looking through the cast of characters right now, and honestly, I'm not sure any of them are Caitlin Glass.

Sothis is obviously out of the question, as I think she's voiced by Cherami Leigh based on what I managed to hear from that one Nintendo Direct. Unless I'm wrong and that's Kira Buckland.

Rhea, to me, could be Laura Post, I'm not sure.

The Female Byleth...I dunno, but I don't think she's a Caitlin Glass kind of guy.

Really, none of the female characters I'm looking through really scream Caitlin Glass to me.

EDIT: Newp, just found out Rhea's voiced by Cherami. Sothis, on the other hand, I now think she's voiced by Kira Buckland.

EDIT: Newp again, Cassandra Morris is voicing Sothis. I'm really not catching up with these FE castings.

I do know she's not Bernie, since someone else confirmed they were voicing her.

 

[Abade]

Speaking of speculation-worthy things, there's this image floating around in other threads of an european starling, which is supposedly a hint at something Nintendo related. (I don't have the image right now, but it should be easy enough to find.) I also read someone mention how the european starling as actually an invasive species to North America.

So it's basically of an alien in America, and it's a hint at something upcoming Nintendo-related. Hmm.
I know it probably means nothing for us but let me hope dammit

Giorgio A. Tsoukalos would be a welcome addition to Smash.

Spoiler

Soooo Edelgard’s VO was indeed confirmed to be Tara Platt

Caitlin Glass’s NDA role is still a mystery...

The plot thickens...

Plot Twist: Elma is showing up in Fire Emblem Three Houses and instead of reusing same tracks like in Xenoblade 2 Sawano's mysterious project is new songs/remixes for Elma's Fire Emblem Three Houses inclusion.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

Bigger twist!

Both Elma and Edelgard are the final 2 DLC fighters.

I'd have no complaints.

 

[ColtonS25]

Even bigger twist!

Elma is the a guest star in Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE* Xenoblade and will feature many musical numbers as well as Fortnite dances.

Please help I've completely lost my mind and Xenoblade news of any kind is the only thing that can restore me in any way

 

[Rie Sonomura]

I'm guessing this has already been brought up here, and I just wasn't lurking at the time... but the fact that they got have the voice work of Cassandra Morris licensed for Morgana is a pretty nice step made for Elma. Cuz we can assume her Final Smash or something might include Lin. Like with the Joker release, I'm guessing an Elma release would have a few references and performances by other cast members from the main game.

Again, I gotta assume you guys have mentioned this already cuz I know you've made looser connections than this to make a case for Elma having a toe in the door, heh.

Like how Shulk’s has Dunban, Riki, and Fiora? It could be a four member Overdrive with Lin, Lao and uhhhh Nagi?

Though I think a Skell would be the more likely choice

 

[ColtonS25]

Like how Shulk’s has Dunban, Riki, and Fiora? It could be a four member Overdrive with Lin, Lao and uhhhh Nagi?

Though I think a Skell would be the more likely choice

I’d personally like to see all the party members just showing up in groups like the Phantom Thieves, but they’d have to be 3D models, which is more work than most other Final Smashes if I had to guess. If there were transformation ones still, I would have really loved to see Overdrive with the interface on Elma’s character portrait or a Skell that you can move around and control.

Also been thinking about Daemon X Machina and how much it makes me want more Xenoblade X stuff. I just miss the sci-fi aesthetic with guns and mechs and everything. Please Sakurai we know you love the series, throw us a bone here... :\

 

[Rie Sonomura]

I will say

The fact that Elma’s Spirit is ONLY first unlocked by freeing 50 characters in adventure mode is mighty suspicious...

 

[Sigman]

I'm looking through the cast of characters right now, and honestly, I'm not sure any of them are Caitlin Glass.

Sothis is obviously out of the game question, as I think she's voiced by Cherami Leigh based on what I managed to hear from that one Nintendo Direct. Unless I'm wrong and that's Kira Buckland.

Rhea, to me, could be Laura Post, I'm not sure.

The Female Byleth...I dunno, but I don't think she's a Caitlin Glass kind of guy.

Really, none of the female characters I'm looking through really scream Caitlin Glass to me.

EDIT: Newp, just found out Rhea's voiced by Cherami. Sothis, on the other hand, I now think she's voiced by Kira Buckland.

EDIT: Newp again, Cassandra Morris is voicing Sothis. I'm really not catching up with these FE castings.

Why are you seeking out Kira Buckland? The characters she voices are not confirmed to appear and 2B would be most likely to appear in a yet to be revealed role based on what Yoko Taro-san is saying.

というか、いつの間にか２Ｂ役であるところの、石川由依さんのツイッターアカウントが出来てる……！ https://t.co/EzFFb8gC9a

— yokotaro (@yokotaro) May 14, 2019

 

[GolisoPower]

Why are you seeking out Kira Buckland? The characters she voices are not confirmed to appear and 2B would be most likely to appear in a yet to be revealed role based on what Yoko Taro-san is saying.

というか、いつの間にか２Ｂ役であるところの、石川由依さんのツイッターアカウントが出来てる……！ https://t.co/EzFFb8gC9a

— yokotaro (@yokotaro) May 14, 2019

I dunno. I mean, I've heard her play more youthful characters like Aerith in FF7 Machinabridged, Reimi Sugimoto in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and Heart Aino in Blazblue Cross Tag Battle, so I just imagine her using those kinds of voices for Sothis before I found out said character was voiced by Cassandra Morris.

But don't get me wrong, I'd love for 2B to be in Smash. I just wanted to throw my hat into the ring to the situation that is Caitlin's NDA role.

 

[jahkzheng]

Like how Shulk’s has Dunban, Riki, and Fiora? It could be a four member Overdrive with Lin, Lao and uhhhh Nagi?

Though I think a Skell would be the more likely choice

I was less thinking Final Smash specifically and more just stage and easter egg stuff. Basically Joker levels of references. Yeah, the Final Smash would def bring in at least cameos, but there'd also be more cameos in the Mira stage or whatever. Morgana is just straight up a taunt, but I don't see Elma bringing in any other character that way without it feeling awkward.

 

[Senatiator]

I dunno. I mean, I've heard her play more youthful characters like Aerith in FF7 Machinabridged, Reimi Sugimoto in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and Heart Aino in Blazblue Cross Tag Battle, so I just imagine her using those kinds of voices for Sothis before I found out said character was voiced by Morgana's VA.

But don't get me wrong, I'd love for 2B to be in Smash. I just wanted to throw my hat into the ring to the situation that is Caitlin's NDA role.

Two things:

2B's future role does not necessarily mean you can't have both, 2B and Elma in Smash or 2B would be in Smash as there is a rumored NieR project in development.

Minor nitpick: If "Morgana's VA" is referring to Cassandra Lee Morris then it is a bit awkward to refer to her as that instead of using a more relevant character such as Lin Lee Koo as far as in regards to Elma, the girl who hangs around with Elma much of the time. She was even nominated for an award for her role as Lin Lee Koo.