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

[Calamitas]

The Nightmare Fuel is one of the more underappreciated aspects of Xenoblade...

I don't know if I'm reading this the right way, but I'm pretty sure EVERYBODY thought the new Paper Mario would be a return to form.

Though it DID have some elements reminiscent to the older games...

I'm referring to the the fact that a lot of insiders also reported prior to reveal that Origami King would be an outright return to the series' roots. Which just isn't exactly how that game turned out to be. And likewise, the certainty with which all of these insiders talk about Xenoblade 3 isn't really convincing me, especially when also considering the whole song and dance with the Switch Pro just a few months ago.

 

[RawkHawk2010]

I think I would trust a person who actually was credited in the development of Xenoblade 2 and then some alleged “insider” on how the development process actually went.

Monolith Soft Boss Talks To Katsura Hashino About Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Development Struggles

Monolith Soft president Tetsuya Takahashi met with Atlus’ Katsura Hashino, known as the producer and director of several Persona games, for the very first time to share some development stories.

www.google.com

What Has Xenoblade Chronicles X’s Staff Been Up To?

Ishaan investigates to find out what exactly the Xenoblade Chronicle X’s staff has been up to.

sourcegaming.info

Meanwhile, from the same horse's mouth:

The ease or speed of developing Xenoblade Chronicles 2 stems a lot from our having already created this architecture with Xenoblade Chronicles X. The game portion of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is kind of overlaid on top of that fundamental architecture. I think that made the biggest contribution to why development went so fast. And in terms of Switch versus Wii U, another point is that we’ve only had to deal with one screen, so that also has made development a little bit easier.

And so to add to that, both at Nintendo and at Monolith, we wanted to have a major large-scale roleplaying game early in the Switch’s lifecycle. We thought about how we might accomplish that, and we wanted to do the same thing with the Wii U. But the development for Xenoblade Chronicles X was a little bit difficult, and that’s why it ended up being released a little bit later in the Wii U’s cycle. So we had a postmortem and tried to think ‘How can we deliver this at an earlier stage in the console’s lifecycle?’

 

[Wisehunter]

But well, from "a little bit difficult" to "still have nightmares" is quite a jump.

And a question. Torna was a first stage into a new engine if I recall well, right? So it was no longer the X/2 engine. What about 1DE, did it use a later version of Torna's engine or did it use X/2 engine, or was it built over the engine of the original?

I hope the new engine is fully finalized now and that it can use less aggressive dynamic res on undocked, hope its res lower limit is at least on par with DQ11S and FFXII on switch.

 

[RebelMaren]

I'm referring to the the fact that a lot of insiders also reported prior to reveal that Origami King would be an outright return to the series' roots. Which just isn't exactly how that game turned out to be. And likewise, the certainty with which all of these insiders talk about Xenoblade 3 isn't really convincing me, especially when also considering the whole song and dance with the Switch Pro just a few months ago.

I don't remember any leaks for Xenoblade 2, Torna or Definitive Edition but apparently XC3 is an open secret among all the 'insiders'.

 

[Calamitas]

Well then, the September Direct is announced. Not long now before we find out whether Xenoblade 3 really is gonna happen next, or Nintendo and Monolith Soft finally remember X. Definitely not counting on the latter, though.

. . .Unless Monolith Soft sits out this Direct as well.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

Well then, the September Direct is announced. Not long now before we find out whether Xenoblade 3 really is gonna happen next, or Nintendo and Monolith Soft finally remember X. Definitely not counting on the latter, though.

. . .Unless Monolith Soft sits out this Direct as well.

I mean Xenoblade 3 is probably a long ways off to be released. They COULD release an X port this holiday

 

[Jocario Zero]

Finally, there it is, the september direct...and it's in the middle of the night again for me!

I only really expect something on CP11, possibly an announcement for a presentation. And I'm obviously hoping for XCX. Oh and of course no news on Bayonetta 3 (looking forward how this one will age ^^).

 

[RebelMaren]

I've got mixed feeling about CP11 showing up in tomorrow's Direct, Sakurai said there'd be a bit of a wait for it, but that it would drop before the end of the year. Honestly it made me wonder if he was setting it up for the Game Awards. Not that the when of it matters to me much, just hope it's one I can get excited for. As for Xenoblade in the Direct, or rather Monolithsoft in general. It's gotta happen eventually, will be excited to see anything from them, so here's hoping.

 

[Jocario Zero]

Oh and of course no news on Bayonetta 3 (looking forward how this one will age ^^).

¯\_ (ツ) _/¯

For a really brief moment I thought the trailer was Xenoblade (3). The monster at the beginning gave me some XB2 vibes, but the soldiers felt out of place, even for XCX. Then I thought it was Astral Chain (bruh...). But, hey! Bayonetta 3 is a real thing! It exists and will hopefully release one day (I hope.).

We will see something with Xenoblade at some point. It happens when it happens.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

So with the final presentation a few days away

I wanna say it’s been great speculating with you guys. even if Elma isn’t CP11 which I seriously doubt she’ll be, let’s hold on hope for the next game.
I just do hope that Everyone is Here persists for at least one more game. Like I said I want Elma to be able to face everyone. If not, another crossover appearance with her and some characters that appear in Smash would be nice.

if they somehow do a post-dlc ballot or something, I’ll campaign for her to get as many votes as possible and see the merits in her and her game. If it worked for Ridley and K. Rool I hope it can work for her too.

and all in all, I hope X itself gets some love soon too

if they close this subforum after the final presentation, you can find me at the sites I linked in my signature, or my discord which is in my profile. I may frequent other threads outside of this sub forum as well

 

[Calamitas]

Well then, with less than 24 hours remaining until the presentation, I think I will also leave a concluding kind of post here. I'd honestly have to lie if I were to say that this whole speculation period - even from pre release - hasn't left me rather bitter. In those three years, about the only thing we got was Elma's DLC appearance in 2. . . and literally nothing else. We're still waiting on an X port as we did back then, and the rumors are pointing to the next Xenoblade game being 3 instead of a X port or even X2. At this point, I only really hope that the final Smash character is going to be someone that I'd be interested in getting. Pyra and Mythra essentially killed any chance of me ever wanting to buy the full pass, so unless the impossible happens after all and we do still get Elma, I will just buy the characters that actually interest me. . . which, at present, are only Min Min and Sephiroth.

If there's one silver lining for me personally, it's that the constant disappointments finally got me writing on a script for a video essay series that's essentially a deep dive into the writing and themes of all Xenoblade games, for which I'm currently sitting on the X script. If anyone's interested in taking a look at it, hit me up - it's all still a first draft that's not even fully done yet, but I do already have a 4364 word long analysis of Elma's character.

As for Smash. . . well, whenever the newcomer boards for the next Smash game are open for speculation and a new support thread is open, you can count on me being there. This story never truly ends.

To leave on a bit more of a positive note, though, here's a very nice piece of fanart that got finished just yesterday:

🎉Xenoblade Chronicles X
It took time, but it was worth it 💖

This was a commission for @kingddd17 TYSM. Really hope you liked the result, cuz I did, and I enjoyed it so much.

Still in ecstasy because we're not done here yet ☝️. pic.twitter.com/02iiwDgv09

— Rorah🦄 (@RorastillDraws) October 3, 2021

. . .And my X-take on a current meme.

Somehow, I wouldn't be surprised if the next chapter of Deltarune comes out before a Xenoblade Chronicles X Switch port, or a sequel to that game. Doesn't change anything for Kris and Susie, though. pic.twitter.com/65T8strg6V

— Xenoblade Chronicles X™ for Nintendo™ Wii U™ (@Calamitas4) October 1, 2021

 

[Rie Sonomura]

Well then, with less than 24 hours remaining until the presentation, I think I will also leave a concluding kind of post here. I'd honestly have to lie if I were to say that this whole speculation period - even from pre release - hasn't left me rather bitter. In those three years, about the only thing we got was Elma's DLC appearance in 2. . . and literally nothing else. We're still waiting on an X port as we did back then, and the rumors are pointing to the next Xenoblade game being 3 instead of a X port or even X2. At this point, I only really hope that the final Smash character is going to be someone that I'd be interested in getting. Pyra and Mythra essentially killed any chance of me ever wanting to buy the full pass, so unless the impossible happens after all and we do still get Elma, I will just buy the characters that actually interest me. . . which, at present, are only Min Min and Sephiroth.

If there's one silver lining for me personally, it's that the constant disappointments finally got me writing on a script for a video essay series that's essentially a deep dive into the writing and themes of all Xenoblade games, for which I'm currently sitting on the X script. If anyone's interested in taking a look at it, hit me up - it's all still a first draft that's not even fully done yet, but I do already have a 4364 word long analysis of Elma's character.

As for Smash. . . well, whenever the newcomer boards for the next Smash game are open for speculation and a new support thread is open, you can count on me being there. This story never truly ends.

To leave on a bit more of a positive note, though, here's a very nice piece of fanart that got finished just yesterday:

🎉Xenoblade Chronicles X
It took time, but it was worth it 💖

This was a commission for @kingddd17 TYSM. Really hope you liked the result, cuz I did, and I enjoyed it so much.

Still in ecstasy because we're not done here yet ☝️. pic.twitter.com/02iiwDgv09

— Rorah🦄 (@RorastillDraws) October 3, 2021

. . .And my X-take on a current meme.

Somehow, I wouldn't be surprised if the next chapter of Deltarune comes out before a Xenoblade Chronicles X Switch port, or a sequel to that game. Doesn't change anything for Kris and Susie, though. pic.twitter.com/65T8strg6V

— Xenoblade Chronicles X™ for Nintendo™ Wii U™ (@Calamitas4) October 1, 2021

I love that meme lmao

 

[Jocario Zero]

We're almost at the end. It still feels kind of surreal.

I can't see the presentation live, so I will probably just check the smashwiki a few minutes after it begins. Depending on who CP11 is, I will stay away from smashboards for a while (at least the speculation thread, the last thing I currently need is a hugh wave of complains and all that stuff. Not good for my health, y'know).

All in all, speculating with you guys was fun. In retrospect, I wish I had been (a little bit) more active here (but that's generally a "me thing" or something).

Anyway, I'm looking forward for tomorrow.

 

[Arsh99]

Had a great time discussing Elma with you all these last couple years. It's amazing to see how much love there is for this game and Elma and to be able to share our passion of it.

It's gonna be a shame to not have this space to discuss anymore. As bad as some sectors of the community can be, I feel like smash character speculation facilitates a great place for people to get together and talk about the games they like.

Here's hoping we get some X news soon and Elma makes a big return one day. Cheers to you all and hope you enjoy the character reveal tmr

 

[Calamitas]

Well then. . . see you all in the Smash 6 character speculation board. Here's to next game.

 

[Jocario Zero]

I'm impressed. They actually managed to get Sora. Not a fan of the series, but he looks cool.

So...that's it. Ultimate is finished and Sakurai can watch the sun rise on a grateful universe.

Out of curiosity: Is there a general Xenoblade thread?

 

[Dorayaki]

I think the biggest concern about Elma is whether NIntendo will treat Xenoblade like Pokemon and Fire Emblem, which means they will only cater to newer generation of the franchises so that the Xenoblade 3 protagonists will go ahead of her. Personally I think Elma should be the top choice of next Xenoblade rep.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

I think the biggest concern about Elma is whether NIntendo will treat Xenoblade like Pokemon and Fire Emblem, which means they will only cater to newer generation of the franchises so that the Xenoblade 3 protagonists will go ahead of her. Personally I think Elma should be the top choice of next Xenoblade rep.

I think of Xenoblade X like a parallel universe to the main Xenoblade games. While 1 and 2 have different casts, and likely 3 if it is a thing will, X seems to be setting up for a direct sequel with the same cast

and if XC3 is a big ol XC crossover like some insiders are hinting, could be another point in Elma’s favor

 

[Altais]

Well, I guess that's that. Ever since Pyra/Mythra's reveal, I had pretty much lost all hopes for Elma. That said, I was hoping she would at least get a Mii Costume. I personally would have liked to see a glorified Mii fighter, where Elma switches freely between Mii Sword Fighter & Mii Gunner, to reflect upon the mechanics in Xenoblade X.

To be completely honest, if I could trade Corrin for Elma, I would in a heartbeat. Back in the Smash 4 days, I always did feel she deserved to get in before him. Even though Fire Emblem is mine favourite video game series, I'm not a big fan of Fates or Awakening. Fates in general was just very lazily written.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

Well, I guess that's that. Ever since Pyra/Mythra's reveal, I had pretty much lost all hopes for Elma. That said, I was hoping she would at least get a Mii Costume. I personally would have liked to see a glorified Mii fighter, where Elma switches freely between Mii Sword Fighter & Mii Gunner, to reflect upon the mechanics in Xenoblade X.

To be completely honest, if I could trade Corrin for Elma, I would in a heartbeat. Back in the Smash 4 days, I always did feel she deserved to get in before him. Even though Fire Emblem is mine favourite video game series, I'm not a big fan of Fates or Awakening. Fates in general was just very lazily written.

Corrin’s game was Japan only at the time of their reveal and a long ways off to release in the west (it would be what, March 2016?) vs. Xenoblade X releasing DAYS AFTER SMASH 4’S FINAL PRESENTATION

 

[Izayoi]

It's been a long 3 years, my fellow Elma peeps...


Not even a song or a mii costume at the finish line.

 

[Mistaros]

Well guys this is the end....
I was fun, sometimes not so fun, but glad to be here.
I won't say what i think of this fighter pass, but i see why they choose all this characters, it was a good marketing decision.
Elma getting F two smash bros in a row... Let's hope next time is the one...

Let's see you all again in the next smash bros, and still hoping for the port or the sequel.

 

[KiyoXDragon]

Elma would have been a cool choice since she is a futuristic character and I do love those, rather I was hoping for Akira from Astral Chain more. But I do love Sora and I'll main him too. Let's hope Akira and Elma get into Smash 6!

 

[Sunny-Zee]

Here, have one more True Form!Elma for the road.

There was a problem fetching the tweet

It has been an honor speculating about fighters with you all, BLADES. Until we meet again one day, in the sea of stars...

 

[Arsh99]

To be completely honest, if I could trade Corrin for Elma, I would in a heartbeat. Back in the Smash 4 days, I always did feel she deserved to get in before him. Even though Fire Emblem is mine favourite video game series, I'm not a big fan of Fates or Awakening. Fates in general was just very lazily written.

Yeah same scenario w/ me, but tbf I do think Corrin has a pretty great moveset and was a good addition despite people's gripes with FE. Hopefully, Elma helms another game in the coming years and her chances are renewed.

 

[[Maple]]

Still glad we got an other Xeno rep in Ultimate. A bit sad there's no songs from X. Now the big question is "where is Elma going to be in the near and distant future?". They are for sure working on Smash 6 as we are speaking (with or without Sakurai) and the game will most likely comes out in 4 to 5 years (maybe even 6). It's clear to me Elma needs to make more appareances in the future may it be in Xeno X2, Xeno 3, a port for Xeno X or a Xenoblade Warriors (God please...).

Still hoping to see the reveal for Monolith's next project

 

[PSIGuy]

Really want to make an Overdrive end screen mockup for our page and post total, because damn, we kinda went ham. Over 230 pages and 9000 posts.

 

[Izayoi]

Really want to make an Overdrive end screen mockup for our page and post total, because damn, we kinda went ham. Over 230 pages and 9000 posts.

XBX did leave its mark for whoever played it till the end. xD

 

[Rie Sonomura]

So yeah, once this subforum closes, reminder there’s a Xenoblade X thread in NintenZone as well as the Xenoblade series as a whole. You can check out either thread

I’ll mostly be in the social tho, but all in all may visit Smashboards less

 

[Rie Sonomura]

Obligatory last day post

while Elma didn’t make it after all, I feel some kind of catharsis with Sora. I feel satisfied despite him not being an MW. simply put he deserves it

hopefully X gets some more love between now and next Smash, so Elma could have a chance for next time

I also met some great people here who’ve been there for me through thick and thin, and I’m beyond thankful for that. Thanks for these three and a half years.

and remember everyone:

“Strength comes from experience. That’s true on any planet.”

 

[Jocario Zero]

Obligatory last day post

while Elma didn’t make it after all, I feel some kind of catharsis with Sora. I feel satisfied despite him not being an MW. simply put he deserves it

hopefully X gets some more love between now and next Smash, so Elma could have a chance for next time

I also met some great people here who’ve been there for me through thick and thin, and I’m beyond thankful for that. Thanks for these three and a half years.

and remember everyone:

“Strength comes from experience. That’s true on any planet.”

Well said. Sora was far away from being my most wanted, but yeah, he 100% deserves to be in and I'm glad that he's here (and reminded me of how badly I wanted to play Kingdom Hearts as a kid).

Elma sadly didn't make the cut and the overall representation of XCX...could be better, but I'm still glad that she mad even a small appearance in this very special game.

I will continue to hope for the future and that XCX will somehow find it's way to the switch (port, sequel or whatever).

I think I will stick around on smashboards, mostly the social thread.

It was fun to speculate and hope with you guys. See ya

 

[Calamitas]

Alright then, here is my obligatory last day post. Unfortunately, I can't really share the feelings of light disappointment and some disappointment that others here seem to be having - for me personally, the past three years just left me really bitter and pessimistic. Elma and X should've been absolute shoo-ins for games to be represented in Ultimate's base roster already (or 4's DLC even, let's be honest), and yet what we got was. . . just about nothing. Xenoblade 2 got multiple music tracks, Mii costumes, and highlighted Spirits even in the base game, as well as an apology from Sakurai for a playable character not making it, and then it later got a character - two characters anyway. X meanwhile just went almost entirely ignored for about three and a half years, and I sadly won't be able to ever look at Ultimate without being reminded of that, and it hampering my enjoyment of it. I know that I really shouldn't the lack of representation that one game got drag down my view of what otherwise is an absolute accomplishment and celebration of gaming, sure. But this was the one character I wanted to see make it in, one game that I wanted to see get the validation it needed. . . and it got absolutely nothing, while we're still waiting for the bloody Switch port of X three and a half years later. To say that it stings would be putting it very mildly. But at the very, very least there were enough characters on this second pass for me to at least buy half of it (Min Min, Sephiroth, Sora) individually, which is at least something.

Unfortunately, I can't really look into the future with much in the way of optimism, either. All the rumors, and even some behind the scenes things point towards Monolith Soft's next game being Xenoblade 3, while what little we hear about the prospect of an X port from these rumors is "Monolith Soft wanted to do it, Nintendo said no". Of course, obviously we should take any and all rumors with a grain of salt, and I've said so myself in the past. But these are literally everything we really got in all this time. For Smash specifically, the only hope I have for Elma to make it into the next game is if she is not only among the characters that are supposed to return for 3, but is an outright protagonist for that game. And, uh. . . sorry, but I don't see that happening, even if she took centre(-ish) stage for some of Monolith Soft's "series celebration" artworks. Honestly, this is not the first time that I have been annoyed with Nintendo's seeming tendency to only add new, big first-party characters to Smash, or decade-old requests.

To not end this all on too negative of a note though, there is at the very least one silver lining for me personally: All these disappointments provided me with enough spite to finally get started on my idea for a video essay series on my views on what makes the individual Xenoblade games great. I know that in the past, nobody exactly was interested when I brought this up here, (not like I can blame anyone, either, tbh) but if somehow somebody gets interested in this after all, hit me up - I could always use people taking a glance at the script and telling me if my takes are any good. And if there's still no interest, then that's fine, too. But if, in about half a year at least, you come across a video titled something like "The Xenoblade Series is Awesome, and here's why". . . that'll probably be it then. To be honest, I doubt that even if I do finally finish this and put it out there, that I'll be able to reach terribly many people. But if me rambling for several hours about X is enough to get at least a handful of people to re-evaluate it and recognize its merits. . . then that's honestly good enough.

And now, ending music.

 

[Arsh99]

and reminded me of how badly I wanted to play Kingdom Hearts as a kid

Aha was in the same boat here I would read the manga at lunch and everything. Shame I didn't get into the series sooner as I'm just not that interested in it now tried with 358/2, but just didn't click.

Also, just wanted to say I will miss this thread dearly. Was the most active one I followed and although I didn't post much it was great seeing all the love you also had for this character and game.

 

[AustarusIV]

I haven’t been here much since the game’s launch, but I had a great time coming here every now and then when I was mostly active on Smashboards.

While it’s a shame that Elma and XCX in general got snubbed in this game, I still have hope that we’ll see future content down the line for Planet Mira (whether a remaster or sequel) and, hopefully, a place for Elma in the next Smash game.

Take care everyone.

 

[Isaac: Venus Adept]

Well at the very least I hope there's a Xenoblade Chronicles X Switch port in the near future. I've always wanted to give that game a shot

 

[Calamitas]

Actually, I think I want to have the final word here - and I know just the sentence to close this thread on.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

Actually, I think I want to have the final word here - and I know just the sentence to close this thread on.

View attachment 335232

Dude the minute I hit like Your Voice started playing

that was honestly pretty epic

 

[Calamitas]

Dude the minute I hit like Your Voice started playing

that was honestly pretty epic

Ah, c'mon, now you ruined my plan to have that be the last message in the thread.

Does that make this the equivalent of the final scene with Lao?

 

[Rie Sonomura]

Ah, c'mon, now you ruined my plan to have that be the last message in the thread.

Does that make this the equivalent of the final scene with Lao?

Yes.

dlc thread locked, waiting for the whole forum to close now

see you all around!