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

[Bebe Mignon]

Koh Kojima (director of Xenoblade X) wants to make a sequel to Xenoblade X. I am totally slayed!

 

[BluePikmin11]

There better be an immense amount of plot in Xenoblade X2 if I am to be convinced of buying the sequel.

 

[MoonlitIllusion]

Koh Kojima (director of Xenoblade X) wants to make a sequel to Xenoblade X. I am totally slayed!

And Xenoblade 3 as well, I figured that's what they were gonna do, keep both series going and alternate between them with each release

 

[Bebe Mignon]

And Xenoblade 3 as well, I figured that's what they were gonna do, keep both series going and alternate between them with each release

They're also developing a brand-new IP, which is what is being worked on right now, and then likely followed by XCX2 and XC3.

 

[MoonlitIllusion]

They're also developing a brand-new IP, which is what is being worked on right now, and then likely followed by XCX2 and XC3.

Hopefully they don't take too long, I'd rather have X2 sooner than later, they're obviously a big enough team that they can work on both simultaneously tho I guess, like they did with XCX and 2

 

[Aetheri]

The new fantasy IP most likely will be the one for that piece of concept art that was released a while back...with that princess knight.

 

[MoonlitIllusion]

The new fantasy IP most likely will be the one for that piece of concept art that was released a while back...with that princess knight.

wait what concept art?

 

[Bebe Mignon]

wait what concept art?

Here you go!

They look amazing. You've been warned!

 

[MoonlitIllusion]

Here you go!

They look amazing. You've been warned!

oh my goodness how have I never seen these before? The final game better look like this, I wanna play it yesterday and I want that girl in smash already lol

 

[Bebe Mignon]

oh my goodness how have I never seen these before? The final game better look like this, I wanna play it yesterday and I want that girl in smash already lol

I know, right? I wouldn't be surprised to see someone like her in the next Smash title!

Idk if you're aware or not, but Monolith Soft started recruiting for this fantasy action RPG game since August 2017. This project will offer something different from Monolith Soft's brand image (Xeno series). For the battle planners, they're looking for people with an interest in medieval fantasy and understanding of western entertainment trends. The project is still apparently in the early stages as they recently started hiring for concept artists and a main character designer from a couple weeks ago.

 

[PSIGuy]

Hopefully the comments from Kojima/Takahashi lead to an X port in the near future, or an X sequel in the future. X is definitely flawed, but that makes it worth revisitng more imho.

 

[Aetheri]

X being ported to the Switch makes a lot more sense if they're going to be working on a sequel.

The game (like most Wii U titles) needs more exposure and giving us a port will help set up for the sequel. Xenoblade as an IP is on the rise so it's a good opportunity to give the game that second shot overall.

 

[MoonlitIllusion]

Porting X before a sequel makes sense, it’s obviosuly gonna be a direct sequel and you don’t want people who only played 2 jumping into it with no idea what’s going on, plus then they could even do the mass effect thing and allow you to bring over your character, affinity, weapons, armour, skells etc into the sequel

 

[Alpswat]

Smashboards didn't notified me about all of these messages, just once, maybe because they got all together at once.

I'm beyond excited if there's a sequel to XC X, and also, the image for the projects looks pretty cool i saw it months ago, and also, it's in the official site of monolith soft, could it be revealed for E3?

 

[Bebe Mignon]

I'm beyond excited if there's a sequel to XC X, and also, the image for the projects looks pretty cool i saw it months ago, and also, it's in the official site of monolith soft, could it be revealed for E3?

Doubtful. They've only begun hiring since August 2017. It'll be quite a while before we ever see it. I'm thinking next year at the very earliest. The project should land some time between 2020 or 2021 based on Monolith Soft's development history.

 

[MoonlitIllusion]

Doubtful. They've only begun hiring since August 2017. It'll be quite a while before we ever see it. I'm thinking next year at the very earliest. The project should land some time between 2020 or 2021 based on Monolith Soft's development history.

2021? I was thinking more 2019, Xenoblade 2 was 2017 and X was 2015, 2019/2020 makes sense to me. Plus they could just announce it here without showing it off. Xenoblade X was revealed in early 2013 after all, 2 years before it's eventual release.

All of this is assuming they don't wanna get the X sequel out of the way before moving onto this new ip tho

 

[Bebe Mignon]

2021? I was thinking more 2019, Xenoblade 2 was 2017 and X was 2015, 2019/2020 makes sense to me. Plus they could just announce it here without showing it off. Xenoblade X was revealed in early 2013 after all, 2 years before it's eventual release.

All of this is assuming they don't wanna get the X sequel out of the way before moving onto this new ip tho

2019 is far too early for a title that is being touted as an ambitious new IP. There is no way Monolith Soft is going to wrap up development next year for a project that just started in August 2017. Sure, they're an incredibly efficient studio but they don't have the resources to pull it off in less than two years. Late 2020 is the sweet spot methinks, although 2021 is a possibility if this is truly an ambitious title.

 

[SorrowOfAcheron]

Now I'm even more hyped to play X.
I hope Nintendo or whoever makes the call let's them make that mature game they wanna make.

 

[DNeon]

Definitely think 2021 is a bit too far but early-mid 2020 seems around right to me for when the fantasy IP comes out. definitely don't think we'll see anything about it at this E3 unless they want to do a 30 second 'teaser' with concept art and a couple of catchphrases like "ambitious new take on their famous system combat" and "Monolith soft's new IP taking on a brand new world".

 

[BluePikmin11]

I found this cool moveset of Elma on ResetEra today:

https://www.resetera.com/threads/su...h-st3-on-path-to-e3.44544/page-5#post-8297330

 

[Pacack]

Honestly, it's funny, but Elma could feasibly be DLC if not base game. I know we bring up Rex as DLC instead of base a lot, but if XCX2 comes out relatively soon, then she could be used as a Corrin-esque tie in too.

 

[AustarusIV]

Consider me a supporter for Elma! I’d be happy to see her as a playable character, since XCX was one of my favorite games on the Wii U.

 

[Deleted member]

I remember seeing the fantasy IP concept art a while back and tbh I'll probably end up getting it just because Monolith is making it. X2 was expected, but Xenoblade 3 is a mild surprise. I have no idea where they'll take the story since XC2 seemed to tie up all the loose ends but I'm looking forward to it regardless.

Also, I think I'm going to replay X. I've been using a different user on my Wii U for a few reasons recently so I don't have a file for Xenoblade on it yet; it's the perfect opportunity for some more Xenoblade action while I wait for 2's DLC to start picking up. I've been trying to 200% Tropical Freeze in the meantime but I have no idea how long it's gonna take for me to beat all of the bosses without getting hit lol.

 

[PSIGuy]

I think people have put too much emphasis on recency when considering Elma vs Rex. Sales and reception among XB1 fans aside, Smash characters need to offer something new and stand out. Smash characters can't just appeal to existing fans, they need to appeal to complete strangers as well. For that reason I think Elma is still the better choice when you compare what new things Rex would bring to what Elma would bring. Shulk and Rex appeal to the same group of fans, have similar designs and aesthetics (shonen sci-fantasy swordsmen) and come from similar games. X as a sci-fi game with a different art style, open world focus and Sawano soundtrack definitely stands out. A lot of XB1/2 fans dislike X's soundtrack, but that sort of feeds into my point; it appeals to a different group of people because it has a different sound to it, just as X appeals to a different group of people. And appealing to more groups is better than appealing to the same fans again. Maybe you don't like Sawano, but plenty of people do. Maybe you like ACE+; they already have lots of music in the game.

 

[True Blue Warrior]

I think people have put too much emphasis on recency when considering Elma vs Rex.

I think a long post a forum user made concerning how speculation has changed to be more recency-oriented is worth a good read. To add to that, I feel the fact that Rosalina was revealed to be playable for Smash ~ a month after she was confirmed to be in 3D World plus the existence of Greninja and Corrin in Smash further helped push this emphasis on recency in speculation. I feel this has led to the point where the idea of a FE Switch character, Generation 8 Pokemon, Spring Man and Rex are generally more common in "casual" speculation whilst character that are recent but not "recent enough" like Celica and Elma are somewhat ignored for not being "relevant" enough. Thing is, whilst recency is a big factor, it's what recent around the time Sakurai starts designing a Smash game that is important, not what's recent two years later. You can definitely see this when looking at the previous games. For example, by the time Brawl was released, stuff like Path of Radiance Ike and Lucas (since Mother was confirmed to end back in 2006) felt unintentionally "outdated" and only made "sense" in 2005 when Brawl's roster was finalized given the release date of Path of Radiance as well as the fact Mother 3 was intended to be released in 2005 as well. Same with Palutena in Smash 4 (as Sakurai confirmed he won't be working on a Kid Icarus sequel) as her inclusion definitively felt influenced by the fact the roster for that game was finalized the same year her game was released. Though I guess this argument is pretty irrelevant if the likes of Spring Man and Rex are playable in Switch and the general fanbase moves on not being surprised.

Either that, or people end up being blind-sighted if Youtube/"casual" speculation ended up completely misinterpreting how Sakurai makes Smash rosters and Elma ends up being playable.

 

[MoonlitIllusion]

I think people have put too much emphasis on recency when considering Elma vs Rex. Sales and reception among XB1 fans aside, Smash characters need to offer something new and stand out. Smash characters can't just appeal to existing fans, they need to appeal to complete strangers as well. For that reason I think Elma is still the better choice when you compare what new things Rex would bring to what Elma would bring. Shulk and Rex appeal to the same group of fans, have similar designs and aesthetics (shonen sci-fantasy swordsmen) and come from similar games. X as a sci-fi game with a different art style, open world focus and Sawano soundtrack definitely stands out. A lot of XB1/2 fans dislike X's soundtrack, but that sort of feeds into my point; it appeals to a different group of people because it has a different sound to it, just as X appeals to a different group of people. And appealing to more groups is better than appealing to the same fans again. Maybe you don't like Sawano, but plenty of people do. Maybe you like ACE+; they already have lots of music in the game.

There's also the fact that as X is branded as essentially an alternate series and that the game ends on a cliffhanger, it's extremely likely that the game will gat sequel and as such Elma and the rest of the XCX cast will return in it. As it stands now it's looking like Rex is a one off protagonist and will be replaced when XC3 rolls around. Sakurai has mentioned characters "having a future" before so that could also be a point in her favour.

 

[Aetheri]

I think a lot of people are overestimating the idea of Rex being added from early concept builds, simply because it's what they did with Greninja when the situation is very different. People should also take note that GameFreak is a lot more stingy with what gets into Smash or not and they likely made Sakurai chose between the starters rather than chose an older Gen pokemon like Zoroark.

Devs for X have already stated that they are open to the idea of Elma in Smash and seeing as she was the most recent Xeno protag during the early parts of smash development, there's no reason why they would turn her down. And knowing her potential she' would still likely appeal to Sakurai for the early roster.

Rex is still a top contender for DLC I might add while I see him as being very unlikely for the base roster.

 

[MoonlitIllusion]

I think a lot of people are overestimating the idea of Rex being added from early concept builds, simply because it's what they did with Greninja when the situation is very different. People should also take note that GameFreak is a lot more stingy with what gets into Smash or not and they likely made Sakurai chose between the starters rather than chose an older Gen pokemon like Zoroark.

Devs for X have already stated that they are open to the idea of Elma in Smash and seeing as she was the most recent Xeno protag during the early parts of smash development, there's no reason why they would turn her down. And knowing her potential she' would still likely appeal to Sakurai for the early roster.

Rex is still a top contender for DLC I might add while I see him as being very unlikely for the base roster.

Huh, I completely forgot about that but

https://gamerant.com/super-smash-bros-xenoblade-chronicles-x-character/

GR: Are you hoping that maybe some of these characters crossover into Super Smash Bros. or anything like that?

Boggs: “I’m always down for new characters to be in Smash! I would love for more representation of any type of Monolith games that we’ve had. Yeah, to have Elma or something like that in the game would be great, but that’s all up to Sakurai and the wonderful magic that he works and the craziness. I’m with you guys though, the more the better.”

Neat, they specifically mention elma too instead of cross which is nice and this article was around the time the roster was being decided as well

 

[PSIGuy]

Takahashi himself has also commented on the possibility although his response was pretty subdued.
Source: This interview, bottom of the page
"GamesBeat: We’ve had Shulk in Smash Bros. That must be a neat thing to see. Now we know Nintendo is doing downloadable content for Smash Bros. Would you like to see Xenoblade Chronicles X characters in Smash as well?
Takahashi: I’m not entirely sure, but you could always ask Mr. Sakurai about that. [laughs]"
Sakurai came to Takahashi to ask about Shulk and was the one who came up with the stance moveset and boxer shorts outfit being in Smash, so if Sakurai thinks Elma would make a good addition he'd go for her. And I think considering how much importance Sakurai places on characters bringing something new he would pick Elma.

 

[IronWarrior94]

Count me as a supporter. X was my first Xenoblade game, and while I wouldn't even dare to deny how great the first and 2nd Chronicles games are, I really enjoyed X's sci-fi theme much more.
So far, the only claim to Elma being in Smash is that imgur leak, but I'm taking it with a grain of salt. Still, I hope it's true, as Elma and Ridley would definitely be my mains.

 

[True Blue Warrior]

Sakurai came to Takahashi to ask about Shulk and was the one who came up with the stance moveset and boxer shorts outfit being in Smash, so if Sakurai thinks Elma would make a good addition he'd go for her.

That article you posted is really illuminating, especially seeing that an argument that I have seen is that Monolith Soft would have rather pushed Rex instead of Elma because of Rex having, at the time, an upcoming game. But given how Shulk was solely decided by Sakurai and Takahashi just rolled with it with no implication of even suggesting a Xenoblade X character for promotional purposes, it does show that, should Sakurai hypothetically decide on Elma instead of Rex, Monolith Soft won't really care that much.

 

[Bebe Mignon]

Elma placed at #11 as ResetEra's most wanted newcomer.

That's a pretty dang good spot for her, tbh. She was practically a nothing-burger in Smash discussions at NeoGAF and even during the early days of ResetEra. It's really impressive seeing how much her popularity has grown over the last couple of months.

 

[IronWarrior94]

I just thought of something..and I'm mostly joking here, but what if we were to ask Elma's english VA Caitlin Glass on her social media if she's been working on anything video game related recently.

 

[MoonlitIllusion]

I just thought of something..and I'm mostly joking here, but what if we were to ask Elma's english VA Caitlin Glass on her social media if she's been working on anything video game related recently.

It's worth a shot, from the looks of it she's fairly active on twitter

Elma placed at #11 as ResetEra's most wanted newcomer.

That's a pretty dang good spot for her, tbh. She was practically a nothing-burger in Smash discussions at NeoGAF and even during the early days of ResetEra. It's really impressive seeing how much her popularity has grown over the last couple of months.

Wow, she's above the likes of Captain toad and lyn, that's damn impressive

 

[Pallex]

I think a long post a forum user made concerning how speculation has changed to be more recency-oriented is worth a good read. To add to that, I feel the fact that Rosalina was revealed to be playable for Smash ~ a month after she was confirmed to be in 3D World plus the existence of Greninja and Corrin in Smash further helped push this emphasis on recency in speculation. I feel this has led to the point where the idea of a FE Switch character, Generation 8 Pokemon, Spring Man and Rex are generally more common in "casual" speculation whilst character that are recent but not "recent enough" like Celica and Elma are somewhat ignored for not being "relevant" enough. Thing is, whilst recency is a big factor, it's what recent around the time Sakurai starts designing a Smash game that is important, not what's recent two years later. You can definitely see this when looking at the previous games. For example, by the time Brawl was released, stuff like Path of Radiance Ike and Lucas (since Mother was confirmed to end back in 2006) felt unintentionally "outdated" and only made "sense" in 2005 when Brawl's roster was finalized given the release date of Path of Radiance as well as the fact Mother 3 was intended to be released in 2005 as well. Same with Palutena in Smash 4 (as Sakurai confirmed he won't be working on a Kid Icarus sequel) as her inclusion definitively felt influenced by the fact the roster for that game was finalized the same year her game was released. Though I guess this argument is pretty irrelevant if the likes of Spring Man and Rex are playable in Switch and the general fanbase moves on not being surprised.

Either that, or people end up being blind-sighted if Youtube/"casual" speculation ended up completely misinterpreting how Sakurai makes Smash rosters and Elma ends up being playable.

This means nothing to me if Splatoon 1 Inklings are playable and NOT Splatoon 2 Inklings. It's a similar case with Wii Fit Trainer and Wii Fit U Trainer. Guess Little Mac isn't "recent" enough either.

Spoiler

https://spoondeepgaming.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/splatoon_2-inklings.jpg?w=1200

https://sourcegaming.info/2016/04/30/mii-fighter-costumes-consolation-prizes/

https://sourcegaming.info/2015/03/22/mewtwo-dlc-takamaru-and-sakurais-nico-nico-appearance/
"Afterwards, they discuss character selections. Sakurai notes some absurd requests for characters such as Spongebob or Goku. When Tomokazu Sugita (the guy in the middle. He’s the voice actor of Chrom and Takamaru) starts mentioning other absurd characters (Like Segeta Sanshiro), Sakurai says, “There’s always Mii Fighters”."

 

[Abade]

Elma placed #3 for Source Gaming's Top 10 Female Fighters.

5:36 mark

 

[MoonlitIllusion]

Nice, as time goes on I'm feeling more and more optimistic about Elma's chances tbh. From Rex and Pyra's later than expected design finalization, pyra's VA claiming not to have been contacted and the fact that greninja is the only precedent for characters being included before their actual game launched I'm feeling pretty good about it tbh

 

[TCT~Phantom]

Nice, as time goes on I'm feeling more and more optimistic about Elma's chances tbh. From Rex and Pyra's later than expected design finalization, pyra's VA claiming not to have been contacted and the fact that greninja is the only precedent for characters being included before their actual game launched I'm feeling pretty good about it tbh

To play devils advocate, Roy and Lucas were both planned before their games respective launches. Also Pyras VA might be under an NDA.

To stay on topic, I honestly think both Rex and Elma are really likely. I have both on my roster.

 

[MoonlitIllusion]

To play devils advocate, Roy and Lucas were both planned before their games respective launches. Also Pyras VA might be under an NDA.

To stay on topic, I honestly think both Rex and Elma are really likely. I have both on my roster.

True but roy is a clone and lucas would have likely just adopted Ness' moveset, the NDA thing is definitely possible but the way she went out of her way to answer what really wasn't a question and the way she did makes me believe her, who knows tho.

I'm very doubtful we'll get 2 unique newcomers from Xenoblade tbh.

 

[Tonydrake]

I'm so glad to see Elma that high in the wishlists, she's become really popular lately

Only 1 week for E3 and even if there's no Xenoblade character at E3 the game is coming this year so we'll know who's the Xenoblade newcomer very soon