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For Smash 6, Would You Rather The Roster Focus On...?

For Smash 6, Would You Rather The Roster Focus On...?

  • Accurately Representing The Franchises In Smash

    Votes: 54 32.1%
  • Diversifying the Characters Represented within franchises

    Votes: 55 32.7%
  • A more balanced franchise representation

    Votes: 41 24.4%
  • More fun movesets that use Nintendo/3rd Party Characters as a basis

    Votes: 42 25.0%
  • Adding more fan-requested characters

    Votes: 62 36.9%
  • Adding more obscure characters

    Votes: 45 26.8%
  • Adding more recent characters

    Votes: 16 9.5%
  • Adding more legacy characters

    Votes: 38 22.6%

  • Total voters
    168

FirestormNeos

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Since Ultimate is pretty much done in development aside from a handful of DLC characters, what would you all like to see Nintendo focus on for Smash 6? Basically, if you were in Sakurai's position but had to abide by a mantra before you started cutting veterans or putting in newcomers, what would that mantra be?

I'll either edit my personal thoughts in or put them in a seperate post once the thread gets going, but I wanna hear from the rest of you first.
 

Untouch

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I'd be totally fine with no (or very few additions) if it meant totally redoing some of the characters in the game like Ganondorf.
 

Michael the Spikester

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More fan requested characters although a reboot is probably the more logical route unfortunately...
 

Dee Dude

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Definitely more fan picks, half of us have waited for a decade just for our popular wants to finally make the cut, it’s not fair to discard those that have asked since Brawl just for the sake of “representation” or “relevancy”.

That said, balance would ideal between fan picks, new IPs and shock choices.
 
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Jakisthe

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Picks which make sense within the broader arc of character selection Nintendo has exhibited for the last 5 games in the series (Nintendo games of importance with distinct characters and/or 3rd parties with significant gaming history and/or that one time one character whose games have mostly been exclusive to and backed by Nintendo won a fan vote), and then for those picks to feature a unique moveset which separates them from the rest of the cast while translating the mechanics of their home game in an interesting and relatively elegant way.
 

William5000000

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For a future "Smash" game as a reboot, I think I'd rather see the roster focus on viable characters. Obviously, the 8 original characters will be viable. However, for certain other characters, there's definitely going to be some cut characters in the future, veteran or not.

Jigglypuff unfortunately hasn't been a viable character since "Smash Brawl", and from the looks of Jigglypuff in "Smash Ultimate", I don't think Jigglypuff will be a viable character in the future. In my opinion, Jigglypuff has one of the highest chances of being cut from the roster in a future "Smash" game as a reboot.

Ness also didn't start out good in "Smash 64", and since then, he just hasn't been a good character. It'd be a miracle if Ness actually turns out being a good character in "Smash Ultimate". In the future, I think Ness will also be cut from the roster. That's just my opinion.
 
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fogbadge

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more characters from lesser known nintendo franchises like chibi-robo, sushi striker, pullblox, box boy etc
 

Al-kīmiyā'

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The most important thing besides the physics is making the characters true to the games. Make Samus play like Samus in her games. Make Ganondorf a mage with some sword attacks.

More than just making characters true to their games, use their games to enrich their movesets. Link has a lot of options that would make his moveset more interesting.

Add smash specials already. There are three easy inputs that are going to waste.

Reinstitute custom moves. For characters like Link, there are so many more things he can do than can fit in one traditional Smash moveset.

Make available a wide array of alternate character costumes/models. Custom moves can differentiate characters if the player so chooses. For example, switch out Ness's yo-yo with Lucas's snake. Switch out Ness's bat for Paula's frying pan.

Make DLC characters and costumes/models continuously.
 
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Crystanium

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Ness also didn't start out good in "Smash 64", and since then, he just hasn't been a good character. It'd be a miracle if Ness actually turns out being a good character in "Smash Ultimate". In the future, I think Ness will also be cut from the roster. That's just my opinion.
Ness was thought to be one of the best characters in SSB for a time. He wasn't good in SSBM. He improved in SSBB. He's at his best in SSB4. He's been buffed in SSBU. Ness has been a good character for quite some time.
 

31fps

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(Why are we already talking about smash 6)

I would also choose to accurately rep a franchise but it's not my top 3.
Kirby, Earthbound, Kid Icarus, DK, and heck, even Zelda need more fighters. Smash 6 needs to focus less on Mario, Pokemon and ****ing Fire Emblem. Kirby, DK and Zelda should probably have more fighters than FE for crying out loud since they're more popular, more iconic and actually have creative movesets to choose. Kid Icarus should get another rep so it doesn't look like they hashed in Dark Pit for no reason. Zelda is badly represented and they should replace Dorf with Pig-Beast Ganon.
Earthbound should also get more fighters. Porky, Masked Man, Ninten, Kumatora, etc. would all make me happy.
 

Mogisthelioma

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God the representation scale is so off-balance.
Popular series with not enough reps, unpopular series with too many. I'm not saying that there has to be a specific ratio of fighters, but it would be nice to see Kirby and DK not stuck at 3 fighters each when Fire Emblem gets 7. Nothing against FE here, I think the series is great, but I think the scale of fighters is leaning on the ridiculous side here.

Edit: My opinions have changed. I feel like we could use a few more guests.
 
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pupNapoleon

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I want to see more attention paid to legacy characters (Which is where I place the *good* fan picks, generally)
I want to see more attention to the rerpesentation of the franchises (which means, to me, movesets that are unique and reflect the overall series).
I want to see more unknown IPs saved by Smash Bros (and new series are the best for the game, in my eyes).
 

FirestormNeos

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(Why are we already talking about smash 6)
Because 10000% of the threads I see here are conversations with ideas that would be impossible to implement into Ultimate outside of mods for a variety of reasons, and I wanted to know where everyone was coming from with their opinions.

Plus, it's fun to speculate pointlessly, as all the fake leak threads can attest to. :p
 
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Room100

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Not expecting Smash 6 for a long time, but I hope they scale back the starting cast and really revamp the movesets for mostly everyone to make it a brand new experience.
 
D

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I am really starting to believe Ultimate is the last installment of Smash. It just seems like Sakurai is making it clear with his title of the game and the fact he is bringing all characters back. But who knows, I could be wrong.
 
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Michael the Spikester

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I am really starting to believe Ultimate is the last installment of Smash. It just seems like Sakurai is making it clear with his title of the game and the fact he is bringing all characters back. But who knows, I could be wrong.
I'd love to believe that but being that Smash is one of Nintendo's biggest selling franchises this ain't gonna be the last for sure.
 
D

Deleted member

Guest
I'd love to believe that but being that Smash is one of Nintendo's biggest selling franchises this ain't gonna be the last for sure.
Well maybe there will be a reboot but I think new Smash games are gonna be out. There probably will be ports for now on if anything.
 
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Jyl

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More representation of other Nintendo series, particularly the obscure and forgotten ones instead of over representing the current existing ones with playable fighters already.
 

Frizz

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Where's the "adding more Fire Emblem characters" option? :troll:

I voted for the legacy characters option. To me, Super Smash Bros. has always been a game where you fight as Nintendo's All-Stars, with some obscure and third-party characters sprinkled in, which is what the series is already doing right now, and it seems to be working well.
 

Q-Long

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Treat Smash like a Hall of Fame for Nintendo not a Billboard.

I voted legacy, obscure, and accurately represent franchise. I'm looking at you WarioWare Wario and Fire Emblem where 3 out of 7 characters are from the same game.

Nintendo has a huge family tree. Let's showcase it.
 

AIM0001

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Assuming Super Smash Bros. Reboots after Ultimate. The #1 thing that would scream reboot would be to make semi-dramatic to dramatic move set changes for characters who have been apart of the franchise for years. Maybe even allow different move sets from different phases of that characters appearences. Almost like what Mortal Kombat X did for variations. Yes that would probabaly mean we’d have less characters and nowhere EVEN CLOSE to 70-80 like Ultimate is looking to be. But I think we’d forget that when we’re playing as an actual Ganondorf who uses dark magic or a Mario who has Cappy moves with a complete different feel and final smash, recovery etc.

It needs to be the #1 focus. That way they aren’t selling us the same game again. It starts with the move sets and the fighting itself. Everything else is secondary.
 

Frizz

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Depends on what Fire Emblem characters you want specifically.
I'd ask for all protagonists, but I know even that's asking for too much. Instead, my ideal roster would be something like:
1. Marth - First Lord/protagonist of the series, appeared in the most games so far, pretty much a mascot of the series
2. Celica - First female protagonist of the series, as well as being the first protagonist to be able to use magic
3. Lyn - First (female) Lord/protagonist to be introduced to western audiences, also first Lord/protagonist to wield a Bow in a promoted class
4. Hector - First Lord to primarily wield a non-sword weapon (axe), as well as the first Lord to gain the ability to wield a sword upon promotion
5. Ike - First Lord/protagonist that isn't of royal blood, first protagonist of whose game introduced skills to western audiences
6. Micaiah - First protagonist to primarily wield tomes
7. Chrom - First Lord/protagonist to dual wield swords and lances on foot upon promotion, as well as first Lord/protagonist to potentially be a grandfather in the same game as their grandchild
8. Robin - First Avatar/My Unit character to be introduced to western audiences, first protagonist to dual-wield sword and tomes, also the first protagonist introduced to western audiences not to have a personal weapon
9. Lucina - First Lord/protagonist introduced to western audiences to be a descendant of another Lord/protagonist in the same game, as well as being playable along with them simultaneously
10. Anna - Appeared in more titles than any other character, pretty much the other mascot of the series, is shown being able to wield many different types of weapons (swords, staves, bows, axes), and also has the highest raw total stats (529) of any character in the Fire Emblem series, as the boss of Fire Emblem's Apotheosis downloadable xenologue chapter
11. Corrin - First Avatar/My Unit/protagonist to be half-human, half-shapeshifting race, as well as being able to use Dragonstones, first Avatar/My Unit to have a personal weapon, first Avatar/My Unit to be the main character of their game rather than as a major supporting character, first protagonist to have three versions of their title

*Bold denotes virtually mandatory characters

11 is still a lot of characters for a game that's supposed to cut down the roster significantly, so I've bolded the names of the characters that are next to mandatory in terms of significance.
 

Sabertooth

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No more FE, and to that effect just balancing the franchise representation in general. I'm on the autistic spectrum, and a way that affects me is that it physically bothers me to see series like Fire Emblem and Kid Icarus have more characters than Animal Crossing and Pikmin, so I'd want to balance that more fairly. I don't really know how I'd go about doing this without digging into Wikipedia or exact sales numbers or somesuch nonsense, but I just think a "Nintendo All-Star Fighting Game" should focus on the big stuff: Mario, Zelda, DK, Kirby, Pokemon, Metroid, Star Fox. Make sure these big iconic brands are well-represented before you dip into the FE well again and again and again. Smash 4 was the first game in the series that truly threw this out the window, which is fine and pleased many people, but just isn't what I would do if I ruled the world.

I know this isn't entirely logical and many franchises just don't have a lot to work with character-wise (Pikmin has one kind of playable character all of whom play the exact same, and all the enemies are drones) but I still think improvements could be made in this category. DK and Zelda should have more than Fire Emblem.

All that being said, if I were in charge I'd cut down the third parties as well, of course, limiting them to just ones that are very Nintendo-associated. Naturally I'd keep Sonic, Mega Man, and Simon Belmont (maybe Bayonetta as well, but she's basically Nintendo). The others...just kind of bother me, even to this day. I'm happy for the people who wanted Cloud, but boy does his presence make me uncomfortable.
Rayman is a big personal pick of mine, but that is an entirely selfish choice because of a lifetime fandom; I know he's got jack to do with Nintendo.
 
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Putuk

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I wouldn't mind if there were no newcomers, but instead the devs focused on de-cloning clone characters further and perhaps reworking some characters whos movesets are either very outdated or not that fun.
 

staindgrey

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I definitely would be against "A more balanced franchise representation", as it implies removing established characters simply due to an appearance of "over-representation". Stealing from the rich and giving to the poor and all that.

It further implies that there's some sort of metric determining how many characters a series gets. Is it sales? Is it longevity? Is it the amount of games? Is it fan demand? Is it recency? I often see Fire Emblem used as an example of over-representation-- in this very thread, actually-- and while I understand the argument, it doesn't set any sort of precedent in determining why it's over-represented. Fire Emblem-- to stay with this example-- is a character-driven game that spans multiple worlds' worth of heroes and villains, each consisting of a multitude of playable characters with individual stories. It simply has far more to draw from, and far more to represent.

A criminally under-represented Nintendo franchise, Metroid, only just now got up to four characters, but what are those characters? Samus in her suit. Samus not in her suit. Dark Samus. And Ridley. This is because, as a series, Metroid is focused entirely on Samus, and the only consistencies past that are the Galactic Federation, the Space Pirates and metroids. It lacks a selection of recognizable and endearing characters, so while it's arguably more successful than Fire Emblem, why should we put in, say, a Federation Forces soldier over Chrom? Because Metroid "deserves" one more?

This is only one example, and it's an extreme. But my point is that removing characters solely on the basis of "the franchises need to be even" isn't one I'd be behind. I think we can certainly trim the fat, and for Smash 6, I'd prefer if they reworked the entire fighting system from the ground up and reimagined every established character, thus condensing the roster but making everyone new and fresh. But the removal of characters should center around moveset possibilities and redundancy, not whether a franchise has "too many" based on some arbitrary metric.
 

Quillion

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Assuming Super Smash Bros. Reboots after Ultimate. The #1 thing that would scream reboot would be to make semi-dramatic to dramatic move set changes for characters who have been apart of the franchise for years. Maybe even allow different move sets from different phases of that characters appearences. Almost like what Mortal Kombat X did for variations. Yes that would probabaly mean we’d have less characters and nowhere EVEN CLOSE to 70-80 like Ultimate is looking to be. But I think we’d forget that when we’re playing as an actual Ganondorf who uses dark magic or a Mario who has Cappy moves with a complete different feel and final smash, recovery etc.

It needs to be the #1 focus. That way they aren’t selling us the same game again. It starts with the move sets and the fighting itself. Everything else is secondary.
I completely agree, since a lot of the 64/Melee character have such cool stuff that I would like to use in Smash and the Smash 4-and-on characters are so detailed and faithful to their origins.

That said, I don't want Mario to have Cappy since he'll be outdated soon after Odyssey, but Ganondorf with magical orbs, Zelda with Light Bow in her regular moveset, and Links with different tools to represent different games would be amazing.

I definitely would be against "A more balanced franchise representation", as it implies removing established characters simply due to an appearance of "over-representation". Stealing from the rich and giving to the poor and all that.

It further implies that there's some sort of metric determining how many characters a series gets. Is it sales? Is it longevity? Is it the amount of games? Is it fan demand? Is it recency? I often see Fire Emblem used as an example of over-representation-- in this very thread, actually-- and while I understand the argument, it doesn't set any sort of precedent in determining why it's over-represented. Fire Emblem-- to stay with this example-- is a character-driven game that spans multiple worlds' worth of heroes and villains, each consisting of a multitude of playable characters with individual stories. It simply has far more to draw from, and far more to represent.

A criminally under-represented Nintendo franchise, Metroid, only just now got up to four characters, but what are those characters? Samus in her suit. Samus not in her suit. Dark Samus. And Ridley. This is because, as a series, Metroid is focused entirely on Samus, and the only consistencies past that are the Galactic Federation, the Space Pirates and metroids. It lacks a selection of recognizable and endearing characters, so while it's arguably more successful than Fire Emblem, why should we put in, say, a Federation Forces soldier over Chrom? Because Metroid "deserves" one more?

This is only one example, and it's an extreme. But my point is that removing characters solely on the basis of "the franchises need to be even" isn't one I'd be behind. I think we can certainly trim the fat, and for Smash 6, I'd prefer if they reworked the entire fighting system from the ground up and reimagined every established character, thus condensing the roster but making everyone new and fresh. But the removal of characters should center around moveset possibilities and redundancy, not whether a franchise has "too many" based on some arbitrary metric.

You know, since Sakurai is confirmed to be a fan of Xenoblade, I dread the day that Ultimate reveals both Elma and Rex, leading to Xenoblade being the new whipping boy for being "anime" even though, like Fire Emblem, Xenoblade is a rising star.
 

Sabertooth

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I can't really justify how I feel about this. It's irrational, or maybe it's too rational, I don't know. Sakurai definitely shouldn't listen to me, that's for sure.

Xenoblade getting 2 brand new reps would be pushing it a bit, but I definitely expect Rex to get in the game somehow. Is it selfish that I want someone from XBC2 but not XBCX, because 2 is the one I played?
 

Luigifan18

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I can't really justify how I feel about this. It's irrational, or maybe it's too rational, I don't know. Sakurai definitely shouldn't listen to me, that's for sure.

Xenoblade getting 2 brand new reps would be pushing it a bit, but I definitely expect Rex to get in the game somehow. Is it selfish that I want someone from XBC2 but not XBCX, because 2 is the one I played?
I dunno, I never even heard of Xenoblade before Smash. Back during the Smash 4 speculation cycle, I was wondering “Why do so many people want the Incredible Hulk in Smash, and why do they keep misspelling his name?!?" Then the trailer hit and showed off the Monado Arts, and I was like “I can't wait to try this character out! Mid-match stat-swapping is such a neat concept! (But seriously, who is he?!?)” Later still, I watched some of Chuggaaconroy's LP and was inspired to adapt both the Monado and Aura Seal for my Dungeons & Dragons homebrew. I tried to be as faithful as possible, but ultimately got stumped with the Monado's god-strength power tier, threw my hands up, gave it wish at will, and called it a day. (I got some flack for that, but I still don't have any better ideas.)

Whew, that became quite the tangent... where was I going? Oh, right, I literally had no idea what Xenoblade was until Shulk showed up in Smash.
 

Mogisthelioma

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I know I've said this a ton, but I really wish Kirby would stop getting the "maybe next time" treatment. So far, the only game that didn't happen was Brawl.
  • Dedede was cut from Smash 64 out of Sakurai's "modesty."
  • Dedede was cut form Melee to add Roy, so Marth wouldn't be an odd one out. (Fun fact: Dedede was the only fighter cut from smash 64 or planned for it that didn't make it into Melee. ******* "modesty")
  • Smash 4 saw no Kirby newcomers, and this time Sakurai admitted to the pressure of the "Sakurai bias" argument.
  • Although Bandana Waddle Dee is likely for Ultimate, It's possible Sakurai is still that **** afraid of "Sakurai bias."
So yeah if that happens again I hope Sakurai pulls his **** together and realizes that there's actually a huge fanbase for Kirby even after he left HAL and this crap wont fly for five games in a row.
 

Sabertooth

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The Kirby Sakurai bias is seen more with how it's represented rather than number of characters--Meta Knight and Dedede are still relevant to Kirby even today, but as for other Kirby stuff, it's all from Super Star. The true test would be if we got Bandana Dee, as he debuted after Sakurai left the series, over someone like Marx or Gooey.
 

Mogisthelioma

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The Kirby Sakurai bias is seen more with how it's represented rather than number of characters--Meta Knight and Dedede are still relevant to Kirby even today, but as for other Kirby stuff, it's all from Super Star. The true test would be if we got Bandana Dee, as he debuted after Sakurai left the series, over someone like Marx or Gooey.
In 2018 it would have to be more than that. Kirby: Star Allies has sold over two million units and counting, plus it's about to feature almost every major Kirby character. It would make sense to pull fighters from the Dream Friends updates, one from each wave. Bandana Waddle Dee, Marx, Adeline and Ribbon, and finally Magolor. Four popular, well though-out newcomers that bring new movesets to Smash each.
 
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Quillion

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I can't really justify how I feel about this. It's irrational, or maybe it's too rational, I don't know. Sakurai definitely shouldn't listen to me, that's for sure.

Xenoblade getting 2 brand new reps would be pushing it a bit, but I definitely expect Rex to get in the game somehow. Is it selfish that I want someone from XBC2 but not XBCX, because 2 is the one I played?
I don't see why there's any reason to ignore XCX. You can't respect Xenoblade's legacy by skipping over Elma (or Cross, whatever works).
 

Sabertooth

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There's not. Well, unless you were trying to appeal to the broadest possible audience, in which case you would go whole hog on the game that released on Switch as opposed to Wii U and had a big expansion recently. But both deserve attention based on their objective merits, of course.
 

Quillion

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There's not. Well, unless you were trying to appeal to the broadest possible audience, in which case you would go whole hog on the game that released on Switch as opposed to Wii U and had a big expansion recently. But both deserve attention based on their objective merits, of course.
I'm not sure how agreeable this statement is considering Nintendo's Wii U to Switch porting hbit.
 
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