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If you could change anything about the DLC, how would you?

Perkilator

Smash Legend
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Fighters Pass.jpg

I know these "how would you change Smash" topics are pretty damn tired, but I mainly wanted to have a discussion about this generally. If you could change anything about Smash Ultimate's DLC, how would you? For me:
  • Add a few DLC characters to the base roster to make it:
    • 70. Piranha Plant
    • 71-72. Pyra / Mythra
    • 73. Bandana Waddle Dee (yes I know this is self-indulgence shut up)
    • 74. Min Min
    • 75. Banjo & Kazooie
  • Fighters Pass Vol. 1
    • 76. Joker (Challenger Pack 1)
    • 77. Hero (Challenger Pack 2)
    • 78. Crash Bandicoot (Challenger Pack 3)
    • 79. Estelle Bright (Challenger Pack 4)
    • Team NEO GEO (Challenger Pack 5)
      • 80. Terry Bogard
      • 81. Iori Yagami
      • 82. Nakoruru
    • 83. Steve (Challenger Pack 6)
  • Fighters Pass Vol. 2
    • 84. Ryu Hayabusa (Challenger Pack 7)
    • 85. Dr. Eggman (Challenger Pack 8)
    • 86. Sephiroth (Challenger Pack 9)
    • 87. Ring Fit Trainee (Challenger Pack 10)
    • 88. Kazuya Mishima (Challenger Pack 11)
    • 89. Sora (Challenger Pack 12)
 
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KneeOfJustice99

Smash Champion
Joined
Oct 29, 2018
Messages
2,236
Location
the building from smash mouth's astro lounge
Format Changes
I feel like if I were given the reins to Ultimate's DLC, a lot of the changes I'd actually make wouldn't necessarily be to the content we got, but to the format it's actually in. As much as I would love to suggest an alternative take on the traditional roster... here's my thoughts.
  • No more "Fighters Pass". Challenger Packs are sold individually, and after their release, you can get a bundle consisting of all of them for a reduced price. I personally think the whole "Fighters Pass" thing limits the creativity of potential DLC, and more importantly, is an anti-consumer move.
    • Challenger Packs do, however, remain - they're a good way to bundle thematically connected stuff for your big newcomer characters.
  • Additional base-game content, such as Assist Trophies and Pokémon, would be added in the game's updates for free. This was already going on with Spirit Events, some of which introduced completely new Spirits, so I don't think it's too unreasonable to suggest. I'd even potentially suggest some music tracks could get this treatment?
  • On top of this, additional paid content beyond just Challenger Packs and Mii Costumes seems like it'd be a good call. Mainly, I'm thinking stages - a combination of returning classics like Metal Cavern, Poké Floats and Pac-Maze, some variations on themes we already have like Ancestral Steppe, Ganon's Castle and Pop Star's moon, and maybe a couple of wholly new picks that could reuse some assets from other games here and there, like Bowser's Castle.
    • Yes, this is more akin to how Sm4sh handled things. Its DLC brought back Peach's Castle 64, Hyrule Castle 64, and Dream Land 64, as well as introducing Super Mario Maker and Pirate Ship (Brawl) as paid DLC. On top of that, some stages were added for free in updates (namely Miiverse, plus Duck Hunt to the 3DS version, so that's a special case.) I get that introducing entire stages for free is unlikely, but I'm suggesting that adding stages as paid DLC would work well.
    • Plus, you could even include new music packs with the stages! This'd work especially well for new entries in a series or a new series being represented as a whole.
  • On top of just the Challenger Packs, I think that downloadable Echoes would also work wonders. They'd probably be on a cheaper price point given I can only see them being purchased on their own without an additional stage and music and stuff, but they'd still be a really obvious choice that you could do a lot with. Plus, being DLC allows for more variety for Echoes, potentially allowing more Ryu/Ken type situations than, like, Peach/Daisy.
Whilst this seems like a lot at first glance - and I'll admit it's not a small amount of suggestions - I do think this is possible to upkeep, and I held off on some other ideas I feel would also work really well for this sort of thing. I will admit that I'm not 100% sure how to track this, but I'll work on a format of some kind and post it here if I get motivated!

The Actual Content
For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to keep everything to similar timeframes to the original DLC, in keeping with the big numbered updates. However, to account for development time, I'm cutting 2 DLC roster slots - bear in mind that you're getting a few Echoes, stages, and additional content beyond that, so it could be much worse. That said, whilst I'm grouping this by the updates to keep things simple, I won't be tweaking balancing or anything of the sort - and I'm also not going to suggest a specific price for anything.

New Character (Pre-Order Bonus): Tom Nook
New Echo Fighter: N/A
New Stage/s (Pre-Order Bonus): Metal Cavern
New Assist Trophies (Free!): Piranha Plant
New Pokémon (Free!): Golem (Rollout), Chandelure (Will-o-Wisp)
New Items (Free!): Parasol
New Mii Fighter Costumes (Pre-Order Bonus): Metal Mario (Brawler)


Acting as a smaller update to get people excited for the future of DLC, the "pre-order" update is unique in that it adds all of its content for free if you pre-ordered the game. If not, you can still purchase it seperately. As such, I wanted this selection to consist of nice, but not earth-shattering, additions - no negotiation required, all first-party, all a little... surprising.

Tom Nook replacing Piranha Plant is my first weird pick, and I'll admit it's one with reason. I think the whole "heroes and villains" thing that Ultimate's marketing had going on was interesting, and seeing Tom Nook jokingly presented as a "villain" to the Animal Crossing series seems like it'd be cute, but pretty funny. That said, he's also got plenty of potential for a unique money-centric moveset, and I think he'd be a surprising fan-favourite inclusion. Even after Isabelle got into the base roster... three characters makes sense for Animal Crossing, in my eyes.

No Echo Fighter this time around. It's still early days, so it'd be best to keep things simple and succinct.

The new stage being Metal Cavern is somewhat of a throwback to Smash 64 and a love-letter to long-time fans. It's not really a stage a lot of people have requested compared to, say, Pac-Maze or Poké Floats, but it'd be a surprising and fun inclusion to bring back in my mind. Not only this, but it'd keep the "retro" vibe the other 64 stages have going on!

In terms of items and such, our first new Assist Trophy is Piranha Plant. When summoned, it'll be inside a pipe and will reach out to opponents in an attempt to bite at them. Not only this, but it can recede into the pipe - with the pipe retracting into the ground and then popping out elsewhere on the stage, with the Piranha Plant inside! I think this is a good role for the character to fill, and it makes sense to again go for an iconic choice over something less obvious.

We get two new Pokémon this time too - given Gen VIII isn't out yet, I'm keeping these three to some of the older series.
  • Golem uses Rollout, retracting into his ball and rolling across the stage a total of three times before disappearing. Each roll is progressively faster, but if he hits a wall, item, or attack, he'll be knocked out of his rolling state and will look dazed and confused before disappearing.
  • Chandelure uses Will-o-Wisp, with blue flames emitting from its candles and orbiting it as it drifts across the stage for a while, doing fire damage to anyone it hits. The little flames tend to orbit slowly around it, and move outward over time, making Chandelure more and more of a threat.
Next, your new item - Parasol (from the Kirby series!) It works similarly to other batting weapons, replacing your jab with a swipe with the parasol. However, whilst holding the parasol, you fall very slowly through the air - using the parasol to break your fall. If you attack whilst in this state, you'll drop to the ground, and can't activate the parasol again until you tough the ground.

Lastly, our bonus costume. I'm opting to replace Rex with Metal Mario, a Brawler costume, mostly because I just think it makes sense to include a "playable Metal Mario" with Metal Cavern, plus it'd be a good callback to Smash history, and it'd be pretty flashy.

STAY TUNED FOR 3.0.0
 
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volbound1700

Smash Master
Joined
Aug 26, 2007
Messages
4,446
Location
SE USA
Over time, not much. My biggest disappointment was no Rayman.

Having an FPS character would have been nice as well since it is one of the biggest franchises in Video Game history. Doomguy or Masterchief makes the most sense but James Bond from Goldeneye would be a very Nintendo-focused add that would be well received (even if it is an IP that did not originate in video games).
 

BowserKing

Smash Lord
Joined
Feb 16, 2019
Messages
1,925
Location
winnipeg
Having Min-Min in the base game would be fun, but I would throw in Dixie Kong, Bandanna Dee, Shadow and Lugia in as well to make it a balanced 72 +9 echoes
If that was the case, I would have Dragapult has the 1st in the second fighters pass, as a way to promote the Isle of Armour update in Pokémon: Sword and Shield. I would also throw in more echoes like Dark Bowser.
If the first fighters pass is expanded, then Mipha should be added
 

allcode6564

Smash Rookie
Joined
Jun 15, 2023
Messages
4
If I could change anything about the DLC, I would add more story content. I am really interested in the lore of the Splatoon world, and I would love to see more of it explored in the Side Order DLC.
I would also like to see more variety in the gameplay. The first Splatoon 3 DLC, Wave 1 - Inkopolis, was a bit too focused on horde mode for my taste. I would like to see the Side Order DLC offer a mix of different gameplay modes, such as new story missions, challenge modes, and PvP modes. Also here is the full review of my favourite game.
 
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Perkilator

Smash Legend
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Okay so I'm going to make a few more reasonable changes:
Bonus Fighter: #70. Bandana Waddle Dee
  • Fighters Pass Vol. 1
    • 71. Joker
    • 72. Hero
    • 73. Banjo & Kazooie
    • 74. Min Min
    • 75. Terry Bogard
    • 76. Steve
  • Fighters Pass Vol. 2
    • 77. Chun-Li
    • 78. Dr. Eggman
    • 79. Sephiroth
    • 80-81. Pyra / Mythra
    • 82. Kazuya Mishima
    • 83. Sora
 
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Perkilator

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Okay, you know what? I think there should’ve been three seasons of DLC just so certain characters have more breathing room. And also Piranha Plant should’ve been in the base game. Keep in mind that this is my ideal roadmap, not one that I find realistic.
  • Fighters Pass Vol. 1
    • 71. Joker (February 2019)
    • 72. Hero (April 2019)
    • 73. Crash Bandicoot (June 2019)
    • 74. Estelle Bright (August 2019)
    • 75. Terry Bogard (October 2019)
    • 76. Banjo & Kazooie (December 2019)
  • Fighters Pass Vol. 2
    • 77. Min Min (March 2020)
    • 78. Dr. Eggman (June 2020)
    • 79. Sephiroth (August 2020)
    • 80-81. Pyra / Mythra (October 2020)
    • 82. Kazuya Mishima (December 2020)
    • 83. Steve (March 2021)
  • Fighters Pass Vol. 3
    • 84. Sora (June 2021)
    • 85. Cinderace (September 2021)
    • 86. Chun-Li (December 2021)
    • 87. Bandana Waddle Dee (March 2022)
    • 88. Byleth (May 2022)
    • 89. 2B (July 2022)
And, as one last free update:
  • 90. Waluigi (September 2022)
  • 14ε. Dry Bowser
  • 36ε. Dixie Kong
  • 49ε. Glass Joe
  • Smash Run
 
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