Official Newcomer/DLC Speculation Discussion

[SvartWolf]

Regarding sonic content, i think that my main want is a shadow echo with a sonic adventure 2 stage (radical highway anyone) and sonic adventure 2 tracks and remixes. Shadow really is prime echo material and if he can rep Sonic adventure 2 i woul dbe happy .

As for non echo characters, Eggman by far is the most fun character sonic franchise have always had. but i reckon he is also prime "boss" material if someone like Tails or knuckles is chosen instead, and ifthey deciee to add more bosses sometime.

Normally i wouldn't hype too much over knuclkes, but i think that the moveset they did for project m really sold me the character.

Tails is teh most meh form me, but i can really reckon its importance and i hink that it would make the best semiclone to sonic. Chemical plant zone and clasic sonic representation that is not directly green hill zone redux is always cool,

 

[ChronoBound]

I recently made very detailed predictions on what I think is going to happen with Fighters Pass Vol 2. For any of you that appreciate my works and insight, I highly suggest for you to go over to that topic to read what my predictions are. I could be entirely wrong, but I think I will get a few of them right:
https://smashboards.com/threads/my-...-a-comprehensive-speculative-analysis.499304/

My predictions are:
1. Ryu Hayabusa
2. Geno
3. Bandai-Namco Character
4. Capcom Character
5. Western Character
6. Wildcard

I go into detailed explanation about all of them. Its a lengthy speculation essay and is over 7,000 words long, so only read it when you have time if you want to read it in its entirety.

 

[Garteam]

I've been part of the Fire Emblem fanbase for over a decade now. It's never been THIS bad. It's definitely bigger now, but it's not THAT much bigger compared to Fates, at least not yet.

Of course Three Houses has probably the most controversial character in the entire franchise, so it makes sense how toxic it's gotten. Even with the multiple paths in Fates, there was some degree of consensus there even if people ended up being split on characters like Takumi. With Three Houses, people will literally judge you based on your stances on the political turmoil in a dumb medieval fantasy game.

At least the memes are good.

Fights over Edelgard suck and are annoying, but I'd actually say that Fates was easily the low-point of Fire Emblem fan unity. It seemed like everyone had a different view of what Fire Emblem should be. Should the characters be more grounded than in Fates/Awakening, or are the Awakening and Fates cast just more interesting to watch? Should Fire Emblem's gameplay be linear to emphasize tighter map design and a universal experience, or should it be open-ended and somewhat random to ensure no playthrough is the same? Should the difficulty be high to ensure that strong strategy stays at the centre of the game, or should it be lower so a variety of playstyles can be accounted for?

Honestly, it's kinda a miracle Three Houses was able to bind both sides of the fanbase. I will gladly take debates over a character's morality than more fights about anime in Fire Emblem.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

As far as general character reveals, is it it out of the question to suggest to have one for each presentation? In terms of time it could be that given there's typically 3 general directs per year and 6 characters to be released by the end of 2021 they could hypothetically announce one for each major presentation:

Fighter 1: February/March Direct 2020
Fighter 2: E3 2020
Fighter 3: Fall Direct 2020
Fighter 4: February/March Direct 2021
Fighter 2: E3 2021
Fighter 3: Fall Direct 2021

No guarantee of this, but the math does check out.

 

[Sestetz]

As far as general character reveals, is it it out of the question to suggest to have one for each presentation? In terms of time it could be that given there's typically 3 general directs per year and 6 characters to be released by the end of 2021 they could hypothetically announce one for each major presentation:

Typically they space it out every 2 months, but with 6 characters I could see them moving it to every 3. So maybe something like Fighter 1 March, Fighter 2 June, Fighter 3 Fall etc.? Too early to tell imo, but I feel like we'll get two characters shown off at e3 at least

 

[Diddy Kong]

I've been part of the Fire Emblem fanbase for over a decade now. It's never been THIS bad. It's definitely bigger now, but it's not THAT much bigger compared to Fates, at least not yet.

Of course Three Houses has probably the most controversial character in the entire franchise, so it makes sense how toxic it's gotten. Even with the multiple paths in Fates, there was some degree of consensus there even if people ended up being split on characters like Takumi. With Three Houses, people will literally judge you based on your stances on the political turmoil in a dumb medieval fantasy game.

At least the memes are good.

I don't think Edelgard is all that controversial. She's clearly a villain, and in her own route, you just see her point of view. Take the word villain as broadly as you'd like, but easily summarised, she's one. She is one with revolutionary ideals yes, but so where the likes of Ashnard for example.

I think Three Houses is a huge succes for Fire Emblem however. It got the love and succes I always wish the Tellius games had gotten. Fire Emblem in 3D, selling millions the first weekend it hit the shelves. That's amazing.

I'm pretty sure Three Houses is gonna be the standard of what FE will live up to in the future. Likewise with Zelda and BotW.

 

[AceAttorney9000]

As far as general character reveals, is it it out of the question to suggest to have one for each presentation? In terms of time it could be that given there's typically 3 general directs per year and 6 characters to be released by the end of 2021 they could hypothetically announce one for each major presentation:

Fighter 1: February/March Direct 2020
Fighter 2: E3 2020
Fighter 3: Fall Direct 2020
Fighter 4: February/March Direct 2021
Fighter 2: E3 2021
Fighter 3: Fall Direct 2021

No guarantee of this, but the math does check out.

Makes sense, though I also wouldn't be surprised if we get a double reveal during either of the E3 Directs.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Typically they space it out every 2 months, but with 6 characters I could see them moving it to every 3. So maybe something like Fighter 1 March, Fighter 2 June, Fighter 3 Fall etc.? Too early to tell imo, but I feel like we'll get two characters shown off at e3 at least

As far as E3, I think the number will depend on what's in the February/March presentations. If if we get FP6 there, one reveal at in June makes sense. If we get nothing, getting two at E3 seems a lot more likely.

 

[Sestetz]

As far as E3, I think the number will depend on what's in the February/March presentations. If if we get FP6 there, one reveal at in June makes sense. If we get nothing, getting two at E3 seems a lot more likely.

I think I'd rather in the Spring direct get nothing, then get two confirmed characters at e3 with one character coming out that day. But honestly it just depends on the reveal, at least e3 is guaranteed for something!

 

[Diddy Kong]

I'm sure the 5 initial characters are already chosen, and Sakurai chose a 6th one around the time of Byleth's reveal. Means that 5 characters could be nearly finished already I think. But nearly finished doesn't mean presentable. Took them long enough to release Mewtwo, Joker and Banjo after we already seen them, and as far as I could tell there weren't many changes visually.

 

[?????????????]

I feel most confident about Geno. I also got a good feeling about Ryu Hayabusa, and a Namco newcomer. From there, there’s still plenty of options... Sora wouldn’t surprise me. Waluigi wouldn’t surprise me.

I think the only things that would shock me are characters that have actually never appeared on Nintendo, another Fire Emblem character, or another “Piranha Plant.”

 

[Diddy Kong]

I feel most confident about Geno. I also got a good feeling about Ryu Hayabusa, and a Namco newcomer. From there, there’s still plenty of options... Sora wouldn’t surprise me. Waluigi wouldn’t surprise me.

I think the only things that would shock me are characters that have actually never appeared on Nintendo, another Fire Emblem character, or another “Piranha Plant.”

Not so confident about Geno anymore. Unless we suddenly get a SMRPG remake, but not sure if that's gonna happen. I do think he's likely to come back as a Mii Gunner costume however.

Ryu Hayabusa seems like a strong contender yes. But not sure if he's as strong as a namesake as the current 3rd parties (yes this is gonna be an argument every time am afraid). Namco? A definite yes. Probably also a fighting game character, so my bet is mostly on Heiachi. With reused voice clips.

Waluigi would surprise me honestly. I think Isaac is the one prime candidate to be promoted from Assist Trophy status before anyone else honestly. But we'll see.

 

[Sestetz]

Weirdly enough in the Sm4sh days I could never see Geno happening, but now with all the oddball picks and fan service I could really see them doing it. It seems like it'd be pretty easy for them to do too, and with them already bumping a lot of the earlier mii costumes up- Zero to Assist, K. Rool and Isabelle to characters etc. With Geno not deconfirmed with being a costume yet it's very likely Sakurai could cave and add him, which is bound to make a lot of old fans very happy.

 

[?????????????]

Ryu Hayabusa seems like a strong contender yes. But not sure if he's as strong as a namesake as the current 3rd parties (yes this is gonna be an argument every time am afraid). Namco? A definite yes. Probably also a fighting game character, so my bet is mostly on Heiachi. With reused voice clips.

I’ve seen a lot of people count Heihachi out, but I want him more than ever now. Especially with Terry in the roster, it would be such a big deal to get Tekken in there I think.

 

[osby]

I think the only things that would shock me are characters that have actually never appeared on Nintendo, another Fire Emblem character, or another “Piranha Plant.”

Let's agree to disagree. I think Gatekeeper is pretty much a lock for Super Smash Bros Ultimate Fighter Pass Vol. 2 after how Sakurai teased him in Byleth's stage.

 

[?????????????]

Let's agree to disagree. I think Gatekeeper is pretty much a lock for Super Smash Bros Ultimate Fighter Pass Vol. 2 after how Sakurai teased him in Byleth's stage.

GATEKEEPER
Reports!

 

[AceAttorney9000]

I'm sure the 5 initial characters are already chosen, and Sakurai chose a 6th one around the time of Byleth's reveal. Means that 5 characters could be nearly finished already I think. But nearly finished doesn't mean presentable. Took them long enough to release Mewtwo, Joker and Banjo after we already seen them, and as far as I could tell there weren't many changes visually.

I'm fully expecting a reveal during February/March Direct... but to clarify, I don't think it'll necessarily be a full reveal trailer with gameplay footage. It could be more like Joker and Terry's initial reveals, where the trailer reveals the character itself but shows no gameplay. Or it could even be like Mewtwo's reveal as Smash 4 DLC, where they literally just showed a 3D model of the character and went "Hey, guess who's coming as DLC!" and nothing else.

 

[Opossum]

I

Spoiler tag, dude.

Anyway

Spoiler

I don't see her as a villain at all. To say she's "clearly the villain" is incredibly biased, especially when the entire game's theme revolves around perspective.

I also think she's a hell of a lot more sympathetic than Dimitri for what it's worth. Attempting to atone doesn't change what he did, which in my eyes is far worse than Edelgard starting the war. Hell, the fact that he feels the need to atone at all kinda shows he ****ed up royally.

Anyway I'm honestly not expecting a reveal until E3. MAAAAAYBE a Game Awards-styled Joker type reveal in April with a full reveal at E3, but that's the most I can see.

 

[SvartWolf]

if gatekeeper gets to be modded into ultimate, who do you think wold be the best template?

Byleth is a good choice, but i think that captain falcon or link could be also interesting templates.

Also i really would love to see three houses mods, there are tons of characters that could be interesting being swapped from other characters :o

Bernadetta as pit, Leonic as Link, Lysithea as Zelda, Lorenz as marth or hero, Dorothea as Robin, Linhardt as palutena :3, Hilda as Chrom or Ike (?), Caspar as little mac, Ashe as Link, Rhea as Palutena (or terry :0), Dedue as ganondorf, Sylvain as Hero or Byleth, Petra as Shiek, Mercedes as Palutena, Hubert as joker, etc etc etc...

 

[Garteam]

I'd say Crash has the most going for him right now:

• Icon status as a mascot of the 5th and 6th generations of gaming,
• An extremely successful reboot (seriously, did anyone think a modern Crash game would sell 10 million copies?)
• International popularity
• An aesthetic that fits extremely well in Smash
• The Skylanders/Amiibo thing from a few years ago shows that Activision is willing to work Nintendo.

Granted, Activision could get greedy at the bargaining table and negotiations for Crash could fail, but that's really my only concern.

Geno is another character I feel really good about. His missing Mii costume, combined with the general trend of Ultimate adding fan favourites bodes extremely well for him. Then again, Square is Square, so his missing Mii costume could just be behind the scenes politics, but I do think he's more likely than not.

The two characters I feel are most slept on are Heihachi and Bandana Waddle Dee. I think a lot people write Heihachi off because they expect Lloyd to be the Namco character, but I actually think Heihachi is a little more likely. His Mii costume being missing is more of a red flag than Lloyd's being missing, as he had a perfect opportunity to return with Virtua Fighter in Terry's pack but didn't. This is extremely strange, as Heihachi's costume had a massive amount of fanfare in Wii U/3DS. Plus, we're starting to see a trend of each DLC wave adding a character from a traditional fighting game, and Heihachi would be a great way to continue that. It really feels like things are aligning for Heihachi.

Bandana Waddle Dee feels like an extension of the fan favourite trend. A lot of people forget he did really well on the ballot, especially in Japan. Likewise, his status as a launch star ally with Meta Knight and Dedede and the plethora of 25th anniversary art with him, Kirby, Meta Knight, and Dedede really makes me think he's going to be Kirby's permanent player 4 going forward. I'm honestly kinda surprised he's not in the base game, and I'm assuming if Ultimate's development focused more on new characters over bringing back every vet, he likely would've made the cut.

 

[zeldasmash]

Spoiler

There's also the whole "Samus is basically a fugitive now" thing going on.

Spoiler

Yeah, Samus is a fugitive by the end of Fusion. Forcing the destruction of the BLS, the Metroid Breeding Program and the destruction of SR388 which supposedly had all the remaining X there that the GF wanted to weaponize will do that. Which does make me curious about the Federation Force ending which has Sylux with a Metroid hatchling. Since Samus is a fugitive now, what would Sylux do? Would he bargain with the GF about giving them the Metroid in exchange for Samus' capture? He is a bounty hunter, he could do that. However the GF has all the incentive to betray Sylux considering that Samus herself is a Metroid by the beginning of Fusion so it's a win-win for them:

-Sylux fails? The GF has him executed and they take the Metroid hatchling.
-Sylux brings Samus alive? The GF has her imprisoned and they take the Metroid, leaving them with 2 Metroid's at their disposal.
-Sylux kills Samus? The GF no longer has to worry about Samus and they can find her body and experiment on her with the Metroid DNA. And that's if Sylux doesn't go through with the end of the bargain.

It would be very interesting if at least one of the SA-X survived the destruction at the end of Fusion as it could throw all sorts of wrenches in Samus and even Sylux's plans. However, if one is alive, the GF has more to gain since they can try and capture and weaponize them to continue their research that they started by the events in Fusion. The other bounty hunters in Prime Hunters could also make a return here and if one of the SA-X survive, some of them could end up infected as well. There is a lot of possibilities here.

 

[?????????????]

With Fire Emblem Fates, you were told to pick a side, and it was a moral dilemma. Do you go with Hoshido, who are being invaded and victims of their rulers being murdered? Or do you go with Nohr, where you know the people who raised you are good and doing what they can to end things quickly?

But they throw it all away for a story about the “real villain” rather than letting the implications stand. I always thought the story would be much better if it was about perspective; make Garon more relatable as a person seeing no alternative due to the horrific events in his life.

That’s basically Three Houses, and why, for better or worse, people argue about which side is “right.”

It’s Golden Deer btw

 

[Faso115]

Crash also kickstarted the craze of remastering old games from the ground up. Thats mostly irrelevant to smash but i thought that was pointing out.

 

[AceAttorney9000]

I'd say Crash has the most going for him right now:

• Icon status as a mascot of the 5th and 6th generations of gaming,
• An extremely successful reboot (seriously, did anyone think a modern Crash game would sell 10 million copies?)
• International popularity
• An aesthetic that fits extremely well in Smash
• The Skylanders/Amiibo thing from a few years ago shows that Activision is willing to work Nintendo.

Granted, Activision could get greedy at the bargaining table and negotiations for Crash could fail, but that's really my only concern.

Geno is another character I feel really good about. His missing Mii costume, combined with the general trend of Ultimate adding fan favourites bodes extremely well for him. Then again, Square is Square, so his missing Mii costume could just be behind the scenes politics, but I do think he's more likely than not.

The two characters I feel are most slept on are Heihachi and Bandana Waddle Dee. I think a lot people write Heihachi off because they expect Lloyd to be the Namco character, but I actually think Heihachi is a little more likely. His Mii costume being missing is more of a red flag than Lloyd's being missing, as he had a perfect opportunity to return with Virtua Fighter in Terry's pack but didn't. This is extremely strange, as Heihachi's costume had a massive amount of fanfare in Wii U/3DS. Plus, we're starting to see a trend of each DLC wave adding a character from a traditional fighting game, and Heihachi would be a great way to continue that. It really feels like things are aligning for Heihachi.

Bandana Waddle Dee feels like an extension of the fan favourite trend. A lot of people forget he did really well on the ballot, especially in Japan. Likewise, his status as a launch star ally with Meta Knight and Dedede and the plethora of 25th anniversary art with him, Kirby, Meta Knight, and Dedede really makes me think he's going to be Kirby's permanent player 4 going forward. I'm honestly kinda surprised he's not in the base game, and I'm assuming if Ultimate's development focused more on new characters over bringing back every vet, he likely would've made the cut.

With Crash and Geno, the only way those characters aren't getting in is if the companies that own them insist on them not being fully playable for whatever reason... which is possible, though considering how 1) Square Enix was a bit more generous with Hero than with Cloud, and 2) the N. Sane Trilogy and Sekiro both turned out fine despite being published by Activision, I've some hope that both companies would be willing to be reasonable.

Also, sorry about Heihachi, but he makes a little sprite cameo in Pac-Man's taunt. That totally means that Tekken (along with other series like Katamari Damacy, Taiko no Tatsujin, and The Tower of Druaga) is now fully represented in Smash to a completely satisfactory degree, and that Heihachi can't be a playable DLC character because his inclusion would bring in absolutely nothing new.

... have I made it clear yet that I ****ing hate that argument?

 

[Curious Villager]

Crash also kickstarted the craze of remastering old games from the ground up. Thats mostly irrelevant to smash but i thought that was pointing out.

Didn't Zelda basically do the whole remake/remaster rodeo since Ocarina of Time 3D?

 

[Guynamednelson]

Also, sorry about Heihachi, but he makes a little sprite cameo in Pac-Man's taunt. That totally means that Tekken (along with other series like Katamari Damacy, Taiko no Tatsujin, and The Tower of Druaga) is now fully represented in Smash to a completely satisfactory degree, and that Heihachi can't be a playable DLC character because his inclusion would bring in absolutely nothing new.

... have I made it clear yet that I ****ing hate that argument?

It shouldn't even matter when Smash allows an HD Duck Hunt Dog to stand on top of an 8-bit one.

 

[?????????????]

... have I made it clear yet that I ****ing hate that argument?

I actually see less of that, and more “Sakurai said he couldn’t figure out how to make it work in Smash 4”

As if

a.) he didn’t say the exact same thing about Ridley.

b.) even if he had, anyone expected Heihachi to be in before Pac-Man.

lol

 

[AceAttorney9000]

I actually see less of that, and more “Sakurai said he couldn’t figure out how to make it work in Smash 4”

As if

a.) he didn’t say the exact same thing about Ridley.

b.) even if he had, anyone expected Heihachi to be in before Pac-Man.

lol

In fairness, at least the moveset argument is a legitimate reason for a character to not be playable in a fighting game, because that's an actual issue one could run into while trying to make Heihachi playable. Sure, it's something that Sakurai could've changed his mind on between Smash 4 and now (and I honestly think it's likely he did change his mind and that Heihachi will be a part of Fighters Pass 2), but at least it's still an actual issue... unlike a sprite cameo in another character's taunt.

 

[MasterOfKnees]

I'd say Crash has the most going for him right now:

• Icon status as a mascot of the 5th and 6th generations of gaming,
• An extremely successful reboot (seriously, did anyone think a modern Crash game would sell 10 million copies?)
• International popularity
• An aesthetic that fits extremely well in Smash
• The Skylanders/Amiibo thing from a few years ago shows that Activision is willing to work Nintendo.

Granted, Activision could get greedy at the bargaining table and negotiations for Crash could fail, but that's really my only concern.

Geno is another character I feel really good about. His missing Mii costume, combined with the general trend of Ultimate adding fan favourites bodes extremely well for him. Then again, Square is Square, so his missing Mii costume could just be behind the scenes politics, but I do think he's more likely than not.

The two characters I feel are most slept on are Heihachi and Bandana Waddle Dee. I think a lot people write Heihachi off because they expect Lloyd to be the Namco character, but I actually think Heihachi is a little more likely. His Mii costume being missing is more of a red flag than Lloyd's being missing, as he had a perfect opportunity to return with Virtua Fighter in Terry's pack but didn't. This is extremely strange, as Heihachi's costume had a massive amount of fanfare in Wii U/3DS. Plus, we're starting to see a trend of each DLC wave adding a character from a traditional fighting game, and Heihachi would be a great way to continue that. It really feels like things are aligning for Heihachi.

Bandana Waddle Dee feels like an extension of the fan favourite trend. A lot of people forget he did really well on the ballot, especially in Japan. Likewise, his status as a launch star ally with Meta Knight and Dedede and the plethora of 25th anniversary art with him, Kirby, Meta Knight, and Dedede really makes me think he's going to be Kirby's permanent player 4 going forward. I'm honestly kinda surprised he's not in the base game, and I'm assuming if Ultimate's development focused more on new characters over bringing back every vet, he likely would've made the cut.

I agree about Crash, except I'd probably just call him the most likely western character rather than the most likely character overall. I do think western characters have it a bit tougher than everyone else, Sakurai and Nintendo are likely going to limit how many they pick out if only because the language barrier makes it much more difficult for the process to go seamlessly, and on their tight schedule they can't afford to have communication be a continuous problem. Of course this is assuming a lot, but I do think it's noteworthy that Sakurai talked so much about this when it came to Banjo's inclusion, if nothing else it was at least a venture out of his comfort zone. I personally think we'll see two western characters at most, which does make the competition a bit more fierce for Crash, even if he's the frontrunner of that pack.

I'm not sure I can name a de facto most likely character, but I do think that Hayabusa, Geno, Dante and Crash all stand out as making a lot of sense on many levels. Despite that I would hardly be surprised if none of them made it, because at the moment we have so little to go off of, so I'm pretty much just shooting in the dark here.

 

[Cutie Gwen]

With Fire Emblem Fates, you were told to pick a side, and it was a moral dilemma. Do you go with Hoshido, who are being invaded and victims of their rulers being murdered? Or do you go with Nohr, where you know the people who raised you are good and doing what they can to end things quickly?

But they throw it all away for a story about the “real villain” rather than letting the implications stand. I always thought the story would be much better if it was about perspective; make Garon more relatable as a person seeing no alternative due to the horrific events in his life.

That’s basically Three Houses, and why, for better or worse, people argue about which side is “right.”

It’s Golden Deer btw

Calling the moral dillema in Fates a motal dillema is an insult as it's "Do you pick the purehearted goody good never bad good Japanese themed side with absolutely zero bad things at all or the no good nasty evil bad western city where everything's gone to ****". 3H at least remembered to make Edelgard and Dimitri too grey to be called good or evil

 

[Ridrool64]

Five months of dead air? Why? Why would we get 5 months of no substantial Smash news? 5 months where you can purchase a worthless pass? Unless you think something else is happening, then what’s going to fill the gap in dead air? That’s why I can’t see FP6 revealing at E3. Releasing around E3? Sure. FP7 reveal at E3? Possible. But 5 months for one character reveal, and nothing in between, seems like a pessimistic scenario I’d have come up with after Joker’s reveal.

 

[waddledeeonredyoshi]

The one character I feel is a near guarantee is Travis Touchdown. The only one on my list I'd be willing to bet money on. And that's speaking as someone hasn't played a game in his series.

Nintendo has basically adopted the NMH series like they have with Bayonetta, with the third installment releasing as a Switch exclusive. Not to mention that Suda51 is on good terms with Sakurai and has been advocating for his character since Brawl from what I've heard. I'd legit be shocked if he wasn't one of the six.

 

[Herocin]

I'd say Crash has the most going for him right now:

• Icon status as a mascot of the 5th and 6th generations of gaming,
• An extremely successful reboot (seriously, did anyone think a modern Crash game would sell 10 million copies?)
• International popularity
• An aesthetic that fits extremely well in Smash
• The Skylanders/Amiibo thing from a few years ago shows that Activision is willing to work Nintendo.

Granted, Activision could get greedy at the bargaining table and negotiations for Crash could fail, but that's really my only concern.

Geno is another character I feel really good about. His missing Mii costume, combined with the general trend of Ultimate adding fan favourites bodes extremely well for him. Then again, Square is Square, so his missing Mii costume could just be behind the scenes politics, but I do think he's more likely than not.

The two characters I feel are most slept on are Heihachi and Bandana Waddle Dee. I think a lot people write Heihachi off because they expect Lloyd to be the Namco character, but I actually think Heihachi is a little more likely. His Mii costume being missing is more of a red flag than Lloyd's being missing, as he had a perfect opportunity to return with Virtua Fighter in Terry's pack but didn't. This is extremely strange, as Heihachi's costume had a massive amount of fanfare in Wii U/3DS. Plus, we're starting to see a trend of each DLC wave adding a character from a traditional fighting game, and Heihachi would be a great way to continue that. It really feels like things are aligning for Heihachi.

Bandana Waddle Dee feels like an extension of the fan favourite trend. A lot of people forget he did really well on the ballot, especially in Japan. Likewise, his status as a launch star ally with Meta Knight and Dedede and the plethora of 25th anniversary art with him, Kirby, Meta Knight, and Dedede really makes me think he's going to be Kirby's permanent player 4 going forward. I'm honestly kinda surprised he's not in the base game, and I'm assuming if Ultimate's development focused more on new characters over bringing back every vet, he likely would've made the cut.

Imo Bandana Dee just seems more like a base roster pick tbh.

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Five months of dead air? Why? Why would we get 5 months of no substantial Smash news? 5 months where you can purchase a worthless pass? Unless you think something else is happening, then what’s going to fill the gap in dead air? That’s why I can’t see FP6 revealing at E3. Releasing around E3? Sure. FP7 reveal at E3? Possible. But 5 months for one character reveal, and nothing in between, seems like a pessimistic scenario I’d have come up with after Joker’s reveal.

At the same time, the fact they're taking more time suggests they sized down, meaning everything's going to take longer



My stance on Heihachi is that if Sakurai figured out how to make him work, he'd be in by now

 

[Pinguino21v]

Me too, I'm nearly sure that Geno will get in... as a Mii costume alongside 2B.

Square-Enix is picky, and they have still a lot of strong contenders to promote. I seriously don't see them give to Sakurai an unused character such as Geno when they still have 2B, Lara Croft, somewhat Sora, eventually a FFXIV rep or maybe Neku Sakuraba, who are all more relevant and could get used as advertisement.

 

[NoOtherPersona]

That dude from resetera DarkCloud said a Direct is this week were getting the animal crossing one on the 20th if this is true thank God

 

[?????????????]

I actually don't see Smash going purely for "advertisement," however. Wasn't there a story about Namco wanting Pac-Man's newer design, and Sakurai pretty much said "No"? Not to mention fan-favorite additions that have NO advertising attached, like Ridley, K. Rool, and Banjo-Kazooie.

I think IF Sakurai wants Geno, he'll just ask. If Square says no, that'll be the end.

If.

 

[Cosmic77]

Me too, I'm nearly sure that Geno will get in... as a Mii costume alongside 2B.

Square-Enix is picky, and they have still a lot of strong contenders to promote. I seriously don't see them give to Sakurai an unused character such as Geno when they still have 2B, Lara Croft, somewhat Sora, eventually a FFXIV rep or maybe Neku Sakuraba, who are all more relevant and could get used as advertisement.

Sakurai got the rights to a Mii Costume and Spirit, so I don't think they'd care if Nintendo wanted Geno.

I just don't think Nintendo themselves care enough to ask for him, and I get the feeling Sakurai isn't as on board with Geno as he was before.

 

[TwiceEXE]

With Crash and Geno, the only way those characters aren't getting in is if the companies that own them insist on them not being fully playable for whatever reason.

I don't see how anyone can say this with a straight face. Are you seriously so confident that characters deemed not worthy of being one of the final five characters added to Ultimate, are suddenly hard locks for the additional six characters they are adding? The odds are that Sakurai/Nintendo never choose to put those characters in Smash.

 

[Garteam]

Imo Bandana Dee just seems more like a base roster pick tbh.

I'd agree, if not for the massive accomplishment that Ultimate has become.

Sakurai's made it relatively clear that Ultimate is more likely than not going to be anomaly in the Smash series. It will be moment where the stars aligned in such a way where character up to that point could return, while still adding in fan favourites and exciting new faces. If a character doesn't get in now, there's a decent chance they'll never share a Smash game with a cast this large again. It's less about getting the character into Smash at this point, and more about getting into Ultimate.