Official Newcomer/DLC Speculation Discussion

[Will]

When its Spring Man. Don't say I told you so.

Like you're the only person saying it's him when people say it's either him or the ramen girl. No need to get cocky.

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

Okay, can we just wait until the character’s revealed before we keep up this tirade? There’s literally only a 1/15 chance of this actually coming into fruition, and a 14/15 chance of this little rule getting vetoed.

2/15. Ribbon Girl is also the mascot overall.

I agree with your point, but wanted to note that.

That, and everybody you play as in ARMS is the protagonist of Story Mode. There's only a pre-set antagonist. So the whole "protagonist first" is pretty much shot as long as it isn't Dr. Coyle or any unplayable character for that mode. I don't remember all the details of which options there are for it, though.

Though I can imagine the Comic is something they'd consider too, since Spring Man is the actual full protagonist there. I mean, if they think the protagonist being first is the best move, anyway. There's at least a good reason beyond a pattern to believe Spring Man is the most likely, heh.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

Even if it is Spring Man it doesn't retroactively make him the only option they could have realistically have gone with.

You're right. There's also Ribbon Girl whose also seen as the other protagonist/mascot of ARMS though still banking on Spring Man granted she could be an alt.

Like you're the only person saying it's him when people say it's either him or the ramen girl. No need to get cocky.

My opinion has changed on Mimmin actually given the pattern of protagonist/mascot first as I posted. At most I can see her as an alt through the Hero treatment.

And before people says playing differently or waist sizes or dimensions.

Plays differently:

Waist sizes or dimensions:

 

[3BitSaurus]

These aren't complaints about him being a swordsman though. It's about the missed opportunities within the three character's movesets, Zelda's roster picks, and the fact that there are three Links in the first place.

Were the three Link's movesets based on other source material, and other Zelda characters have fighter representation, then two of these complaints would go away, and one of them would likely be less frequent.

I can't speak for everyone, naturally, but considering how the overall reception to caracters like Meta Knight, the pre-Smash 4 FE characters, Shulk, Robin and Cloud went compared to the rest, I'd guess that if anyone is complaining about them being swordsman, they are most likely referring to these missed opportunities... even if in a way that basically invalidates their argument and most forms of discussion.

I mean, look at this: https://zelda.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_items_in_the_Legend_of_Zelda_series

and this:

...as well as a few other fighting games with styles of swordplay that Smash has barely even touched.

 

[Speed Weed]

look michael
the problem isn't that you're banking on him, even more so because i'm banking on him too
it's that you're banking way too hard on him to the point of shutting off any other possibility

 

[Michael the Spikester]

2/15. Ribbon Girl is also the mascot overall.

I agree with your point, but wanted to note that.

That, and everybody you play as in ARMS is the protagonist of Story Mode. There's only a pre-set antagonist. So the whole "protagonist first" is pretty much shot as long as it isn't Dr. Coyle or any unplayable character for that mode. I don't remember all the details of which options there are for it, though.

Though I can imagine the Comic is something they'd consider too, since Spring Man is the actual full protagonist there. I mean, if they think the protagonist being first is the best move, anyway. There's at least a good reason beyond a pattern to believe Spring Man is the most likely, heh.

I mean who else isn't featured aside from Spring Man and Ribbon Girl aren't featured most in promotional art and the game cover?

look michael
the problem isn't that you're banking on him, even more so because i'm banking on him too
it's that you're banking way too hard on him to the point of shutting off any other possibility

So when's the last time then when they went with popularity or anything else over protagonist/mascot first?

 

[Goombaic]

Let's not forget this image is why we've been speculating it might not be Spring Man.

Add on the assist trophy and the fact that the "the protagonist is getting in who could've guessed!" angle would be disappointing as hell after all this time, it shouldn't really be hard to fathom why we're humoring other characters.

Now if it was this we wouldn't even be having this discussion.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Spoiler: Image

Be right back. I have to go find out what a God Unit is, because that sounds awesome.

EDIT: Oh it's just certain final bosses. Never mind.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

Let's not forget this image is why we've been speculating it might not be Spring Man.

Add on the assist trophy and the fact that the "the protagonist is getting in who could've guessed!" angle would be disappointing as hell after all this time, it shouldn't really be hard to fathom why we're humoring other characters.

Now if it was this we wouldn't even be having this discussion.

Again.

-Box Theory. Everyone dismissed it. Look what happened.

-Assumption that Ridley would be playable in Sm4sh based on some shadow. Look what happened.

-Sm4sh when people were so certain on Ridley based on that shadow or as someone shared in the Geno thread.

'Here's a car shaped sheet covering the mystery prize which we won't reveal yet.'

-4 months later-

'Surprise! It was a car the whole time. Weren't you shocked?'

-COVID-19 likely interfered with development so they couldn't reveal who it was at that time.

-Also could be an exceptional case of being promoted from assist as he was considered for Base roster and an Season Pass 2 wasn't planned at that time.

-Featured in most promotional art and game cover.

 

[GoodGrief741]

Someone's being awfully confident right now but give them three days and they'll be spamming that it's Min Min instead. With 100% confidence as well.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

Someone's being awfully confident right now but give them three days and they'll be spamming that it's Min Min instead. With 100% confidence as well.

If only you do believe that. I've pretty much settled and feel its gonna be Spring Man with possibility the Hero treatment.

 

[Will]

look michael
the problem isn't that you're banking on him, even more so because i'm banking on him too
it's that you're banking way too hard on him to the point of shutting off any other possibility

Mans first day here and he's already spittin' hard facts.

 

[Ramen Tengoku]

This is simple Smash speculation, and y'all acting like it's the powerball

 

[Perkilator]

This is simple Smash speculation and y'all acting like it's the powerball

Well, I mean…it technically is?

 

[SKX31]

This is simple Smash speculation and y'all acting like it's the powerball

The feeling of vindication is one hell of a drug.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Again.

-Box Theory. Everyone dismissed it. Look what happened.

-Assumption that Ridley would be playable in Sm4sh based on some shadow. Look what happened.

-Sm4sh when people were so certain on Ridley based on that shadow or as someone shared in the Geno thread.

'Here's a car shaped sheet covering the mystery prize which we won't reveal yet.'

-4 months later-

'Surprise! It was a car the whole time. Weren't you shocked?'

-COVID-19 likely interfered with development so they couldn't reveal who it was at that time.

-Also could be an exceptional case of being promoted from assist as he was considered for Base roster and an Season Pass 2 wasn't planned at that time.

These aren't even comparable situations. Box theory was a mixture of leaks and drawing conclusions. Ridley's shadow was people being dumb. This is a precedent, a thing that could be upheld or destroyed depending on what happens. Heck, there's a strong precedent that works in the opposite direction as well. That's why "protagonists/mascots first" is rejected just as much as "Assist Trophies/Spirits can't become characters in the same game" is as a sole argument.

This is simple Smash speculation and y'all acting like it's the powerball

Yeah this is a stupid debate. We just have to face the music: Super Mario Land content is and will never be in this game.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

Still banking on Spring Man and possibility the Hero treatment (Ribbon Girl, Ninjara and Minmin).

 

[Speed Weed]

This is simple Smash speculation, and y'all acting like it's the powerball

what?
you're telling me smash speculation isn't a matter of life or death?
ABSOLUTELY PREPOSTEROUS
now if you excuse me, i must continue my quest for reddit gold

 

[Goombaic]

The feeling of vindication is one hell of a drug.

It really is. Incineroar's reveal was nearly as cathartic as "Everyone is Here!" for me.

 

[Garteam]

Here's my personal predictions on what could possibly happen and how likely each option is to occur:

Solo Spring Man: 20%
Spring Man with just Ribbon Girl as an alt: 25%
Spring Man with Ribbon Girl, Ninjara, and Min Min as an alt: 45%
Solo Min Min: 10%

I'm greatly awaiting the day when The ARMS character is actually revealed and it's Biff or Master Mummy's Wife though.

 

[Speed Weed]

real talk tho
i don't really care for vindication
i just wanna talk about the characters i like, and i don't care if i'm right or wrong
if say, for example, axel got in, i won't be happy because i was right, i'll be happy because goddammit i LOVE streets of rage
and if the funny leaker men get something right, big ****ing deal
at least to me, it's more about the journey than the destination

 

[Deleted member]

look michael
the problem isn't that you're banking on him, even more so because i'm banking on him too
it's that you're banking way too hard on him to the point of shutting off any other possibility

what?
you're telling me smash speculation isn't a matter of life or death?
ABSOLUTELY PREPOSTEROUS
now if you excuse me, i must continue my quest for reddit gold

My fellow boy being based as he tends to be on Discord.

 

[Spongeboob]

Let's not forget this image is why we've been speculating it might not be Spring Man.

Add on the assist trophy and the fact that the "the protagonist is getting in who could've guessed!" angle would be disappointing as hell after all this time, it shouldn't really be hard to fathom why we're humoring other characters.

Now if it was this we wouldn't even be having this discussion.

This fighter's arms can exteeeend!

If we take this line literally, then we can expect the fighter to be neither Mechanica nor Twintelle. I haven't played ARMS so please take any of my words on it with a grain of salt.

 

[pupNapoleon]

Again.

-Box Theory. Everyone dismissed it. Look what happened.

-Assumption that Ridley would be playable in Sm4sh based on some shadow. Look what happened.

-Sm4sh when people were so certain on Ridley based on that shadow or as someone shared in the Geno thread.

'Here's a car shaped sheet covering the mystery prize which we won't reveal yet.'

-4 months later-

'Surprise! It was a car the whole time. Weren't you shocked?'

-COVID-19 likely interfered with development so they couldn't reveal who it was at that time.

-Also could be an exceptional case of being promoted from assist as he was considered for Base roster and an Season Pass 2 wasn't planned at that time.

-Featured in most promotional art and game cover.

What about all the other tidbits youre leaving out?
This seems very fishy...
especially to include Ridley's shadow or box theory.
You pulled forward pieces of speculation Smash that support you, and disregard the rest.

Gematsu, Grinch, and countless other things.

Koopaul can make my argument for why I don't think ARMS considers Springman the Mascot. :D

 

[Deleted member]

And yeah, I agree with the statement about speculation not needing to be about being right and rather about commenting on characters in general alongside what could they offer and their chances.

I for example have for granted that Pauline won't be a fighter, but I still love to speculate about how her moveset could work and what stuff could come with her.

It's about learning, not proving who's right or wrong.

 

[Glaciacott]

2/15. Ribbon Girl is also the mascot overall.

I agree with your point, but wanted to note that.

That, and everybody you play as in ARMS is the protagonist of Story Mode. There's only a pre-set antagonist. So the whole "protagonist first" is pretty much shot as long as it isn't Dr. Coyle or any unplayable character for that mode. I don't remember all the details of which options there are for it, though.

Though I can imagine the Comic is something they'd consider too, since Spring Man is the actual full protagonist there. I mean, if they think the protagonist being first is the best move, anyway. There's at least a good reason beyond a pattern to believe Spring Man is the most likely, heh.

Worth pointing out that that comic everyone talks about was a preview of a comic that got delayed and has still to release.

So for all we know the tone, protagonists and focus of the story could wind up being completely different.
Saying spring man is a mascot makes sense in a way given the push he had in marketing materials and the like.

however, if people really believed this mattered then Ribbon Girl should have equal chances on that merit.

the concept of Spring Man being a protagonist I just find wholly inaccurate. The game revolves around whichever character you play. If we wanted to use the protagonist claim I’d give an edge to Max Brass or Dr Coyle for having certain story beats that all characters witness.

but then again I imagine most people making the Spring Man protagonist claim didn’t actually play the game.

 

[pupNapoleon]

Worth pointing out that that comic everyone talks about was a preview of a comic that got delayed and has still to release.

So for all we know the tone, protagonists and focus of the story could wind up being completely different.
Saying spring man is a mascot makes sense in a way given the push he had in marketing materials and the like.

however, if people really believed this mattered then Ribbon Girl should have equal chances on that merit.

the concept of Spring Man being a protagonist I just find wholly inaccurate. The game revolves around whichever character you play. If we wanted to use the protagonist claim I’d give an edge to Max Brass or Dr Coyle for having certain story beats that all characters witness.

but then again I imagine most people making the Spring Man protagonist claim didn’t actually play the game.

Marry Me.

--I can't wait to see ARMS 2 and who is promoted most. Marketing wise, Spring Man was just the easy way to show what the game was about.

 

[Spongeboob]

Remember when people thought Edelgard was the mascot of Three Houses?

Spoiler: Spoilered for size

Me too.

On a more relevant note, with , , and playable, I'm unsure about the "mascot first" rule, although they might be anecdotal because Cloud and Banjo got in due to fan demand, whereas Sakurai deliberately requested Hero be playable.

 

[DarthEnderX]

Okay, can we just wait until the character’s revealed before we keep up this tirade? There’s literally only a 1/15 chance of this actually coming into fruition, and a 14/15 chance of this little rule getting vetoed.

That falsely assumes that every character has an equal chance.

 

[Glaciacott]

Watch the ultimate plot twist happen when Sakurai says that Spring Man did in fact make it in first

as an assist trophy in the base game

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

Worth pointing out that that comic everyone talks about was a preview of a comic that got delayed and has still to release.

So for all we know the tone, protagonists and focus of the story could wind up being completely different.
Saying spring man is a mascot makes sense in a way given the push he had in marketing materials and the like.

however, if people really believed this mattered then Ribbon Girl should have equal chances on that merit.

the concept of Spring Man being a protagonist I just find wholly inaccurate. The game revolves around whichever character you play. If we wanted to use the protagonist claim I’d give an edge to Max Brass or Dr Coyle for having certain story beats that all characters witness.

but then again I imagine most people making the Spring Man protagonist claim didn’t actually play the game.

Well, the way a protagonist works is that it's also generally who you play as in some cases. So it's pretty hard to see Dr. Coyle as that alone. She from my understanding is the core antagonist(unless you play as her in that mode and I missed that bit?). Max Brass possibly, though.

Nonetheless, I don't own the game, so I only know some of this partially from research. But yeah, the whole "it has a straight protagonist" is pretty clearly not the case. It does have straight mascots, but trying to base it solely on a protagonist factor is silly.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Watch the ultimate plot twist happen when Sakurai says that Spring Man did in fact make it in first

as an assist trophy in the base game

That's not a plot twist. He's gonna say that regardless of who was picked.


Unless of course, the style of character reveal changes.

 

[Perkilator]

That falsely assumes that every character has an equal chance.

I mean…they clearly showed the whole roster in the initial reveal for a reason:

 

[Michael the Spikester]

On a more relevant note, with , , and playable, I'm unsure about the "mascot first" rule, although they might be anecdotal because Cloud and Banjo got in due to fan demand, whereas Sakurai deliberately requested Hero be playable.

If you're meaning game companies, its more of game franchises.

Cloud's the face of Final Fantasy, Banjo is of his titular series and Hero alongside Erdrick, Solo and Eight are of their titular games.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Hero alongside Erdrick, Solo and Eight are of their titular games.

Actually the mascot for Dragon Quest is Slime.

The main heroes aren't anywhere near mascot status.

They barely show up in crossovers at all.

 

[Evil Trapezium]

I mean…they clearly showed the whole roster in the initial reveal for a reason:
View attachment 271954

They showed it because they will pick the fighter in the middle. Oh look at that it's Byte and Barq.

Not gonna lie, I would actually be pleasantly surprised if they picked Byte and Barq despite me finding an ARMS rep to be boring

 

[Michael the Spikester]

Actually the mascot for Dragon Quest is Slime.

The main heroes aren't anywhere near mascot status.

They barely show up in crossovers at all.

The Hero(es) are still the protagonists though.

 

[Deleted member]

Actually the mascot for Dragon Quest is Slime.

The main heroes aren't anywhere near mascot status.

They barely show up in crossovers at all.

Iirc, Sakurai kinda explained the reason behind that being Square having some rules regarding an alledged limitation of having the heroes from the main games fight each other (which is speculated to be the reason why the DQ Heroes games didn't have many main heroes playable), and he was given more liberties for Smash.

And yeah, the mascot is for the most part Slime.

 

[♕Pretty Roger♕]

So when's the last time then when they went with popularity or anything else over protagonist/mascot first?

When’s the last time the franchise was revealed before the fighter?

When’s the last time an assist was promoted in the same game?

When’s the last time the mascot was added as an assist trophy for bad timing and got a DLC character after that?

When’s the last time Nintendo showed an entire roster of characters as an option?

Let’s put it this way, if Smash would ever break the mascot rule, it would be now as it is perfectly set up because of the assist, and even then, Ribbon Girl (hopefully) could be chosen.

(Plus teasing the fighter instead of announcing it is not due to coronavirus, Nintendo had no reason to tease anything there’s not a quota of Smash they had to fulfill, they would have just waited to announce it later except they wanted to set it up for something)

 

[TheCJBrine]

I think Spring Man has a good shot; people bring up the “guess who?” thing and whatever as points against him, but I don’t think any of that matters even a little. There seem to be plenty of people who like Spring Man, I doubt they care enough about the mascot thing to not factor him in. All it is, is a marketing tactic to get people to try out ARMS and possibly buy it while building hype. This would all make sense even if it’s Spring Man.

Now, while Spring Man is probably my favorite choice, I would also like Ribbon Girl, Min Min, Helix, and others. I’m just saying, nothing points to it not being Spring Man (in fact Nintendo themselves just implied he’s on the table by including him with the rest of the roster), unless you count the basegame Assist Trophy which likely doesn’t matter to them at this point whether they add Spring Man as a fighter or not.