Official Newcomer/DLC Speculation Discussion

[Koopaul]

My point is the only reason they were able to make a game like this is because they built off the foundation of Smash 4. They won't have that foundation to build off of next time. And this isn't me saying this, Sakuria himself said this game was only possible because of these circumstances. I think a lot of people take these things for granted.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Ugh this conversation.

Do I want cuts? No.

Do I accept they happen? Yes. I never said they didn't.

Do cuts magically mean better quality? No. Stop acting like they do. For every MvC3, there's a MvCI or Vanilla SFIII.

Do cuts ruin a game? Not necessarily.

Do I think people are underestimating just who and how many characters would be cut? BIG YES. And I expect a straight up Smash reboot would go over much worse than most imagine. Half of what this fanbase considers fan favorites would be gone.

Regardless this conversation is making me frustrated.

We just got my Smash dream game, where everyone came back and we got so many amazing newcomers it makes my head spin. This was something I entertained as pure fantasy until it happened.

Talking about cuts were some of my least favorite moments in Smash 4 speculation because nobody ****ing agreed on anything and people just treat characters they don't like like ****. And they were always ****ing wrong.

"Nobody likes Snake or Wolf! They should go. Toon Link doesn't add anything to the roster and no one likes him!"

I hate it. These kinds of conversation suck.

0/10 would not discuss again until Ultimate is done and a new game is announced.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

Here's to an announcement tomorrow, and the ARMS reveal this week.

 

[Mamboo07]

Better yet, how about we add the most popular female character in the entire damn series.

Me:

In my opinion, I feel like series like Kirby or Zelda should get more representation/characters instead of just Mario, Pokemon and Fire Emblem.

 

[Lamperouge]

Me:
View attachment 274810
In my opinion, I feel like series like Kirby or Zelda should get more representation/characters instead of just Mario, Pokemon and Fire Emblem.

That's nice.

 

[Arcanir]

I do think that an expansion or port of Ultimate is on the unrealistic side.

I'm not saying you're wrong in thinking that, I'm just saying don't consider everyone who wants Ultimate's roster and more are toxic.

Talking about cuts in the context of Ultimate is just sad. It's the biggest game ever, and it's still in the middle of its release waves. To talk about cuts, you have to put aside the current amazing game, assume there's going to be another, and then bring on the sadness with roster cuts. No wonder so many people hate it when the discussion turns to that, again and again. I prefer to enjoy the moment and the masterpiece that Ultimate currently is.

Pretty much my stance on this, regardless of how you feel the next game should be handled it's best to just enjoy the moment. Ultimate went above and beyond our expectations and we should embrace that for as long as we have it. It's still here and still getting characters, so lets not look to a future that's not going to be in the cards for a long time.

 

[Idon]

Me:
View attachment 274810
In my opinion, I feel like series like Kirby or Zelda should get more representation/characters instead of just Mario, Pokemon and Fire Emblem.

Yes, but what does that have to do with the conversation of which Fire Emblem characters to prioritize for the next Smash game?

Lemme answer that question...
Nothing.

 

[Iko MattOrr]

If the idea is to give the white mage something supportive to do without being either obnoxious or useless, why not base it around the other support spells the class can use? Haste, Protect, Shell, Reflect etc. Buffs are much more workable in a fighting game than healing.

Why not?
My idea was to represent the typical RPG party, that's why I said heal, because RPG parties most of the times have a healer. Though any iconic spell can be implemented in the character. Anyway I would not put too much focus into buffs since there's already Shulk for that.

imagine going from S tier to F tier so quickly in a match

Don't forget you have Phoenix Downs and you can revive your party members at any time... it would be like Olimar, if you lose the pikmins you can get some new ones.

My idea was to somehow control all the characters at the same time, not to switch them like Pokèmon Trainer. The warrior should be the main one, the one you control; the two mages (black and white) maybe are controlled passively by using a special move (they try to stay away from the fight and do their spells from a range), and I'm not sure about the fourth party member.
I would make it so that you give orders and strategies to the other party members by using the taunt buttons, but it wouldn't work when taunts are disabled. (Kirby already uses the taunts to remove the ability, so it wouldn't be the first character to use taunts for other stuff).

It's a very complex concept and probably wouldn't work, but as I said, it's just an idea for a gimmicky character. If somehow they find a way to make it work, IMO it would be the best way to represent the classic FF games and the most iconic classes, but also a better way to represent the RPG genre in general gameplay-wise (being able to fight as a party, the sinergy between the classes).

 

[Droodle]

As soon as she gets a decade and a half of staying power and 8 different alts in the resident gacha game I'll see it happening.

I mean isn't she at minimum going to have around 4 alts by the end of this year? There's also a good chance that she'll reach 5-6 by the end of the year itself; and judging by three houses you could probably easily think of up to 8 alts. I mean there's;
- Regular Edelgard (in feh)
- Timeskip Edelgard (in feh)
- Armored Edelgard (in feh)
- CYL Edelgard (this year)

They can also make a Final Boss version and a Kid version as well. And that's without going into all the potential seasonal outfits FEH will eventually end up getting like Summer/Winter/Halloween/Dancing/Easter/Wedding etc.

Sure her fan base isn't as long lasting as Lyn's (she hasn't had the opportunity too) but she's remained insanely popular (and controversial) for the entirety of last year. Unless there's an official popularity poll soon, currently the title of most popular lord probably goes to either Edelgard or Dmitri and Edelgard probably sits at the #1 spot as the most popular female in the series. But who knows maybe her popularity will start to fade, and Lyn will regain her spot at #1.

I say this as someone who doesn't even like Edelgard or Lyn that much. In my opinion, the best female FE rep would be Anna. She's still pretty popular (though nowhere close to Edelgard or Lyn). and on top of that she is the most reoccurring character in the entire series. They could probably create a really wacky moveset for her too, like they did with FE Warriors.

 

[VGPhaze]

I really don’t think the ARMS rep will come until the last week of the month at the earliest . They told us June and development has probably slowed on a ton of games.
I think they’re going to want to spread out their announcements as much as they can since game releases will likely also be spread out.
Next week is Pokémon week. Why release the ARMS character at the same time?
Focus on advertising Pokémon this week, Smash next week, and Paper Mario next month.
Trying to keep my expectations in check. I’m personally thinking we’ll get the character on the 29th and will be happily surprised if they come sooner.

 

[Guynamednelson]

Next week is Pokémon week. Why release the ARMS character at the same time?

Why release Smash for Wii U and Pokemon ORAS on the same day?

 

[♕Pretty Roger♕]

Better yet, how about we add the most popular female character in the entire damn series.

Yes!!! I am happy both of us want Camilla in!! <3

 

[Digital Hazard]

Better yet, how about we add the most popular female character in the entire damn series.

Request accepted:

 

[VGPhaze]

Why release Smash for Wii U and Pokemon ORAS on the same day?

Questionable business decision for sure. But They were on two different systems and not directly competing with each other quite as much as two sets of DLC content coming to the same system would.

 

[SuperSmashStephen]

I have a very strong feeling that we’ll get an announcement tomorrow for a Direct/Presentation on Tuesday revealing who the ARMS character is and that they are “available today!”, but also the reveal of whoever FP7 is.

June 16th is ARMS anniversary after all.

 

[Scoliosis Jones]

Cuts are obviously a necessary aspect of game development of this scale. As others have said, the main reason we got Smash Ultimate was because the stars aligned and we got lucky, basically.

Here’s the thing though...cut discussions suck. They just do. As said before, folks never agree on who should be cut...it mainly comes down to, “I’ve never played a game from that series, so they should be cut!”, or, “That series has too many characters!”, or some other bull**** idea that just boils down to, “get rid of what I don’t like”.

People play Smash because it’s fun, yes, but you cannot convince me that they don’t care about the characters in a mascot fighter. Sure, I could find a “new favorite” if Snake, Ike, and Cloud got cut. But it’s not just Snake, Ike, and Cloud being cut, it’s the fact that the connection between Final Fantasy 7, Metal Gear, and Path of Radiance are severed.

Tekken, Street Fighter, and Soul Calibur have their own original characters, and it’s not a mascot fighter. The connections people have is from simply playing that same series. There is much more to lose from cutting popular characters in a mascot crossover. It’s just inherently different.

Simply put, we get the greatest Smash game probably ever, and folks talk about what an immediate downturn would look like including cutting of characters and then look at the responses of people and are like, “Why are u mad?”

Try Jonesposting once in awhile. Pick a character and support them for Challenger Pack 7-11. We’ve got like a year and a half more of this...so buckle up!

 

[VGPhaze]

I have a very strong feeling that we’ll get an announcement tomorrow for a Direct/Presentation on Tuesday revealing who the ARMS character is and that they are “available today!”, but also the reveal of whoever FP7 is.

June 16th is ARMS anniversary after all.

I hope you’re right! Just personally don’t think it’ll happen until next week or the week after and don’t want to get my hopes up.

 

[SuperSmashStephen]

I hope you’re right! Just personally don’t think it’ll happen until next week or the week after and don’t want to get my hopes up.

I feel like it’d be the perfect time. E3 is regularly around this time, but due to the pandemic it got cancelled. It’s also been a lot more difficult for those working from home.

Usually there was always a direct presentation that revealed two characters.

Personally, if it happens, I hope we get Min Min and the reveal of Euden or a Gen VIII. Pokémon.

 

[axel_]

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Hmmm, a Persona protagonist in a yellow box?
Yeah, I'm thinkin' he's in.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Cuts are obviously a necessary aspect of game development of this scale. As others have said, the main reason we got Smash Ultimate was because the stars aligned and we got lucky, basically.

Here’s the thing though...cut discussions suck. They just do. As said before, folks never agree on who should be cut...it mainly comes down to, “I’ve never played a game from that series, so they should be cut!”, or, “That series has too many characters!”, or some other bull**** idea that just boils down to, “get rid of what I don’t like”.

People play Smash because it’s fun, yes, but you cannot convince me that they don’t care about the characters in a mascot fighter. Sure, I could find a “new favorite” if Snake, Ike, and Cloud got cut. But it’s not just Snake, Ike, and Cloud being cut, it’s the fact that the connection between Final Fantasy 7, Metal Gear, and Path of Radiance are severed.

Tekken, Street Fighter, and Soul Calibur have their own original characters, and it’s not a mascot fighter. The connections people have is from simply playing that same series. There is much more to lose from cutting popular characters in a mascot crossover. It’s just inherently different.

Simply put, we get the greatest Smash game probably ever, and folks talk about what an immediate downturn would look like including cutting of characters and then look at the responses of people and are like, “Why are u mad?”

Try Jonesposting once in awhile. Pick a character and support them for Challenger Pack 7-11. We’ve got like a year and a half more of this...so buckle up!

Yeah, the running theme through all of them is just "man...the next game is gonna suck" with the other takes being (sadly) unrealistically optimistic or saying that everyone doesn't like ideas for a smaller roster because they're not mature enough to handle them or hate change or whatever else you can say to belittle the opposition's opinion. And I'm not trying to call anyone out here. I can see the angle they're coming from and I know there's merit in it.

My opinion? There is no right way to tackle things, and anything they do that isn't the unrealistic Super Smash Bros. Ultimate+ is going to lose a ton of fans if not most of them. The general consensus says we'll cross that bridge when we get there so lets just stick to the forum topic as much as possible.

 

[GoodGrief741]

This wasn't even a discussion about who to cut, it was a discussion about what the next game's direction will be. What kind of cuts are expected is part of that. I get that it's premature to talk about that, but we're in the last (and therefore longest-feeling) stage of a speculation lull and some people are clearly anxious about the series' future and the (imo ill-founded) possibility of a reboot.

I've already said my piece so I don't care if it ends, but I don't think I'll ever get why people have such a knee-jerk reaction towards this topic. Creates a really unhealthy attitude towards cuts when even people who admit cuts are inevitable still don't want to even hear about the issue.

 

[SirCamp]

There's a lot of strange sky is falling type takes in here regarding Smash after Ultimate. I mean my first ever post on this forum iirc was about the potential for cuts in Smash 4. I expected them and honestly I expected them for Ultimate. Though I'm also the weirdo that would have actually preferred cuts and more entirely new characters to everyone is here in the first place.

Regardless of all that, I gotta say the doom and gloom feels unwarranted to me, cuts or otherwise. Yes, Smash is entirely intertwined with its roster, but it is also a GREAT game at its core. Smash started small and people loved it then just as they love it now. At the end of the day the core gameplay is incredible and as long as that remains there will be an audience. Will some people leave the community if their favorite character is cut? Sure. But by no means do I expect there to be a huge loss of players overall. And even then, we don't know what's actually going to happen anyway. Just as we all don't actually know what's coming as far as DLC is concerned. There's no reason to get yourself in a funk over a hypothetical end result that you created in your own head.

But like y'all say we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

 

[DarthEnderX]

There are some Zelda villains I think could make for great choices because they're important, iconic and popular like Skull Kid or Ghirahim.

I'm sorry, but Ghirahim is NOT iconic and popular. He's the secondary antagonist of a Zelda game that wasn't even particularly well received, and frankly, if it weren't for him being an AT, he'd get mentioned about as often as freakin' Zant.

I believe that there will be cuts in the next game. Unfortunately, there are some people out there who only want a bigger version of Ultimate and that kind of thinking is toxic.

Says the person who never has a single positive thing to say about anything.

Sakurai: "Re-adding every single character that was cut and was included previously really made us lessen the amount of newcomers we could do for launch."

Fans: "Oh boy, I hope Smashes going forward never cut anyone ever."

I'm not sure why that sounds unreasonable to you.

I'll gladly take fewer newcomers at launch if it means we don't lose a bunch of iconic characters to have them replaced by a bunch of newcomers that likely won't be as iconic.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

He's the secondary antagonist of a Zelda game

Are you saying Demise, the character who we see in the plot for all of around twenty minutes is the primary antagonist? Ghirahim is the one who actually affects the plot for 95% of the story. By definition he's the primary antagonist. He doesn't stop being the primary antagonist because he accomplished his goal and bows out at the end.

That aside Ghirahim is popular. He's not a super popular character request anymore (he used to be in Smash 4) but in the Zelda fandom at large he's a pretty big deal.

As for him being iconic, yeah I think he is. But I can understand where we disagree here cause "iconicness" is a hard thing to define. He definitely springs to mind when you think of Skyward Sword and Hyrule Warriors. Maybe not Zelda as a whole but... I don't think anyone other than Zelda, Link and Ganondorf do. Sheik, Skull Kid and Midna don't spring to mind unless I think about their specific games.

That aside, you ****ting on my boy Zant?

 

[Animegamingnerd]

On the topic of cuts, as long as they pull don't all the same mistakes MvCI did, we should be fine for the next game. MvCI had more way then just cuts that hurt it, MvCI suffered from the following

Terrible presentation with god awful character models that became memes.

Releasing several DLC characters at once just weeks after the game came out.

Barely any content in the game and borderline non-existence post launch support.

Dragon Balls FighterZ very existence.

 

[N3ON]

I'm not not going to talk about cuts just because people don't want to think about them. Avoiding the topic won't stop it from happening. It's part of the series. Maybe it's possible that plugging your ears whenever it gets raised will make it hurt more when it happens.

And yeah, if you can't separate your bias from your expectations, and will suggest cuts on that basis, perhaps it's best to abstain from the discussion (though it's hardly the only topic affected by people blurring the two together), but despite decrying those who broach the topic, some people are able to set aside their feelings. I've read the last few pages, and it's certainly not the case that every prediction is devoid of logic.

Personally I think my two favourite characters are as likely as any other character to get cut. I don't celebrate it, but I'm not running from it either. It doesn't erase them from Smash's history or my ability to play as them in the games they are in. In doesn't instill a belief that someone has removed them to spite me. And if someone else were to agree that they were likely to be axed, my first thought is not that they must automatically hate the character. They are likely to get axed, imo.

If you don't enjoy the conversation, no one is forcing you to participate or even read through it. If you don't want to talk about it, don't talk about it. That's fine. But let people who do want to talk about it talk about it.

 

[ZelDan]

Personally, I've never agreed with the whole mindset of "Smash Ultimate is the most amazing thing ever and can never be topped!" or that "Cuts will make the next Smash game automatically worse!"

I mean, while the roster is obviously a huge part of Smash, there are still other factors that matter, and when it comes to non-roster stuff, Smash Ultimate has plenty of room for improvement. The most obvious example of this is Ultimate's doodoo-tier online. A Smash 6 that improves the online with a better quickplay and/or ranking system, no preferred rules BS, more options and modes, etc would be greatly appreciated. Another great thig to see would be a single player mode with actual story (unlike WoL), and have actually good gameplay (unlike SSE). Seeing Smash Run and some variation or new take on break the targets would be nice. Give me a classic mode where items AREN'T involved, and where there aren't matches where I have to face off against godtier AI team while I'm given dumb worthless AI teammate.

Also, I don't think topping even UItimate's roster would necessarily be impossible. I won't pretend that I liked every character inclusion or thought every single one was good, or that there still aren't plenty of notable characters yet to be added. For me, how much I like a hypothetical Smash 6 roster would come down to multiple factors, like how many characters get cut, who gets cut, what franchises, if any, are lost on the playable roster side of thing, what happens to characters that are cut, what types of characters do we lose (ie antagonists, RPG character, platformer character, etc), what newcomers do we get to replace what is cut, what gameplay modes get added to make up for cuts, do assist actually have a bigger better role, and probably a crapload more factors or questions.

Depending on the answers to the above, I could very well see a different roster with some cuts maybe still being pretty nice. And even if the roster of characters ends up being not as cool as Ultimate's, if the gameplay aspect is much better in alot of areas then I'll likely still buy and greatly enjoy the game.

 

[Cutie Gwen]

B-b-but in my defense I’ve never played FFIX.

That's ok. Correct your mistake ASAP

Infinite didn't pretend past games didn't exist.

It just copy-pasted Marvel 3's roster, which is pretty much the opposite of pretending it doesn't exist, and didn't even do a good job at it because at least half of them look like they have an addiction to something.

"But X-Men and Doom!"

That I blame the fact that Marvel likely wanted to focus solely on the MCU because we have seen a non-MCU character in the form of Venom... in the DLC.

Also, the devs were utter idiots because yes, I remember the "characters are just functions" controversy they sparked.

Idk man, even ignoring how huge the X-Men were to MvC's history, I'd say that Sentinel's that franchise's Captain Falcon, I still remember how MvC3 made Mango Sentinel an actual thing, which showed how the team even knew of some community memes alongside acknowledging Curly Moustache and stuff, you could really tell how much the 3 team cared about the fans despite all the cuts whereas Infinite felt significantly more cynical

Why not?
My idea was to represent the typical RPG party, that's why I said heal, because RPG parties most of the times have a healer. Though any iconic spell can be implemented in the character. Anyway I would not put too much focus into buffs since there's already Shulk for that.


Don't forget you have Phoenix Downs and you can revive your party members at any time... it would be like Olimar, if you lose the pikmins you can get some new ones.

My idea was to somehow control all the characters at the same time, not to switch them like Pokèmon Trainer. The warrior should be the main one, the one you control; the two mages (black and white) maybe are controlled passively by using a special move (they try to stay away from the fight and do their spells from a range), and I'm not sure about the fourth party member.
I would make it so that you give orders and strategies to the other party members by using the taunt buttons, but it wouldn't work when taunts are disabled. (Kirby already uses the taunts to remove the ability, so it wouldn't be the first character to use taunts for other stuff).

It's a very complex concept and probably wouldn't work, but as I said, it's just an idea for a gimmicky character. If somehow they find a way to make it work, IMO it would be the best way to represent the classic FF games and the most iconic classes, but also a better way to represent the RPG genre in general gameplay-wise (being able to fight as a party, the sinergy between the classes).

At that point that's just too overly complex that it's outright laughable, brb gonna have ****ing 36 characters on screen at once on Fountain of Dreams with items on

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Idk man, even ignoring how huge the X-Men were to MvC's history, I'd say that Sentinel's that franchise's Captain Falcon, I still remember how MvC3 made Mango Sentinel an actual thing, which showed how the team even knew of some community memes alongside acknowledging Curly Moustache and stuff, you could really tell how much the 3 team cared about the fans despite all the cuts whereas Infinite felt significantly more cynical

I could tell the devs of Infinite had no passion the moment we had "characters are just functions"

Which led to this piece of gold

 

[Cutie Gwen]

I could tell the devs of Infinite had no passion the moment we had "characters are just functions"

Which led to this piece of gold

I get why they said that because they needed an excuse as the truth, which was Disney denying any characters with movie rights owned by Fox, it's not a good excuse at all, but it wouldn't have been good to say "Yeah Disney said we weren't allowed to include these fanfavs", and the person who said that was a high level MvC3 player who managed to make a community meme himself

 

[SuperSmashStephen]

I know it’ll never happen in 1,000,000 years, but I’d love for them to just port Ultimate...and continue to add content the next time around. Whatever console comes after Switch. I know the roster would become ridiculous in the sheer amount of characters, but I don’t want to see anyone go.

I’ll be ready when the times comes because I know it’s going to happen, but depending on who it is, I’ll be heartbroken.

 

[Evil Trapezium]

I can't help myself. Here is my smash roster for a new smash bros game.

(Waluigi) (Toad)
(Dixie Kong)
(Skull Kid) (Impa)
(Sylux)
(Bandana Dee)
(Krystal)
() (Gen whatever)

(New character)


(Spring Man) (New Nintendo series)


The downside? No third party characters in the base roster. However they could appear as DLC.

 

[Flik]

Literally the only character I hope doesn't get cut is Chrom, he's literally the reason I decided to buy Smash Ultimate (and a Nintendo Switch to play it). If he's not coming back, then I'm less likely to bother with buying the new game, let alone if it's on a new console.

NEW TOPIC TIME!!!!11!!!

With how people like to throw around the Pokemon Trainer concept at franchises that have no business in having this kind of mechanic (KOF or FE three Houses), what are the characters that DO make sense in being a tag team with another? I can think of:

-Dixie Kong & Kiddy Kong (DKC)
-Jonathan Morris & Charlotte Aulin (Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin)
-Zangetsu & Miriam (in Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon at least)
-Alm & Celica (FE Gaiden/Echoes is all about swaping between their armies to advance the story)

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

He definitely springs to mind when you think of...Hyrule Warriors.

Wait he's in that game?

I'm not not going to talk about cuts just because people don't want to think about them. Avoiding the topic won't stop it from happening. It's part of the series. Maybe it's possible that plugging your ears whenever it gets raised will make it hurt more when it happens.

And yeah, if you can't separate your bias from your expectations, and will suggest cuts on that basis, perhaps it's best to abstain from the discussion (though it's hardly the only topic affected by people blurring the two together), but despite decrying those who broach the topic, some people are able to set aside their feelings. I've read the last few pages, and it's certainly not the case that every prediction is devoid of logic.

Personally I think my two favourite characters are as likely as any other character to get cut. I don't celebrate it, but I'm not running from it either. It doesn't erase them from Smash's history or my ability to play as them in the games they are in. In doesn't instill a belief that someone has removed them to spite me. And if someone else were to agree that they were likely to be axed, my first thought is not that they must automatically hate the character. They are likely to get axed, imo.

If you don't enjoy the conversation, no one is forcing you to participate or even read through it. If you don't want to talk about it, don't talk about it. That's fine. But let people who do want to talk about it talk about it.

Not wanting to talk about it right now or wanting to move onto something else isn't the same as being a whiny fanboy that can't handle the topic. In fact, most people that hate the topic are more annoyed with the heavy bias or pre-conceived notions within a lot of the arguments. Case in point: thinking that everyone who dislikes the topic isn't mature enough to handle it.

It's also worth noting that this isn't on topic with the thread, as it's for this game's DLC and not the next game's base roster. A little off topic banter every once and a while is perfectly fine in my opinion, but it should be brought to it's natural close as soon as possible. Outright refusal to do so is just derailing things.

Here is my smash roster for a new smash bros game.

*cuts Wario*
*adds Waluigi*

Waaaaaaat?

 

[Evil Trapezium]

*cuts Wario*
*adds Waluigi*

Waaaaaaat?

Yeah I decided I hate Wario now because he farted on my pillow.

No, he's with the single reps row along with Yoshi.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

So.

Will we get Smash news this week?

 

[Icedragonadam]

So.

Will we get Smash news this week?

If not next week, then the week after that one, if not that one, then surely the one after that.

 

[Cutie Gwen]

So.

Will we get Smash news this week?

Smash news never. Smash DLC will become the new SMTV

 

[CosmicQuark]

I’m perfectly fine talking about cuts myself—I find it a fun exercise in creativity in how to represent as much as possible given certain limitations. Limitations help creativity. That being said I tend to avoid talking too much about cuts, as it annoys a lot of people.

But they’re going to happen—Sakurai said himself that if they chose to build the game up from scratch, it would have been a third of the base roster (~30 characters). And I can’t imagine what Smash would be able to do to make me interested in a game with that many cuts.

I’ve tried making my optimal roster, and even have another account where I have just those characters on it. The optimal grid for me was 11x5, and while it was easy getting rid of 10-20 characters, the non-echo clones and derivative characters, any more and it started to get really tricky without getting rid of whole series or who I would consider important characters. My ideal scenario for a next game, if every character can’t come back and only 30-ish characters can, I’d want as many series to come back as possible with one character each, and if that’s difficult with licensing, one third party character per company returning. Even then, at over 30 series, some would still have to be cut in order to make room for enough new characters (which I’m running out of ideas for huge ones that would sell a game).

It’s fun to think about, but I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea so I tend to avoid it usually. There will be cuts, but if characters that are very significant to me are cut, I’ll be fine skipping the next one and sticking with Ultimate. Because despite its sometimes major flaws, this is still the ultimate crossover celebration in gaming, and will continue to get new content for over a year. Cuts or no cuts, nothing’s going to change that.

 

[Al-kīmiyā']

As long as the system it's on isn't garbage, the next Smash game will probably sell a ton of copies, even if the roster is cut to 20. Every Smash game has sold well. Brawl sold well, and its gameplay is ****. 4, 5, and 6 have sold well, and their gameplay still isn't as good as Melee's. People like beating up Luigi with Captain Falcon, and they like having whatever the newest game is.