Official Newcomer/DLC Speculation Discussion

[Michael the Spikester]

The truth is never enough, that's why smashers must speculate, because without speculation there is no smashboards! /s

Real talk, Min Min is a very specific chance because her game has a roster of playable characters and that's why she was chosen. I find it unlikely other newcomers will have the same situation UNLESS we are talking about Pokemon, then we should discuss if it's a starter, a legendary or even a random out of left field pick.

I would love Corviknight myself, spirit be damned.

Given Min Min's popularity though. I'm suspecting she's gonna become the Morrigan of ARMS. That's how she became the mascot taking Demitri's place after all.

Helps too she's Yabuki's favorite.

 

[ZephyrZ]

Reminder that not only did Min Min get in over Springman, the "mascot", but also over the secondary mascot in Ribbon Girl as well. She was revealed at exactly the same time Springman was, and she was put on the cover just like him - even if she was in the background while he was in the foreground.

I'd be much more inclined to believe assist trophies "deconfirmed" if it was Ribbon Girl who got in but it wasn't. Unless you wanna say costumes "deconfirm" was well but come on.

I fully believe Min Min was chosen for her own merits, not because the programmers couldn't figure out how to disable some silly trophy.

 

[Will]

People are still trying to see some deeper meaning in Min Min? Damn dude, this isn't really something to cope over.

It ain't that deep, let it go.

 

[Dinoman96]

Yeah I feel like if they really wanted to, they could of made Spring Man playable, AT or not AT.

But ultimately it's been some years since ARMS came out and the likes of Min Min and even Ninjara have proven to be more popular and also more interesting moveset wise. Spring Man ultimately didn't really have the same 30+ year legacy that Ryu and Terry had to really necessitate him being the first playable ARMS rep in Smash.

 

[Aetheri]

Arms is clearly built around an ensemble cast. Within the game each character plays more or less the same role. Spring Man's more prominent due to being the essential mascot, as well as being the so-called 'superstar' in the game's lore.

I feel like his Assist Trophy may have influenced their decision to go for someone else, and that essentially gave them an opportunity to add a character that was a favourite amoung the fans, developers, as well as the one that won the Party Crash Bash. Had this been some other game like Golden Sun for example where Isaac is the clearcut frontman I don't think they'd go for some random secondary.

Taking my bias for Min Min aside, I think they made the right choice in this situation because not only does it show that Sakurai doesn't HAVE to go with the 'first in line' but that other characters have a chance at representing their respective games so long as they fit said role in an appropriate way, which in this case Min Min does.

If it came down to it, I don't think Sakurai would've been against adding Spring Man had Yabuki requested to add him instead. Afterall the main problem with having a character be playable and an assist trophy appear at the same time is an easy workaround should it come down to it. Heck we already see it with characters when they appear in the background.

 

[CosmicQuark]

I’ve stopped doing predictions for the most part, but instead go with semi-realistic wants. For the remaining characters, I think we’ll see:

Spoiler

1. Another character from a first party series, this time a returning series like Byleth was in FP1: Rex, from Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Not an assist trophy, so viable, and Sakurai specifically mentioned Rex as a character who would have been in had the timing worked out. Now the timing can.

2. Third party character from a first party series: Geno. Highly requested, one of the last remaining fan favorites like Ridley, King K Rool and Banjo & Kazooie. Probably wouldn’t be very popular outside of the Smash echo chamber, but seems like if he had any chance this is it. Though I suspect his series will be “Super Mario RPG” rather than Super Mario, and may only contain songs from that game. However, that’s my want, because the alternative is more likely, Paper Mario to coincidence with the new game.

The rest would be strictly 3rd party characters, 2 highly requested ones from Japan and the West, and 1 out there pick no one expects. That ones much harder to pick, obviously.

3. Sora: Easily one of the most requested characters, and would be a “How did they get them?” moment for a lot of people. I don’t think Disney is that hard to work with for Nintendo, though Imran’s comments do make me a bit more critical of my own assumptions. Unlike Imran, though, I doubt Master Chief as an alternative. I feel like every character must have some presence in Japan, and Banjo & Kazooie still was recognized by people of a certain generation who grew up with an N64. Master Chief doesn’t have much in comparison. I think a more likely alternative would be Lloyd, very popular in Japan. Wouldn’t have as big of a headline in the West as the other 2, but still a highly requested character. Doom is also highly possible, and has more historical significance, but I feel like a lot of speculation is because of Doom being on Switch. Can’t say for sure, but that’s how it appears.

4. Crash: This is my biggest want, and would be the Banjo & Kazooie of the second pass. Western mascot character, more iconic, and makes sense as a former console rival coming in like Sonic was for Brawl. Should be as shocking to see happen for real, though lessened by the fact Crash is now owned by Activision, who has a decent relationship with Nintendo.

5. The out there character no one expects could be anyone. I’m thinking a character from either Arc System Works or Koei Tecmo. The recent debunked rumor did give me the idea that Sol from Guilty Gear could be an interesting pick, though from what I’ve read, perhaps too much like Terry. And ARMS fulfills the role of a fighting game character in FP2. I’m less certain about Hayabusa, even though I think Koei Tecmo makes sense as the next new company to come into Smash. Also doesn’t work well for this category given how much speculation has been on him. Maybe Dyansty Warriors, though I don’t know if that conflicts with Sakurai’s stated aversion to adding real or historical people. A BlazBlue character perhaps. Either way, whomever it is, it’s someone I would currently give a 1-5% chance of being in, and as such hard to say with any confidence. I just know there is going to be at least one.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

The only characters I'm very certain on getting in are Crash and an Gen 8 Pokemon.

The rest could be anyone else.

 

[MooMew64]

But if we had gotten an ARMS character in the base game, it would've been decided long before the game released, long before we knew Min Min would be a character.

So picking one of the people who introduces the game, by being the first revealed, having a lot of pre-launch promotion and a lot of pictures in the gallery, not to mention everything else that makes Spring Man major, he would've very likely been the chosen pick.

Oh yeah, I won't deny back in 2018 we would've gotten Spring Man. I was speaking on DLC, which is what I assumed everyone else was talking about. If not, then that's my bad, lol.

 

[Scoliosis Jones]

I think watching the whole Min Min presentation wrapped things up nicely. It isn’t that deep. Min Min isn’t the cover star, but it doesn’t mean she isn’t a protagonist. Spring Man isn’t a nobody just because he isn’t the playable character.

Thing is, ARMS and the cast of the game is so unique to many other choices that the closest thing to an “ensemble cast” would be something like League of Legends or Overwatch, where no one character is really the “main” character. Though with Overwatch, I still think it would be Tracer, but that’s just me.

Anyway, saying something like Min Min shows that say, Morag from Xenoblade 2 would be added seems to be doing some mixing of apples and oranges. One is a fighting game that has an ensemble cast, the other is a JRPG with a clear protagonist. They’re two very different examples so I think it’s hard to truly use Min Min in a way that really suggests particular other characters getting in.

Pair that with the fact that we’re facing what could potentially be an exception of an upgrade, and the rest speaks for itself. Could they add non-protagonist characters? Probably, but within the options we have, who would they add from a new series that isn’t the protagonist?

If it’s 3rd parties, you just know they’re going for the mascot/protagonist. Devil May Cry? No brainer, it’s Dante. Tales? You’d pick a protagonist from one of the games over a party member.

I could go on, but it just seems to me like Min Min doesn’t actually move the needle all that much.

 

[Garteam]

I honestly don't think being an assist trophy really had much of an impact on Spring Man's exclusion. With Spring Man being in the initial line-up, getting used for a fake-out in the Min Min trailer, and Sakurai not mentioning Spring Man's assist trophy when discussing him in the Min Min direct, it seemed like he was just as eligible as anyone else.

Min Min's inclusion looks to be exactly what Sakurai says it was, a request from Yabuki. It's not a conspiracy against Spring Man or an embrace of Min Min as the new mascot over Spring Man, it's just putting a creator's favourite as a character in a crossover fighting game. There's no hard rule that the mascot has to be the first to get into a crossover, as is shown by Zero in MvC3, Mai in DoA6, and Akuma in Tekken 7. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

I do think Sakurai may've started off by considering Spring Man, which would explain why he had the "Spring Man's not the protagonist, everyone's the protagonist!" conversation with Yabuki. He may've brought Spring Man to Yabuki precisely because he believed Spring Man was the protagonist and thusly a natural fit to represent ARMS, which would led Yabuki to say "well technically everyone is the protagonist, so maybe you should go with a fan favourite?". From there, Sakurai would naturally focus in on Ninjara and Min Min, with Yabuki giving his personal blessing to Min Min.

Granted, this is all just conjecture based on a few statements we don't know the full context of, so I could easily be wrong. I imagine Sakurai's upcoming Famitsu column(s) will provide a more detailed account of how exactly selecting Min Min went.

 

[Aetheri]

Morag from Xenoblade 2 would be added.

I'd be perfectly ok with this btw

 

[DuskFleur]

My personal most wanted character is Sora, but I would totally understand if he didn't make the cut for Fighters Pass 2, considering the licensing nightmare that is the double combo of Disney (they're basically gods of control in terms of copyright in the USA) and Square Enix (*cough* two songs and no Spirits for Final Fantasy *cough*).

Though I have to wonder, if Sora DOES make it in, how would the Disney half of Kingdom Hearts be handled (if it isn't removed entirely), considering that it's one of Kingdom Hearts' big trademark things? Would it be just the Disney Castle Trio (Mickey, Donald, and Goofy) as Spirits and/or gameplay cameos (like on a Stage or in a Trinity Limit Final Smash)? Even though Sakurai has stated that the only solid "rule" is "only video game characters, or at least characters that are significant to gaming (like R.O.B.)", would the Disney trio count as a loophole due to being based solely on incarnations of them from a video game series (a la how Dracula is public domain, but how he is in Smash is purely based on Castlevania)?

 

[ChunkySlugger72]

The only characters I'm very certain on getting in are Crash and an Gen 8 Pokemon.

The rest could be anyone else.

I strongly agree, Those are probably my 2 safest choices in terms of 1st Party and 3rd Party (Western) characters.

1. We are going to get a Gen 8 Pokemon, "Cinderace" seems like the frontrunner, But I'm hoping for a miracle that we get "Inteleon" as he's currently my favorite and most wanted Gen 8 Pokemon for Smash.

2. We are going to get at least 1 more 3rd Party "Western" character. Crash Bandicoot, Rayman and Master Chief is what my gut is telling me, But Crash Bandicoot is my most wanted character after 1.Banjo-Kazooie and 2. King K. Rool, Plus he has a lot going for him recently that makes him feel close to a "Lock".

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

There's no hard rule that the mascot has to be the first to get into a crossover, as is shown by Zero in MvC3, Mai in DoA6, and Akuma in Tekken 7. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Zero is a bad example because it was a major complaint about MvC3's roster.

But as a tradeoff, here's some other good examples;

• Kula Diamond over K' in DoA6
• An OC over Master Chief in DoA4
• Arbiter over Chief (again) and General RAAM over Marcus Fenix in Killer Instinct

 

[Hadokeyblade]

My personal most wanted character is Sora, but I would totally understand if he didn't make the cut for Fighters Pass 2, considering the licensing nightmare that is the double combo of Disney (they're basically gods of control in terms of copyright in the USA) and Square Enix (*cough* two songs and no Spirits for Final Fantasy *cough*).

Though I have to wonder, if Sora DOES make it in, how would the Disney half of Kingdom Hearts be handled (if it isn't removed entirely), considering that it's one of Kingdom Hearts' big trademark things? Would it be just the Disney Castle Trio (Mickey, Donald, and Goofy) as Spirits and/or gameplay cameos (like on a Stage or in a Trinity Limit Final Smash)? Even though Sakurai has stated that the only solid "rule" is "only video game characters, or at least characters that are significant to gaming (like R.O.B.)", would the Disney trio count as a loophole due to being based solely on incarnations of them from a video game series (a la how Dracula is public domain, but how he is in Smash is purely based on Castlevania)?

I can kinda see that working honestly, but then we would open a whole can of worms.

I still stand by the idea that they should totally put a Rallen swordfighter costume just as an out of nowhere retro throwback skin, he IS a Disney character after all lol

 

[Swamp Sensei]

I wonder if Min Min being a request from Yabuki was what Sakurai meant when he said the ARMS character was a special request.

 

[SharkLord]

My personal most wanted character is Sora, but I would totally understand if he didn't make the cut for Fighters Pass 2, considering the licensing nightmare that is the double combo of Disney (they're basically gods of control in terms of copyright in the USA) and Square Enix (*cough* two songs and no Spirits for Final Fantasy *cough*).

Though I have to wonder, if Sora DOES make it in, how would the Disney half of Kingdom Hearts be handled (if it isn't removed entirely), considering that it's one of Kingdom Hearts' big trademark things? Would it be just the Disney Castle Trio (Mickey, Donald, and Goofy) as Spirits and/or gameplay cameos (like on a Stage or in a Trinity Limit Final Smash)? Even though Sakurai has stated that the only solid "rule" is "only video game characters, or at least characters that are significant to gaming (like R.O.B.)", would the Disney trio count as a loophole due to being based solely on incarnations of them from a video game series (a la how Dracula is public domain, but how he is in Smash is purely based on Castlevania)?

Sora's weird because he would either have major fourth-parties or none at all. They're a major part of Kingdom Hearts and could be explained because they're the KH iterations, like with Dracula, but at the same time Dracula's in the public domain. I think if we have any Disney content, it should be at the end to temper expectations.

 

[Iko MattOrr]

"Many of you might be thinking that Bandana Waddle Dee is the 4th main character, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Mr Kumazaki said, 'Every Dream Friend is the 4th main character!'"

This is not a real quote, it's a parody of what Sakurai said during the Min Min presentation, but I think that it's exactly the same case with the Kirby series.

 

[Faso115]

Fourth Party is not a real term, stop using that.

A non-gaming character that isn't made by Nintendo is still a third party. It's just that non-gaming character have been established by the mash potato himself that are not likely to happen (Citing Goku and Iron Man as an example)

 

[Swamp Sensei]

"Many of you might be thinking that Bandana Waddle Dee is the 4th main character, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Mr Kumazaki said, 'Every Dream Friend is the 4th main character!'"

This is not a real quote, it's a parody of what Sakurai said during the Min Min presentation, but I think that it's exactly the same case with the Kirby series.

I don't think that idea applies here considering Bandana Waddle Dee actually appears in more games then just their origin game and Star Allies.

ARMS has only one game, where characters apparently have equal billing.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Fourth Party is not a real term, stop using that.

A non-gaming character that isn't made by Nintendo is still a third party. It's just that non-gaming character have been established by the mash potato himself that are not likely to happen (Citing Goku and Iron Man as an example)

There's nothing wrong with using this term for the sake of a discussion because people generally know what it implies.

I do agree that it's not a real, official term, but it has a clear meaning and is mostly used to refer to characters who have no chance to be in Smash to begin with (non-gaming characters) rather than shut down characters like the "fan rule" term, so really, it's not a sin to say "fourth-party".

 

[Aetheri]

Fourth Party is not a real term, stop using that.

A non-gaming character that isn't made by Nintendo is still a third party. It's just that non-gaming character have been established by the mash potato himself that are not likely to happen (Citing Goku and Iron Man as an example)

I mean it is literally a term people within this community are using for convenience. Instead of saying 'non-gaming character' they say '4th party.' Just like how people refer to 'non-nintendo characters' as 3rd parties and given everyone knows what it means it's pretty much been generally accepted within this community.

 

[DuskFleur]

I'd also like to say two things in regards to Sora's hypothetical appearance in Smash.

1. I'd love to see his reveal trailer be structured like the trailers for KHIII. As in, the beginning is the reveal and tagline, the middle is entirely focused on gameplay, and the end is more cinematics that show Sora interacting with other fighters or his possible role in World of Light if it had more of a plot, complete with a remix of Don't Think Twice. Yes, that also includes a total lack of sound effects during that last part. It'd be a cute detail.

2. The plot of Kingdom Hearts is so convoluted and insane that I'd unironically would love to see Smash somehow become canon to KH, or at least provide foreshadowing for future plot developments (like how in Brawl, Shadow Moses Island had references to Metal Gear Solid 4's endgame, before the latter even came out).

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Just like how people refer to 'non-nintendo characters' as 3rd parties and given everyone knows what it means it's pretty much been generally accepted within this community.

Difference is...

3rd Party is an actual legal term.

It's not made up for the context of Smash.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

I'd also like to say two things in regards to Sora's hypothetical appearance in Smash.

1. I'd love to see his reveal trailer be structured like the trailers for KHIII. As in, the beginning is the reveal and tagline, the middle is entirely focused on gameplay, and the end is more cinematics that show Sora interacting with other fighters or his possible role in World of Light if it had more of a plot, complete with a remix of Don't Think Twice. Yes, that also includes a total lack of sound effects during that last part. It'd be a cute detail.

2. The plot of Kingdom Hearts is so convoluted and insane that I'd unironically would love to see Smash somehow become canon to KH, or at least provide foreshadowing for future plot developments (like how in Brawl, Shadow Moses Island had references to Metal Gear Solid 4's endgame, before the latter even came out).

I'm totally down for that second thing being real.

Like in a future KH games recap section there's a throw away line after kh3 where it says "after going on his new journey Sora battled alongside Cloud and other legendary warriors in an unforgettable battle to save all worlds."

 

[Aetheri]

Difference is...

3rd Party is an actual legal term.

It's not made up for the context of Smash.

I know but it's also not "illegal" to use fourth party in the context of Smash. Nor should it be.

 

[TheCJBrine]

From what I remember people talking about, the thing about Dimitri and Morrigan was that she took the spotlight while Dimitri was left in the shadow.

I really hope that, if Min Min becomes a mascot, she shares the spotlight with Spring Man. I don’t want him to be left in the shadows. Yabuki likes him too, though, and he’s clearly still getting a push, so maybe this situation people are talking about likely won’t happen.

 

[Guynamednelson]

I do think Sakurai may've started off by considering Spring Man, which would explain why he had the "Spring Man's not the protagonist, everyone's the protagonist!" conversation with Yabuki. He may've brought Spring Man to Yabuki precisely because he believed Spring Man was the protagonist and thusly a natural fit to represent ARMS, which would led Yabuki to say "well technically everyone is the protagonist, so maybe you should go with a fan favourite?". From there, Sakurai would naturally focus in on Ninjara and Min Min, with Yabuki giving his personal blessing to Min Min.

I think Spring Man would have become playable if the moveset was about what the whole cast of ARMS could do, rather than what this specific ARMS character could. But with so many kicks and a focus on her default ARMS, it has to be Min Min's.

 

[Scoliosis Jones]

Different crossovers have different takes, but when looking at Smash as a context, they've essentially never deviated from a mascot or protagonist as the inaugural character for a new series. It's been that way for every series.

By the Smash fanbase's definition, Min Min is not a protagonist in the same sense as say, Spring Man. I think that's fair, nor would I disagree. But Sakurai specifically mentioned this in his presentation, so if it didn't play a role in how characters were chosen I would think he wouldn't mention it at all.

Like i said earlier though, being in the home stretch of such a large roster, and with candidates for new series largely consisting of lead protagonists or mascots, it seems that chances are things will continue to be "mascots" or "protagonists" for the inaugural series picks.

Candidates:
Pokemon Sw/Sh- based on what we know, could very well be tied to the anime (though from what I've seen there's no indication of the Pokemon that would stand out as of yet)
Xenoblade Chronicles 2- Probably Rex as he's the clear protagonist
Waluigi- not an inaugural pick
Bandanna Waddle Dee- not an inaugural pick
Golden Sun- Isaac is the clear choice. Protagonist
Astral Chain- Howard siblings. Protagonists
Ring Fit- Ring Fit Adventurer. Mascot/Protagonist

3rd parties are even clearer, so I won't bother posting them. But it seems to me that arguing, "See, there COULD be a non-protagonist pick" (even though Min Min doesn't entirely support that imo) seems to be merely looking at it with that point in mind, and not the implications for further picks. With a Volume 2 that seems to have at least 2 3rd parties who are much more likely to be protagonists/mascots, that leaves potentially 3 slots open for a new series or game to pick a non-mascot or protagonist.

It just seems like a rather safe bet at the junction that we're still going to get mostly mascots or protagonists going forward, and I don't see what the fuss is about with that at this point if i'm being honest. The only reason it would be a big deal at this point is just to shoot down a forum argument that, frankly, will probably continue to be supported in some capacity.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

From what I remember people talking about, the thing about Dimitri and Morrigan was that she took the spotlight while Dimitri was left in the shadow.

I really hope that, if Min Min becomes a mascot, she shares the spotlight with Spring Man. I don’t want him to be left in the shadows. Yabuki likes him too, though, and he’s clearly still getting a push, so maybe this situation people are talking about likely won’t happen.

Min Min would more likely replace Ribbon Girl, imo.

 

[CosmicQuark]

My personal most wanted character is Sora, but I would totally understand if he didn't make the cut for Fighters Pass 2, considering the licensing nightmare that is the double combo of Disney (they're basically gods of control in terms of copyright in the USA) and Square Enix (*cough* two songs and no Spirits for Final Fantasy *cough*).

Though I have to wonder, if Sora DOES make it in, how would the Disney half of Kingdom Hearts be handled (if it isn't removed entirely), considering that it's one of Kingdom Hearts' big trademark things? Would it be just the Disney Castle Trio (Mickey, Donald, and Goofy) as Spirits and/or gameplay cameos (like on a Stage or in a Trinity Limit Final Smash)? Even though Sakurai has stated that the only solid "rule" is "only video game characters, or at least characters that are significant to gaming (like R.O.B.)", would the Disney trio count as a loophole due to being based solely on incarnations of them from a video game series (a la how Dracula is public domain, but how he is in Smash is purely based on Castlevania)?

I think it’s 25/75 if Disney characters show up with Sora, more likely than people think, but not likely. It all depends on if Sakurai thinks they’re necessary to get the spirit of the character across, for instance a part of his final Smash, and whether or not the licensing costs for that is too prohibitive. I think the licensing costs for Sora himself are pretty prohibitive, so anything more than that, even cameos by non-Disney characters, is less likely. But it’s nothing to do with them not being video game characters—I feel like he was only referencing playable characters, and Sora with Disney characters seems like a legitimate exception.

Also, for the fourth party discussion, why should I care if fourth party is a “correct term” or not? People use it, and that’s good enough for a descriptivist linguist. Prescriptivists like making up more fake rules than Smash fans.

 

[JCKirbs]

"Many of you might be thinking that Bandana Waddle Dee is the 4th main character, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Mr Kumazaki said, 'Every Dream Friend is the 4th main character!'"

This is not a real quote, it's a parody of what Sakurai said during the Min Min presentation, but I think that it's exactly the same case with the Kirby series.

Eh, unless every Dream Friend is carried over to the next game with some sort of significance outside of cameos, I don't think the "4th Main Character" thing will necessarily apply to the Kirby franchise, especially when you think about what makes Kirby, Meta Knight, Dedede, and (I guess subjectively) Bandana Dee main characters. Perhaps one could argue that Dream Friends like Marx and Gooey could be named as the "4th Main Character" within their own respective games, but I think it would be a little weird to deem a certain character as a "main" character if they just appear, disappear for a while (outside of cameos), and then show up again, especially when taking the entirety of the Kirby franchise, or at least each era into account.

It just opens up the floodgates for anyone to be called a main character just for merely existing, which clearly doesn't seem to be the case.
I just think it's much easier for a game like ARMS to get away with it, since it's the first entry in the series and no character particularly stands out from the others in terms of appearances or being more recognizable. Eventually though, they could easily ride off of the popularity of one character in particular before bringing them into a game like Smash.

 

[StrawHatX]

I think most of the 2nd Fighter Pass will be first party characters with maybe two third party.

If I had to guess what they might be excluding Min Min:

1. Rex: I think Sakurai will add him. He talked about wanting him in the main game but not having time. He has plenty of time now.

2. Dixie Kong: Sakurai was going to add her to Brawl but didn’t get around to it. I think (and this is just me speculating obviously) the DK series has been getting a lot more love from Nintendo and I could see a new DK Country game coming with K. Rool returning as the main villain. I just think Dixie would be a cool addition.

3. Gen 8 Pokémon: I love Pokémon, but I really don’t want another rep from that series. I think it will happen though. Especially with the DLC being a thing. And a Gen 8 stage could be really cool.

4. Crash: He is my most wanted third party character and with a new game coming out and the N’sane Trilogy on the Switch already I think he makes sense. The dude was THE mascot of the PlayStation. It would be sweet to have him in the mix.

5. Sora: Kingdom Hearts is huge and I know everyone talks about the Disney issue and whatever but I think it’ll happen. And I could totally see a KH collection releasing on the Switch when it does. I don’t even have any real attachment to Sora or KH (I only played the first game) but I know how big it would be and not just to the Smash community but the gaming community.

Isaac and Andy are some of my most wanted and I want them to happen, but the only way I can see it is if there is something going on with their series. There are rumors of a Golden Sun HD and an AW Mobile game, but that’s about it. It’s not impossible, but not very likely.

As for other popular picks I think Bandana Waddle Dee could of course happen. Sakurai creates the Kirby series, I could see it getting another rep. Waluigi is of course massively popular and could finally get in.

I’d like to see Lloyd and Geno get in for their fans, but honestly I do think their costumes are coming back. If that is the case then I at least hope they get the Upgraded Costume treatment. Geno especially has the perfect build to fit that like Cuphead and Sans.

 

[Dalek_Kolt]

The "Cutting the roster" discussion is ice-cold at the moment, but I made this Smash roster if it were made up of characters exclusively from the CG segments of the Ultimate trailers. (For obvious reasons I didn't include newcomers that show up only in their newcomer trailers since that's kind of a conflict of interest) In conclusion, still a heckuva lotta characters.




And the stats:

Spoiler

Inkling:
(Probably more but they're hard to guess from silhouette)
Ridley:

Simon/Richter:

King K. Rool:

Isabelle: N/A
Incineroar/Ken:

Piranha Plant: No CG
Joker:

Hero:

Banjo-Kazooie:

Terry: N/A
Byleth: N/A
Min Min: N/A
World of Light:

"More Fighters" trailer.

Might do this for Smash 4, idk.

The sequel (prequel?). Also decided to fold in characters that show up in the newcomer posters.




More stats:

Spoiler

Villager:
Mega Man:
Wii Fit Trainer:
Rosalina:
Little Mac:
Greninja:
Palutena/Dark Pit:
Pac-Man:
Robin/Lucina:
Shulk:
Bowser Jr.:
Duck Hunt:
Ryu:
Cloud:
Corrin:
Bayonetta:

 

[zeldasmash]

I still believe Min Min was chosen because they messed up and made Spring Man an AT. Plus, he is kinda basic unlike Min Min

Most of the franchise that have several player characters, like Pokemon, Street Fighter or Fatal Fury have gone with their main players.

All except F-Zero, who i'm not sure if Falcon was the main guy before he was chosen for Smash.

I think by F-Zero X, he was considered the go to. F-Zero GX made it official, though. Funny enough, considering he was supposed to be the original SNES mascot, he may have been the go to since the original F-Zero.

 

[Shroob]

I just hope going forward, there's no 5 month gaps between characters like there was with Byleth and Min. Corona played a huge role yes, but things should, theoretically, smooth out now.

Wave 1 had a very clear 2-3 month gap in between each, which was very reasonable.

(Feb) >(April) >(July) >(Sept) >(Nov) >(Jan)

(June) >???(Sep?/Oct?)


Unless they intent to move their slated December 2021 end date, they realistically can't keep up a "once per 5 month" wait period.

 

[MooMew64]

I wonder if Min Min being a request from Yabuki was what Sakurai meant when he said the ARMS character was a special request.

That's what I'm thinking. It'd explain why it was viewed as different from usual requests Nintendo makes for the roster.

 

[DarthEnderX]

Fourth Party is not a real term, stop using that.

So are half the terms people use when talking about Smash. Everyone here knows exactly what it means. Stop being a jerk.

Difference is...

3rd Party is an actual legal term.

It's not made up for the context of Smash.

And yet, we ARE talking about Smash. So it completely serves the purpose of the term.

 

[NonSpecificGuy]

Why are we arguing semantics about a made up term again?

 

[Aetheri]

I just hope going forward, there's no 5 month gaps between characters like there was with Byleth and Min. Corona played a huge role yes, but things should, theoretically, smooth out now.

Wave 1 had a very clear 2-3 month gap in between each, which was very reasonable.

(Feb) >(April) >(July) >(Sept) >(Nov) >(Jan)

(June) >???(Sep?/Oct?)


Unless they intent to move their slated December 2021 end date, they realistically can't keep up a "once per 5 month" wait period.

Based off of how Sakurai works he develops the project plans early on in development. And we can assume that each Fighter's Pass counts as a separate development cycle. All the characters for FP1 were decided likely near the end of the base game's development and development started likely before the game was launched. Same can be said for Fighter's Pass 2, meaning development started near the end of FP1 was finalized. Meaning all of the fighters have already been decided and the team is likely already working on all the characters at least bit by bit. Sakurai at least knows how the last fighter is going to work at this point and won't be working from scratch after the 5th fighter is released.

It's clear that development will be moving a bit slower thanks to Covid but I don't think they'll spread them out by that much more, perhaps an extra month in between. Which going off of that logic we'll get our next Fighter sometime in October or even November.

One thing I do want to point out. Sakurai said he promises to 'at least do all five remaining fighters and reveal trailers' Some people think this could mean more fighters are possible after the pass, but I took it as a possibility that we may only get the last five fighters and reveal trailers, and perhaps there's a chance we might not get accompanying stages. If that's the case it allows the team to put their energy into just developing the characters themselves, but at the cost of not getting new stages possibly. We got a stage for Min Min and we'll possibly get a stage for the next fighter since they would have done most of the development before Covid hit, but the rest of the fighters are still up in the air. Or I could just be thinking pessimistically due to the current situation. Knowing Sakurai he'll do everything in his power to go the extra mile.