Official Newcomer/DLC Speculation Discussion

[TheCJBrine]

I’d like half-and-half first and third parties. We get Nintendo Bros. and three chances for Steve (I’ll just consider Geno part of the Nintendo group even though he’s owned by a 3rd party) as well as other cool characters such as Crash.

 

[Koopaul]

It's too soon to say what the ratio of first-parties and third-parties will be like. That being said, Smash characters are usually revealed from most exciting to least exciting. If there are any big third-parties left, they'll probably be revealed sooner rather than later. Not an unbreakable rule, but that's what happens in most cases.

I strongly believe that they reveal characters in the order of when they develop them and when they develop them is entirely circumstantial. I don't think there's much thought in how they must be ordered for hype reasons. With maybe some exceptions like Ridley and Banjo at E3 since they know its a Western centric event. But for the most part I think it's just going to be all over the place.

 

[StrawHatX]

4 first party characters and 2 third party.

ARMS is already one and I’m sure a Gen 8 Pokémon will probably be another.

Still thinking Crash will be one of the third party characters.

 

[CosmicQuark]

I strongly believe that they reveal characters in the order of when they develop them and when they develop them is entirely circumstantial. I don't think there's much thought in how they must be ordered for hype reasons. With maybe some exceptions like Ridley and Banjo at E3 since they know its a Western centric event. But for the most part I think it's just going to be all over the place.

I do think they take into account hype, with Ridley and Hero/Banjo & Kazooie being prime examples, it’s just Nintendo often has a different perspective than fans as to what counts as hype. I’m positive Nintendo didn’t expect any backlash from Byleth and thought they were saving a surprising character for last, especially given Sakurai’s introduction.

However, since Fighter’s Pass 2 is timed differently, we could see it being more of a roller coaster. I expect the next character to be big, as they would have likely been shown at E3 had the cancellation not happen. But there’s also E3 next year (again, doesn’t matter if it’s cancelled, what matters is this was planned last year). So I expect FP7 and FP9-10 to be the big ones, at least for Western audiences. FP8 and FP11 would likely be first party or a more obscure/niche third party character.

 

[Speed Weed]

look guys look here's this tier list i wasted precious hours of my life ranking hahahahaha

also i ranked this a while ago so a couple things are outdated

Spoiler

 

[N3ON]

What are everyone's thoughts on Volume 2 being a mainly 3rd party vs. first party pass now that know that Imran Khan was only making those tweets to hint at Min Min? Do you still think it'll be mainly 1st party? 3:3 equal with 3rd parties, or even 4:2 3rd parties?

I personally think it's a bit too early to call still. I think we're getting at least 2 3rd parties based on a Famitsu column Sakurai wrote. Who they will be? Bias aside, I still think there's a pretty decent chance Dante is in there. While there's no proven connection between Mii Costumes and the parent company receiving a brand new fighter, we still haven't seen Monster Hunter and there's still an opportunity to add other Capcom properties in through Mii Costumes if that is the route they take (Ace Attorney, for example). Dante also has a console exclusive Definitive Edition for Devil May Cry 3, which comes after the infamous interview with Mr. Itsuno that said, "Well, I think Dante should be on a Nintendo console first before he's in Smash, don't you?" Said article was then followed by Dante appearing on Nintendo consoles, and a definitive version as well.

Does it mean he's in? No, but those are nothing but positives for him considering I believe DMC1 Switch was announced around the time decisions for Volume 2 would have been made. I could be wrong, however.

Otherwise, I think it's decently wide open. If we're seeing more 3rd parties, Travis Touchdown has a connection through Suda51 (friends with Sakurai), Crash is always a solid "dream matchup" pick (Mario v Sonic v Crash Bandicoot). 2B would be a mainstream "strike while the iron is hot" pick, similar to Joker in that respect (the thing with meeting Yoko Taro I'm not entirely sold on yet. Obviously they met for the first time at that event, but when in the timeline does the company meeting happen? If 2B is later in the pass, why would Sakurai need to meet with Yoko Taro upon acquisition?).

First parties, I almost feel like are straightforward. Rex and XC2 were considered for base so that could come in handy for selection now, but Nintendo is choosing AND XC2 isn't as relevant. Gen 8 Pokemon...maybe? Pokemon is big enough to be an exception to almost anything, but I think it's still notable that they didn't do a spirit event for Three Houses, and we got Byleth. I do get the argument that certain spirits are arguably fair game for now, but I think we'll have to wait and see for Pokemon. Aside from that...1st parties, or at least the demanded ones, rely a bit on more upgrades. With upgrades, I'm still not convinced we're gonna get some blowout of them.

What do you think?

I think you listing all those candidates, all of which are both make sense and yet are entirely plausible to not receive show how open-ended things are right now. And honestly, the edge most of these characters have over their competition is minute.

These are basically just the candidates the fanbase has fallen back on throughout the DLC phase, minus a few which got deconfirmed along the way. But it's not like all the characters we've got so far would've made this list. These choices, especially the third-parties, seem coloured in part by what the fanbase wants to see.

So my conclusion are these candidates being raised again is a sign endemic to things being very nebulous. To that point, who knows how things will skew. I could see getting primarily first-parties, I could see getting primarily third-parties. I could see an even split. The only thing I don't think will happen is only getting first-parties from here on out. However, I'd also be surprised if we've seen the last of them.

Edit: I might have a future in politics with this non-answer.

 

[RileyXY1]

Alright time to make a quick prediction list for the rest of Vol 2. I don't recall ever saying who I think are going to be in Vol 2 cause there were only 2 series I think will have a strong probability of being in it, but today, I'm throwing them out with brief explanations (in no particular order).

-Dynasty Warriors Rep: sticking to my guns on this 1 since I'm super biased about it and for various reasons: spawned the Musou genre, KT's flagship franchise, their relationship with Nintendo, and the games they've developed under their IPs.

-Billy & Jimmy: thinking there's going to be a retro NES rep in Vol 2, and the series in question will be Double Dragon. The Beat Em up genre is unrepped with a fighter, so my bets are going on the Lee brothers (and if possible, 1 of them could even be an echo).

-Gen 8 Pokemon: Even though there was a spirit event for SwSh back in November, there's still a lot of content to pull from the games. Plus, Three Houses and ARMS are Switch titles with a slot on a Fighter Pass; it wouldn't surprise me if we see a Gen 8 Pokemon making the list too since it's also a Switch title.

-Crash: mostly because he's a big want from the community since the conception of the 1st Fighter Pass, so he'll probably be in Smash out of mass fan requests

-Geralt: He's my wildcard pick of Vol 2. Yeah I get the novels came first, but really, it's possible that The Switcher port opened doors for negotiations to add The Witcher to Smash.


Pretty much the only 2 predictable characters on this list are Crash and a SwSh Pokemon. Everyone else isn't really a hot commodity within speculation except maybe Geralt since I've seen decent discussions on him pop up more than the other 2. The 1 major thing this list lacks are reoccurring 3rd party companies, so it's definitely possible that a SEGA or Capcom rep can just swoop in and **** up my predictions. I can't wait for a year and a half to pass by to see how close my predictions got to the actual lineup.

Geralt is actually ineligible to be in Smash because he did not debut in a video game.

 

[Koopaul]

I do think they take into account hype, with Ridley and Hero/Banjo & Kazooie being prime examples, it’s just Nintendo often has a different perspective than fans as to what counts as hype. I’m positive Nintendo didn’t expect any backlash from Byleth and thought they were saving a surprising character for last, especially given Sakurai’s introduction.

However, since Fighter’s Pass 2 is timed differently, we could see it being more of a roller coaster. I expect the next character to be big, as they would have likely been shown at E3 had the cancellation not happen. But there’s also E3 next year (again, doesn’t matter if it’s cancelled, what matters is this was planned last year). So I expect FP7 and FP9-10 to be the big ones, at least for Western audiences. FP8 and FP11 would likely be first party or a more obscure/niche third party character.

The last characters revealed for the base game were Ken, Incineroar and Piranha Plant. With Simon/K. Rool put right smack dab in the middle.

 

[Phoenix Douchebag]

Gotcha.

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Huh.....i guess it's not surprising.

It's too soon to say what the ratio of first-parties and third-parties will be like. That being said, Smash characters are usually revealed from most exciting to least exciting. If there are any big third-parties left, they'll probably be revealed sooner rather than later. Not an unbreakable rule, but that's what happens in most cases.

As for what I'm expecting, I think they'll use this pass to add a few first-party characters who had unfortunate timing. Along with Min Min, I'm guessing Rex and a Gen 8 Pokemon. I'm also guessing they'll add another character from a game that's very new, so maybe BotW 2 or something else that's coming out 2020/2021. Last two spots will probably be third-party.

If E3 wasn't cancelled, i think we would have seen the "big 3rd Party reveal" by now. Of course since we don't live in that timeline, we are in the dark.

What are everyone's thoughts on Volume 2 being a mainly 3rd party vs. first party pass now that know that Imran Khan was only making those tweets to hint at Min Min? Do you still think it'll be mainly 1st party? 3:3 equal with 3rd parties, or even 4:2 3rd parties?


What do you think?

Personally, i expect it to be half at best for Third Parties. Call it a gut feeling, but i do believe that opening it with Min-Min meant something. Of course as i said above, E3 probably would have given us better context as to what was going on (because we almost always tend to get 3rd party reveals in E3, Ultimate beign an exception unless you count all the returning 3rd party veterans which i guess can count in Snake's case) though i guess that would make the 1 or 2 third parties all the more attention-grabbing since they would be the exception and not the norm like the last Pass.

ZUN wants his character in Smash. As does Suda51. As does Ed Boon. As does Marty Stratton. As do the Ubisoft guys with Rayman.

If you were around during the ballot, you'd remember just how many devs expressed a desire to have their character included. At this point there must be over twenty different statements from devs expressing a willingness or desire for their property to be in Smash Bros.

But simply saying you'd like for it to happen in and of itself isn't really a point in the character's favour, because it's not something that sets you apart from the rest of the crowd.

In fact, it'd be interesting to see just how many devs have talked about getting their IP(s) in Smash, were someone to compile all the statements.

Im honestly MORE interesed in hearing what developers DON'T want their character in Smash, assuming they even exist at this point.

He technically doesn't use a lance as most people would, but I think he'd be a neat Capcom rep.
View attachment 276466

Arthur > Phoenix and Dante. Don't @ me. Im not even a GnG fan and i still prefer him unironically. Blame my sidescroller action platformer bias.

Well, if they DO add another tab to the stage select, how would you guys feel about separating each game (or two, 64 and Melee could share a page, as could 3DS and Wii-U) into different pages, but making the thumbnails larger so that its easier to see them at a glance?

EDIT: It'd be more pages, but said pages might be less cluttered.

So something like Custom Stages right?

I honestly want that. I mean it's not too different from Brawl's "Past Stages" tab. I think we need to do that now (especially for Handheld mode)

 

[N3ON]

I do think they take into account hype, with Ridley and Hero/Banjo & Kazooie being prime examples, it’s just Nintendo often has a different perspective than fans as to what counts as hype. I’m positive Nintendo didn’t expect any backlash from Byleth and thought they were saving a surprising character for last, especially given Sakurai’s introduction.

However, since Fighter’s Pass 2 is timed differently, we could see it being more of a roller coaster. I expect the next character to be big, as they would have likely been shown at E3 had the cancellation not happen. But there’s also E3 next year (again, doesn’t matter if it’s cancelled, what matters is this was planned last year). So I expect FP7 and FP9-10 to be the big ones, at least for Western audiences. FP8 and FP11 would likely be first party or a more obscure/niche third party character.

Nintendo not expecting any backlash from Byleth is a very strange thing to be positive of.

They even made a joke about "too many swordies" in Byleth's trailer.

 

[Al-kīmiyā']

This is what I’m most curious about. I was thinking we might not know until FP7 since there is an empty spot, but then I realized the Training Stage Select Screen is actually filled up. So no matter what, we’ll find out in a couple days.

I hope they program it so they just add to the page. I would really love the option to have one full page, as well as a sort feature so I could have screens based on “Stages from Super Smash Bros. 64” or “Stages from The Legend of Zelda Series” where they’re much bigger. Though that won’t happen as if that were the case Sakurai would have mentioned it.

Worst case scenario they add a next page button, which would be horrible.

You can probably mod the stage select screen relatively easily.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

I do think people are too set on the "relevant" choice being... right now or immediately in the future.

When Smash picks a character they want to advertise, they are perfectly willing to choose a character who had their big break a couple years ago.

Games that released in 2017 and 2018 are still considered "relevant" and worth advertising.

 

[CosmicQuark]

The last characters revealed for the base game were Ken, Incineroar and Piranha Plant. With Simon/K. Rool put right smack dab in the middle.

I know, which is why I expected the last character of the Fighter's Pass to be equally underwhelming. That didn't stop Nintendo/Sakurai from talking up Byleth as if they were a surprising character. That wasn't me, that was Sakurai. Before that, I would have said Nintendo doesn't care about that at all, but now can't.

 

[RileyXY1]

I know, which is why I expected the last character of the Fighter's Pass to be equally underwhelming. That didn't stop Nintendo/Sakurai from talking up Byleth as if they were a surprising character. That wasn't me, that was Sakurai. Before that, I would have said Nintendo doesn't care about that at all, but now can't.

Byleth was surprising because almost everyone expected FP5 to be a third party just like FP1-FP4 were.

 

[SharkLord]

I'm expecting either an inverted FP1 (Four first-parties, two third-parties) or a fifty-fifty split. Actually, my personal predictions are, in no specific order:

1. Min Min
2. Rex
3. Reimu
4. Rayman
5. Bandana Dee
6. Lloyd

 

[N3ON]

I know, which is why I expected the last character of the Fighter's Pass to be equally underwhelming. That didn't stop Nintendo/Sakurai from talking up Byleth as if they were a surprising character. That wasn't me, that was Sakurai. Before that, I would have said Nintendo doesn't care about that at all, but now can't.

But being surprising isn't synonymous with being well-received.

Most of the biggest backlashes comes from the surprising choices. ROB, WFT, Corrin, Bayo, Piranha Plant. Even surprising choices like Cloud were divisive at the beginning because people don't have time to acclimate to them beforehand. There are surprises that have been lauded, obviously - like Joker - but being "surprising" certainly isn't the same as being well-received, hype-inducing, or a megaton.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

I suspect another 1st party at most with it most likely being an Gen 8 Pokemon. The rest I think will be 3rd party.

 

[CosmicQuark]

But being surprising isn't synonymous with being well-received.

Most of the biggest backlashes comes from the surprising choices. ROB, WFT, Corrin, Bayo, Piranha Plant. Even surprising choices like Cloud were divisive at the beginning because people don't have time to acclimate to them beforehand. There are surprises that have been lauded, obviously - like Joker - but being "surprising" certainly isn't the same as being well-received, hype-inducing, or a megaton.

Let me clarify, as I see that part getting nitpicked--Fire Emblem getting a character in Smash is not surprising, to anyone. That's partly why there's been a lot of backlash, and that is what I was referring to. It's "surprising" in the sense that people wrote off Fire Emblem as being DLC thinking the pass would be only third party. But I doubt that was what Sakurai was saying when he made sure nobody knew, not even people from Nintendo. I'm sure he thought Fire Emblem is a big deal in and of itself and people would be surprised Three Houses would get a character in given how close it's been since its release. But that wasn't what everyone was thinking when he was hyping that up in the introduction--everyone thought it would be a big named, third party character that seemed impossible for Nintendo to get. That is the discrepancy between Nintendo's and fan's views of hype.

 

[Opossum]

But being surprising isn't synonymous with being well-received.

Most of the biggest backlashes comes from the surprising choices. ROB, WFT, Corrin, Bayo, Piranha Plant. Even surprising choices like Cloud were divisive at the beginning because people don't have time to acclimate to them beforehand. There are surprises that have been lauded, obviously - like Joker - but being "surprising" certainly isn't the same as being well-received, hype-inducing, or a megaton.

Hell, even outside of third parties or the usual suspects for surprising first parties, a lot of people forget that Greninja had a decidedly lukewarm reception at first.

- A Gen VI Pokémon when most were expecting Brawl's selection+Mewtwo, the latter of which hadn't been confirmed yet.

- Didn't even have their own support thread.

- Didn't publicly exist for long, with X and Y having released only six months prior to the reveal.

- Happened in the same Direct that killed Ridley.


There was a vocal segment of Smashboards that LOATHED Greninja for going against the grain.

 

[Perkilator]

Okay, so suppose Vol. 2 had 10 fully unique fighters. Who would you want, and who do you expect? Here's my general wishlist:

 

[Ura]

#6: Min-Min
#7: Geno
#8: Sw/Sh PKMN
#9: Crash Bandicoot
#10: Dante
#11: Isaac

This is my tenative list for how I think FP2 will go. Working under the assumption that it will be a mix of 1st & 3rd party (with Geno kinda being both in a weird way lol). My picks are mostly grounded in reality although Isaac's chances hinges on the Golden Sun 1 & 2 Remaster rumor being true. Still hoping for Andy to clutch it out and make it in the Pass tho.

 

[Megadoomer]

Hell, even outside of third parties or the usual suspects for surprising first parties, a lot of people forget that Greninja had a decidedly lukewarm reception at first.

- A Gen VI Pokémon when most were expecting Brawl's selection+Mewtwo, the latter of which hadn't been confirmed yet.

- Didn't even have their own support thread.

- Didn't publicly exist for long, with X and Y having released only six months prior to the reveal.

- Happened in the same Direct that killed Ridley.


There was a vocal segment of Smashboards that LOATHED Greninja for going against the grain.

It didn't help matters that the initial shot of it removed the webbing from its fingers, meaning that a lot of people assumed that it was Mewtwo at first glance.

 

[DuskFleur]

As I mentioned before, I'd personally would love to see Sora get into Smash, Disney and Square Enix copyright be damned. I think he has potential as a fighter, with him being from an Action RPG series that has a heavy focus on stylish combos (especially in II and III). Though I wonder what his "gimmick" would be. Would it be a segmented Magic meter like in KH1? A regular Magic Gauge like in KHII? A Command Deck and/or Flowmotion like in 3D? Charging up Situation Commands like in KHIII? Some mix of the aforementioned? There's a lot they can pull from.

 

[Royalty1702]

Thinking about this a lot more. I predict 3 first parties and 3 third parties.
1. Min Min
2. Lloyd
3. Rex
4. Bandana Waddle Dee
5. Crash
6. Steve

 

[Perkilator]

It didn't help matters that the initial shot of it removed the webbing from its fingers, meaning that a lot of people assumed that it was Mewtwo at first glance.

Oh, wow. Sakurai knew full and well what he was doing back then.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

My even mix:
1. Min Min
2. Neku
3. Octoling
4. Elma
5. Crash
6. KOS-MOS

 

[Michael the Spikester]

1. Minmin
2. Crash Bandicoot
3. Medusa
4. Amaterasu or Phoenix Wright
5. Elma
6. Nightmare

 

[Megadoomer]

Okay, so suppose Vol. 2 had 10 fully unique fighters. Who would you want, and who do you expect? Here's my general wishlist:
View attachment 276509

The want list is going to be my top ten newcomers, only slightly modified

1. Min Min (she's already in the game)
2. Geno
3. Doomguy
4. Dante
5. Elma
6. Rayman
7. Travis Touchdown
8. 2B
9. Impa
10. Bandanna Waddle Dee

I'm working under the assumption that assist trophies and Mii costumes are ruled out (given that Rex's Mii costume was treated as an apology for not being able to include him), so unfortunately, Heihachi's disqualified. (he would have been in my top ten, though someone would have to get bumped off since Min Min's in the game)

As for what I expect, my track record with predictions is terrible, but I'll give it a shot.

1. Min Min
2. Geno
3. Ryu Hayabusa
4. Rayman
5. Crash Bandicoot
6. Dante
7. Doomguy (I haven't played much of Skyrim, so I have no idea how likely the Dragonborn is, but I predicted Doomguy for FP5 and I'm sticking to my prediction that he'll be DLC at some point!)
8. Bandanna Waddle Dee (not as sure about this one; on one hand, Sakurai seems reluctant to add Kirby characters that he didn't make, with all of the playable characters, assist trophies, bosses, items, and stages being from games that he directed, but on the other hand, Bandanna Dee's undeniably popular, and that seems to be especially true in Japan)
9. Shantae (again, haven't played much of Shantae's games, but I figure there's going to be a playable indie character at some point, and with Shovel Knight and Sans seemingly ruled out for this game, she seems the most likely)
10. Jin Kazama (I'd prefer Heihachi for a Tekken character, but if that Mii costume's any indication, he's ruled out)

For the expectation list, I feel like I should have put more first party characters in there, but I wasn't sure who seemed likely - it's hard to tell based on previous DLC, since for first party characters, all we have to go on are veterans (), deliberately unpredictable choices (), and Fire Emblem characters (), which doesn't give much to work with.

 

[Dalek_Kolt]

Okay, so suppose Vol. 2 had 10 fully unique fighters. Who would you want, and who do you expect? Here's my general wishlist:
View attachment 276509

I'm assuming Min Min is part of it?
In that case:
1:
2:

3:

4:

5:

6:

7:

8:

9:

10:

As for who I'm expecting? A bunch of third-parties like Crash.

 

[Strider_Bond00J]

Another fun game? Well I suppose if we're dividing between equal First and Third-Parties, I'd go for:
1: Min Min
2: Rex & Pyra or Melia
3: Isaac (depending on whether or not Assist Trophies are still in the running), but if Isaac's out, then I'd be okay with Octolings
4: Dante
5: Reimu
6: Kazuma Kiryu.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Hell, even outside of third parties or the usual suspects for surprising first parties, a lot of people forget that Greninja had a decidedly lukewarm reception at first.

- A Gen VI Pokémon when most were expecting Brawl's selection+Mewtwo, the latter of which hadn't been confirmed yet.

- Didn't even have their own support thread.

- Didn't publicly exist for long, with X and Y having released only six months prior to the reveal.

- Happened in the same Direct that killed Ridley.


There was a vocal segment of Smashboards that LOATHED Greninja for going against the grain.

Not to mention that for a long time, he wasn't even popular in the Pokemon community either.

A vocal segment thought he looked stupid.

 

[M@R!3]

As I mentioned before, I'd personally would love to see Sora get into Smash, Disney and Square Enix copyright be damned. I think he has potential as a fighter, with him being from an Action RPG series that has a heavy focus on stylish combos (especially in II and III). Though I wonder what his "gimmick" would be. Would it be a segmented Magic meter like in KH1? A regular Magic Gauge like in KHII? A Command Deck and/or Flowmotion like in 3D? Charging up Situation Commands like in KHIII? Some mix of the aforementioned? There's a lot they can pull from.

I've been thinking about this for a while, and after playing Remind and looking back to the tougher fights throughout the series I'm starting to lean towards him being a zone breaker with an mp gauge. Most of his physical attacks are for closing the distance in various situations, and his magic tends to be used to hit confirm before moving in.

Ex: Hitting Lingering Will with Thunder to launch at a distance and buy time for moving in.
Or interrupting

Spoiler: POST GAME SPOILER

Yozora's

attacks in KH3 with Thunder and closing with Air Step during hit stun.

I would love for 2nd Form to be a thing, but going by Sora's usual style it might be a bit much unless his killing ability is very weak without it.

 

[DuskFleur]

I've been thinking about this for a while, and after playing Remind and looking back to the tougher fights throughout the series I'm starting to lean towards him being a zone breaker with an mp gauge. Most of his physical attacks are for closing the distance in various situations, and his magic tends to be used to hit confirm before moving in.

Ex: Hitting Lingering Will with Thunder to launch at a distance and buy time for moving in.
Or interrupting

Spoiler: POST GAME SPOILER

Yozora's

attacks in KH3 with Thunder and closing with Air Step during hit stun.

I would love for 2nd Form to be a thing, but going by Sora's usual style it might be a bit much unless his killing ability is very weak without it.

Oh, and another thing! Alternate costumes. Sora has his main costumes from 1, 2, 3D, and 3, but there's also his other world designs (like Halloween Town) and his Drive forms too. I'd like to see an Anti Sora alt too, a la the Dark Links.

 

[Royalty1702]

What are your out of the blue Mii Costume predictions (like Sans and Cuphead)? We already got Vault Boy for Min Min, so I'll say...
- Geno
- Hollow Knight
- Doomguy
- Shantae
- Freddy Fazbear (Yeah, I'll defend this one)

 

[NintenRob]

Now look at Greninja, the most popular Pokemon of all!


Although I'll add there was a bit of support for Kalos Trainer, which usually included Greninja.

And he was a personal most wanted after Rosalina

 

[M@R!3]

Oh, and another thing! Alternate costumes. Sora has his main costumes from 1, 2, 3D, and 3, but there's also his other world designs (like Halloween Town) and his Drive forms too. I'd like to see an Anti Sora alt too, a la the Dark Links.

Drives and palettes based on Sora's older designs are simple enough. KH2 Sora seems like a safe bet as an alt. Not sure about the world specific designs, but I would love pirate Sora.

 

[MooMew64]

What are everyone's thoughts on Volume 2 being a mainly 3rd party vs. first party pass now that know that Imran Khan was only making those tweets to hint at Min Min? Do you still think it'll be mainly 1st party? 3:3 equal with 3rd parties, or even 4:2 3rd parties?

I personally think it's a bit too early to call still. I think we're getting at least 2 3rd parties based on a Famitsu column Sakurai wrote. Who they will be? Bias aside, I still think there's a pretty decent chance Dante is in there. While there's no proven connection between Mii Costumes and the parent company receiving a brand new fighter, we still haven't seen Monster Hunter and there's still an opportunity to add other Capcom properties in through Mii Costumes if that is the route they take (Ace Attorney, for example). Dante also has a console exclusive Definitive Edition for Devil May Cry 3, which comes after the infamous interview with Mr. Itsuno that said, "Well, I think Dante should be on a Nintendo console first before he's in Smash, don't you?" Said article was then followed by Dante appearing on Nintendo consoles, and a definitive version as well.

Does it mean he's in? No, but those are nothing but positives for him considering I believe DMC1 Switch was announced around the time decisions for Volume 2 would have been made. I could be wrong, however.

Otherwise, I think it's decently wide open. If we're seeing more 3rd parties, Travis Touchdown has a connection through Suda51 (friends with Sakurai), Crash is always a solid "dream matchup" pick (Mario v Sonic v Crash Bandicoot). 2B would be a mainstream "strike while the iron is hot" pick, similar to Joker in that respect (the thing with meeting Yoko Taro I'm not entirely sold on yet. Obviously they met for the first time at that event, but when in the timeline does the company meeting happen? If 2B is later in the pass, why would Sakurai need to meet with Yoko Taro upon acquisition?).

First parties, I almost feel like are straightforward. Rex and XC2 were considered for base so that could come in handy for selection now, but Nintendo is choosing AND XC2 isn't as relevant. Gen 8 Pokemon...maybe? Pokemon is big enough to be an exception to almost anything, but I think it's still notable that they didn't do a spirit event for Three Houses, and we got Byleth. I do get the argument that certain spirits are arguably fair game for now, but I think we'll have to wait and see for Pokemon. Aside from that...1st parties, or at least the demanded ones, rely a bit on more upgrades. With upgrades, I'm still not convinced we're gonna get some blowout of them.

What do you think?

I feel it's gonna be a mix of both, almost akin to what Smash 4 did.

I think it's interesting that rather than start with a "hype third-party" to set the tone of this pass like they did with Joker, they specifically chose to follow up Byleth with someone from ARMS, another first party. I'm honestly taking the Three Houses and ARMS inclusion to signify that Nintendo is very keen on using DLC to advertise relevant Switch titles as well as bring in guest characters, so I'm leaning towards an even split of three first parties and three third parties. My best guesses are probably along the lines of:

Gen 8 Pokemon: Given the circumstances surrounding Byleth and especially Min Min, I can't help but think this one is practically guaranteed. Sword and Shield exploded in sales and are continuing to be pushed with DLC as the current Pokemon game, and I highly doubt TPC and Nintendo will let this golden opportunity to add in a Gen 8 Pokemon pass. As for which Pokemon, I'm admittedly uncertain which Pokemon will be, but in my own bias I'm hoping for Cinderace. Toxtricity has a decent shot as well, assuming it winds up having the potential to become Galar's Lucario.

Dante: Pretty much for the reasons you said, honestly. Capcom can't resist throwing their IPs into any crossover that they can, and it just makes a lot of sense as a general crowd pleaser. It's...admittedly something I don't want (no offense) but I'd be a bit surprised if it doesn't happen.

Xenoblade: This one here is the trickiest one. Xenoblade 2 is popular, but right now the Xenoblade game in focus is a remaster of the first one. Would Rex really work as an ad for it? ARMS shows they're clearly not concerned about the age of a title, but Xenoblade is a bit different IMHO. Time will tell on this one.

Candidates like 2B, Sora, Travis, Steve, and Geno definitely come to mind as possibilities with varying degrees of chances as well. Regardless, I don't think we're gonna get a blowout of third parties like Pass 1 started out with. Especially given that I personally believe that the dev team may have shrunken down at this point, which may lead to not as many wild choices.

 

[SharkLord]

Who do I want

What are your out of the blue Mii Costume predictions (like Sans and Cuphead)? We already got Vault Boy for Min Min, so I'll say...
- Geno
- Hollow Knight
- Doomguy
- Shantae
- Freddy Fazbear (Yeah, I'll defend this one)

Brawler: Madeline
Swordfighter: The Knight, Shovel Knight, Hat Kid
Gunner: Geno
Multiple: Steve? (Brawler and Swordfighter) Potentially Klonoa (Swordfighter and Gunner)

 

[DuskFleur]

Drives and palettes based on Sora's older designs are simple enough. KH2 Sora seems like a safe bet as an alt. Not sure about the world specific designs, but I would love pirate Sora.

Yes! Pirate Sora is best Sora!

 

[Mushroomguy12]

Okay, so suppose Vol. 2 had 10 fully unique fighters. Who would you want, and who do you expect? Here's my general wishlist:
View attachment 276509

Here's mine.