Official Newcomer/DLC Speculation Discussion

[SirBillyBob]

Dang, I know it's coming with new content, but that price is a little too steep for me. /s

And they say the Mario 3D collection is overpriced.

 

[SharkLord]

I’m kinda bored so here’s a question for ya’ll:

What character do you think would have the most “interesting” moveset?
not necessarily based on uniqueness in regards to other movesets but moreso on the flavorful side of things. Stuff like Waluigi incorporating items and concepts from the various Mario sports game to name a primary example.



Coming from a guy supporting an MMO character I can say that mine would definitely be up there. Channeling various schools of magic in a Monado Arts-esche Down B to great effect, ranging from summoning little elfs to humongious dragons and powering up yourself... certainly not a simple moveset but it would make for a really interesting playstyle that really hasn’t been seen before.(think how Shulk works but on a much broader scale and with the actual Monado Arts slightly changing the moveset)

I think the craziest characters in my personal Smash project are Crazy Dave and Magolor. Crazy Dave utilized plants and Tower Defense mechanics, allowing him to place plants down and have some crazy setups. Magolor is comparatively simple in terms of mechanics, but one of his specials allows him to open portals, allowing him to warp people and projectiles around. As you could guess, Crazy Dave vs Magolor matches would get pretty screwy pretty quick.

Aside from that, there's Reimu, as I mentioned above. She could have unmatched aerial mobility and her bullet hell mechanics could give her some outstanding anti-projectile abilities, at the cost of dying in only a couple hits. That, and her aesthetics and design would stand out pretty well compared to most Smash fighters.

One of my favorite concepts has to be Haohmaru. He's just some samurai dude, except Samurai Shodown's mechanics make him into Ganondorf on steroids. He dies really quickly, but he can devastate you with a single forward smash. If that's not enough, his Rage Gauge buffs his ludicrous strength even further, and then you can use the Rage Explosion, which cranks the overdrive into overdrive and causes him to break Final Destination in two just by existing. Again, Ultimate Ganondorf on 'roids.

 

[StarBot]

So this is interesting, but Pikmin 3 is back on the Wii U eShop. Seems like the backlash did reach Nintendo.

My Nintendo Store – Nintendo Official Site

Shop at the My Nintendo Store for exclusive Nintendo merchandise, video games in digital and physical formats, Nintendo Switch™ systems, and much more.

www.nintendo.com

Gives me a little hope for the Mario collection.

If this was happening in the Smash 4 period of Smashboard, this board will be convinced that this is somehow definitive proof that Nintendo have an anti-Donkey Kong bias because they didn’t do this for Tropical Freeze

 

[Guynamednelson]

Dang, I know it's coming with new content, but that price is a little too steep for me. /s
View attachment 284551
And they say the Mario 3D collection is overpriced.

"I wish Nintendo wouldn't charge $60 for Wii U ports"

 

[Rie Sonomura]

Dang, I know it's coming with new content, but that price is a little too steep for me. /s
View attachment 284551
And they say the Mario 3D collection is overpriced.

reminds me of the time i found the Three Houses Expansion Pass on ebay for $1000

obviously didn't buy it at THAT price but ye

 

[StarBot]

reminds me of the time i found the Three Houses Expansion Pass on ebay for $1000

The Sothis Regalia costume and Yuri would have been worth the price

 

[Animegamingnerd]

Crunchyroll and Adult Swim announce Shenmue: The Animation, 13 episode anime series https://t.co/si9o6YxZow

— SEGAbits.com 💥 SEGA News (@SEGAbits) September 4, 2020

UH Shenmue bros?????

My main take away is that it looks like Dusk Golem was right about something related to Shenmue being revealed this week. Now lets see if Monster Hunter will be revealed soon.

 

[Shroob]

"When do you think FP7 will be revealed?"


Wait, FP7?


You mean we didn't pay Sakurai 30 bucks for just Min Min and nothing else?

 

[Rie Sonomura]

"When do you think FP7 will be revealed?"


Wait, FP7?


You mean we didn't pay Sakurai 30 bucks for just Min Min and nothing else?

Min Min and the Ancient Soldier costume excuse u

 

[Mushroomguy12]

Dang, I know it's coming with new content, but that price is a little too steep for me. /s
View attachment 284551
And they say the Mario 3D collection is overpriced.

Yeah, for that price it better come with all these characters, three deluxe sized flat screen TVs, a new PC, and a golden toilet.

Source

Hopefully we can at least get some new characters for 3D World.

I think this is the best time to retweet this !

Rosalina was shown in a second trailer for SM3DW on Wii U, so let's keep hope for new characters like Princess Daisy, Wario or Pauline !🤞#Nintendo #SuperMario35 #SuperMario3DWorld #SuperMario https://t.co/Y4T5Crt0Kc

— Deiji-Zeruda (@Deiji_Zeruda) September 3, 2020

 

[Rie Sonomura]

pic.twitter.com/fgKIhApT6l

— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) September 5, 2020

popopopopopopopo

nananananananana

 

[Guynamednelson]

pic.twitter.com/fgKIhApT6l

— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) September 5, 2020

popopopopopopopo

nananananananana

actually it's naponaponaponapo and ponaponaponapona

 

[Rie Sonomura]

actually it's naponaponaponapo and ponaponaponapona

I’m sleepy and can’t distinguish them ok

alternative title: how to make your 3DS explode in one easy step

 

[Guynamednelson]

I’m sleepy and can’t distinguish them ok

alternative title: how to make your 3DS explode in one easy step

It's okay

Everyone seems to call the player's Ice Climber Popo and the AI one Nana even if you're using a role-swapping costume.

 

[CapitaineCrash]

Random question, would anybody be opposed to the Masked Man (if they find a way to bypass any spoilers)?

I wouldn't be opposed but I feel like Porky is a better choice because is moveset would probably be more original. Also I personally think that Porky is more important because he's the main antagonist of Mother 3 and also have a big role in Earthbound. Masked man would be a neat mii costume, he could work for both gunner and swordfighter.

 

[chocolatejr9]

pic.twitter.com/fgKIhApT6l

— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) September 5, 2020

popopopopopopopo

nananananananana

At first, I thought this was going to be a Jojo reference.

Say, what exactly is speculation like now that the 3D Collection is confirmed? Are there any "credible" leakers out there, or are we stuck in the wasteland again? I know Emily Rogers commented on 3D World being the most ambitious Wii U port to date, but that's about it.

 

[StrangeKitten]

-snip-

"Extended Tongue for eat ennemis"

 

[PeridotGX]

I always thought Maxwell from Scribblenauts would have a very interesting moveset, since he can write things into existence, basically.

Maxwell would be awesome, plus I love Scribblenauts.

Maxwell is my second most wanted, it's nice to see more people talking about him.

I've noticed that a lot of people like him (even a youtuber I kinda watch), but he's seen as so impossible that disscusion is pretty much "wow he can do a lot, moving on". I wonder if anything could change that.

 

[Perkilator]

Reggie also admittedly said that there wouldn’t be any friends codes and how all the DLC would be form new worlds

No, he said they'd be new to Smash. Byleth and Min Min are obviously new to Smash, to an extent.

 

[SharkLord]

At first, I thought this was going to be a Jojo reference.

Say, what exactly is speculation like now that the 3D Collection is confirmed? Are there any "credible" leakers out there, or are we stuck in the wasteland again? I know Emily Rogers commented on 3D World being the most ambitious Wii U port to date, but that's about it.

Well, let's see...

• Walmart says Bayonetta 3 arrives on January 6th
• We have no idea when BotW2, Metroid Prime 4, or Pikmin 4 will happen, though at least the latter has P3DX to tie us over
• Metroid Prime Trilogy is still oft-speculated but we have no idea if it's even an actual thing
• Golden Sun had a new, non-renewal trademark filed in 2018, had it denied twice, and finally passed in March of this year, plus a new trademark for Dark Dawn as well. No idea when those trademarks become reality, though if it was enough to get the trademark passed, it should at least be in a pretty good place right now

So basically, Bayo3 probably next year, and I'm guessing Golden Sun and BotW2 are most likely next year as well. MP4 and Pikmin 4 are stuck in limbo at the moment, and Metroid Prime Trilogy is permanently in purgatory.

 

[StarBot]

I wonder if anything could change that.

When he gets another game and the Scribblenauts IP get sale away to another company that isn’t Warner Brothers

 

[Rie Sonomura]

Well, let's see...

• Walmart says Bayonetta 3 arrives on January 6th
• We have no idea when BotW2, Metroid Prime 4, or Pikmin 4 will happen, though at least the latter has P3DX to tie us over
• Metroid Prime Trilogy is still oft-speculated but we have no idea if it's even an actual thing
• Golden Sun had a new, non-renewal trademark filed in 2018, had it denied twice, and finally passed in March of this year, plus a new trademark for Dark Dawn as well. No idea when those trademarks become reality, though if it was enough to get the trademark passed, it should at least be in a pretty good place right now

So basically, Bayo3 probably next year, and I'm guessing Golden Sun and BotW2 are most likely next year as well. MP4 and Pikmin 4 are stuck in limbo at the moment, and Metroid Prime Trilogy is permanently in purgatory.

Isn’t there talk of an F-Zero copyright renewal too?

 

[cashregister9]

Copyright/Trademark Renewals 9 times out of 10 Mean Nothing Companies do that so they can keep the IP rights

 

[MooMew64]

My gut says CP7 might be next week or the week after. Realistically, it might be early October.
Either way, it's gonna be Gooigi. Googi time. goog

 

[Shroob]

My gut says CP7 might be next week or the week after. Realistically, it might be early October.
Either way, it's gonna be Gooigi. Googi time. goog

And if it's not there? It'll be there the next day

And the next day

And the next day

And the next day

And the next day

 

[SharkLord]

Copyright/Trademark Renewals 9 times out of 10 Mean Nothing Companies do that so they can keep the IP rights

It's not a renewal though, I stated as much in my list. It's a new copyright, not a renewal. One that was denied twice before going through, at that. This isn't just a quick "Imma hang onto this IP just because," it's a new trademark that had to go through separately.

 

[cashregister9]

It's not a renewal though, I stated as much in my list. It's a new copyright, not a renewal. One that was denied twice before going through, at that. This isn't just a quick "Imma hang onto this IP just because," it's a new trademark that had to go through separately.

I wasn't really calling out your post in particular I was more just prefacing the discussion before it got out of hand with people shouting "X game is confirmed because of a trademark renewal"

 

[Karen6969]

I’m curious, what do a lot of you guys think about the Mario tournament that was announced for later this year? I’ve seen a lot of people trying to tie it into Geno speculation, and while plausible I don’t really buy it. I just don’t think they would make a tournament of all 1st party Mario Characters and coincide it with the release of a 3rd party Mario character. He seems like he’d fit in much better with a tournament of highly requested classics like B&K, Ridley, K rool, etc.

My first impression of the Mario tournament was that we wouldn’t get a Mario character at all, but hearing that other interpretation of the tournament did get me thinking that Waluigi would actually fit in nicely. I mean he has been in a game with pretty much every single other character in the tournament. I don’t want this to be a Waluigi vs Geno thing, I’m just saying that if we are getting a Mario character to coincide with and be added to the roster for this tournament, Waluigi seems to make a lot more sense.

That being said I still think Geno overall is more likely than Waluigi when you consider the rest of the speculation surrounding him, but attributing the tournament to Geno’s chances vs Waluigi’s feels really off to me.

 

[Gribbo]

Crunchyroll and Adult Swim announce Shenmue: The Animation, 13 episode anime series https://t.co/si9o6YxZow

— SEGAbits.com 💥 SEGA News (@SEGAbits) September 4, 2020

UH Shenmue bros?????

At least one of the episodes better just be Ryo asking someone if he knows something and being told to talk to them tomorrow, so he spends the rest of the day playing Space Harrier and buying capsule toys.

 

[SharkLord]

I wasn't really calling out your post in particular I was more just prefacing the discussion before it got out of hand with people shouting "X game is confirmed because of a trademark renewal"

Ah, my bad. I'll support an actual new trademark, but if it was just a renewal, I wouldn't be as confident.

That being said, I don't know very many new trademarks anyways. The only other one I can think of is Encore versions of Klonoa, Splatterhouse, and Mr. Driller, the latter of which actually happened already. Hopefully the other two follow suit.

 

[Iko MattOrr]

My gut says CP7 might be next week or the week after. Realistically, it might be early October.
Either way, it's gonna be Gooigi. Googi time. goog

I'll stick with my former prediction of mid september, but if I have to be more specific, I think it's gonna be, not next week, but around the first half/beginning of the week after.

The bad thing is that it might just be a teaser or even worse another guess game (though this time hopefully they'll reveal the actual character in a shorter time).

 

[Shroob]

I'll stick with my former prediction of mid september, but if I have to be more specific, I think it's gonna be, not next week, but around the first half/beginning of the week after.

The bad thing is that it might just be a teaser or even worse another guess game (though this time hopefully they'll reveal the actual character in a shorter time).

Well, we know for certain we're getting a patch this month due to the new Amiibos near the end of the month.


Now the question is would they have a separate patch for the Amiibo functionality and the new character, assuming they come out shortly after their reveal?

 

[SnowClaws]

I’m kinda bored so here’s a question for ya’ll:

What character do you think would have the most “interesting” moveset?
not necessarily based on uniqueness in regards to other movesets but moreso on the flavorful side of things. Stuff like Waluigi incorporating items and concepts from the various Mario sports game to name a primary example.



Coming from a guy supporting an MMO character I can say that mine would definitely be up there. Channeling various schools of magic in a Monado Arts-esche Down B to great effect, ranging from summoning little elfs to humongious dragons and powering up yourself... certainly not a simple moveset but it would make for a really interesting playstyle that really hasn’t been seen before.(think how Shulk works but on a much broader scale and with the actual Monado Arts slightly changing the moveset)

Well, there are plenty of characters on my mind that I can list having a most "interesting" moveset.

Here, I will list some examples:

Ryu Hayabusa from Ninja Gaiden could incorporating some old Ninja Gaiden, modern Ninja Gaiden, Warriors series and Dead or Alive into his moveset. Either the moveset becomes a mix between all of them or some of them. Though old NG moves might be out of the question, and instead they may uses a mixed between modern NG and DoA. Though I still question if it is SSBU x NG or SSBU x DoA.

Talis from Metal Max Xeno Reborn. In the game, there is a job system in which characters can change their starting job classes into a different one and retain various moves from that job and either carry over it to their previous job or to an another job. Meaning Talis can uses other job-specific classes moves alongside his default Hunter class. Plus, it is interesting to incorporate this other job-specific moves alongside his gun and blade and very own special moves into a potential Smash moveset. Source: Character Customization

Cadence from Crypt of the NecroDancer. Since her series and the Legend of Zelda have a crossover, I felt that Cadence could borrow some weapons from the Zelda games into her Smash moveset. Maybe include the weapon durability from Cadence of Hyrule, so she is force to relied on other weapons instead of one weapon.

 

[Idon]

Ryu Hayabusa from Ninja Gaiden could incorporating some old Ninja Gaiden, modern Ninja Gaiden, Warriors series and Dead or Alive into his moveset. Either the moveset becomes a mix between all of them or some of them. Though old NG moves might be out of the question, and instead they may uses a mixed between modern NG and DoA. Though I still question if it is SSBU x NG or SSBU x DoA.

Considering Terry Bogard is SSBU x Fatal Fury despite Terry's moveset drawing from Garou, King of Fighters, and others, I'm going to say it's Ninja Gaiden as that is his game of origin.

 

[7NATOR]

I’m curious, what do a lot of you guys think about the Mario tournament that was announced for later this year? I’ve seen a lot of people trying to tie it into Geno speculation, and while plausible I don’t really buy it. I just don’t think they would make a tournament of all 1st party Mario Characters and coincide it with the release of a 3rd party Mario character. He seems like he’d fit in much better with a tournament of highly requested classics like B&K, Ridley, K rool, etc.

My first impression of the Mario tournament was that we wouldn’t get a Mario character at all, but hearing that other interpretation of the tournament did get me thinking that Waluigi would actually fit in nicely. I mean he has been in a game with pretty much every single other character in the tournament. I don’t want this to be a Waluigi vs Geno thing, I’m just saying that if we are getting a Mario character to coincide with and be added to the roster for this tournament, Waluigi seems to make a lot more sense.

That being said I still think Geno overall is more likely than Waluigi when you consider the rest of the speculation surrounding him, but attributing the tournament to Geno’s chances vs Waluigi’s feels really off to me.

Personally I don't think the 3rd party thing would be a knock against Geno if we did get a Mario character for this Tournament. At the end f the day, he's a Mario Character most of all, rather than a Square character and such

For Waluigi, It would be weird for him to be classified as a Mario Character, and be in the tournament without Wario, considering How close the Dynamic of Wario and Waluigi is. he is classified separate from Wario anyway as Assist and Spirit, But it would still be weird though if he got in as a Fighter and was allowed in the Tournament, when Wario isn't

 

[Mamboo07]

I’m kinda bored so here’s a question for ya’ll:

What character do you think would have the most “interesting” moveset?
not necessarily based on uniqueness in regards to other movesets but moreso on the flavorful side of things. Stuff like Waluigi incorporating items and concepts from the various Mario sports game to name a primary example.



Coming from a guy supporting an MMO character I can say that mine would definitely be up there. Channeling various schools of magic in a Monado Arts-esche Down B to great effect, ranging from summoning little elfs to humongious dragons and powering up yourself... certainly not a simple moveset but it would make for a really interesting playstyle that really hasn’t been seen before.(think how Shulk works but on a much broader scale and with the actual Monado Arts slightly changing the moveset)

Henry Stickmin, he has so much potential for a moveset with the many, many tools you use in the games. (Some lead to fails.)
His Final Smash would be Charles crashing his helicopter on the stage. (Final Smash: The Greatest Plan!)

 

[cosmicB]

I feel like if they were going to do another guessing game, the direct would've been the perfect place to do it.

Also, there wasn't any kind of "stay tuned for more announcements" messaging relating to the 35th anniversary labeling, was there? We of course still have more to learn about Bowser's Fury, but it seems what that direct gave us would largely be it for unannounced stuff. It's not like you can use the "only mainline stuff" justification either because we got friggin shoes and candy illegal in America as part of the announcements. If we're to assume CP7 is a Mario character, we'd just have to stick to the idea that Nintendo sees Smash as a hype blackhole at this point, at least during pandemic season.

I've also thought how the tournament would be weird if it was happening around the launch of a non-Nintendo character as they'd probably want people focusing on it. Obviously Nintendo does whatever they want and logic doesn't seem their strong point sometimes, but if they agree with me, then I think CP7 would have to be out either at least a month before the tournament or any time after. I don't know though, maybe I'm reading too much into it.

 

[7NATOR]

I feel like if they were going to do another guessing game, the direct would've been the perfect place to do it.

Also, there wasn't any kind of "stay tuned for more announcements" messaging relating to the 35th anniversary labeling, was there? We of course still have more to learn about Bowser's Fury, but it seems what that direct gave us would largely be it for unannounced stuff. It's not like you can use the "only mainline stuff" justification either because we got friggin shoes and candy illegal in America as part of the announcements. If we're to assume CP7 is a Mario character, we'd just have to stick to the idea that Nintendo sees Smash as a hype blackhole at this point, at least during pandemic season.

I've also thought how the tournament would be weird if it was happening around the launch of a non-Nintendo character as they'd probably want people focusing on it. Obviously Nintendo does whatever they want and logic doesn't seem their strong point sometimes, but if they agree with me, then I think CP7 would have to be out either at least a month before the tournament or any time after. I don't know though, maybe I'm reading too much into it.

Honestly, I would actually just say any character that's not Mario related would be weird to launch around the time of the Tournament.

as for How the Mario direct in general leads into Smash, I guess i would say that doing a Mario Guessing game (if we are getting a Mario Character) would be harder to do with say ARMS. There's like 9 Mario Characters already, and the ones left (Geno, Waluigi, Paper Mario, King Boo) are very Weird and Seperate from the Rest of the of the Mainline Mario Characters. I guess they could just say we are getting another Character from Mario, and not show the pics and stuff, but I don't know. Perhaps they also don't want to spoil this one either. Spoiling ARMS has an effect because that put more attention on the Free trial and stuff. Mario already has alot of things to be given attention, that I don't think a Guessing game is necessary

 

[DaybreakHorizon]

Hello everyone. I'm here to pop in and present my final set of essays:

The Second Set of Characters to Look Out For in Ultimate DLC​

Spoiler: Introduction

This collection of short essays serves a dual purpose:

1. To argue for the chances of characters not conventionally talked about and provide a break in the current flow of speculation, the same as the essays before, and
2. To serve as a goodbye piece for my time on Smashboards. After posting a final repository of my essays, including this collection, I will be changing the password of this account to a random combination that I will not memorize, and I will furthermore be asking the moderation team of this site to act within their power to further restrict my access to this account.

To put it short, I've grown a lot as a person since first coming back here over two years ago, and I think it's time that I put this chapter of my life behind me to move on to other pursuits. I'll reflect more on my time here in the conclusion of this essay.

Before leaving, however, I'd like to wrap up some loose ends, primarily being to cover some characters I've been meaning to write on for a while now. I won't waste any further time delving into the essays.

Spoiler: Table of Contents

Spoiler: Background - Beyond Nintendo

This was included in all of the my previous Characters to look out for Ultimate DLC essay. As I believe it's still pertinent to this series, I'll be including it here with minor edits.

Smash Bros. is a celebration of gaming. Having grown beyond its humble origins as a Nintendo crossover, it's scope extends far beyond one single company, drawing in famous characters from a variety of companies.

"But tehponycorn!" you say, "Smash Bros. is about Nintendo first!" To which I respond with this 2018 statement from Sakurai:

Smash was once subtitled “Nintendo All-Stars,” but the game’s scope has expanded far beyond Nintendo.

With this established, in regards to Smash speculation, the sky is the limit. So long as they originate from a video game, they could realistically be in Smash Bros. So then the question I pose is: why do we stick to the same old echoed characters? Time and time again the Smash fanbase has speculated around characters only to be blindsided by picks like Joker, Hero, and Terry. These picks make sense in hindsight, yet prior to their inclusion were supported by a certain few who were laughed off until they were right, at which point these characters were seen as "obvious." In writing these essays I hope to pop the Smash Bubble for a bit and broaden the horizons of speculation. While these essays will surely be lost in the void that is current speculation, I hope the effort is appreciated regardless.

Spoiler: Farmer (Story of Seasons)

Farmer (also known as Pete) is, in my opinion, is the likeliest character nobody talks about. While people are quick to mention Travis Touchdown in regards to Marvelous characters, no one ever really considers the Farmer.

To begin with, Story of Seasons (known as Harvest Moon in the West until 2012–it's a long story) is a long-running series with prominent ties to Nintendo. It began on the SNES and has continued to this day, with the most recent release, Friends of Mineral Town, releasing a little under two months ago on the Switch. The series is most notable for its influence on the farming genre of gaming, which has seen a notable resurgence with games such as Stardew Valley achieving incredible success with the same premise. The farming genre is surprisingly popular as of late with Stardew Valley selling a staggering 10 million copies as of 2020. Story of Seasons as a whole is no slouch either when it comes to sales. As of 2011, the series had reached a lifetime sales of almost 1 million units (counting titles in the Rune Factory spinoff series it launched), which it has surely passed by now. Story of Seasons games were the fastest selling game of all time for XSEED (Marvelous' Western publishing brand) not just once, but twice. The most recent release has sold at least 300,000 copies as of July between Japan and North America (with most of those sales being from Japan), meaning that the series still sees prominent success.

Another interesting point for Farmer is Sakurai's acknowledgement of the farming genre itself. In his Famitsu Column titled "Man, Farming is Dangerous," he says exactly what the title says, citing the addictive nature of the simple tasks and the "sense of liberation when you start to get powered up" as positive traits for the genre. I think his focus on the gameplay is interesting, because it provides a basic framework of how a Story of Seasons character could work. Thing something like Frank West in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, except instead of miscellaneous weapons it's farming tools that continually power up and make the Farmer stronger as the match goes on. Moveset potential is far from an argument against Farmer, considering the presence of Villager, and I believe that he could provide a unique edge moveset-wise compared to Villager by focusing on farming actions and a continually strengthening tool set per stock.

Finally, it ought to be noted that Marvelous has with the Smash team to bring Daemon x Machina Spirits to Smash ought to be noted, as it sets a precedent of communication between the two. While many cite this in favor of Travis, I would just as much cite it in favor of Farmer. At the very least, I would consider him a real contender when considering Marvelous characters.

Spoiler: Sakura Shinguji

Sakura got discussion here for like, one week, and then never got talked about again really. Besides that one period and discussion on some surprisingly convincing fake "leaks" Sakura sees little to no discussion, which is rather odd considering how popular the Sakura Wars series is. I suppose it makes sense given that most of the series' popularity stems from Japan, and it's only just now seeing a large push into the West, but regardless Sakura is another one of the likeliest characters that nobody talks about.

Before the release of the 2019 reboot, the series had sold 3.8 million units, and has since sold upwards of 4 million units as of December 2019. This does not factor in continued sales of the reboot as well as sales of the reboot in America, so the series has surely surpassed that number by now. (This figure exists that says the series has sold a lifetime 4.5 million units, but this seems to be in the context of the original series so this may not be an accurate indicator of the series' lifetime sales, especially when compared to official Sega reports.) Prior to the series falling dormant in 2010, Sakura Wars was one of the largest gaming series in Japan, period. Three of the first four games in the series placed among the best selling Sega Saturn and Dreamcast games of all time, and the fourth, the first Sakura Wars game, placed thirtheenth, and also sold out several stores near hours after its release. Considering how popular Sega consoles were in Japan, this is significant. The series also spawned a variety of other popular media, including anime, manga, stage shows, light novels, concerts, CD releases, and a cafe/merchandise store that successfully ran from 1998-2008. The series also received mass critical acclaim at the time, with both journalists and fans praising the game in various ways, be it acclaim or awards. To provide two (of many) examples, the original Sakura Wars was the second most-wanted game in a 1996 Famitsu poll, only after Final Fantasy VII, and in another 2009 Famitsu poll Sakura was rated as the 17th best Japanese video game character, placing ahead of other prominent characters such as Luigi, Sephiroth, Mega Man, and Dante among others. The series has also crossed over with multiple other franchises, including Granblue Fantasy, To Aru Majutsu no Index, Star Ocean (twice), and most notably, multiple Capcom and Namco series as a part of Project X Zone and Project X Zone 2.

Most recently, the series was revived due to large fan demand (with Sakura Wars topping a Sega series revival fan poll in a landslide by a little under 1000 votes). The reboot has done incredibly well sales wise, most recently placing in the top 1/3 (Rank 32) of the Top 100 best-selling games of 2019 according to Famitsu, making it the third best selling Sega title only behind Persona 5 Royal and Mario and Sonic at the Tokyo Olympic Games. For reference, both of the former games have playable representation in Smash Brothers Ultimate.

The reboot has marked a significant revival of the series, bringing its own manga series, anime series (which was picked up for a simulcast by Funimation), and a stage play (which was unfortunately canceled due to COVID complications). And the developers of the reboot want to keep the momentum going as much as possible, with them stating in a recent interview that they're "actively researching to see where there is high demand and determine what actions will be feasible" and "pushing to make it (a continuation of the new series) happen." Even during its lull, the series was popular within Sega, with the devs stating in an earlier interview that ideas for the series' continuation were being pitched yearly. Sakura Wars is an incredibly popular both within and outside of Sega. Considering the close relationship that Nintendo and Sega share alongside the strong precedent that they have working on Smash together, I could definitely see Sega suggesting Sakura to represent the Sakura Wars series, and Nintendo/Sakurai adding her to the game due to the massive popularity and acclaim surrounding the series.

You know, the image of a series that's incredibly popular in Japan but just recently seeing a push into the West almost makes me think of another series currently in Smash. I swear I talked about it in-depth, but I just can't remember...



Beats me.

Regardless, I'd say Sakura is one of, if not the most likely Sega characters if we get another one.

Spoiler: Reisalin "Ryza" Stout

Another viable character often overlooked in favor of a much more popular peer from the same company, in this case Ryu Hayabusa. While I wouldn't say Ryza is as likely as the previous two characters, I would still say she still has a very real chance and is underestimated in common speculation.

To start, the Atelier series is long-running series, with the first game, Atelier Marie, releasing in 1997 for the original Playstation. The series has just recently seen a slew of releases on the Nintendo Switch, with the Arland and Dusk trilogies being ported alongside Ateliers of the World, Lylie and Sadie, Lulua, Ryza, and now Ryza 2 all seeing releases on the system. That's 10 games released on the Switch in the past two years, with an additional one being released in later this year. That's a significant amount of games to release in such a short amount of time, and at the very least shows significant support of the Switch.

Ryza has been a breakout success for Gust (a subsidiary of Koei Tecmo), having the strongest launch for an Atelier game and quickly making pace to become the best-selling game in the series as of this August, blowing the previous best seller out of the water by over 100,000 units. For a typically niche series like Atelier, this is a very big deal. It seems that for some reason or another, Ryza is a stand-out star for Koei, as evidenced by the significant attention she and the first Atelier Ryza received significant attention before release, Ryza has been cross-promoted in other notable Koei series Dead or Alive and Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and having been planned by Gust to headline two mainline Atelier games, of which she is the first Atelier protagonist to do so. Her overwhelming popularity certainly doesn't hurt either.

It should go without saying that the Koei Tecmo has one of, if not the strongest relationship with Nintendo as a third party company. Koei Tecmo has handled two of Nintendo's first party IPs in Hyrule Warriors (which received an improved port on the Nintendo Switch) and Fire Emblem Warriors, and played an integral role in the development of Fire Emblem: Three Houses. In the past, they've also worked together with Nintendo on two of titles in the Fatal Frame series, which has notably received representation in the form of Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water protagonist Yuri Kozukata as an assist trophy. Based on Ryza's prominence and the seeming push for her games within the company, I could definitely see Koei suggest Ryza as a character, and her addition being based on the long-running nature of the Atelier series and the recent, significant support of the Switch system.

Now, I hear you say, "BUT TEHPONYCORN! RYZA ISN'T FOR GOOD BOYS AND GIRLS! THIGHS!!!" to which I respond:



In an interview discussing Ryza and the wider Atelier series, producer Junzo Hosoi said this in regards to Ryza's design:

We didn’t create her with the intention of her thighs being the key point, but a lot of people seem to be really…(Laughs)

Our approach was to make a cute character without any sexual innuendo whatsoever. Everyone sort of looks at her as sort of being sexy, and that’s completely not how we look at her, so that really caught us by surprise.

Furthermore, Atelier Ryza received a CERO B (Ages 12+) rating, with the sequel receiving a CERO C (Ages 15+) rating due to the addition of water making clothes wet. Ryza's design would barely be a problem, if at all.

Additionally, if it means anything, Scoliosis Jones had this to say about Atelier Ryza when interviewed:

Oh, I assure you it's quite based.

So there's that too.

Is Ryza the most likely character? No. However, I believe that she's a viable contender for a Koei Tecmo spot if we get one, and has a real place in the conversation pertaining to potential newcomers.

Spoiler: League of Legends

This is an essay I've been meaning to write since my first set of essays in January, if not earlier. It was actually meant to end my first series series before my school life picked up and prematurely ended it. I think it's fitting that this be my last essay here. I'm sure this could've been better, but as things are I'm happy to end things here.

Despite its prominence in the genre and Riot's large attempt to branch the series out from its PC origins, League doesn't see much mention if any here.

To put it lightly, League of Legends is absolutely massive. As of September 2019 the game drew in 8 million concurrent players every day, and reached more than 100 million people in December 2019 with the League of Legends World Championship. It's one of, if not the most popular PC game, and it is most definitely the most popular eSports game. There is a massive market to draw in to the Nintendo Switch ecosystem by adding a League of Legends character, especially if paired with one or multiple of Riot Game's upcoming console game efforts, such as Wild Rift, Ruined King, and/or CONV/RGENCE among others. While no specific consoles have been announced for any of these projects, I would say it's incredibly likely that at least one, if not all of them end up on the Nintendo Switch, given the system's large success in all markets, which knocks out the flimsy prerequisite of having to appear on a Nintendo console.

I think another thing that ought to be considered here is Tencent, who own 100% stake in Riot Games, the makers of League. Say what you will about them, but they are the world's biggest game company, and Nintendo's partner in trying to bring the Switch to China (which has been unsuccessful so far). If Nintendo were to make another, successful break into China and were trying to appeal to the Chinese market among others, a League of Legends character would be an amazing to do so, given the game's prominence there. A League character would, in general, be a good pick to appeal to a wide variety of demographics given the ubiquitous popularity of League worldwide, and negotiations for one would be relatively simple, given the solid business relationship between Nintendo and Tencent. As for who that character would be, I'll leave that discussion to fans of the series, because I have no clue who's the most popular/widely marketed champion, what with all the movies, music groups and songs, merchandise, and more that the series has spawned. I could spend an entire essay just talking about all of the media this series has spawned, it's ridiculous.

Sakurai has previously stated that the language barrier isn't as significant of a concern as previously thought, and that support from the partner company is seemingly more important. Riot Games did make a League of Legends mod for Smash Bros. Brawl, so it seems like they'd be open to the idea of a League character in Smash. All that would need to happen would be for Nintendo to go for it, which I honestly feel is more likely than people think given League's worldwide popularity and the massive potential Nintendo has to break into new demographics and draw people into the Switch ecosystem.

A League character is one of those characters I feel in my gut is likely, and I honestly believe that people should be aware of the possibility, along with the possibility of all the characters written about in this collection, lest they get surprised like we did with a majority of Fighters Pass 1.

Spoiler: Conclusion & Goodbye

Spoiler: Music to listen to as you read

I think there are a lot of characters out there that people don't really consider, and are quick to dismiss when brought up. A majority of my career here has been spent advocating for these characters, and I think I've had the most fun here constructing arguments like these. More than when I was in the leaks group for Smash For speculation, more than when I was the resident mr. leakerman collecting obviously fake 4chan and Twitter "leaks," and definitely more than when I was engaged in petty debates about fictional characters potentially getting into a fun fighting/party game.

Because at the end of the day, that's all I've done. Used my teachings in English and Philosophy to construct arguments and debate for fictional characters in a video game. When put like that, I kind of wonder what the point of it all was. Why type out almost 40,000 words worth of essays for what, in the grand scheme of things, means nothing, especially when the choices have been made far before I even thought to write an essay in the first place? I gain little to nothing from doing so, other than the preservation of skills that I'd naturally retain through my schoolwork otherwise. And yet, I kept coming back to to argue for characters and ****post, and I kept writing longform speculation pieces. Why?

Because of the community.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't care about this community. In the past I never took the concept of online friends seriously, nor did I think I could gain anything from friendships online. And yet, I've been proven wrong on both fronts through my interactions in this community, and subsequent communities that I've been introduced to from here. I've made real friends and learned real lessons from people I met here, and I'll forever be thankful for this website because of that.

But I've outgrown this website, and I've outgrown speculation. I find that as time goes on, I feel more disillusioned and jaded about speculation. It's become more and more combative, and more and more based on the hearsay of insiders. A friend of mine put it best in that, at times, this feels less like a speculation thread and more of a waiting thread. It's stifling, and the knowledge that my attempts at speculation will be drowned out by the wait is disheartening.

Furthermore, my real life continues to become busier as time goes on. On top of classes I have jobs and extracurricular responsibilities. I have assignments, presentations, projects, events, and more that I all have to work on, I have books to read and self-improvement to work on, and I have a massive backlog of video games and shows to go through, and the truth is that I'd much rather put effort into those than trying to swim upstream of speculation like I often feel I'm doing.

I've always felt like my days in speculation were numbered, and now that day has come. It's time for me hang up my mantle and move on. I'll leave this account and my essays as a testament to the time I spent here, and the memories I made along the way.

I wish you all the best of luck in whatever endeavors you pursue, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving a nerd like me a place of his own here.

That's all folks.

 

[epicmartin7]

Well, we know for certain we're getting a patch this month due to the new Amiibos near the end of the month.


Now the question is would they have a separate patch for the Amiibo functionality and the new character, assuming they come out shortly after their reveal?

Actually, it doesn't have to be just September. Considering the amiibos are out at the end of the month, we could see the patch in October too. In fact, my equations are predicting October 1st or October 23rd. So unfortunately, we still have all of September or October to go through until we know for sure lol.