Official Newcomer/DLC Speculation Discussion

[BlondeLombax]

...Anyway. I wanna hear some hot takes about who's getting in. Anyone got a hunch?

I'm thinking we will be getting at least one """Niche""" rep someone like Estelle, Saber, Sakura, Ryza, Reimu, Haruka I also feel like we will be getting a really popular rep like Crash or Sora

I made a meme about potential niche picks (and a personal want ) last night. I thought it'd be a hot take, but it was mostly ignored when I posted it.

 

[Deleted member]

I'm still sticking with Reimu. Smash has slowly but surely been adding more indie content, and with how accepting Nintendo's been to indies lately, I'd be surprised if we don't come out without one. Sure, we couldn't get in Shantae, Shovel Knight, or Sans ****ing Undertale, but those are Western characters who came to prominence recently. The Touhou Project, on the other hand, is a long-running Japanese series, so I'm thinking/hoping that Reimu will succeed where others fell short based on having different merits than them.
It helps that Touhou has a fanbase like no other, to the point that some people find the series through fanworks and don't even realize they're a series of bullet hell games. It's gotten to the point that the standard for Touhou remixes is 60 to 200 per song, and it dominated conventions to the point that it had to get it's own all to itself in the form of Reitaisai, which was held annually until this year because, y'know, COVID. Heck, the only reason the games are left untranslated on Steam is because ZUN knows that the fans will make their own anyways.
Also Suika somehow managed to crash ESPN once. That actually happened once. Just sayin'.

I'm also betting on Isaac as the Banjo of FP2. He's popular, he's got a series to back him up, but hasn't been seen in a good long while. It helps that the backlash to his snowglobing made Nintendo aware of his popularity, if they weren't before.

Lastly, I've been taken aback by Sakura Wars' popularity in Japan. It's been adapted into just about every form of media, gets showered with praise from fans and critics, dominated a 2016 for revival interest and general brand interest (Competition included Jet Set Radio for the former and Sonic the Hedgehog himself for the latter), and even got it's own themed cafe and 25 stage shows. Plus, it's recently been branching out to the West, with games such as Project X Zone and the 2019 soft reboot. If Nintendo's okay with focusing on Japan specifically-Or not, if they or Sega decide they want to push Sakura Wars in the West like with Dragon Quest-I think Sakura has a pretty good shot.

Only thing I would correct here is that Shantae, Shovel Knight, and Undertale aren't that young. For example, Undertale came to prominence in 2015, while Three Houses came to prominence at 2019, and ARMs at 2017, and we got and . I am also a bit skeptical on Isaac's chances, but I will not get too further into that. I agree with your point that Sakura and Reimu could totally be in Smash.

 

[Cosmic77]

But it's the same world, so it's not crazy to assume the same technology, including the armor, would exist in the sequel.

Just because it's a sequel doesn't mean everything from the first game no longer exists.

I'm not saying it doesn't exist anymore. There's actually a decent chance it could return.

The point I'm trying to make is that if HW:AoC or BotW2 was the game this hypothetical DLC character was tied in with, we'd probably mostly get content exclusive to or more affiliated with those games. That's why I wouldn't necessarily rule out a rep just because of the Ancient Armor costume. Sakurai might've not even known if it would be present in either of the upcoming games.

 

[Deleted member]

I thought it'd be a hot take, but it was mostly ignored when I posted it.

Such is the life of the newcomer thread. You either get ignored, post a hot take so bad everyone facepalms at you, or Geno. No inbetween.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

I'm not saying it doesn't exist anymore. There's actually a decent chance it could return.

The point I'm trying to make is that if HW:AoC or BotW2 was the game this hypothetical DLC character was tied in with, we'd probably mostly get content exclusive to or more affiliated with those games. That's why I wouldn't necessarily rule out a rep just because of the Ancient Armor costume. Sakurai might've not even known if it would be present in either of the upcoming games.

But the sequel is still associated with Breath of the Wild, so keeping the BotW outfit for a potential BotW2 character just makes the most sense here.

What's next? Splatoon 2's Octolings have a chance even though outfits from the first game were already given out with Min Min?

 

[BlondeLombax]

Such is the life of the newcomer thread. You either get ignored, post a hot take so bad everyone facepalms at you, or Geno. No inbetween.

I guess it wasn't so much of a meme as much as it was a survey in .png form. But, yeah, I can see that getting recognized is a hassle.
Here's the post in question.

You know, speaking of ninja fighters in Smash, I wasted a few hours in Photoshop working on this, and if this site had downvotes, I'd probably be a pincushion because of this one image alone. Regardless, I expect this to go many, many ways.

Spoiler: Enjoy, or don't, makes no difference to me

View attachment 284948
This is disregarding the "Good Boys and Girls" rule. Now that I think about it, I probably should have kept that in mind while making this.

 

[chocolatejr9]

Because she thicc.

Nintendo during the Wii U era: "We're a family-friendly company!"

Nintendo during the Switch era:

 

[SharkLord]

Wild how much stuff comes out of that fanbase. As someone largely unfamiliar with Touhou, how does that happen? I heard the creator is real lax about fangames - does that just kinda start a chain reaction of content creation? It's hard to imagine how a bullet hell series (a good one, I'm sure, I just mean to say it's reach is atypical even for a cult game) spreads it's community culture so far. How does Touhou's reputation precede itself to such an extent??

Yeah, ZUN is really freakin' lax and encouraging of his IP-Heck, he's even come down to compose music for the fangames themselves. It helps that he's the only guy who actually works on Touhou aside from the occasional Twilight Frontier collabs and some guest artists for the manga or spinoffs.

I think the main draw is the setting, specifically the characters. Everyone has a unique and distinct design, a personal theme, and a vague personality to go off of, allowing for a lot of wiggle room with the different interpretations and interactions. As such, minor characters who don't have many appearances, a major role, or even a character portrait get really popular. It helps that ZUN's art style was more or less daring you to do better, although it's actually been getting pretty good lately. Still, can you really say this is considered good art?

Spoiler: ZUN's art from the early 2000's

Yeah. It was just begging you to do better.

Only thing I would correct here is that Shantae, Shovel Knight, and Undertale aren't that young. For example, Undertale came to prominence in 2015, while Three Houses came to prominence at 2019, and ARMs at 2017, and we got and . I am also a bit skeptical on Isaac's chances, but I will not get too further into that. I agree with your point that Sakura and Reimu could totally be in Smash.

Relatively speaking, I'd say coming to prominence in the mid-2010's is still pretty new. While Shantae did start up around the same time Touhou's formula solidified, she was stuck in cult classic status for a while. The idea is that Touhou would get in because it has a different status and merits than that of the indies already represented, since evidently those didn't quite make the cut.

 

[Cosmic77]

But the sequel is still associated with Breath of the Wild, so keeping the BotW outfit for a potential BotW2 character just makes the most sense here.

What's next? Splatoon 2's Octolings have a chance even though outfits from the first game were already given out with Min Min?

Well, I guess we'll just agree to disagree.

We still have up to a year and three months before getting all five characters. A lot could happen between now and then, but if I had to put my money on any of the upcoming Nintendo games getting a promotional character like Fates and 3H did, I'd put it on BotW2. A Mii costume based off an outfit that may or may not be returning isn't enough for me to write off a character.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Well, I guess we'll just agree to disagree.

We still have up to a year and three months before getting all five characters. A lot could happen between now and then, but if I had to put my money on any of the upcoming Nintendo games getting a promotional character like Fates and 3H did, I'd put it on BotW2. A Mii costume based off an outfit that may or may not be returning isn't enough for me to write off a character.

It's still a Zelda outfit though. Doesn't matter which game, it's still the Zelda series, and it would be perfect on a Zelda newcomer, regardless of the game.

But that's my two cents on it. We'll see who's right in January 1st 2022.

EDIT: Just realized I'm Canadian, so saying "my two cents" is basically saying that my opinion is worthless

 

[BZocky]

If we're getting a BoTW Champion as DLC I hope it's Daruk. Fighting as a Goron in Smash would be so much fun.

Also I just noticed that the painting the Smash Bros. JP Twitter recreated for their picture contest example (Liberty Leading the People) was also recreated using BoTW characters back in 2017 for the BoTW Japan Expo in France

#Zelda leads the Champions at @japanexpo ! This art is based on Eugène Delacroix's "La Liberté guidant le peuple", an artwork at the Louvre pic.twitter.com/2TP9SP5sbJ

— Nintendo of Europe (@NintendoEurope) July 6, 2017

例えば、こんな感じの投稿をお待ちしています。
投稿サンプル①

自由、平等、スペシャルフラッグ#スマブラ画 #歴史

※ウジェーヌ・ドラクロワ作の絵画『民衆を導く自由の女神』を参考にしています。 pic.twitter.com/ZVburZ6FNR

— 大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズ【スマブラ画道場】 (@SmashBrosJPDojo) September 4, 2020

 

[Michael the Spikester]

^Likely a coincidence as with many others.

 

[Shroob]

So, any minute now we should get the Tourney/Spirit event?

 

[Cosmic77]

I think Mipha or Revali would be my preference out of the four Champions.

Mipha because I love the Zora, and I think a character with a heavy emphasis on healing would be very interesting. Revali because a pure archer sounds cool (and if you supported Decidueye, this would be a pretty close substitution).

 

[Deleted member]

^Likely a coincidence as with many others.

I dunno, that look like a deliberate recreation. Its a little too spot on for it to be a 'coincidence'.

 

[Perkilator]

So, any minute now we should get the Tourney/Spirit event?

Around 6pm PST.

 

[Shroob]

^Likely a coincidence as with many others.

I don't think anyone's saying it's a hint towards BotW in Smash.


It's more likely a reference to a real world piece of art.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

Assuming the BotW character were to be one of the champions. Which fo you guys think is the most likely?

Whether it comes down to popularity, promotion, recognition, etc.

 

[Idon]

Mipha because I love the Zora, and I think a character with a heavy emphasis on healing would be very interesting

How on earth would that be interesting?
Nobody wants to fight someone whose gimmick is that they just heal all the damage you do to them.

 

[PSIGuy]

I can't believe France is confirmed for Smash. I would've thought all the fake leaks would sour their relationship with Nintendo.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

I dunno, that look like a deliberate recreation. Its a little too spot on for it to be a 'coincidence'.

You're right.

That must mean two people actually happen to share the same taste in art

(and if you supported Decidueye, this would be a pretty close substitution).

But Revali isn't Grass-type

 

[Koopaul]

Really feels like directs are dead. Why announce all your exciting games at once and have them fade out of consciousness at the same time, when you can make each and every one of them trend on their own? I wouldn’t be surprised if the amount of time before a specific game gets announced was a marketing strategy on its own. Things they’re confident in get a longer time period to build hype. Things they’re not confident in get pushed out before negativity or backlash can build up.

What does this mean for Smash? I’unno. That they’ll release news on some random slow news day so they can have attention all to themselves, I guess. Smash news will come when no one expects it.

I don't know about that. Why would they still have partner Directs? Why did they have a big Indie Direct?

I think they're just afraid to have a Direct for their own stuff at this time. Also they can't just shadow drop Smash news. It would ruin the surprise. They need to give the heads up and tell us in advance to tune in for news. The strange thing is, why don't they do that for all Nintendo news? Shadow drops are dumb. They could maximize hype if they told us a day or two in advance. We don't need Directs but it would be way better if they just told us ahead of time when they are going to make an announcement.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Assuming the BotW character were to be one of the champions. Which fo you guys think is the most likely?

Whether it comes down to popularity, promotion, recognition, etc.

Probably Urbosa.

I highly doubt they'd add any of them though.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

did somebody say niche?

Spoiler: he’s in

View attachment 285024

Not Sgt. Cortez

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Assuming the BotW character were to be one of the champions. Which fo you guys think is the most likely?

Whether it comes down to popularity, promotion, recognition, etc.

They're all great, so I'll just go with personal bias and say Daruk.

 

[cashregister9]

I can't believe France is confirmed for Smash. I would've thought all the fake leaks would sour their relationship with Nintendo.

France was actually leaked all along the characters they listed were just a distraction

 

[Cosmic77]

How on earth would that be interesting?
Nobody wants to fight someone whose gimmick is that they just heal all the damage you do to them.

Are you arguing it wouldn't be interesting or it wouldn't be fun? Those are two completely different things.

We don't have a character whose most unique trait is them healing themselves, so I'd like to see if Sakurai could make it work. Maybe Sakurai could balance her healing powers by having Mipha be lightweight and struggle to dish out damage. Regardless of whether or not you think that would work, that sounds like a pretty interesting character to me.

 

[3BitSaurus]

I can't believe France is confirmed for Smash. I would've thought all the fake leaks would sour their relationship with Nintendo.

I mean, when you think about it, we have one single Spirit from a game called Napoleon, don't we? That probably counts for something.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Are you arguing it wouldn't be interesting or it wouldn't be fun? Those are two completely different things.

We don't have a character whose most unique trait is them healing themselves, so I'd like to see if Sakurai could make it work. Maybe Sakurai could balance her healing powers by having Mipha be lightweight and struggle to dish out damage. Regardless of whether or not you think that would work, that sounds like a pretty interesting character to me.

Having a unique mechanic and an interesting one are also two completely different things.

Mipha healing herself would be unique, but it would also heavily promote playing as lame as possible by camping a lot, healing off damage, pressuring with safe disjoints due to her trident, then rinse and repeat.

It's not fun, it's not interesting to play or watch, but it certainly is a unique thing.

 

[DarthEnderX]

Some people get a lot of enjoyment from mashing a single button though.

It's why Belmont mains exist.

Hey now!

We ALSO use the divekick.

 

[Idon]

Are you arguing it wouldn't be interesting or it wouldn't be fun? Those are two completely different things.

We don't have a character whose most unique trait is them healing themselves, so I'd like to see if Sakurai could make it work. Maybe Sakurai could balance her healing powers by having Mipha be lightweight and struggle to dish out damage. Regardless of whether or not you think that would work, that sounds like a pretty interesting character to me.

Uninteresting and unfun. We've had plenty of characters that heal themselves and it is always locked behind a hard to achieve execution barrier like landing a slow short-range grab or absorbing a projectile (Or RNG but that's limited). That's interesting. It comes with risk and reward.

Having a character whose gimmick is that they can regenerate from damage done to them easily isn't interesting in the slightest. All that would lead to is a character who runs away and stalls out the game.

 

[SneakyLink]

【スピリッツイベント】
9/11(金)から3日間、スピリッツボードのイベント「戦いも なびく髪も美しく！」を開催！ 期間中は、ロングヘアーのスピリッツがたくさん出現します。ぜひチェックしてみてください！#スマブラSP pic.twitter.com/q7IrvogqVV

— 大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズ【スマブラ公式】 (@SmashBrosJP) September 9, 2020

Events are back!
This week is Long Haired spirits.
So... everyone lives... for now.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Hey now!

We ALSO use the divekick.

Oh, my

See what I did there? :V

 

[Dr. Yatagarasu]

I can't believe France is confirmed for Smash. I would've thought all the fake leaks would sour their relationship with Nintendo.

smash fans when france gets in

 

[Cosmic77]

Having a unique mechanic and an interesting one are also two completely different things.

Mipha healing herself would be unique, but it would also heavily promote playing as lame as possible by camping a lot, healing off damage, pressuring with safe disjoints due to her trident, then rinse and repeat.

It's not fun, it's not interesting to play or watch, but it certainly is a unique thing.

Uninteresting and unfun. We've had plenty of characters that heal themselves and it is always locked behind a hard to achieve execution barrier like landing a slow short-range grab or absorbing a projectile (Or RNG but that's limited). That's interesting. It comes with risk and reward.

Having a character whose gimmick is that they can regenerate from damage done to them easily isn't interesting in the slightest. All that would lead to is a character who runs away and stalls out the game.

Well, maybe Sakurai would approach the concept differently and find a way to incorporate Mipha's healing in an interesting way that would force players to be more offensive and not rely on camping. I think it could be done.

But what do I know? Wouldn't be the first time someone immediately trashed my idea for Mipha because they already know it wouldn't be fun/wouldn't work.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Well, maybe Sakurai would approach the concept differently and find a way to incorporate Mipha's healing in an interesting way that would force players to be more offensive and not rely on camping. I think it could be done.

But what do I know? Wouldn't be the first time someone immediately trashed my idea for Mipha because they already know it wouldn't be fun/wouldn't work.

If you really want to make it interesting, impliment it as a healing field.

It's not accurate, but it creates a nice dynamic since anyone within the field would get healed, including foes. So it forces approaches without being outright stupid and could even backfire on Mipha if not careful enough.

 

[SharkLord]

Uninteresting and unfun. We've had plenty of characters that heal themselves and it is always locked behind a hard to achieve execution barrier like landing a slow short-range grab or absorbing a projectile (Or RNG but that's limited). That's interesting. It comes with risk and reward.

Having a character whose gimmick is that they can regenerate from damage done to them easily isn't interesting in the slightest. All that would lead to is a character who runs away and stalls out the game.

Ah, but what if it could heal your opponents as well? Then you need to get some space so that you don't accidentally give your foe a free heal. In addition, while you're healing you'd be a sitting duck. Alternatively, we could make it limited-use or rely on a gauge. Maybe combine the two ideas.

EDIT: Dangit 'd

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Uninteresting and unfun. We've had plenty of characters that heal themselves and it is always locked behind a hard to achieve execution barrier like landing a slow short-range grab or absorbing a projectile (Or RNG but that's limited). That's interesting. It comes with risk and reward.

Having a character whose gimmick is that they can regenerate from damage done to them easily isn't interesting in the slightest. All that would lead to is a character who runs away and stalls out the game.

Yeah, healing can be interesting, but it has to be done very specifically in a fighting game. Otherwise we get Elana from Street Fighter IV (and even she only did it with a super) or Dark Phoenix (which is basically another health bar + a comeback mechanic). The only fighting game character I've heard of that has healing as a notable trait (that people don't hate) also has self damage (don't remember her name but she's a Killer Instinct character), which creates this sort of balancing act.

You might be able to get away with tying it to a meter that also gives you equally powerful options so healing isn't always the best one, but...I dunno.

Events are back!
This week is Long Haired spirits.
So... everyone lives... for now.

Maybe they're born with it.
Maybe it's Maybelline.

 

[Cosmic77]

If you really want to make it interesting, impliment it as a healing field.

It's not accurate, but it creates a nice dynamic since anyone within the field would get healed, including foes. So it forces approaches without being outright stupid and could even backfire on Mipha if not careful enough.

I don't really care if it's accurate or not. I just think a healer would be neat. Plus, I really do like Mipha.

Anyway, I think I'll get off this thread for a while because I'm feeling a little down. Even though HW:AoC was hype, today was mostly an unpleasant reminder that it's extremely difficult to discuss the Champions, just like it was in 2018. There just aren't enough people interested in them to care what they would play like and whether or not they'd get in.

 

[Deleted member]

【スピリッツイベント】
9/11(金)から3日間、スピリッツボードのイベント「戦いも なびく髪も美しく！」を開催！ 期間中は、ロングヘアーのスピリッツがたくさん出現します。ぜひチェックしてみてください！#スマブラSP pic.twitter.com/q7IrvogqVV

— 大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズ【スマブラ公式】 (@SmashBrosJP) September 9, 2020

Events are back!
This week is Long Haired spirits.
So... everyone lives... for now.

Welp, that’s that then. Last weeks lack of event will forever be an enigma...
they could of at least have this event introduce new spirits to make up for last week, but whatevs...