Official Newcomer/DLC Speculation Discussion

[Koopaul]

I don't think those two are quite comparable as this leaves out the major reason people were angry at Federation Force. That reason was that Federation Force was the first Metroid game in 7 years, that last one being Other M. I agree that spinoffs are harmless, but the first game in 7 years shouldn't be a spinoff with no signs of a mainline entry until almost an entire year after said spinoff is released. If we suddenly got an F Zero game but it was identical in ganeplay to Tomodachi Life, are F Zero fans immature for not wanting it as it doesn't have anything they like about F Zero? 1 echo fighter being confirmed very shortly between fully fledged newcomers simply cannot compare to 7 years of radio silence and seemingly lacking any idea what people want out of a franchise

I think its comparable because it wasn't either Federation Force or a new mainline entry, it was Federation Force or nothing. Nintendo didn't say "Hm lets give the fans a spin off instead of Metroid Prime 4." No. It doesn't work that way. When people were mad at Federation Force it was because they thought they were getting this instead of a new Metroid.

The key words here are "instead of". People thought they given Federation Force instead of a new Metroid. People thought they were given Dark Pit instead of Waluigi or something else. But these are all false notions.

As an F-Zero fan, I can say I wouldn't be upset about a spin off after all this time. I would be excited! It would show that Nintendo is still interested in the IP and may eventually make a new mainline entry. It's a spark of life instead of silent death.

 

[7NATOR]

Well if Swamp was looking at new companies for his Speculation in FP1, I'd expect some of the Reasoning for this list to be more based of a Companies's merit than Individual Characters I bet

So I Imagine Falcom, Koei, and at least 1 more Western Company to be on the list. maybe another Indie Company

 

[Megadoomer]

Would you guys be interested in hearing who I think the top ten likeliest characters are with reasons for each?

I'm particularly interested in hearing your reasoning, since I feel like I tend to get caught in a bubble when it comes to which characters are the most likely.

 

[KillerCage]

Anything to keep us going rather than the same stuff over and over again too.

LETS TALK MORE BLAZBLUE!

Spoiler: SO MUCH MUSIC TO CHOICE FROM!

 

[SharkLord]

Would you guys be interested in hearing who I think the top ten likeliest characters are with reasons for each?

Only if it contains what I want to hear (re: Some combination of Adol, Reimu, Klonoa, and Bandana Dee). If not...

 

[Captain Shwampy]

Would you guys be interested in hearing who I think the top ten likeliest characters are with reasons for each?

no

 

[MooMew64]

The only common theme amongst all 8 DLC characters is that they bring unique gameplay and content to the game.

In terms of the Fighter Pass DLC, they are all protagonists, something that continues on a trend from Smash Wii U/3DS. Is Min Min an exception? Maybe, maybe not. But, the fact that Sakurai went out of his way to say, “Yep, she’s a protagonist!” Seems to reinforce that it is relevant to the character selection process in some capacity.

Does this narrow down choices? Potentially. It really depends on if the trend of protagonists continues, which frankly I don’t doubt it continuing.

Basically, does it outright disconfirm characters? No. But could it? Potentially, and that is the difference for a good handful of picks. The field of choices gets smaller if it’s revolving around protagonists, quite frankly.

I’m not saying that definitive. We could get somebody who isn’t a protagonist as our next pick. I would just say that based on the last 10 or so DLC fighters that might not happen.

As I said last time the discussion was on Min Min, I still personally think she fits all of the trends. The fact that the "She's a protagonist" thing comes from Yubuki himself is what makes me consider her in the same boat as every other DLC character we've gotten.

As you said, that doesn't mean non-protagonists can't happen, but there is something to say about how we've gotten 10 characters from DLC so far and all of them have followed this model. It would be a mold breaker; not impossible, but not something I'm betting on ATM.

 

[Schnee117]

Embeds under spoilers still have to actually load and mess with mobile users by the way.

 

[SharkLord]

As I said last time the discussion was on Min Min, I still personally think she fits all of the trends. The fact that the "She's a protagonist" thing comes from Yubuki himself is what makes me consider her in the same boat as every other DLC character we've gotten.

As you said, that doesn't mean non-protagonists can't happen, but there is something to say about how we've gotten 10 characters from DLC so far and all of them have followed this model. It would be a mold breaker; not impossible, but not something I'm betting on ATM.

There's also the fact that Sakurai had to go out of his way to explain how everyone is the protagonist and not just Spring Man. If Sakurai has to justify why she's a protagonist after many, many prior protagonists have been added as DLC, it would suggest that even if you don't count Min Min as a protagonist, she's the exception and not the rule. At the very least, it reinforces the idea of "protagonist and/or mascot first" in terms of series without represented fighters.

 

[KingofPhantoms]

Would you guys be interested in hearing who I think the top ten likeliest characters are with reasons for each?

I don't have the slightest clue who to expect from the rest of FP2, so go on!

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

I don't have the slightest clue who to expect from the rest of FP2, so go on!

I got a leak.

Fighter 8 will be from a video game.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Enough people seem interested. I'll start writing it up.

 

[Professor Pumpkaboo]

7

Would you guys be interested in hearing who I think the top ten likeliest characters are with reasons for each?

This better be a good bed time story or Im going to bed angry

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

No Steve emotes two weeks after he released?

Guess the staff hates Minecraft too.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

Enough people seem interested. I'll start writing it up.

Can't wait!

 

[Idon]

Embeds under spoilers still have to actually load and mess with mobile users by the way.

yeah and let's be real, with the way the page on a forum updates so frequently, there's no way I'm listening to the music in this page, I'm opening it in a new tab. May as well make it easier for mobile users and people like me if you just link it instead of going through the trouble of spoiler/embedding.

 

[TCT~Phantom]

Would you guys be interested in hearing who I think the top ten likeliest characters are with reasons for each?

I always love to here what people think is likely.

 

[Brother AJ]

I wrote a relatively long post on speculation myself that I posted on the Smash FB group if anyone is interested. It mainly focues on 3rd parties. I looked at likelihood based on the current trends of characters so far, as well as who has been basically deconfirmed.

 

[drag0nscythe]

“Am I a joke to you?”
View attachment 290386



Just because something is old means that its history doesn’t matter anymore? That’s like saying “Yeah, Back to the Future shouldn’t be included on the list of important movies because people nowadays recognize Avengers: Endgame more”. You can celebrate both classic & new things.

This just seems like you have no knowledge of gaming history so you’re trying to write off these classic series. I have no personal bias for these games. I played SNES Contra for like 30 minutes & got filtered out by its difficulty. I haven’t played Double Dragon or Ninja Gaiden, though the modern Ninja Gaiden trilogy is in my backlog. But I know how important & influential these series are.

It’s okay if you’re not knowledgable on gaming history, but you should stop trying to talk down everyone trying to explain to you why Ninja Gaiden is important.

There’s really no set pattern for the DLC choices. The characters fit individual categories that make sense but each character has a different category/reason behind their inclusion. There’s no common theme between all 8 DLC characters we have so far.

On the flip side, just because it is old does not guarantee it a spot either. Commonly going "Legacy" does not give it more credence then newer characters. Most fan picks all fall into this zone.

 

[7NATOR]

Actually, I Too want to do what Swamp's Doing and do my own Top Ten most likely characters

Narrowing down to just 4 is really hard, but doing 10 is much easier. Yes

 

[RileyXY1]

I don't expect any more guessing games.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

I don't expect any more guessing games.

I think generally everyone thinks that.

ARMS was a very unique situation where more than enough characters had a realistic shot to pull a "Guess Who?" due to how young and underdeveloped the IP is when compared to other fighting game franchises.

 

[SharkLord]

I think generally everyone thinks that.

ARMS was a very unique situation where more than enough characters had a realistic shot to pull a "Guess Who?" due to how young and underdeveloped the IP is when compared to other fighting game franchises.

Plus the fact that Min Min got delayed due to their unique playstyle, so they were probably planned around the March-April and Nintendo needed something to fill in the gaps to make up for the delay.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Plus the fact that Min Min got delayed due to their unique playstyle, so they were probably planned around the March-April and Nintendo needed something to fill in the gaps to make up for the delay.

If the trailer was ready, they would've given it, imo.

Maybe a Terry-style teaser if the gameplay isn't ready yet at worst.

So if it got delayed, I think it's not just the devs that had issues, but Digital Frontier as well.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

Two for one snapshot deal tonight!

There was a problem fetching the tweet

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Panel de Pon + Mario Odyssey Anniversaries

 

[cashregister9]

POTD

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Panel De Pon Anniversary POG

Also some Odyssey by a dude named Mario

There was a problem fetching the tweet

 

[Mushroomguy12]

Two for one snapshot deal tonight!

There was a problem fetching the tweet

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Panel de Pon + Mario Odyssey Anniversaries

Pauline and Lip confirmed!

 

[cashregister9]

Pauline and Lip confirmed!

Don't Threaten Me with a good time!

 

[SneakyLink]

I just realized this week we may see new spirits based off a pattern that likely died already (or never existed).

So every character from Banjo onward (plus Joker, but not Terry due to Sword and Shield, and even then there were two spirit events in a row) had a tourney followed by a spirit event that gave new spirits. For reference:
: Tag Team Tourney followed by Daemon x Machina spirits.
: 1 v 1 Stamina tourney followed by... a Pokémon tourney to celebrate Sword and Shield's launch. New spirits still came the week after however (two weeks in a row even).
: Discounting Astral Chain and River City events prior to launch, Lance, Bow and Axe tourney followed by Cuphead spirits.
: Fighters who focus on their arms followed by Octopath Traveler spirits.

Steve technically breaks this on the basis that he had the long ear spirit event on release week, followed by his inaugural tourney. However after the inaugural tourney should be interesting. If things line up we may see another spirit event that deconfirms a character for now.

Or I am thinking about this too much, that is also possible.

 

[Ivander]

I mean...

I've been saying the 3rd party choices in FP1 may have been partially chosen due to Nintendo wanting to improve or maintain relationships with certain third party companies for a while now.

I legit got laughed at.

Now others are saying pretty much the same thing and get treated like its valid speculation.

This really be a bruh moment.

At this point, it should be a common occurrence for some Smash speculators to quickly switch their direction and act like something was likely in the first place, especially when characters happen.

 

[SharkLord]

At this point, it should be a common occurrence for some Smash speculators to quickly switch their direction and act like something was likely in the first place, especially when characters happen.

I'm personally expecting a "it's a one-time thing" scenario for a more Japan-centric character, pointing out that (Character who got in) has more Western appeal and is bigger in general than (Character who didn't get in).

Though, depending on how it goes, I might end up adopting that mindset too. Like, for example, if they were explicitly chosen for Japanese audiences, and Sakurai turns to us and goes "Don't expect more characters like this one."

This is why I must assassinate every mainly Japan-appeal character so that Reimu is the only one left

 

[Aerospherology]

I just realized this week we may see new spirits based off a pattern that likely died already (or never existed).

So every character from Banjo onward (plus Joker, but not Terry due to Sword and Shield, and even then there were two spirit events in a row) had a tourney followed by a spirit event that gave new spirits. For reference:
: Tag Team Tourney followed by Daemon x Machina spirits.
: 1 v 1 Stamina tourney followed by... a Pokémon tourney to celebrate Sword and Shield's launch. New spirits still came the week after however (two weeks in a row even).
: Discounting Astral Chain and River City events prior to launch, Lance, Bow and Axe tourney followed by Cuphead spirits.
: Fighters who focus on their arms followed by Octopath Traveler spirits.

Steve technically breaks this on the basis that he had the long ear spirit event on release week, followed by his inaugural tourney. However after the inaugural tourney should be interesting. If things line up we may see another spirit event that deconfirms a character for now.

Or I am thinking about this too much, that is also possible.

dark souls spirit event let's gooooooooooo

 

[NonSpecificGuy]

no

Sorry, brother. Looks like you lost that vote 10-1

 

[Calane]

I think we learned of the LoL rumor in April but the actual post date on 4chan said January. I’d need the image again to be sure.

but maybe Vergeben’s silence could mean LoL is true, cause he sure as hell wouldn’t wanna be sued and face legal action

personally I’m more inclined to believe the LoL rumor than the Falcom rumor as again, the former got the spirit event prediction right and for the latter, I don’t know why you’d need to negotiate with NIS as well. NIS just localizes the games

This actually isn't true. Falcom is unable to develop Switch games themselves as of now, so NIS are the ones who port Falcom's games to Switch. Of course, they localize them as well. So if discussions involved bringing things like Cold Steel 3 and 4 to Switch (which the rumor claims), then NIS would be involved since they're the ones who'd be handling the ports.

Also, according to an interview with Falcom's president, there was some sort of "online flaming" going on before the Switch release of Ys VIII that caused NIS to get a call from Nintendo PR asking if they were okay, and if Falcom was okay. I'm probably looking way too deep into it, but seeing as how they contacted NIS instead of going straight to Falcom, I think it's possible that Nintendo may see NIS as sort of being their bridge to Falcom. Of course, that's just speculation on my part.

Though them being a "bridge" to Falcom would actually be pretty accurate since the Switch probably wouldn't have gotten Ys VIII, Cold Steel 3, or the upcoming Ys IX and Cold Steel 4 without them. Basically, NIS is pretty important to Falcom's presence on Switch. I believe the only Falcom game to not be ported to Switch by NIS was Ys Origin (which isn't one of their newer games).

Anyway, I think the most notable thing about the Falcom rumor was that it called Ys IX coming to Switch as well as PS4, which I don't think was guaranteed to happen since Ys VIII didn't sell too well on Switch in Japan (though the port did better in the west).

Going back to the falcom rumor I find this bit sus (against, not in favor):


The rumor also says it’s either Adol or Rean, so if it is Rean, wouldn’t it be a character-associated Spirit Board and not an event?

as others have said, no mention of Estelle is also sus

yes I watch Among Us meme videos a lot got a problem?

The rumor stated that they were unsure if the "spirit event" was a random event or related to the character itself. I'm almost sure this was just a poorly worded way of saying they were unsure if it was a Spirit Board or an event. That said, if the supposed Falcom rep was Adol, then that'd give another explanation for the Spirit Event comment. A Trails of Cold Steel spirit event wouldn't clash with an Ys themed spirit board.

Also, I wouldn't count Estelle not being mentioned as a strike against the rumor. She'd be cool, but I personally don't see her as a particularly likely choice to represent Falcom in Smash. I feel like if Nintendo approached Falcom for a rep, they'd probably go with their longest running and most "iconic" character, Adol Christin, who just makes more sense for multiple reasons (all bias aside).

I'm not saying Estelle's impossible or anything, but I just can't see her being Nintendo's choice for a Falcom rep.

The only way I see her being chosen over Adol is Falcom requesting it themselves, or Sakurai specifically asking to use her. However, according to this, Falcom would say yes to Adol joining Smash without hesitation. Considering that Sakurai himself is apparently an Ys fan, and that Falcom wouldn't be apposed to letting him join at all, I kinda struggle to see a scenario in which the Falcom rep wouldn't be Adol. But perhaps my bias is talking a bit after all...

For more reasons than just those, I think Adol's the clear choice. I'd be fine with Estelle as well, so I hope nobody takes this as me disliking the character or anything. She'd be rad too.

I imagine so as NIS isn’t involved with Falcom games in Japan; only the west

I can't seem to find an exact source for this, but I'm pretty sure it was the Japanese NIS that actually ported Ys VIII to Switch. This was all I could really find on it, but going by the comments, this seems to be the case.

...All of that said, yes, the rumor is probably fake, lol.

 

[NonSpecificGuy]

Plus the fact that Min Min got delayed due to their unique playstyle, so they were probably planned around the March-April and Nintendo needed something to fill in the gaps to make up for the delay.

I don’t think that Min Min was even delayed that much. I’m pretty sure they were always meant to release around E3.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Okay so. If I just write a paragraph, it'll just be a novel. So I'll be adding some quick notes with each character. The qualities I'll try to examine are...


General Popularity: Is the character popular to the general populace?

Core Popularity: Is the character popular in their franchise's fanbase?

Smash Popularity: Is the character a popular request in the Smash community?

Importance: Is the character or franchise important to the gaming industry or genre? Franchise importance will be assumed to be a given unless stated otherwise.

Mii Costume: The lack of Mii costumes will be a factor here.

Leak Talk: Are there valid leaks that support this character being included?


Okay, now with that out of the way, here are my top ten picks in no particular order.


Ryu Hayabusa - Core Popularity / Smash Popularity / Importance / Leak Talk

I'll address it now. Ryu has a lot of leaks surrounding him. Add that to the fact that he's a popular character that helped define video games as a whole and I feel confident in his chances. The only issue he really had is that Ninja Gaiden (and Dead or Alive) aren't really giant series. That said, that may be in his favor. He's big enough to be on Nintendo's radar but not so big that he'd cost a mint to get like Steve. Tecmo is also very close with Nintendo so talks should be easy. Overall very likely. Good job Hayabusa.

Geno - Smash Popularity / Mii Costume

Dread it. Run from it. The puppet arrives just the same. Geno is unusual. He's not well known the the public or most Mario fans. You ask a Mario fan to name their top 10 favorite Mario characters and Geno probably won't appear very often. Really all he has is Smash popularity. Fortunately for him, he has a metric **** ton of it. It's his only real strength but it's doing him a lot of favors. He's kind of like a min-maxed character in that regard. The lack of his Mii costume also makes me think he might have been picked. Congrats Geno.

Lloyd Irving - Core Popularity / Smash Popularity / Importance / Mii Costume

I'll admit. I'm biased here. Lloyd is one of my most wanted. I'd scream with joy if he were to be in. Thankfully I think he has a great shot. Tales is a longstanding and historic franchise and Lloyd is the most wanted character in the Smash fandom. Among Tales protagonists, Lloyd is also one of the most important. The Mii costume's absensd also makes me think he might have been picked. I really hope so, anyways.

Monster Hunter - General Popularity / Core Popularity / Smash Popularity / Importance / Mii Costume

Imagine Dragon Quest and how utterly massive it is in Japan. Now imagine that, but add a butt ton of western popularity to it. I won't mince words. Like Inkling, Isabelle and Steve, Monster Hunter is not an if, Monster Hunter is a when. They will be included eventually. I think the franchise is major enough that it can overcome any awkwardness Rathalos already being in the game may add. Heck it may be plus. It's in a similar situation to ARMS if you think about it. And of course, their costume is missing. Could be a clue.

Crash Bandicoot - General Popularity / Core Popularity / Smash Popularity / Importance

Crash! Ahhhhhhhhh! Savior of the Wumpa lands! Dodododoooo! Overall Crash is an icon and not just in gaming spheres. He's a character who has transcended his medium. If Nintendo wants a big character Crash is probably the biggest character they can get. Only iffy part is that Actvision might not play nice. They don't have a bad relationship with Nintendo but it isn't the best.

Rex and Pyra - Core Popularity / Smash Popularity

Oh here we go.... Rex and Pyra are popular characters and requests that would easily represent one of the Switch's main gems in their launch window. And just because I don't want to type Rex and Pyra the whole time, I'll just shorthand it to Rex. Rex is the kind of character Sakurai seems like he would pick and that interview does seem like Sakurai thinks Rex would be a great pick. If Nintendo wants a cheaper character that would satisfy their core fanbase and advertise a less successful franchise, Rex is probably their best bet.

Bandana Waddle Dee - Core Popularity / Smash Popularity / Importance?

Here is a bit of an odd pick. Bandana Waddle Dee is a popular request for Smash. Very popular. Arguably the most popular first party character who isn't an assist trophy. He would be a great pick for the core fanbase and would be cheap to boot. Only issue is that he's got a fair bit against him. Sakurai's potential bias for his Kirby games and supporting cast status hurt his chances. Still I feel his marketability and his overall Popularity supercede that.

Zelda Character - General Popularity / Core Popularity / Smash Popularity / Importance

Okay this one might require some explanation. There's a big trend with every batch of newcomers. We always get one character from a game that is "being played right now." We get a character who is released in a certain time frame as a nice easy way to advertise a current product. In FP1, it was Byleth. In base game, it was Incineroar. In Smash 4 DLC, it was Corrin. In Smash 4 base game it was... well a lot of the newcomers. Anyways I believe the time period to look out for is now to early to mid 2021. Age of Calamity and BotW2 are the games I think will fit in that time frame. I'm not really sure who they would pick, but my personal choice would be Impa.

Arle - Core Popularity / Smash Popularity / Importance

This may be a shock to you, but I think Arle is really likely. Puyo Puyo is a franchise like Fatal Fury. Not setting the world on fire, but its always there and one of the main pillars of its genre. Arle is really popular in Japan and I believe that Puyo Puyo is popular enough in the west to be a viable pick. Nintendo seems to care about the series at least. Shes my dark horse pick.

Nightmare - Core Popularity / Importance

Yeah. Here is my other dark horse pick. Heihachi might have been too hard to make in Smash, but I feel Namco's other 3D fighting series might be easier. Soul Calibur is a franchise that's popular, iconic and successful. While I think Lloyd is more likely, I do feel confident on another Namco character and Nightmare is a great pick for it. Only issue is that Nightmare, while popular isn't a huge Smash request anywhere. At least not that I see.

 

[SharkLord]

I don’t think that Min Min was even delayed that much. I’m pretty sure they were always meant to release around E3.

The presentation's around the 14:10 mark.
"This fighter is a bit unusual thanks to those extendable arms, so we'll have to extend our development time, too. Please stay tuned for just a bit l o n g e r haha very funnie"
Make of that as you will, but I think Min Min was originally planned to be a bit earlier. Not sure exactly when they realized she had to be delayed, but she was definitely delayed by a notable amount of time.

 

[andree123]

This was shown on the Sakurai playlist on Youtube.

Spoiler

View attachment 290388

And this was on the UK NIntendo playlist on Youtube just now.

Spoiler

View attachment 290389

Could mean nothing, but just wanted to share. Got these from the Geno thread, by the way.

Here's a few of the private videos in the web archive. Like it was already said, just old tournament videos.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate at CEO 2018 - https://web.archive.org/web/2018090...w.youtube.com/watch?v=XBSZEQSZJik&gl=US&hl=en

Play Nintendo - Super Smash Bros. Invitational @ E3 2014 - https://web.archive.org/web/20140531003346/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMQySEjyCUw

Play Nintendo - Super Smash Bros. Invitational Highlights - https://web.archive.org/web/20140614154858/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7UQU7Jzc04

Introducing: The Players! - Super Smash Bros. Invitational 2018 - https://web.archive.org/web/20180509155453if_/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouWuzQb9vNg

Thanks Naigumi.

 

[7NATOR]

Okay so. If I just write a paragraph, it'll just be a novel. So I'll be adding some quick notes with each character. The qualities I'll try to examine are...


General Popularity: Is the character popular to the general populace?

Core Popularity: Is the character popular in their franchise's fanbase?

Smash Popularity: Is the character a popular request in the Smash community?

Importance: Is the character or franchise important to the gaming industry or genre? Franchise importance will be assumed to be a given unless stated otherwise.

Mii Costume: The lack of Mii costumes will be a factor here.

Leak Talk: Are there valid leaks that support this character being included?


Okay, now with that out of the way, here are my top ten picks in no particular order.


Ryu Hayabusa - Core Popularity / Smash Popularity / Importance / Leak Talk

I'll address it now. Ryu has a lot of leaks surrounding him. Add that to the fact that he's a popular character that helped define video games as a whole and I feel confident in his chances. The only issue he really had is that Ninja Gaiden (and Dead or Alive) aren't really giant series. That said, that may be in his favor. He's big enough to be on Nintendo's radar but not so big that he'd cost a mint to get like Steve. Tecmo is also very close with Nintendo so talks should be easy. Overall very likely. Good job Hayabusa.

Geno - Smash Popularity / Mii Costume

Dread it. Run from it. The puppet arrives just the same. Geno is unusual. He's not well known the the public or most Mario fans. You ask a Mario fan to name their top 10 favorite Mario characters and Geno probably won't appear very often. Really all he has is Smash popularity. Fortunately for him, he has a metric **** ton of it. It's his only real strength but it's doing him a lot of favors. He's kind of like a min-maxed character in that regard. The lack of his Mii costume also makes me think he might have been picked. Congrats Geno.

Lloyd Irving - Core Popularity / Smash Popularity / Importance / Mii Costume

I'll admit. I'm biased here. Lloyd is one of my most wanted. I'd scream with joy if he were to be in. Thankfully I think he has a great shot. Tales is a longstanding and historic franchise and Lloyd is the most wanted character in the Smash fandom. Among Tales protagonists, Lloyd is also one of the most important. The Mii costume's absensd also makes me think he might have been picked. I really hope so, anyways.

Monster Hunter - General Popularity / Core Popularity / Smash Popularity / Importance / Mii Costume

Imagine Dragon Quest and how utterly massive it is in Japan. Now imagine that, but add a butt ton of western popularity to it. I won't mince words. Like Inkling, Isabelle and Steve, Monster Hunter is not an if, Monster Hunter is a when. They will be included eventually. I think the franchise is major enough that it can overcome any awkwardness Rathalos already being in the game may add. Heck it may be plus. It's in a similar situation to ARMS if you think about it. And of course, their costume is missing. Could be a clue.

Crash Bandicoot - General Popularity / Core Popularity / Smash Popularity / Importance

Crash! Ahhhhhhhhh! Savior of the Wumpa lands! Dodododoooo! Overall Crash is an icon and not just in gaming spheres. He's a character who has transcended his medium. If Nintendo wants a big character Crash is probably the biggest character they can get. Only iffy part is that Actvision might not play nice. They don't have a bad relationship with Nintendo but it isn't the best.

Rex and Pyra - Core Popularity / Smash Popularity

Oh here we go.... Rex and Pyra are popular characters and requests that would easily represent one of the Switch's main gems in their launch window. And just because I don't want to type Rex and Pyra the whole time, I'll just shorthand it to Rex. Rex is the kind of character Sakurai seems like he would pick and that interview does seem like Sakurai thinks Rex would be a great pick. If Nintendo wants a cheaper character that would satisfy their core fanbase and advertise a less successful franchise, Rex is probably their best bet.

Bandana Waddle Dee - Core Popularity / Smash Popularity / Importance?

Here is a bit of an odd pick. Bandana Waddle Dee is a popular request for Smash. Very popular. Arguably the most popular first party character who isn't an assist trophy. He would be a great pick for the core fanbase and would be cheap to boot. Only issue is that he's got a fair bit against him. Sakurai's potential bias for his Kirby games and supporting cast status hurt his chances. Still I feel his marketability and his overall Popularity supercede that.

Zelda Character - General Popularity / Core Popularity / Smash Popularity / Importance

Okay this one might require some explanation. There's a big trend with every batch of newcomers. We always get one character from a game that is "being played right now." We get a character who is released in a certain time frame as a nice easy way to advertise a current product. In FP1, it was Byleth. In base game, it was Incineroar. In Smash 4 DLC, it was Corrin. In Smash 4 base game it was... well a lot of the newcomers. Anyways I believe the time period to look out for is now to early to mid 2021. Age of Calamity and BotW2 are the games I think will fit in that time frame. I'm not really sure who they would pick, but my personal choice would be Impa.

Arle - Core Popularity / Smash Popularity / Importance

This may be a shock to you, but I think Arle is really likely. Puyo Puyo is a franchise like Fatal Fury. Not setting the world on fire, but its always there and one of the main pillars of its genre. Arle is really popular in Japan and I believe that Puyo Puyo is popular enough in the west to be a viable pick. Nintendo seems to care about the series at least. Shes my dark horse pick.

Nightmare - Core Popularity / Importance

Yeah. Here is my other dark horse pick. Heihachi might have been too hard to make in Smash, but I feel Namco's other 3D fighting series might be easier. Soul Calibur is a franchise that's popular, iconic and successful. While I think Lloyd is more likely, I do feel confident on another Namco character and Nightmare is a great pick for it. Only issue is that Nightmare, while popular isn't a huge Smash request anywhere. At least not that I see.

Giving my thoughts on this List, I can see the merits of All the Characters listed here

Personally If I made a top ten likely list, I would probably only think about putting the first 4 Characters on this list in Mine With Geno, Hunter, and Ryu being the Definite and Lloyd being a maybe.

Crash and Rex have merits, but I don't put them in Top ten. I don't think Arle, Nightmare, and Bandana Dee is happening, Though I definitely think Bandana Dee will be in Smash 6, but I think it's not his time. and I think Zelda is Soft Deconfirmed for FP2 due to the bonus costume. If they want a Character people would be playing now, I don't think it would be Zelda

 

[Cutie Gwen]

I think its comparable because it wasn't either Federation Force or a new mainline entry, it was Federation Force or nothing. Nintendo didn't say "Hm lets give the fans a spin off instead of Metroid Prime 4." No. It doesn't work that way. When people were mad at Federation Force it was because they thought they were getting this instead of a new Metroid.

The key words here are "instead of". People thought they given Federation Force instead of a new Metroid. People thought they were given Dark Pit instead of Waluigi or something else. But these are all false notions.

As an F-Zero fan, I can say I wouldn't be upset about a spin off after all this time. I would be excited! It would show that Nintendo is still interested in the IP and may eventually make a new mainline entry. It's a spark of life instead of silent death.

I cannot agree here, I'm aware that it was Fed Force or nothing but that doesn't change anything, it still means that after 7 years of no new games after the most hated game in the franchise, they tried selling Metroid fans a game they didn't want with no new mainline entry in sight, FedForce would have a significantly warmer reception if they switched the reveals and release dates of Samus Returns and Fed Force.

People who were upset at a 5 minute echo being included as a bonus in the base game would have thrown a fit regardless of who the echo was and regardless of what characters were already on the roster, not to mention that again, 1 echo fighter cannot under any circumstances compare to a franchise not getting any new installments for 7 years only to be told that they should look forward to something that's devoid of what makes Metroid the beloved franchise it is.


This just tells me you only care about F Zero as a name if you're genuinely telling me you'd be excited for a new Tomodachi Life with F Zero's name slapped on the title with zero high speed risk vs reward racing. This is like saying a Golden Sun game where you have a gun and violently murder everyone would be a cool idea, it's just not what the fanbase is interested in and as a result, comes across as incredibly tonedeaf after well over a decade of no new games.