Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[Gengar84]

You are never getting loli-bait Etna in Smash my dude.

I’m not particularly big on that aspect of her design either but I really like her as a character. I think they could easily tone down the outfit like they did for Pyra and Mythra. Etna doesn’t really seem worse than either of them in my opinion and looks roughly the same age. I think it’s just Disgaea’s graphical style that makes everyone look younger than they are.

Something like this still looks cool and would be fine for Smash:

 

[Kirbeh]

Wasn't expecting to find discussion on Sheik's pronouns and lolis today.

On the former, I do think it's a bit odd to continue referring to Sheik as male. When the audience was in the dark regarding their true identity back when OoT first came it made perfect sense; it was a disguise and like other characters in the game, players were for a moment, none the wiser.

Once the ruse is up though people just refer to Sheik as a she because it's just Zelda. Then in Smash's case, Sheik is pretty blatantly tied to Zelda. Its no longer about playing a role but to capitalize on the ninja motif. Post OoT Zelda being Sheik is common knowledge so referring to them by the same pronouns just makes sense.

However, I don't really see much of a problem with referring to Sheik as male given that the persona was "young Sheikah man." Uncommon and kinda specific to just the OoT depiction but not necessarily incorrect.

As for Etna, I don't think her base design (body type wise) is an issue at all. It's her costume. I'm not familiar with Disagaea but I did a quick wiki search and her usual attire is definitely falls outside a CERO A rating. Again I'm not familiar with the series, but if those are her more common/iconic looks I don't see her getting in. And that's even before the discussion of other characters from her series or whether the series would even be considered in the first place.

Back to the actual topic at hand, if Sakurai remains adamant about a younger Link, I think Toon stays over OoT/MM Young Link. If he ever really did start doing any major culling then I could see Sakurai acquiesce and cut him too if there was simply no time to squeeze him in.

 

[Ivander]

Alear's "canonical" class uses swords and when they promote they gain use of Martial Arts. I feel their moveset would be a combination of both (Sword for regulars and aerials, Arts for Smash attacks). The Special moves would be Engage moves, like Celica's Warp Ragnarok (Up+B), Sigurd's Charge (Side+B), and stuff like that. Final Smash would likely be Bond Blast.

I want Nintendo to officially announce the next Smash exists already so that we can reopen the character support threads and discuss Alear in their own topic. There are way too many things I want to talk about.

Oh, I understand that, don't get me wrong. I was just curious on how many people assumed Alear would only be sword moves with Engage mechanics and did not know about their martial arts and DBZ-like moves. I mean, some people still have misconceptions about Corrin thinking they use their sword more than their transformations when over half of their moves utilise Corrin's transformations. Heck, Corrin only has 5 moves that use just the sword. The rest of their moves either use the transformations or both and their throws don't use the sword either.

My main point was simply "Don't make assumptions of potential characters' movesets based on what little knowledge you know of them. They may have more than you assume." That's all I'm saying.

 

[DarthEnderX]

I’m not particularly big on that aspect of her design either but I really like her as a character.

She's a great character! Not the issue.

 

[Gengar84]

Wasn't expecting to find discussion on Sheik's pronouns and lolis today.

On the former, I do think it's a bit odd to continue referring to Sheik as male. When the audience was in the dark regarding their true identity back when OoT first came it made perfect sense; it was a disguise and like other characters in the game, players were for a moment, none the wiser.

Once the ruse is up though people just refer to Sheik as a she because it's just Zelda. Then in Smash's case, Sheik is pretty blatantly tied to Zelda. Its no longer about playing a role but to capitalize on the ninja motif. Post OoT Zelda being Sheik is common knowledge so referring to them by the same pronouns just makes sense.

However, I don't really see much of a problem with referring to Sheik as male given that the persona was "young Sheikah man." Uncommon and kinda specific to just the OoT depiction but not necessarily incorrect.

As for Etna, I don't think her base design (body type wise) is an issue at all. It's her costume. I'm not familiar with Disagaea but I did a quick wiki search and her usual attire is definitely falls outside a CERO A rating. Again I'm not familiar with the series, but if those are her more common/iconic looks I don't see her getting in. And that's even before the discussion of other characters from her series or whether the series would even be considered in the first place.

Back to the actual topic at hand, if Sakurai remains adamant about a younger Link, I think Toon stays over OoT/MM Young Link. If he ever really did start doing any major culling then I could see Sakurai acquiesce and cut him too if there was simply no time to squeeze him in.

Yeah, I do think if Etna made it in, they’d need to tone down her outfit. It wasn’t so bad in the first Disgaea game but it seems to be getting progressively more revealing. Soul Calibur has the same issue with their female characters. I don’t think that’s too big an issue that they can’t easily work around it and give her a more suitable outfit for Smash. As I mentioned, they already did the same for Pyra and Mythra as well as Bayonetta. I think that fan design for her outfit would be perfectly fine while still keeping the essence of her character.

She's a great character! Not the issue.

Weren’t you one of the people advocating for Morrigan for Smash? I don’t see how Etna is any different. In both cases, they could easily tone down their outfits and they’d be fine. That link isn’t working for me for some reason.

 

[Ivander]

Weren’t you one of the people advocating for Morrigan for Smash? I don’t see how Etna is any different. In both cases, they could easily tone down their outfits and they’d be fine. That link isn’t working for me for some reason.

I mean, in Morrigan's case, she's had her outfit toned down before.

 

[Gengar84]

I mean, in Morrigan's case, she's had her outfit toned down before.

Fair enough but I don’t see why they couldn’t do the same for Etna is Smash.

I’m not 100% sure whether this is official but it looks to be official promotional material from what I can tell:

It looks to be going for the same basic design as the fan art I posted above. If they go back to get short skirt from the first game instead of the tights in the more modern titles and maybe give her some leggings like they did for Mythra, she’d be fine I think.

Something along these lines but black would be perfectly acceptable for Etna’s outfit:

 

[Shinuto]

Do you all think Smash would benefit from a higher overall rating in Japan and the rest of the world?

 

[Louie G.]

I’ve said it once I’ll say it again, “good boys and girls” set character discussion back a decade. If they want to add Morrigan or Etna, or 2B, they will make it work. There’s already ample precedent for these creative liberties.

Mai was a very specific case where her iconic outfit and posing are explicitly revealing and it probably wouldn’t be worth the effort to make those adjustments and go back and forth about censorship w SNK. It’s my understanding many of those KOF bg models are lifted from KOF itself.

In fairness, and in relation to Morrigan, I would see a similar issue rising from Felicia. But likely not from Morrigan.

Do you all think Smash would benefit from a higher overall rating in Japan and the rest of the world?

Yes, but not because I care about how much skin each character is showing and moreso the confusion around these weird intrusive ESRB conditions. If we’ve reached the point where Smash can’t even namedrop T rated games in an E10+ game then it might be time to boost that rating back up.

It’s all arbitrary now more than ever, Fortnite is rated T and played by elementary schoolers. Melee and Brawl were no different. So I only see it as a net positive.

 

[Gengar84]

Do you all think Smash would benefit from a higher overall rating in Japan and the rest of the world?

I don’t think that’s a terrible idea but I wouldn’t go above a T rating in the US (and whatever the equivalent is for Japan) but I think it would allow them to include a wider range of characters without needing to change their designs. Smash still should keep a fairly low age rating to appeal to as many fans as possible. I do think most characters can still work within the current age rating by toning down some aspects of their design so I don’t think it’s really necessary.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Whatever the minimum rating is to have someone like Nemesis appear, go with that. :V

 

[Gengar84]

Whatever the minimum rating is to have someone like Nemesis appear, go with that. :V

I agree. Nemesis is my most wanted Resident Evil character so that would be great. Marvel Vs Capcom has a T rating and he was able to work there so I think that’s a good rating to aim for. I actually don’t mind the toned down Smash outfits and I think Mythra’s is an improvement to her Xenoblade design but I don’t like that certain characters like Nemesis would be much more difficult to tone down because it’s much more than just an outfit in his case.

 

[Gorgonzales]

me just waking up from a nap and checking up on the thread

 

[Nabbitfan730]

Will the Main Link even be the BOTW/TOTK incarnation for next game ?

The next Zelda could very well be announced and development along with the next Smash and Eiji Aonouma said there are done with the BOTW incarnation for now so it's possible similar for Ultimate that 6 very well could a new Link.

 

[Laniv]

Will the Main Link even be the BOTW/TOTK incarnation for next game ?

The next Zelda could very well be announced and development along with the next Smash and Eiji Aonouma said there are done with the BOTW incarnation for now so it's possible similar for Ultimate that 6 very well could a new Link.

It's still possible. Given that BOTW and TOTK are still incredible popular games, they could very well decide to just reuse that design again, just like they did in Smash 4 with the TP designs

 

[Noipoi]

Will the Main Link even be the BOTW/TOTK incarnation for next game ?

The next Zelda could very well be announced and development along with the next Smash and Eiji Aonouma said there are done with the BOTW incarnation for now so it's possible similar for Ultimate that 6 very well could a new Link.

If the next Smash comes before the next Zelda, yes.

Actually the design could stick around even if a new Zelda comes out. They kept the TP design in Smash 4, even though Skyward Sword was the new hotness.

 

[PeridotGX]

Will the Main Link even be the BOTW/TOTK incarnation for next game ?

The next Zelda could very well be announced and development along with the next Smash and Eiji Aonouma said there are done with the BOTW incarnation for now so it's possible similar for Ultimate that 6 very well could a new Link.

We had Ocarina Link two games in a row, and then Twilight Link two games in a row (despite the release of Skyward Sword). It's not an ironclad pattern or anything, but I think BOTW link is going to have another go at it (probably with a few TOTK touches).

 

[Ivander]

I don't see why they can't use the other Links as alternates for BOTW/TOTK Link. After all...

BOTW Link himself could dress as all of them.

Really, the only reason why they wouldn't is because all of them are still rather similar and are all Green tunics aside from Fierce Deity and Dark Link. Unless of course they gave each outfit 4 colors you could change them to as well as an alternate color editor for extra options.

 

[Shinuto]

I’ve said it once I’ll say it again, “good boys and girls” set character discussion back a decade. If they want to add Morrigan or Etna, or 2B, they will make it work. There’s already ample precedent for these creative liberties.

Mai was a very specific case where her iconic outfit and posing are explicitly revealing and it probably wouldn’t be worth the effort to make those adjustments and go back and forth about censorship w SNK. It’s my understanding many of those KOF bg models are lifted from KOF itself.

In fairness, and in relation to Morrigan, I would see a similar issue rising from Felicia. But likely not from Morrigan.



Yes, but not because I care about how much skin each character is showing and moreso the confusion around these weird intrusive ESRB conditions. If we’ve reached the point where Smash can’t even namedrop T rated games in an E10+ game then it might be time to boost that rating back up.

It’s all arbitrary now more than ever, Fortnite is rated T and played by elementary schoolers. Melee and Brawl were no different. So I only see it as a net positive.

I feel smash being at it's current rating is nothing but a detriment at this point since I highly doubt changing to a t rating or Japan equivalent would decrease sales at all

 

[fogbadge]

Will the Main Link even be the BOTW/TOTK incarnation for next game ?

The next Zelda could very well be announced and development along with the next Smash and Eiji Aonouma said there are done with the BOTW incarnation for now so it's possible similar for Ultimate that 6 very well could a new Link.

interesting question. as others have said it'll depend on when the next entry in both series is. now while many suspect a new smash is in development we're not 100% sure but the zelda team seem to go from one zelda to the next. and about a five year dev time seems to average for home console games. now if the next smash is in development now i would guess it would still be botw/totk link but if not then there is a chance a new zelda could come out first which may affect it. but then again SS link wasn't used in 4 so even then maybe not.

 

[Guynamednelson]

I feel smash being at it's current rating is nothing but a detriment at this point since I highly doubt changing to a t rating or Japan equivalent would decrease sales at all

Barely. We have Bayonetta censored, but not in terms of her moveset potential. Clothed Wicked Weaves amd "Don't mess with a witch!" didn't prevent her from firing her guns.

 

[Shinuto]

Barely. We have Bayonetta censored, but not in terms of her moveset potential. Clothed Wicked Weaves amd "Don't mess with a witch!" didn't prevent her from firing her guns.

I'm more talking about how games rated above e can't e referenced by name for the mii costumes

 

[Noipoi]

Reads the whole last page
Realize we're at best two years out from the next Smash
Also realize the thread's only gonna get crazier while we wait
...

At least it'll be entertaining

 

[HyperSomari64]

I'm still thinking that Blanc should be the Neptunia rep, but the weird part is that I want Neptune (the main character) as an assist trophy.

 

[Shinuto]

Who is the biggest most iconic videogame character that has no chance relative to all other potentials?

 

[Louie G.]

Who is the biggest most iconic videogame character that has no chance relative to all other potentials?

Some people will probably disagree with me on this, but Lara Croft. I just sincerely do not see it happening.

I guess some more impractical characters like a Space Invader as well, but I do think they have a good chance of having some non-playable presence in the game.

 

[fogbadge]

Who is the biggest most iconic videogame character that has no chance relative to all other potentials?

toad it seems

 

[Noipoi]

Who is the biggest most iconic videogame character that has no chance relative to all other potentials?

Gex

 

[Gengar84]

Reads the whole last page
Realize we're at best two years out from the next Smash
Also realize the thread's only gonna get crazier while we wait
...

At least it'll be entertaining

Lol I guess that’s on me for bringing up Etna as an SRPG character I’d like to see. I didn’t mean to make it a whole thing. Sorry about that.

 

[Zerp]

Who is the biggest most iconic videogame character that has no chance relative to all other potentials?

Mew lol

• One of the most iconic Pokémon since Gen 1
• Is used constantly in merchandising and marketing for basically every generation
• Routinely gets top 10 in Pokémon popularity polls despite how inconsistent those are
• Your grandma probably knows what a Mewtwo and Mew are
• Every other character this big (like Toad or Eevee) has something at least resembling a supportbase, Mew has like a grand total of 5 people wanting it in Smash and will never ever be playable

 

[Shinuto]

Some people will probably disagree with me on this, but Lara Croft. I just sincerely do not see it happening.

I guess some more impractical characters like a Space Invader as well, but I do think they have a good chance of having some non-playable presence in the game.

I'd argue Glados and Portal but I'd love a portal stage

 

[Gengar84]

Mew lol

• One of the most iconic Pokémon since Gen 1
• Is used constantly in merchandising and marketing for basically every generation
• Routinely gets top 10 in Pokémon popularity polls despite how inconsistent those are
• Your grandma probably knows what a Mewtwo and Mew are
• Every other character this big (like Toad or Eevee) has something at least resembling a supportbase, Mew has like a grand total of 5 people wanting it in Smash and will never ever be playable

I feel like Gengar is in the same spot as Mew. Maybe Gengar has a bit higher of a chance since it’s a bit more heavily promoted but I still think it’s a bit of a long shot.

As for popular characters with little to no chance, I’ll go with anyone from Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty. Those games sell a ton but I just don’t think they’re great fits for Smash.

 

[Louie G.]

Lol I guess that’s on me for bringing up Etna as an SRPG character I’d like to see. I didn’t mean to make it a whole thing. Sorry about that.

You’re fine, it’s not your fault if people want to be immature about characters you like.

On top of that it didn’t need to be harped on with random reaction images, we’re mature enough to talk about slightly disagreeable or controversial topics guys. Posts that make it seem like a bigger thing than it is or act like whewww guys what did I just step into really don’t help the situation. Not pointing fingers or shaming people, but that literally always only serves to fuel the fire.

 

[Oracle Link]

Ark from Terranigma. If only to get more people to play that game.

Oh yeah Totally
I made A ARK moveset (involving other characters from quintet!)

Normals: His Diffrent moves from his game
B: Blader Sphere he summons bladers rotating magic sphere and blader shoots a fireball from it!
Down B: Will Flute spin will spins his flute and blocks and puls stuff to arc!
Side B: MAster/ God Slice The statue body of MAster/God slices with force
Up B: Flight with Yomi Yomi Flys Ark but struggles and drops him because hes to heavy

Final Smash: A Lost Barrage
Every single Quintet Protagonist prays which empowers Arc to use his magic to finnish of his enemys!

Stage: Underworld
That has to be obvious!

Boss:
Secret Arm
Apeariung in the two other games in the heaven and earth series Solid arm is a great choice for a boss!

So its more a rep of the entire studio but still considering how great yet obscure these games are it would be justified!

 

[Shinuto]

Would anyone just for the novelty love to see the current roster in the graphical style of 64 an melee?

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Who is the biggest most iconic videogame character that has no chance relative to all other potentials?

Scorpion and Sub-Zero.

No shade intended to supporters, but I don't see Mortal Kombat content making the cut in any form.

 

[Kirbeh]

I'll echo Lara and the MK cast for iconic characters probably not getting in. I'll also add Ms. Pac Man. She was fortunate enough to get a cameo, but going forward it's hard to say if she'd be kept on Pac-Land given efforts to replace her due to rights issues.

As for ratings talk, I'll say what I always do. I'd prefer if they were allowed to go up a rating for the sake of making including more content from T/M rated games a bit easier. No need to go back and forth with CERO over skirt lengths, no omitted characters for things as simple as background cameos, maybe even open the doors for monsters like Nemesis or allow for use of more stylized firearms ala Marvel vs Capcom. I don't see this happening though. Smash will likely continue trying it's best to maintain the CERO A.

 

[Gorgonzales]

Who is the biggest most iconic videogame character that has no chance relative to all other potentials?

mortal kombat anything

 

[Will]

Who is the biggest most iconic videogame character that has no chance relative to all other potentials?

If I say Scorpion, that means I believe he can’t get in, which I don’t.

Any Grand Theft Auto character. All of the protagonists are palette-swappable IMO, like a Hero situation. GTA V is still in the Top 3 Best-Selling Games in History, IIRC. I argue GTA has done more for gaming than MK.

 

[fogbadge]

Would anyone just for the novelty love to see the current roster in the graphical style of 64 an melee?

actually in a game or just a fan made thing?