Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[Wonder Smash]

If fans thought a character was a shoe-in just because they got a song, it's their fault for having silly expectations.

I'm not saying fans would be expecting characters based on a song. Just that it would be enough to plant the idea in their heads and for a series with Double Dragon's legacy, they most likely wouldn't accept anything other than a playable appearance. So if they see Billy and Jimmy appearing as Mii costumes instead of playable characters, that might not just upset the fans. That may just straight up anger them.

 

[DarthEnderX]

I'm not saying fans would be expecting characters based on a song. Just that it would be enough to plant the idea in their heads and for a series with Double Dragon's legacy, they most likely wouldn't accept anything other than a playable appearance. So if they see Billy and Jimmy appearing as Mii costumes instead of playable characters, that might not just upset the fans. That may just straight up anger them.

**** 'em?

I didn't get upset when Arthur and Kunio got Spirits, but then didn't become playable.

I just thought, "One step closer than before. Hopefully next game."

 

[Kirbeh]

I'm not saying fans would be expecting characters based on a song. Just that it would be enough to plant the idea in their heads and for a series with Double Dragon's legacy, they most likely wouldn't accept anything other than a playable appearance. So if they see Billy and Jimmy appearing as Mii costumes instead of playable characters, that might not just upset the fans. That may just straight up anger them.

That's what everyone was addressing earlier though? That scenario could describe any fanbase. It already happens too.

Whenever a character/series got AT'd, Mii'd, etc. you'd always get some people who decried the decision and said "x" should have been playable instead. You also got people who just went "darn, maybe next time" or "wow, they actually made it in in some way."

I'm sure some DD fans would be upset but the overall reaction would be no different than other series that only gets minor roles.

 

[fogbadge]

i'm not following this conversation at all

 

[Guynamednelson]

i'm not following this conversation at all

Apparently Billy and Jimmy from Double Dragon are the only characters whose fans would be disappointed if they're in Smash in some non-playable form. But that's not the case. That. Is. Not. The. Case.

 

[Gengar84]

I think my two favorite characters that got any kind of non-playable Smash representation beyond spirits are Zero and Guile. While I would have loved to see both playable, I was happy they at least got something and it gave me something to hope for in the next game. As another example, if they added Battletoads or Killer Instinct music to Spiral mountain, I think I’d still be happy. Obviously it’s not the same as actually getting the character but at least it’s something and strengthens their case for being playable in the future.

Basically, if I never saw the character as likely in the first place, I’m more happy with other kinds of representation. I can understand people feeling disappointed if they felt the character was very deserving and had a solid chance. I felt this a bit myself when we never got Elma. Sadly, I think her window to get in is past unless we get a sequel to X. Guile is still a bit of a long shot when we don’t have Chun-Li yet. I do think Zero has a very real chance to make it in the next game so I might be a bit disappointed then but I’ll manage.

On a somewhat unrelated note, I’m surprised that Gengar has never gotten any kind of real representation in Smash beyond a spirit. Its a popular enough Pokemon, you’d think they’d at least make it a Pokeball summon or a background character in a Pokemon stage.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Killer Instinct music to Spiral mountain

That sounds terrifying. I'm in.

 

[Oracle Link]

I thought up something a potential "forever" Smash needs:
A Really robust character customization!
(granted not everyone gets equal treatment) But everyone gets a second alt while some caharacters get extra Special moves (That can be swapped)
even more costumes and palletes and:
Styles a style changes up how a characters basic moves, Grabs and smashes work! Obviously not everyone with an extra style gets a fully new moveset sometimes styles are more Subtle anyways heres dedede in the customization menu:

He Comes with a extra set of specials/ a final smash
He also comes with 3 Costumes:
Normal (ultimate)
Forgotten land
and Shadow dedede
those also have colors and default always has 8

Styles alsao change a characters look in dededes case it gives every version their respective mask!

Spoiler: More info

I mean forever smash would start out with less characters to flesh out older ones it would have the ammount of characters of Smash 4 with dlc at max
Forever smash would add characters over a long period of time until there are much more than in ultimate
(with long period i mean like 2-3 console generations)
Also the custom moves are completly diffrent attacks altogether like Lets look at link he comes with a classic set of specials (recycled from smash 4) and a Champion set!
Also Characters have at most 2 sets of Special, 2 final smashes and 2 styles! in the base game so thats 2 moves less!
And characters that dont have the need for extra attacks:
Ice climbers, wii fit and Mr. Game and watch for example! Dont get those an instead only get a costume!

 

[AreJay25]

That sounds terrifying. I'm in.

The thought of fighting on colorful, vibrant Spiral Mountain while this blares in the background is hilarious

 

[HyperSomari64]

Tokyo Mirage Sessions music should be on stages like Castle Siege or Coliseum.
But they are part of the Others section.

 

[Cheese&Chips]

I thought up something a potential "forever" Smash needs:
A Really robust character customization!
(granted not everyone gets equal treatment) But everyone gets a second alt while some caharacters get extra Special moves (That can be swapped)

Didn’t they already try custom moves in Sm4sh, only for it to fail spectacularly due to how many of them were either borderline useless or ridiculously overpowered? Sounds like a balancing nightmare, and not really practical if any future games have rosters close to Ultimate in scope.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Tokyo Mirage Sessions music should be on stages like Castle Siege or Coliseum.
But they are part of the Others section.

Things like that can be weird. Does Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE belong to Fire Emblem or Persona? Both? I guess in this case they chose neither.

Mario + Rabbids and to a lesser extent, Cadence of Hyrule will have similar issues if content from them is added.

EDIT: Just remembered there are Mario + Rabbid Spirits. A quick search says they're counted as Mario Spirits. The more you know.

Didn’t they already try custom moves in Sm4sh, only for it to fail spectacularly due to how many of them were either borderline useless or ridiculously overpowered? Sounds like a balancing nightmare, and not really practical if any future games have rosters close to Ultimate in scope.

This idea is a bit different. It's more like doing a rework for a League of Legends character. Not sure if they'd do something like that, but I don't think it would cause more problems than accruing 100+ characters or something (which would eventually happen for a live service Smash).

 

[Perkilator]

Things like that can be weird. Does Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE belong to Fire Emblem or Persona? Both? I guess in this case they chose neither.

Going by Tsubasa's Spirit listing, not to mention that she and other TMS characters appear in Heroes as playable characters, I'm pretty sure the original characters from that game belong to the FE series. Music copyright, on the other hand, is a whole other can of worms.

 

[Oracle Link]

Didn’t they already try custom moves in Sm4sh, only for it to fail spectacularly due to how many of them were either borderline useless or ridiculously overpowered? Sounds like a balancing nightmare, and not really practical if any future games have rosters close to Ultimate in scope.

I mean forever smash would start out with less characters to flesh out older ones it would have the ammount of characters of Smash 4 with dlc at max
Forever smash would add characters over a long period of time until there are much more than in ultimate
(with long period i mean like 2-3 console generations)
Also the custom moves are completly diffrent attacks altogether like Lets look at link he comes with a classic set of specials (recycled from smash 4) and a Champion set!
Also Characters have at most 2 sets of Special, 2 final smashes and 2 styles! in the base game so thats 2 moves less!
And characters that dont have the need for extra attacks:
Ice climbers, wii fit and Mr. Game and watch for example! Dont get those an instead only get a costume!

 

[DarthEnderX]

I think my two favorite characters that got any kind of non-playable Smash representation beyond spirits are Zero and Guile.

I actually prefer Guile as an AT. It doing the whole two-move turtling bit is a solid gag.

I'd love to see Zero promoted to Fighter. And for Protoman to take his place as an AT(complete with whistle as he teleports in).

 

[Perkilator]

I've said this before, but I think in the base game of Ultimate, there should've been more non-playable representation from some of the 3rd party companies that did get playable representation, as a sort of consolation prize for the characters that couldn't make the jump to playable.

 

[Ivander]

Tokyo Mirage Sessions music should be on stages like Castle Siege or Coliseum.
But they are part of the Others section.

First off, TMS doesn't have music at all. Code Name Steam did and the Fire Emblem music from it is part of the Fire Emblem tracks while Code Name Steam's sole track is part of Other. Second, Tsubasa, the only Spirit for TMS, is part of the Fire Emblem spirits.

 

[CapitaineCrash]

It will be a lot sooner than that If Sakurai's rumored new project that he started working on sometime mid 2023 is Smash 6.

Brawl's design doc was finalized in october 2005 and development lasted until late 2007. Smash 4's design doc was started late 2011 and finalized mid 2012, development lasted until mid 2014. Ultimate's planning began December 2015, development started immediately after the launch of Bayonetta early 2016, and lasted until late 2018

Smash games generally take around 3-6 months to plan, 2-3 years to develop. If planning started sometime early 2023, the game will probably release late 2025 or early 2026. This would line up with a lot of the rumors about Nintendo's new console they have been sitting on and waiting to reveal. I wouldn't be surprised if Smash 6 ends up being a first year game for it to draw sales.

I'm pretty sure that a new Smash would take much more than 2-3 years to develop unless they took lots of assets from Ultimate again. You can't really compare with Brawl because the Wii is so old at this point and hd console development take much longer than in that era, especially if Switch 2 is significantly more powerful like some rumors say. And again, you can't really compare with Ultimate since it reused so much assets from Smash 4.

 

[Gengar84]

This might be a bit off topic but I do wonder how much AI will be able to speed up game development in the future. It can already do some pretty incredible things. I could see them potentially using it to automate the repetitive parts of the job and giving the developers more time to focus on the creative aspects. Of course, there’s also the potential of the technology being abused by the higher ups as justification to cut staff and save money. I just think there’s a ton of potential if used correctly.

 

[Godzillathewonderdog]

On a scale of 1 to 10 how disappointed/upset are Double Dragon fans?

 

[Truth the Ceomasterz33]

I have seen as Smash roster. I some Smash games. I've been in case to Brawl, For 3DS/WII U and Ultimate rosters without APAC or Pacific game reps (China, South Korea/Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and other SEA countries, Australia, New Zealand and other APAC countries). I some seen as some countries Smash fans are droughts, especially to Southeast Asian Smash fans, but many are Chinese, Koreans, Taiwanese, Australians and New Zealanders of Smash fans.

As an Indonesians. If sadly no APAC or Pacific games reps in Smash. In many to SEAs Smash fans becoming droughts or curses or loss or others fans due no some Smash games rosters having with Pacific reps, particularly to Asia-Pacific gacha, mobile, MMOs, MOBAs and others games. I except to SNK games (Who's is Southeast Asians loves to SNK games, specifically to SNK fighting games!). I also Chinese and Koreans Smash fans considered to drought or others due Smash series having no Pacific or MOBAs reps, particular to Pacific owned games, gacha, mobile, MMOs, MOBAs and others games.

If could be Southeast Asians Smash fans be resurgence or broken of internet or breaking curses or becoming popluar as fighters following most popular games in Southeast Asia or Pacific games. So is Southeast Asians are especially to Genshin Impact, Honkai series, MOBAs (particularly to Dota 2, MLBB, AOV or HOK/KOG and others MOBAs), Blue Archive, NIKKE, Guardian Tales, Free Fire, Arknights, some Australians and New Zealanders games and others games! I also Chinese, Australians, a New Zealanders, Koreans and Taiwanese loves most popular games and other games! I adds Reverse 1999 and Punishing Gray Raven! I forgot with Ty the Tasmanian Tiger!

So this site having no Kiana's support threads...
angry Tuna noises

I also my currently busy with my holidays and other schedules. My computer are crashing due broken SSDs and i decided to my phones but difficult to typing keyboards on posts in this sites, lah...

 

[Gengar84]

On a scale of 1 to 10 how disappointed/upset are Double Dragon fans?View attachment 387796

I know this is a joke but I’ll try to give a serious answer for myself. I think it depends on the person but I imagine most big fans are somewhere in the middle of that list. I really want the Battletoads in Smash but I’d say I’m about a 4.5 since I don’t see them as particularly likely. I feel similarly about Double Dragon but I don’t have quite the same connection to them as I do Battletoads. I did play Double Dragon growing up and BT & DD is one of my favorite games but I guess I’m about a 2.5 on that chart for them. They’d be awesome to see but there are so many other great potential characters that it wouldn’t bother me too much.

 

[HyperSomari64]

I have seen as Smash roster. I some Smash games. I've been in case to Brawl, For 3DS/WII U and Ultimate rosters without APAC or Pacific game reps (China, South Korea/Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and other SEA countries, Australia, New Zealand and other APAC countries). I some seen as some countries Smash fans are droughts, especially to Southeast Asian Smash fans, but many are Chinese, Koreans, Taiwanese, Australians and New Zealanders of Smash fans.

As an Indonesians. If sadly no APAC or Pacific games reps in Smash. In many to SEAs Smash fans becoming droughts or curses or loss or others fans due no some Smash games rosters having with Pacific reps, particularly to Asia-Pacific gacha, mobile, MMOs, MOBAs and others games. I except to SNK games (Who's is Southeast Asians loves to SNK games, specifically to SNK fighting games!). I also Chinese and Koreans Smash fans considered to drought or others due Smash series having no Pacific or MOBAs reps, particular to Pacific owned games, gacha, mobile, MMOs, MOBAs and others games.

If could be Southeast Asians Smash fans be resurgence or broken of internet or breaking curses or becoming popluar as fighters following most popular games in Southeast Asia or Pacific games. So is Southeast Asians are especially to Genshin Impact, Honkai series, MOBAs (particularly to Dota 2, MLBB, AOV/KOG/HOK and others MOBAs), Blue Archive, NIKKE, Guardian Tales, Free Fire, Arknights, some Australians and New Zealanders games and others games! I also Chinese, Australians, a New Zealanders, Koreans and Taiwanese loves most popular games and other games! I adds Reverse 1999 and Punishing Gray Raven!

So this site having no Kiana's support threads...
angry Tuna noises

I also my currently busy with my holidays and other schedules. My computer are crashing due broken SSDs and i decided to my phones but difficult to typing keyboards on posts in this sites, lah...

Does Ty the Tasmanian Tiger counts?

 

[Truth the Ceomasterz33]

Does Ty the Tasmanian Tiger counts?

Yes, count with Ty the Tasmanian Tiger. Adds with Ty the Tasmanian Tiger!

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

I'm pretty sure that a new Smash would take much more than 2-3 years to develop unless they took lots of assets from Ultimate again. You can't really compare with Brawl because the Wii is so old at this point and hd console development take much longer than in that era, especially if Switch 2 is significantly more powerful like some rumors say. And again, you can't really compare with Ultimate since it reused so much assets from Smash 4.

I dunno. Since Brawl, 4, and Ultimate all had very different development conditions (Brawl was theoretically easier to develop, Ultimate borrowed a ton from the previous game, and 4 was two games in a trench coat being built from scratch) and ended up being about 3 years of dev time, I'd say that's probably due to it being the target as far as how soon games come out. It could take 5-6 years if they wanted it to, but there's nothing really saying that it has to.

Dunno about it being a launch title though.

 

[kirbstr]

I'm pretty sure that a new Smash would take much more than 2-3 years to develop unless they took lots of assets from Ultimate again. You can't really compare with Brawl because the Wii is so old at this point and hd console development take much longer than in that era, especially if Switch 2 is significantly more powerful like some rumors say. And again, you can't really compare with Ultimate since it reused so much assets from Smash 4.

Smash 4 was an hd console smash game simultaneously developed for a toaster that used mostly new assets and still launched within that window.

 

[Deleted member]

It will be a lot sooner than that If Sakurai's rumored new project that he started working on sometime mid 2023 is Smash 6.

Brawl's design doc was finalized in october 2005 and development lasted until late 2007. Smash 4's design doc was started late 2011 and finalized mid 2012, development lasted until mid 2014. Ultimate's planning began December 2015, development started immediately after the launch of Bayonetta early 2016, and lasted until late 2018

Smash games generally take around 3-6 months to plan, 2-3 years to develop. If planning started sometime early 2023, the game will probably release late 2025 or early 2026. This would line up with a lot of the rumors about Nintendo's new console they have been sitting on and waiting to reveal. I wouldn't be surprised if Smash 6 ends up being a first year game for it to draw sales.

You make a fair point.
However i think Ultimate is a bit diferent than the rest of the games, Ultimate is not a regular Smash game like Brawl or Smash 4, i think they'll definitely want to build up the game from scratch and improve the graphics as much as possible to diferenciate it from Ultimate, which would add up to the development time.
They'll also probably think of new modes and game mechanics to diferenciate it from Ultimate, which would also add up development time.
I think late 2025 is a bit too soon for a brand new Smash 6.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

The Switch 2 is also pretty weird. A friend of mine actually thought that it had been revealed, but the closest thing that I could find was "oh they were going to reveal it this year but now they're not and these are its specs".

It kinda feels like the worst kept secret and a total enigma at the same time.

 

[Gengar84]

I just hope they don’t go too crazy with the gimmicks next console like they did with the Wii or Wii U. At least don’t make the gimmicks mandatory. My only other major wish is for properly functioning controllers. The Switch has been by far the worst Nintendo console I’ve ever owned in terms of that, to the point that I just use my PS4 controllers to play Switch now through an adapter.

 

[Ivander]

This might be a bit off topic but I do wonder how much AI will be able to speed up game development in the future. It can already do some pretty incredible things. I could see them potentially using it to automate the repetitive parts of the job and giving the developers more time to focus on the creative aspects. Of course, there’s also the potential of the technology being abused by the higher ups as justification to cut staff and save money. I just think there’s a ton of potential if used correctly.

I guess it depends on what is it used for. Like...it could certainly make updating them graphical-wise for future systems take less time, but that also depends on whether they are going to do the same or very similar style to Ultimate. Cause if they wanted to do a Cel-shaded route at some point, AI probably can't help as well with something like that.
But that said, it'd be great if it could make creating characters, stages and whatnot take less time. Not so much model generate, but with things like graphical updates, animations, hitboxes, fixing bugs and coding, shrinking data to take less KB/MB/GB, etc. Obviously, balancing characters will still require human thinking. But if used wisely and tactfully, Smash Bros. could reach that point where we wouldn't need to worry about any of the Nintendo characters getting cut, only the 3rd Parties because of licensing issues and whatnot.

 

[kirbstr]

You make a fair point.
However i think Ultimate is a bit diferent than the rest of the games, Ultimate is not a regular Smash game like Brawl or Smash 4, i think they'll definitely want to build up the game from scratch and improve the graphics as much as possible to diferenciate it from Ultimate, which would add up to the development time.
They'll also probably think of new modes and game mechanics to diferenciate it from Ultimate, which would also add up development time.
I think late 2025 is a bit too soon for a brand new Smash 6.

The only way we get a new smash game in 2027 or later is if development literally has not started yet. Games like smash are not designed to be in development for that long. Smash is uniquely time-sensitive in going from the planning stage to release as a result of the games they try to reference. The concept behind it, being basically a 2.5D fighting/party game with a fixed camera, also shouldn't be that complicated to develop either.

Even if they are building the game completely from scratch again, like they did with Smash 4, it should still fit that 2-3 year development window. The ONLY way I could see the game taking nearly 5 years to develop would be if they built the game from scratch while also trying to bring back Ultimate's entire roster and completely update every veteran fighter's move set or something. That or they go for a significantly more ambitious story mode than even Brawl on top of trying to launch the game with 90+ characters.

 

[Wonder Smash]

**** 'em?

I didn't get upset when Arthur and Kunio got Spirits, but then didn't become playable.

I just thought, "One step closer than before. Hopefully next game."

Same here...but that's because I wasn't expecting them either.

That's what everyone was addressing earlier though? That scenario could describe any fanbase. It already happens too.

Whenever a character/series got AT'd, Mii'd, etc. you'd always get some people who decried the decision and said "x" should have been playable instead. You also got people who just went "darn, maybe next time" or "wow, they actually made it in in some way."

I'm sure some DD fans would be upset but the overall reaction would be no different than other series that only gets minor roles.

I'm not saying the reaction would be unique. I'm fully aware of that. But there are certain fan reactions to characters not getting in and it depends on what character it is.

Like you said in the second part, there's different ways people react to it. The whole "darn, maybe next time" is usually for those who think their character have a good chance and the whole "wow, they actually made it in in some way" are usually for those that are not confident but are surprised that they're even acknowledged at all.

You even have some who might take it as sign that this is a closer step to being playable because the series is actually acknowledged in Smash, then you have others that don't understand why the character couldn't have been playable right then.

In the case of Double Dragon, I think it might fit the latter. The way they get this reaction won't be the like other series, though. If they see another beat'em up series from the same company with their theme, the focus would then instantly shift to Double Dragon, a series that they're more familiar with. And with the legacy and influence that it has on the beat'em up genre, they're going to be wondering why their characters are not playable too like the River City series. Them getting Mii costumes would likely upset than more than anything else.

Apparently Billy and Jimmy from Double Dragon are the only characters whose fans would be disappointed if they're in Smash in some non-playable form. But that's not the case. That. Is. Not. The. Case.

No...that's not it.

This is exactly why I tell people don't speak for others if they're not taking part in conversations they don't understand.

 

[DarthEnderX]

On a scale of 1 to 10 how disappointed/upset are Double Dragon fans?View attachment 387796

3?

 

[Gengar84]

Whether it’s Double Dragon, River City, Battletoads, Streets of Rage, Final Fight, or something else, it would be cool to get some kind of Beat ‘em Up character for Smash. Those games just feel like such a natural fit for a game like Smash I’m a bit surprised it hasn’t happened by now. It’s probably because the genre has been pretty niche for a long time but I feel like there’s been a bit of a resurgence with games like Shredder’s Revenge and Streets of Rage 4.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Smash is uniquely time-sensitive in going from the planning stage to release as a result of the games they try to reference.

That's a good point. The games like to pull from what happened recently at the time, so Smash 4 gets stuff like Rosalina & Luma and Wii Fit Trainer. Decisions like that wouldn't entirely make sense too much farther down the line. It's also why Pokémon's characters are picked in advance. X & Y was beginning development at around the same time as Smash 4, so we hadn't even seen Greninja yet, but any Gen 5 Pokémon would have been 4 years old by that point, and the series would have moved on a year ago (since that's when X & Y came out).

This has me curious though. Gen 9 is probably in its twilight years, but Pokémon Legends Z-A comes out in 2025. Are we getting something from there? Would they rather go with Scarlet/Violet anyway? Is Gen 10 coming out in the same year (like Gen 9 did with Pokémon Legends Arceus) so we'll get something from those games instead?

I think Pokémon is in for either an interesting or an...interesting decision in the next game.

 

[Gengar84]

That's a good point. The games like to pull from what happened recently at the time, so Smash 4 gets stuff like Rosalina & Luma and Wii Fit Trainer. Decisions like that wouldn't entirely make sense too much farther down the line. It's also why Pokémon's characters are picked in advance. X & Y was beginning development at around the same time as Smash 4, so we hadn't even seen Greninja yet, but any Gen 5 Pokémon would have been 4 years old by that point, and the series would have moved on a year ago (since that's when X & Y came out).

This has me curious though. Gen 9 is probably in its twilight years, but Pokémon Legends Z-A comes out in 2025. Are we getting something from there? Would they rather go with Scarlet/Violet anyway? Is Gen 10 coming out in the same year (like Gen 9 did with Pokémon Legends Arceus) so we'll get something from those games instead?

I think Pokémon is in for either an interesting or an...interesting decision in the next game.

Yeah, I’m not really sure what direction they’re going to take. It would also be nice if they didn’t limit themselves by only considering the newest game. There are plenty of older Pokemon that would make for awesome Smash fighters too. Not that I’m necessarily against a newer game rep, just that it would be cool if we could keep our options open. Leaving the door open like that also encourages more speculation and not just end it with whoever the most pushed starter is at the time will get in and no one else matters.

 

[AreJay25]

Whether it’s Double Dragon, River City, Battletoads, Streets of Rage, Final Fight, or something else, it would be cool to get some kind of Beat ‘em Up character for Smash. The genre just feels like such a natural fit for a game like Smash I’m a bit surprised it hasn’t happened by now. It’s probably because the genre has been pretty niche for a long time but I feel like there’s been a bit of a resurgence with games like Shredder’s Revenge and Streets of Rage 4.

It IS a bit weird how little representation the genre has at the moment, especially considering the director of this series and his clear love for the classics. Like you mentioned, the beat 'em up genre was HUGE in the late 80's/90's and it's currently in the best shape that it's been since that point. Maybe it's something Sakurai has considered/would consider, but considering the companies that own a lot of the bigger beat 'em up IP's and the competition they would have to deal with from within said companies, it might be a bit easier said than done to try and get a character in unfortunately.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Yeah, I’m not really sure what direction they’re going to take. It would also be nice if they didn’t limit themselves by only considering the newest game. There are plenty of older Pokemon that would make for awesome Smash fighters too. Not that I’m necessarily against a newer game rep, just that it would be cool if we could keep our options open. Leaving the door open like that also encourages more speculation and not just end it with whoever the most pushed starter is at the time will get in and no one else matters.

Even a rep from Pokémon Scarlet/Violet would be interesting. Would they go with a starter like usual? Would they go for Koraidon and Miraidon? A popular Pokémon that isn't a starter or legendary like Tinkaton? Are they crazy enough to make a moveset for Terapagos?

Out of all those options I think the only one that would dissapoint me would be Meowscarada. I don't like Meowscarada.

 

[Guynamednelson]

No...that's not it.

This is exactly why I tell people don't speak for others if they're not taking part in conversations they don't understand.

It's just hard to take your theory on DD fans' reaction to Billy and Jimmy getting Mii'd seriously when there's no way it'd be as big as if Waluigi got AT'd a fourth time.

 

[CapitaineCrash]

I like Beat em up games, but I don't think it's that baffling that there's no rep from this genre in Smash. It's mostly a dead genre, and the small revival that recently happened with Streets if rage 4, Battletoads 2020 and River city girls 2 happened after Ultimate release and after dlc were even chosen (Since fighter pass 2 was announced in 2019 and those games released after 2020). Even with those revival, I think there's just way to much competition in third party characters to be really consider huge candidate. I wouldn't sleep on it happening, but I'd be pretty surprised if Streets of rage get a rep before Yakuza or Puyo puyo, or if Battletoads gets in before numerous others Microsoft character.