Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[Garteam]

Master Chief would be really cool, but I think the biggest issue facing him is needing to compete with Doom Slayer and Crash. All three could and should be in the next Smash, but we don't know exactly how intensive the language barrier is and how much that would practically impact the number of Western third parties that could reasonably be licensed. If Sakurai and Nintendo are only going to go through the rigamarole to get two Western characters, I think Doom Slayer and Crash would win out due to their popularity in the Fighter's Pass era. If there are three or more Western third parties, that's when I think Chief's got a really good shot.

 

[Quillion]

Well yea but a lot of other characters fit that description its not just Waluigi. Toad, Birdo, Boo, Shy Guy, Dry Bones, Kamek, Lakitu, ect

I'll just say this: Wario has his own series. Donkey Kong has his own series. Luigi has his own series. Peach now has two attempts at starting her own series.

Waluigi has his own series too. No, it's not any series that has his name on it; the Mario spin-offs ARE Waluigi's series.

Think about it, he exists not only as a Mario spin-off exclusive character, but he only exists as a spin-off of both Wario and Luigi.

 

[Schnee117]

Well yea but a lot of other characters fit that description its not just Waluigi. Toad, Birdo, Boo, Shy Guy, Dry Bones, Kamek, Lakitu, ect

Then you should understand that people want Waluigi because of his personality rather than just "oh we need to rep spinoffs" and that a lot of the characters you cited wouldn't even necessarily be given a spin-off moveset either.

Like you aren't giving Birdo a sports moveset when she can spit eggs and fire or Toad when he has tons of other material to work with or Kamek having a variety of magic to use. It's not that Waluigi would just do sports things, it's that he'd do so in a dirty, cheating manner.

 

[Louie G.]

It is and always will be kind of funny the way the community contextualizes "spinoff" to immediately mean unimportant. It's one thing to suggest a character who is prominent in both the main series and spinoffs may take precedent - Bowser Jr over Waluigi, for example, makes sense.

But being in those Mario Kart, Mario Party and sports titles makes Waluigi more widely known and beloved than most of the roster by default. It's maybe a little telling that the Waluigi AT thing reached like... way beyond the confines of the Smash community, it immediately hit casual fans and became an in-joke / movement among fans who aren't forum dwellers like you and I.

People are always bringing up how little Billy isn't going to care about Banjo & Kazooie, but he probably does care about Waluigi. I know I did when I was younger - I used to fantasize about a Mario & Luigi game where we could square up against the Wario Bros. I understood those two as a team, even if that dynamic is mostly limited to a few tennis games. It would have made all the sense in the world to see them next to each other on the roster when I booted up Brawl, and for most Smash players I suspect the same thing rings true even today.

 

[Gengar84]

Master Chief would be really cool, but I think the biggest issue facing him is needing to compete with Doom Slayer and Crash. All three could and should be in the next Smash, but we don't know exactly how intensive the language barrier is and how much that would practically impact the number of Western third parties that could reasonably be licensed. If Sakurai and Nintendo are only going to go through the rigamarole to get two Western characters, I think Doom Slayer and Crash would win out due to their popularity in the Fighter's Pass era. If there are three or more Western third parties, that's when I think Chief's got a really good shot.

And that’s my biggest fear for many of my most wanted characters. I noticed that quite a few of my favorite gaming characters are owned by Microsoft now but to say they are facing an uphill battle for a playable character is a bit of an understatement. I’d absolutely love to see the Battletoads,Fulgore, Illidan, or Kerrigan but none of them really have the same level of support as Chief, Crash, or Doomslayer. I’d argue that WarCraft is at least as culturally significant as any of them but PC is one platform where the apparent lack of audience overlap actually hurts it. The RARE games aren’t quite in the same league, I just loved them growing up and always associated them with Nintendo. I’d say that connection is their only realistic shot of making it at this point.

 

[DarthEnderX]

But there's a catch: every series has to have the same number of fighters on the roster., including 3rd parties. Maximum 40 characters. What's the roster looking like?

It looks like one character per series!

But my question is... What do you think today's Elite Four would be?

Well, my Elite Four are:

Dunno who Smash Boards' would be.

 

[Slime Scholar]

Pardon my ignorance, but is Master Chief actually one of the top five most requested characters here right now? I remember seeing people talk about him when we were still waiting for the last fighter and Halo was having its mini-renaissance with Infinite and the TV show on the horizon, but is he actually up there with names like Waluigi or Waddle Dee or others who have been discussed since forever?

 

[kirbstr]

Mario spin-offs ARE Waluigi's series.

This is a stretch. He's a common supporting character in the spin offs, but saying they are his series is pretty silly. He's not even on the box art for most of them.

Then you should understand that people want Waluigi because of his personality rather than just "oh we need to rep spinoffs" and that a lot of the characters you cited wouldn't even necessarily be given a spin-off moveset either.

I know why people want him. I just don't find it a particularly convincing reason over other characters in a similar boat. Which is also why I think he would have worked best as a surprise character that nobody was asking for.

 

[Ivander]

I am a bit curious as to how Master Chief has as much support as he does in the Smash community. Halo is a pretty huge and important series in gaming but I wouldn’t think its audience would overlap much with Smash’s. They’re two completely different genres of games and have never been on the same console. I suppose they do have the whole multiplayer thing in common but that’s all I can think of. I’m not really against Master Chief’s inclusion, I just don’t completely get the huge amount of fan support for him. If it were just based on sales and impact, you’d think similarly impactful titles like WarCraft and League of Legends would be right up there with Halo in terms of requests.

Two things.

1. Obviously, Master Chief himself is a popular character and the Halo franchise itself is also very popular, especially among FPS games. He's also widely considered as Xbox/Microsoft's mascot and after both Banjo&Kazooie and Steve got in, showing that Microsoft characters can get into Smash, it makes sense that the next Microsoft character who many would go for and support is Mr. Xbox himself. It also helps that Halo does have some sort of following in Japan, as I remember how quite a bunch of video game websites reported the disappointment of Japanese fans when Master Chief's JP voice actor got changed in Halo 4.
2. 1 word. Haloid. Besides the idea of Master Chief going up against Mario, Samus vs Master Chief was an incredibly popular subject in the 2000s. It started out decently popular when Halo and Metroid Prime had first come out and were still getting sequels, but man, did it become incredibly popular after the late Monty Oum, the eventual creator of RWBY, showcased one of his first animation projects called Haloid in January 2007. And boy, did that video not only make Monty Oum popular, but it absolutely popularised Samus vs Master Chief. I still remember how much of a popular subject Master Chief was during Brawl speculation even when most people acknowledged his Microsoft ownership.

 

[Quillion]

It is and always will be kind of funny the way the community contextualizes "spinoff" to immediately mean unimportant. It's one thing to suggest a character who is prominent in both the main series and spinoffs may take precedent - Bowser Jr over Waluigi, for example, makes sense.

TBF, I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that again, Smash is juggling so many series right now. To some, it feels like a waste to scrape the bottom of the barrel for one franchise when they can get the cream of the crop of other franchises.

This is a stretch. He's a common supporting character in the spin offs, but saying they are his series is pretty silly. He's not even on the box art for most of them.

It's not just being a common supporting character in the spin-offs...

Think about it, he exists not only as a Mario spin-off exclusive character, but he only exists as a spin-off of both Wario and Luigi.

 

[HyperSomari64]

This is a stretch. He's a common supporting character in the spin offs, but saying they are his series is pretty silly. He's not even on the box art for most of them.

What do you mean? Waluigi is on the Mario Spin-offs Box Art, He's just behind the mountain.
dunkey moment

 

[DarthEnderX]

Godzillathewonderdog, I just wanted to say...I like your avatar.

Cutting out the wishlist middleman.

Waluigi
Bandana Waddle Dee
Geno
Crash
Master Chief

I think I mostly agree with this.

 

[fogbadge]

You have a very close-minded and immature perspective.

ah yes the classic devalue the other user instead of coming up with an actual counterpoint

 

[Ivander]

ah yes the classic devalue the other user instead of coming up with an actual counterpoint

You mean you didn't? Considering you clearly said, "Nintendo gamers and Xbox gamers live in separate worlds", implying that Nintendo gamers can't play other games other than Nintendo games and vice-versa for Xbox gamers.

 

[fogbadge]

You mean you didn't? Considering you clearly said, "Nintendo gamers and Xbox gamers live in separate worlds", implying that Nintendo gamers can't play other games other than Nintendo games and vice-versa for Xbox gamers.

that is not what I said at all, don’t put words in my mouth

more to the point how could I be devaluing the other person when I was agreeing with him

 

[Schnee117]

Pardon my ignorance, but is Master Chief actually one of the top five most requested characters here right now? I remember seeing people talk about him when we were still waiting for the last fighter and Halo was having its mini-renaissance with Infinite and the TV show on the horizon, but is he actually up there with names like Waluigi or Waddle Dee or others who have been discussed since forever?

I don't know about requested in this specific circle but certainly among the most discussed here for sure.
It's definitely in part because people want to gatekeep to an extreme but also because Microsoft have themselves a horde of popular characters people want for Smash with their constant and obnoxious corporate consolidations.

 

[Ivander]

that is not what I said at all, don’t put words in my mouth

I certainly agree that Nintendo and Xbox gamers live in separate worlds but the smash community seems to attract a lot of people who aren’t Nintendo fans

Yes you did say this. It's on the previous page. And you were replying to somebody's question on why Master Chief is a popular subject to support.

 

[Louie G.]

ah yes the classic devalue the other user instead of coming up with an actual counterpoint

You implied the equivalent of "people aren't Nintendo fans if they want [x character]". As if people can't enjoy games from more than one platform or developer.

It's an irrational argument that needs no counterpoint and should be treated as such.

 

[fogbadge]

Yes you did say this. It's on the previous page. And you were replying to somebody's question on why Master Chief is a popular subject to support.

I was agreeing with him

You implied the equivalent of "people aren't Nintendo fans if they want [x character]". As if people can't enjoy games from more than one platform or developer.

It's an irrational argument that needs no counterpoint and should be treated as such.

I didn’t say that. Don’t put words in my mouth

 

[Swamp Sensei]

It really feels weird having this develop after the Smash game that added K. Rool and Banjo. Yes, it was for fans campaigning for them, but how is "X is never gonna get in unless you campaign for them" going to bear any fruit when the people who post that stuff will do anything but help fans of Character X get that started?

That doesn't apply to you specifically.

Funny you mention this...

I actually tried to get some leaders of the Zelda character threads to organize during Ultimate's DLC. I am confident that Skull Kid or Midna could easily become a new Ridley/K.Rool. They already have the popularity in their home series and as Smash candidates. The main issue is just that the Zelda fanbase is fractured as a whole. I said that if they could rally behind one choice, then they could probably dominate, but they didn't want to agree on who would get picked.

I really do think that Zelda fans should rally behind one character. I'm not sure how to get the community to do that.

 

[Gengar84]

I apologize. I didn’t mean for this to turn into a big argument. I was just curious what made Chief such a popular request and that’s been answered. No hard feelings either way. Let’s just try to get along.

 

[fogbadge]

I apologize. I didn’t mean for this to turn into a big argument. I was just curious what made Chief such a popular request and that’s been answered. No hard feelings either way. Let’s just try to get along.

you didn’t start anything you have nothing to apologise for

 

[Louie G.]

I didn’t say that. Don’t put words in my mouth

Well maybe you can enlighten us on what "the smash community seems to attract a lot of people who aren’t Nintendo fans" implies? Sounded to me like a very snarky response about a character you have demonstrated irrational bias against in the past.

I don't feel like arguing much about this but I don't appreciate you treating us like we're stupid. If you're gonna get your quips in, at least stand by them.

 

[fogbadge]

Well maybe you can enlighten us on what "the smash community seems to attract a lot of people who aren’t Nintendo fans" implies? Sounded to me like a very snarky response about a character you have demonstrated irrational bias against in the past.

I don't feel like arguing much about this but I don't appreciate you treating us like we're stupid. If you're gonna get your quips in, at least stand by them.

it means that there are a lot of smash fans who aren’t Nintendo fans, that we are a huge fandom with all sorts of gamers

and don’t accuse me of treating you like you’re stupid when that exactly what you did right at the start. what was it you said: immature and narrow minded? I don’t think you can claim innocence when you threw the first stone

 

[Golden Icarus]

Funny you mention this...

I actually tried to get some leaders of the Zelda character threads to organize during Ultimate's DLC. I am confident that Skull Kid or Midna could easily become a new Ridley/K.Rool. They already have the popularity in their home series and as Smash candidates. The main issue is just that the Zelda fanbase is fractured as a whole. I said that if they could rally behind one choice, then they could probably dominate, but they didn't want to agree on who would get picked.

I really do think that Zelda fans should rally behind one character. I'm not sure how to get the community to do that.

It's gotta be Skull Kid. He's the biggest request today, so it would be an uphill battle to try and get the Zelda fandom (as well as the broader Smash fandom) behind anyone else. Sure, no single poll will ever reflect the entire fanbase, but there's more than enough evidence that points to Skull Kid as the current frontrunner. He's been around longer and is "more irrelevant" than the likes of Midna, Girahim or Urbosa yet has held onto his fanbase the hardest. That really should count for something.

But it is a little hard with someone like Impa existing. We actually do have a Zelda character who is far and beyond the next most important character in the series and the Impa fans have done a commendable job campaigning for her, but I think Skull Kid is a much easier sell. His design is just so striking and unlike anything in Smash. There's a reason the broader Smash community can sooner get behind Geno or K. Rool before Toad or Dixie Kong. but really we all know that Vaati is the character we need

 

[pitchfulprocessing]

Well yea but a lot of other characters fit that description its not just Waluigi. Toad, Birdo, Boo, Shy Guy, Dry Bones, Kamek, Lakitu, ect

I know this is late and I don't want to like dredge up an unnecessary argument, but I do feel like this is always kind of a silly perspective whenver this kind of argument is made. The difference is that people want Waluigi and don't want Dry Bones lol. He's appealing and has demand, it's simple as that.

 

[Deleted member]

Master Chief would be really cool, but I think the biggest issue facing him is needing to compete with Doom Slayer and Crash. All three could and should be in the next Smash, but we don't know exactly how intensive the language barrier is and how much that would practically impact the number of Western third parties that could reasonably be licensed. If Sakurai and Nintendo are only going to go through the rigamarole to get two Western characters, I think Doom Slayer and Crash would win out due to their popularity in the Fighter's Pass era. If there are three or more Western third parties, that's when I think Chief's got a really good shot.

I forgot Crash and Doom Slayer are microsoft reps now lol.
I think Crash kind of makes the most sense (to add first at least).

 

[KingofPhantoms]

Funny you mention this...

I actually tried to get some leaders of the Zelda character threads to organize during Ultimate's DLC. I am confident that Skull Kid or Midna could easily become a new Ridley/K.Rool. They already have the popularity in their home series and as Smash candidates. The main issue is just that the Zelda fanbase is fractured as a whole. I said that if they could rally behind one choice, then they could probably dominate, but they didn't want to agree on who would get picked.

I really do think that Zelda fans should rally behind one character. I'm not sure how to get the community to do that.

I'd love to see Tetra or Skull become become the next Zelda newcomer, and I think they've both got the support to achieve it.

Honestly, I'd prefer it if we got both, but the likelihood of that seems even lower right now.

 

[kirbstr]

I know this is late and I don't want to like dredge up an unnecessary argument, but I do feel like this is always kind of a silly perspective whenver this kind of argument is made. The difference is that people want Waluigi and don't want Dry Bones lol. He's appealing and has demand, it's simple as that.

This has kind of gotten away from my original argument, that being Waluigi would have worked better as a surprise character than one people actually wanted. Yes people can want him in smash, but what would he do? How would he fight? What references would he draw from? There aren't really clear answers to most of these questions for Waluigi. Nothing he ever does in games he appears in is all that unique to himself.

I've seen a bunch of moveset ideas and mods and none of them ever really land. A lot of people can WANT him, that doesn't make it any less of a weird and inherently silly request. People don't want Waluigi in smash, they want an entirely original character in smash inspired by their idea of Waluigi.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

People don't want Waluigi in smash, they want an entirely original character in smash inspired by their idea of Waluigi.

And just like that, never taking a word you say seriously again.

 

[kirbstr]

And just like that, never taking a word you say seriously again.

if that makes u feel better about the fact that a potted plant had more moveset potential than waluigi, by all means

 

[Laniv]

Yes people can want him in smash, but what would he do? How would he fight? What references would he draw from?

Speaking as someone who doesn't really care for Waluigi, and would vastly prefer Toad or King Boo or Pauline...

these questions are just non-issues. He has tennis, golf and karting to draw from, as well as that brambly vine motif he had in Strikers, from which one can make at least a solid set of special moves. Give him the tennis racket to reflect projectiles as a side smash, some kicks and spins as normals and aerials, and oh, I don't know, something bob-omb or pinball related for his Final Smash, and boom, you got a moveset.

This just feels like a fancy way to say "he can't get in because he can't fight", which is just... factually incorrect lol

 

[SpecterFlower]

Reminder that Wario himself only really interacts with Mario in sports/kart/party games

Even his own series barely acknowledges that Wario is supposed to live in the same universe as Mario.

I doubt warioware is even the Mario universe.

it has more rhythm heaven references than Mario references.

they seem really reluctant to make wario a “Mario” thing

Mario is pretty consulted as aseires

I’ve seen people suggesting making Luigi his own seires but imo that’s stupid.

luigi is Mario’s player 2 and yoshi is in half the games.

They shoudl both be a part of the Mario seires.

Wario has appeared twice and dk has never appeared in a mainline game. And bother do their games have anything to do with Mario.

meanwhile the yoshi and Luigi games have you fighting against bowser, boos, shy guys and kamek with the help of Mario peach and the toads.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

In an unexpected twist, Waluigi gets in with a dance based moveset from his stuff in Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix and Sakurai explains that he's in to represent the many rhythm titles in video game history.

Rhythm Heaven fans are unamused by this development.

 

[kirbstr]

Speaking as someone who doesn't really care for Waluigi, and would vastly prefer Toad or King Boo or Pauline...

these questions are just non-issues. He has tennis, golf and karting to draw from, as well as that brambly vine motif he had in Strikers, from which one can make at least a solid set of special moves. Give him the tennis racket to reflect projectiles as a side smash, some kicks and spins as normals and aerials, and oh, I don't know, something bob-omb or pinball related for his Final Smash, and boom, you got a moveset.

This just feels like a fancy way to say "he can't get in because he can't fight", which is just... factually incorrect lol

I could make a smash moveset for the pong flippers if I was creative enough. Its not that its impossible to make a moveset for him or any character, its that you would have draw from fairly generic sources to basically create an original character because he really doesn't do that many unique things in the games he appears in compared to other characters. I'm not saying that would be bad or impossible or even that it won't happen, it just is what it is.

And to be completely fair, they did this before with another Mario character in Rosalina because she was popular and Sakurai wanted to make a puppet fighter.

 

[SPEN18]

But with Waluigi, it's less what he does and more how he does it. He has a highly distinct personality that is very easy to build around. He would probably end up punching and kicking a lot, but those moves can be just as interesting and unique as the things other characters do simply because it's Waluigi doing the punching and kicking, in his own eccentric sort of way. Add in some cute spinoff props to spice it up even more, let him angrily stomp around the battlefield and flash a dirty snicker when he wallops you with the tennis racket or something, and it's gold.

 

[Perkilator]

I've been thinking about the conversation regarding Min Min when it comes to faithfulness, and then I thought...yeah, her faithfulness was kind of to a fault. So I decided to redesign her moveset to be relatively simpler but still unique in its own right.

Spoiler

Intro: Min Min jumps onto the stage while corkscrewing, after which she assumes both the Gai Bù and then the Jin Ji Du Li upon landing.

Stance/Idle 1: Her idle stance from ARMS.
Idle 2: Min Min hops on both feet and briefly brandishes her left arm above her whilst her other arm is held behind her.
Idle 3: Min Min raises her left arm and lowers it in front of herself in a fighting stance.

Notable Palette Swaps

1. “Up” colors (default)
2. “Right” colors (cyan)
3. “Down” colors (red)
4. “Left” colors (yellow)
5. Spring Man (red/blue)
6. Ribbon Girl (pink)
7. Ninjara (blue)
8. Twintelle (white)

Walk: Her walk animation from ARMS.
Dash: Min Min dashes with both ARMS flailing behind her.
Damage: Her damage animation from ARMS.
Jump: Her jump animation from ARMS.
Crouch: Min Min assumes the Pu Bu, a crouching stance.

Fighter Ability: ARMS
While her left arm always uses the Dragon ARMS, Min Min’s right arm can be equipped with three different types of ARMS

• Megawatt (default): The strongest but also the slowest
• Dragon: The most balanced in power and speed
• Ramram: The quickest but the actual arm doesn’t go far, instead firing the Ramram like a typical projectile

Normal Attacks
Jab: A mid-level roundhouse kick (2%), followed by a legsweep (2%), finishing with a high-level roundhouse kick (6%, small knockback). Holding A follows up with a flurry of kicks (.5% each hit).
Forward+A: A horizontal spin kick (8%, small knockback)
Up+A: A handstand version of the aú aberto (7%, small knockback)
Down+A: A baseball slide (7%, small knockback)
Dash Attack: A flying kick (10%, OK knockback)
Edge Attack: A sliding low-level roundhouse kick (9%, small knockback)
Get-Up Attack: A sweep kick (7%, small knockback)

Aerial Attacks
Air+A: Min Min swings her right arm around herself in a downward circular motion (damage and knockback depends on the ARMS her right arm is equipped with)
Air Forward+A: An axe kick (13% with a meteor effect, OK knockback)
Air Back + A: A spin kick (10%, OK knockback)
Air Up+A: A bicycle kick (8%, small knockback)
Air Down+A: A dive kick (11%, OK knockback)

Smash Attacks
Forward+A: A powerful back kick that can be angled (18%, medium knockback)
Up+A: A handstand bicycle kick that can reflect projectiles (15%, OK knockback)
Down+A: A split kick (15% on each side, OK knockback)

Grab Game
Grab: Min Min stretches out both arms at once to grab the opponent.
Pummel: A knee strike (2%)
Forwards+Throw: Min Min punches the opponent with her left arm (10%, OK knockback)
Back+Throw: A German suplex (14%, OK knockback)
Up+Throw: Min Min backflip kicks into the air before swiping horizontally with both arms, launching the opponent at a diagonal downward angle (11% with a meteor effect, OK knockback)
Down+Throw: Min Min strikes the opponent with rapid kicks (8%, small knockback)

Special Moves
B : Dragon; Min Min fires a short burst of Dragon fire from her left arm, and unlike her game of origin, her left arm fires a normal fireball instead of a long beam (12%, OK knockback). When used in midair, Min Min instead swings her left arm around herself in a downward circular motion (12%, OK knockback). If Min Min attacks opponents with a throw, the Dragon on her left arm is empowered by 1.4x.
B + ← → : Right ARMS; Min Min punches forward with the ARMS on her right arm. Holding B charges the power of the attack, with a full charge giving you a different effect.

• The Megawatt’s charge increases the damage of the attack
• The Dragon’s charge adds an extra explosion at the end of the attack
• The Ramram’s charge increases the knockback of the attack

B + ↑ : ARMS Uppercut / ARMS Hook; on the ground, Min Min uses her left arm Dragon to charge an uppercut performed with her right arm. In midair, Min Min instead uses her left arm as a grappling hook.
B + ↓ : Change ARMS; Min Min switches between the Megawatt, Dragon and Ramram for her right arm.

Final Smash: ARMS Rush; Min Min fires an astonishing blast from her left arm, with a different effect depending on the ARMS equipped on her right arm.

• If her right arm is equipped with a Dragon, her left arm fires a fiery stream that only fires straight forward
• If her right arm is equipped with a Megawatt, her left arm fires an electrified beam that can be angled up or down
• If her right arm is equipped with a Ramram, her left arm fires a vortex of wind that deals no damage but instead pushes opponents away

Taunts
Up: Min Min performs a left-legged roundhouse kick followed by a right-legged side kick.
Side: Min Min performs the Jǐ and Àn movements from 24-form tai chi chuan, then assumes the Jin Ji Du Li stance.
Down: Min Min sways her ARMS in alternating circles before assuming the Tūn Bù.

Winposes
1: Min Min raises her left arms in the air, whilst simultaneously swaying her hips towards her right. Afterwards, she waves both her arms in alternating circles, and then assumes the Fú Hǔ Bù while saying "我愛拉麺！" ("I love ramen!").
2: Min Min performs a butterfly twist, followed by a right-legged wheel kick, followed by a left-legged roundhouse kick while saying "謝謝！" ("Thank you!").
3: Min Min performs a roundhouse kick before assuming the Chā Bù.

Applause: Min Min tries to clap with both Dragon ARMS.
Icon: The symbol used for the ARMS Grand Prix.
Boxing Ring Title: The Ramen Bomber
Star K.O.: https://youtu.be/q9bEvVPKZto?feature=shared&t=70
Victory Music: ARMS Grand Prix Official Theme Song
Kirby Hat: Min Min’s hair and hat.

 

[Wonder Smash]

On a personal level, I grew up around friends who played Xbox. I was a Nintendo kid through and through, but going to friends' houses was the way I would get exposed to whatever else was out there. Halo was a consistent presence and one I grew to appreciate, and just become very familiar with. My friends were diehard Nintendo and Smash fans just as well, so it's never struck me that Halo and Smash would have such vastly different communities or anything. We also played games like Team Fortress 2 or Grand Theft Auto together. We didn't let genre or platform be a limitation.

There's also something of an easily understood appeal about getting another console mascot to fight in Smash. Of course someone like Crash has more understandable overlap and some presence on Nintendo, but for the same reasons people want a "Playstation mascot" in Smash the idea of Chief getting to shake hands with Mario feels important. It's something true to my own experiences with video games growing up, even moreso than Playstation. Couple that with Microsoft already having a strong showing on the roster and discussion of their defacto mascot is quick to follow.

Basically, this was like Sonic back in the day. In fact, this whole thing was like my experience with Sonic back in the day.

Though personally in this case, while I always loved the idea of Nintendo's mascot taking on SEGA's mascot, I never felt this with Microsoft's mascot. I guess because Nintendo and Microsoft never promoted themselves as competing with each other. There was always Mario vs. Sonic but Mario vs. Master Chief? I never really hear about that. It doesn't even feel the same.

Of course, I know people would love to see Samus and Master Chief thanks to Haloid (which I also loved by the way) but even then, it's not exciting enough for me to want to see Master Chief in Smash. Though funny enough, they're somewhat linked through the Dead or Alive series (thanks, Koei Tecmo).

Now Crash is a character I'd be more interested in seeing. Unlike with Chief, his rivalry with plumber boy was heavily promoted and he was created to compete with both Mario and Sonic back in the day. Now here's a series where he can finally beat'em both up.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Gaming mascots were a pretty powerful cultural and marketing image until the end of the 6th gen when they started to decline in use and significance (Mario and to a lesser degree Sonic aside). In the case of third parties like Capcom their output became so diverse and so many franchises got so big that in some ways Ryu and Mega Man were still recalled as the face more for sheer legacy reasons than them being a prominent sales force for the company.

It's interesting in general to see how the chosen franchises for such a role often give way to other ones over time. Bonk was pushed forward as the face of Hudson Soft, but the stronger success (and the IP's continued existence after the Konami acquisition) ended up giving Bomberman that title. Heck even Master Chief only became the mascot for Xbox because Blinx simply didn't connect with mass audiences as intended.

 

[HyperSomari64]

Video Game mascots can't only be cartoony characters.
There are realistic ones like Master Chief. Heck, Anime Mascots are a thing considering Mega Man is already there, and no one I know call him a Scrimblo/Gwimbly thingamajig.