Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[KingofPhantoms]

Melee didn't even have that much content that warranted a T rating besides the general violence of it being a fighting game, and maybe Giga Bowser's defeat cutscene.

Brawl got a T rating for more justified reasons with Snake's inclusion, the presence of blood in a handful of cutscenes, and the generally darker tone that many of the cutscenes had.

Even then, Smash 4 had Bayonetta, and Ultimate has both her and Snake, and both games have the E10+ rating, so that indicates that as of now at least, characters generally don't have as much of an impact on the rating as they once did. For reference, the E10+ rating was established in 2005, and Brawl was released in 2008. It's entirely possible that Brawl only got a T rating not because of Snake's presence or any of the Metal Gear content whatsoever, but solely due to the SSE's tone and the presene of blood and visible wounds in the cutscene where Ganondorf and Master Hand try to take down Tabuu.

If they didn't care about getting T ratings back then, they're certainly not gonna care now. And even if they changed their minds about that, playable characters from games with higher age ratings don't seem to have a particularly large impact, if any thus far, on the rating of the Smash game they're in to begin with.

 

[Guynamednelson]

besides the general violence of it being a fighting game

Even then it's not as graphic as the bloody, bruised defeat portraits in Street Fighter II let alone Mortal Kombat's Fataliities. Besides, it got a 3+ in Europe.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

The only rating board the development team caters to is CERO for obvious reasons.
These newer ESRB things are just some crap to work around when it comes to acknowledgement of games/franchises of higher rating, which is an issue for the localization team to deal with, not the developers who just have to make sure things are good for an A rating at CERO.

 

[dream1ng]

The only rating board the development team caters to is CERO for obvious reasons.
These newer ESRB things are just some crap to work around when it comes to acknowledgement of games/franchises of higher rating, which is an issue for the localization team to deal with, not the developers who just have to make sure things are good for an A rating at CERO.

Sakurai mentioned overseas ratings boards are the ones that care about guns and that kind of stuff - and while their stance may have shifted, they were probably why Snake was only implemented with explosives and missile launchers and such.

Regardless, in that statement, Sakurai acknowledged he is attuned to overseas rating board restrictions.

CERO and Palutena’s Censorship

Source Gaming investigates the alterations made to everyone’s favorite goddess– Palutena.

sourcegaming.info

Also, if the restrictions are going to fundamentally limit how series are labelled in game, and result in some series otherwise just having blank spots where their titles should go in a major region, creating a confusing lack of uniformity in the menus, that's significant enough that it's going to be something the development team has to factor in when designing the game.

And in theory they could release heavily edited Sakurai showcases for the NA audience that scrubs out all mention of the series or gameplay from it. But given how drastically that would alter each presentation, that is something Japan is going to be cognizant of, and factor into their decisions.

If it was just trophy descriptions, changing "Smash Bros x [series]" to "Smash Bros x [character]" for Mii costumes, and general PR, sure, that's something they'd potentially just leave to localization. But these new restrictions, ostensibly, go deeper than that.

North America is the game's biggest market - they're not an afterthought in crafting the game.

 

[DarthEnderX]

There's only 4 functional age ratings I need:
For kids
For teens
For adults
Literal porn

 

[HyperSomari64]

There's only 4 functional age ratings I need:
For kids
For teens
For adults
Literal porn

Why there are no video games for old people? :v

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Why there are no video games for old people? :v

What do you think adults are?

 

[HyperSomari64]

What do you think adults are?

No, I mean for senile old lol

 

[fogbadge]

Why there are no video games for old people? :v

well if my mums anything to go by there’s plenty

No, I mean for senile old lol

I’ll let you know in a few decades

 

[Freduardo]

Speaking of other M its really weird that there are 0 metroid plushies to my knowledge?
A Metroid larva and samus shouldnt be too unfit for a soft treatment!
Why am i saying this?
I got these:
View attachment 392265View attachment 392266View attachment 392267View attachment 392268
And im already upset at the lack of Zelda Plushes i cant even imagine how metroid fans feel?

The Reasons why i got each plush are:
-The Only intersting zelda plush on that site
-For the baby of my friend
-Duh
-Wanted to get whispy but he was sold out!

If you don’t need official, there’s a cute Ridley on alixpress and some cool metroids and even a crocomire on etsy

Spoiler

 

[dream1ng]

The rating system only exists because of a 90s moral panic over Night Trap and Mortal Kombat. It was never anything more than a bit of performative grandstanding to get in the good graces of a conservative voting population. "Think of the children" and all that.

That's what catalyzed it, but it was inevitable. Games were getting more "realistic" and graphic, graphics were improving, and the industry was growing. If it wasn't those games it eventually would've been others, like GTA and Manhunt.

I mean, PEGI and CERO exist - and they weren't prompted by the moral panic of early 90s America. Eventually ratings boards are implemented if only, from the company's perspective, to pacify legislators and mitigate the banning of objectionable games, protecting their bottom dollar.

In practice it's no more performative grandstanding than the movie rating system. And frankly, though it regularly goes unheeded, it isn't so bad to age gate some very violent or scary games from young children. While the internet can get young kids good and traumatized regardless of video games, there is still merit to a rating system.

 

[Will]

No, I mean for senile old lol

Those people play Facebook

 

[Scrimblo Bimblo]

"For adults" and "For literal children" make enough sense to me as far as rating systems are concerned, but on the other hand eh. You'd think people were intelligent enough to decide for themselves.
You'd think a game titled BONESTORM with its cover depicting some dude's guts being ripped out wouldn't be appropriate for your 3-years old. While a game with Mario most likely would.
Smash has actual (extremely mild) violence, so you probably want to expose it to your kid a little later than Mario Kart. Sure the combination of words "Metal Gear Solid" being present inside it wouldn't change things all that much.

I know it's not always as simple as that, but eh.
Like I dunno, back in the day all the albums by System of a Down being M-rated while they were one of the most popular bands with kids always cracked me up.

 

[KingofPhantoms]

Why there are no video games for old people? :v

I propose we make a new age rating for senior citizens named after Cranky Kong.

The catch is that it is only ever applied to games several decades after their release because we'll all be complaining that future video games are crap and don't compare to the ones we played in the present era.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

To get around potential age rating issues, all otherwise mature characters will instead be identified via the E10+ and under games they have been in:

"Here's Solid Snake, of course hailing from the Nintendo DS classic New International Track & Field!"

 

[DKing]

Why there are no video games for old people? :v

Brain Age DS

 

[Swamp Sensei]

So... some franchises like Duck Hunt, Wii Fit and Punch Out!! only have one stage. Franchises like Splatoon, ARMS, and a variety of third party franchises only have one stage, but they can clearly come up with more.

I bring Duck Hunt, Wii Fit and Punch Out!! up because I'm wondering how they can be expanded upon in a new game. Can there be more than one stage from these franchises or do their stages cover everything the franchise can provide? Ice Climber managed to have two stages in the franchise, but Icicle Mountain hasn't been seen since Melee and in Ultimate, Summit is the only Ice Climber stage,

Also, obligatory R.O.B. got robbed.

 

[DKing]

Also, obligatory R.O.B. got robbed.

We have to cross our finger to have a R.OB stage even balloon fight have a stage with no fighter.

 

[Guynamednelson]

Can there be more than one stage from these franchises or do their stages cover everything the franchise can provide?

The various minigames in Wii Fit have different backgrounds (one of which is the debut of Wuhu Island so it technically has 3 stages), and Punch-Out has the gym Mac trains in and the streets of New York.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

As far as DucK Hunt, you might be able to get something decent out of almagation stage with elements from Wild Gunmen and Hogan's Alley.

 

[AreJay25]

So... some franchises like Duck Hunt, Wii Fit and Punch Out!! only have one stage. Franchises like Splatoon, ARMS, and a variety of third party franchises only have one stage, but they can clearly come up with more.

I bring Duck Hunt, Wii Fit and Punch Out!! up because I'm wondering how they can be expanded upon in a new game. Can there be more than one stage from these franchises or do their stages cover everything the franchise can provide? Ice Climber managed to have two stages in the franchise, but Icicle Mountain hasn't been seen since Melee and in Ultimate, Summit is the only Ice Climber stage,

Also, obligatory R.O.B. got robbed.

Well, the problem with these specific franchises is that, well... they're very specific. Punch-Out is about boxing, Wii Fit is about exercising, Duck Hunt is about... duck hunting. There's only so much you can really do with the source material compared to some of the other franchises, which typically have a lot more varied areas and locales to work with.

Like, you could maybe pick Doc Louis' gym for a Punch-Out stage, but then that's essentially just another take on the existing Wii Fit stage. Duck Hunt could get stages based on the other NES Zapper games, but then it's not really a Duck Hunt stage anymore.

 

[SPEN18]

I bring Duck Hunt, Wii Fit and Punch Out!! up because I'm wondering how they can be expanded upon in a new game. Can there be more than one stage from these franchises or do their stages cover everything the franchise can provide?

To be honest I just don't see these series getting priority for a new stage. Not that you couldn't come up with something for them, and not because they have no more to offer. Just with a lot of first party Switch games being ripe material for new stages and these series being inactive, it makes sense to focus elsewhere for new stages.

(However Wuhu Island kinda counts as a second Wii Fit stage, although it's associated with multiple series.)

 

[DarthEnderX]

Why there are no video games for old people?

Windows Solitaire.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

The thing is modern gaming (as in basically everything from the 2nd/3rd generation on) basically took a long time to be consistently played by adults. There was always a niche older audience playing more advanced computer titles, but console gaming specifically skewed young until there were people that grew up with it all their lives and that still that required:

-People still having time to devote to games when having spouses and children
-Not being bothered by the (until recently fading) stigma about playing video games over the age of 40
-Still having the kind of games they were interested in when they were younger coming out and/or being accessible with some ease

Anyone older than that has basically no experience and in some ways no context to enjoy what video games are outside very arcade toy like activities (ala the casual hits on the Wii). Titles for the particularly old tend to be similar to non-video games they're familiar with, your card games, your casino slots, and so on. Otherwise, it's a bit of daunting hobby for someone without a real frame of reference to go off of.

 

[Gorgonzales]

Also, obligatory R.O.B. got robbed.

R.O.B.'s stage shouldn't be Gyromite or Stack-Up, it should just be a big desk with an NES and a big real-life R.O.B. in the background.
(I'm joking. Mostly.)

Also... looking at the real thing makes me realize just how much we take R.O.B. as a Smash character for granted. Possibly one of the most creative interpretations & implementations of a character into the series, and he's a peripheral. It's seriously cool how Smash breathed new life into this character with the laser eyes and spinny arms and all that. It's just easy to forget because he's been a playable character for forever.

 

[Guynamednelson]

It's seriously cool how Smash breathed new life into this character with the laser eyes and spinny arms and all that.

Honestly I kinda wish ROB's render still hid the fact that Smash ROB is more lively than the real thing.

The Smash 4 render still has some hints that Smash's ROB is different, like the segmented pillar, but it's not as blatant as ROB literally twisting itself in a way the real thing can't.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

No, I mean for senile old lol

What do you think adults are?

So... some franchises like Duck Hunt, Wii Fit and Punch Out!! only have one stage. Franchises like Splatoon, ARMS, and a variety of third party franchises only have one stage, but they can clearly come up with more.

I bring Duck Hunt, Wii Fit and Punch Out!! up because I'm wondering how they can be expanded upon in a new game. Can there be more than one stage from these franchises or do their stages cover everything the franchise can provide? Ice Climber managed to have two stages in the franchise, but Icicle Mountain hasn't been seen since Melee and in Ultimate, Summit is the only Ice Climber stage,

Also, obligatory R.O.B. got robbed.

I think if Ice Climber can get two stages, more stages for these types of games is possible. Will they happen? Probably pretty unlikely, but it could.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Also, what new Flat Zones could you imagine?

 

[Sucumbio]

I get the joke and I'm still feeling personally attacked. Now who wants to play Wii bowling? Have a butterscotch.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Also, what new Flat Zones could you imagine?

There could easily be new stages based off of Game & Watch Gallery.

 

[NintenRob]

As the number 1 ROB guy around. I'll be honest, I'm not too bothered by the lack of a stage. R.O.B. as a peripheral is pretty iconic, and has lots of cameos. But Gyromite and Stack Up? Their only thing of note is that they're the game ROB actually works with. Stack up doesn't even have anything in-game that can be a stage, it's just commands to give ROB.

Obviously I'm not opposed to a Gyromite stage, but I don't find it necessary

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Guys. Don't you see? R.O.B.'s stage is Figure-8 Circuit!

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Guys. Don't you see? R.O.B.'s stage is Figure-8 Circuit!

I thought it was Port Town Aero Dive.

 

[SPEN18]

Whether or not they end up managing a character, unrepped franchises are still a relatively untapped vein for stage materials. For example, an Advance Wars stage, Dolphin Park from Wave Race, Venus Lighthouse from Golden Sun, Excitebike Arena, and so on.

Of course, for most of these, their best chance of getting a stage is to get the character to begin with

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Whether or not they end up managing a character, unrepped franchises are still a relatively untapped vein for stage materials. For example, an Advance Wars stage, Dolphin Park from Wave Race, Venus Lighthouse from Golden Sun, Excitebike Arena, and so on.

Of course, for most of these, their best chance of getting a stage is to get the character to begin with

That's a good point. There are very few stages from series with no characters. Counting the Mii Related stages as apart of a larger "Mii" series, there's:

• PictoChat
• Hannenbow
• Balloon Fight
• Living Room
• PictoChat 2
• Wrecking Crew
• Pilotwings
• Miiverse

SSB4 added almost every single one of these, with only two coming from Brawl. I'd imagine Ultimate is an outlier since it was focused on adding returning stages, and making sure the new fighters had a home stage, so perhaps we could expect to see more stages like this in the next game.

A lot of these stages are pretty random too. We've got DSware twice, a small 3rd party game that Nintendo decided to publish, 2 arcade style NES games, a pretty big virtual pet simulator series, a flight simulator, and a social media stage. Wonder what we'll get next.

 

[Louie G.]

I bring Duck Hunt, Wii Fit and Punch Out!! up because I'm wondering how they can be expanded upon in a new game. Can there be more than one stage from these franchises or do their stages cover everything the franchise can provide?

I don’t think the other two have much room to expand so chances are their content would just get grandfathered in. Punch-Out would retain boxing ring, but there are some pretty strong ways to continue to expand on its representation.

If they wanted to add a second stage they certainly could - my pick would be the NYC skyline from the jogging sequence. Alternatively we could see Mac’s training room, but the former is such an iconic piece of imagery that Smash has already shown interest in representing (Jogging remix, hoodie alts).

To step beyond that, the supplemental content for this series has always been a weak point so there is ample space to expand. It’s a glaring oversight that Punch-Out doesn’t have a single assist trophy, one that honestly needs to be fixed if/when Mac returns. Punch-Out is a character driven series, moreso than any other series with this issue, so it’s kind of just a baffling disservice. Remixes from Super Punch Out as well as more songs ported over from Punch-Out Wii are welcome too. But yeah, as far as stages go I think the skyline / jogging area is the way to go. Even if unfortunately it would probably be an autoscroller lol.

 

[SPEN18]

That's a good point. There are very few stages from series with no characters. Counting the Mii Related stages as apart of a larger "Mii" series, there's:

• PictoChat
• Hannenbow
• Balloon Fight
• Living Room
• PictoChat 2
• Wrecking Crew
• Pilotwings
• Miiverse

SSB4 added almost every single one of these, with only two coming from Brawl. I'd imagine Ultimate is an outlier since it was focused on adding returning stages, and making sure the new fighters had a home stage, so perhaps we could expect to see more stages like this in the next game.

A lot of these stages are pretty random too. We've got DSware twice, a small 3rd party game that Nintendo decided to publish, 2 arcade style NES games, a pretty big virtual pet simulator series, a flight simulator, and a social media stage. Wonder what we'll get next.

Yeah good point about 4, makes me think we can actually get more.

I wouldn't be surprised if one of the recent smaller Switch remakes, like Another Code, Famicom Detective Club, Endless Ocean, or Advance Wars, got a stage. Actually in particular Endless Ocean could be a pretty cool choice for a stage as its primary form of representation.

And I gotta say, Pilotwings and Nintendogs have definitely earned the right to some kind of major and visible representation. Also it's completely unsurprising that Balloon Fight and Wrecking Crew would get something (and another NES retro stage is probably on the table, maybe something from Hogan's Alley, Murasame Castle, or the aforementioned Excitebike to throw out some possibilities).

 

[fogbadge]

Well, the problem with these specific franchises is that, well... they're very specific. Punch-Out is about boxing, Wii Fit is about exercising, Duck Hunt is about... duck hunting. There's only so much you can really do with the source material compared to some of the other franchises, which typically have a lot more varied areas and locales to work with.

Like, you could maybe pick Doc Louis' gym for a Punch-Out stage, but then that's essentially just another take on the existing Wii Fit stage. Duck Hunt could get stages based on the other NES Zapper games, but then it's not really a Duck Hunt stage anymore.

you haven't played wii fit have you? as others have said there are a lot of mini games that offer a large variety of potential

Also, what new Flat Zones could you imagine?

for a laugh they could base it on the game and watch version of legend of zelda

 

[Oracle Link]

If you don’t need official, there’s a cute Ridley on alixpress and some cool metroids and even a crocomire on etsy

Spoiler

View attachment 392370View attachment 392371

Nah i personally am not the biggest metroid fan i just wanted more plush love for fans of metroid!

 

[Gengar84]

Nah i personally am not the biggest metroid fan i just wanted more plush love for fans of metroid!

I’m guessing the biggest reason there isn’t a plush of an actual Metroid is that they’re transparent. I’m not really sure what it would look like if you couldn’t see the nucleus inside its body.