Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[Swamp Sensei]

So, do you think we'll ever get a Retro character again?

 

[Perkilator]

So, do you think we'll ever get a Retro character again?

Maybe if Sakurai wants to revisit the idea of Ayumi and/or Takamaru, at the very least.

 

[BritishGuy54]

So, do you think we'll ever get a Retro character again?

My bets are on Isaac being a retro character next game, even though he’s from the GBA.

The times are changing.

 

[fogbadge]

So, do you think we'll ever get a Retro character again?

it’s possible and it’s good place to go for unexpected picks

 

[Ivander]

So, do you think we'll ever get a Retro character again?

Yes I do think we'll get another one. Which one we'll get I'm not certain, but we still have a bunch yet to get in that I can see happen.

 

[Louie G.]

So, do you think we'll ever get a Retro character again?

I've had Excitebiker in my pocket for a bit now, I think they have a good shot next time around. Excitebike remains one of the more commonly references Arcade / Famicom titles across retro throwback material, WarioWare, NES Remix etc. and the series has a more fruitful life outside of its first title than most of its contemporaries. There are a solid few great choices like Takamaru or Sukapon, but I'm really not confident in any of the Japanese exclusive retros unless they see some new life in the future. Excitebike might be the only one left in its relative circle... closest comparison point being Duck Hunt, and most other games joining it being longstanding series like Super Mario Bros, Legend of Zelda or Metroid. Sometimes Kid Icarus, Ice Climber, Punch-Out... you get the picture.

I don't see anything from 2000s onward ever being treated as retro. Perhaps nothing beyond the Super Nintendo, and even that doesn't have very much precedent. "Retro", as the community and Sakurai seem to understand it (although Sakurai has never actually used this term), is celebratory of early Nintendo history. Sure, the scale of what's retro and what isn't is in flux but the trend of favoring arcade or Famicom titles has not been broken and Nintendo themselves are still enamored with this era. Nintendo World Championship just came out to shed light on their foundational years yet again. Before that it was NES Remix. 8-Bit Mario and Link persist throughout merchandising and in-game reference material. When Nintendo aims retro, it's usually this.

Also, on topic with Ayumi, how would we treat this character? The recent release of Emio makes her contemporary again - but we can look at Little Mac and judge how this kind of character is treated. I believe Little Mac is treated mostly as a classic throwback character, with his emphasis on his arcade roots and the relatively minimal content from his series. So I feel like Ayumi may instead fall into this grey area of "kinda retro, kinda not".

 

[Kirby Dragons]

I kinda don't like the "Sakurai gave a moveset to X character, he can give one to any character!" argument, cause most movesets still have references to the games, even for the characters who don't fight. Also even if he could give anyone a moveset, that doesn't mean he could give anyone an interesting moveset.

With that said, I don't have much idea at all of what Ayumi could do. Pauline on the other hand, could attack with music notes and stuff from the Mario vs Donkey Kong series.

 

[Geno Boost]

Maybe if Sakurai wants to revisit the idea of Ayumi and/or Takamaru, at the very least.

i dont think ayumi count anymore since she got revival

 

[Kirby Dragons]

So, do you think we'll ever get a Retro character again?

Ultimate not adding one worries me, as Nintendo might want to focus on stuff they can promote. But if they do want to add one, there's plenty of options.

 

[Louie G.]

Ultimate not adding one worries me, as Nintendo might want to focus on stuff they can promote. But if they do want to add one, there's plenty of options.

In defense of Ultimate, they had such limited space that I wouldn't read much into it. Between the fan favorites (Ridley, K. Rool), essential modern all-stars (Inkling, Isabelle) and obligatory Pokemon (Incineroar) I don't think any addition was expendable. Perhaps from some angle we could argue Simon is kinda retro, but no more than we can say Mega Man is. For the record, I wouldn't really classify either of them as such, guest characters are kind of their own beast.

Smash 4 may or may not have a retro character, instead just kind of has retro essence peppered throughout multiple newcomers. But as time passes I've reasoned with myself that Little Mac is essentially treated like the game's throwback character with such strong emphasis on his roots (and minimal representation). As far as we know Sakurai doesn't really set aside a proper "retro" slot like he does a "surprise" character (Duck Hunt is the latter, that’s why I didn’t mention them), but it does at least seem to be a trend he enjoys. If next game's newcomer lineup is a healthier amount than last time, I think there's a strong chance we see the trend return.

Although perhaps now the line has kinda blurred between retro pick and weirdo wtf character. I could see someone like Excitebiker slotting in as either one, being more unorthodox and less defined as a character.

 

[Sucumbio]

I feel as if a retro character can still have a resurgence and not lose he status.

 

[Megadoomer]

Ultimate not adding one worries me, as Nintendo might want to focus on stuff they can promote. But if they do want to add one, there's plenty of options.

To be fair, Ultimate had six unique newcomers in the base roster, so that isn't a lot of space to dedicate to a retro character. (though arguably Simon Belmont qualifies)

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

So, do you think we'll ever get a Retro character again?

I think that depends on what we consider a retro. If we're just talking like a character from a game from like 20+ years ago, I think Isaac has a shot.

If we're talking characters like Ice Climbers, G&W, ROB, and Duck Hunt, I think that depends because all four of them also represent an aspect of hardware. Ice Climbers were chosen in Melee to represent the NES and its myriad of one off titles, G&W represents Nintendo's first ever game system, ROB is his own peripheral, and Duck Hunt represents the NES/Famicom light gun and the games that used it.

I think for another character like them they may need another piece of hardware or a peripheral to represent, and the only one of those I can really think of beyond the NES (and the Super Scope that's still gonna be an item) is like the Virtual Boy lol

 

[Laniv]

Seeing people suggest Nabbit as a Smash fighter, even jokingly, is delightful

So, do you think we'll ever get a Retro character again?

Takamaru's time is now, I think. That said, I think we'll have to expand the definition of "retro" to at least include N64, GameCube, and GBA titles.

By this logic, Captain Rainbow is a retro character.

 

[Ivander]

Ultimate not adding one worries me, as Nintendo might want to focus on stuff they can promote. But if they do want to add one, there's plenty of options.

I mean, for one, they were bringing back every character from past games, so that was definitely a factor. Two, there was a focus on bringing characters that people wanted and voted for on the Smash Ballot, between characters like Ridley, King K.Rool, Chrom, Dark Samus, Castlevania, Banjo-Kazooie and Sora. So that's another factor.

I wouldn't worry much about Retro characters not being picked until we start not seeing them picked on a daily basis. Ultimate was really the only one to not bring in a retro character(although I'd argue that Simon Belmont is pretty close to that Retro stature, since his look was based on his pre-PS1 incarnations rather his later Kojima/red hair look). I'd only worry if the next game doesn't have one.

 

[Scrimblo Bimblo]

Eh. Characters like Megaman, Simon or even Banjo are pretty much retro in my mind. At least in the way they're portrayed. Their looks and abilities are extremely faithful to their original games, just modernized.
For example, if Megaman wasn't explicitely designed to match his NES incarnation as much as possible, maybe I wouldn't count him as a retro character? But it's clear that the intention with him was partly to make him as big of a throwback as possible.

In this sense I think that we'll keep getting a decent amount of retro characters. Characters who haven't shown up in a while but who carry a lot of nostalgia which their Smash design intentionally taps into.
Absolutely random stuff like the Ice Climbers though? Those days are over in my opinion.

 

[HyperSomari64]

By this logic, Captain Rainbow is a retro character.

Cptn. Rainbow is from the DS/Wii era.
In that case, the 3DS and Wii U are officially "retro".
(Why GameStop?)

 

[ninjahmos]

So, do you think we'll ever get a Retro character again?

If we do, I think Takamaru and/or Isaac might be next. Or possibly Excitebiker.

 

[Pupp135]

So, do you think we'll ever get a Retro character again?

Even if we reduced the definition of retro to solely the NES era, I think that there’s a chance where we’ll see a retro fighter. My best guess would be Excitebike Rider given that he’d best fit the role of traditional surprise fighter that’s been in place since Mr. Game & Watch. Even then, there is still potential for characters like Takamaru, Balloon Fighter (It’s cool to see Crusade modders/developers make him work), and Mach Rider if they interest the developers enough. If we extend it out to what I call retro, which is anything pre-3DS at this point, Isaac seems to be the main highlight given that he’s a large request. Even then, we still have characters like Lip, Ray MK III, Saki, and Alex Rovias. At the moment, a retro fighter would fill one of these niches: surprise fighter like Mr. Game & Watch or R.O.B., largely requested fighter, or a fighter that strikes the developers’ interest like Pit.

In terms of a fighter being added for the sake of being retro, that’s probably not going to happen again as Ice Climbers seem to be the only real instance of this.

 

[BuckleyTim]

I wonder how much longer the Ballot will be used for any general roster / assist trophy picking. That data's nearing a decade of age at this point, and honestly they've gotten the majority of the community's desires at least a nod, if not full-blown playable status.

 

[ShotoStar]

So, do you think we'll ever get a Retro character again?

Given that Smash as a franchise will continue on as long as it continues to make Nintendo money, from a list of potential candidates given enough time we absolutely will. However, I don't really think that's what you're asking here -- I think it's more interesting to address it within the immediate future and in that sense I think it depends on the scope of newcomers next game. Smash Ultimate was a bit of an exception with it's very, very limited newcomer count in Base Game being a total of only 6 unique and then a handful of echo fighters. This accounts for Ultimate not giving us a retro pick as a retro character was simply out prioritized and wouldn't fit well into DLC regardless of if they did it ala Smash 4 or in pass-structure as they chose to do. The only way a retro would've been chosen in Ultimate is if it was a Little Mac type situation who was/is heavily associated with retro consoles but had a revitalized entry -- perhaps Ayumi Tachibana would've been the best choice for this had DLC gone on for a bit longer.

So Ultimate's a bit of an exception, every other entry since Melee has given us one retro character or a "WTF pick" typically aligning with choosing a retro character since I'd assume the developers, Sakurai included, have an affinty for those type of homages. Sakurai and Co. tend to see Nintendo characters from the Arcade/Famicom era as these "Retro picks" but that's mostly what we can gather from an observational standpoint. We don't really know if Sakurai and Co. have any line drawn in the sand for what they consider "Retro" afaik. Assuming the trend continues, assuming the base newcomer count isn't as limited as it was in Ultimate, I do think a Famicom era Nintendo character will be included as a "WTF pick" or "Retro pick" however you view it -- and in that case I think Excitebiker makes the most sense given their unique characteristics of being a biker. My preference would be for Mach Rider however if we're following this train of thought since they can use projectiles and have more potential imo. As well though, if Sakurai and co. consider "retro picks" in a broader sense I think Isaac could make for a great "retro pick" given Golden Sun is 20+ years old.

Idk why I'm such a verbose person, I just like to ramble I'm sorry lol. Tldr; yes, I think we'll get a retro pick and that pick will probably be Excitebiker/Mach Rider and Isaac from Golden Sun if I had to guess