Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[HyperSomari64]

Giga Person is coming 2 Nirvanelee!

I wonder if some of the voice change-overs could relate to stuff like unionizing? Nintendo is quite bad at paying properly for Union actors.

Like, at least some make a bit of sense at the time(DK and Bowser were clearly more on the animal side), but Diddy did not. He's based more upon his less animalistic take since DK64. That said, King K. Rool makes sense.

But yeah, paying more voice actors is a budget thing, so it's not surprising if some don't get changed over to avoid paying too much. Especially with some 3rd party and 1st party companies being quite picky. There's a reason we can't get a lot of good Pokemon colors in Smash, in a similar way.

If only Nintendo had a better relation with unions.

 

[superprincess]

Rosalina and Bowser Jr also defy this trend to certain degrees.

Hard disagree on this one. Rosalina is your hostess and has plot importance in the first Super Mario Galaxy game & a playable character in 3D World.

Bowser Jr. is the major antagonist of Super Mario Sunshine and a recurring (mini) boss in the entire NSMB series and both Galaxy games.

Not to mention their obvious relations to 2/3 of the core cast members (Peach & Bowser).

They're major characters.

I'd define a minor character as somebody whose game wouldn't change a whole lot (or at all) without their presence. So a shopkeep like Anna or Funky Kong (originally) fits that description. Piranha Plant is a generic enemy, so it can be classified as such too.

 

[ninjahmos]

If they ever get the Protagonist (or Taro Ninten) and Ayumi Tachibana from the Famicom Detective Club series as newcomers that would be great, but I'd also like to see what stage they think of setting for them.

I still think they should use the Investigation Themes from both The Missing Heir and The Girl Who Stands Behind for their reveal trailer, if they ever do get revealed. Possibly as Smash remixes.

 

[Idon]

Giga Person is coming 2 Nirvanelee!

If only Nintendo had a better relation with unions.

It's really funny seeing Megaman in all these MM11 collabs cuz he's this really animated kid but Smash Bros locks him in this permanent resting : | face.

 

[DarthEnderX]

but Smash Bros locks him in this permanent resting : | face.

NES-sprite accurate.

 

[Guynamednelson]

NES-sprite accurate.

Yeah but let's face it he only had a few facial expressions on those sprites because there aren't enough pixels on his face to draw a smile, frown etc. The cutscenes in the later NES games show he canonically can make faces other than :| and :O

 

[DarthEnderX]

Yeah but let's face it

NO!

 

[PeridotGX]

I’m probably among the very few who’d like it if the fourth DK character was related to the series’ arcade roots. So Cranky does pull ahead for me, but it’d be funny if it was DK Jr. or Stanley Bugman or something.

Stanley is inevitable. Think about it. Sakurai is infamous for his love of Marvel Comics (don't look it up trust me on this). That's why Kirby is named Kirby - not because of a lawyer, or a vacuum, but to pay tribute to the late great Jack Kirby. Then, in Ultimate, we get Simon (tribute to Joe Simon) and Steve (tribute to Steve Ditko). Stan Lee is probably next in line, and Stanley the Bugman is the obvious choice.

This is capped off by adding Genõ from Fortnite, which is essentially a Marvel game at this point.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Yeah but let's face it he only had a few facial expressions on those sprites because there aren't enough pixels on his face to draw a smile, frown etc. The cutscenes in the later NES games show he canonically can make faces other than :| and :O

I feel like if anything, Mega Man could've emoted on taunts and victory screens if the devs really were adamant in keeping the source material's vibes.

Which we do see since he smiles in one such victory pose but like... would've been nice to see more.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

It's really funny seeing Megaman in all these MM11 collabs cuz he's this really animated kid but Smash Bros locks him in this permanent resting : | face.

I hate his smash interpretation.

Let my boy emote.

 

[Hypercat-Z]

I agree. Let him be upgraded to his SNES version!

 

[JCKirbs]

Hard disagree on this one. Rosalina is your hostess and has plot importance in the first Super Mario Galaxy game & a playable character in 3D World.

Bowser Jr. is the major antagonist of Super Mario Sunshine and a recurring (mini) boss in the entire NSMB series and both Galaxy games.

Not to mention their obvious relations to 2/3 of the core cast members (Peach & Bowser).

They're major characters.

I'd define a minor character as somebody whose game wouldn't change a whole lot (or at all) without their presence. So a shopkeep like Anna or Funky Kong (originally) fits that description. Piranha Plant is a generic enemy, so it can be classified as such too.

Speaking of, I'm quite pleased that Bowser Jr. escaped the Smash 4 chopping block considering that his inclusion hinged on the staff team saying that they would "do their best". To which I feel correlates to an implied, underlying factor of a character ideally needing a cohesive/perceivable moveset upon consideration, with it being just as important as important as the relevance of the character themselves.

 

[Louie G.]

It feels like "minor character" understandably means something different to everyone, some simply attributing to disposable NPC others to prominent supporting cast, simply falling out of main character status. To me, in the context of "Smash has never added a minor character" it's obviously the former. I think it'd be ridiculous to argue someone like Bowser Jr is anything less than a major villain (albeit second in command). He's just not a MAIN character like his dad.

And this is less of a hard set rule as it is just something that makes sense. Of course the characters at the forefront of the game are the ones that have the most capacity to resonate with players. For a minor character to make the jump into playability, outside of a surprise instance like Piranha Plant, you'd need to be operating on Boba Fett levels of fandom legend and even then that's probably just good enough to get you an Assist Trophy.

Perhaps the closest equivalent within the community right now is Geno and we see how that has worked out so far. But he's only minor in the greater context of the series - he's a major character in his debut game, so the jury would still be out even if they did add him.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

I remember when people tried to argue that Lucina was a minor character in Awakening.

It was real obvious who knew nothing about Fire Emblem Awakening.

 

[Diddy Kong]

It feels like "minor character" understandably means something different to everyone, some simply attributing to disposable NPC others to prominent supporting cast, simply falling out of main character status. To me, in the context of "Smash has never added a minor character" it's obviously the former. I think it'd be ridiculous to argue someone like Bowser Jr is anything less than a major villain (albeit second in command). He's just not a MAIN character like his dad.

And this is less of a hard set rule as it is just something that makes sense. Of course the characters at the forefront of the game are the ones that have the most capacity to resonate with players. For a minor character to make the jump into playability, outside of a surprise instance like Piranha Plant, you'd need to be operating on Boba Fett levels of fandom legend and even then that's probably just good enough to get you an Assist Trophy.

Perhaps the closest equivalent within the community right now is Geno and we see how that has worked out so far. But he's only minor in the greater context of the series - he's a major character in his debut game, so the jury would still be out even if they did add him.

I'd argue that the biggest popular Mario characters at this point are definitely "minor" characters compared to the main cast. Toad, Waluigi, Geno, all relatively minor, even if Toad boasts quite a few playable roles.

I remember when people tried to argue that Lucina was a minor character in Awakening.

It was real obvious who knew nothing about Fire Emblem Awakening.

She is not. Even if you can continue on the game with her dying, she's very important to the overall plot of the game. Essential actually. Awakening has 3 main characters and we got them all.

 

[fogbadge]

I'd argue that the biggest popular Mario characters at this point are definitely "minor" characters compared to the main cast. Toad, Waluigi, Geno, all relatively minor, even if Toad boasts quite a few playable roles.

insult walugi if you must but never insult toad

 

[Diddy Kong]

insult walugi if you must but never insult toad

I'd really like Toad to be honest. My most wanted Mario newcomer by far. Paper Mario being a second.

 

[Wunderwaft]

Now that the next Switch is looking to be announced soon it seems the speculation will be ramping up as well. I have one interesting question for you all since this impacted the addition of newcomers in previous Smash games like what happened with ARMs and XC2.

When do you think the project plan was finalized for the cut-off date for newcomers?

 

[BritishGuy54]

Now that the next Switch is looking to be announced soon it seems the speculation will be ramping up as well. I have one interesting question for you all since this impacted the addition of newcomers in previous Smash games like what happened with ARMs and XC2.

When do you think the project plan was finalized for the cut-off date for newcomers?

Thinking about it some more, we’d need to have a general idea of when a new Smash would release. I heavily doubt it releases in the 2025 fiscal year, as that would be the launch year, and a big wave of anniversary Mario content.

I believe 2025’s fiscal year will be mainly filled with Mario content, with a new 3D Mario at launch, Animal Crossing, Mario Kart or Pokémon, and Mario Maker are all good shouts here.

2026 is what I’m personally thinking. It could conflict with Pokémon if that is delayed by a year, but I doubt it. If that’s the case, the project plan’s deadline is likely later this year, in December 2024.

I do think Nintendo and Sakurai are going to want a wide selection of Switch games to bring newcomers from, and update veterans with. We may see the odd post-project plan pick, such as a Gen 10 Pokémon.

 

[Perkilator]

Now that the next Switch is looking to be announced soon it seems the speculation will be ramping up as well. I have one interesting question for you all since this impacted the addition of newcomers in previous Smash games like what happened with ARMs and XC2.

When do you think the project plan was finalized for the cut-off date for newcomers?

I think some time in either 2022 or 2023. Ultimately, it depends on when the next Smash game is coming out.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

insult walugi if you must but never insult toad

It's not an insult when the only thing he's gotten outside of spin-offs is Mario getting his clothes in Odyssey.

Waluigi is only carried by popularity. He's got no ground to stand on when it comes to mainline Mario games.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Toad is just kinda weird in general. He's a named character that isn't actually named, the mainline games don't use him, and he looks almost identical to the generic versions of him, and I think it's only almost because they added more variety to the generic Toads while having Toad be the only one who doesn't wear their cap color anymore.

 

[Louie G.]

If you believe Waluigi or especially Toad are minor characters, I think you missed my point.

Waluigi or maybe Daisy are arguably minor in reference to overall impact on the series, but are so synonymous with the Mario branding and have near perfect attendance in everything that isn’t the main series circa 2000 so… I dunno. Maybe a harder case to judge but I’m not buying it. I think we need to perceive this one more abstractly.

 

[Perkilator]

View attachment 394309

I know this isn't necessarily relevant to the point Louie was trying to make, but the picture got me curious: how would you guys feel if the characters in this picture (save for maybe Yoshi and Wario) were part of the Mario fighter lineup in Smash?

 

[Oracle Link]

I know this isn't necessarily relevant to the point Louie was trying to make, but the picture got me curious: how would you guys feel if the characters in this picture (save for maybe Yoshi and Wario) were part of the Mario fighter lineup in Smash?

No if you had to add more enemies it should be from other series!
For example metroids or Octoroks have just as much moveset Potential while repping diffrent series!
And they are probably more beloved than cheep cheeps! Atleast for people like me
#Octotrok for smash!

 

[Jave]

All I hope is that when the Switch 2 is announced, Furukawa at least gives us a vague "Yes, we're making Smash Bros." comment so that at least the character topics can be reopened.

 

[chocolatejr9]

All I hope is that when the Switch 2 is announced, Furukawa at least gives us a vague "Yes, we're making Smash Bros." comment so that at least the character topics can be reopened.

Imagine of they repeat the TOTK reveal by just saying "the next game in the Super Smash Bros series is now in development".

 

[fogbadge]

Imagine of they repeat the TOTK reveal by just saying "the next game in the Super Smash Bros series is now in development".

or repeat smash 4 and announce it before development starts

 

[HyperSomari64]

Imagine of they repeat the TOTK reveal by just saying "the next game in the Super Smash Bros series is now in development".

Now imagine Smash getting delayed to feel the botw2 experience

 

[BritishGuy54]

Re: Mario Voices

I think we will see Mario, Luigi and Wario get recast with Afghani as the new VA. In fact, I think now the entire Mario series is primed for changing the voices we’ve had since Brawl.

Also I hope we get Kenny James as Bowser in Smash. As someone who grew up in the post-GameCube era for the most part, it’s really strange to see Bowser as a kaiju-like monster rather than the threatening, yet boisterous goofball he really is.

I don’t mind DK sticking with his current Smash gorilla noises though.

 

[Jave]

or repeat smash 4 and announce it before development starts

Or a repeat of the Brawl announcement where they didn't even have a team.

Iwata: "We're making Smash Bros."
Sakurai: "We are?"

 

[Gorgonzales]

All I hope is that when the Switch 2 is announced, Furukawa at least gives us a vague "Yes, we're making Smash Bros." comment so that at least the character topics can be reopened.

Why does that need to happen for the character topics to be reopened? They should be open all the time, it's ridiculous they aren't.

 

[chocolatejr9]

Why does that need to happen for the character topics to be reopened? They should be open all the time, it's ridiculous they aren't.

Because that's the rules of the site. No matter how much we ask for that to change, the people up top won't budge on it.

 

[NonSpecificGuy]

You know that the Switch has been a wild console when you can say that Geno, a character Advance Wars, A character form Famicom Detective Club, and Ashley Robbins are all in the running for a new character and have no relevancy issues.

The Switch may not have been the most powerful console nor the most hardcore but it gave us some really cool revivals.

Also, go buy Yakuza Kiwami when it comes out next month. That **** slaps.

 

[Perkilator]

You know that the Switch has been a wild console when you can say that Geno, a character Advance Wars, A character form Famicom Detective Club, and Ashley Robbins are all in the running for a new character and have no relevancy issues.

The Switch may not have been the most powerful console nor the most hardcore but it gave us some really cool revivals.

Also, go buy Yakuza Kiwami when it comes out next month. That **** slaps.

Go buy Trails in the Sky the 1st, too. The more Estelle Bright enjoyers, the better.

 

[NonSpecificGuy]

Why does that need to happen for the character topics to be reopened? They should be open all the time, it's ridiculous they aren't.

I believe what they're referring to is the newcomer support and speculation threads. Other than the fact that they're Ultimate threads and Ultimate is over and it being tradition to close the threads until the next game there's also the fact of traffic. There's simply not enough traffic to warrant a million support threads open when only 1 or 2 people are going to visit the individual threads and a lot of the moderators aren't as active as they once were for good reason.

So yes, the newcomer support threads for Ultimate are closed until the next game is officially announced and that's when they'll be back open for everyone to support their characters. Until the next game is in full hype-cycle and we see a lot of traffic that aren't the regular bunch, funneling people into a single thread to discuss the entirety of the game ensures that there's at least some sort of dialogue being had instead of just 2, maybe 3 people in a support thread chatting back and forth which can just as easily be done in here or in PMs.

At least that's my take on it. I'm sure the wait for the next Smash won't be that much longer anyways. I give it a year max before the Boards are back in full swing and speculation on the next smash is rampant.

 

[fogbadge]

Go buy Trails in the Sky the 1st, too. The more Estelle Bright enjoyers, the better.

how do you know they won’t hate her?

 

[SharkLord]

If you believe Waluigi or especially Toad are minor characters, I think you missed my point.

View attachment 394309
Waluigi or maybe Daisy are arguably minor in reference to overall impact on the series, but are so synonymous with the Mario branding and have near perfect attendance in everything that isn’t the main series circa 2000 so… I dunno. Maybe a harder case to judge but I’m not buying it. I think we need to perceive this one more abstractly.

I'd call Waluigi a secondary character; He's never had a truly starring role aside from maybe the Mario DDR game, but he consistently shows up in all the spinoffs and is still a fairly recognizeable character. In the context of Mario as a series, a minor character would be the various one-off characters, like Wart or Prince Peasley (Who were fairly important in their few appearances, granted, but they don't really have any impact after that)

 

[Idon]

how do you know they won’t hate her?

I'm afraid to say if hate Estelle, you really don't qualify to have a soul anymore...

 

[fogbadge]

I'm afraid to say if hate Estelle, you really don't qualify to have a soul anymore...

do they not? How extraordinary