Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[smashkirby]

We do at times talk about more, let’s say wacky character choices. But let’s hear about some wacky stage ideas! I’ve suggested in the past a Pokemon Smile stage. Who else has bizarre ideas?

Earlier, NonSpecificGuy mentioned how the Switch has allowed for Geno, Ashley Mizuki Robbins, the Detective Club series and the Wars series now have a chance to get a playable character, right?

Well, maybe Endless Ocean has a chance for a stage!

 

[Scrimblo Bimblo]

Fair enough on Goat Simulator. The reason it was so low down was because the fortnite skin is... this, instead of anything from the actual game.View attachment 394369
I don't think we're going to get Horrifying Realistic Goat from Fortnite as a Goat Simulator rep.

I'm not sure if I hate this or love this.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Squid Sisters and Deep Cut have easy answers due to their Splatfests. Numbers may be different today but it's still a metric we can use.

Callie and Marie has their Splatfest in 2016 and Marie was objectively the most popular of the two by 8% which is fairly close, all things considered.

For Deep Cut, it's Shiver by a landslide, getting more votes than Frye and Big Man combined.

The only one we don't know based on in-game metrics is Off The Hook because we never had a true Pearl vs. Marina Splatfest... but it'd feel wrong not to have both, doubly so when Splatoon's own producer said the devs avoided making a Splatfest that puts them against each other since they felt their bonds are too strong for that.

If we get someone from Off the Hook in Smash, it'll have to be both of them.

Let's not sugarcoat it. Even if there's no Splatfest between the two, it's painfully obvious Marina is the more popular of the two.
And there's a way to have both easily. Marina w/ Pearl Drone.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Let's not sugarcoat it. Even if there's no Splatfest between the two, it's painfully obvious Marina is the more popular of the two.
And there's a way to have both easily. Marina w/ Pearl Drone.

From the perspective of someone who hasn't really played Splatoon, I can see why Marina would be "obviously the popular one" but from what I've seen as someone who actually dips his toes in the community, I can tell you that it's definitely not as obvious; both of them are very loved by fans.

People have grown on Pearl once she stopped acting like a pretentious rich ***** who accidentally starts race wars and we started to see how good of a character she can be.

Agreed on Marina and Pearl Drone though. She could even transform back into an Inkling for taunts and victory screens.

 

[CommanderZaktan]

Let's not sugarcoat it. Even if there's no Splatfest between the two, it's painfully obvious Marina is the more popular of the two.
And there's a way to have both easily. Marina w/ Pearl Drone.

That could work. Marina with a Brella and Pearl with her as a drone.
Shiver with the Stringer
And Marie with the Charger
I think they do one more Splatfest in 3 of which idol would be in the next Smash.

 

[DarthEnderX]

That does make me think. If a character was created when the company was still a small indie developer but it later grew so much that they aren’t really considered indie anymore, how many people would still classify that character as indie? The most extreme example I can think of here is Steve from Minecraft. In his case, the series has grown so much that it’s kind of weird to even think about him as indie but I think he was in the very beginning. At what point does a character of indie origins stop being indie?

When the company that owns them stops being indie.

Smash has never had an indie Fighter, because Steve was no longer indie by the time he joined Smash.

She was literally part of the previous indie world just before the most recent one, she's considered one by nintendo

Nintendo is wrong. Indie companies don't have 100+ employees.

Decided to make a newcomer prediction pic after seeing Max and Matt's video on MvC4 roster prediction videos.

I saw those!

 

[Louie G.]

I’ve addressed it before, but with Sakurai attempting some kind of new duo mechanic with every game since Brawl (Diddy & Dixie, Chorus Kids, Rex & Pyra) I just think one of Off the Hook or Squid Sisters will be the go at it this time. The more kinks are worked out and the stronger each new Nintendo console is the closer we’ll get to eventually achieving whatever it is they want to achieve here. Ice Climbers are over 20 years old and I feel like there is more that can be done with the concept.

That’s a bit of a clumsy buildup to say I personally can’t see them adding any idols on their own. Yeah, Marina with a Pearl drone is a good workaround if need be. Although I think part of the fun of adding these characters is to fully play into that synergy they have with a bandmate. Letting them assist one another, take the lead, band together for a powerful final note just seems like the thematic hook that would make them worth adding in the first place.

If they had to add any solo idol my chips would be down on Callie and Marie as skins or echoes of one another, I guess. In this scenario where all these groups are treated like such a package deal, I have difficulty envisioning a one without the other - so at least the Squid Sisters have virtually identical builds where you‘d be able to maximize by representing both members anyway. I don’t think this scenario is especially likely but it’s the only one I could feasibly see working aside from the Marina + drone thing. Which is definitely not my preference for OTH, but could still be fun.

 

[RealLuigisWearPink]

Still want a Mario Clash inspired stage, with everyone in red and black lol

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

That is to say I personally can’t see them adding any idols on their own. Yeah, Marina with a Pearl drone is a good workaround if need be. Although I think part of the fun of adding these characters is to fully play into that synergy they have with a bandmate. Letting them assist one another, take the lead, band together for a powerful final note just seems like the thematic hook that would make them worth adding in the first place.

Being fair, Pearl can switch between Drone and Inkling at will in Side Order (there's simply no point most of the time since she's significantly more useful to Eight's Spire runs as a drone) so it wouldn't detract from the potential synergy. Not to mention the Drone still packs up a good fight... arguably better than Pearl usually does if Splatoon 2 stage banter is anything to go off of

 

[Louie G.]

Being fair, Pearl can switch between Drone and Inkling at will in Side Order (there's simply no point most of the time since she's significantly more useful to Eight's Spire runs as a drone) so it wouldn't detract from the potential synergy. Not to mention the Drone still packs up a good fight... arguably better than Pearl usually does if Splatoon 2 stage banter is anything to go off of

Fair enough, although I think having Pearl swap in and out of drone mode on top of the pair up with Marina adds a bit more mechanical complexity than necessary. I would assume they'd rather focus on one hook or the other, let Pearl and Marina be a proper humanoid duo or let Marina have a little puppeteer or stage control tactics with the drone.

Or they let Pearl swapping forms be the shtick with Marina always in the lead, which is maybe how a hypothetical Rex and Pyra / Mythra could have operated. But at that point I don't especially feel like it's doing the characters justice, especially since by all means Pearl is the one more likely to step up and take the lead. And is Marina even necessary then, or should Pearl just be a stance change character on her own? Feels weird treating such a prominent character as more of a Luma esque accessory. It's definitely an interesting alternate angle but I'm still not really sold on it over the alternative of just utilizing both of their base forms.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Fair enough, although I think having Pearl swap in and out of drone mode on top of the pair up with Marina adds a bit more mechanical complexity than necessary.

If you wanna keep it simple (relatively because duo), Pearl Drone can be the up special as a fairly standard recovery.

I would assume they'd rather focus on one hook or the other, let Pearl and Marina be a proper humanoid duo or let Marina have a little puppeteer or stage control tactics with the drone.

Oh, drone tactics would go hard tho.

Or they let Pearl swapping forms be the shtick with Marina always in the lead, which is maybe how a hypothetical Rex and Pyra / Mythra could have operated. But at that point I don't especially feel like it's doing the characters justice, especially since by all means Pearl is the one more likely to step up and take the lead. And is Marina even necessary then, or should Pearl just be a stance change character on her own? Feels weird treating such a prominent character as more of a Luma esque accessory. It's definitely an interesting alternate angle but I'm still not really sold on it over the alternative of just utilizing both of their base forms.

It could always be a big of a tag like Zelda/Sheik, Pyra/Mythra, Pokemon Trainer situation.

Pearl is a fair more straightforward character with simple goals and great mobility while Marina is for the big brain setups.

 

[Gengar84]

I’ve addressed it before, but with Sakurai attempting some kind of new duo mechanic with every game since Brawl (Diddy & Dixie, Chorus Kids, Rex & Pyra) I just think one of Off the Hook or Squid Sisters will be the go at it this time. The more kinks are worked out and the stronger each new Nintendo console is the closer we’ll get to eventually achieving whatever it is they want to achieve here. Ice Climbers are over 20 years old and I feel like there is more that can be done with the concept.

That’s a bit of a clumsy buildup to say I personally can’t see them adding any idols on their own. Yeah, Marina with a Pearl drone is a good workaround if need be. Although I think part of the fun of adding these characters is to fully play into that synergy they have with a bandmate. Letting them assist one another, take the lead, band together for a powerful final note just seems like the thematic hook that would make them worth adding in the first place.

If they had to add any solo idol my chips would be down on Callie and Marie as skins or echoes of one another, I guess. In this scenario where all these groups are treated like such a package deal, I have difficulty envisioning a one without the other - so at least the Squid Sisters have virtually identical builds where you‘d be able to maximize by representing both members anyway. I don’t think this scenario is especially likely but it’s the only one I could feasibly see working aside from the Marina + drone thing. Which is definitely not my preference for OTH, but could still be fun.

Yeah, I could see that. I don’t know a ton about Splatoon but it’s become a pretty major part of Nintendo’s line-up and another character makes a lot of sense. Off the Hook and the Squid Sisters seem like very popular characters so they’d be great choices for Smash.

On a personal note, I’d love to see Alphen and Shionne from Tales of Arise as the duo character. The two characters have a strong lore reason for pairing up and their playstyles play perfectly off each other. Another option is something like Ahri/Yasuo or Vi/Caitlyn from League of Legends. That game has a heavy emphasis on team based battles and the LoL fighting game is team based to reflect that. Dixie/Kiddy would be another fun option but Dixie can work just as well on her own.

 

[WeirdChillFever]

Ideally Pearl gets treated as a Luma with more polygons that can be sent out with a dedicated Dualie Roll-button and can recover along with main fighter Marina by having her transform into drone form for the Up B.

 

[Shinuto]

When the company that owns them stops being indie.

Smash has never had an indie Fighter, because Steve was no longer indie by the time he joined Smash.

Nintendo is wrong. Indie companies don't have 100+ employees.

I saw those!

"Nintendo is wrong" okay man the company making the decision on what indie gets in Smash is wrong.
"What's your reasoning for your argument?"
"Gut feeling"

 

[ninjahmos]

quick move list for Chun-Li translated to Smash

Spoiler: hypothetical movelist for Chun-Li

rapid jab: Lightning Kick

Neutral B: Kikoken (QCF + B for stronger version, similar mechanics to Ryu's Hadoken can vary speeds, etc.)

Side B: Spinning Bird Kick (hold back then forward + B for stronger version or HCF + B if charge input isn't workable)

Up B: Spinning Air Kick (Tenshokyaku, hold down then up + B for stronger version see Terry's strong Rising Tackle)

Down B: Focus Attack or Alpha Counter or Drive Reversal (most likely DR to bring an SF6 mechanic to Smash and differentiates herself from Ryu who keeps SF4's Focus Attack)

Final Smash:

near opponent: Hoyokusen

far from opponent: Kikosho

alts:

4 Classic, 1 Alpha, 3 SF6

This is pretty good.

Although, I'm not sure I'd use Focus Attack as her Down+B. I think Hazanshu would probably work better.

 

[DarthEnderX]

"What's your reasoning for your argument?"
"Gut feeling"

I'm sorry you don't know what in indie dev is. But if you think WayForward is an indie dev, you might as well call Capcom an indie dev.

Although, I'm not sure I'd use Focus Attack as her Down+B. I think Hazanshu would probably work better.

100%.

 

[MBRedboy31]

So, more specifically, how do you all imagine Marina fighting, regardless of whether or not Pearl is a drone? While she’s a Brella main as aforementioned, in both Octo Expansion and Side Order she’s mainly depicted carrying her laptop around and being in a more supportive role. Do you think they’d play this up and have her thematically be a “hacker” archetype manipulating reality with her laptop? If Pearl is in drone form this must mean that Smash is being assumed to be in the Memverse where Side Order takes place, hence why her hacking skills would be effective. There’s already shenanigans like that in Smash, like how Joker functions as though all of Smash is in the P5 world’s Metaverse.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Although, I'm not sure I'd use Focus Attack as her Down+B. I think Hazanshu would probably work better.

It would but also I wouldn't be shocked if they did that because it was the down B for the other two SF reps.

Would be nice to have something else though.

I'm sorry you don't know what in indie dev is. But if you think WayForward is an indie dev, you might as well call Capcom an indie dev.

There's no definitive size for what defines a company being indie or not. Indie studios are typically small because that's cheaper to run when you have no budgets from Big Corpo Inc. but an indie studio with a large amount of employees is certainly not impossible. It's crazy, but it's not impossible.

 

[Guynamednelson]

because it was the down B for the other two SF reps.

Ken isn't that much of a cheating echo in hindsight, so it shouldn't be a surprise his down-B is the exact same as Ryu's.

 

[Kirbeh]

Re: Sploon

Personally, I'd like all 7 band/idol members to be added but that's obviously unrealistic.

The most optimistic scenario would be Splatoon getting multiple characters in one go like Mario and Zelda's jump from 64 to Melee, or Pokémon's jump from Melee to Brawl. At this point I think Splatoon has solidified its place as being able fully capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with the former 3 as a flagship IP, so I think it could actually be possible/justifiable.

In a super optimistic scenario where they add a whole 3 characters, I'd probably go with Callie, Marie and Marina.

In a more moderate 2-character scenario, Callie and Marie, with Marina hopefully as DLC. I think she, and Splatoon as a series, are popular enough to perform well as DLC. I know a lot of people favor pairing the idols up as duo characters, but I personally feel like they have much more to offer as their own characters. I can accept Marina w/Pearl Drone at least but I've never been fond of making Squid Sisters into an Icies duo or Deep Cut into a trio character.

I guess as an example, I see Callie and Marie as more of a Mario and Luigi or DK and Diddy style of pair. Sure, they are a duo, but they're individuals first rather than being a unit that can't function without the other.

I suppose it also depends on what you're looking to get out of the characters. I know that the Squid Sisters as a duo are usually paired with a more "idol" centric idea in mind. More focus on the singing and dancing over any weapons/gameplay from Splatoon.

Re: Indies

Honestly, I don't care how "x" or "y" series is defined. I still want the characters at the end of the day. We can argue over what started as indie or what still remains indie, but I think we can at least generally agree on which candidates have enough fan support and/or industry notoriety to be on their radar (with the most notable imo, being those with content already in Smash). It's always the same names; Shantae, Shovel Knight, Undertale, Hades, etc.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Off the Hook could definitely have Angry Beavers NASB2 vibes.

 

[toonito]

This is pretty good.

Although, I'm not sure I'd use Focus Attack as her Down+B. I think Hazanshu would probably work better.

thanks for the feedback edited the moveset

 

[supersonicridley]

New smash next year? We get a smash Bros game every 6-7 years like clockwork. This December will be 6 years since ultimate. The timing works out well for a smash game to release with switch 2 in spring or more likely as the big holiday game November 2025.

Do you think it'll be a continuation of the mountain of content that ultimate had, or will it be an almost reboot of the series with a bunch of new ideas and fresh movements and voices? I can't see anything else happening with the series.

This speculation cycle is gonna be weird. If they try to build on what ultimate accomplished, there aren't really many extremely hype Nintendo characters left and many remaining 3rd party characters will feel almost too niche to appeal broadly to everyone. If they go the reboot smash route we will likely see a reduction in the amount of characters and the newcomers would be super limited, leading to not many hype reveals.

Who would you want added if the next smash game was a continuation of ultimate? Personally Isaac from GS and Alucard are really the only other characters I can even really think of that I would want. Anyone else is kinda just scraping the bottom of the barrel for me.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

New smash next year? We get a smash Bros game every 6-7 years like clockwork. This December will be 6 years since ultimate. The timing works out well for a smash game to release with switch 2 in spring or more likely as the big holiday game November 2025.

Do you think it'll be a continuation of the mountain of content that ultimate had, or will it be an almost reboot of the series with a bunch of new ideas and fresh movements and voices? I can't see anything else happening with the series.

Probably not next year, since presumably that'd be right when the Switch 2 comes out, and with the exception of Melee, Smash doesn't usually come out in the first year of a new console's launch.

And I feel like next Smash will be in between those two, since Sakurai stated Everyone Is Here was unlikely to happen again, but I don't think the series needs a "reboot" or anything, so I usually put my expectation in the "bigger than Smash 4, probably smaller than Ultimate" camp.

 

[supersonicridley]

Probably not next year, since presumably that'd be right when the Switch 2 comes out, and with the exception of Melee, Smash doesn't usually come out in the first year of a new console's launch.

And I feel like next Smash will be in between those two, since Sakurai stated Everyone Is Here was unlikely to happen again, but I don't think the series needs a "reboot" or anything, so I usually put my expectation in the "bigger than Smash 4, probably smaller than Ultimate" camp.

IDK if smash 6 is the same gameplay but just smaller amount of content than ultimate what's the point is playing smash 6 when we have ultimate with more characters?

 

[SPEN18]

New smash next year? We get a smash Bros game every 6-7 years like clockwork. This December will be 6 years since ultimate. The timing works out well for a smash game to release with switch 2 in spring or more likely as the big holiday game November 2025.

Do you think it'll be a continuation of the mountain of content that ultimate had, or will it be an almost reboot of the series with a bunch of new ideas and fresh movements and voices? I can't see anything else happening with the series.

This speculation cycle is gonna be weird. If they try to build on what ultimate accomplished, there aren't really many extremely hype Nintendo characters left and many remaining 3rd party characters will feel almost too niche to appeal broadly to everyone. If they go the reboot smash route we will likely see a reduction in the amount of characters and the newcomers would be super limited, leading to not many hype reveals.

Who would you want added if the next smash game was a continuation of ultimate? Personally Isaac from GS and Alucard are really the only other characters I can even really think of that I would want. Anyone else is kinda just scraping the bottom of the barrel for me.

1. I don't think Smash will happen next year. Smash isn't typically a console launch game and you have to remember Ult had a lot of DLC afterwards and the Switch has had a long life, which may extend the typical gap between Smash entries. Personally I think 2026 is easily possible, though. The project plan for the game may even be complete by now, and we have other indicators from Sakurai's YouTube channel that help us guess at a timeframe.

2. Opinions vary widely on what the next game will look like. Personally I think the most reasonable estimate is somewhere between Smash 4 and Ult in terms of base game content, so somewhere between 50 and 70 characters to cast the widest net possible (personally leaning to low- or mid-60s right now). Special circumstances led to the greater increase in content in Ult, and public statements from Sakurai have indicated it's unlikely to be completely sustained, but on the other side there's no reason to expect they couldn't at least top what Smash 4 had, esp. given that Smash 4 had to split efforts with the 3DS version.

3. The notion that there aren't enough strong newcomer choices is pretty much debunked tbh. Several Nintendo franchises experienced significant growth during the Switch era, and I think Nintendo will want to celebrate and capitalize on those growths as much as possible; any of Mario, Kirby, FE, Zelda, Splatoon, Animal Crossing, Pikmin, and several more could easily get new characters. And in the base game, there's usually only like 2 or so third party newcomers anyway (with DLC likelier to have more), but I think most here will disagree with you that all the remaining choices are too niche. In all, I think they actually need to go harder on newcomers than base Ult in order to help counterbalance the inevitable disappointment of likely cuts as well as help set the game apart from Ult as its own new experience.

 

[SharkLord]

I’ve addressed it before, but with Sakurai attempting some kind of new duo mechanic with every game since Brawl (Diddy & Dixie, Chorus Kids, Rex & Pyra) I just think one of Off the Hook or Squid Sisters will be the go at it this time. The more kinks are worked out and the stronger each new Nintendo console is the closer we’ll get to eventually achieving whatever it is they want to achieve here. Ice Climbers are over 20 years old and I feel like there is more that can be done with the concept.

That’s a bit of a clumsy buildup to say I personally can’t see them adding any idols on their own. Yeah, Marina with a Pearl drone is a good workaround if need be. Although I think part of the fun of adding these characters is to fully play into that synergy they have with a bandmate. Letting them assist one another, take the lead, band together for a powerful final note just seems like the thematic hook that would make them worth adding in the first place.

If they had to add any solo idol my chips would be down on Callie and Marie as skins or echoes of one another, I guess. In this scenario where all these groups are treated like such a package deal, I have difficulty envisioning a one without the other - so at least the Squid Sisters have virtually identical builds where you‘d be able to maximize by representing both members anyway. I don’t think this scenario is especially likely but it’s the only one I could feasibly see working aside from the Marina + drone thing. Which is definitely not my preference for OTH, but could still be fun.

Callie and Marie have more or less the same build, but being Echoes hinges on the implementation. If they just do some funky dance moves I could see it, but canonically, Callie prefers rollers and Marie prefers chargers, which would lead to entirely different playstyles. That said, I could see a Pyra/Mythra swap situation, albeit with different normals as well.

So, more specifically, how do you all imagine Marina fighting, regardless of whether or not Pearl is a drone? While she’s a Brella main as aforementioned, in both Octo Expansion and Side Order she’s mainly depicted carrying her laptop around and being in a more supportive role. Do you think they’d play this up and have her thematically be a “hacker” archetype manipulating reality with her laptop? If Pearl is in drone form this must mean that Smash is being assumed to be in the Memverse where Side Order takes place, hence why her hacking skills would be effective. There’s already shenanigans like that in Smash, like how Joker functions as though all of Smash is in the P5 world’s Metaverse.

I feel like the simplest solution would be to double down on the Brella, as opposed to Inkling using a mishmash of ink weapons. As others have mentioned, we could also work in Pearl as an assist character, possibly incorporating the drone form to make it flow better

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

IDK if smash 6 is the same gameplay but just smaller amount of content than ultimate what's the point is playing smash 6 when we have ultimate with more characters?

I mean, the next Smash is incredibly likely to be the same gameplay as we've always seen, likely just with different physics/speed and a different style. I've never really understood the "reboot" angle because Sakurai doesn't even like changing individual characters too much from game to game so people who played that character aren't alienated with sudden massive changes, so I don't know why he'd suddenly be okay completely changing how Smash plays in general when it's been basically the same gameplay-wise for 25 years and completely decimating the roster to drastically change everything in it. It's not IMPOSSIBLE I guess, I just don't think it's particularly likely.

As for your question, for me anyway it would be because they would likely add a good number of newcomers and hopefully a lot of new stages rather than Ultimate's like 3 new stages at launch? But I'm of the hope that we'd go back to a Brawl style split where MOST of the stages are new minus a few returning ones out of Ultimate's brand new ones.

 

[WeirdChillFever]

Problem with Callie/Marie is that their weapons have vastly different levels of moveset potential. Unless you’re gonna use the Charger as a bo staff you’re really only going to get the one snipe attack out of the Charger class* whereas Callie‘s Roller is much more flexible for being a melee wespon. I can’t think of a moveset where the two weapon types could get equal billing. Ironically, Marie is seen with an umbrella in both her Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3 incarnations, whereas Marina only implies her love for the Brella subclass and is never directly seen wielding one.

*The exception being the short-range Bamboozler, which Cap’n Cuttlefish uses as a cane and can thus be used as a sword or Scrooge McDuck Pogo if need be.

 

[fogbadge]

Unless you’re gonna use the Charger as a bo staff

now there's an idea for splatoon 4

also bo means staff

 

[Swamp Sensei]

I will say that the assertion that we don't have any strong Nintendo newcomers left is proven false by my poll.

There were some really strong showings.

 

[WeirdChillFever]

also bo means staff

Huh, I never knew that. Good to know!

I will say that the assertion that we don't have any strong Nintendo newcomers left is proven false by my poll.

There were some really strong showings.

I’d prefer the next Smash to build upon established series that have either grown a lot over the past few years (Splatoon, Animal Crossing and Pikmin being a Switch Era behemoth trifecta especially) or are in desperate need of a newcomer otherwise (DK, Zelda, Sonic) but I fear the trend of picking up more third party IPs for the credits section is going to continue.

 

[Guynamednelson]

what's the point is playing smash 6 when we have ultimate with more characters?

Those characters on Smash 6's roster being different, there being some sort of new mechanic, etc. It's how MvC3 can survive despite MvC2 having a bigger roster, although modders are now adding all the missing 2 vets and them some, like Blade, Dr. Wily, Gene from God Hand, etc.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Ironically, Marie is seen with an umbrella in both her Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3 incarnations, whereas Marina only implies her love for the Brella subclass and is never directly seen wielding one.

Marina's love for Brellas is at least indicated through her palette in Side Order.

Similarly, Callie and Marie's palettes are also a Roller and a Charger, which gives some credibility to whatever weapon Marina assigned to herself.

 

[Jave]

Mmmm... let's put some events on a timeline. Please take into account that all the stuff we have no sources on is entirely my speculation, so PLEASE don't quote me on this or add it to Wikipedia.

On October 18, 2021, the last Ultimate DLC character, Sora, was released. I THINK that around this time, Nintendo started getting into talks with Sakurai for the next game. Nothing official yet, but since Switch 2 was likely meant to release earlier (before Nintendo realized they could a whole extra year of OG Switch consoles), it's not far-fetched to think Nintendo was likely planning on Smash 6 as early as here.

On December 1st, 2021, the series got its final balance patch, and it will not get another version update until over two years later (which I'll get to later). This seems to indicate that not much dev work went into Ultimate through 2022 and 2023, so I think it's very likely that during these two years, Nintendo made the necessary agreements with Sakurai to get him back as Director for Smash 6. I think it's possible Sakurai spent these two years working on early planning for Smash 6, coming up with new ideas and characters, while still working on the final updates for Ultimate along with his video series.

On November 13, 2023, it was announced that Namco Bandai has created two studios dedicated exclusively to working with Nintendo. This very likely means that NB will be returning as the dev team for Smash 6, which should make development of Smash 6 a lot smoother (since according to Sakurai himself, using the same dev company and team means they can reuse assets from the previous games they developed). I think it's probable that around this time, the dev team was fully settled and Sakurai pitched his idea for Smash 6 to Nintendo and development of Smash 6 officially started, with Sakurai still working on the last update for Ultimate and the last videos of his Youtube series (which is ending soon as of this post).

On December 6, 2023, the final Spirit Event for the game's 5th anniversary is announced, which will release periodically until March 19, 2024.

On February 14, 2024, the last Version update of Ultimate (13.0.2) is released, which is the addition of compatibility of the Sora amiibo. With this update, Sakurai officially announces that development for Smash Ultimate is over. And with his Youtube video series now nearly done in terms of production, it's likely that Sakurai and the dev team moved on to Smash 6 development in full at this point.

I really doubt we'll see a new Smash next year, but if the timeline above is accurate I think it's possible we could see an announcement on mid/late 2025 for an early/mid 2026 release. Maybe no later than Holiday 2026. Nintendo values Smash very highly by now so they will likely want a release for each of their systems as early as possible, and I think it's likely they got everyone on board during the final dev periods of Ultimate.

 

[Guynamednelson]

With this update, Sakurai officially announces that development for Smash Ultimate is over.

Here's a fun fact about the Tweet that he announced that in: Initially, the "Translate Tweet" button translated it as "my work on Smash Bros. Ultimate is finally complete", but a couple months ago, it was changed to "is work on Smash Bros. Ultimate finally coming to an end?" See for yourself by clicking "Translate Tweet" here:

x.com

x.com

...although I don't know what you'll get since you apparently live in Chile. If you get a Spanish translation, can you translate that translation into English using Google Translate and see how it compares?

 

[Louie G.]

Callie and Marie have more or less the same build, but being Echoes hinges on the implementation. If they just do some funky dance moves I could see it, but canonically, Callie prefers rollers and Marie prefers chargers, which would lead to entirely different playstyles. That said, I could see a Pyra/Mythra swap situation, albeit with different normals as well.

I was operating on the assumption a lot of it might be centered around the musical aspect, yeah. Frankly whatever they decide to with the idols, if anything, I hope that remains at the forefront. I've wanted a music themed character in Smash for a long time now and even though there's fun weapon potential with some of the idols individually, which I imagine they would still use to a degree, it's not really the most compelling thing about them for me. That would be seeing the amount of personality and flair comes out of crafting a moveset for a musician.

Especially someone like Pearl. Yeah, she's gonna have the dualies. But she's gotta scream into the mic, she's gotta be flashing rock hand signals and acting like a total diva. Callie and Marie could lean more into that dance aspect, if they were paired up you put a lot of emphasis on specific choreography. If that alongside some more abstract music attacks take focus then their complementary weapons need not be much more than a couple moves. To me these kind of ideas are pretty much the core reasons to add these characters, I don't like treating the idols as simply another Inkling.

But to the initial point, give them more of that framing and lean heavy into the idol aspect and theoretically you can make them work as derivative fighters of one another. You could swap out their weapons but alternatively it's not so wild to just assume either Sister can use either favorite weapon. I'm personally more intrigued by the idea of sticking to one and building off it, but Inkling isn't regulated to a single loadout so the Squid Sisters could improvise all the same. As was mentioned earlier, I actually associated Marie with the Splatbrella for some time because of her appearance in Splatoon 2. They don't need to limit themselves although I think they would stand out all the more if they did work with those limitations.

I unno. The prospect of any of these idol teams joining Smash is one of the most intriguing points of discussion for me lately though. I think the potential for more Splatoon content is so exciting and I want to keep encouraging people to scratch past the surface level. Yeah, we're gonna get Octoling in some capacity, but that doesn't need to be it.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

In regards to Splatoon and specifically the idols, I think what draws me more to Off the Hook rather than the Squid Sisters is definitely how different they are in design but still come together super well as a pair, as others have stated.

Marina is tall and more mild-mannered, Pearl is small and a brat.
Marina is an Octoling, Pearl is an Inkling (which interests me because while I do think Octolings should be represented, I'd rather have a unique one than have an Echo just because of the sheer number of other main weapons in the series, since Inkling uses Splattershot, Slosher, Blaster, Brush, and Roller).
Marina's preferred weapon according to her palette is a Brella, which is made to be at least somewhat more defensive with its shielding abilities, while Pearl really like dualies, which allow for spontaneous burst offense.

Inkling already having a roller in their kit also makes me less keen on Callie and Marie I think, at least the Callie half of that pair, since her favorite is rollers. Meanwhile, Pearl and Marina don't have this issue, as they utilize new main weapon types introduced in Splatoon 2, rather than anything that would have an equivalent in Inkling's kit minus maybe the Dualies having a Burst Bomb or Suction Bomb. Either way, I think using a Brella's defensive ability and possibly Sprinklers for area control leading into Pearl's burst offense is an interesting dynamic for a duo imo, even if they were done as a traditional "transformation" character.

Then of course throw in personality flair and the possible idol angle, and there's honestly a lot the pair can do to set themselves apart from Inkling, which is the main thing I think you need to achieve for a new Splatoon character getting into Smash, and why I honestly haven't been super keen on it until semi-recently (alongside not really playing Splatoon beyond the single-player anymore lol).

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

But she's gotta scream into the mic

Pearl won't need a mic to deal damage with her voice

Spoiler: Side Order final boss spoilers (timestamped)

 

[Arcanir]

I’d prefer the next Smash to build upon established series that have either grown a lot over the past few years (Splatoon, Animal Crossing and Pikmin being a Switch Era behemoth trifecta especially) or are in desperate need of a newcomer otherwise (DK, Zelda, Sonic) but I fear the trend of picking up more third party IPs for the credits section is going to continue.

I think the next Smash game would follow 4 and Ultimate's example. There's still a number of Nintendo characters, both old and new, that people would like to see that can easily fill a newcomer roster of 10+ along with a couple Third Parties. Also, hypothetically, it would make sense to have most of the third parties as DLC as that could reduce the strain negotiations would have on the base game's development and well as potentially provide a large cut of the profit from the characters.