Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[WeirdChillFever]

That’s my problem with severely reduced rosters in general. We have so many of the most important characters already. Cutting a ton of them for a few newcomers that are less iconic is a hard sell (for me at least). More than that, a drastically smaller roster means less unconventional character choices since there’s such limited space. Its going to be hard for the roster to look drastically different from Brawl’s beyond swapping out the 10 or so least relevant characters for more modern ones.

Yeah, there’s only so many characters you can really cut before the alternative becomes a change for change’s sake. Everybody can put a knife to the Fire Emblem selection, but not many people can build a FE roster that makes sense (Cutting Ike means you fail)

I agree with that, although to some extent you have to take it with a grain of salt and recognize the fact that we're giving new characters the capacity to become these valued veterans too. In some way, the "new" may very well take precedent over the old. But it definitely won't be through some pre-decided exchange of an eye for an eye. Especially when one of those eyes has 20/20 vision and the other needs glasses.

I want to harp a bit more on Alear and Byleth to demonstrate the point. This is a common point of interest for some fans to believe the newest FE protagonist is in some roster rotation. In actuality we have zero evidence for this ever happening - perhaps characters like Lucario or Ike outprioritized Mewtwo or Roy. This is susceptible to happen, and ultimately I think the right decision is to favor the new. But those characters were also planned to be on the roster. So when people pose the idea that oh, Raven Beak is here so we don't need Ridley anymore (a remarkably stupid point that I've unfortunately seen more than once) they simply have the wrong idea of how this all operates. The old guard doesn't get tossed to the curb so dismissively.

Anyway, back to Alear and Byleth, Alear has some moveset potential in their camp but the conversation is often driven by their fleeting newness. Byleth is still fairly contemporary, debuted on Switch, and Three Houses is by far the more popular and successful game pit up against Engage. So exchanging the protagonist of the highest selling game in the series, right after they got here, for a character from a game with middling performance and hype at best... that's a bad trade. There's no doubt that Byleth is the character that speaks to more people. And yes, you have an inherent staying power if you are already a veteran that has connected with people, which is another can of worms, but not all legacies are infalliable and to get into that I'd have to break apart the roster one by one lol.

I hope it's clear this isn't just about Alear. But I think it's the most glaring example of the way some people attempt to make what on paper feels like a reasonable trade-off, but in actuality is a decision motivated by an arbitrary sense of the new as the only justification.

True, but without some skewed trade-offs you’re gonna end up with a veteran-heavy roster.

 

[Louie G.]

True, but without some skewed trade-offs you’re gonna end up with a veteran-heavy roster.

Well in fairness, let's say we did add Alear. The fact of the matter would just be that, if Byleth is still on the roster, they ""replace"" Corrin and/or Roy. Which isn't a real trade anyway, these characters don't have much in common aside from being from the same series. But one might be added on their own merit, and the other may be deemed a lesser priority from the roster bloat. I guess the point I'm trying to get across is when people are bringing in characters with this mindset of replacement as their leading motivation, they are limiting their creativity and often missing the bigger picture.

Newcomers get in and veterans get cut. By default one is replacing the other. It's just usually not in the more direct way that the community believes it to be. Seeing a roster that cuts the wildly popular Pyra / Mythra and adds Mio or Noah in their stead just feels misguided, when you can pretty easily just have them both and let the roster take a cut in a different area. But mind you the smallest roster I think we should be even remotely humoring is Smash 4 sized.

 

[WeirdChillFever]

Well in fairness, let's say we did add Alear. The fact of the matter would just be that, if Byleth is still on the roster, they ""replace"" Corrin and/or Roy. Which isn't a real trade anyway, these characters don't have much in common aside from being from the same series. But one might be added on their own merit, and the other may be deemed a lesser priority from the roster bloat. I guess the point I'm trying to get across is when people are bringing in characters with this mindset of replacement as their leading motivation, they are limiting their creativity and often missing the bigger picture.

Newcomers get in and veterans get cut. By default one is replacing the other. It's just usually not in the more direct way that the community believes it to be. Seeing a roster that cuts the wildly popular Pyra / Mythra and adds Mio or Noah in their stead just feels misguided, when you can pretty easily just have them both and let the roster take a cut in a different area. But mind you the smallest roster I think we should be even remotely humoring is Smash 4 sized.

Maybe it’s just me but I haven’t found many rosters that do try to exactly match ”cut” characters in this way, outside of Oracle Link’s roster which had the express purpose of doing so. Noah/Mio “replacing” Pyra and Mythra seems more like the result of wanting to add a new popular character but not understanding that they became popular choices in the context of building upon Ultimate’s roster

 

[Hypercat-Z]

Why does it have to be some escalating arms race?

Because that's what make people overrreact and speak a lot about the game.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

 

[Gengar84]

I think what I did for Fire Emblem was cut Corrin, Roy, and Chrom for Lyn. I feel those were the three most expendable characters and Lyn is a fan favorite. I didn’t add Alear partially out of my lack of experience with the character and I don’t think Engage was particularly well received anyways. It was the first Fire Emblem I skipped since I started playing the series with Path of Radiance. That’s probably just my personal bias speaking though.

 

[WeirdChillFever]

I think what I did for Fire Emblem was cut Corrin, Roy, and Chrom for Lyn. I feel those were the three most expendable characters and Lyn is a fan favorite. I didn’t add Alear partially out of my lack of experience with the character and I don’t think Engage was particularly well received anyways. It was the first Fire Emblem I skipped since I started playing the series with Path of Radiance. That’s probably just my personal bias speaking though.

I think people mostly add Alear because they believe the Emblem mechanic to be a substitute for cutting Roy/Corrin/Ike/Chrom, rather than picking them because they’re the newest lord

 

[fogbadge]

I don’t think nearly enough rosters cut mewtwo, bayo and daisy

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

I think people mostly add Alear because they believe the Emblem mechanic to be a substitute for cutting Roy/Corrin/Ike/Chrom, rather than picking them because they’re the newest lord

I'm glad I don't do that lol

I just think Alear is likely because they're the newest Lord (though obviously it's possible that Intelligent Systems could make a new game in the interim, in which case it would probably be that game's Lord/Avatar instead), but also because ever since Robin got added, we haven't missed a new protag since with Corrin and Byleth. Could even end up with a situation where Alear is base game and DLC adds the protag of a new game.

As for the Emblem mechanics, I'd much rather Alear use characters that aren't already playable and aren't exactly likely to be imo, like Micaiah, Sigurd, Eirika/Ephraim, Camilla, etc.

 

[Scrimblo Bimblo]

I'll try my hand at a wishlist roster:

-Everyone is here
-Toad
-Dixie Kong
-Funky Kong (E)
-Skull Kid
-Raven Beak
-Marx
-Porky
-Pico (F-Zero)
-Blood Falcon (E)
-Starfy
-Doshin the Giant
-Mach Rider
-Doom Slayer
-Bomberman
-Chosen Undead
-Crash
-John Marston
-Knuckles

I Imagine this would suck for a lot of people.

 

[Gengar84]

I think people mostly add Alear because they believe the Emblem mechanic to be a substitute for cutting Roy/Corrin/Ike/Chrom, rather than picking them because they’re the newest lord

I’d love a summoner character but I’d much rather have someone like Yuna, Garnet, or Kerrigan fill that role instead of another Fire Emblem character.

 

[RodNutTakin]

I didn't intend for my thing to cause two pages to sprout up overnight.
Are my predictions even realistic in your eyes? Getting nothing but Likes doesn't tell me enough, to be honest. I did want to start up conversation about my picks.

 

[DarthEnderX]

Getting nothing but Likes doesn't tell me enough, to be honest. I did want to start up conversation about my picks.

Not me.

Just gimmie the Likes. I ain't lookin' for notes. I already know my roster is perfect.

 

[WeirdChillFever]

I'm glad I don't do that lol

I just think Alear is likely because they're the newest Lord (though obviously it's possible that Intelligent Systems could make a new game in the interim, in which case it would probably be that game's Lord/Avatar instead), but also because ever since Robin got added, we haven't missed a new protag since with Corrin and Byleth. Could even end up with a situation where Alear is base game and DLC adds the protag of a new game.

As for the Emblem mechanics, I'd much rather Alear use characters that aren't already playable and aren't exactly likely to be imo, like Micaiah, Sigurd, Eirika/Ephraim, Camilla, etc.

Personally I think Alear should stand on their own and not use the Emblems for representations’ sake. I think Alear would be a cool character when using the Emblems most associated with him (Marth and Lucina) and really focussing on the Engage mechanics there rather than slotting in characters that don’t serve to deepen his playstyle.

I didn't intend for my thing to cause two pages to sprout up overnight.
Are my predictions even realistic in your eyes? Getting nothing but Likes doesn't tell me enough, to be honest. I did want to start up conversation about my picks.

You didn’t have many picks that really need any explanation or discussion. There’s only so many times we can have in-depth discussions about a roster that adds Impa, Bandana Dee, Ring Fit Trainer and Noah & Mio.

 

[Master_Scorpion]

I’m curious what other people’s semi-plausible wishlist rosters are. I mostly see prediction rosters around here. What would you guys like to see if you were in full control of the game?

Master Chief
Scorpion
Bomberman
Elma
DJ Octavio
King Boo
Excitebiker
Noah
Wonder Red
Officer Howard

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

Personally I think Alear should stand on their own and not use the Emblems for representations’ sake. I think Alear would be a cool character when using the Emblems most associated with him (Marth and Lucina) and really focussing on the Engage mechanics there rather than slotting in characters that don’t serve to deepen his playstyle.

Also true. I usually default to Sigurd after Marth since Sigurd was wielded directly by Lumera, as opposed to Lucina who appears halfway through the game, but I do also think only having one Emblem is a valid way to go with it. I just know Emblems would be involved somehow as Engage's central new gameplay mechanic lol

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Because that's what make people overrreact and speak a lot about the game.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

That's legit stupid.

If you focus on trying to "top" the previous character for the sake of "reactions", all it does is invalidate the idea of the previous character in the first place AND put too much pressure on the next one.

Do you honestly think was meant to beat ? Or to beat ? Or to beat ?
No. They all served the same exact purpose. To be a silly little surprise to players at the end of the metaphorical "cereal box" that is the roster.


Which could be as wacky as a living unicycle (though not really because Uniracers has legal red tape) or as mundane as some middle-age golfer that Nintendo can't decide if he's Mario or not.

 

[WeirdChillFever]

Okay, I’ve kept quiet for too long but I have to speak up now: Including DJ Octavio in your rosters is a moral failing and you should know better. It worked back in the WiiU days when the Squid Sisters did anything between diddly and squat. Now we know the idols are recurring and story-important characters on top of being mascots of their particular entry and the most popular characters in the series overall.

 

[ninjahmos]

I think we may have already discussed this, but do you think Doomguy would be more likely to be in base game, for the next game, or as DLC?

 

[cashregister9]

Okay, I’ve kept quiet for too long but I have to speak up now: Including DJ Octavio in your rosters is a moral failing and you should know better. It worked back in the WiiU days when the Squid Sisters did anything between diddly and squat. Now we know the idols are recurring and story-important characters on top of being mascots of their particular entry and the most popular characters in the series overall.

I agree, I put Octavio on my roster initially for some arbitrary reasons but I'd remove him If I changed it

but nowadays Octavio does actually have an extra factor in his favor

Old Man Yaoi​

 

[pitchfulprocessing]

I didn't intend for my thing to cause two pages to sprout up overnight.
Are my predictions even realistic in your eyes? Getting nothing but Likes doesn't tell me enough, to be honest. I did want to start up conversation about my picks.

I'm a big fan of Tarnished as a pick as you know, I think that definitely warrants more serious discussion and consideration. Beyond that I think Tako and Crono are both interesting picks, would be curious on your reasoning there, and I'm also curious how you envision Octoling.

 

[WeirdChillFever]

I agree, I put Octavio on my roster initially for some arbitrary reasons but I'd remove him If I changed it

but nowadays Octavio does actually have an extra factor in his favor

Old Man Yaoi​

It does feel hypocritical for me to slander Octavio like this while propping up Captain Cuttlefish as a hip dark horse candidate when they’re really the enemies-to-lovers two-sides-of-the-same-coin.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

I think we may have already discussed this, but do you think Doomguy would be more likely to be in base game, for the next game, or as DLC?

Honestly, probably DLC? Mostly because I expect Banjo and Steve to be base game because Banjo was incredibly easy to license as well as being number 2 on the Ballot and Steve is from the highest selling game of all time that Nintendo regularly updates their skin pack for (they even updated it after Wonder to turn the armadillos into the Armad enemies). Plus I think it would work out better for new stages to be programmed with block functionality to begin with, otherwise they'd have to reprogram them again later, or it'd give away one of the DLC characters if they are programmed with the functionality but Steve isn't present.

 

[Gengar84]

Rosters? I finally put my predictions for 6 in visual form.

Base Game

Post-DLC

I think I’d be happy with this roster. I love that you kept Sephiroth and Sheik here. There’s some really cool newcomer choices like Zero, Crono, Dixie, Sol, Doomguy, Shadow, and Hyabusa. Zero is my most wanted Capcom character and in my top 10 overall. I think he’d be a great character in Smash. Obviously there’s things I would change if I was going by my personal bias but this is a generally cool roster.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Cuts are always tricky not only because one never really knows where Nintendo's priorities are, but the removal of one character and the addition of another often seems to carry implications that I think we all want to instinctively avoid. My ideal roster would include Impa, Dixie Kong, and BWD and possibly the removal of Robin, Zero Suit Samus, & Young Link. Even if there's in no way an implication that the former three are necessarily more deserving than the latter or that Smash would be far better served with the first trio than the second? There's always a possibility it would be taken that way and that the selections come down to a harsh value judgement rather than outright preference.

I think that's why Everyone is Here 2 is so attractive as a conceptual idea especially for fan made rosters, as even if others don't like your additions you're at least not adding to the rancor with subtractions.

 

[Scrimblo Bimblo]

Everyone is here was / is going to be (???) great because it makes everyone happy.
For example, yeah I don't really give a damn about Robin. And maybe the next person browsing this thread whose favorite character is Robin doesn't give a damn about Banjo, who I like very much.
If they both come back, we're both happy. Everyone is here is a good thing.

Then yeah of course you can find a new main, but if no newcomer speaks to you you have to settle for an older character, and that character isn't YOUR old character, so yeah it kinda sucks.

 

[Speed Weed]

As far as "want" rosters go, last week I made this roster for a server I'm in - it's essentially a semi-joking all-out "bias" roster where I quite literally just threw in anyone I liked or thought would be funny:

Some notes:

-Baby Pac-Man specifically represents the actual arcade game of the same name that's an arcade/pinball game fusion where you have to switch over to pinball mode to gain power pellets. Don't ask me how this abstract manifestation of the actual arcade game would work
-I forgot Terry
-Nabbit and Ravio are both here because of an in-joke in the same server about a very old Nintendo Direct where Iwata specifically took some time to clarify that Nabbit and Ravio are not the same character. Therefore, they now must always be bound together

So yeah, this is extremely tongue-in-cheek, but it was a fun exercise to be completely unshackled and just add whoever the hell I wanted to add. As you can see, Smash would 100% be safe in my hands

 

[Guynamednelson]

but if no newcomer speaks to you you have to settle for an older character

And that's the thing I don't think will make EIH2 all that exciting: The reaction people have won't be "ZOMG SNAKE'S BACK!" since there's no point in acting like that if he didn't skip a game, but instead it'll be "Okay, guess I don't have to worry about Snake leaving if the newcomers suck."

 

[WeirdChillFever]

As far as "want" rosters go, last week I made this roster for a server I'm in - it's essentially a semi-joking all-out "bias" roster where I quite literally just threw in anyone I liked or thought would be funny:
View attachment 394513
Some notes:

-Baby Pac-Man specifically represents the actual arcade game of the same name that's an arcade/pinball game fusion where you have to switch over to pinball mode to gain power pellets. Don't ask me how this abstract manifestation of the actual arcade game would work
-I forgot Terry
-Nabbit and Ravio are both here because of an in-joke in the same server about a very old Nintendo Direct where Iwata specifically took some time to clarify that Nabbit and Ravio are not the same character. Therefore, they now must always be bound together

So yeah, this is extremely tongue-in-cheek, but it was a fun exercise to be completely unshackled and just add whoever the hell I wanted to add. As you can see, Smash would 100% be safe in my hands

Baby Pac-Man should be a literal playable arcade cabinet with a projectile where it sends out Baby Pac-Man out of the display before returning like K. Rool’s crown

 

[Scrimblo Bimblo]

And that's the thing I don't think will make EIH2 all that exciting: The reaction people have won't be "ZOMG SNAKE'S BACK!" since there's no point in acting like that if he didn't skip a game, but instead it'll be "Okay, guess I don't have to worry about Snake leaving if the newcomers suck."

But what if Snake is the character you care the most about?

 

[BritishGuy54]

I always complain about people’s rosters not being creative but when I sit down to make a roster it’s also the same “heeho Bandana Dee/Mio/Oatchi” stuff. Not sure why our collective powers of imagination are so poor but it is frustrating.

I don’t mind that SmashBoards has some agreed-on likely new faces. It was a breath of fresh air compared to little Timmy putting every third party to ever be in a video game on a roster.

I don’t think nearly enough rosters cut mewtwo, bayo and daisy

is a case of being an evergreen echo fighter for one of the most evergreen fighters in the game who will likely never be cut. Probably the most likely echo fighter to return.

I think depends on if the ‘original 12’ truly are sacred. is in a league of his own, so it comes down to Mewtwo and for me. I tend to go with Mewtwo as I think most would prefer it over Puff. I’m sorry, Puff defenders.

depends on if you believe the whole deal with the ESRB will go down in a new Smash. Censoring a Mii costume’s series name is way easier than censoring a playable fighter, stages, and music’s series name.

Re: Character wants
I don’t have too many characters I’d actively want.

I’d really like to see Pneuma as another aspect of Pyra/Mythra. If Fiora can join Shulk’s Final Smash a half-decade after Smash 4 released, I don’t see why Pneuma can’t be present for at least an alternate Final Smash.

 

[WeirdChillFever]

I don’t mind that SmashBoards has some agreed-on likely new faces. It was a breath of fresh air compared to little Timmy putting every third party to ever be in a video game on a roster.

True, I do appreciate the newfound focus on first party characters, though mostly because I am wildly out of my depth when discussing series not created by Nintendo

 

[ThiagoCavalcanteCarvalho]

We need a lot of Revamps in the next games in my opinion
So... Alucard?

 

[RodNutTakin]

You didn’t have many picks that really need any explanation or discussion. There’s only so many times we can have in-depth discussions about a roster that adds Impa, Bandana Dee, Ring Fit Trainer and Noah & Mio.

I honestly thought that some of the DLC choices, the base game third-party newcomers, and the cuts and late arrivals would warrant some discussion at least. Along with the placeholders I put in there too, I guess.

I'm a big fan of Tarnished as a pick as you know, I think that definitely warrants more serious discussion and consideration. Beyond that I think Tako and Crono are both interesting picks, would be curious on your reasoning there, and I'm also curious how you envision Octoling.

Tarnished is a bit of a gut feeling pick, the idea that FromSoftware's action games are due for a character if the trend of adding more and more guest series continues next game, and that Elden Ring would be in a prime position, particularly if the game sees a version on Nintendo's next system. I actually didn't realize that From fully owns Elden Ring currently when I constructed this, but I think that doesn't negatively affect likeliness in any way currently.
Crono is primarily a gut feeling that he's next in line, being a character associated with one of Nintendo's high points, and arguably Square's own highest points as well. IIRC he was also mentioned in that old rumor about Square internally having six/seven characters in consideration for Smash (he and Geno were the only ones not to become fighters) but I could be wrong. Anyone else remember what I'm talking about?
Tako is my shot in the dark prediction for DLC, being a feasible representative of Konami's expansive STG catalogue. It pretty much comes down to process of elimination--he's in over TwinBee because Parodius is an extension of Gradius, which is essentially the "heart" of Konami's shooting-game body, and he's in over the Vic Viper because the latter is a static ship--it's not even given TwinBee or Opa-Opa-esque features in Parodius--and a cartoon octopus would naturally be easier for a developer like Sakurai to envision "dancing in his mind", so to speak, while also still being able to replicate elements of Gradius gameplay thanks to his loadout being based off one of the weapon sets in Gradius II. Basically, it's my answer to the question of putting in a space shooter character in Smash, like how Arle solves the puzzle game character problem.
Octoling could honestly go any number of ways, but I'm envisioning a Luigi or Isabelle type situation with them.

I think I’d be happy with this roster. I love that you kept Sephiroth and Sheik here. There’s some really cool newcomer choices like Zero, Crono, Dixie, Sol, Doomguy, Shadow, and Hyabusa. Zero is my most wanted Capcom character and in my top 10 overall. I think he’d be a great character in Smash. Obviously there’s things I would change if I was going by my personal bias but this is a generally cool roster.

Thank you, Sheik was honestly a last-minute bone throw decision I made here.

 

[WeirdChillFever]

We need a lot of Revamps in the next games in my opinion
So... Alucard?

Well the words do sound alike but revamp has nothing to do with vampire

 

[Laniv]

Random thought that popped into my head at work: What if they made a Nintendo DS playable

 

[SharkLord]

Guess I'll repost my roster, see if it gets more eyes on it. As others have said, since we've settled on a relatively small selection of frontrunners, plus a lot of veterans we'll want to keep, a lot of our rosters have a fair bit of overlap. I'm still happy with my roster, but I did end up making it more mainstream with the choices over time. So with that in mind, I want to analyze how "mainlined" my roster's become.

As I noted before, my roster was given a hard limit of 60 fighters and was juggling both Switch-era newcomers and longstanding requests, on top of limiting all series to just four characters total. Echoes are supposed to be a bit more distinct than just glorified alts, but they don't count towards the final number. Though Mario cheats like hell with his dozens of siubseries, this did mean I took an axe to most of the Pokemon and Fire Emblem reps, plus most of the different iterations of Link and Zelda. Maybe I'll score a couple uniqueness points that way.

Anyways, let's break it down.

Spoiler

1. Mario, as I said, cheats with his countless subseries. That said, the limits meant I still scrapped a lot of veterans - - And had no room for newcomers.
2. Yoshi's teeeechnically a separate series, but like. It's Yoshi. He's basically a fifth Mario character. Do I really need to go over him separately?
3. DK's cast is also pretty standard; I preserved all three veterans, and added Funky as an easy Echo. That said, I've seen some rosters that cut King K. Rool, so I guess I stand out in that regard. I was also going to add Dixie, but roster space was tight and I thought people would be sad if I cut K. Rool after requesting him for so long. So, sorry Dixie.
4. Wario is an accomplice to Mario's cheating by taking in Waluigi, who shows up only in Mario games but is associated with Wario more than any character. Both of 'em are pretty standard. Ashley, on the other hand, I haven't seen very often. Which is kinda weird, since Swamp's poll shows she still has some decent popularity.
5. Link's split into a general link and a BotW/TotK version, the other Links and Zeldas are scrapped Ganondorf's based on his TotK incarnation, and Zelda's supposed to be the EoW version, all pretty standard. The most distinct aspect is probably Skull Kid; He's pretty popular, but most of these rosters seem to stick to Impa instead, since she shows up more often. I originally had Impa too, but I felt like she was being added to rosters just for her attendance record made her a "safe" pick. I was going to have both Mida and Skull Kid originally, going off of Swamp's poll, but again, four fighter limit. Skull Kid scored ever so slightly higher so I went with him.
6. Pokemon's probably the most unconventional lineup of the lot, just because of the character limit. Pikachu was basically required; After that, I went with the 2020 Pokemon of the Year vote. It's been four years since then, but it's still the biggest official poll we have. So now we've preserved Pikachu, Greninja, Lucario, and then added Mimikyu of all Pokemon. I would've left a slot for Meowscarada or maybe someone from Z-A or a later Generation X, but again, roster constraints.
7. Inkling's there, Octoling's an Echo, the usual. The idea of playable idols has been gaining traction, but I think Marina's still relatively uncommon on these rosters, at least. Pearl's meant to be an assist character for her, in case you're asking where she went.
8. Kirby's got the RtDL four, like every other roster. Morpho Knight's pretty rare to see, though. I added them because they've showed up in both of Kirby's big Switch games, and in both of those games, Morpho steals most of Meta Knight's attacks anyways, plus a couple flashy super moves. They'd actually make sense as an Echo, so why not?
9. Villager, Isabelle, Tom Nook. Nobody you haven't seen before. Move along
10. Fire Emblem's rebooted. Marth's the OG Lord and has to stay, people like Ike too much to cut him, Lucina stays as a Marth Echo, though I'd personally give her a couple distinct moves, at least. Lyn's added for her popularity and being the first Lord in the West, Edelgard was added to add some weapon diversity and villain rep (Depending on the route, at least). Some rosters keep Robin or Byleth, but I don't think I'm too revolutionary here. The biggest distinction is the lack of Alear; They're the current new kid on the block and could theoretically use Emblems to represent more games, but by Smash 6 we'll almost certainly see a new Fire Emblem and Alear's relevance would fizzle out. My previous rosters had Timerra to round out the weapon triangle (And because she's fun), but like with Midna and Meowscarada, she fell victim to roster constraints
11. Olimar and Oatchi, standard enough. Sometimes Lisa's an Echo, but I feel like having an Entire Dog would make the team distinct enough for their own slot.
12. Samus, Ridley, Raven Beak; ZSS is gone, and Dark Samus isn't an Echo. The one weirdo pick is Sylux as specifically an Echo. I did that because A: Sylux is slated to star in Metroid Prime 4, B: Their armor and weapons are noted in-universe to be Galactic Federation-made copies of Samus' Chozo gear, and C: Because if I didn't have exactly ten Echoes the roster maker wouldn't give me a perfect rectangle. So point and laugh at the roster filler, you have my permission
13. For Star Fox, I kept Fox and added Krystal. Star Fox isn't that active nowadays, so Fox would be lucky to get a second fighter at all. I was torn on adding Krystal or keeping Falco; Ultimately I decided it'd be cool to have a new fighter with a distinct fighting style, but I understand that would be pretty contentious.
14. With Xenoblade, I kept Shulk and Pyra/Mythra, and added Noah AND Mio. Adding an XC3 rep is pretty common, but usually I've only seen either Noah or Mio on their own, not both.
15. Most rosters usually keep Pit, but Palutena's cut fairly often; But seeing as we got three Kid Icarus characters in the top 20 of Swamp's poll, I reasoned the series retained enough popularity that both fighters should be kept. Dark Pit's an easy Echo to keep, and Medusa seemed like she'd fit Palu enough if we turned all the light attacks to darkness.
16. Mr. Game and Watch, Ness (But not Lucas), Captain Falcon, and Min Min were kept. Blood Falcon's kind of a weirdo pick, but like Sylux he was needed to keep the rectangle going.
17. For the first party newcomers, Legionis and the Ring Fit girl are pretty safe predictions, but Isaac's a bit iffy. Golden Sun hasn't been active for a while, but he's still pretty dang popular, so I thought he should finally get a chance. I really wanted to add Andy and Ayumi as well, but there just wasn't enough room.
18. Third-parties are usually in question since, well, they're third-parties. It varies how many you want to have; In my case, I treated them more like guest characters, like in Brawl and 4. I also wanted to keep them fairly Nintendo-centric, at least for the base game. The base 4 guests - Sonic, Mega Man, Pac-Man - Had to be kept or I'd be crucified. Bayonetta's basically an honorary first-party now, so she stays. Dragon Quest and Monster Hunter are both massive and have some decently strong Switch presence, so I kept Erdrick and added a Hunter. Shadow was always pretty popular, but he took a bit of a dip during the mid-2010's, when Sega cut back on most of the Sonic cast. However, he's making an awesome comeback this year with the (ahem) Fearless Year of Shadow, so I think he's bounced back enough to be a top contender for the next Sonic character. Sora sticks out a bit due to Kingdom Hearts remaining a largely PlayStation-based series, but he still won the ballot outright, so y'know what? I don't usually say this, but he deserves to be here

 

[AreJay25]

Random thought that popped into my head at work: What if they made a Nintendo DS playable

Well, it was a Mario Kart map before.

You know who else was in this game? ROB.

Guess who ended up becoming playable in Brawl? ROB.

Sakurai's gonna make this all come full circle in Smash 6, it's prophecy.

 

[fogbadge]

Everyone is here was / is going to be (???) great because it makes everyone happy.

no it didn't

I don’t mind that SmashBoards has some agreed-on likely new faces. It was a breath of fresh air compared to little Timmy putting every third party to ever be in a video game on a roster.

is a case of being an evergreen echo fighter for one of the most evergreen fighters in the game who will likely never be cut. Probably the most likely echo fighter to return.

I think depends on if the ‘original 12’ truly are sacred. is in a league of his own, so it comes down to Mewtwo and for me. I tend to go with Mewtwo as I think most would prefer it over Puff. I’m sorry, Puff defenders.

depends on if you believe the whole deal with the ESRB will go down in a new Smash. Censoring a Mii costume’s series name is way easier than censoring a playable fighter, stages, and music’s series name.

so what your saying is they should be cut

Random thought that popped into my head at work: What if they made a Nintendo DS playable

that is neither a bad idea nor the first time i've heard it

 

[smashkirby]

I’m curious what other people’s semi-plausible wishlist rosters are. I mostly see prediction rosters around here. What would you guys like to see if you were in full control of the game?

For one thing, I'd do my darndest to have EiH be a thing again. Just like Sakurai, I'd definitely find it hard to remove a character, as every character has at least one fan...

After that? I'd certainly put a high deal of priority towards Nintendo's own characters well-known AND obscure (Lark, Lip, the Marvelous trio, Isaac, Takamaru, Ayumi, Andy, Starfy, Excitebiker, Doshin/Jashin, Pockle, Naomi Moriha, Sato Amatsubo, Captain Rainbow, etc.).

Don't get me wrong, folks like Sonic, Mega Man, Pac-Man, and the like would definitely stick around, but I'd almost certainly show some love to Nintendo characters who otherwise don't have much going on at the moment.

I'll try my hand at a wishlist roster:

-Everyone is here
-Toad
-Dixie Kong
-Funky Kong (E)
-Skull Kid
-Raven Beak
-Marx
-Porky
-Pico (F-Zero)
-Blood Falcon (E)
-Starfy
-Doshin the Giant
-Mach Rider
-Doom Slayer
-Bomberman
-Chosen Undead
-Crash
-John Marston
-Knuckles

I Imagine this would suck for a lot of people.

For what it's worth, seeing Dixie Kong, Crash, Bomberman, and Knuckles here sort of sells me on this a fair bit. With Doshin, Mach Rider, and Starfy as icing on the cake.

If I may ask, would this be Doshin by himself or would Jashin (the Hate Giant) accompany him?

 

[Louie G.]

Guess I'll repost my roster, see if it gets more eyes on it. As others have said, since we've settled on a relatively small selection of frontrunners, plus a lot of veterans we'll want to keep, a lot of our rosters have a fair bit of overlap. I'm still happy with my roster, but I did end up making it more mainstream with the choices over time. So with that in mind, I want to analyze how "mainlined" my roster's become.

Not to focus on the negatives off the bat, but it's hard not to feel burnt at Little Mac's absence when we have so many series getting a VERY healthy bump. Kid Icarus now has four characters (two clones, I know) and that's a series in pretty much exactly the same boat (Punch-Out is actually bigger). Xenoblade has four characters - and yes, I know it's a more active series, but again we're talking about a series of three games of which Punch-Out is comparably sized and of similar commercial success. It's upsetting to see him tossed to the side and lumped in with, presumably, the "retro" fighters instead of looking at his series for what it is. He's a very popular character, both in terms of initial demand and player engagement, and the series can certainly sustain at least one character on the roster if such a generous precedent is being dealt toward smaller series already.

On the bright side though, I'm glad to see K. Rool return and the addition of Marina makes me happy. And I like the addition of Edelgard over Byleth, even if I don't think it's especially likely to happen. Pretty glaring concern here is shrinking Pokemon down this heavily, I can't see us dipping below five characters at bare minimum. But I agree with the decision to prioritize Greninja.

Oh, I also don't like Ryu being absent at all. Cutting all three of the fighting game boys feels like a mistake.