Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[LiveStudioAudience]

Speaking of the Great Offensive, and I mean the original Kirby game, that's the kind of story mode I'd like in the next Smash. Not too linear, neither too complicated.

I'd like to see in game unlockables tied into the treasures for such a mode. Feels like solid reward for those exploring and solving whatever puzzles are there.

 

[Gorgonzales]

Temple is like the only good big stage. It's so good that it keeps coming back, it should just be considered the "Battlefield" of big stages at this point.

In a scenario where every stage was cut and replaced with something new (excluding BF/FD), I'd keep Temple because its design is that timeless.

Wish we got more cohesive big stages like it instead of random platform salads like New Pork City.

 

[dream1ng]

Temple is fantastic. It might even be in my top 5 most played stages - though part of that is because it's in just about every game. It's even better when the follow-up huge stages are at best ok - really highlights how tricky it is to create a space that size that still flows well and doesn't look like a haphazard mess.

That said, I actually don't hate Palutena's Temple, but it really just makes me wish I was playing on the og instead. New Pork City is... eh. And I hate GCO. It's almost like a totally separate mode, and one I'm not a fan of.

 

[Shinuto]

Rumor: Nintendo May Have Future Plans for the GameCube Controller

According to a new online rumor, Nintendo could be bringing back the classic Nintendo GameCube controller from the early 2000s in a new way.

gamerant.com

Rumour: Nintendo Might Be Gearing Up For A GameCube Controller Comeback

Smile and wave(bird)

www.nintendolife.com

Take these as you will.

What else would they need the gamecube but for Smash...

 

[Guynamednelson]

What else would they need the gamecube but for Smash...

Technically it works with every Switch game but works best with Smash and any other game with coding to specifically detect you're using a GameCube controller. Or ones which don't require you to press ZL, Select/Minus, or clickable thumbsticks.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

Temple is like the only good big stage. It's so good that it keeps coming back, it should just be considered the "Battlefield" of big stages at this point.

In a scenario where every stage was cut and replaced with something new (excluding BF/FD), I'd keep Temple because its design is that timeless.

Wish we got more cohesive big stages like it instead of random platform salads like New Pork City.

Hot take but i actually enjoy New pork

 

[dream1ng]

What else would they need the gamecube but for Smash...

GC on NSO, probably. I think that's likelier to be a thing around the launch of Switch 2 than Smash, which my guess is will probably show up the year after.

Having said that, I could see them re-release the controller again when Smash comes around.

 

[Scrimblo Bimblo]

Maybe the trick to Temple is that it's actually smaller than it looks.
The other giant stages are these big rectangles where the entire space is filled up with platforms, whereas a large section of Temple is just a large rock formation that you can't interact with, and even below that there's just empty space (where a bunch of characters can do the Temple jump). Also, with the bottom section being a dead end it forces everyone to go back to the starting area to reach a different part of the stage. The other giant stages are more open, Temple is designed to encourage interaction.

The 2nd worse giant stage has to be Gaur Plain though. All those miniscule platforms randomly splattered across the screen... Why? It's painful to play there. Xenoblade 1 deserved better man.
Absolute worst would be 75m of course.

What else would they need the gamecube but for Smash...

The fabled F-Zero GX remaster!

 

[Hadokeyblade]

Maybe the trick to Temple is that it's actually smaller than it looks.
The other giant stages are these big rectangles where the entire space is filled up with platforms, whereas a large section of Temple is just a large rock formation that you can't interact with, and even below that there's just empty space (where a bunch of characters can do the Temple jump). Also, with the bottom section being a dead end it forces everyone to go back to the starting area to reach a different part of the stage. The other giant stages are more open, Temple is designed to encourage interaction.

The 2nd worse giant stage has to be Gaur Plain though. All those miniscule platforms randomly splattered across the screen... Why? It's painful to play there. Xenoblade 1 deserved better man.
Absolute worst would be 75m of course.


The fabled F-Zero GX remaster!

Xenoblade in general deserved better stages, the one from Ultimate wasnt good either. It has the opposite problem of being too small.

 

[DarthEnderX]

I'll be honest, in the Booster Course Pass, even though I love Pinball and think it's a ton of fun, I would've preferred something like Airship Fortress

Yes, yes, we ALL wanted Airship Fortress. It was the biggest oversight of the Booster Course Pass.

In the rare chance we get a Falcom rep that's specifically Adol over a Trails character, I'm 90% sure they'd focus on just a generalized Adol moveset, but a team fighter that's also a duo fighter would certainly be fun to mess around with

Give me Estelle as a Fighter, and Adol as a Mii Swordfighter. That's all the Falcom representation I need.

 

[ninjahmos]

I hope stages will be more balanced but have more variety for the next game.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

I actually like New Pork City a lot. It's definitely platform salad, but it's just small enough to mostly make it work. The Ultimate Chimera is also intrusive enough to actually affect where you play.

Palutena's Temple is fun for pure casual fun only. It's fun for 8 player smash and stuff like handicap boss battles, so I can't hate it entirely.

Gaur Plains is over-hated. It's definitely a casual stage but I think it's quite fun. The layout is about what I expected it to be, even if it's a little on the big and sloppy side. Metal Face is great fun though and I love the chaos he brings.

Great Cave Offensive is bad though. I can't even put my distaste for it into words. It's just a maze with no room to do anything. It's like nothing but Hyrule Fight Club.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Great Cave Offensive is bad though. I can't even put my distaste for it into words. It's just a maze with no room to do anything. It's like nothing but Hyrule Fight Club.

You can't even say it's Hyrule Fight Club because HFC's charm comes from how it takes forever to die.

The Offensively Bad Cave has these danger zones that insta-kill at 100% or more, so you can't even last long in there.

 

[Gorgonzales]

I will say that there's a really cool novelty to having supermassive stages like Palutena's Temple and Great Cave Offensive. You can tell that they tried with them, unlike stuff like 75m which copies the original layout with zero adaptations to a platform fighting environment.

There was a vision with these stages. It may not be the best realized vision, but a vision nonetheless. I can't bring myself to hate them, and they're novel experiences in the right circumstances. It's almost like playing on utterly ridiculous stage layout from a mod.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

unlike stuff like 75m which copies the original layout with zero adaptations to a platform fighting environment.

The funniest/saddest part is that literally every other Donkey Kong stage could have been better as a stage if ported as accurately as 75m.

 

[SharkLord]

The funniest/saddest part is that literally every other Donkey Kong stage could have been better as a stage if ported as accurately as 75m.

25m is right there, man. THE Donkey Kong stage, one of the most iconic stages in gaming. We do not need Pauline's Wild Ride

 

[AreJay25]

75m is an affront to humanity and to this day I still can't believe that stage came back TWICE

 

[Swamp Sensei]

...

I still don't hate 75m.

Mario Bros is worse.

 

[SharkLord]

...

I still don't hate 75m.

Mario Bros is worse.

Mario Bros. is janky as all hell but at least it's compact enough to be funny. 75m sends you running all over creation only to get jumped by random trampolines. That said, I do not at all care for the SO RETRO nature of either stage. The sprites used for everything stick out like a sore thumb, and I'd be much more interested in seeing the retro stages updated to modern redesigns

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

...

I still don't hate 75m.

Mario Bros is worse.

I will respectfully disagree with this take.

I think the shells and crabs are really funny.

 

[Ivander]

...

I still don't hate 75m.

Mario Bros is worse.

Mario Bros is meant to be pure chaos, what with everybody trying to pick up a koopa or a crab that can KO you quickly and they are constantly being thrown at anybody. As long as you go in knowing that you can't do anything against the chaos, it's a fine stage.

 

[dream1ng]

The funniest/saddest part is that literally every other Donkey Kong stage could have been better as a stage if ported as accurately as 75m.

For real

I get why they may have opted against the conveyor belt level (but like how DK isn't active the whole time on the 75m stage they could've had them turn on and off periodically). But the first level is almost as iconic as the Pac-Maze and 100m not only already looks like a stage, but even could've had a gimmick where if you deal enough damage to all the bolts, the middle of the stage collapses.

Instead they go for literally the least playable option. Why?!

 

[ninjahmos]

They could bring back Poké Floats

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Given that there's 101 stages in the DK 94 game, insistently sticking with one from the 1981 game (and a questionable one at that) does strike me as somewhat wasted potential.

 

[Lionfranky]

Speaking of stage, what kind of new stage gimmicks do you want developers to add?

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

100m not only already looks like a stage, but even could've had a gimmick where if you deal enough damage to all the bolts, the middle of the stage collapses.

Yeah, 100m could've actually been really fun for that alone. Just the idea of you opening the middle wipe open is fairly unique.

 

[dream1ng]

They could bring back Poké Floats

Meme aside I genuinely think Poke Floats is a great idea for a stage. Sure it wouldn't be competitive, but whatever. The problem with the first is that they didn't really look like "floats", they just looked like fighting on giant models. Which is exactly what is was.

Its existence was clearly a budget thing, but if they changed their textures and proportions slightly to make them look more like balloons, gave them some cables on the bottom, set it above like a city, have other non-rideable ones in the back for more cameos... that would be a great stage.

Remember this?

That's a good start imo.

Given that there's 101 stages in the DK 94 game, insistently sticking with one from the 1981 game (and a questionable one at that) does strike me as somewhat wasted potential.

Tbf I understand why they would take from the original game over DK 94, what with its legacy and impact. But yeah even then there were better options.

 

[Guynamednelson]

Speaking of stage, what kind of new stage gimmicks do you want developers to add?

Just don't do what they did with Ultimate stages: Making them too bland for casuals while still having features that'd make them banned at tournaments.

The problem with the first is that they didn't really look like "floats"

Because they were never supposed to be floats, the English localization made that up to make the stage feel less weird.

 

[Laniv]

Some people say Mario Bros. is worse. Other people say 75m is worse.

But deep down, we all know the true worst stage is Pac-Land.

 

[ninjahmos]

If we ever get Phoenix Wright, I'm hoping they not only include remixes of Objection! 2001 and Pursuit ~ Cornered, but also a remix of the Steel Samurai Theme.

 

[Kirbeh]

Because they were never supposed to be floats, the English localization made that up to make the stage feel less weird.

While this is true, it's one of the few cases where I feel a localization change was on to something.

Making all the Pokémon models into actual floats feels like a good opportunity to rep a region in a fun way. Have actual character cameos and additional Pokémon occupy the baskets attached to balloons. Then bring them down to a level where we can actually still see the land below, giving the appearance of the balloons making their way across a region or at least a route between two towns or something.

 

[dream1ng]

Because they were never supposed to be floats, the English localization made that up to make the stage feel less weird.

Oh, I didn't know that, but props to the localization team for trying to help the stage make at least a little more sense.

Unfortunately it makes the chance of that revamp much lower if that wasn't even the intention in the first place.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Given that there's 101 stages in the DK 94 game, insistently sticking with one from the 1981 game (and a questionable one at that) does strike me as somewhat wasted potential.

DK '94 is the better game but DK '81 is far more iconic and influential. It is the first platformer, after all.

In an ideal world, both games would get a stage.

Some people say Mario Bros. is worse. Other people say 75m is worse.

But deep down, we all know the true worst stage is Pac-Land.

Only because Rumble Falls didn't come back. Thank god it didn't.

 

[TheQuester]

When do you think Smash 6 will be revealed and when will be released?

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

When do you think Smash 6 will be revealed and when will be released?

Both are the same answer for me. Year 2 of the console's life.

At worst, early Year 3 for release.

 

[Gorgonzales]

Speaking of stage, what kind of new stage gimmicks do you want developers to add?

Soft-scrolling stages.

What I mean by this is stages that scroll at the pace of the players, instead of automatic scrolling. Picture how Subspace Emissary handles Co-op, where the camera tries to keep both players in focus while still moving forward as progress is made through the level.

In this scenario, I'd imagine all players would have to be on the right half of the stage for it to scroll further right. The game should account for everyone, not just one person, so the guy playing Sonic can't NSMB-Speedrun everyone and constantly move the arena faster than anyone else can keep pace.

I think this would be a good solution to make scrolling stages more intuitive/palatable. The screen moves forward only when it's convenient for everyone. Maybe the stage could even have actual automatic scrolling when the players aren't moving it, but it's so slow that it just subtly moves the arena forward without causing too much trouble.

 

[dream1ng]

Pac-Land is bad enough on its own but becomes exponentially worse when Pac-Maze died but it returned.

And yes I know the stage would've needed to have been changed. So... change it. It's Pac-Maze.

 

[ninjahmos]

If they ever do bring back Poké Floats, probably with a redesign, I'd love to hear a new remix of the Red/Blue Battle Theme.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

In a just world we would have had a Pac Man 2 stage where if Pac-Man isn't a fighter in the match he's in the background getting helped/abused by the off-screen player.

 

[Kirbeh]

In a just world we would have had a Pac Man 2 stage where if Pac-Man isn't a fighter in the match he's in the back ground getting helped/abused by the off screen player.

I actually dislike this game enough to prefer Pac-Land tbh.

If anything, in addition to bringing back Pac-Maze, I want a redemption arc for Pac-Land. Actually adapt the stage into 3D and either make it a stable location incorporating elements from throughout a level or do Gorgonzales soft-scrolling idea. The latter coming with some layout/hazard adjustments to make it better to play on.