Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[NintenZ]

Ah thanks I see now. Haven’t gotten into the Sakura wars series yet so didn’t know of her character. My experience with Sakura Wars mostly ends with the project x zone games which I did play at least but am pretty sure she didn’t appear in those games out of the other characters from the series.

No problem! Probably seems like an odd choice at first, but I figured it would be nice having a character more familiar to Western audiences juxtaposed to Sakura who is more familiar in Asia, as the movie and the fifth game which she appears in have been localized. There exists a lot of merchandise where her and Sakura are paired together too, and if you know Sakurai you know he loves his rivals. Thought it would be nice!

 

[Garteam]

It's more likely that Sakurai is working on a new IP like Meteos than another Nintendo reboot if he isn't doing Smash. Uprising felt like an anomaly where Sakurai saw a lot of potential in Kid Icarus and wanted to do something with that, which isn't really a sense I get with the treatment of the other dedicated retro characters in Smash.

Negotiating with Nintendo to work on an IP that isn't Smash was probably easier in 2009. The Wii was in the middle of its life and there was no need for a new Smash in the near future, so its not like Nintendo had to worry about how Uprising and Smash would be balanced when receiving resources. By comparison, the Switch was already pretty long in the tooth by 2021/2022. That's not to say that Nintendo wouldn't let Sakurai work on another IP in lieu of a Smash game that is developed simultaneously, but letting the head visionary behind one of their biggest franchises work on something smaller at a pivotal time to have good software on the market is a little bizarre.

 

[Dan Quixote]

The new game.... will be...

Ice Climbers Reclimbening

Make it a co-op Tomb Raider style game and rake in the money.

 

[Scrimblo Bimblo]

It's more likely that Sakurai is working on a new IP like Meteos than another Nintendo reboot if he isn't doing Smash. Uprising felt like an anomaly where Sakurai saw a lot of potential in Kid Icarus and wanted to do something with that, which isn't really a sense I get with the treatment of the other dedicated retro characters in Smash.

Negotiating with Nintendo to work on an IP that isn't Smash was probably easier in 2009. The Wii was in the middle of its life and there was no need for a new Smash in the near future, so its not like Nintendo had to worry about how Uprising and Smash would be balanced when receiving resources. By comparison, the Switch was already pretty long in the tooth by 2021/2022. That's not to say that Nintendo wouldn't let Sakurai work on another IP in lieu of a Smash game that is developed simultaneously, but letting the head visionary behind one of their biggest franchises work on something smaller at a pivotal time to have good software on the market is a little bizarre.

Exactly.
After Ultimate sold 35 million copies and probably more Fighter Passes than most full releases, there's no way the game Nintendo asked Sakurai to make, to be released around the Switch 2 launch, is Kid Icarus or a reboot of any other small IP.
It's obviously Smash.

 

[PersonAngelo53]

scans for Hayabusa
no Hayabusa detected
cooking recognition denied

banquet served

Estelle Bright alone makes this roster top notch by my book. And the other choices are good as well.

 

[PersonAngelo53]

No problem! Probably seems like an odd choice at first, but I figured it would be nice having a character more familiar to Western audiences juxtaposed to Sakura who is more familiar in Asia, as the movie and the fifth game which she appears in have been localized. There exists a lot of merchandise where her and Sakura are paired together too, and if you know Sakurai you know he loves his rivals. Thought it would be nice!

I see now. Yeah your logic makes sense. And yeah good point about Sakurai liking rivals as well.

 

[Shinuto]

Estelle Bright alone makes this roster top notch by my book. And the other choices are good as well.

Nah most of the ther choices are mid. Morrigan Crono Zero and Dante are good but everything is waaaay to retro focused

 

[Gengar84]

Nah most of the ther choices are mid. Morrigan Crono Zero and Dante are good but everything is waaaay to retro focused

I feel like it’s best to balance the roster with both older and more recent characters. Most people tend to dismiss the retro characters in favor of promoting only the most recent games. Darth seems to be on the opposite end. It makes sense since we’re on the older side of users here that we have more nostalgia for games from our childhood. I probably lean a bit too strongly into retro myself but there’s plenty of characters I’d add from more recent titles too.

 

[BritishGuy54]

So… from what I can think… this could be the lineup of the Switch 2’s first fiscal year (Spring 2025 - Spring 2026).

• Metroid Prime 4 - March? (Probably Switch 1 only)
• Some gimmicky launch title - March-May?
• New 3D Mario - April/May
• New Animal Crossing - July
• A port of an older game (New Super Mario Bros. Wii? Kid Icarus Uprising? Xenoblade X? Wind Waker HD?) - September (Possibly Switch 1 only?)
• Mario Kart OR Smash Bros. - November
• Pokémon Legends Z-A - December (Switch 1 only, Pokémon tends to be a bit behind when it comes to console leaps)
• Super Mario Maker 3 - March

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Here's a thought experiment.

Would Dark Link have been a better Link clone than Young / Toon Link?

It would mean the clone isn't just another version of the same character and would have included another villain. I don't know if Dark Link would have worked with a quicker but less powerful moveset, but maybe Link would be the faster one in this scenario.

Basically, would Dark Link have been a better choice?

 

[Perkilator]

Here's a thought experiment.

Would Dark Link have been a better Link clone than Young / Toon Link?

It would mean the clone isn't just another version of the same character and would have included another villain. I don't know if Dark Link would have worked with a quicker but less powerful moveset, but maybe Link would be the faster one in this scenario.

Basically, would Dark Link have been a better choice?

Nah, I think Dark Link works better as an alt. On the other hand, if people really want a “Classic Link” based on Link’s old moveset, then at the very least, I think Dark Link should be the one for the task.

 

[Gengar84]

Here's a thought experiment.

Would Dark Link have been a better Link clone than Young / Toon Link?

It would mean the clone isn't just another version of the same character and would have included another villain. I don't know if Dark Link would have worked with a quicker but less powerful moveset, but maybe Link would be the faster one in this scenario.

Basically, would Dark Link have been a better choice?

I feel like Young/Toon Link was the right call. To my knowledge, Dark Link was an exact copy of Link mechanically so he’s perfect for an outfit. No need to make him his own separate character.

 

[Opossum]

Here's a thought experiment.

Would Dark Link have been a better Link clone than Young / Toon Link?

It would mean the clone isn't just another version of the same character and would have included another villain. I don't know if Dark Link would have worked with a quicker but less powerful moveset, but maybe Link would be the faster one in this scenario.

Basically, would Dark Link have been a better choice?

Dark Link, for me, would be the middle ground between Young and Toon Link: a better option than Young Link, but a slightly worse one than Toon Link.

 

[Shinuto]

scans for Hayabusa
no Hayabusa detected
cooking recognition denied

banquet served

What program was used to make this? Also link to it so I can make one.

 

[BritishGuy54]

What program was used to make this? Also link to it so I can make one.

Smash Bros. Roster Maker

Create your ideal roster for Super Smash Bros. in the browser!

benshoeman.github.io

 

[Ivander]

Here's a thought experiment.

Would Dark Link have been a better Link clone than Young / Toon Link?

It would mean the clone isn't just another version of the same character and would have included another villain. I don't know if Dark Link would have worked with a quicker but less powerful moveset, but maybe Link would be the faster one in this scenario.

Basically, would Dark Link have been a better choice?

I can't say that he would be. Probably because aside from the Four Swords Adventure version, Dark Link has next to no character. He's not like Dark Pit who, despite being a Reflection of Pit, was still given character, development and stays around to the end of their debut game, or Dark Samus who is a doppelganger in looks alone, but is a completely different character otherwise and is also a main villain throughout it's trilogy.

 

[TheQuester]

Even though the cut-off for most characters is probably around mid 2022 (April-August), so i think Noah was probably the most recent character planed initially.
I think it's still possible we could get a character that was added later in development of the next game like Oatchi, specially with the huge success of Pikmin 4 and how iconic Oatchi has become.
Alear from Engage, i'm unsure about, tbh. Engaga wasn't a particulary popular entry like Awakening or Three Houses, like yes it sold well and it has fans, but i could see Engage getting skiped over and have no FE newcomer at all, even Fates was more popular when it came out than Engaga was/is, honestly.

 

[Gengar84]

Smash Bros. Roster Maker

Create your ideal roster for Super Smash Bros. in the browser!

benshoeman.github.io

That would have made my life a lot easier lol. I made my roster in Photoshop.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Even though the cut-off for most characters is probably around mid 2022 (April-August), so i think Noah was probably the most recent character planed initially.
I think it's still possible we could get a character that was added later in development of the next game like Oatchi, specially with the huge success of Pikmin 4 and how iconic Oatchi has become.
Alear from Engage, i'm unsure about, tbh. Engaga wasn't a particulary popular entry like Awakening or Three Houses, like yes it sold well and it has fans, but i could see Engage getting skiped over and have no FE newcomer at all, even Fates was more popular when it came out than Engaga was/is, honestly.

I would say both Oatchi and Alear would be off the table in this scenario, with Oatchi getting added as DLC, and Alear being skipped on either in general, or in favor of the new latest protagonist.

EDIT: And yeah, with development wrapping up and the characters being public knowledge at that point, Noah and Mio are probably still up for consideration, and might even be made more likely due to the timing.

 

[Perkilator]

I would say both Oatchi and Alear would be off the table in this scenario, with Oatchi getting added as DLC, and Alear being skipped on either in general, or in favor of the new latest protagonist.

Actually, considering Engage was held off for a few years, it's possible that Sakurai got a glimpse of the game at some point between July 2021 and April 2022 (again, assuming his new project is Smash).

 

[Gengar84]

Just a random thought that probably wasn’t happening anyways: If we do get Ceruledge as the Pokemon, I think that effectively kills my idea of the Noah/Mio Ouroboros fusion form as the Xenoblade rep. It wasn’t particularly likely to begin with but I feel the designs for Ceruledge and the Ouroboros might be a bit too similar to get both at once.

 

[NintenZ]

Sakurai doesn't include characters from unannounced projects so I don't see Alear or Otachi. I'm even uncertain about Rauru because he hadn't been shown off beforehand and they haven't included a Zelda character in years but I could see Link using his kit from Tears of the Kingdom which is likely what Rauru would use anyways.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Actually, considering Engage was held off for a few years, it's possible that Sakurai got a glimpse of the game at some point between July 2021 and April 2022 (again, assuming his new project is Smash).

Oh like it was complete, but unreleased? That would probably make it a lot more likely.

 

[Gengar84]

Sakurai doesn't include characters from unannounced projects so I don't see Alear or Otachi. I'm even uncertain about Rauru because he hadn't been shown off beforehand and they haven't included a Zelda character in years but I could see Link using his kit from Tears of the Kingdom which is likely what Rauru would use anyways.

Yeah, that’s a good point. I’ll take that into consideration when I make my revised roster. I had Rauru on my previous roster.

 

[NintenZ]

Something that I admit did come as a flag to me, remember the Octoling hat that came with Sora? I was always wondering why they didn't include it as a full costume, unless they were intending on using the Octoling for another purpose? That was a giveaway something was likely in development, was also a loose thread that stuck out to me.

 

[Guynamednelson]

Here's a thought experiment.

Would Dark Link have been a better Link clone than Young / Toon Link?

It would mean the clone isn't just another version of the same character and would have included another villain. I don't know if Dark Link would have worked with a quicker but less powerful moveset, but maybe Link would be the faster one in this scenario.

Basically, would Dark Link have been a better choice?

Meh. Maybe if the regular Link had YL's frame data and in post-Melee Smashes Dark Link wasn't all the Links' black costumes.

Besides, there's design documents that say Sakurai wants each fighter to have distinct silhouettes, he may not stick to that rule now but YL/TL/regular Link are still distinguishable silhouette-wise whereas DL has a tendency to have the same silhouette as Link.

 

[RouffWestie]

Actually, considering Engage was held off for a few years, it's possible that Sakurai got a glimpse of the game at some point between July 2021 and April 2022 (again, assuming his new project is Smash).

Engage had several leaked gameplay screenshots in June 2022, so I would be ne shocked if the general public somehow had more knowledge of Engage at that time than the man who is being handed beta copies of FE games to work with.

 

[fogbadge]

So… from what I can think… this could be the lineup of the Switch 2’s first fiscal year (Spring 2025 - Spring 2026).

• Metroid Prime 4 - March? (Probably Switch 1 only)
• Some gimmicky launch title - March-May?
• New 3D Mario - April/May
• New Animal Crossing - July
• A port of an older game (New Super Mario Bros. Wii? Kid Icarus Uprising? Xenoblade X? Wind Waker HD?) - September (Possibly Switch 1 only?)
• Mario Kart OR Smash Bros. - November
• Pokémon Legends Z-A - December (Switch 1 only, Pokémon tends to be a bit behind when it comes to console leaps)
• Super Mario Maker 3 - March

that’s a bit soon for a new animal crossing surely. It’s not been long since they wrapped up their last project

 

[YeppersPeppers]

Something that I admit did come as a flag to me, remember the Octoling hat that came with Sora? I was always wondering why they didn't include it as a full costume, unless they were intending on using the Octoling for another purpose? That was a giveaway something was likely in development, was also a loose thread that stuck out to me.

To me the two Splatoon hats with Doomlad always read as quick and easy additions so that Doomslayer wouldn't have ended up being the literal only thing in the wave, who I suspect was originally slated to be part of the previous wave of "fan requests" before they realized they needed something to go with Sora (remember he was penciled into the second pass a bit later, meaning they had one extra wave of costumes to do). Didn't have the time or resources for a full costume so they opted for a couple of quick model-rip Splatoon hats since those models are already good enough (they might not be exact model rips but I wouldn't be surprised if the assets for them weren't just pulled from Splatoon and then touched up a bit).

 

[RileyXY1]

To me the two Splatoon hats with Doomlad always read as quick and easy additions so that Doomslayer wouldn't have ended up being the literal only thing in the wave, who I speculate was originally slated to be part of the previous wave of "fan requests" before they realized they needed something to go with Sora (remember he was penciled into the second pass a bit later, meaning they had one extra wave of costumes to do). Didn't have the time or resources for a full costume so they opted for a couple of quick model-rip Splatoon hats since those models are already good enough (they might not be exact model rips but I wouldn't be surprised if the assets for them weren't just pulled from Splatoon and then touched up a bit).

Yeah. Sora was a last minute addition to the game. He was always in the back of Sakurai's mind due to him being the Ballot winner, but he didn't know if he could even add him. Once he realized he could, he added a sixth slot in FP2 just to slot Sora in there. I do agree that the Doomguy costume was going to be a part of Kazuya's Mii Fighter costume wave that included other popular fighter requests, but was moved to come with Sora just to have something come with him. I do believe as well that the Splatoon hats were also last minute additions just so that Doomguy wouldn't be the only Mii Fighter costume to come with Sora.

 

[SharkLord]

Sakurai doesn't include characters from unannounced projects so I don't see Alear or Otachi. I'm even uncertain about Rauru because he hadn't been shown off beforehand and they haven't included a Zelda character in years but I could see Link using his kit from Tears of the Kingdom which is likely what Rauru would use anyways.

Greninja, Corrin, Incineroar, and Byleth were all logged in advance, since Pokemon and FE are Pretty Big Deals and have rotating casts. It's not without precedent that they'd plan ahead and throw in a new Pokemon and FE character. If the secret project is Smash, that would likely secure a spot for a Scarlet and Violet Pokemon, since we likely won't see Gen X until after Smash 6's release. Fire Emblem I'm iffy on; We'll most likely see a new Fire Emblem at launch going off the series' release cycles, so maybe they'll go with Alear because Engage was in the works at that time, but maybe they also showed Sakurai some early drafts for the next FE game.

Mind you, Engage was planned for a 2020 release, and even though COVID messed that up basically done by 2021. They were probably sitting on it to avoid stepping on the toes of other games, which would give plenty of time to start working on the next FE game.

 

[JOJONumber691]

Videogames about robots dont tend to sell very well outside of Asia (unless its Megaman)

Custom robo, LBX, Medabots.

All of them thrown to the wayside in the west.

Not to mention Super Robot Wars, which kinda has a huge legal nightmare that prevents it from selling over here until recently.

 

[PersonAngelo53]

Nah most of the ther choices are mid. Morrigan Crono Zero and Dante are good but everything is waaaay to retro focused

Half of them aren’t even in my most wanted list but i personally still find them good cause they have good moveset potential or a good gaming legacy. I think that’s enough for a character choice to be good.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Greninja, Corrin, Incineroar, and Byleth were all logged in advance, since Pokemon and FE are Pretty Big Deals and have rotating casts. It's not without precedent that they'd plan ahead and throw in a new Pokemon and FE character.

Corrin's game was already out in Japan and Byleth was a Nintendo decision for DLC on the basis of a game that would be fresh during the DLC period.

The only times a character was decided for the base roster when their game hadn't been out yet were Lucas (who had been planned before for Melee but Earthbound 64 got scrapped and was retooled into Mother 3, which was publicly announced in Japan in 2003), Lucario (though had an upcoming movie so his existence was at least public), Greninja, and Incineroar. And even then the latter two were merely placeholders that were filled later.


And before some smartass wants to bring up Roy, he wasn't originally planned to begin with when the project was drafted. An outlier among outliers.

 

[ScrubReborn]

Here's a thought experiment.

Would Dark Link have been a better Link clone than Young / Toon Link?

It would mean the clone isn't just another version of the same character and would have included another villain. I don't know if Dark Link would have worked with a quicker but less powerful moveset, but maybe Link would be the faster one in this scenario.

Nah. His whole identity is just Link but dark. Any significant differences would feel forced.

Dark Link should be a Alph type alt though. They're already almost there, just give him his own CSS name and announcer call.

 

[NintenZ]

To me the two Splatoon hats with Doomlad always read as quick and easy additions so that Doomslayer wouldn't have ended up being the literal only thing in the wave, who I suspect was originally slated to be part of the previous wave of "fan requests" before they realized they needed something to go with Sora (remember he was penciled into the second pass a bit later, meaning they had one extra wave of costumes to do). Didn't have the time or resources for a full costume so they opted for a couple of quick model-rip Splatoon hats since those models are already good enough (they might not be exact model rips but I wouldn't be surprised if the assets for them weren't just pulled from Splatoon and then touched up a bit).

Makes sense to me. Tbh I can see both arguments here, there’s future-proofing and asset allocation. And in all honesty it could be a combination of both. I guess we’ll find out if Sakurai’s next game is smash bros.

 

[Gengar84]

Nah. His whole identity is just Link but dark. Any significant differences would feel forced.

Dark Link should be a Alph type alt though. They're already almost there, just give him his own CSS name and announcer call.

Yeah that could work. They could do the same for Blood Falcon.

 

[Guynamednelson]

Yeah that could work. They could do the same for Blood Falcon.

They try to, but his colors are all wrong and he doesn't have the spiky shoulder guard.

 

[Dan Quixote]

Nah. His whole identity is just Link but dark. Any significant differences would feel forced.

Dark Link should be a Alph type alt though. They're already almost there, just give him his own CSS name and announcer call.

It would actually be so cool to see an alt costume that makes him silent and less expressive. Little things that would give Dark Link that signature creep.

 

[Ivander]

Something that just came to mind. Even if Engage doesn't get a character, what are the odds that the FE characters in Smash might get an "Emblem" costume? Like with the Emblem aura, the translucency and whatever potential differences, like Marth's side hair being a bit longer and curlier?
I know the main Emblem form might be a bit redundant with their main outfit, sorta like Crafted Yoshi hardly looking different from normal Yoshi, but an Emblem Aura costume could potentially come with the "Red Emblem" versions, where the characters outfits become bright red-tinted and their hair becomes red too.