Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

People that have no idea who she is would probably be calm about her and maybe curious up until they find out she's another Fire Emblem character and then start screeching like rabid baboons.

"Oh hey, that metal disc thing is a cool weapon and her attacks have some cool exploding magic stuff and some nasty debuffs. It's nice to finally see a full-on mage character, with no sword attached."

-trailer shows Super Smash Bros. x Fire Emblem Heroes-

"Absolute ****ing waste of a slot. I hope Sakurai retires because this is bull****."

 

[ninjahmos]

It probably won't happen, but if they add more music from Mario spin-offs, I'm hoping they also add in music from Mario Artist, including a Smash remix that sounds like this:

 

[King Sonnn DeDeDoo]

But he mentioned Tactics Ogre in his last video. That totally means we're getting content from it, right?

Yes that means we're getting Tactics Ogre content in the next smash

 

[Ivander]

People that have no idea who she is would probably be calm about her and maybe curious up until they find out she's another Fire Emblem character and then start screeching like rabid baboons.

This is almost the reaction I picture if Reginn from FEH got in. Only I'm imagining people being absolutely broken and confused at how a girl riding a a Mecha with a giant sword and gatling guns and missiles is a Fire Emblem character.

 

[fogbadge]

I have honestly no interest in seeing Dark Link as anything more than alt. I kinda see him as barely even counting as a character. He shows up to be a cool boss and that's kinda it. I think the only game where he's more than that Four Swords Adventure, which is already probably the most niche and obscure of the mainline Zelda titles.

No you’re right he’s really is just a reoccurring enemy

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

This is almost the reaction I picture if Reginn from FEH got in. Only I'm imagining people being absolutely broken and confused at how a girl riding a a Mecha with a giant sword and gatling guns and missiles is a Fire Emblem character.

I could see a particularly salty FE hater make theories over how D.Va from Overwatch was originally planned only for Blizzard to bail out and "force the moveset" on Reginn.

 

[SharkLord]

...He can't really talk about stuff he played when it's in development either. How is that special? Nintendo wanted a character that was new and easy to promote. Three Houses was going to originally be an earlier game, but wasn't, so obviously this means Sakurai couldn't look at it during base game decisions.

Again, this isn't actually special at all.

And yes, in general, he has to do stuff in secret either way because people go crazy. Nobody likes to be pestered like that. His words are easily taken out of context because people can't fathom that he simply plays games for fun too. It always has to "mean something".

The argument was that it was a special case because it was decided on before Three Houses released, which is a rare situation in Smash. It was also a unique situation because he had to play the game itself in secret, where not even fellow employees could see.

For what it's worth I already conceded that FE just got lucky with the release dates and that there wasn't a dedicated "New FE placeholder" slot chosen in advance, so you don't have to keep bringing how it "isn't actually special" multiple times in you post, I heard you the first time. My point of contention is that the "Sakurai needs to watch his words because they get taken out of context" thing stems from how everyone on social media jumped to the conclusion that anything he said related to Smash. Byleth wasn't special in that regard because Sakurai just doesn't discuss fighters before their official reveal, but they were special because Sakurai had to hide the gameplay from Nintendo employees as well; Usually, I'd imagine he'd be able to discuss games with employees because most of the time he plays games that are officially released

But eh, I already admitted that there isn't a special FE reserve slot in the base game, so this debate probably won't go anywhere but in circles. Let's just drop it here

I could see a particularly salty FE hater make theories over how D.Va from Overwatch was originally planned only for Blizzard to bail out and "force the moveset" on Reginn.

Hey, they already pasted Byleth over Monster Hunter because Capcom bailed at the last minute, surely they can do it again

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

I think Alear is in a weird situation because the game was planned for a 2020 release so it was probably mostly done already, but even still if we assume this project is Smash, pre-production was late 2021 and production would begin in early 2022, I think people said around April though I might be misremembering. Engage was announced in September 2022. That's still pretty early in development if it started in April 2022 since that's just five months in, so I feel like it's still possible for Alear to have been at least considered since IntSys would probably be like "hey we're announcing this game in like five months if you wanna look it over" or "we'll definitely be announcing this next year during Smash's production phase". I don't think that's a far stretch from Byleth's circumstance, except this time the Smash Bros was always gonna come after Engage.

And this is assuming the 2021/2022 production game is Smash because if it's not and pre-production started last year, then Engage came out in January so it would almost certainly be in consideration.

Basically, I feel like Alear still has some kind of shot either way, though obviously it'd be a better shot if the latter 2023 scenario is true.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Hey, they already pasted Byleth over Monster Hunter because Capcom bailed at the last minute, surely they can do it again

Oh really? I thought Byleth actually replaced Tracer at the last second because Activision Blizzard did Activision Blizzard things

 

[King Sonnn DeDeDoo]

Here's a question, what would you like to see from the next smash in terms of mechanics? Could be huge sweeping changes or just small tweaks, want to hear about what people want out of the gameplay after playing Ultimate for many years

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Here's a question, what would you like to see from the next smash in terms of mechanics? Could be huge sweeping changes or just small tweaks, want to hear about what people want out of the gameplay after playing Ultimate for many years

Two words: air dashes.

 

[SharkLord]

Oh really? I thought Byleth actually replaced Tracer at the last second because Activision Blizzard did Activision Blizzard things

It's both. They reskinned the Monster Hunter, but they reused the code for Tracer's Recall for the Divine Pulse. It's a perfectly good time manipulation mechanic, why waste it?

 

[ninjahmos]

Here's a question, what would you like to see from the next smash in terms of mechanics? Could be huge sweeping changes or just small tweaks, want to hear about what people want out of the gameplay after playing Ultimate for many years

Maybe they could give certain characters their own unique mechanics? Like a meter representing their own powers, and it could be used as a more powerful version of a Special or Final Smash?

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Hey, I'd be great with Veronica. Heck, she's probably the only likely rep for FEHeroes considering she appeared as an Emblem for Engage.

That aside, Heroes has some legitimately cool content that I would love to see in Smash Bros, between it's characters, it's areas, it's music and the Breidablik as a potential Pokeball item for FE characters that could summon characters that are unlikely to get into Smash Bros.

Gullveig might also be popular enough to consider given she got 1st for the girls on the CYL she became eligible in, and that was at a point her chapter was just beginning lol.

Though I feel Veronica would probably be the first in line given she's the only one to my knowledge that gets statues and other merch.

...and under the assumption Sakurai's next project is Smash (which I feel the gun is being jumped on), Gullveig wouldn't have existed anyway.

 

[SharkLord]

Here's a question, what would you like to see from the next smash in terms of mechanics? Could be huge sweeping changes or just small tweaks, want to hear about what people want out of the gameplay after playing Ultimate for many years

So many unique mechanics ultimately boil down into a meter/resource of some sort. I think things could go much more smoothly if those unique meters and the FS Meters were just collapsed into a single universal meter to spend. I was also thinking we could bridge the gap between simple Final Smashes like Mario Finale and the big flashy cinematics with Supers and "proper" Final Smashes, where you can spend on bar to just a big strong attack or an install, and then three bars for that fancy cinematic move.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Gullveig might also be popular enough to consider given she got 1st for the girls on the CYL she became eligible in, and that was at a point her chapter was just beginning lol.

Though I feel Veronica would probably be the first in line given she's the only one to my knowledge that gets statues and other merch.

...and under the assumption Sakurai's next project is Smash (which I feel the gun is being jumped on), Gullveig wouldn't have existed anyway.

Another thing that helps with Veronica's timing is that Book VI was the ongoing story when this project of Sakurai started.

Assuming said project is actually Smash, it's perfect timing because that very book was tackling things about the kingdom of Embla, including Veronica. That means her current design is one Sakurai would've likely seen concept art of.

 

[AreJay25]

Here's a question, what would you like to see from the next smash in terms of mechanics? Could be huge sweeping changes or just small tweaks, want to hear about what people want out of the gameplay after playing Ultimate for many years

Well, Ultimate essentially added King of Fighters mode with Squad Strike.

Let's go even crazier and add Marvel vs. Capcom mode. Tagging between other characters along with unique assists. Could be an absolute disaster, but it'd certainly be an experience.

 

[SharkLord]

Another thing that helps with Veronica's timing is that Book VI was the ongoing story when this project of Sakurai started.

Assuming said project is actually Smash, it's perfect timing because that very book was tackling things about the kingdom of Embla, including Veronica. That means her current design is one Sakurai would've likely seen concept art of.

Given that she's the designated Heroes rep in the Engage DLC, I'd also imagine IntSys would jump on that chance to co-ordinate with Sakurai. "Here, Sakurai-san, this is Veronica's new design. She's our designated mascot now, make sure to add her before ayone else."

Though again, this assumes Sakurai was working on a new Super Smash Bros. in that time and not a new Fire Emblem. in that scenario I think he'd be making original characters entirely

 

[Royaru]

As for the FE character thing, I don't really see it as odd that Veronica or someone from FEH was in the next Smas. FEH is still extremely popular and profitable after almost 8 years, in fact, along with Pokemon Go it is the only Nintendo mobile game still going strong.
To add even more to its possibilities, FEH has music in Ultimate, something that not all spin offs can boast.

Another thing that speaks well of Veronica is basically how constant she is in the books, although outside of books I and VI she is not the main character, in all the books she has more or less important appearances, in addition to the CYL poll where she won. As for her gameplay, we not only have her initial appearance but all the weapons she uses in her alts.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

in all the books she has more or less important appearances

Tell that to Book VII.

 

[King Sonnn DeDeDoo]

I only view Fire Emblem Heroes from a distance since I do not want to get sucked into the gacha vortex, what do you think could be Veronica's playstyle besides just being a mage?

 

[ninjahmos]

I just hope the next Fire Emblem character doesn't have "I won't lose!" as one of their taunts.

 

[Shinuto]

Two words: air dashes.

Sol Badguy shows off the new mechanic.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

I just hope the next Fire Emblem character doesn't have "I won't lose!" as one of their taunts.

Wish granted.

They'll say "I will win."

 

[King Sonnn DeDeDoo]

I just hope the next Fire Emblem character doesn't have "I won't lose!" as one of their taunts.

"I'll probably lose..."

 

[Gengar84]

Bottom of the barrel is when we're at the point where we're seriously considering the likes of Wart, Mouser, the TP Postman, Adam Malkovich and the Polar Bear from Ice Climber as newcomers.

Bottom of the barrel is not when we still have yet to see Waluigi, Dixie, Toad, a proper Ganondorf, more expansive Zelda content and an ever growing selection of Pokemon and Fire Emblem characters and other new IPs. Just because it isn't a bunch of turbo boomer picks doesn't make it the bottom of the barrel.

I will not stand for this Wart slander. He’d be a cool Smash character and they should bring him back if in nothing else, at least Mario Kart.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

I only view Fire Emblem Heroes from a distance since I do not want to get sucked into the gacha vortex, what do you think could be Veronica's playstyle besides just being a mage?

One of the most consistent things about Veronica is her ability to apply a status called Panic which in FEH, reverses all stat bonuses to instead be penalties.

While that kind of thing would probably be hard to translate into Smash 1:1, I could very much see her be able to mess with the foe's attributes with various spells (the debuffing stuff would have less range, probably?) to get the upper hand.

Also, this is her "tome" since the last few chapters of Book VI.

Some kind of ring-shaped thing that is actually able to float alongside Veronica, which means it'll vibe near her at all times and could probably have the creative liberty of being used for attacks where it moves certain directions so that not every move has to be a magic blast.

Playstyle-wise, her Legendary self, which is the very alt Engage pulled from and has become the canon Veronica since the end of Book VI, is very player-phase focused so I could see someone who isn't a zoner but instead is very good at moving around and approaching to apply the debuffs. Her range might not be as good as you'd expect a mage to be but she makes up for it with how well she can apply pressure.

Also, love it or hate it, she's getting a counter. Engage made Reprisal too important for it to be left out of Veronica.

 

[Idon]

I only view Fire Emblem Heroes from a distance since I do not want to get sucked into the gacha vortex, what do you think could be Veronica's playstyle besides just being a mage?

"Just" being a mage is actually a pretty high bar for Smash considering our current mages, aka Zelda and Robin, kinda suck at it.

Zelda relies on sparkles and melee cqc a weirdly large amount of time and Robin's magic is reserved to JUST 4 really mediocre special moves.

I am down for someone to go full Shadow Wizard Money Gang on the roster.

 

[Ivander]

Gullveig might also be popular enough to consider given she got 1st for the girls on the CYL she became eligible in, and that was at a point her chapter was just beginning lol.

Though I feel Veronica would probably be the first in line given she's the only one to my knowledge that gets statues and other merch.

...and under the assumption Sakurai's next project is Smash (which I feel the gun is being jumped on), Gullveig wouldn't have existed anyway.

Sure, Gullveig is popular, but if anybody knows what she looks like, it'd be understandable why.

Another thing that speaks well of Veronica is basically how constant she is in the books, although outside of books I and VI she is not the main character, in all the books she has more or less important appearances, in addition to the CYL poll where she won. As for her gameplay, we not only have her initial appearance but all the weapons she uses in her alts.

No, Veronica was semi-important in Book 2(as Loki coerced her into working with Surtr) and was important in Book 3(as she had to work with Alfonse and Kiran in defeating Hel). She made somewhat of an appearance in Book 4, but it was Book 5 and Book 7 where she hardly appeared. Meanwhile with Book 8, she was important for the first half since the first half was about Askr and Embla trying to bring peace between their kingdoms and she stays important until she gets poisoned and has to recover.
So for the most part, Veronica is still a decently recurring character in Fire Emblem Heroes. It's only two Books where she hardly appears at all, but for the most part, she appears more often than not.

One of the most consistent things about Veronica is her ability to apply a status called Panic which in FEH, reverses all stat bonuses to instead be penalties.

While that kind of thing would probably be hard to translate into Smash 1:1, I could very much see her be able to **** with the foe's attributes with various spells (the debuffing stuff would have less range, probably?) to get the upper hand.

Also, this is her "tome" since the last few chapters of Book VI.

Some kind of ring-shaped thing that is actually able to float alongside Veronica, which means it'll vibe near her at all times and could probably have the creative liberty of being used for attacks where it moves certain directions so that not every move has to be a magic blast.

Besides her Tomes, Engage also gave Veronica her Staff weapon, Hliðskjálf, from her Brave version as one of her weapons in Engage, so she can use that for some of her attacks as well.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

I will not stand for this Wart slander. He’d be a cool Smash character and they should bring him back if in nothing else, at least Mario Kart.

I still think Wart should've been the secret boss in the Arena thing in Mario & Luigi Dream Team instead of Bowser Jr.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Sure, Gullveig is popular, but if anybody knows what she looks like, it'd be understandable why.

I mean, not wrong.
Though the lack of purple hair knocks her down a few points for my taste.

 

[ninjahmos]

I still think Wart should've been the secret boss in the Arena thing in Mario & Luigi Dream Team instead of Bowser Jr.

Now I kinda wanna hear Yoko Shimomura do her own rendition of Wart's Theme.

 

[cashregister9]

Wait did I miss FE Heroes discussion


uhhh **** I haven't prepared anything uh, these 2 songs should be in

Spoiler

and the Breidablik should be an item and essentially a Fire Emblem version of the Pokeball

Veronica would be a great pick too

 

[Gorgonzales]

Here's a question, what would you like to see from the next smash in terms of mechanics? Could be huge sweeping changes or just small tweaks, want to hear about what people want out of the gameplay after playing Ultimate for many years

I just started playing Rivals 2 and movement-wise good lord does it blow Ultimate out of the water. It's buttery smooth and it feels intuitive to get around, unlike Ultimate where platforms will hold you hostage for a full second instead of letting you slide off them. Also everyone's traction is extremely high because I guess the devs hate wavedashing.

I just want better movement. Doesn't have to be Melee level, but things should definitely be smoothed out

 

[Guynamednelson]

Here's a question, what would you like to see from the next smash in terms of mechanics? Could be huge sweeping changes or just small tweaks, want to hear about what people want out of the gameplay after playing Ultimate for many years

Not desperately trying to get rid of all the exploits the last game's competitive scene enjoyed for once.

 

[Ivander]

I mean, not wrong.
Though the lack of purple hair knocks her down a few points for my taste.

Well, if she ever happened, an Alt with silver and purple hair would be inevitable. Since she'd certainly have alternate colors representing Kvasir and Seidr.

Wait did I miss FE Heroes discussion


uhhh **** I haven't prepared anything uh, these 2 songs should be in

Spoiler

and the Breidablik should be an item and essentially a Fire Emblem version of the Pokeball

Veronica would be a great pick too

Not only would the first song would awesome to have in Smash Bros, but imagine that song as the song used for the Fire Emblem Heroes Newcomer Trailer. Like seriously, Veronica or Reginn being announced, with that song playing in the background for their reveal. I would pay so much to see the absolute confusion and reaction of people watching the trailer and just don't know what's happening.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

I mean, not wrong.
Though the lack of purple hair knocks her down a few points for my taste.

All I know is between this talk of Alear, Veronica, and possible reactions to FEH stuff, next Smash could do the funniest thing ever lol

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Well, if she ever happened, an Alt with silver and purple hair would be inevitable. Since she'd certainly have alternate colors representing Kvasir and Seidr.

Anything that makes her closer to Fate's Gorgon is a-ok in my book. :V

 

[ninjahmos]

It'll probably never happen, but I think it'd be pretty cool if Bandai Namco (possibly the studio behind Super Smash Bros.) did a reimagining of The Outfoxies.

 

[SPEN18]

obviously it'd be a better shot if the latter 2023 scenario is true.

Interesting you say that, because I feel that if Sakurai's current project is not Smash then Alear's chances are very thin. Because Sakurai's current project was probably not close to being done when Engage came out in Jan 23, so if Smash is put off until after his current job, that likely pushes the project plan quite far after Engage's release. And also pushes Smash way far away from Engage's timeframe of actual marketing relevance.