Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Honestly, with how many characters have a meter nowadays we might as well fold them into the FS Meter as part of unique mechanics or something. For Steve, it might be busted as hell but we could make him automatically get Iron/Gold/Diamonds instead of crappy Dirt and Wood for a bit in exchange for spending meter

The idea that Cloud's down B could charge Omnislash...

 

[ninjahmos]

Honestly, if Smash went the route of traditional fighting games and added multiple Final Smashes for each character, I think it'd be pretty cool. For example, Captain Falcon has Blue Falcon as his current Final Smash, but why not add in something like a Falcon Combo (which is basically a flaming flurry of punches and kicks) and a Super Falcon Punch?

Also, if Ryu makes it into the next game, they could add in Shinku Tatsumaki Senpukyaku.

 

[BuckleyTim]

They should change the Street Fighter guys' down-b to Drive Impact so I can dry drive impact into everything as Ken in two different fighting games (three depending on how he's handled in Garou)

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

Since nobody here has mentioned it yet as far as I've seen, Nintendo announced a Direct today.

...

A 10-minute Direct for the Donkey Kong Country section of the theme park, anyway lol

 

[ninjahmos]

Speaking of Captain Falcon, they should bring this song into the next Smash game:

Yeah, I know this sounds like a Christian rock song.

 

[Perkilator]

Since nobody here has mentioned it yet as far as I've seen, Nintendo announced a Direct today.

...

A 10-minute Direct for the Donkey Kong Country section of the theme park, anyway lol

I tried sharing the tweet as a status update but SmashBoards **** itself.

 

[Gengar84]

Ooooooooh, yeah they would be neat.

From League Of Legends I could also see Arcane (I think that's her name) or Vi, with the popularity of the Netflix show and all.

And Atelier surely has its fandom and niche, I'm sure they would be a very welcomed addition.

Arcane is the name of the show. I think you’re thinking about Jinx. Speaking of Arcane, the first three episodes of season 2 just came out last night and have been just as awesome as I was hoping for. It makes me want Jinx or Vi in Smash even more than I already did. It’s funny that I find myself advocating so much for characters from a game I’ve never played but I like the show that much. Pretty much every character in that show is written so well and the general aesthetic is so cool looking. It almost gives me Into the Spiderverse vibes.

Don't know who Aigis and Estelle Bright are, but I'm sure they are quite cool characters ^^

Chun-Li does feel as a matter of when rather than if doh, she is basically in every Street Fighter collaborations alongside Ryu. Even in the Power Rangers ones. I'm sure she's happening in some way.

As for a niche girl character I would love to see in Smash Bros... I'd probably want Ibuki or any of the River City Girls. Ideally I would really like to see Marian from Double Dragon for personal reasons polyamorous representation, but both Misako and Kyōko would be really awesome as well.
Another cool one would be Alena from Dragon Quest, would be a fun brawler.

I loved River City Girls. Misako and Marianne are my favorites from those games but any character would be great. Sadly, I don’t really see Misako getting in before Riki or Kunio and the same goes for Marianne and Billy and Jimmy. Doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be awesome Smash characters even if they aren’t particularly likely.

 

[ninjahmos]

I think we've already discussed this before, but if Sonic gets a much-needed moveset rework, they should definitely base his normal attacks off of Sonic Battle. Same goes for Shadow, if he gets in.

 

[Ivander]

Since nobody here has mentioned it yet as far as I've seen, Nintendo announced a Direct today.

...

A 10-minute Direct for the Donkey Kong Country section of the theme park, anyway lol

The Switch 2 is really becoming the gaming equivalent to the kitchen sink.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Since nobody here has mentioned it yet as far as I've seen, Nintendo announced a Direct today.

...

A 10-minute Direct for the Donkey Kong Country section of the theme park, anyway lol

A Donkey Kong themed Direct... I always wished for this, but I should've been more specific.

 

[Kirby Dragons]

My hot take is Chun-Li would be a really boring choice. Her character mechanics would be the same as Ryu's and Ken's, and her fighting style isn't interesting enough by itself.

 

[RodNutTakin]

My hot take is Chun-Li would be a really boring choice. Her character mechanics would be the same as Ryu's and Ken's, and her fighting style isn't interesting enough by itself.

On top of Ken already bringing the extra hook of having the remaining majority of SFII content come with him. Same reason why I don't see a third FF7 character happening.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

My hot take is Chun-Li would be a really boring choice. Her character mechanics would be the same as Ryu's and Ken's, and her fighting style isn't interesting enough by itself.

Her moveset and abilities are way different though. Like yeah you could simplify her into some bizarre shoto, but it would leave so much out.

 

[Schnee117]

On top of Ken already bringing the extra hook of having the remaining majority of SFII content come with him. Same reason why I don't see a third FF7 character happening.

So Chun-Li can bring content from... other SF games then because Smash is weirdly reluctant to touch on it outside of a few spirits with Juri being the only one from this century.

And the FF7 Verse has been barely scratched. There's a lot you can get from Crisis Core, the remake trilogy and all the other stuff they've done surrounding it. I wouldn't particularly want the next FF character to be yet another one from 7 unless it was a Zack echo/semi-clone or Barret but there's still a lot left to mine from all the FF7 related stuff.

 

[Mikegamer0608]

My Top Female characters that I would love to see become fighters:
1. Pauline
2. Dixie Kong
3. Impa
4. Midna
5. Krystal
6. Chun-Li
7. Shantae
8. 2B
9. Tifa Lockhart

 

[Swamp Sensei]

I just remember when people said Ryu would be boring because he'd be too similar to Mario.

 

[superprincess]

My hot take is Chun-Li would be a really boring choice. Her character mechanics would be the same as Ryu's and Ken's, and her fighting style isn't interesting enough by itself.

Y'all just say anything.

Fighting style isn't interesting enough by itself? Have you played SF??? We don't have anyone like her in Smash.

 

[DarthEnderX]

My Top Female characters that I would love to see become fighters:

1. Jill Valentine [Resident Evil]
2. Morrigan [Darkstalkers]
3. Nakoruru [Samurai Shodown]
4. Amaterasu [Okami]
5. Estelle Bright [Legend of Heroes]

 

[AreJay25]

After the whole "Terry is just Ken with a hat" debacle, I think it's pretty funny that we're still trying to make arguments that characters would be boring additions because of superficial similarities

 

[NintenRob]

Truth be told, I'm not a huge fan of the fighting game characters in Smash, at least in regards to actually playing them. Not a huge fan of the weird inputs, and I do feel a little gimped if I don't use them. Plus the faithfulness of their movement does feel odd for me, especially since I primarily play using random stages 4-8player

 

[Scrimblo Bimblo]

Chun Li is iconic but I'd rather get characters from fighting game series that don't already have a character in Smash. Mortal Kombat, Guilty Gear, Killer Instinct, I don't know...
I don't really know anything about any of these series bar the most superficial visual identities but I'm willing to be surprised.

 

[fogbadge]

I just remember when people said Ryu would be boring because he'd be too similar to Mario.

I don't but it sounds about right

 

[Gorgonzales]

A Donkey Kong themed Direct... I always wished for this, but I should've been more specific.

A finger of the Kong's paw curls.

 

[dezeray112]

Chun-Li does feel as a matter of when rather than if doh, she is basically in every Street Fighter collaborations alongside Ryu. Even in the Power Rangers ones. I'm sure she's happening in some way.

Chun-Li is one of the most iconic and well-known female characters within the fighting game genre and I will not be surprised is she is going to be the next Street Fighter rep for Smash.

In terms of female characters I would like to see in the next Smash:

1. Pauline (Super Mario)
2. Chun-Li (Street Fighter)
3. Morrigan Aensland (Darkstalkers)
4. Lili Rochefort or Nina Williams (Tekken)
5. Mai Shiranui (Fatal Fury)
6. Nakoruru (Samurai Shodown)
7. Sophitia Alexandria or Taki (SoulCalibur)
8. May or Giovanna (Guilty Gear)
9. Tifa Lockheart (Final Fantasy VII)
10. Jody Summers (F-Zero)

 

[Garteam]

Since nobody here has mentioned it yet as far as I've seen, Nintendo announced a Direct today.

...

A 10-minute Direct for the Donkey Kong Country section of the theme park, anyway lol

Nintendo has made its next step in the "Announce anything but the Switch 2" challenge while simultaneously continuing the "Give DK anything that is not a new game" challenge. Impressive.

 

[YeppersPeppers]

On top of Ken already bringing the extra hook of having the remaining majority of SFII content come with him. Same reason why I don't see a third FF7 character happening.

I see the point you're trying to make but the Ken part of this feels a bit misguided. I struggle to see a correlation between Ken's inclusion as an echo in the base game and the new SFII content that was also included. I doubt we only got that content because Ken was included. Mega Man got a heaping buttload of new content but no new character, so I'm sure Street Fighter would've gotten all that content even if Ryu remained the sole rep of the series.

Anyways, as has already been pointed out, there are a plethora of games beyond SFII that are extremely lacking in content, so if "this character also needs to have meaningful additional content" is genuinely a concern to the team then there are absolutely no issues with Chun in that regard.

 

[toonito]

My most wanted female characters are:

Chun-Li
Impa
Tifa
Jill Valentine
Djeeta (Granblue)
Nakoruru
2B
Sophie (Monster Hunter Stories 1)
Shionne (Tales of Arise)
Blaze (Streets of Rage)

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

After watching a few guides on how she works in various games, this is how I'd imagine Chun-Li playing:

Chun-Li's ground game is super strong. Her down and forward tilts being amazing pokes, with the heavy ones being safe on shield if spaced correctly. Assuming she's based on Street Fighter II, she'll also have a Marth-tier walk speed that allows her to repeatedly pressure shields with these pokes. At closer ranges, she can threaten opponents with her fast as heck neutral attack (especially if she's based on Street Fighter III: Third Strike) also probably auto-corrects because FGC. lol. Her heavy up tilt will also likely be a great anti-air.

Her air game will be a lot less potent, but she does have some unique properties she can take advantage of like the ability to wall jump, her down air that causes her to bounce off of opponents and their shields, and potentially, the ability to grab opponents in the air (though she'll probably immediately throw them like Isabelle does with aerial Fishing Rod).

In older games, her special moves are kind of just memes for the most part, so I feel like for them at least, Chun-Li will take inspiration from newer games. Kikoken is what you'd expect: A projectile that can be used in zoning wars, and light Kikoken is slower than the heavy version, allowing Chun-Li to walk behind it. Spinning Bird Kick will likely function similarly to the shoto's Tatsumaki Senpukyaku in practice, being primerilly a recovery move that can be comboed into in certain situations. It will be pretty terrible in neutral though. Lightning Kicks acts as both a pressure and combo tool, pushing Chun-Li back quite a lot on block so she can continue her pressure, and with other moves linking into it on hit. Tensho Kicks is her most obvious recovery option. The move would likely be added as a good out of shield option and a meh recovery move. They could use Hazanshoe instead, giving her an up and down style recovery, or they could do it along side Tensho Kicks, instead making it a move that allows her to hop over projectiles and stuff like Jolt Haymaker is supposed to.

TLDR: Chun-Li sets herself apart by having rediculous grounded pressure, even on shield wich is rare in Smash. She also has Kikoken and potentially also Hazanshoe to gain control of the match when her opponents are trying to zone her out, and some good anti-air and out of shield options when opponents try to pressure her. This all comes with the weakness of disadvantage state, as while she has some unique strengths in the air that can add depth to her offstage and air game, her recovery is still super linear, and her landings are easy to catch.

 

[Kirby Dragons]

Her moveset and abilities are way different though. Like yeah you could simplify her into some bizarre shoto, but it would leave so much out.

I never really saw her as any kind of shoto. I just think a moveset consisting of a variety of kicks and maybe Kikoken wouldn't be that interesting in Smash. It works fine in SF, but even from SF, there's multiple characters I think could be more exciting.

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

I see the point you're trying to make but the Ken part of this feels a bit misguided. I struggle to see a correlation between Ken's inclusion as an echo in the base game and the new SFII content that was also included. I doubt we only got that content because Ken was included. Mega Man got a heaping buttload of new content but no new character, so I'm sure Street Fighter would've gotten all that content even if Ryu remained the sole rep of the series.

There's a bit of a thing to also point out;

Capcom Co. LTD owns MegaMan.

Capcom USA owns Street Fighter.

Sakurai licensed out two different companies for content. Yes, they're connected companies, but all intents and purposes, are entirely separate purchases. We don't know why Street Fighter got more content in particular. It could be just because it was base game, so it's easier to budget for. Maybe Ken being added made it even easier. Maybe it's(Ken's inclusion) the core reason they were very cooperative with content. It could matter almost nothing or a lot. MegaMan's content doesn't relate in that case, as it was always a base game character. The most we can really get from it is that base game simply had more budget, so naturally the content was higher, but we don't have enough context to really saw how much of the full story it could be.

That said, because of this, it may not be misguided. It may have actually mattered. Like I said above, we can't know for sure due to it being a different situation and company licensing from the MegaMan franchise. We will never know a lot of this kind of stuff either way.

 

[YeppersPeppers]

That said, because of this, it may not be misguided. It may have actually mattered. Like I said above, we can't know for sure due to it being a different situation and company licensing from the MegaMan franchise. We will never know a lot of this kind of stuff either way.

Fair enough. You're right that we probably will never know exactly how it all goes down, so calling it misguided was probably a bit much.

In a related note, it'll be interesting to see if anything in terms of SF's representation changes in the future now that Capcom Co, Ltd. owns the rights (something that happened back in 2021).

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

It works fine in SF, but even from SF, there's multiple characters I think could be more exciting.

That very sentence was my thoughts on Ryu back in 2015 and I still stand by it. However, I can also acknowledge that it would have been insanity to introduce Street Fighter in Smash with anything other than a Shoto.

With that said, Chun-Li wouldn't be that much different. I think she's an absolute icon of fighting games, one of the more popular characters of the franchise and carries a ****ton of legacy that is still felt to this day both as one of the first female characters of her genre and her constant presence in competitive play since only SF4 made her anything lower than high tier so it feels right for her to be next, even if I think there's a lot of cooler options.

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

Fair enough. You're right that we probably will never know exactly how it all goes down, so calling it misguided was probably a bit much.

In a related note, it'll be interesting to see if anything in terms of SF's representation changes in the future now that Capcom Co, Ltd. owns the rights (something that happened back in 2021).

Well, that changes the entire situation. I wasn't aware the rights changed later. That sounds like everything will be quite a bit easier(at least for base game. DLC can go many ways regardless). Let's hope for some Street Fighter Mii Costumes, then. :3

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

After watching a few guides on how she works in various games, this is how I'd imagine Chun-Li playing:

Chun-Li's ground game is super strong. Her down and forward tilts being amazing pokes, with the heavy ones being safe on shield if spaced correctly. Assuming she's based on Street Fighter II, she'll also have a Marth-tier walk speed that allows her to repeatedly pressure shields with these pokes. At closer ranges, she can threaten opponents with her fast as heck neutral attack (especially if she's based on Street Fighter III: Third Strike) also probably auto-corrects because FGC. lol. Her heavy up tilt will also likely be a great anti-air.

Her air game will be a lot less potent, but she does have some unique properties she can take advantage of like the ability to wall jump, her down air that causes her to bounce off of opponents and their shields, and potentially, the ability to grab opponents in the air (though she'll probably immediately throw them like Isabelle does with aerial Fishing Rod).

In older games, her special moves are kind of just memes for the most part, so I feel like for them at least, Chun-Li will take inspiration from newer games. Kikoken is what you'd expect: A projectile that can be used in zoning wars, and light Kikoken is slower than the heavy version, allowing Chun-Li to walk behind it. Spinning Bird Kick will likely function similarly to the shoto's Tatsumaki Senpukyaku in practice, being primerilly a recovery move that can be comboed into in certain situations. It will be pretty terrible in neutral though. Lightning Kicks acts as both a pressure and combo tool, pushing Chun-Li back quite a lot on block so she can continue her pressure, and with other moves linking into it on hit. Tensho Kicks is her most obvious recovery option. The move would likely be added as a good out of shield option and a meh recovery move. They could use Hazanshoe instead, giving her an up and down style recovery, or they could do it along side Tensho Kicks, instead making it a move that allows her to hop over projectiles and stuff like Jolt Haymaker is supposed to.

TLDR: Chun-Li sets herself apart by having rediculous grounded pressure, even on shield wich is rare in Smash. She also has Kikoken and potentially also Hazanshoe to gain control of the match when her opponents are trying to zone her out, and some good anti-air and out of shield options when opponents try to pressure her. This all comes with the weakness of disadvantage state, as while she has some unique strengths in the air that can add depth to her offstage and air game, her recovery is still super linear, and her landings are easy to catch.

If they're willing to tap into newer stuff, her Serenity Stream from SF6 could be an interesting addition if only to give her something no other fighter in Smash has; an alternate stance that actually drastically changes her normals. This could add a lot of depth to what she could do.

 

[Perkilator]

All this talk of Chun-Li reminds me of a moveset I did for her a while back.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

That very sentence was my thoughts on Ryu back in 2015 and I still stand by it. However, I can also acknowledge that it would have been insanity to introduce Street Fighter in Smash with anything other than a Shoto.

With that said, Chun-Li wouldn't be that much different. I think she's an absolute icon of fighting games, one of the more popular characters of the franchise and carries a ****ton of legacy that is still felt to this day both as one of the first female characters of her genre and her constant presence in competitive play since only SF4 made her anything lower than high tier so it feels right for her to be next, even if I think there's a lot of cooler options.

Honestly you can say this about any of the fighting game icons. Like, Sol and Ky are shotos with swords, which is kinda boring in comparison to a man who attacks in tandem with his shadow, a witch who's dash gives her access to instant aerial attacks, an absolute unit of a man wielding a giant coffin, a little girl with a giant anchor who rides the backs of dolphins into battle, a cowboy samurai, a haunted robot bed...

And Guilty Gear as an example is kind of cheating because its characters get very strange very quickly, but even with something a little bit more down to earth like Street Fighter, you have karate guy Ryu, and you have a grappler who fights with ballet, a psycho powered would-be dictator, a masked man who fights with a claw, a yoga practitioner with stretchy limbs, a mutant with electric powers, a homologous that can learn/absorb other peoples techniques on the fly, and you get the point.

I very much disagree with the notion that these mascot characters are actually boring though. If they were then they wouldn't be mascots, and certainly wouldn't be as iconic as they are. It does provide a good argument for more of the deeper picks from franchises that tend not to get them however, as picks that wouldn't normally get in like a less widely known Pokémon, a Robot Master/Maverick, or one of the many cool Fire Emblem units that aren't protagonists would be really cool.

If they're willing to tap into newer stuff, her Serenity Stream from SF6 could be an interesting addition if only to give her something no other fighter in Smash has; an alternate stance that actually drastically changes her normals. This could add a lot of depth to what she could do.

I have no idea how it would work in Smash, or how they'd implement it, but the idea is really cool.

The only reason why I ignore it is because I don't really know how it works, and because I kinda feel like they will ignore it because its so new and there's a lot of ground to cover otherwise.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

I have no idea how it would work in Smash, or how they'd implement it, but the idea is really cool.

The only reason why I ignore it is because I don't really know how it works, and because I kinda feel like they will ignore it because its so new and there's a lot of ground to cover otherwise.

I could see it as a down special since, well, she crouches in that stance. And after that, you could quickly input another attack to get a different attack.

• Orchid Palm would be the stance normal jab. Her safest and fastest option but very stubby range.
• Forward Strike would be the stance held jab (because I expect her to have that mechanic too). Slower than Orchid Palm but has more range.
• Senpu Kick would be the stance forward tilt. It's a sweeping kick with both legs, covering some range.
• Lotus Fist would be the stance held forward tilt or, if we wanna get crazy, a stance back tilt. An overhead double strike that could deal heavy shield damage, similar to how they handled Ryu's Collarbone Breaker.
• Tenku Kick would be the stance up tilt. It's an upward kick so it makes sense as the up tilt. No held variant since Serenity Stream only has 6 options.
• Snake Strike would be the stance down tilt. A sliding punch that covers a notable amount of range, as sliding attacks tend to do. No held variant for the same reason as the above move.

If you do any of these stance attacks or get hit while in the stance, Chun-Li is brought back to her regular non-stance moveset.

And since Serenity Stream is technically classified as a "unique move" in SF6 rather than a special, its follow-ups are actually special cancelable. All while still functioning as something she can cancel her other normals into as it if was a special, with some moves becoming noticeably safer on block when canceled into a stance move. All of this gives her nasty pressure, some frame traps and even entirely new combos that may not be possible without it.

The only issue is from its command input being a quarter-circle back, the same as Hazanshu. However, assuming the Hyakuretsukyaku (aka Lightning Kicks) gets the classic input of "mash a normal button" (which itself would uniquely give her an aerial rapid jab) rather than the modern quarter-circle forward it now has, either Serenity Stream or Hazanshu could get the QCF instead, just like how they handled Burning Knuckle and Crack Shoot for Terry.

For bonus points, it could be a ground-only down special, with the aerial variant being her Ryuseiraku (aka the air throw).

Alternatively, to reference the "it's technically not a special" property it has, it could be a command input-exclusive move that only works when grounded, just like any other command-only move not named Shakunetsu that Smash has.

 

[Laniv]

I feel like people forgot the most important part of having Chun-Li in Smash:

We'd have another character of color in the game

 

[SharkLord]

Since nobody here has mentioned it yet as far as I've seen, Nintendo announced a Direct today.

...

A 10-minute Direct for the Donkey Kong Country section of the theme park, anyway lol

MOM DAD DONKEY KONG COUNTRY

THAT'S RIGHT! DONKEY KONG COUNTRY FOR REAL LIFE

Her moveset and abilities are way different though. Like yeah you could simplify her into some bizarre shoto, but it would leave so much out.

New tier list: How many times do you have to twist someone's arm to gank them into a shotoclone

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

I feel like people forgot the most important part of having Chun-Li in Smash:

We'd have another character of color in the game

Yeah but it wouldn't be the color that some people would want to see.

Remember people actually complained about Ultimate's ARMS character being Min Min rather than Twintelle.