Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[cashregister9]

Considering how often they tend to pop up, just in general

ToeJam & Earl might not be a bad pick for smash tbh.

 

[Speed Weed]

we finally get a new MD NSO update after a literal year
it's mostly just more of the low-hanging SEGA America stuff that's already in a billion things

sob

 

[dezeray112]

Okay time to weigh in on the third party franchises getting three characters:

Street Fighter: Chun Li makes the most sense. Guile makes plenty of sense.... I want M Bison. I like M Bison. I like how he plays. Having the slide kick down smash would be awesome.

Final Fantasy: Someone from the newest game probably makes the most sense. I want Kefka. I have no good explanation other than I want to play as Kefka. And Terra.... VI is my favorite.

Sonic: We're getting 2 to catch up to everyone's 3: Knuckles and Eggman. Shadow works as an echo. Tails is the classic P2. They make potentially more sense. I want Knuckles and Eggman.

Mega Man: Protoman and Sigma. Roll, Bass, or Zero probably all make more sense. I want Protoman and Sigma.

Pac-Man: Ms. Pac Man echo. I'm not going to pretend there's a third character here.

Kingdom Hearts: Riku and Mickey.

Fatal Fury/King of Fighters: Mai makes the most sense even if Sakurai already said no. I want Rock Howard and Heidurn.

Castlevania: Soma Cruz and Charlotte from Portrait of Ruin. Other characters may make more sense.

Dragon Quest: I only played 8 and swords.... so Yangus and Slime.

Metal Gear: Raiden and Revolver Ocelot

Bayo: Jeane and Robin make the most sense. I have no input.

Banjo: I guess we add Gruntilda and his sister... this probably shouldn't happen.

Minecraft: I got nothing here.

I'll do some of mine:

Street Fighter: As I said, Street Fighter does have plenty of iconic characters although I generally feel that Chun-Li seems to be the more likely. I could see maybe Akuma or Sakura work as possible echo characters?

Final Fantasy: I would not be against another additional character from the Final Fantasy VII franchise (between Tifa or Aerith.) Personally, I would like to see Tidus from Final Fantasy X, as not only this was the first FF game that introduced me to the franchise, but still remains my favourite FF game.

Sonic: I think this is going to be either Knuckles, Dr. Eggman, Tails or Shadow. I know that Shadow could work as an echo character, but I think he can be given a unique moveset.

Fatal Fury/King of Fighters: I predict this will be between Rock Howard, Mai Shiranui (they could use her City of the Wolves design if that is applicable) or Nakoruru.

Kingdom Hearts: Between Riku or Aqua for me.

Tekken: Whilst I can see Jin Kazama as a likely candidate, if there were any others maybe King, Nina Williams or Lili Rochefort?

 

[Garteam]

Mickey is unlikely for multiple reasons but honestly given how they licensed their stuff out like candy to Fortnite even before "Investing Into and totally not buying out in a soft-power sort of way" Epic Games... I really think Disney would be more open to shoving their properties into Smash than is currently believed, especially now that they've done it once.

While Disney is the most questionable licensing partner to work with due to their sheer scale and protective nature, people are a bit too quick to conclude Sora cannot be a base game character. Disney's entire MO is to milk their IPs for all their worth and, even as economic realities set in, they're continuing to keep the course. Sora's Amiibo released two and a half years after Sora was added to Smash and two years after Sakurai's next project, so it's not like Disney has abandoned the series.

That being said, I don't really know who you would add from Disney after Sora. I guess you'd just go back to Kingdom Hearts and add Riku.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Given Disney's very hit and miss record with their video games projects I think if the financial details (and especially merchandising) were carefully worked out, they'd probably trust Sakurai/Nintendo with Sora in the base game. The Mouse definitely wants their cut and are particular about the brand image, but I think there's a practicality to them that would probably view a KH character in a market released version of SSB as easy money when done right.

 

[Nabbitfan730]

I really hope the Nintendo Switch 2 is announced in January like the original was for 2017 instead of this year.

January is always a very boring month with absolutely nothing going on. Let's spice things up!

 

[Freduardo]

I'll do some of mine:

Street Fighter: As I said, Street Fighter does have plenty of iconic characters although I generally feel that Chun-Li seems to be the more likely. I could see maybe Akuma or Sakura work as possible echo characters?

Final Fantasy: I would not be against another additional character from the Final Fantasy VII franchise (between Tifa or Aerith.) Personally, I would like to see Tidus from Final Fantasy X, as not only this was the first FF game that introduced me to the franchise, but still remains my favourite FF game.

Sonic: I think this is going to be either Knuckles, Dr. Eggman, Tails or Shadow. I know that Shadow could work as an echo character, but I think he can be given a unique moveset.

Fatal Fury/King of Fighters: I predict this will be between Rock Howard, Mai Shiranui (they could use her City of the Wolves design if that is applicable) or Nakoruru.

Kingdom Hearts: Between Riku or Aqua for me.

Tekken: Whilst I can see Jin Kazama as a likely candidate, if there were any others maybe King, Nina Williams or Lili Rochefort?

Agh! I forgot Tekken.

I want Yoshimitsu and King.

 

[Gengar84]

Alright, I’ll give it a shot too. I’m just going off of what would personally make me the happiest, not who’s likely or deserving:

Street Fighter: I think my top three most wanted here are Guile, Vega, and Juri Han. Guile has always been my favorite but I’m actually going to go with Juri here since she gives us another villain and female character and represents the new generation of characters. Plus, she’s just got a really cool vibe.

Final Fantasy: From Final Fantasy VII-X, this was actually my favorite series of all time but it’s fallen off for me since then. There are so many characters I really enjoy like Lulu and Vincent but from a gameplay perspective, I really want to see a summoner. I like princess Garnet more as a character but Yuna has cooler Aeons. I’d be happy with either of these.

Kingdom Hearts: My favorite characters from the series are Ansem (seeker of darkness) and Xemnas but neither is the most likely pick. I think I’ll split the difference here and go with Riku and Xemnas.

Sonic the Hedgehog: My favorite here is Knuckles. The second additional character has a lot of great possibilities. Based on his recent prominence, it makes sense to go with Shadow.

Mega Man: I love a lot of Robot Masters and Mavericks. Pharaoh Man is my personal favorite. However, I think it makes more sense to go with actual characters over stage bosses. My picks here are Zero and Bass.Exe.

Persona: I really love the Persona series from 3-5. My absolute favorite characters are Mitsuru, Kanji, and Makoto. Since we already have Joker from 5, I’ll go with Mitsuru and Kanji. Aegis is probably the most logical next choice though if I wasn’t being completely biased.

Dragon Quest: I don’t actually have a ton of experience with the series. I’ve played VIII, XI, and Monsters. If I had to pick two favorites, I’d go with Psaro and Red (from VIII). Red’s a pretty out there choice but she’s just a really cool character.

Tekken: I don’t play a ton of Tekken. When I did, I mained Eddie Gordo. However, I’ll go with Jin and Yoshimitsu here since Yoshimitsu can kind of act as a dual Tekken and Soul Calibur rep.

CastleVania: I feel like Alucard is the obvious choice here and I actually like his design quite a bit. I haven’t really played much of the series but I definitely appreciate its history and aesthetic.

Banjo-Kazooie: I think we’re fine with just Banjo but I’d go with Gruntilda and Mumbo Jumbo.

King of Fighters: I don’t actually know any characters from this besides Terry, Geese, and Mai. Based on that, I’ll go with those two.

Minecraft: I’m totally stumped on this one. Anyone else I could possibly think of is already a skin for Steve.

 

[Godzillathewonderdog]

If each guest franchise got 3 fightters these would be my choices.

Snake, Big Boss, Raiden
Sonic, Tails, Eggman
Mega Man, Proto Man, Zero
Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man (I don’t care if they don’t own the rights), Blinky (other ghosts as costumes)
Ryu, Ken, Chun Li
Cloud, Spehiroth, Tifa
Bayonetta, Jeanne, Rodin
Simon, Richter, Alucard
Joker, Aegis, Jack Frost
Hero, Jade, Slime
Banjo & Kazooie, Mumbo, Gruntilda
Terry, Rock, Geese
Steve, Iron Gollum, Enderman (but like w/ proper proportions, replace the alternate costume with Piglin)
Kazuya, Jin, Heihachi
Sora, Roxas, Riku

 

[Shinuto]

If every third party franchise got 3 characters these are what I'd pick

Meta Gear: Snake, Raiden, Sniper Wolf
Sonic:: Sonic, Dr. Eggman, Shadow,
Megaman: Megaman, Zero, Dr. Wily
Pac-Man: Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, the Ghosts
Street Fighter: Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li
Final Fantasy: Cloud, Sephiroth, Terra
Bayonetta: Bayonetta, Jeanne, Rodin
Castlevania: Simon, Richter, Alucard
Persona: Joker, Aegis, Jack Frost
Dragon Quest: Hero, Jade, Slime
Banjo & Kazooie: Banjo & Kazooie, Grunty, Mumbo
SNK: Terry, Nakoruru, Geese ( I know SNK isnt a series but thy are all grouped together in Smash as a sorta of "family") replace Nakoruru with Mai otherwise.
Minecraft: Steve, Enderman, Creeper
Tekken: Kazuya, Heihachi, Nina
Kingdom Hearts: Sora, Riku, Aqua

 

[Quillion]

Why are you guys STILL only speculating on the characters when there's so much more to Smash than just "who's a fighter and who's not"?

 

[Guynamednelson]

Why are you guys STILL only speculating on the characters when there's so much more to Smash than just "who's a fighter and who's not"?

Just because you never come in here when people are discussing other things doesn't mean it never happens.

 

[Quillion]

Just because you never come in here when people are discussing other things doesn't mean it never happens.

Well it needs to happen more.

 

[Schnee117]

Why are you guys STILL only speculating on the characters when there's so much more to Smash than just "who's a fighter and who's not"?

How about instead of ******** about the subject of a thread you barely talk in, you actually try to start that topic yourself?

 

[Gengar84]

Well it needs to happen more.

I’ve tried to bring up topics a few times but they never get very far. Besides characters, I’d really like to see some big improvements to the Stage Builder and the return of a co-op platformer adventure style campaign like Subspace Emissary. Does anyone else have any fun ideas or want to expand on these?

 

[Quillion]

How about instead of ******** about the subject of a thread you barely talk in, you actually try to start that topic yourself?

When I do, they only ever attract a bunch of yes-men, and I don't like echo chambers.

 

[Gengar84]

When I do, they only ever attract a bunch of yes-men, and I don't like echo chambers.

You feeling okay dude? It seems like something is bothering you.

 

[Quillion]

You feeling okay dude? It seems like something is bothering you.

No, I'm not okay. My desire to anger people is fairly strong right now.

 

[Guynamednelson]

You feeling okay dude? It seems like something is bothering you.

Everything is. He only comes here (as in this site, not this thread) to complain that we aren't having the exact discussions he wants.

 

[Gengar84]

No, I'm not okay. My desire to anger people is fairly strong right now.

Maybe it’s best to step away and cool off a bit and do something you enjoy instead. I’m still kind of stressed out about everything in the news but I try to come here to get my mind off things and have fun discussions about video games. As you can see from a page or two ago, we don’t always agree on every topic but that’s fine as long as you can be civil about it and respect everyone’s opinions. Actually, a healthy debate is part of the fun. Things would get pretty boring if we always agreed with each other about everything.

 

[smashkirby]

My biggest problem with X-Ray is that Ray MKII and X-Ray look too similar, especially when Custom Robo Arena gave Ray MKII the face mask like X-Ray. The other reason is that aside from the first Ray, the other 3 Rays I chose had some importance in the games that released in the West. Custom Robo Arena started you with Ray MKII, then eventually gave you Ray MKIII and Custom Robo BR(or just Custom Robo in the West) started you with Ray 01.
The first Ray is there because obviously, it was the first playable Robo in the series. Leaving X-Ray which was only the main character's starter Robo in the JP-only GBA game and simply an unlockable in Arena. Sure, X-Ray, kinda like MKII to MKIII, did become Ray Sky in the GBA game, but Ray Sky was not only a different class, being a Lightning Sky instead of the standard Shining Fighter, but in Custom Robo Arena, it was given a very bulky upper body, much bigger than even Ray 01's, so Ray Sky itself definitely would not have worked as an alternate, though it's colors work just fine for Ray.

FWIW, I do think they could get away with removing Ray MK II's face-mask AND not have that model look TOO similar to OG Ray as a result, given the additional bells-and-whistles MK II is equipped with. Still though, do you really think Sakurai and the dev team would be THAT held up over Ray Sky being a different class? I don't know, I can sort of see them being willing to take liberties overall for this.

Just out of curiosity, who is your favorite Smash announcer? I think mine may have to be Dean Harrington from Melee because of his distorted voice. His pronunciations are a little bit strange, but I think that kind of adds to the charm.

I also think he has the best laugh both as Master Hand and Crazy Hand. He also had the most blood-curdling death scream. I mean, just listen to it… God…

Also, Melee's sound design is underrated IMO

Personally, I'm going to have to go with both Jeff Manning AND Dean Harrington. Jeff, because he was the first announcer I was ever exposed to (It helps that Smash 64 was quite literally the very first video game I had ever played) and... I don't know, Dean's slightly-muffled, somewhat-distorted voices the two had does something for me.

Side note, but I'd like to mention really quick that I think Xander Mobus himself has mentioned that Nintendo actually wanted to get Cashman back for Smash 4, but either he wasn't available or union stuff prevented his return, prompting them to get Xander as a sound-alike replacement.

We could always choose the 2nd best option that is a video game character.

Spoiler

Hmmm, were you expecting something else? I don't see what possibly could coughTyranitarcough

I mean, I'm not opposed to him and what's more... I really feel like Smash could get creative and have him in a variety of roles. A playable character AND /OR a stage you fight on, for some ideas.

On the highlighted whilst Street Fighter 6 certainly helped revitalised Capcom's fighting game department (especially with the Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics), I do hope that they will consider revitalising several of their dormant fighting game IPs down the line.

Ngl, I honestly feel like Rival Schools might already be feeling the effects of such a thing, as it seems like Capcom is doing a good deal more with that series lately. It's to the point where I feel like R.S. in particular has something notable planned for next year...

It certainly helps that it comes off as a series that could piggyback off of the success of things like Persona in recent years.

 

[Noipoi]

Completely off-topic but

smashkirby I know your avatar is a Pilotwings character but for the longest time I swore it was Pac-Man with a white belt stuck in a washing machine

 

[SharkLord]

No, I'm not okay. My desire to anger people is fairly strong right now.

Gonna second Gengar here:

Maybe it’s best to step away and cool off a bit and do something you enjoy instead. I’m still kind of stressed out about everything in the news but I try to come here to get my mind off things and have fun discussions about video games. As you can see from a page or two ago, we don’t always agree on every topic but that’s fine as long as you can be civil about it and respect everyone’s opinions. Actually, a healthy debate is part of the fun. Things would get pretty boring if we always agreed with each other about everything.

I'll also add that going out of your way to piss people off won't really get you anywhere. If your goal is trying to provoke people, eventually people are just going to mute or report you. And if your goal is to talk about something other than fighters, continuing to get upset when people talk about something else means you just lose either way. You've written yourself into a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. Unless you have an anger fetish I can't see how that's going to cheer you up. And either way, people here are just minding their own business and discussing the funny Nintendo punchy-kick game, and would much rather not have someone make them miserable just for doing that.

So to put it bluntly, I think you're going to need to find a better outlet for your frustrations. As it stands now, vaguely provoking people on a video game forum isn't going to get anything done

 

[fogbadge]

Here's an idea for a different sort of topic: what new neutral special should Peach be given? to free up toad just for fun

 

[Ivander]

FWIW, I do think they could get away with removing Ray MK II's face-mask AND not have that model look TOO similar to OG Ray as a result, given the additional bells-and-whistles MK II is equipped with. Still though, do you really think Sakurai and the dev team would be THAT held up over Ray Sky being a different class? I don't know, I can sort of see them being willing to take liberties overall for this.

Ray Sky being a Lightning Sky definitely makes a huge difference for one big reason, the Air-dash. Shining Fighters, including most of the Ray series, are limited to 2 medium-distant air-dashes while Lightning Skies, which Ray Sky is, have one to two incredibly long air-dashes with the additional benefit to allow them to attack/fire their weapons while they are air-dashing. If trying to portray characters accurately or to how they feel in their game, making Ray Sky the same playstyle as one of the main Ray models would definitely be not portraying them accurately and would taking extreme liberties to make them a character costume for the sake of making them playable. And as I mentioned before, Ray Sky became incredibly bulky in Arena, even more so than Ray 01.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Why out frustrations? It's inner work first and foremost that will prevent more damage. I mean, we all go through our stuff and battles, and as total strangers we don't know anything about them.

So let's just be kind, and if nothing else just be understanding.

We can confront our inner demons by ourselves most of the time, at least I hope. If not, reaching out is a good idea and I'll even volunteer for the position if there's nobody else nearby.

 

[smashkirby]

Completely off-topic but

smashkirby I know your avatar is a Pilotwings character but for the longest time I swore it was Pac-Man with a white belt stuck in a washing machine

Wow, really??

I know Lark (or... ANY of Pilotwings 64's cast, for that matter) aren't exactly well-known (even for retro/obscure/niche Nintendo characters), but this is definitely the first I've heard of THIS.

 

[Gengar84]

For some reason, I always see The Stoopid Unicorn’s avatar as Sephiroth at first glance. Then I realize it’s a chimpanzee lol. I always think of Dr. House whenever I see DarthEnderX’s avatar. Not sure where either of those thoughts come from.

 

[SharkLord]

Why out frustrations? It's inner work first and foremost that will prevent more damage. I mean, we all go through our stuff and battles, and as total strangers we don't know anything about them.

So let's just be kind, and if nothing else just be understanding.

We can confront our inner demons by ourselves most of the time, at least I hope. If not, reaching out is a good idea and I'll even volunteer for the position if there's nobody else nearby.

Yeah, having someone to talk to definitely helps. I wouldn't recommend dumping all your emotions onto a public forum - They're personal issues for a reason, and not everyone should be digging into your inner struggles - But just having a shoulder to lean on definitely helps the mind process things. At the very least, directly addressing the problem should be much more effective than vaguely spreading anger to others through the internet

 

[fogbadge]

Here's an idea for a different sort of topic: what new neutral special should Peach be given? to free up toad just for fun

worth a try

For some reason, I always see The Stoopid Unicorn’s avatar as Sephiroth at first glance. Then I realize it’s a chimpanzee lol. I always think of Dr. House whenever I see DarthEnderX’s avatar. Not sure where either of those thoughts come from.

That’s cause it’s Hugh Laurie

 

[dezeray112]

Ngl, I honestly feel like Rival Schools might already be feeling the effects of such a thing, as it seems like Capcom is doing a good deal more with that series lately. It's to the point where I feel like R.S. in particular has something notable planned for next year...

It certainly helps that it comes off as a series that could piggyback off of the success of things like Persona in recent years.

I believe that one of the Rival Schools games is going to be a part of the Capcom Fighting Game Collection 2 if I do recall.

Personally still waiting for a new entry for the Darkstalkers franchise.

 

[Will]

I always think of Dr. House whenever I see DarthEnderX’s avatar. Not sure where either of those thoughts come from.

you aren’t gonna believe this…

 

[Gengar84]

you aren’t gonna believe this…

lol at least I was correct there. I don’t watch a lot of TV and movies so I’m surprised I recognized him. I only know him as House.

 

[Jave]

If I had a nickle for every person who regularly posts in this thread that has a real-life monkey for their avatar, I'd have two nickles, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice.

 

[Noipoi]

If I had a nickle for every person who regularly posts in this thread that has a real-life monkey for their avatar, I'd have two nickles, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice.

MONKEY!

 

[Freduardo]

Why are you guys STILL only speculating on the characters when there's so much more to Smash than just "who's a fighter and who's not"?

Because it's always going to be the most active form of discussion here.

New Stages? Fun. But unless you draw them out or give the best description ever, people's imaginations aren't going to make those epic for you.

But a character? Oh hell yeah, we all want to think about different smash bros characters. Project M was neat for the mechanics.... but I think most people waited until it did things like "bring the old characters back" and offered "hackless load" before they even tried to put that on an SD card.

But the SD card I still have in my Wii U? It ain't project M. It's some insane character pack for Brawl. Because people added some crazy characters in there. Like Luffy had a Gear 2 transformation at 50% that was wild. There was all sorts of imagination and neat things in there.

But between brawlhacks like that, Super Smash Flash, Project M, and every other platform fighter ever created..... people played a lot of characters in smash-like games. Sometimes they're going to wish to play those charaters in the main game.

Especially on a forum that's talking about the next version of the main game in a context of "wishlists".

------------

....Side note: I would like someone to hack Smash Ultimate where they add all the characters from Kirby Fighters 2.... or at least Gooey and Magalor.

Here's an idea for a different sort of topic: what new neutral special should Peach be given? to free up toad just for fun

If it were up to me, move turnip to her neutral B and let her Down B cycle outfits and movesets from her showtime game.

 

[ninjahmos]

Which character(s) do you guys think deserves a rework the most, besides Ganondorf and Sonic?

 

[Noipoi]

Which character(s) do you guys think deserves a rework the most, besides Ganondorf and Sonic?

Mario

I feel like his moves are too gimmicky. Get rid of FLUDD and the cape and replace them with the Tanooki Tail or the Cat Bell or something.

 

[Perkilator]

Here's an idea for a different sort of topic: what new neutral special should Peach be given? to free up toad just for fun

Something like Pocket Fighter's Flash Combos, where pressing a different button has the character perform an attack in a different costume.

 

[Mamboo07]

Which character(s) do you guys think deserves a rework the most, besides Ganondorf and Sonic?

Toon Link and Young Link

They got their own arsenal and weaponry but instead downgraded to being Link clones