Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

I don’t think this disqualifies him but I wonder if DOOM’s violence and gore might cause Nintendo to prioritize other characters that better fit the tone of Smash. Scorpion has the same hurdle but to an even larger degree. I think Bayonetta showed that their home game’s violence isn’t a deal breaker but I do wonder if it would negatively impact his chances. All things being equal, I wonder if they’d go with Master Chief instead for that reason.

I think the biggest hurdle would be in terms of like if there's a bit in a showcase video similar to Ultimate's like "What is DOOM?" because of the inherent gameplay of the series. For a playable role though I would think it would be fine, Doom has a number of plasma weapons and things that are more out there in the more recent titles.

 

[Ivander]

People really wanted the Doomguy & Isabelle memes to be canon

And to a sense, it kinda did.

And some people certainly had their fun with Doom Guy's Mii costume being confirmed.

 

[Louie G.]

I feel like the DLC Mii Costumes or even a few in the base game will be somewhat of an indication of new characters in Smash 6 like how King K. Rool, Inkling, Isabelle and Chrom were costumes in Smash 4 and became playable in Ultimate.

This makes sense on paper, but I do want to acknowledge that all of these characters are Nintendo characters. Even if it is a pretty sensible train of thought, especially for characters where Sakurai straight up pointed out their popularity (Sans and Dante for example), he also did the same for Geno back in Smash 4 and he got out-prioritized by two other Square Enix characters.

I'm more inclined to look at some of the base game first party costumes, like Isaac / Skull Kid / Ashley, and presume these may have been added as consolation and might result in these characters being reconsidered with more time and resources available. I think the presence of Dante or Doom Slayer as costumes is unequivocally a good thing but we don't have any precedent for where we go from here, if they still remain top priorities for the actual roster etc.

Like I said before, I feel like one of the main reasons Master Chief wasn't a costume was because that's the kind of negotiation that's probably so expensive and high esteem that it's only really worth making if you go all the way with it. If they didn't make Sora playable, for example, I'm sure he would never have been a costume.

 

[SharkLord]

I think there’s an easy work around. Doomguy can rip and tear but there won’t be any blood or guts, just flashy effects.

Yeah, that's how Smash handles violence already anyways. Back when Ridley was revealed they played up his brutality, but since they can't have Link violently bleeding out from getting Skewered, he just slumps over and explodes into cartoon effects and confetti. If Doomguy ever shows up they'll probably just do something similar.

 

[Noipoi]

they can't have Link violently bleeding out from getting Skewered

A shame, really.

 

[Stratos]

However, Isaac Clarke from the Dead Space series has not appeared in the Super Smash Bros. series. In general, however, there has been no mention of the Dead Space series in the Super Smash Bros. series, i.e. no trophies, no assist trophies, no spirits, no Mii costumes or anything.

 

[Idon]

Doomguy's most gory acts are reserved entirely for his execution "Glory Kills" mechanic which is obviously not going to be included in a fighting game (that isn't MK at least). Otherwise he is a punch-shoot man that uniquely relies more on physical up-close violence compared to the rest of them. Considering we already got a "sanitized" version of him via the Mii Outfit, I don't think giving him more accurate weapons would be crossing any lines we haven't already crossed.

And for comparison sake, Bayo "I should have been a pole dancer" Netta's games have not just a similar style of executions with not just blood, gore, and violence but a double dose of sexual theming and religious blasphemy:

Spoiler

and obviously that's not in her Smash appearance.

So while Doomguy might not be very likely, I don't think he pushes the bar in terms of content warnings.

 

[Thegameandwatch]

How high of a priority do you think Ike and Robin are?

Ike probably has higher priority compared to Robin in my opinion but I think both will likely stay unless they significantly decrease the number of Fire Emblem characters. I feel like Roy and Corrin are the most likely FE cuts outside of echoes.

Also what characters are ambiguous in terms if they will get cut?

 

[Folezicle Lives!]

Which non japanese IP has the most chance to be in Smash Bros 6? In my case are fortnite and Crash Bandicoot.

Foetnite seems like a no brainer really. Although Ubisoft's future is a bit sketchy, they've worked closely with nintendo during the Switch generation.
Lara Croft is another potential newcomer.


I will always want someone from Deus Ex but that is unlikely.

 

[Kirby Dragons]

All this discussion of Microsoft franchises makes me wonder if they'll create their own big crossover game (not necessarily a fighting game). They certainly own enough things to create appeal.

 

[jamesster445]

All this discussion of Microsoft franchises makes me wonder if they'll create their own big crossover game (not necessarily a fighting game). They certainly own enough things to create appeal.

Heres hoping that Heroes of the Storm gets resurrected.

 

[Idon]

All this discussion of Microsoft franchises makes me wonder if they'll create their own big crossover game (not necessarily a fighting game). They certainly own enough things to create appeal.

"Best we can do is an Xbox Game Pass ad where we reference Banjo for 5 seconds."

 

[Shinuto]

Foetnite seems like a no brainer really. Although Ubisoft's future is a bit sketchy, they've worked closely with nintendo during the Switch generation.
Lara Croft is another potential newcomer.


I will always want someone from Deus Ex but that is unlikely.

Fortnite sucks though.

 

[ninjahmos]

Obviously we can't have Master Chief without this:

 

[SharkLord]

Doomguy's most gory acts are reserved entirely for his execution "Glory Kills" mechanic which is obviously not going to be included in a fighting game (that isn't MK at least). Otherwise he is a punch-shoot man that uniquely relies more on physical up-close violence compared to the rest of them. Considering we already got a "sanitized" version of him via the Mii Outfit, I don't think giving him more accurate weapons would be crossing any lines we haven't already crossed.

And for comparison sake, Bayo "I should have been a pole dancer" Netta's games have not just a similar style of executions with not just blood, gore, and violence but a double dose of sexual theming and religious blasphemy:

Spoiler

and obviously that's not in her Smash appearance.

So while Doomguy might not be very likely, I don't think he pushes the bar in terms of content warnings.

And while the Glory Kills are a big part of the newer Doom games, they're also only in the newer games. The older games are pretty quaint by modern standards - just run around and shoot, and that's it. Of course, it helps that those games are over 30 years old and don't have much room for gory details, but you get the message. You can just have him be the run-and-shoot guy without shoving someone's skull down their spine, and it's still a perfectly reasonable depiction of Doomguy.

 

[Hydreigonfan01]

People really wanted the Doomguy & Isabelle memes to be canon

Oh, those were some good memories. That was like the OG Barbenheimer because Doom Eternal and Animal Crossing New Horizons released on the same day.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Oh, those were some good memories. That was like the OG Barbenheimer because Doom Eternal and Animal Crossing New Horizons released on the same day.

Not to mention that both games were basically the last notable released titles right before the pandemic. It basically allowed the meme to linger even longer because a lot of major gaming news basically halted for a good long while.

 

[cashregister9]

All this discussion of Microsoft franchises makes me wonder if they'll create their own big crossover game (not necessarily a fighting game). They certainly own enough things to create appeal.

Because of the monopoly Microsoft now has an option or a big crossover game does exist for them

It has been getting incredibly infrequent balance and bugfix patches, maybe they will do something with it, adding Master Chief could do a lot for it.

 

[Ivander]

Because of the monopoly Microsoft now has an option or a big crossover game does exist for them

It has been getting incredibly infrequent balance and bugfix patches, maybe they will do something with it, adding Master Chief could do a lot for it.

Man, looking at the roster of the characters, all I think of is this image if Banjo & Kazooie or Crash Bandicoot were to appear in that game.

 

[Guynamednelson]

Man, looking at the roster of the characters, all I think of is this image if Banjo & Kazooie or Crash Bandicoot were to appear in that game.
View attachment 397116

Don't forget the Lost Vikings

 

[Ivander]

Don't forget the Lost Vikings

Sure, from a franchise standpoint, they do fit. But they don't look that awkward next to the other characters design-wise, especially characters like Muradin or Sonya. Heck, some of the other characters Microsoft has like Master Chief, Doom Slayer, Dragonborn, a Fallout character, Fulgore, Joanna Dark or a Sea of Thieves character wouldn't look that out of place next to the characters from similar settings, like Master Chief with the Starcraft characters or Dragonborn with the Diablo or Warcraft characters.
I just point out Crash or Banjo & Kazooie because they, alongside the obvious characters like Spyro, Conker and whatnot, definitely stand out compared to almost all the other characters in HotS, aside from Murky and Brightwing.

 

[Kirby Dragons]

Man, looking at the roster of the characters, all I think of is this image if Banjo & Kazooie or Crash Bandicoot were to appear in that game.

The solution is to give them edgy, monstrous redesigns.

 

[Gengar84]

I absolutely love Blizzard’s character design. I do prefer the more stylized art style of Heroes of the Storm compared to the more realistic direction World of Warcraft and Diablo have taken in recent years but the core designs are still great. I think the brighter colors of the characters and stylish designs perfectly fit into Smash’s aesthetic. Two of my other favorite visual styles in games are Darksiders and League of Legends. I’m not sure if there’s really a name for that style but they are kind of reminiscent of comic book characters.

Killer Instinct also kind of works as a Microsoft crossover. KI 2013 had Rash from Battletoads, the Arbiter from Halo, and General Raam from Gears. It would be cool to see future games expand this into other Microsoft properties like Blizzard’s characters but I’d still want to keep the core KI characters first.