Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[Louie G.]

Yknow, the framing of the "sauce / no sauce" conversation may be a pretty... brash way to go about it, but I think honest conversations about the way developers may view these characters' potential or how enticing they would be to the audience are worth having. Pretty much any character has the capacity to be great, I have no malice toward any of our recent topics, but these exciting eye-catching qualities matter just as much as anything for getting a character chosen.

We eventually got Chrom, but we got Robin first. Min-Min and Ninjara were in discussion over Spring Man. "Sauce" is, like it or not, an element that goes into the selection process and I think admitting that a character's struggle to stand out, capture an audience and/or deliver a fun new gameplay role is just as valid a point of conversation as when their last game came out or how much their series sells on average. It probably matters way, way more to like 90% of players.

 

[Scrimblo Bimblo]

What’s the difference between taking inspiration from Hyrule Warriors compared to Super Mario RPG? Both were spin-off games made by an outside developer based on their other existing properties. I’m not trying to say Geno shouldn’t be eligible for Smash, but if he is, so should Hyrule Warriors content. I’d love to see more spin-off games get Smash representation in general. Just because they’re not from the mainline series doesn’t make them any less valid. That’s just my view though.

Well, the developers can do whatever they feel like, of course.
As for me, I'm on board for Geno and Waluigi but not so much for HW Impa (or HW in general, really) for a bunch of reasons, though I won't lie the most important one is number 2.

1. With the exception of Toad, the entire mainline Mario cast is playable in Smash. You have Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Yoshi, Wario, Daisy, Jr. and the Koopalings, even Rosalina and a Piranha Plant. Expanding the roster to spin-offs characters like Waluigi, Geno, Paper Mario, but you could also argue Captain Toad or King Boo, seems fair to me at this point. Personally, I'd prefer Toad over anyone else, but I've kind gotten used to him getting skipped over... Meanwhile Zelda has been starved for characters for a while; and yes, Impa appears in mainline Zelda games, but just... not in the version that people want. That one's a different character.

2. I just really don't like Hyrule Warriors. It's way too trashy and over the top in a way that's completely alien to the actual Zelda games. And, again, at the end of the day it's a spin-off, whatever, I can live with it. But the depictions of the characters that appear in that game absolutely shouldn't become their go-to versions. Smash and other spin-offs should mainly refer to the versions of the characters that appear in actual Zelda games, just like you don't see Mario characters being based on their Strikers portrayals outside of those games. Mario RPGs usually don't diverge in tone from regular Mario games to such an extent (I know there's a couple of exceptions). Then again, taking some cues from HW here and there is fine, but in the case of Impa it wouldn't be that, aside for some aspects of her design she's 100% made up for that game.

3. After 20 years of waiting, getting a Dynasty Warriors disguised as a Zelda character wouldn't sit right with me. Adding HW Impa alongside Skull Kid and a BotW/TotK character would be fine, but all on her lonesome? That would feel like waiting 10 years for a new Metroid game and getting presented with Federation Force.

Again, this is just me, I know I'm pretty opinionated.

 

[ninjahmos]

Who is the most likely character to be in Smash 6. Like the ones that feel almost guaranteed.

Specific characters rather then just statements like Gen 9/10 Pokemon or New FE main character.

I feel like that would depend on the timing between certain games that feature those characters and Smash 6.

 

[Gengar84]

Well, the developers can do whatever they feel like, of course.
As for me, I'm on board for Geno and Waluigi but not so much for HW Impa (or HW in general, really) for a bunch of reasons, though I won't lie the most important one is number 2.

1. With the exception of Toad, the entire mainline Mario cast is playable in Smash. You have Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Yoshi, Wario, Daisy, Jr. and the Koopalings, even Rosalina and a Piranha Plant. Expanding the roster to spin-offs characters like Waluigi, Geno, Paper Mario, but you could also argue Captain Toad or King Boo, seems fair to me at this point. Personally, I'd prefer Toad over anyone else, but I've kind gotten used to him getting skipped over... Meanwhile Zelda has been starved for characters for a while; and yes, Impa appears in mainline Zelda games, but just... not in the version thst people want.

2. I just really don't like Hyrule Warriors. It's way too trashy and over the top in a way that's completely alien to the actual Zelda games. And, again, at the end of the day it's a spin-off, whatever, I can live with it. But the depictions of the characters that appear in that game absolutely shouldn't become their go-to versions. Smash and other spin-offs should mainly refer to the versions of the characters that appear in actual Zelda games, just like you don't see Mario characters being based on their Strikers portrayals. Mario RPGs usually don't diverge in tone from regular Mario games to such an extent (I know there's a couple of exceptions). Then again, taking some cues from HW here and there is fine, but in the case of Impa it wouldn't be that, aside for some aspects of her design she's 100% made up for that game.

3. After 20 years of waiting, getting a Dynasty Warriors disguised as a Zelda character wouldn't sit right with me. Adding HW Impa alongside Skull Kid and a BotW/TotK character would be fine, but all on her lonesome? That would feel like waiting 10 years for a new Metroid game and getting presented with Federation Force.

Again, this is just me, I know I'm pretty opinionated.

I take objection to the trashy description but you’re entitled to your opinion. The Hyrule Warriors versions of the characters are some of my favorites in the series. I’m also pretty opinionated myself and I advocate for the game and characters because I enjoyed it so much. Honestly, I never really thought much about Impa as a character before Hyrule Warriors and I’ve been largely indifferent to her before and since. If we have to stick with the mainline games for whatever reason, I think I’d rather have Skull Kid or Midna as they’re both really cool looking and have a lot more to pull from in their core appearances. I would absolutely love Lu Bu in Smash though so I’ll happily take a compromise of him and either of the other two if I can’t have HW Impa.

Yknow, the framing of the "sauce / no sauce" conversation may be a pretty... brash way to go about it, but I think honest conversations about the way developers may view these characters' potential or how enticing they would be to the audience are worth having. Pretty much any character has the capacity to be great, I have no malice toward any of our recent topics, but these exciting eye-catching qualities matter just as much as anything for getting a character chosen.

We eventually got Chrom, but we got Robin first. Min-Min and Ninjara were in discussion over Spring Man. "Sauce" is, like it or not, an element that goes into the selection process and I think admitting that a character's struggle to stand out, capture an audience and/or deliver a fun new gameplay role is just as valid a point of conversation as when their last game came out or how much their series sells on average. It probably matters way, way more to like 90% of players.

My issue is, who determines what “sauce” is? A lot of characters I advocate for like the Battletoads, Jinx, Magus, Fulgore, Illidan, Kerrigan, Zero, Alphen/Shionne, Lu Bu, Bill Rizer, Zero, Sub-Zero and Etna have a ton of “sauce” to me but most other people here would have their own preferences. To me, all these characters have a really unique and cool designs and personalities as well as really exciting moveset potential and bring something brand new to Smash. I seem to be alone in my opinions on a lot of these so clearly what has “sauce” to me doesn’t apply for a lot of other people.

 

[BritishGuy54]

Who is the most likely character to be in Smash 6. Like the ones that feel almost guaranteed.

Specific characters rather then just statements like Gen 9/10 Pokemon or New FE main character.

Octoling is pretty obvious. As an alt costume, echo, clone, or unique.

Noah OR Mio is guaranteed simply due my belief that XC4 isn’t coming until around 2028. It could be either of them.

I think Bandana Dee might be a no brainer.

Due to the possibly rocky position of Sega IPs in Smash, I think a second Sonic character (likely Shadow) is very likely.

 

[Guynamednelson]

We eventually got Chrom, but we got Robin first

And that might not be the best...proof that characters should be chosen based on how much "sauce" they had. People clearly wanted to play as Chrom and not just "FE Awakening newcomer with sauce", judging by how he got enough ballot votes to become playable AND he's more popular to play as than Robin.

 

[Shinuto]

She's not a video game character, she's an audio software mascot. If FL Studio or Audacity had a mascot, they wouldn't have a chance either, and those are the same type of program just with different intended uses.
BTW I've said Miku was a possible candidate in the past, but that was my fault for not doing proper research on Vocaloid and assuming it was closer to a rhythm game than what it actually is.

Rob is a toy.

 

[RileyXY1]

Rob is a toy.

To be more accurate, he was a console peripheral created as a marketing gimmick to trick retailers into stocking the NES in the toy section rather than the electronics section, as it was the height of the North American Video Game Crash. It ended up working.

 

[Golden Icarus]

Octolings are the lock for Smash 6 and I don't believe there is a close second. For obvious reasons like Splatoon’s success and easy echo potential, but we hit on those points so often that it’s worth emphasizing that they are also extremely popular. The lore surrounding them and the build up to them finally being playable was a huge deal. The story of the Inklings and Octolings being involved in this grand conflict over 2,000 years ago that was so brutal that the Octolings were forced to hide from society due to prejudice against their species, until finally being integrated into greater society through the events of Splatoon 2's DLC. At this point it's expected that they'll always share the spotlight with the Inklings. Only having the Inklings playable in Smash 6 would unironically feel like racism to a lot of the Splatoon fanbase.

 

[Gengar84]

Okay, let’s flip the “sauce” question around. Who do you think could be a fun surprise pick that not many people are asking for right now that could really win people over thanks to their “sauce” in gameplay, design, and personality? I personally believe a lot of characters I recently named in my last post would fit that bill really well but what do you think? It’s always fun to discover new and exciting characters through Smash you might not have been as familiar with otherwise.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

Who is the most likely character to be in Smash 6. Like the ones that feel almost guaranteed.

Specific characters rather then just statements like Gen 9/10 Pokemon or New FE main character.

It's really funny to me because Inklings were the easiest lock of all time in Ultimate, and now it feels like Octolings are the biggest lock in the next game, whether that be as a new character, an Echo, or just Koopaling/Alph style alts since they have similar body types.

I'd like to say outside of them on the off chance they're an alt or something, I honestly WANT to say Noah or Mio? Xenoblade 3 came out a bit after the supposed planning phase, but not too long after and long before the creation of Studio S, and considering Sakurai has played through 3 in its entirety, I fully expect a character out of it. I don't know if they're necessarily GUARANTEED since I don't like talking about Smash in absolutes, but they're the most likely first party addition in my mind.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Okay, let’s flip the “sauce” question around. Who do you think could be a fun surprise pick that not many people are asking for right now that could really win people over thanks to their “sauce” in gameplay, design, and personality? I personally believe a lot of characters I recently named in my last post would fit that bill really well but what do you think? It’s always fun to discover new and exciting characters through Smash you might not have been as familiar with otherwise.

I keep bringing up Kohga for a reason.

He may not be one of the ones that gets the requests or discussion, but I do feel his concept and what can be done with him for not just moveset but personality in his animations is enough to win Sakurai/the fanbase over.

 

[Gengar84]

It's really funny to me because Inklings were the easiest lock of all time in Ultimate, and now it feels like Octolings are the biggest lock in the next game, whether that be as a new character, an Echo, or just Koopaling/Alph style alts since they have similar body types.

I'd like to say outside of them on the off chance they're an alt or something, I honestly WANT to say Noah or Mio? Xenoblade 3 came out a bit after the supposed planning phase, but not too long after and long before the creation of Studio S, and considering Sakurai has played through 3 in its entirety, I fully expect a character out of it. I don't know if they're necessarily GUARANTEED since I don't like talking about Smash in absolutes, but they're the most likely first party addition in my mind.

I think there’s at least a chance we could get Elma over Noah and Mio. The Xenoblade X remake will be more relevant and we just had a transform duo with the last Xenoblade rep. We could get Noah or Mio solo but I’m not sure if they’re more likely than Elma individually.

 

[Louie G.]

And that might not be the best...proof that characters should be chosen based on how much "sauce" they had. People clearly wanted to play as Chrom and not just "FE Awakening newcomer with sauce", judging by how he got enough ballot votes to become playable AND he's more popular to play as than Robin.

I didn’t necessarily say “should” or take a side on this particular choice, I said they often are. If people like Chrom better so be it, but there’s a reason one was added as a clone and the other was added as a fully unique character.

I quite like Chrom, for what it’s worth. But he was literally skipped over because his potential was not exciting to Sakurai.

 

[Schnee117]

And that might not be the best...proof that characters should be chosen based on how much "sauce" they had. People clearly wanted to play as Chrom and not just "FE Awakening newcomer with sauce", judging by how he got enough ballot votes to become playable AND he's more popular to play as than Robin.

I think this speaks to how the devs implement the characters if anything.
Robin had a lot more to work with to make them unique but it got implemented really poorly. Conversely Chrom just takes Roy's moveset, (a very popular and widely regarded as fun one) makes one move change, some animation changes and a couple property changes and yeah it works excellently for him. He's strong at a casual level and very easy to play where Robin is more involved and is typically considered mediocre at best.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

I think there’s at least a chance we could get Elma over Noah and Mio. The Xenoblade X remake will be more relevant and we just had a transform duo with the last Xenoblade rep. We could get Noah or Mio solo but I’m not sure if they’re more likely than Elma individually.

That's fair and definitely possible, but I feel like Elma would fit better as something like an Assist Trophy, since X isn't super connected to the rest of the series? Definitely a more personal point since she is a bonus Blade in 2, but that's just how I feel about it.

There's also the matter of Xenoblade X coming out in a couple of months and likely being in development during that time frame? Which like is possible for a Smash character, we have Greninja after all, but we don't know if Sakurai gets development info from Monolith like he does for Pokemon, so the development happening around when 3 came out may or may not be a detriment to her. If Sakurai knew about it, it's entirely possible, but if he didn't, Elma has long missed the planning phase window, essentially.

EDIT: Not to mention Pyra and Mythra missed the initial window for Ultimate because Xenoblade 2 came out in 2017 while Ultimate came out in 2018, so that feels to me like it means the latter for Elma since her game is coming out this year and Smash would likely come out next year, though it may depend on dates since Xenoblade 2 was a December release while X Remaster is a March release.

 

[BritishGuy54]

I think there’s at least a chance we could get Elma over Noah and Mio. The Xenoblade X remake will be more relevant and we just had a transform duo with the last Xenoblade rep. We could get Noah or Mio solo but I’m not sure if they’re more likely than Elma individually.

I think Noah and Mio might honestly be implemented more akin to Ice Climbers rather than Pyra and Mythra. It’s at least more game accurate.

Granted, that might pose a problem for a Splatoon idol duo if they’re both an Ice Climbers like addition.

 

[Louie G.]

Granted, that might pose a problem for a Splatoon idol duo if they’re both an Ice Climbers like addition.

This is kinda why I favor the Splatoon teams over these two as a team because like... Pyra and Mythra are already a couple of the most complex character models in the game, having two Xenoblade characters onstage at the same time and then multiplying by a maximum of 8 is a bit nuts. Even if the next system is quite a bit stronger than the Switch, I think it's a very tall order.

The Splatoon characters have toonier proportions (less detailed body structure and easier to scout out from a distance with their big heads) and if you wanted to go with Squid Sisters (not my preference, but it's possible), are similar enough where you can pretty much do what you did with Nana / Popo already and duplicate the model. That's why I always felt Chorus Kids would be practical one day too, but for the time being I feel like that ship has sailed.

 

[KingofPhantoms]

I keep bringing up Kohga for a reason.

He may not be one of the ones that gets the requests or discussion, but I do feel his concept and what can be done with him for not just moveset but personality in his animations is enough to win Sakurai/the fanbase over.

If they pulled and/or took inspiration from Kohga's attacks in all three of his appearances so far for Smash, Kohga's moveset would actually be peak.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

If they pulled and/or took inspiration from Kohga's attacks in all three of his appearances so far for Smash, Kohga's moveset would actually be peak.

And throw in some standard attacks that would suit him like E. Honda palm thrusts or a kancho attack as well.

 

[Golden Icarus]

On the subject of sauce and Xenblade 3, Mio feels custom made to be a Smash character. Her weapon alone does so much to make her stand out, as if they knew at least one of these characters would be in Smash and actively designed her to be the choice. Like I already feel bad for Noah. It’s so Chrom / Robin, Rex / Pyra, Spring Man / Min Min coded, except Mio is actually even more of a main character than those other examples.

A duo mechanic sounds possible? But wildly complicated and unnecessary when Mio could carry herself so easily as a stand-alone character.

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

I keep bringing up Kohga for a reason.

He may not be one of the ones that gets the requests or discussion, but I do feel his concept and what can be done with him for not just moveset but personality in his animations is enough to win Sakurai/the fanbase over.

Kohga would honestly be such a breath of fresh air, even if not necessarily the most expected pick out there. I've mentioned Sidon a few times before now as a pick I feel might be a little more "realistic" from the Wild duology (due to a mix of fan reception, moveset potential and general prominence), but Kohga's genuinely one of my favourite dark-horse calls - just because of how much personality he has or how interesting he could be mechanically (and how it'd feel simultaneously bizarre, but also kind of perfect, to see him included.)

 

[Gengar84]

On the subject of sauce and Xenblade 3, Mio feels custom made to be a Smash character. Her weapon alone does so much to make her stand out, as if they knew at least one of these characters would be in Smash and actively designed her to be the choice. Like I already feel bad for Noah. It’s so Chrom / Robin, Rex / Pyra, Spring Man / Min Min coded, except Mio is actually even more of a main character than those other examples.

A duo mechanic sounds possible? But wildly complicated and unnecessary when Mio could carry herself so easily as a stand-alone character.

If we get solo Mio, I’m personally hoping for Nia as an echo. Nia’s my favorite character in the series and would work pretty well as a Mio echo.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

On the subject of sauce and Xenblade 3, Mio feels custom made to be a Smash character. Her weapon alone does so much to make her stand out, as if they knew at least one of these characters would be in Smash and actively designed her to be the choice. Like I already feel bad for Noah. It’s so Chrom / Robin, Rex / Pyra, Spring Man / Min Min coded, except Mio is actually even more of a main character than those other examples.

A duo mechanic sounds possible? But wildly complicated and unnecessary when Mio could carry herself so easily as a stand-alone character.

The only reason I expect Noah more as a solo character if it comes down to that is that Noah is the one with the plot sword AKA Lucky Seven.

Otherwise I do agree that Mio would be more unique by virtue of her weapon type and Noah could theoretically show up for Final Smash like Rex does.

 

[Thegameandwatch]

I feel like another character that could be in Smash 6 is a character from Ring Fit Adventure (the trainer for example) and especially since that game sold 15 million copies. The most out of any new IP on Switch.

 

[cashregister9]

On the subject of sauce and Xenblade 3, Mio feels custom made to be a Smash character. Her weapon alone does so much to make her stand out, as if they knew at least one of these characters would be in Smash and actively designed her to be the choice. Like I already feel bad for Noah. It’s so Chrom / Robin, Rex / Pyra, Spring Man / Min Min coded, except Mio is actually even more of a main character than those other examples.

A duo mechanic sounds possible? But wildly complicated and unnecessary when Mio could carry herself so easily as a stand-alone character.

The only reason I expect Noah more as a solo character if it comes down to that is that Noah is the one with the plot sword AKA Lucky Seven.

Otherwise I do agree that Mio would be more unique by virtue of her weapon type and Noah could theoretically show up for Final Smash like Rex does.

Still maintaining that adding both characters as separate slots on the roster is the best way to represent them.

They both have too much potential to leave the other behind.

 

[Golden Icarus]

Not saying it’s unlikely, but if next game has Shulk, Pyra, Mythra, Noah and Mio and still nothing from Xenoblade X…hoo boy the disrespect will feel so personal.

 

[Louie G.]

Still maintaining that adding both characters as separate slots on the roster is the best way to represent them.

They both have too much potential to leave the other behind.

I just have a hard time seeing Xenoblade have, on technicality, five characters next game. I'm sure they both have a lot of great stuff going for them but for a series of Xenoblade's scale and popularity, this is a whole lot to ask of it. I consider Shulk and Pyra / Mythra virtual locks next game so stomaching not one but two totally unique new characters on top of that for a series only three (four?) games large... I dunno.

I could understand getting one or the other just on the premise of it being a notable release between games, Xenoblade offers a good deal of fighter potential so it makes sense for it to climb the same way Fire Emblem has. I don't think it's guaranteed the way Pokemon or FE were in the past, but I can see it being a Lucas type situation I guess. Although by the time Fire Emblem had five characters in Smash, it was on its thirteenth game.

I know this is kind of arbitrary, but I think we're just moving a little too fast on Xenoblade when we talk about stuff like this... it's not like, this megaton series. It's a healthy, moderate success that will probably continue to get sustenance in Smash Bros but that I'm hesitant to suddenly start treating like an A-lister. Maybe if it was moving units the way Splatoon has been.

 

[Shinuto]

Okay, let’s flip the “sauce” question around. Who do you think could be a fun surprise pick that not many people are asking for right now that could really win people over thanks to their “sauce” in gameplay, design, and personality? I personally believe a lot of characters I recently named in my last post would fit that bill really well but what do you think? It’s always fun to discover new and exciting characters through Smash you might not have been as familiar with otherwise.

KOS-MOS, Marina Liteyears, Shantae, Nia, Lip, 2B, and Morrigan

On the subject of sauce and Xenblade 3, Mio feels custom made to be a Smash character. Her weapon alone does so much to make her stand out, as if they knew at least one of these characters would be in Smash and actively designed her to be the choice. Like I already feel bad for Noah. It’s so Chrom / Robin, Rex / Pyra, Spring Man / Min Min coded, except Mio is actually even more of a main character than those other examples.



A duo mechanic sounds possible? But wildly complicated and unnecessary when Mio could carry herself so easily as a stand-alone character.

Her mother provides all that plus a mount to potentially ride into battle as well ...just saying, the OG catgirl offers more lol

 

[maf91186]

Okay, let’s flip the “sauce” question around. Who do you think could be a fun surprise pick that not many people are asking for right now that could really win people over thanks to their “sauce” in gameplay, design, and personality? I personally believe a lot of characters I recently named in my last post would fit that bill really well but what do you think? It’s always fun to discover new and exciting characters through Smash you might not have been as familiar with otherwise.

These guys right here. Realistic? No. In fact I'd say at least 4 are actually never-evers. Fun? In my world, absolutely

 

[Thegameandwatch]

Not saying it’s unlikely, but if next game has Shulk, Pyra, Mythra, Noah and Mio and still nothing from Xenoblade X…hoo boy the disrespect will feel so personal.

I feel like there would have already been an Xenoblade X character if Ultimate prioritized new characters in the base roster.

 

[PersonAngelo53]

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

Thought I share this cause there is some intersting switch 2 leaks going on lately. Close to the end of the video if that rumor project x zone game with more Nintendo characters is real I be so hyped not gonna lie.

 

[WeirdChillFever]

My issue is, who determines what “sauce” is? A lot of characters I advocate for like the Battletoads, Jinx, Magus, Fulgore, Illidan, Kerrigan, Zero, Alphen/Shionne, Lu Bu, Bill Rizer, Zero, Sub-Zero and Etna have a ton of “sauce” to me but most other people here would have their own preferences. To me, all these characters have a really unique and cool designs and personalities as well as really exciting moveset potential and bring something brand new to Smash. I seem to be alone in my opinions on a lot of these so clearly what has “sauce” to me doesn’t apply for a lot of other people.

And even incredibly “saucy” character King K. Rool, who had one of the most if not the most speculated upon moveset in Smash history, got a completely Smash original hook in the functionality of his belly armor. “Sauce” is subjective and since Smash us a one-person show in Sakurai, I feel like it’s a factor that’s nigh impossible to pin down in terms of how it affects likelihood.

 

[Thegameandwatch]

And even incredibly “saucy” character King K. Rool, who had one of the most if not the most speculated upon moveset in Smash history, got a completely Smash original hook in the functionality of his belly armor.

Other characters also got unique mechanics that aren’t in their games.

Joker is an example since he works differently from how he works in his origin game.

In Persona 5, Summoning a Persona isn’t a comeback mechanic and they generally only show up when using Persona specific attacks. He can summon more than just one.

I feel like the Smash developers did what they did to be more creative with his moveset at the cost of faithfulness.

 

[Gorgonzales]

Are we talking about sauce? Plankton has sauce.
He's probably the sauciest platform fighter character ever.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Are we talking about sauce? Plankton has sauce.
He's probably the sauciest platform fighter character ever.

View attachment 397381

Ironic, given that he said SpongeBob was using too much sauce.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

I keep bringing up Kohga for a reason.

He may not be one of the ones that gets the requests or discussion, but I do feel his concept and what can be done with him for not just moveset but personality in his animations is enough to win Sakurai/the fanbase over.

This is the first time I remember Master Kohga discussion, but actually, with his pretty sizable role in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, he probably is one of the most likely characters from the duology. The four champions and are a packaged deal, the sages are somewhat similar, Hestu is kind of a meme pick, and Rauru doesn't exactly scream "Smash fighter" to me.

So...yeah, if I were to place my bets on a character from that era, probably him or Sidon.

I think there’s at least a chance we could get Elma over Noah and Mio. The Xenoblade X remake will be more relevant and we just had a transform duo with the last Xenoblade rep. We could get Noah or Mio solo but I’m not sure if they’re more likely than Elma individually.

Remakes are generally ignored when it comes to character selections, and even if not it's coming way after roster selections were made. I think Noah and/or Mio are way more likely than Elma, with the latter only having a shot if Sakurai is starting to select Xenoblade Chronicles characters the way he selects Pokémon, and Xenoblade Chronicles X2 is also in the works or something.

 

[Idon]

It's going to be quite a shocker when people actually play Xenoblade X for the first time and realize you don't play as Elma ever and at a certain point, barely fight on the ground when most combat is relegated to the giant robots you paid money to upgrade with parts.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

It's going to be quite a shocker when people actually play Xenoblade X for the first time and realize you don't play as Elma ever and at a certain point, barely fight on the ground when most combat is relegated to the giant robots you paid money to upgrade with parts.

I didn't do a whole lot of Skell combat since they come so late in the game, they're ludicrously expensive, and it doesn't feel nearly as good as grounded combat.

Also IIRC infinite Overdrive builds are far more effective unless you put in the crap load of work to build the super broken Skell and farm the ridiculously rare parts for it.

 

[Ivander]

It's going to be quite a shocker when people actually play Xenoblade X for the first time and realize you don't play as Elma ever and at a certain point, barely fight on the ground when most combat is relegated to the giant robots you paid money to upgrade with parts.

That's not 100% true. Some people don't know this, but if you switch a party member to the front on your formation where your main character/custom character is, you control that character instead of your main character. You can't switch out your main character out of the party, which is probably why some people don't know that, but you can switch them around in the party, allowing you to control other characters instead.
And Elma is a fantastic one to control early for when you are doing exploration, because she gets access to Blood Sacrifice and Shadowrunner early and Shadowrunner messes with enemies with Sight-based Aggro, allowing you to literally Jedi-mind trick your way to enemy-heavy areas to get waypoints, mines and whatnot. Shadowrunner does require TP though, and that's where Blood Sacrifice comes in to give enough TP to use Shadowrunner.

So while you don't play Elma normally, you can play as her when you switch her to the front of your party.