Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[fogbadge]

My first video game ever was New Super Mario Bros. for the DS.

wow you are young

 

[RileyXY1]

I started with the NSMB games too, I have nostalgia for that artstyle. But a lot of that style came from a push by Nintendo to standardize the franchise so it aligned with the marketing, which really limited the amount of creative expression these games were capable of. Paper Mario got hit the worst by this, I think, just look at Stciker Star. I’m just happy to see them lighten up on those restrictions, and the series becoming more expressive and zany in its visual design, especially after years and years of people whining about how bland Mario had become.

Yeah. During the Wii and Wii U generations the Mario franchise became far too formulaic and the games just felt bland and uninspired. Thankfully the success of the Switch and Mario Odyssey in particular made Nintendo rethink this approach to SMB.

 

[Gorgonzales]

Pauline's trademark look is her purple eyeshadow and red lipstick, which obviously wouldn't look right on an infant. And Pauline isn't a mainstream enough character to get her own baby version. Baby Yoshi is where it's at. My most wanted character for sure.

On a serious note, after all the criticism, I don't think they'll introduce any more babies. I'm surprised they even kept the already existing ones tbh.

I think Baby Yoshi would be a surprisingly great addition. Has the benefit of being actually important in the main series and having a distinct enough appeal from his adult counterpart (in both appearance and abilities) to be a character that I can actually root for being included.

Look at these little doofuses. Adorable.

 

[Gengar84]

I think Baby Yoshi would be a surprisingly great addition. Has the benefit of being actually important in the main series and having a distinct enough appeal from his adult counterpart (in both appearance and abilities) to be a character that I can actually root for being included.

Look at these little doofuses. Adorable.

Yeah, I actually really like Baby Yoshi. I could do without all the other babies but Baby Yoshi is cool.

 

[Kirbeh]

I think my most wanted MK newcomers at the moment are a Tostarenan and Shiverian, but it'd also be really funny if they added a New Donker without changing anything about them.

 

[Laniv]

...Wow, Mario's been at this for 40 years now, and how many Black characters have there been in the series?

 

[Ivander]

I think Baby Yoshi would be a surprisingly great addition. Has the benefit of being actually important in the main series and having a distinct enough appeal from his adult counterpart (in both appearance and abilities) to be a character that I can actually root for being included.

Look at these little doofuses. Adorable.

I mean......I wouldn't dislike them since I enjoyed them in NSMB Wii U....but like....we have 5 babies already...and not enough of other Mario characters...

Geez, usually when you see a new entry in a game, you're supposed to be excited about what the new characters and stages are going to be, not dreading which baby version of a character is going to happen.

 

[Louie G.]

...Wow, Mario's been at this for 40 years now, and how many Black characters have there been in the series?

That’s why we need Il Piantissimo!

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

I think I agree with superprincess . There's also the matter of the babies being reskins of each other, and I don't think Pauline could do that since she's not a princess and therefore wouldn't have that aesthetic. It's probably why we've never gotten Baby Wario.

Also since being a classy lady doesn't really translate to a baby, music is all that's left for a hypothetical Baby Pauline, which is also a bit more difficult to do since you'd pretty much just have an annoying singing baby.

EDIT: I was more thinking in terms of Baby Wario being a copy of Baby Mario's model, but the idea of Baby Wario getting rejected because he's not a princess amuses me.

 

[Laniv]

That’s why we need Il Piantissimo!

Is he Black, or is he ambiguously brown like Yoruichi?

 

[Guynamednelson]

Is he Black, or is he ambiguously brown like Yoruichi?

He's got the Running Man's head under his Pianta mask, so he's...Hylian.

 

[DarthEnderX]

What problem do they have with Donkey Kong, for real? Never seen a company be so spiteful to one of its own characters.

Seeing it not compatible with every single Switch game does suck a bit, but there's gotta be some variables we don't know that justify it.

I hope it's just an incompatibility with certain games hardward(like Ring Fit or Labo), and not a matter of "only games that are updated for compatibility".

It’s a shame to see his designs get phased out.

Is it though? It still has the tie and the ice cream hair. So what if the proportions are slightly different?

Seeing a lot of people excited about 24 racers in Mario Kart.

Fools. What they don't realize is that now they're TWICE as likely to get Mario Karted. The salt will flow like we've never experienced before. Be warned.

Oh god...double the Blue Shells, Lightning Bolts and Bloobers...

Oh jeez. Mario's torso is like, 2 cm.

Mario RPG proportions!

If Mario Kart... 9? 10? ends up doing its own EiH I'm gonna laugh so hard

'Everyone is Here!" isn't that impressive for Mario Kart. It's not like they have different moveset.

Now 'Everycourse is Here!"...THAT would be a feat!

The virus is spreading

 

[Louie G.]

Is he Black, or is he ambiguously brown like Yoruichi?

It’s hard to say what they were aiming for, and we’ll probably never really know but even so - any kind of dark skinned character would feel fresh among the Mario crew, honestly. We don’t really even have that.

 

[DarthEnderX]

My hopes for the Kart roster are as follows:

Mario RPG/Paper Mario partners.

Gimmie Geno! Gimmie Vivian! Gimmie Bobbery!

 

[Ivander]

Oh god...double the Blue Shells, Lightning Bolts and Bloobers...

Actually, unless they make Lightning Bolts very rare, having Lightning Bolts in a 24-man race would be pretty disruptive. And I thought there was an article on something about how they were considering taking out the Lightning Bolt, which would make sense if it's because of the number of racers and how disruptive it would be if it was constantly getting gotten.

 

[ninjahmos]

I think my most wanted MK newcomers at the moment are a Tostarenan and Shiverian, but it'd also be really funny if they added a New Donker without changing anything about them.

View attachment 397845

I think it would be hilarious just for the amount of uncanny valley it would cause. You have a cast of characters in a cutesy artstyle…and then you have some realistic-looking dude.

 

[Kirbeh]

...Wow, Mario's been at this for 40 years now, and how many Black characters have there been in the series?

If were counting NBA Street V3 then a decent amount. If not, then none.

If we were to get an Odyssey 2 or similar style of game, I think it'd be fun if they pulled a Super Mario Land and made Kingdoms loosely based on real world locations again. They can pull a Disney and expand the lineup of princesses or something. There's a lot you could do there honestly.

 

[Gorgonzales]

Actually, unless they make Lightning Bolts very rare, having Lightning Bolts in a 24-man race would be pretty disruptive. And I thought there was an article on something about how they were considering taking out the Lightning Bolt, which would make sense if it's because of the number of racers and how disruptive it would be if it was constantly getting gotten.

Lightning and Bloopers are really annoying to the point where I disable them every time I play Mario Kart 8. Lightning would especially be really disruptive in a 24 player race; if they keep it, they should make it so that only the top 12 players are struck or something.

The Blooper has never been a good item to receive or get hit by. It's fundamentally flawed, since it punishes new players for not knowing the track layouts and barely affects veterans. Hoping they just axe the item and make Blooper a playable character.

I think Blue Shells would have increased value in a 24 player environment, would love to see how those play out.

 

[HyperSomari64]

I'm also Team Everyone is Here

Mario RPG/Paper Mario partners.

Gimmie Geno! Gimmie Vivian! Gimmie Bobbery!

what about the Mario & Luigi ones?
Fawful, Popple, Starlow.

 

[BritishGuy54]

Everyone’s out here predicting the RPG characters again, and will inevitably be disappointed again.

The bare minimum for Mario Kart 9/X to do is add Nabbit. I was surprised they left him out of the BCP,

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

View attachment 397847
Everyone’s out here predicting the RPG characters again, and will inevitably be disappointed again.

The bare minimum for Mario Kart 9/X to do is add Nabbit. I was surprised they left him out of the BCP,

Honestly I was shocked he wasn't the last character instead of Peachette.

I do think after Wonder he'll definitely be there though.

 

[Ivander]

If were counting NBA Street V3 then a decent amount. If not, then none.

If we were to get an Odyssey 2 or similar style of game, I think it'd be fun if they pulled a Super Mario Land and made Kingdoms loosely based on real world locations again. They can pull a Disney and expand the lineup of princesses or something. There's a lot you could do there honestly.

I think we got enough for a whole lineup already.

First one even has a baby form and a Wario form and a more mature form.

 

[Thegameandwatch]

Do you guys think that the non-Mario character (such as Link, Inkling, and ETC) will return in Mario Kart 9 or at least for DLC?

 

[Kirbeh]

I think we got enough for a whole lineup already.

View attachment 397848

First one even has a baby form and a Wario form and a more mature form.

I'd take most of those but not quite what I meant. This was in regard to human characters. Also, Eclair doesn't count in my book. Mentioned only, never seen.

 

[Ivander]

View attachment 397847
Everyone’s out here predicting the RPG characters again, and will inevitably be disappointed again.

The bare minimum for Mario Kart 9/X to do is add Nabbit. I was surprised they left him out of the BCP,

Well, he might be hinted at.

https://www.reddit.com/r/mariokart/comments/1i2sz6t/does_this_confirm_nabbit_and_morton_are_in/

Some people found a couple signs that have Mortan Koopa and Nabbit. It doesn't outright confirm them, as Birdo had a sign in Mario Kart 8 before her DLC appearance, but it's possible.

Also, Eclair doesn't count in my book. Mentioned only, never seen.

Haven't you heard the old saying, "jokes are the deepest lore"? She'll happen at some point.

 

[BritishGuy54]

Do you guys think that the non-Mario character (such as Link, Inkling, and ETC) will return in Mario Kart 9 or at least for DLC?

Judging by this reveal of Mario Kart 9, I think they may end up being DLC again.

 

[Noipoi]

Do you guys think that the non-Mario character (such as Link, Inkling, and ETC) will return in Mario Kart 9 or at least for DLC?

DLC for sure

 

[fogbadge]

...Wow, Mario's been at this for 40 years now, and how many Black characters have there been in the series?

I assume we're not counting yoshi or shy guy. quick glance on the wiki it's not looking good

 

[BuckleyTim]

All this talk of smash cycling out collaboration picks, and we hadn't even considered the idea that Nintendo would be doing that with Mario kart.

Anyway get those character support threads open... I don't care if we go for two years and then an announcement comes out that smash is years away still, im feeling it!

 

[RealLuigisWearPink]

The winds of change are in the air, folks. Do you sense it? Smash Fan hopium is in the air. It’s console speculation season at last.

 

[Laniv]

I assume we're not counting yoshi or shy guy. quick glance on the wiki it's not looking good

Not that kind of Black

It's funny/depressing because there was one Black Mario character in Mario Golf 64 (named Kid), and he was... a straight-up racist caricature.

 

[ninjahmos]

The winds of change are in the air, folks. Do you sense it? Smash Fan hopium is in the air. It’s console speculation season at last.

…Again.

 

[fogbadge]

Not that kind of Black

It's funny/depressing because there was one Black Mario character in Mario Golf 64 (named Kid), and he was... a straight-up racist caricature.

oof

 

[DarthEnderX]

I think Blue Shells would have increased value in a 24 player environment, would love to see how those play out.

Blue Shells are useless. It's an item you only get when you're way behind, that only screws over the first place racer. It doesn't nothing to help the person using it move up.

Metals, babies, and clones are fine at this point. It's the lack of other characters that's an issue. Quick reskins don't hurt anything.

I just wish they were selected like alt colors/costumes. Instead of being separate character slots.

Aside from the new Bowser Castle and Rainbow Road, what other new courses would you guys like to see in the new Mario Kart?

Painted Swampland.

really not beating the darthender allegations

pfft You're an amateur. New Super Mario Bros.? That's not nearly retro enough!

Mario achieved perfection with the Mario 3 box art!

Look at these little doofuses. Adorable.

Inferior Yoshi Jr. designs!

...Wow, Mario's been at this for 40 years now, and how many Black characters have there been in the series?

I mean, how many human characters have been in the series? Like, 8?

 

[Gengar84]

All this talk of smash cycling out collaboration picks, and we hadn't even considered the idea that Nintendo would be doing that with Mario kart.

Anyway get those character support threads open... I don't care if we go for two years and then an announcement comes out that smash is years away still, im feeling it!

I’ve got a bunch of ideas ready for support threads whenever they do open again. Whether anyone else actually cares about any of those characters is an entirely different question (the answer is probably not lol).

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

Do you guys think that the non-Mario character (such as Link, Inkling, and ETC) will return in Mario Kart 9 or at least for DLC?

I think it's possible that the ones we already have (Inklings, Link, the Villagers, and Isabelle) could come back?

Any new ones though I think would certainly be DLC, like how those four were in the original release of 8.

 

[Laniv]

I mean, how many human characters have been in the series? Like, 8?

6 recurring human characters, and they're all fair skinned and, with the exception of Wario and Waluigi, they all have blue eyes.

In a series that has mushroom people, dinosaurs, fire-breathing turtles, baby stars, that they somehow haven't had even a couple of Black characters in this long is kinda embarrassing

 

[Gengar84]

6 recurring human characters, and they're all fair skinned and, with the exception of Wario and Waluigi, they all have blue eyes.

In a series that has mushroom people, dinosaurs, fire-breathing turtles, baby stars, that they somehow haven't had even a couple of Black characters in this long is kinda embarrassing

I think it’s mostly because they keep reusing the same human characters and don’t regularly add new ones. The last major human character added I remember is Rosalina. If they added human characters more often, I think we’d have likely seen more diversity by now.

 

[BuckleyTim]

Well, with a brand new Mario 3d hopefully right around the corner, we'll have a prime opportunity to introduce some new good characters to the series.

 

[Golden Icarus]

I think Baby Yoshi would be a surprisingly great addition. Has the benefit of being actually important in the main series and having a distinct enough appeal from his adult counterpart (in both appearance and abilities) to be a character that I can actually root for being included.

Look at these little doofuses. Adorable.

I was just thinking about how much I dislike the babies taking up space in Mario Kart, but you just made me realize that there is at least one baby that would actually excite me. Those little guys are great.

100%. I’m personally hoping for E. Gadd and the Tostarenans from Odyssey.
View attachment 388097
These guys rule.

These fellas are still my most wanteds for the next Mario Kart. ****ing love them. If there's one species from Odyssey that should become series regulars, it's them. Piantas and Lumas wish they had this much charm.