Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[dream1ng]

Even with his franchise's increased presence in Ultimate from next to nothing in Smash 4, with the Mii Costume and the highest number of Spirits of a non-playable franchise and everything.

It FEELS like acknowledgment of some level of success on the Ballot for a character that wouldn't fit into a limited newcomer roster like Ultimate's but could fit into a more traditional number of newcomers like I'm hoping the next Smash will have. He FEELS likely.

Sure, I agree the amount of content GS got was likely due to his placement on the ballot and the fact that he couldn't make it as a character but they wanted to give the fans something. I think if Ultimate had the normal amount of base newcomers, he probably would've been one of them.

But none of that consolation supporting content were what people were reading as hints towards his playability.

 

[Diddy Kong]

The idea that a character would have been partially developed but made into an Assist instead is ludicrous. That's not at all how fighters or Assists work.

Isaac simply was a notable enough request on the Ballot to warrant acknowledgement but was not picked as a fighter. All there is to it.

Probably read into it wrong yeah. I'll admit. I think he might at least have been considered. But yeah he doesn't quite hold up to Ridley and K.Rool in terms of popularity. Or was urgent like Isabelle or Inklings. Easy to miss the boat.

But there was at least some type of acknowledgement to his popularity. And I don't think his chances are that bad for this next Smash.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

Sure, I agree the amount of content GS got was likely due to his placement on the ballot and the fact that he couldn't make it as a character but they wanted to give the fans something. I think if Ultimate had the normal amount of base newcomers, he probably would've been one of them.

But none of that consolation supporting content were what people were reading as hints towards his playability.

Right, I'm just equating it to my opinions on Isaac whenever he comes up here now

Obviously, we had no way to know how much content he was getting pre-launch and I definitely remember the days where people thought the Healing Sprout was a blob of Growth Psynergy and the day the Rathalos pic came out lol

 

[Wunderwaft]

Oh man, Isaac is a character stuck between a rock and a hard place with how so much is stacked up against him going into the next Smash. He's not that unlikely, sometimes popularity is all you need to net yourself a spot on the roster, but what I wonder about most is how much of that is gonna be able to help him when the competition for the next game will be cutthroat as hell. No revival for GS has happened yet and that's really gonna make the case for Isaac more difficult as the series grows older and older.

Yet despite all that, I still have this lingering feeling that he probably will still happen in this next game. It's a copium filled gut feeling I'll admit, but Isaac being a popular character that isn't likely does make me think he could be picked up for that wow factor and to rouse up a bombastic fanfare from the fanbase.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

Oh man, Isaac is a character stuck between a rock and a hard place with how so much is stacked up against him going into the next Smash. He's not that unlikely, sometimes popularity is all you need to net yourself a spot on the roster, but what I wonder about most is how much of that is gonna be able to help him when the competition for the next game will be cutthroat as hell. No revival for GS has happened yet and that's really gonna make the case for Isaac more difficult as the series grows older and older.

Yet despite all that, I still have this lingering feeling that he probably will still happen in this next game. It's a copium filled gut feeling I'll admit, but Isaac being a popular character that isn't likely does make me think he could be picked up for that wow factor and to rouse up a bombastic fanfare from the fanbase.

I do feel like the sheer gap of content for Golden Sun between 4 and Ultimate PROBABLY means SOMETHING, I'm just bracing myself in case it doesn't or they feel like that's all they needed to do lol

Like I honestly feel like the Mii Costume is important because of characters like K. Rool getting one in 4 as an indication of popularity (a long dormant character suddenly getting a sort of "consolation" playable role after all this time and then becoming playable next game), it just depends on how much they look at the Ballot for next game considering it's a decade old. Maybe pick up a few first party stragglers that are high up and fit em in there and then call it a day on that, get a new one going at the end of next game?

I just find it impossible to talk about Smash Bros. in absolutes because who the heck knows what goes on over there in Sakurai's mind lmao

 

[smashkirby]

I kinda want them to bring back the PW64 characters and the Flight Club members from the original SNES game. Although, the difference in artstyles would probably make that difficult.

Man, I can only imagine what THAT crossover would be like... Actually, the more I think about it? The more I wonder... what WAS up with the drastic character design change? Not that I hated it, mind you (there's a reason PW64 is my favorite Pilotwings game after all), but it makes me wonder...

 

[Wunderwaft]

I do feel like the sheer gap of content for Golden Sun between 4 and Ultimate PROBABLY means SOMETHING, I'm just bracing myself in case it doesn't or they feel like that's all they needed to do lol

Like I honestly feel like the Mii Costume is important because of characters like K. Rool getting one in 4 as an indication of popularity (a long dormant character suddenly getting a sort of "consolation" playable role after all this time and then becoming playable next game), it just depends on how much they look at the Ballot for next game considering it's a decade old. Maybe pick up a few first party stragglers that are high up and fit em in there and then call it a day on that, get a new one going at the end of next game?

I just find it impossible to talk about Smash Bros. in absolutes because who the heck knows what goes on over there in Sakurai's mind lmao

There's nothing absolute about Smash but that's the fun part about speculation, you throw around your takes until one of them is correct

Isaac just feels like someone who very much itches the "popular and unexpected" character agenda that could be pulled out for Smash, and I very much could see Isaac picked for that role. He could also be picked for retro-related reasons....which I was unaware of until a friend told me that next year Dark Dawn will be further away than when Ice Climbers were added back in Melee

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

He could also be picked for retro-related reasons....which I was unaware of until a friend told me that next year Dark Dawn will be further away than when Ice Climbers were added back in Melee

Even moreso if they go with his original appearance like they do for his Assist Trophy since Golden Sun was a GBA launch window title in 2001 lol

 

[DarthEnderX]

Of course they won't. They already didn't. looks at Mario Kart

And there's Pokemon over there.

I feel like Shadow has enough stuff to be a semi clone or even something similar to how Wolf was handled rather than an Echo.

I think semiclones should count as Echoes in the next game.

You're either fully unique, or you're an Echo.

Let's say a new Smash releases and there are cuts.

But these five characters stay.

What do you think would be the developer's justifications for keeping these five?

A grudge against me, personally.

I think I'm opposed to an Ultimate port for two reasons.

One, it has the same problem as Mario Kart 8

Being the best, most perfect execution of their series?

We'd be more likely to get newcomers in a new game than a port, period.

I dunno man. The port of MK8 literally doubled the size of the game.

Every Smash game dashes peoples' expectations

Smash Ultimate exceeded my expectations.

 

[SPEN18]

The amount of GS content in Ult is pretty clearly due to the ballot. I don't see any other reasonably likely explanation for how it went from practically zero in Smash 4 to that much. Which further confirms the polling data saying that he did extremely well. I wouldn't be surprised if he had the best result of all first parties who haven't already made it in. Which is pretty much the big pin he can hang his chances on, in addition to vast moveset potential which is frankly pretty impossible not to see if you're decently familiar with the character and series. Obviously the longtime dormancy of his franchise is a major point against his likelihood and keeps him from being mentioned alongside some of the perceived most likely candidates, but I think he has strong chances nonetheless, again because it's entirely possible his ballot performance was really that strong and that moveset potential is very conspicuous.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

The amount of GS content in Ult is pretty clearly due to the ballot. I don't see any other reasonably likely explanation for how it went from practically zero in Smash 4 to that much. Which further confirms the polling data saying that he did extremely well. I wouldn't be surprised if he had the best result of all first parties who haven't already made it in. Which is pretty much the big pin he can hang his chances on, in addition to vast moveset potential which is frankly pretty impossible not to see if you're decently familiar with the character and series. Obviously the longtime dormancy of his franchise is a major point against his likelihood and keeps him from being mentioned alongside some of the perceived most likely candidates, but I think he has strong chances nonetheless, again because it's entirely possible his ballot performance was really that strong and that moveset potential is very conspicuous.

Plus as others have mentioned before, Camelot's been quiet for a while now, longer than usual, so there's a non-zero chance that they could be working on remedying that dormancy in some way.

I'll believe that when I see it, but it IS a non-zero chance considering all the remakes and revivals in the Switch's lifespan.

 

[SPEN18]

Plus as others have mentioned before, Camelot's been quiet for a while now, longer than usual, so there's a non-zero chance that they could be working on remedying that dormancy in some way.

Yeah I think the default expectation has to be that they're working on another Mario sports game for Switch 2, and the delay in the Switch 2 may have even pushed back the expected release date. But it's not completely inconceivable that they got a GS greenlit after having completed their Switch 1 Mario sports titles.

 

[Kirbeh]

I still kinda want to see a Smash game that cuts every single veteran and has only newcomers. It'd make 0 sense financially, but it'd be fresh.

If you want something fresh and haven't done so already, I highly recommend playing other platfighters, just saying.

Makes more sense than hoping for a Smash Bros. with no Mario.

 

[MBRedboy31]

If you want something fresh and haven't done so already, I highly recommend playing other platfighters, just saying.

Makes more sense than hoping for a Smash Bros. with no Mario.

Yes, I’ve played other platfighters. However, they aren’t really as interesting to speculate about. Rivals 2 and NASB have rather limited-feeling scopes as to what characters could be in them (plus NASB has no confirmed upcoming content,) and MVS characters are pretty much guaranteed to be leaked way in advance so there’s little to talk about.

Plus, this thread is way, way, way more active than any threads for any other platfighters.

 

[Thegameandwatch]

I think semiclones should count as Echoes in the next game

I guess that means an echo can have an echo if Roy and Chrom return.

One example of a character that could have issue with this is Wolf who only really shares his Nair and reflector with Fox.

I feel like the only change I can see with how echoes are defined is some regular ones that weren’t become echoes. An example is Dr Mario who wasn’t an echo presumably because of Melee.

 

[DarthEnderX]

I guess that means an echo can have an echo if Roy and Chrom return.

Not if you give Chrom a new moveset. Make Lucina his Echo. Then make Roy into Marth's Echo.

One example of a character that could have issue with this is Wolf who only really shares his Nair and reflector with Fox.

A problem easily solved by giving Wolf a new Nair and Reflector. Then he wouldn't be an Echo.

 

[waddledeeonredyoshi]

Let's try a though experiment.

Let's say a new Smash releases and there are cuts.

But these five characters stay.

What do you think would be the developer's justifications for keeping these five? They don't all have to have the same reason.

"We really wanted Gen 2 to keep its sole representative on the roster"
"We added Skull Kid and wanted Young Link with a Fierce Deity Final Smash to make Majora's Mask's representation feel truly whole (in be4 it's just Triforce Slash again)"
"PLANTGANG4LIFE"
"As the only wrestling themed character he's just to fun to cut"
"It's now company policy to include as many Fire Emblem characters as we realistically can"

 

[BritishGuy54]

Let’s do the opposite. Most characters stay, but these guys get cut. What would be the dev’s justification for doing so?

 

[fogbadge]

Let’s do the opposite. Most characters stay, but these guys get cut. What would be the dev’s justification for doing so?

it's our game we can do whatever the **** we want with it

 

[Diddy Kong]

Oh man, Isaac is a character stuck between a rock and a hard place with how so much is stacked up against him going into the next Smash. He's not that unlikely, sometimes popularity is all you need to net yourself a spot on the roster, but what I wonder about most is how much of that is gonna be able to help him when the competition for the next game will be cutthroat as hell. No revival for GS has happened yet and that's really gonna make the case for Isaac more difficult as the series grows older and older.

Yet despite all that, I still have this lingering feeling that he probably will still happen in this next game. It's a copium filled gut feeling I'll admit, but Isaac being a popular character that isn't likely does make me think he could be picked up for that wow factor and to rouse up a bombastic fanfare from the fanbase.

In a way, his chances are comparable to Waluigi. Very popular, but just as easily missable in terms of inclusion because there's just a lot of competition. Yet in terms of popularity they probably stand their own league in terms of what's left.

Also obviously both have been Assist Trophies and are created by Camelot. Probably some of the most popular characters left outside of the likes of Dixie, Bandana Dee, Funky, Midna, Skull Kid and Impa.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

I do get the vibe that for Ultimate they did heavily consider Isaac for the roster but just decided not to go through with it for one reason or another.

 

[Hypercat-Z]

In a way, his chances are comparable to Waluigi.

The real problem of Waluigi is he's still thorn between the Mario's franchise and the Wario's franchise.

 

[Gengar84]

Let’s do the opposite. Most characters stay, but these guys get cut. What would be the dev’s justification for doing so?

I think the biggest reason for all of them would be lack of current relevance. I think Jigglypuff has the added hurdle of a ton of competition within its home series and even generation but has the benefit of being one of Smash’s original 12 so it kind of cancels out. I feel like K. Rool is the least likely to be cut because he’s here explicitly because so many fans requested him. I think it would sting extra hard with all that considered. There’s a chance the next game could have a stronger focus on villains so I could envision a scenario where Falco is cut and they keep Wolf and Palutena is cut for Hades or Medusa. That’s just pure speculation though. Little Mac has the issue of being really bad competitively combined with Punch Out not getting a game for a long time.

That said, I think each of them has a stronger focus case for returning and I could easily see them all come back but none are guaranteed, especially in the event we scale back to a much smaller roster like some predict.

 

[fogbadge]

The real problem of Waluigi is he's still thorn between the Mario's franchise and the Wario's franchise.

how can you be torn between your own franchise and one you've never appeared in?

 

[Gengar84]

how can you be torn between your own franchise and one you've never appeared in?

I think it’s because Waluigi is still so linked to Wario thematically despite never actually appearing in a Wario game. He was created as Wario’s doubles partner in Mario Tennis and is another evil version of one of the Mario characters who wears purple, has a pink nose, and who’s name starts with Wa followed by the Mario brother’s name.

 

[Thegameandwatch]

Let’s do the opposite. Most characters stay, but these guys get cut. What would be the dev’s justification for doing so?

Jigglypuff: Relevancy reasons since it’s not as popular compared to the past and not every franchise has its starting characters available in every game.

Falco: Either replaced by Wolf or it’s just Fox

Little Mac: Moveset isn’t working and no new game

Palutena: Only Pit stays

King K Rool: Either it’s for relevancy since it hasn’t appeared in a game since 2008 outside of Smash or DK only gets two characters.

Honestly, non of them seem likely to be cut unless there is a significant roster cut.

 

[fogbadge]

I think it’s because Waluigi is still so linked to Wario thematically despite never actually appearing in a Wario game. He was created as Wario’s doubles partner in Mario Tennis and is another evil version of one of the Mario characters who wears purple, has a pink nose, and who’s name starts with Wa followed by the Mario brother’s name.

he’s still not in the franchise

 

[Louie G.]

Most characters stay, but these guys get cut. What would be the dev’s justification for doing so?

Because they hate me.

 

[Gengar84]

he’s still not in the franchise

True. I don’t understand why they never used Waluigi in the Wario games since they’re clearly so linked in the sports games and Waluigi is directly based on Wario. That never made much sense to me.

 

[RouffWestie]

Let's try a though experiment.

Let's say a new Smash releases and there are cuts.

But these five characters stay.

What do you think would be the developer's justifications for keeping these five? They don't all have to have the same reason.

would possibly be kept for their archetypes or individual mechanics that can't be fully replicated with any other character
hypothetical OoT and MM remakes

Let’s do the opposite. Most characters stay, but these guys get cut. What would be the dev’s justification for doing so?

could only see this being over some hypothetical DK character mandates
only if Smash 6 emphasizes its platforming aspects and focuses less on fighting

new director who is banned from consulting Sakurai as a way to challenge them I guess

 

[Watuna4343]

Let’s do the opposite. Most characters stay, but these guys get cut. What would be the dev’s justification for doing so?

Jigglypuff - Uhm, someone in the dev team hates her guts probably
Falco - part of a dead franchise, other semi-clones took priority
Little Mac - See Jigglypuff.
Palutena - Because she's part of a dormant franchise and has a pretty standard moveset, so doesn't offer that much to the roster and it wouldn't make sense to keep her over someone else
King K. Rool - Cue 3rd character in line of 'someone hates their guts'.

As an edit: Except for Palutena, I have a very hard time seeing any of the other 4 getting cut imo, they are locks in the game and each have a special place in Smash (even King K. Rool, who's only been in 1 game).

 

[Diddy Kong]

Let’s do the opposite. Most characters stay, but these guys get cut. What would be the dev’s justification for doing so?

Smoking crack.

 

[SubspaceJigglypuff]

Let’s do the opposite. Most characters stay, but these guys get cut. What would be the dev’s justification for doing so?

In a vacuum I think these cuts are plausible (except );

• : Has historically been lower priority; I'd assume it finally caught up to her (and then cry)
• : Secondary character from inactive series; can easily imagine him being middle-lower priority in a trimmed roster
• : Same as Falco
• : Clearly third behind DK and Diddy, and less promoted than either, could also see a trimmed roster saving him for the latter end of development
• : I've got nothing. Maybe Sak just gave in to the whining about his moveset, or the next game is more of a platformer he couldn't possibly function in

But not first on the firing line by any means. So under the assumption they're cut and not characters like Plant, Corrin or either of the baby links, idk man. Atp I'd guess Sak just decided he hated them, or was throwing darts at a wall to see who he'd cut.

I also considered stuff like "shilling Mario/FE/Pokemon" or going way harder on irrelevancy than I'd expect, but some of the surviving characters in this scenario directly contradict those.

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

Let's try a though experiment.

Let's say a new Smash releases and there are cuts.

But these five characters stay.

What do you think would be the developer's justifications for keeping these five? They don't all have to have the same reason.

• - Pretty easy and well-liked character to bring back, given its role as a clone of - and totally recognisable enough because of that connection (coupled with Smash pedigree) to warrant inclusion if there's a bit of spare time toward the end of development. I wouldn't suggest he'd would be high on the list for veterans, but I absolutely wouldn't write it off, either.
• - I do think that a more "traditional" of some form, co-existing alongside the "Wild Link" design that's likely to be used by his "main" self, is decent enough justification to warrant inclusion - and a similar kind of mindset applies to where he's a decently prominent element from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, both of which are still treated as pretty big deals in themselves. Now, this does come with a caveat - I'm not sure both and would stick around - but I can imagine Young Link having a decent shot.
• - Pirahna Plant's a character with pretty unique design principles and gameplay despite being a "joke", and I can imagine devs wanting to keep her around if only because she's pretty funny to them. I would note that she's probably more difficult than most to develop, but there is also something to be said about her role as a pretty prominent "villain" of sorts. Probably the most likely cut here, though... unfortunately.
• - Incineroar's got quite a few reasons to come back, actually. The pro-wrestling concept as a whole is something that no other character really has (outside of maybe ?), and there's a lot of personality in Incineroar's general vibe that'd make me feel they'd be a likely candidate to keep around. That aside, the Gen VII starters still maintain a decent amount of popularity, and a more dedicated "grappler/bruiser" of some kind feels like a great archetype to keep around that, otherwise, doesn't really have too many other characters (other than maybe ?)
• - Yes, not many people liked Fates all that much, but Corrin's still a pretty prominent character among the Fire Emblem catalogue (due in small part to that Smash Bros. exposure), and if Engage is any indication, Intelligent Systems are pretty happy to celebrate their own history. Beyond that, Corrin's design and general moveset is very different compared to a lot of other characters, so while there's obviously some consideration to their transformations potentially eating up development time, they're absolutely unique enough to bring about a fresh feel compared to other characters.

Let’s do the opposite. Most characters stay, but these guys get cut. What would be the dev’s justification for doing so?

• - This one's actually one of the more difficult ones, because I think Jiggs is in a spot by now where she's recognisable enough as a prominent Gen 1 Pokemon that her exclusion might feel off... so I'll propose the idea of not wanting too much overlap with a "new newcomer", whether that be a new Normal or Fairy-type of some kind, or another character with a similar build. (I don't think there'd be much stock in "overrepresenting Gen 1".)
• - Probably some combination of Star Fox's general lack of relevance (I don't take much stock in "lack of relevance" for this kind of thing, but let's go with it) plus an interest in either going with other semi-clones and clones over Falco specifically, or a general interest in moving away from clones so that the base roster would feel more "unique" somehow. I could imagine being included over him with this kind of mindset - less overall takes on the formula while being able to use a more similar skeleton.
• - I think you could go in a couple of directions for this. Sure, there might be something to be said about a "lack of flair" compared to other characters, but I'd argue it'd either be that the dev (or Nintendo) don't want too much of a spotlight on Punch-Out!! for two reasons (it's not a particularly "relevant" series, and Nintendo did catch some flack for the highly stereotypical character designs in Wii), or that they think Mac's general design principles - that is, him being far less powerful in the air in a platform fighter - aren't well-suited to the game, and that he's better-off being cut.
• - A little more difficult, I think... but let's say something similar to Mac's thought process - specifically, Palutena's inclusion was designed to take advantage of Sm4sh's Custom Moves, but without those, she effectively just works as a fairly by-the-numbers mage - a role that could be given to a reworked Zelda, or other newcomers who could provide more interesting takes on that sort of design space. Coupled with a slight "lack of relevancy" to the Kid Icarus series, this might justify it. (I don't think Palutena's a particularly likely cut, though. She's a decently well-liked character on her own merits.)
• - Hm. Another difficult one. I guess the argument of "a lack of relevance" could be made, but like I've said, I don't really think a lack of objective relevance in home franchises would be a big player - especially for a prominent ballot pick like K. Rool. So, I'll instead propose either a similar sort of mindset to RouffWestie's take on "DK mandates", or an interest in reducing DK's total character pool (which feels less likely), specifically so it's made up of characters who have distinct "feels" but similar "themes" (namelyand ).

This'd certainly be an interesting roster if combined, though.

 

[Louie G.]

Nintendo did catch some flack for the highly stereotypical character designs in Wii

They didn’t, this was a false rumor bubbled up by some he-said-she-said with a guy with “connections” at a bar. Real Next Level employees came out to speak on it after the fact and confirmed there was no major backlash, the only reason a new Punch-Out hasn’t been made since is the lack of a good hook.

Punch-Out Wii was highly regarded, certainly enough for Mac to make it into Smash in the first place and to be rereleased on the Wii U’s Virtual Console. If it was that much of a controversy, I doubt either of these things would have happened. I know we gotta reach to come up with some reasons here but this isn’t gonna be one of them really.

 

[Noipoi]

the only reason a new Punch-Out hasn’t been made since is the lack of a good hook.

I wonder what that could be. Like what concept would be good enough for Nintendo to greenlight a new Punch Out?

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

If you want something fresh and haven't done so already, I highly recommend playing other platfighters, just saying.

Makes more sense than hoping for a Smash Bros. with no Mario.

Is this where I can plug Slap City?

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

The biggest problem with Waluigi is just that he's not a character they'd usually pick. He's exclusive to the spin-offs that they generally disregard when picking Mario characters (come to think of it, so is Toad for the most part. Wonder if there's a correlation.), his source material is playing sports, being in board/party games, dancing, and kart racing, and his character is fairly loosely defined with most of his characterization elements being dropped over time, including his connection to Wario: the entire reason why he exists.

That's not to say that they won't pick him this go around, but if they still don't I won't be too surprised.

 

[Gengar84]

If you want something fresh and haven't done so already, I highly recommend playing other platfighters, just saying.

Makes more sense than hoping for a Smash Bros. with no Mario.

It would be kind of cool to see Sakurai and the Smash team work on a platform fighter for a different property though I don’t expect that to ever happen. I do remember TMNT Smash Up being advertised as “from the dudes that brought you Smash Brawl” but I’m not sure how many of the same people actually worked on it. Sadly, it wasn’t really anywhere close to as good as Smash but I’d love to see someone give a TMNT Smash game another go. There’s a ton of potential for a really fun and unique roster if they pull from across the series’ history.

 

[Watuna4343]

The biggest problem with Waluigi is just that he's not a character they'd usually pick. He's exclusive to the spin-offs that they generally disregard when picking Mario characters (come to think of it, so is Toad for the most part. Wonder if there's a correlation.), his source material is playing sports, being in board/party games, dancing, and kart racing, and his character is fairly loosely defined with most of his characterization elements being dropped over time, including his connection to Wario: the entire reason why he exists.

That's not to say that they won't pick him this go around, but if they still don't I won't be too surprised.

I'm not sure how those all are problems for Waluigi and generally speaking I really disagree with this logic. First of all, Sakurai has chosen far weirder characters who have even less or zero source material at all in the case of ROB. I really don't see how and why Waluigi being relegated to spin-offs is reason why he wasn't chosen. But even if Sakurai did choose based on this criteria (which he doesn't) I really don't see how aspects of his characters have been dropped especially in regards to Wario, when as recently as Mario Golf Super Rush included yet another intro scene starring the 2. Waluigi is absolutely a character Sakurai would choose in the next Smash because he has chosen similar cases to Waluigi - Ridley and King K. Rool. Highly requested characters with little modern relevance (far less than him), I don't see why Waluigi specifically would be an exception.