Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Now that Pokémon is referenced, I have to ask... given that every Smash game introduces new Pokémon, it is a given that it will happen in Smash 6. However, what do you think are the chances that instead of Smash 4 and Ultimate, Smash 6 introduces two new Pokémon fighters instead of one?

Fairly low, but still possible. I especially wouldn't rule out a Pokémon as a surprise pick.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Now that Pokémon is referenced, I have to ask... given that every Smash game introduces new Pokémon, it is a given that it will happen in Smash 6. However, what do you think are the chances that instead of Smash 4 and Ultimate, Smash 6 introduces two new Pokémon fighters instead of one?

Odds are not good unless for example, the token surprise character happens to be another Pokémon and/or the next Smash goes out of the way to celebrate the 30th anniversary with a new fighter addition.


Ironically enough, I had a concept in mind recently that covers both so this may be the perfect topic to mention it.

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

I think Ultimate is the only game where every character that was planned in the final draft of the planning stage was added. I think the echoes in Ultimate were planned from the start.

Previous games generally have a group of characters that were added later such as the clones in Melee and Smash 4 (Dr. Mario, Lucina and Dark Pit were apparently originally developed as costumes) while Brawl had Sonic, Jigglypuff, Toon Link and Wolf.

Brawl was too. He had everyone on the project plan that made it in, making only the Forbidden 7 questionable if they were added late into the project itself or not. Being it had a clear clone of Sheik in a Toon format as a plan, that doesn't sound like something very last minute either, so there's a fair chance all 46 characters were planned from the start, with 7 not getting far enough. Dixie Kong is definitely among this along with the other 39 respectively, regardless. Since Diddy and Dixie were intended to be a team and all. The rest? Can't say for sure. Especially when some are just names and nothing else.

 

[Ivander]

Well, Sony will have their State of Play airing tomorrow. So, looks like this week isn't the time for Nintendo. I think April 2nd is the day to expect news.

Normally, State of Play never gets my attention to watch it. The only 2 reasons I'm even curious about it is:

1. There might be Sonic news, which normally doesn't get my interest, but hopefully it might be Sonic Racing CrossWorlds and we'll get confirmation on whether it's simply a Sonic Racing game or a Sega Crossover Racing game.
2. Supposedly, a credible leaker has been hinting at Parasite Eve. If true, these last few months, and this video game generation in general, has certainly been a great time for fans of old/dormant IPs.

 

[Stratos]

I know Meowth is no longer the antagonist of the Pokémon anime series, and while he might be unlikely to come as a newcomer, he's still one of the video game characters I want as a newcomer. Besides, his line "Meowth, That's Right" continues (to me at least) to be famous and there was a rival to Pikachu. I also believe that there are still some who would like (although this was shown in some episodes of the series) Pikachu to face Meowth in hand-to-hand combat.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Picture if you will.

Spoiler: Surprise character idea

A trailer starts with a classic Game Boy on the screen. It turns on to that signature opening.

In then cuts to a familiar intro sequence.

©1995 Nintendo
©1995 Creatures Inc.
©1995 GAME FREAK Inc.

A shooting star over the Game Freak logo followed by a rain of stars.

Gengar vs. Nidorino to the iconic into theme.

As the sprite of Nidorino leaps at Gengar however with the final note....

He ends up bursting out of the Game Boy screen into a white void, now a 3D model.

Dazed, he gets up and shakes off the fall, confused at his surroundings.

He sees other Pokémon battling with beings that aren't Pokémon in more colorful arenas.
and take notice and call him over to join in the fun.

Nidorino paws at the ground to prepare for a charge and runs towards his new opponents, ending with a leap.

NIDORINO TAKES POINT!

Just an idea I had for a surprise character in the same vein as the others due to:

-The original Pokémon games being the Game Boy's biggest seller (to break away from the NES/Famicom)
-The 30th anniversary of the franchise
The Pokémon in question not being a major character or super popular, but still significant to the original games in some way much like Piranha Plant. (This is why for example I didn't go with Gengar who was also in the opening; Gengar wouldn't be surprising enough.)

 

[Hadokeyblade]

Ironically some people still didn't even when he was in Smash 4 because on 3DS I think he's placed after the clones right before the third parties lmao

View attachment 398940

I think Wii U puts him before the clones, but when Nintendo bought the last like 4% of Monolith Soft that they didn't own, I swear I saw a lot of people like "wow, nintendo owns xenoblade now" on Twitter lol

In my head i always rationalized this as "xenoblade is technically a sequel to Xenosaga which is a Bandai Namco property so putting him before Pacman makes some sense"

One could make a case for Terry. If you were hanging around FGC stuff or live in Latin America, you absolutely know SNK.

Otherwise, he was pretty niche.

There's a small argument that could be made for Joker.

Sure P5 isnt exactly obscure but i feel like a majority of it's fans only decided to play the game AFTER Joker joined smash, at least the more vocal ones.

 

[dream1ng]

do you enjoy being a jerk?

Well I gave you an actual reply to what you said in the first post, the second you just told me to go away.

But I also thought the notion that Sakurai doesn't think before speaking was pretty funny since it's basically the opposite of that, and we more or less know as much considering how often we try to read into his words, with no avail. Which is exactly what he said he knows happens.

Even the Shulk quote we still don't truly know what he meant. Which is usually his approach: to speak vaguely and withhold details. To give us almost nothing useful and let the content speak for itself. Column and youtube series aside - but those are scripted, he obviously put thought into them too.

I mean if you think about how much Sakurai could tell us versus how much he does tell us... he's not out here speaking with abandon. Especially when you look at like Harada, Kamiya or Suda. Even Miyamoto is out here dropping like "oh yeah we're working on Pikmin 4" every once in a while.

That's part of why, imo, the rare times he is blunt, like when he was like "I agree there are too many FE characters" stand out from his usual polite euphemisms and ambiguous half-answers.

So yeah, I thought that take was pretty wild, and in direct contrast to what we spend so much time dissecting, hence my lmaoing. I'm game to talk about the actual point, but if we're ad homineming, I'll cap it off here.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

There's a small argument that could be made for Joker.

Sure P5 isnt exactly obscure but i feel like a majority of it's fans only decided to play the game AFTER Joker joined smash, at least the more vocal ones.

You just countered your own point.

I'll agree a lot of people probably paid more attention to Persona because of Joker's inclusion in Smash but that is just the general nature of Smash as a whole. People are going to discover new series just from staring at its roster. That in no way means Persona 5 is obscure because lmao it sure ain't

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

You just countered your own point.

I'll agree a lot of people probably paid more attention to Persona because of Joker's inclusion in Smash but that is just the general nature of Smash as a whole. People are going to discover new series just from staring at its roster. That in no way means Persona 5 is obscure because lmao it sure ain't

Smash is just one big Persona 5 reference anyway.

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

My interpretation of the Shulk quote is that it refers to have a complex moveset design with different modes and such. Which doesn't exactly happen often in Smash. While we do have sometimes big movesets and transformations, ones with Modes are actually pretty unique.

That said, it was also during 4. Ultimate has its own rather unique and complex movesets, and we had slightly complex ones like Ryu's alternate moves. So it could just mean Modes or "more unique mechanics". Who knows~

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Picture if you will.

Spoiler: Surprise character idea

A trailer starts with a classic Game Boy on the screen. It turns on to that signature opening.

In then cuts to a familiar intro sequence.

©1995 Nintendo
©1995 Creatures Inc.
©1995 GAME FREAK Inc.

A shooting star over the Game Freak logo followed by a rain of stars.

Gengar vs. Nidorino to the iconic into theme.

As the sprite of Nidorino leaps at Gengar however with the final note....

He ends up bursting out of the Game Boy screen into a white void, now a 3D model.

Dazed, he gets up and shakes off the fall, confused at his surroundings.

He sees other Pokémon battling with beings that aren't Pokémon in more colorful arenas.
and take notice and call him over to join in the fun.

Nidorino paws at the ground to prepare for a charge and runs towards his new opponents, ending with a leap.

NIDORINO TAKES POINT!

Just an idea I had for a surprise character in the same vein as the others due to:

-The original Pokémon games being the Game Boy's biggest seller (to break away from the NES/Famicom)
-The 30th anniversary of the franchise
The Pokémon in question not being a major character or super popular, but still significant to the original games in some way much like Piranha Plant. (This is why for example I didn't go with Gengar who was also in the opening; Gengar wouldn't be surprising enough.)

I'd main him.

 

[Thegameandwatch]

I know Meowth is no longer the antagonist of the Pokémon anime series, and while he might be unlikely to come as a newcomer, he's still one of the video game characters I want as a newcomer. Besides, his line "Meowth, That's Right" continues (to me at least) to be famous and there was a rival to Pikachu. I also believe that there are still some who would like (although this was shown in some episodes of the series) Pikachu to face Meowth in hand-to-hand combat.

I feel like it would probably get more requests if it had more popularity outside of the specific one from the anime.

 

[SharkLord]

Picture if you will.

Spoiler: Surprise character idea

A trailer starts with a classic Game Boy on the screen. It turns on to that signature opening.

In then cuts to a familiar intro sequence.

©1995 Nintendo
©1995 Creatures Inc.
©1995 GAME FREAK Inc.

A shooting star over the Game Freak logo followed by a rain of stars.

Gengar vs. Nidorino to the iconic into theme.

As the sprite of Nidorino leaps at Gengar however with the final note....

He ends up bursting out of the Game Boy screen into a white void, now a 3D model.

Dazed, he gets up and shakes off the fall, confused at his surroundings.

He sees other Pokémon battling with beings that aren't Pokémon in more colorful arenas.
and take notice and call him over to join in the fun.

Nidorino paws at the ground to prepare for a charge and runs towards his new opponents, ending with a leap.

NIDORINO TAKES POINT!

Just an idea I had for a surprise character in the same vein as the others due to:

-The original Pokémon games being the Game Boy's biggest seller (to break away from the NES/Famicom)
-The 30th anniversary of the franchise
The Pokémon in question not being a major character or super popular, but still significant to the original games in some way much like Piranha Plant. (This is why for example I didn't go with Gengar who was also in the opening; Gengar wouldn't be surprising enough.)

Honestly? I wouldn't even be mad. We need more strange little creatures in Smash, especially quadrupeds. Even with the Pokemon, they're either humanoid or cutesy mascots. The only one that's a truly odd creature is Ivysaur.

Also the Nidos reference Baragon from Godzilla and I find that funny

 

[dream1ng]

One could make a case for Terry. If you were hanging around FGC stuff or live in Latin America, you absolutely know SNK.

Otherwise, he was pretty niche.

I agree. And, nothing against LatAm, but I just really doubt a Smash character was chosen on the basis of appealing specifically to that region.

Frankly in terms of how Smash sees regions, I think it's basically bifurcated into either 1. Japan or 2. overseas.

I know they specifically cited Bayonetta's European popularity, but she was chosen before the results were in anyway - I think that was mainly to justify her being the "popular pick" when her results in Japan and NA sounded less impressive.

But I could see them, in theory, adding a character specifically to appeal to the Chinese market (assuming they're also at least a little well known in the others as well), though I don't think they have as of now.

 

[SharkLord]

I agree. And, nothing against LatAm, but I just really doubt a Smash character was chosen on the basis of appealing specifically to that region.

Frankly in terms of how Smash sees regions, I think it's basically bifurcated into either 1. Japan or 2. overseas.

I know they specifically cited Bayonetta's European popularity, but she was chosen before the results were in anyway - I think that was mainly to justify her being the "popular pick" when her results in Japan and NA sounded less impressive.

But I could see them, in theory, adding a character specifically to appeal to the Chinese market (assuming they're also at least a little well known in the others as well), though I don't think they have as of now.

I've heard SNK games are also massive in China, but I doubt Terry was chosen just for that either. As of now Nintendo's presence in China is fairly limited, so even if it's a quickly growing potential market, I don't think a Chinese-appeal character would have much reach

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Honestly? I wouldn't even be mad. We need more strange little creatures in Smash, especially quadrupeds. Even with the Pokemon, they're either humanoid or cutesy mascots. The only one that's a truly odd creature is Ivysaur.

Also the Nidos reference Baragon from Godzilla and I find that funny

Bear in mind, it's also capable of bipedalism if it absolutely needs to be (i.e. for certain animations in Smash like firing guns).

Spoiler: Somewhat cursed

Yeah, it's Bill in the body of Nidorino, but it implies the model and the creature itself is capable of this naturally; it just never really does.


There's also the Gengar vs. Nidorido fight Red watches in Origins where it starts with the two locked in a test of strength grapple where Nidorino is standing (bottom pic).

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

I've heard SNK games are also massive in China, but I doubt Terry was chosen just for that either. As of now Nintendo's presence in China is fairly limited, so even if it's a quickly growing potential market, I don't think a Chinese-appeal character would have much reach

Must...resist...making...Min Min-related joke...about...having reach...

 

[dream1ng]

I've heard SNK games are also massive in China, but I doubt Terry was chosen just for that either. As of now Nintendo's presence in China is fairly limited, so even if it's a quickly growing potential market, I don't think a Chinese-appeal character would have much reach

Well it would come with the objective of trying to expand its reach to new consumers (which I think is the goal of most third-parties that aren't added due to fan demand anyway) rather than just to cater to the existing install base there. Which I agree is limited, from what I've heard.

That's part of why I find it plausible, because it's similar to why I think we get a number of third-parties anyway. This would just be about targeting a region more than simply luring in some other big fanbase in a region in which they're already very established.

I mean, it would inarguably be a strategic, business-oriented Nintendo pick, should they choose to pursue that market and aspire to have a bigger foothold. Not a Sakurai pick. Smash could be a good gateway. It's just very much contingent on Nintendo's hypothetical agenda.

 

[Ivander]

Must...resist...making...Min Min-related joke...about...having reach...

Best not to stretch it.

 

[BrawlX10]

Now that Pokémon is referenced, I have to ask... given that every Smash game introduces new Pokémon, it is a given that it will happen in Smash 6. However, what do you think are the chances that instead of Smash 4 and Ultimate, Smash 6 introduces two new Pokémon fighters instead of one?

Honestly, i think pretty low?
Brawl has an anomaly because of Pokemon Trainer.
I think we'll get just Meowscarada.

 

[Guynamednelson]

Brawl has an anomaly because of Pokemon Trainer.

And Melee had Pichu and Mewtwo.
And 64 had Pikachu and Jigglypuff.

Brawl is only an anomaly because PT would need way more work than Jigglypuff or Pichu did.

 

[Noipoi]

Now that Pokémon is referenced, I have to ask... given that every Smash game introduces new Pokémon, it is a given that it will happen in Smash 6. However, what do you think are the chances that instead of Smash 4 and Ultimate, Smash 6 introduces two new Pokémon fighters instead of one?

Maybe if one is a new character and the other is an echo.

 

[CommanderZaktan]

Now that Pokémon is referenced, I have to ask... given that every Smash game introduces new Pokémon, it is a given that it will happen in Smash 6. However, what do you think are the chances that instead of Smash 4 and Ultimate, Smash 6 introduces two new Pokémon fighters instead of one?

I'm thinking about a Gen 9 rep and Eevee.

 

[Thegameandwatch]

Honestly, i think pretty low?
Brawl has an anomaly because of Pokemon Trainer.
I think we'll get just Meowscarada.

Melee had Mewtwo and Pichu but the latter is a clone.

 

[Wonder Smash]

Normally, State of Play never gets my attention to watch it. The only 2 reasons I'm even curious about it is:

1. There might be Sonic news, which normally doesn't get my interest, but hopefully it might be Sonic Racing CrossWorlds and we'll get confirmation on whether it's simply a Sonic Racing game or a Sega Crossover Racing game.
2. Supposedly, a credible leaker has been hinting at Parasite Eve. If true, these last few months, and this video game generation in general, has certainly been a great time for fans of old/dormant IPs.

I've heard about some recent trademarks that SEGA has filed, with the name Sonic Blitz. Maybe there could be some news on that?

Though, I'm not all that interested that, something that did catch my interest was that they were also looking for a staff for a "3D battle action game". I really hope that means they're making a new crossover fighting game! I still want that SEGA All-Stars fighting game they were going to make years ago to finally happen.

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

Maybe if one is a new character and the other is an echo.

This is how we fully get Plusle & Minun.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

1. There might be Sonic news, which normally doesn't get my interest, but hopefully it might be Sonic Racing CrossWorlds and we'll get confirmation on whether it's simply a Sonic Racing game or a Sega Crossover Racing game.

Sonic Heroes remaster, calling it now.
I can feel it in my lungs.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

I've heard about some recent trademarks that SEGA has filed, with the name Sonic Blitz. Maybe there could be some news on that?

Though, I'm not all that interested that, something that did catch my interest was that they were also looking for a staff for a "3D battle action game". I really hope that means they're making a new crossover fighting game! I still want that SEGA All-Stars fighting game they were going to make years ago to finally happen.

Couldn't that "3D battle action game" theoretically be the Golden Axe or Streets of Rage they said they were working on, announced alongside Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, and Shinobi?

I dunno if that style of beat em up technically counts as 3D, but that's the first thing I thought of lol

 

[Hadokeyblade]

Sonic Heroes remaster, calling it now.
I can feel it in my lungs.
View attachment 398949

I feel like if this is happening they will save it for when the next Sonic movie comes out.

Feels weird to do it now.

 

[Captain Shwampy]

Speaking of sonic racing

Spoiler

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

I feel like if this is happening they will save it for when the next Sonic movie comes out.

Feels weird to do it now.

Not necessarily.
They can still tie it to Shadow since it began the amnesia arc.

 

[Guynamednelson]

Speaking of sonic racing

Spoiler

View attachment 398950View attachment 398951

Spoiler

still no crossover characters
Once again, gonna pass

 

[Golden Icarus]

I feel like the odds of two new Pokemon is decently high. Maybe even likely. As others have pointed out - 64, Melee and Brawl all added multiple Pokemon. For and Ultimate are unique in that they only added one, but that’s if you don’t count the Mewtwo DLC in For and the three veterans that were re-added for Ultimate on top of Incineroar.

The Pokemon roster not only grows every game, but also cuts and reintroduces characters more than any other franchise. The series hasn’t slowed down and there’s always plenty of iconic characters and new faces. The most recent Gen will almost surely get a new fighter, Zoroark feels like a strong contender if the roster was decided a while back, Eevee might be the single most iconic Nintendo character missing from Smash and there’s no shortage of popular characters beyond that.

And if Smash 6 doesn’t do EiH again, then you can imagine some cuts being made to the Pokemon lineup, which would only further warrant multiple newcomers to compensate. My current hunch is that 2-4 Pokemon will likely be cut and then 2 will be added.

 

[Captain Shwampy]

Spoiler

still no crossover characters
Once again, gonna pass

Looks like theyre doing deepercuts from sonic this time around
Look at the top left

 

[Hadokeyblade]

Speaking of sonic racing

Spoiler

View attachment 398950View attachment 398951

no aiai

 

[AreJay25]

Spoiler

Crossworlds being a secret Riders sequel was not on my radar but sure, I'm interested

At least it seems like they're willing to go a bit crazier with the characters/themes this time around compared to TSR

 

[Swamp Sensei]

I don't care what anyone else says.

I am 3000% here for

Spoiler

Jet the Hawk's return.

 

[Guynamednelson]

Looks like theyre doing deepercuts from sonic this time around
Look at the top left
View attachment 398952

Okay but I didn't get the All-Stars Racing games to play as anyone from Sonic. I got them for Beat. For BD Joe. For AiAi. For Jacky and Akira. For the Hornet car that AGES drives in its land form. For the fact that Miis on the Wii U version drive not-Ferrari Testarossas as a nod to Outrun.

 

[Nabbitfan730]

I cannot stress enough that Kingdom Hearts is like one of the most beloved video game franchises of all time. It doesn't take a genius to figure out how Sora placed first on the Smash Ballot.

What franchises included in Smash aren't beloved in some way? Moot

All this dumb crap about Sora not being the number one ballot result is purely "I don't like this character, so that means they can't be the winner cause I don't get their series."

Or...maybe...JUST maybe, the reason is because when you think about, there is no exterme factor in Sora's favor that would give the edge to the point he dominated every video game character imaginable and not this childish scenario born from insecurity of fictional characters getting "hurt"

Doesn't have strong nintendo-centric edge like someone like K.Rool, Isabelle, Inkling, Waluigi do that get them in nor the insane pop-culture icon comparable to Mario/Pokemon/Halo levels like Ryu, Cloud nor especially Steve do. It's much more plausible someone like Steve would win the ballot on popularity than Sora

And yet, he ended up in Smash instead, despite his series having more history with PlayStation than with Nintendo.

Then again, I guess the same could be said for Snake and Cloud.

Yeah, Sora got into Smash because he's a popular character from popular series also based in crossovers (Yes, I, nabbitfan730, states that Sora and KH is popular series i like have multiple times, just not the most popular) most would never see coming which why he added retroactively for last. Not because he was the grand Nintendo pick in 2015 or suspiciously the "ballot" winner like Bayo was which you guys like seem flip flop over when convenient.

Sora was always going to make the roster regardless if he was even on the ballot in the first place or not after that meeting. Too big of chance to pass up.

For the last and final time. Yes, Sora and KH are popular. The point is that the ballot wouldn't be requirement for him to get in the first place. Sora got in for same reason why Bayo, Joker or even Cloud at the time got in. Not necessarily because he won the ballot in a different timeframe. Sakurai has been wishy-washy on results and for good reason so there is no real reason to take it face value.

This is just something we will have to agree to disagree on. Topic has gone on long enough.