Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[BrawlX10]

Any thoughts or ideas on Reiji Arisu? You know, the protagonist from Namco × Capcom who was also in both games in the Project X Zone series. In Project X Zone 1 there were characters from Namco Bandai, Capcom, and Sega, just like in Project X Zone 2, with the only difference being that there were a few Nintendo characters there too, and of course I'm talking and writing about Fiora from Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and Chrom and Lucina. I think Reiji Arisu would be a perfect choice to come as a newcomer to the Super Smash Bros. series to represent the collaboration of these companies.

I played Project x Zone 1 and Project x Zone 2 back in the day when they released and i also imported and played Namco x Capcom a few years ago, and as much i liked the games and i found them charming....i just don't see it happening.
Project x Zone 2 came out nearly 10 years ago in Japan and the series has been dormant since with no sings of a PxZ3 begin in the works. I honestly think we'll be lucky to see them even as a Mii Costume or Assist Trophy, which i don't think it's completely impossible as Xiaomu is pretty popular character in Japan i believe, but even for Mii Costume or AT chances are low i feel.
Honestly, even the chances of a Project x Zone 3 are very low, sadly, i heard the director of the series left Monolith Soft in like 2017 and there has been no news of the series since.

Ya know, it wouldn't surprise me if Nintendo went in hard and revealed Smash 6 this year while releasing it at the end of this year or in the middle of next year. We're approaching the seventh year since Ultimate released, the game by all accounts has gotten old. They could do the "second year of the console dedicated for smash" strategy again like they did with Ultimate and the Switch, but honestly I wouldn't discount the idea that they'd tease it even earlier than we might think.

I could totally see a Smash 6 reveal/teaser this year, but a release in 2025 feels a bit too early to me? I don't know, i feel like they'd want Mario Kart 9 out first for the 2025 holidays. I also think they might go back to the slower pre-release cicles of Brawl and Smash 4 if the game has a similar amount of new content as those games, i think Ultimate pre-release cycle was a special case because with everyone is here and the few amount of new characters and stages, the shorter pre-release cycle worked well for Ult.

 

[DarthEnderX]

Yeah, Sakurai needing a whole new team is the biggest giveaway that this project he's working on isn't Smash to me.

Or maybe Nintendo just wants Smash to have a dedicated team again. That way they can keep making DLC for the entire console generation and Nintendo doesn't have to worry about the team getting pulled away to do Tekken or something.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Ya know, it wouldn't surprise me if Nintendo went in hard and revealed Smash 6 this year while releasing it at the end of this year or in the middle of next year. We're approaching the seventh year since Ultimate released, the game by all accounts has gotten old. They could do the "second year of the console dedicated for smash" strategy again like they did with Ultimate and the Switch, but honestly I wouldn't discount the idea that they'd tease it even earlier than we might think.

This.

The Switch was too massive of a success. They can't afford not to go all out for this next system. Smash is a system seller. They know. The time frame fits perfectly too.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

This.

The Switch was too massive of a success. They can't afford not to go all out for this next system. Smash is a system seller. They know. The time frame fits perfectly too.

IIRC part of the Wii U's failures was because people thought it was just the Wii, but with a Gamepad, so they probably have even more of an incentive to do this than normal.

To be honest, they really should have led with the fact that the Wii U Gamepad has...A MIC!!!

 

[Guynamednelson]

people thought it was just the Wii, but with a Gamepad,

Not even that. People thought it was just the Gamepad because of all the marketing that focused on it and not the thing it was connected to.

 

[BrawlX10]

IIRC part of the Wii U's failures was because people thought it was just the Wii, but with a Gamepad, so they probably have even more of an incentive to do this than normal.

To be honest, they really should have led with the fact that the Wii U Gamepad has...A MIC!!!

I think Switch 2 will be less confusing than Wii U at least.

I do think late 2026 release is more likely, through, i think 2025 feels a bit too early, not impossible, but feels a bit too early, i think they might anounce the game in mid or late 2025 rather than release.

 

[Watuna4343]

A bit irrelevant but Ayumi Tachibana is looking to me increasingly more and more likely to debut in Smash 6. I already thought she was possible but she is looking like a very likely inclusion and one thing that I noticed that is really in her favor is a pattern I noticed every Smash Bros entry does with the newcomers - that is that every game introduces at least one new, active Nintendo franchise to the roster; Melee introduced Fire Emblem, Brawl introduced Pikmin and and WarioWare (and kinda Kid Icarus but Idk if I'd put it in the same vein as the other active franchises), Smash 4 introduced Animal Crossing and Xenoblade Chronicles and Ultimate introduced Splatoon and debatably ARMS (we'll see what the future holds for ARMS).

Now for Smash 6 I can't think of a franchise that fits the bill better than Famicom Detective Club, Astral Chain is debatable even though I think that they might get a new fighter but point is that we don't know if Astral Chain 2 will happen. Ring Fit was more of a sequel to Wii Fit and the likes of Golden Sun and Rhythm Heaven are dormant with a not-so-optimistic (to put it nicely) future. If Smash 6 wants to introduce a new franchise to the roster, Famicom Detective Club is literally perfect as it got revived and from what we see Nintendo intends for it to stay. And with Ayumi Tachibana being the face of the series and also being considered in the past helps her case a lot.

Bottom line is that with every Smash game introducing a new IP, this pattern will most definitely continue in Smash 6. And FDT I think is the only franchise that fits the bill which imo helps Ayumi's case a lot.

 

[Gengar84]

I feel like Sony had the right idea with its naming scheme for PlayStation. It’s a little boring but there’s not really any room for confusion unlike the Wii U, the New 3DS, the X-Box One, or Series X/S.

 

[Shinuto]

I think Switch 2 will be less confusing than Wii U at least.

I do think late 2026 release is more likely, through, i think 2025 feels a bit too early, not impossible, but feels a bit too early, i think they might anounce the game in mid or late 2025 rather than release.

Less confusing...dude it's literally got a 2 after it.

 

[SharkLord]

This.

The Switch was too massive of a success. They can't afford not to go all out for this next system. Smash is a system seller. They know. The time frame fits perfectly too.

To be fair, most big titles Nintendo puts out are system sellers. It doesn't necessarily have to be Smash; We've got Mario Kart already, and then Nintendo's choice of Super Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Splatoon... Hell, even Kirby's up there lately, and Metroid Prime 4 is set to be a really big release. Smash definitely sells systems, but with such a strong lineup of IPs, they don't absolutely need Smash out the gate to sell systems

 

[Nabbitfan730]

Genuinely why. Arle makes way more sense for a slew of reasons.

I actually forgot about her. I guess adding her would make more sense then the blocks but idk, the blocks are an iconic parts of Tetris and for them not appear in a certain way wouldn't be right

Yeah, Sakurai needing a whole new team is the biggest giveaway that this project he's working on isn't Smash to me.

Anyone who believes it is Smash is either clinging on to hope which I can respect, or they're just assuming it's Smash because every time Sakurai breathes, it has to be about Smash which I don't respect because it undervalues Sakurai's abilities as a game director.

Again, hoping for Star Fox or possibly a new ips. Kid Icarus seems the most likely and haven't played the 3ds game but idk, not as exciting

This.

The Switch was too massive of a success. They can't afford not to go all out for this next system. Smash is a system seller. They know. The time frame fits perfectly too.

You do know that Nintendo has other franchises. Other systems seller other than Smash Bros? Some even more successful and popular right?

 

[Gengar84]

I feel like Smash is far and away Nintendo’s most exciting series for the prelaunch and DLC hype cycle. It’s the main thing I looked forward to seeing in Nintendo Directs. I love other games too but I’m less interested in following their development. I want to go into a story game like Xenoblade with as little knowledge as possible so it’s all a surprise to me. Same with Pokemon games recently. I’d rather be surprised by new Pokemon I discover through the playthrough rather than know everything beforehand. Mario Kart doesn’t quite have the same hype factor even though the games are usually a ton of fun.

 

[BrawlX10]

Less confusing...dude it's literally got a 2 after it.

Yeah, "2" usually imples sequel, how it's more confusing than Wii U?

 

[Hydreigonfan01]

Yeah, Sakurai needing a whole new team is the biggest giveaway that this project he's working on isn't Smash to me.

Anyone who believes it is Smash is either clinging on to hope which I can respect, or they're just assuming it's Smash because every time Sakurai breathes, it has to be about Smash which I don't respect because it undervalues Sakurai's abilities as a game director.

IT'S KID ICARUS UPRISING 2 TRUST

 

[Guynamednelson]

Less confusing...dude it's literally got a 2 after it.

That PlayStation 2 sure was confusing to customers.

 

[SharkLord]

DLC is usually handled by a skeleton crew that is much smaller than what a full game requires. Sakurai would need to assemble a team once again to start production on a big project like Smash.

This might be a Two Chairs moment where I'm reading too deeeply into things, but Sakurai specifically said it took some time to assemble the right team. For a big project like Smash, I could see them needing a sizeable team, but even so, I don't think it should be too hard to get in touch with the devs who worked on 4 and Ultimate. I believe many of them moved to Tekken 8, so it's not like they're scattered all over creation - And T8's moved on to it's own DLC phase too, so they shouldn't be too busy at the time. I dunno, the time it took to get the team together makes it sound like it's a new team entirely.

 

[BrawlX10]

View attachment 399013
This might be a Two Chairs moment where I'm reading too deeeply into things, but Sakurai specifically said it took some time to assemble the right team. For a big project like Smash, I could see them needing a sizeable team, but even so, I don't think it should be too hard to get in touch with the devs who worked on 4 and Ultimate. I believe many of them moved to Tekken 8, so it's not like they're scattered all over creation - And T8's moved on to it's own DLC phase too, so they shouldn't be too busy at the time. I dunno, the time it took to get the team together makes it sound like it's a new team entirely.

I think you raise a valid point, but there's something i'm a bit unsure about:
Wasn't the team picked in April 2022? By then Tekken 8 was in full development, right? It's possible that Sakurai made a new team because the team was busy with full development of Tekken 8 at the time and coudln't help with Smash.

 

[Ivander]

So one thing I have to give Sonic Racing Crossworlds is that it does look fun and cool. But can I just say.....this is apparently what some of the descriptions have been saying for Sonic Racing Crossworlds, after the new trailer release:

Meanwhile, the characters shown just in the trailer:

Sega.....you can easily back up that "Sonic and Sega universes" mention by showing at least 1, and probably the only, non-Sonic character in the game. Even if it's just Joker from Persona 5.

 

[BrawlX10]

So one thing I have to give Sonic Racing Crossworlds is that it does look fun and cool. But can I just say.....this is apparently what some of the descriptions have been saying for Sonic Racing Crossworlds, after the trailer release:
View attachment 399014View attachment 399015

Meanwhile, the characters shown just in the trailer:

View attachment 399016
Sega.....you can easily back up that "Sonic and Sega universes" mention by showing at least 1, and probably the only, non-Sonic character in the game. Even if it's just Joker from Persona 5.

Wait Zazz from Lost World is in the game? Interesting pick, i though the deadly six were unpopular in the fandom, i was only expecting Zavock.
As for non-Sonic SEGA characters, i have a feel like they're waiting to anounce whichever ones they picked later to bring back the hype to the game, rather than going all out in the first trailer, i think they've shown a non-Sonic stage from Transformed in the trailer.
I think we'll get some non-sonic SEGA characters as DLC, peraphs even tracks as well, like i could easily see them adding Morgana and a Mementos track as DLC, for example. Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble another recent SEGA game has been releasing guests as DLC, they might do a similar strategy.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Even if it's just Joker from Persona 5.

But why would you want the game to cease updates in a year?

 

[Perkilator]

So one thing I have to give Sonic Racing Crossworlds is that it does look fun and cool. But can I just say.....this is apparently what some of the descriptions have been saying for Sonic Racing Crossworlds, after the new trailer release:
View attachment 399014View attachment 399015

Meanwhile, the characters shown just in the trailer:

View attachment 399016
Sega.....you can easily back up that "Sonic and Sega universes" mention by showing at least 1, and probably the only, non-Sonic character in the game. Even if it's just Joker from Persona 5.

SEGA also stated that this'll be the largest roster in any Sonic racer.

SEGA has stated that #SonicRacingCrossWorld will have the largest roster of any Sonic racing game. pic.twitter.com/pvbgOPep5P

— The Sonic Stadium ✪ 25 YEARS OF SONIC NEWS (@sonicstadium) February 12, 2025

 

[Ivander]

But why would you want the game to cease updates in a year?

looks at Smash Bros Ultimate which ceased updates in 2.5 years after Joker's release

And I'm pretty sure if there were anything to make the new Sonic Racing cease any potential updates, it would be the new Mario Kart.