Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[PersonAngelo53]

Finally someone on their next smash wishlist that doesn’t want half of the roster to be cut lol. And there is some good ideas here and there too.

 

[Thegameandwatch]

Two, I know you've had an irrational hatred of Sheik since the beginning, but Sheik wasn't "preferred as a weird choice" nor WAS a weird choice to begin with just because you hate her.

Sheik was a big deal for people back in that time. She was cheered for when on-screen at E3 2001 (at a point we didn't know Zelda herself was a fighter). She had the same amount of votes as Zelda herself in the same Smash 2 poll I referenced above (which, by the way, Impa didn't even get two votes in case you were wondering; Darunia did though ). Sheik is the reason we have Zelda in Melee due to their connection. If we only had one, it would have been Sheik, not Zelda; there's a reason she was revealed first.

Sheik seems like an example of a character that was added in the right place and the right time because OoT was still relevant and she was big part of Zelda in that game. She would have only been a weird inclusion if she was introduced in Brawl onwards because she wouldn’t have the same staying power in terms of requests such as Midna and Skull Kid.

 

[BrawlX10]

Something else i just though about ARMS while watching the old videos of it.
Do you guys feel like the Hedlok Mask could work as an item in Smash 6? I feel like if a ARMS item is brough up is always one of the bombs. (Understably), but i've never seen anyone brought up the mask, so i'm curious about the thoughs of it.

 

[fogbadge]

She had the same amount of votes as Zelda herself in the same Smash 2 poll I referenced above (which, by the way, Impa didn't even get two votes in case you were wondering; Darunia did though ).

so what you're saying Darunia should be playable

 

[PersonAngelo53]

https://x.com/a_grey_person/status/1898451898728120573?s=46

How would you guys feel if Ganondorf in the next smash game fought closer to this clip?

And also how would you feel if the next smash game had graphics looking like this for the animation style?

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

https://x.com/a_grey_person/status/1898451898728120573?s=46

How would you guys feel if Ganondorf in the next smash game fought closer to this clip?

And also how would you feel if the next smash game had graphics looking like this for the animation style?

I would love those graphics.
I hold no strong opinion over the Ganondorf fighting style, but anything is better than his current set (because it's been consistently holding him back competitively since Brawl).

 

[DarthEnderX]

Man, all this talk of a Melee rerelease with more characters is making me want a Street Fighter 4 rerelease with more characters.

...and rollback.

 

[Megadoomer]

so what you're saying Darunia should be playable

Yes, absolutely.

 

[DarthEnderX]

Finally someone on their next smash wishlist that doesn’t want half of the roster to be cut lol. And there is some good ideas here and there too.

Me after watching:

 

[ninjahmos]

Choppy animation or not, I think the next Smash game could probably benefit from having cel-shaded graphics like Jet Set Radio.

 

[Thegameandwatch]

Choppy animation or not, I think the next Smash game could probably benefit from having cel-shaded graphics like Jet Set Radio.

I feel like it’s almost guaranteed that the next game will have a different art style even if it’s not drastic.

Wii U to Ultimate is probably the most similar but you can tell the difference between the two because like how Ultimate is blend of Smash 4 and Brawl.

I think the one thing that should be more distinct is animation and voice lines. Lot of characters have the same voice lines since Brawl. While some are iconic such as Captain Falcon, others should be updated like Mario.

 

[RileyXY1]

I feel like it’s almost guaranteed that the next game will have a different art style even if it’s not drastic.

Wii U to Ultimate is probably the most similar but you can tell the difference between the two because like how Ultimate is blend of Smash 4 and Brawl.

I think the one thing that should be more distinct is animation and voice lines. Lot of characters have the same voice lines since Brawl. While some are iconic such as Captain Falcon, others should be updated like Mario.

We already know that some characters will get new voice clips. Mario, Luigi, Dr. Mario, Wario, and Daisy will all have their VAs replaced with their new VAs from Wonder onwards, while Bayonetta will have both a new English and Japanese VA (her Japanese VA died and her English VA was already recast in Bayonetta 3) and Richter will also get a new Japanese VA as well because he died back in 2022.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

I was saying it didn't make sense generally in that I have no idea how it's supposed to work. It almost seems like it randomly stuns or causes the opponent to taunt, without much rhyme or reason (perhaps it depends on if they're in the air?). There was the ability to cause sleep in a way too big radius, but it looks like that was dropped.

Well that question was more about the airplane side special, not so much the boombox, but yeah I think giving the boombox different animations based on what it does would be good. Like the characters taunt when the tunes are good, but they get stunned when the boombox screws up, instead of it just feeling random (unless it literally is in which case you definitely need an animation for that because a stun is a lot more impactful than one forced taunt lol).

But yeah I don't really know how it works either lmao

 

[ninjahmos]

I think the one thing that should be more distinct is animation and voice lines. Lot of characters have the same voice lines since Brawl. While some are iconic such as Captain Falcon, others should be updated like Mario.

It probably won't happen, but it'd be pretty interesting if they got Ryo Horikawa to re-record his lines and grunts as Captain Falcon.

 

[Thegameandwatch]

It probably won't happen, but it'd be pretty interesting if they got Ryo Horikawa to re-record his lines and grunts as Captain Falcon.

At least he returned for Min Min’s trailer because Captain Falcon was eating.

That’s the only time that he recorded new stuff outside of stuff being reused from 64’s recording session.

 

[Megadoomer]

Finally someone on their next smash wishlist that doesn’t want half of the roster to be cut lol. And there is some good ideas here and there too.

Going by the character section, I feel like this person fundamentally misunderstands how assist trophies work. (seeing as he says that they have their own frame data and movesets when that isn't the case - they generally only have two or three attacks when playable characters have about 24 attacks from what I recall, so they've got nowhere near enough to make a full moveset and are largely a way to include characters who, for one reason or another, aren't going to be playable)

I do agree that the talk of cuts can get tiring, especially when there have been less than a dozen in the series' entire history and most of those cut characters have been clones or semi-clones.

 

[CosmicEternity44]

I have a question...

When the time comes, and someone has to take over for Sakurai for making Smash Bros. games, how much do you all want to bet any of the things this successor does may further divide the fanbase?

And no, I am not worried about that at all, personally speaking, I am just asking.

 

[DarthEnderX]

When the time comes, and someone has to take over for Sakurai for making Smash Bros. games, how much do you all want to bet any of the things this successor does may further divide the fanbase?

My biggest concern about Sakurai leaving would be Nintendo turning around and opening Smash up to 4Ps.

 

[CosmicEternity44]

My biggest concern about Sakurai leaving would be Nintendo turning around and opening Smash up to 4Ps.

Um, forgive me, but I don't understand. What did you mean by that, especially by opening Smash up to "4Ps"?

 

[Master Hero Sock-on-Rye]

Um, forgive me, but I don't understand. What did you mean by that, especially by opening Smash up to "4Ps"?

Fourth party, also known as non-gaming, characters. You know, those like Mickey Mouse, Popeye, or the Ninja Turtles.

 

[CosmicEternity44]

Fourth party, also known as non-gaming, characters. You know, those like Mickey Mouse, Popeye, or the Ninja Turtles.

Oh, that. That does sound scary, though is fourth party not an actual term?

I personally have my doubts that will happen, but it is possible, so it can be worrying. Good luck to Nintendo for trying to deal with the hard negotiations in getting such characters, though! That should be very hard, right?

 

[Master Hero Sock-on-Rye]

Oh, that. That does sound scary, though is fourth party not an actual term?

I personally have my doubts that will happen, but it is possible, so it can be worrying. Good luck to Nintendo for trying to deal with the hard negotiations in getting such characters, though! That should be very hard, right?

I mean, Mickey and Popeye are in the public domain, as long as you use the original material and try not to outright use the trademarks.

 

[CosmicEternity44]

I mean, Mickey and Popeye are in the public domain, as long as you use the original material and try not to outright use the trademarks.

Oh, okay then.

Anyway, something else I wish to talk about; I think people, or some people make fakes leaks to try to make fans look bad through their reactions to them. I mean, as much as I would hate to bring this up, remember the Grinch leak? A lot of people were fighting senselessly over that and a lot of people were upset when the characters in that leak did not become playable and Isaac and Shadow in particular were revealed as Assist Trophies.

Plus, remember Cacomallow? I'd hate to bring this up again, but the Geno fanbase, especially on this site, was said to be a cult already by that time, and plenty of people on the Geno thread in the Newcomers section basically believed it. With how they were said to be a cult, how overhyped they were about Geno, that one guy saying he was a leaker (but was just taking advantage of Geno fans) who said Geno would get in and the Cacomallow leak by addition, I think the Cacomallow leak in particular was just to try to hype fans up just to make them look bad in the end.

Do you all see what I mean?

 

[DarthEnderX]

I mean, Mickey and Popeye are in the public domain, as long as you use the original material and try not to outright use the trademarks.

But they still shouldn't. Because they aren't video game characters.

Anyway, something else I wish to talk about; I think people, or some people make fakes leaks to try to make fans look bad through their reactions to them.

That's the fans' fault for acting that way. If Smash fans didn't act bad, people wouldn't do that to make them look bad.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

But they still shouldn't. Because they aren't video game characters.

I definitely agree on this in general for Smash, even if I have discussed how funny I think it'd be to use Timeless River as a KH stage and the original incarnations of Mickey and Pete for a stage background since they're public domain as a meme.

I'm also not sure why Nintendo would instantly turn around after Sakurai leaves and add a bunch of non-video game characters to their Nintendo focused video game crossover series though, so...

 

[fogbadge]

I have a question...

When the time comes, and someone has to take over for Sakurai for making Smash Bros. games, how much do you all want to bet any of the things this successor does may further divide the fanbase?

And no, I am not worried about that at all, personally speaking, I am just asking.

well considering how easily it gets divided I'd say quite a bit

 

[Zerp]

I have a question...

When the time comes, and someone has to take over for Sakurai for making Smash Bros. games, how much do you all want to bet any of the things this successor does may further divide the fanbase?

And no, I am not worried about that at all, personally speaking, I am just asking.

People will bash the new director's every action and anything they do will split the community, it's inevitable lol. Like, even if you magically made all the same decisions Sakurai would, people will be less lenient on anything they view as mistakes because you aren't Sakurai.

 

[CosmicEternity44]

People will bash the new director's every action and anything they do will split the community, it's inevitable lol. Like, even if you magically made all the same decisions Sakurai would, people will be less lenient on anything they view as mistakes because you aren't Sakurai.

I figured so. Just wanted to make sure. That is why I asked, after all.

 

[Kirby Dragons]

I have a question...

When the time comes, and someone has to take over for Sakurai for making Smash Bros. games, how much do you all want to bet any of the things this successor does may further divide the fanbase?

And no, I am not worried about that at all, personally speaking, I am just asking.

That isn't something I considered because I was thinking about the upsides of having a new director. But, depending on the successor's philosophy, there could be some downsides too.

 

[CosmicEternity44]

That isn't something I considered because I was thinking about the upsides of having a new director. But, depending on the successor's philosophy, there could be some downsides too.

In my experience, you have to consider both the upsides and downsides of things, then try to balance them out to come to an conclusion to like or dislike something based on how good or bad that something is. Here, I am just giving advice, that is all. Still, liking something based on good things and upsides alone is not a good way to do things, as nothing is perfect. I am not criticizing you or how you do things, I am just saying you must find a balance in things.

 

[Dukefire]

I have a question...

When the time comes, and someone has to take over for Sakurai for making Smash Bros. games, how much do you all want to bet any of the things this successor does may further divide the fanbase?

And no, I am not worried about that at all, personally speaking, I am just asking.

That might be a question that all are not ready for....yet.

Apples
For me, I may have gotten most characters to the point I'm ok with it wishlist or not. Just one more hurrah sounds good before changing hands on Super Smash Bros's Director

 

[BackseatSakurai]

I do agree with this though. Xenoblade doesn't need to become the next FE in Smash. Not

It's already on it's way - unfortunately.

Finally someone on their next smash wishlist that doesn’t want half of the roster to be cut lol. And there is some good ideas here and there too.

I'm biased but...yeah, that was not very interesting. I'm starting to think Nintendo would just be better off doing a third / fourth fighters pass for Ultimate and take advantage of backwards compatibility. Don't know how they intend to avoid backlash - even if you cut characters that are straight-up redundant there are people who get irritated. Hence why I think the consideration prior to adding a character should be insanely high. I think people making content and not being realistic about the practical side of things in terms of development are setting people up to be disappointed.

 

[dream1ng]

Finally someone on their next smash wishlist that doesn’t want half of the roster to be cut lol. And there is some good ideas here and there too.

He asks why am I ok with characters/features being cut? Because I can accept the reality that indefinite growth isn't realistic or tenable in video games from a budgetary perspective. I don't celebrate the cuts but I am ok with them because I understand that cuts are usually necessary to manifest a game with the time and budget developers are provided. I am ok with them because they will eventually happen, and acceptance is preferable to denial.

You seem to be conflating people who can reconcile that reality with people who desire half the roster gone. If I was to make a wishlist, there'd be no need to cut anything; but wishlists inherently forego realism.

Sure, if he was making Smash, he can follow his own desires unchecked from the demands of the people providing the money to make the game. But he isn't making the next Smash, Sakurai/Nintendo are. And we have to factor that in outside of wishlists.

If people want to realistically predict what might happen, we have to take into account common practices within how games are made. Not even the least of which being how Nintendo itself often opts to rebuild its games from title to title rather than perpetually build on the same base.

 

[Undella2]

It's already on it's way - unfortunately.

It has two characters; one of which was added in smash 4 and the other in smash ultimate. The second one was added after their game sold quite well and the series started to become one favoured by nintendo's marketing department and whatnot. Both characters also play very differently from one another, too - they're not just "marth" and "marth with fire" like FE's original reps were in melee. Also, Monolith Soft has been key to the behind-the-scenes development of a variety of nintendo games as of late such as zelda and pokemon IIRC - they "deserve" a spot or two for their role.

Is every series made after the '90's that gets a new character here and there that you don't care for another "fire emblem in smash" issue?

I mean, I don't care for splatoon at all (and it's an even "newer" series than xenoblade), but if a new splatoon character was announced for the next smash game, it'd make sense to me and I wouldn't complain.

 

[BrawlX10]

I have a question...

When the time comes, and someone has to take over for Sakurai for making Smash Bros. games, how much do you all want to bet any of the things this successor does may further divide the fanbase?

And no, I am not worried about that at all, personally speaking, I am just asking.

Since Sakurai is probably working on the next game, then i'd say it depends in what the next game even is.
If the next game has EiH again or it's a Ultimate port and it's Sakurai last smash game and the game after that has a new director and undoes EiH....then yeah, the new director is cooked and will have the fanbase divided.
If the next game has no EiH2 and it's Sakurai last game then the new director will probably be fine as long it doesn't do anything MvC:I levels of stupid (Ex: Keeping Piranha Plant but removing Rosalina) or really ****s up the gameplay.

Choppy animation or not, I think the next Smash game could probably benefit from having cel-shaded graphics like Jet Set Radio.

Well every smash game had a diferent art style in some way, the only scenario i can see the next game keeps the same artstyle if t's the next game is a port of Ultimate.

 

[BackseatSakurai]

Is every series made after the '90's that gets a new character here and there that you don't care for another "fire emblem in smash" issue?

It just makes no sense why certain series are expected to perpetually increase in roster size while others, most people are more or less okay with staying as they are. If it meant avoiding this issue entirely and getting to contain the problem franchises, I'd be perfectly fine with even reducing it to 1 rep per series. Also - it's hardly a "new series" bias when Fire Emblem was cited as the main problematic example.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

It just makes no sense why certain series are expected to perpetually increase in roster size while others, most people are more or less okay with staying as they are. If it meant avoiding this issue entirely and getting to contain the problem franchises, I'd be perfectly fine with even reducing it to 1 rep per series. Also - it's hardly a "new series" bias when Fire Emblem was cited as the main problematic example.

I mean, aside from the people advocating for no cuts, I don't think any of the 5+ character series are expected to keep all of their characters. Like, I don't think anyone is expecting Waluigi in addition to the core 4, Dr. Mario, Daisy, Rosalina & Luma, Bowser Jr., and Piranha Plant, but they are expecting Waluigi himself to join.

Or like, most are pretty certain that we're getting a new Pokémon, but they're also just as certain that we'll be losing Incineroar, and Pichu at minimum, and we'll probably lose more than that.

 

[dream1ng]

I'm starting to think Nintendo would just be better off doing a third / fourth fighters pass for Ultimate and take advantage of backwards compatibility.

This would make them substantially less money even considering the costs of developing a new game.

Smash is a killer app, and people will buy the system, the game, and the DLC to play it. Conversely, focusing on Ultimate would keep their consumers on their old platform, on a title that is no longer being advertised, with an install base that at this point, even with DLC, will continue to shrink.

Backwards compatibility incentivizes the current audience to move forward to the new system, it won't substantially increase numbers on games that have existed for the better part of a decade now. That's why we're getting an actual new Mario Kart instead of just more MK8D content.

The money is with new titles. Giving Ultimate substantial new content would be counterproductive to what they're trying to achieve with a new system.

 

[BackseatSakurai]

The money is with new titles. Giving Ultimate substantial new content would be counterproductive to what they're trying to achieve with a new system.

Totally agree - just don't know how they're going to manage the backlash unless they actually manage to "everybody is here" again - which seems equally impossible.

 

[Undella2]

It just makes no sense why certain series are expected to perpetually increase in roster size while others, most people are more or less okay with staying as they are. If it meant avoiding this issue entirely and getting to contain the problem franchises, I'd be perfectly fine with even reducing it to 1 rep per series. Also - it's hardly a "new series" bias when Fire Emblem was cited as the main problematic example.

I think that two characters + maybe KOS-MOS as a Xenosaga rep if Sakurai or Monolithsoft wants is a perfectly fine amount for Xenoblade to have. I mean, Mother has two and Star Fox has three (though I see Falco or Wolf as likely cuts in the next game).

I'd guess that Shulk will stay around (as he's the series' sorta marth-esque character), and then the second character in a Smash 6 (before possible DLC, anyway) would be the Aegis girls or whoever protag(s) Monolith might be wanting to promote at a given time.