Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[BrawlX10]

Now that Steve made it into Ultimate, I think that opens the door to these types of games that people might have dismissed before. As long as the character is cool and fun to play, I’m down for pretty much anything.

As far as League, I do have experience with all three of those characters. Jinx through Arcane and Ahri and Yasuo through Ruined King. I think any of them could be great. My only small hangup with Yasuo is that he’s another swordsman in a game already full of them. We don’t really have any eastern style swordsmen besides maybe Sephiroth so he’d still stand out that way.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Smash 6 introduces at least one newcomer, especially from a third-party franchise that certain parts of the Smash fanbase aren’t actively rooting for, like characters from World of Warcraft, Fortnite, Granblue Fantasy (since the main game is live service, it counts IMO), League of Legends, or Genshin Impact. It feels like, in general, reps from live service or gacha games aren’t seriously considered contenders by many people—probably because we haven’t had one yet. It’s similar to how indie games are sometimes dismissed as well, since we don’t have a fully-fledged indie character yet.


That said, I think live service and indie games with significant popularity are completely valid for Smash. For example, it’s one thing to add a character from a random live service game that shut down after a month which would be dumb, but it’s a totally different case with Genshin Impact or League of Legends. The same goes for indie games: while adding a character from some obscure game only a couple of people have played wouldn’t make sense, popular indie games like Shovel Knight, Sans, or Hollow Knight with huge fanbases would be great contenders and are on a diferent level.


I think some people have trouble distinguishing between these. In the end, I believe it’s inevitable that we’ll see a character from either an indie or live service game at some point. In fact, Smash 6 DLC seems like the most likely place for that to happen, at least so far.

 

[Stratos]

From the Soulcalibur series, I want both Siegfried Schtauffen and his other side, Nightmare. But which of the two do you think would have more hope as a newcomer to the Super Smash Bros. series?

 

[Kirbeh]

popular indie games like Shovel Knight, Sans, or Hollow Knight with huge fanbases would be great contenders and are on a different level.

People are really sleeping on John Undertale from the Sans series.

 

[fogbadge]

From the Soulcalibur series, I want both Siegfried Schtauffen and his other side, Nightmare. But which of the two do you think would have more hope as a newcomer to the Super Smash Bros. series?

forget both and put in Kilik

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Who are we predicting for the Joker spot as the first big DLC character to kick things off?

I don't really think the first DLC has to be a Joker parallel, but the biggest name that comes to mind would be Malenia.

Having the face of Elden Ring would be a very strong start to the DLC, arguably even stronger than Joker.

 

[dream1ng]

Hmm, honestly I'm not sure. Rhythm Heaven already has a sufficient legacy behind it, being one of the more successful and longstanding series without a playable character. I think the simple presence of a new game would be enough to move the dial in its favor, even if that game doesn't completely shatter records. Although I suspect this game will do pretty well, despite being a Switch 1 title I think that's more of a technicality at this point. It's not like we won't be able to buy it on our Switch 2, so it's hard to see it get screwed the same way something like the Bowser's Inside Story remake was, etc.

Bottom line is I don't think Rhythm Heaven has much to prove right now. It just needed to prove that it still has some life left, which it does. Rhythm Heaven games are cheaper, lighter affairs as is and probably aren't held to the lofty standard of its AAA cousins. The main concern right now, in regards to Smash consideration, involves timing more than it does moving units. At least in my eyes.

Yeah, the timing hurts it. I think it's too late for base, and getting noticed for DLC probably does depend on the reception of the game. Like, it's a 2026 Switch game, that already means Nintendo's focus will be elsewhere (unless it cross-releases, which hopefully it does).

And I question the heights it can reach commercially given the IP and when and on which system it releases.

If it had aligned with base better I think it'd have a much better shot. I know Rhythm Heaven already has several titles, but with DLC's promotional angle, I'm skeptical they'd choose to go back and select it if the game proves unremarkable in its success.

But cross-releasing could save it, as it'd be something Nintendo will actually promote, and will probably, at this point, give it a better shot commercially.

Who are we predicting for the Joker spot as the first big DLC character to kick things off? I admit that my bias is likely clouding my judgement a bit but I feel like Jinx has a real shot here. She’s pretty massive in pop culture and her game has been huge for years but doesn’t overlap much with Smash speculation for various reasons. I feel like she’d be a perfect analogue to Joker in that she’d remind everyone that anything is possible.

I think 2B is the closest parallel to Joker, but who knows how they'll kick off the DLC; it certainly doesn't have to be with a character around the similar scale to Joker, or with a similar degree of Nintendo association. That's just trying to hold to a pattern.

I've said this before, but I'm hoping the roster for the next Smash game will balance out first-party and third-party characters. That includes newcomers.

That would be very expensive and involve a high number of cuts, fwiw.

 

[Perkilator]

I mean we're still on track to only get like two third party newcomers in base game lol

Snake and Sonic in Brawl, Mega Man and Pac-Man in 4, Simon in Ultimate alongside two Echoes...

Definitely expect the base game to still be primarily first party newcomers.

My picks for the two base game third parties are always gonna be Ryu Hayabusa and Crash Bandicoot.

 

[dream1ng]

I don’t know how I feel about the fact that this next smash will most likely feature mostly 3rd Parties as newcomers again.

Now I’m sure we’ll get the usual Pokémon, Fire Emblem, and maybe Mario characters but other than that I’m not sure if we’ll get much else.

That’s kind of a double edged sword to me. On one hand I love the excitement of never ever 3rd Parties getting in like Master Chief, Kiryu, 2B, Hayabusa, etc. but on the other I’m going to be just a little disappointed if we don’t get characters like Raven Beak, Elma or a Xeno 3 character, a Rhythm Heaven character, and Officer Howard.

It’s definitely a weird time in the legacy of Smash.

I think these being the options sort of indicates why there might be a declining proportion of first-party additions.

From the Soulcalibur series, I want both Siegfried Schtauffen and his other side, Nightmare. But which of the two do you think would have more hope as a newcomer to the Super Smash Bros. series?

I think they'd probably be alts of each other, with Nightmare likelier as default.

 

[DarthEnderX]

EDIT: Pretty sure they'd do Devils Never Cry anyway.

For sure. It's his MvC theme after all.

I don’t know how I feel about the fact that this next smash will most likely feature mostly 3rd Parties as newcomers again.

Delighted.

Iconic 3Ps > Nintendo's D-listers

From the Soulcalibur series, I want both Siegfried Schtauffen and his other side, Nightmare. But which of the two do you think would have more hope as a newcomer to the Super Smash Bros. series?

Nightmare is the series mascot and studio logo. He also wields one of the series' titular weapons.

 

[dezeray112]

From the Soulcalibur series, I want both Siegfried Schtauffen and his other side, Nightmare. But which of the two do you think would have more hope as a newcomer to the Super Smash Bros. series?

Probably be between Nightmare, Sophitia Alexandria or Heishiro Mitsurugi.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

My picks for the two base game third parties are always gonna be Ryu Hayabusa and Crash Bandicoot.

Can't help it. These two always being the "next DLC" has me jaded on them.

 

[Louie G.]

Crash makes no sense as a base game pick to me. If Microsoft is back in play, then priority will go toward bringing back Banjo and Steve. Any further Microsoft content or its subsidiaries feels like an easy bet for DLC, given the likely expense and heavy back and forth communication / language barrier.

Hayabusa makes sense, even if he's played out. Koei Tecmo would probably lend him out for super cheap and he's that kind of old school legacy pick that we've gotten as base game the past couple times (Mega Man, PAC-MAN, Simon). I don't think we should hinge too much expectation on these types of patterns but I do think it speaks to our current understanding of what a "base game third party" means. Can't blame anyone for being jaded on him though.

 

[Dukefire]

This topic is controversial, but which character(s) seem too late to join the base game of the next smash bros? It is difficult to tell, but what are your guesses?

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

I think Bomberman could potentially be in play for a base game inclusion in Smash 6. They highlighted him as an assist trophy in Ultimate, gave him a very solid Mii costume complete with various colors a few years after that and Nintendo's maintained a solid relationship with Konami, Given Snake in Brawl on top of Simon/Richter in base Ultimate? Bomberman as a base game inclusion without the pressure of having to sell big a in a fighter's pass could be practical for him.

As far as Shadow Labyrinth, I think I'd dig it a bit more of there was a hint that the dark and dreary setting would gradually be subverted as the game went on. Like the game starts out as fairly grim, but the goofy and whimsical nature of Pac-Man himself starts poking out more and more before gradually lightening up the world around the protagonists. A formerly scary poltergeist monster starts looking like certain classic ghosts before outright becoming Blinky and you get fruits becoming more vibrant (to the point of becoming colorful Pac-Man cherries or apples).

Basically, it would be a fun way of utilizing Pac elements and doing something novel for a Metroidvania in how much the land itself is changing.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

I think Bomberman could potentially be in play for a base game inclusion in Smash 6. They highlighted him as an assist trophy in Ultimate, gave him a very solid Mii costume complete with various colors a few years after that and Nintendo's maintained a solid relationship with Konami, Given Snake in Brawl on top of Simon/Richter in base Ultimate? Bomberman as a base game inclusion without the pressure of having to sell big a in a fighter's pass could be practical for him.

I could see this very easily, especially since even if Snake doesn't return (for whatever reason) I feel like Castlevania will stick around.

 

[ninjahmos]

This topic is controversial, but which character(s) seem too late to join the base game of the next smash bros? It is difficult to tell, but what are your guesses?

Doom Slayer.

He probably has a much better chance of getting in as DLC.

 

[CapitaineCrash]

I think these being the options sort of indicates why there might be a declining proportion of first-party additions.

I mean, those pick aren't really weaker than what we were getting in Smash 4. In Smash 4 we got Little mac, Palutena and Shulk who came from franchise that doesn't do huge number sales wise. I think that Metroid dread, Xenoblade 3 and Astral chain are probably more popular than was Kid icarus uprising, Punch-Out and Xenoblade 1 back in the day so it's really not that worse first party wise.

This topic is controversial, but which character(s) seem too late to join the base game of the next smash bros? It is difficult to tell, but what are your guesses?

Well it's hard to tell without knowing when the game started development at all. If Sakurai's 2021 game plan was the next Smash and development did start in April 2022, I'm assuming everything passed that will be very hard to be in the game. That being said, we know that he did some moveset like Byleth when the FE three houses was still in development, so it's possible that game that were fairly late in development (2023 releases) might be fine.

 

[SPEN18]

So here are the franchises that you can select to receive news updates for in the Nintendo Today! app (US ver at least):

Mostly expected choices, but interesting to note what's getting highlighted here.

Other observations:

Just like on the JP website, Tom Nook and Isabelle are sharing the spotlight here, and FE is repped by the same trio of Marth, Lyn, and Ike.

Also w the FE picture, I was gonna say it's the same one copied from the JP website, and it is indeed the same art, but strangely Lyn and Ike have swapped places! And no, it's not just mirrored. Don't know if this version of the image appears elsewhere, but it's funny there are two different arrangements.

Looks like we have BotW Link/Zelda and XBC1 (DE) Monado instead of TotK or XBC3. Not gonna read much into it, but interesting they don't have the absolute most recent.

Splatoon, Pikmin, Kirby, and Wario match the JP website images but with backgrounds either different or aligned differently.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

Doom Slayer.

He probably has a much better chance of getting in as DLC.

I mean that's true and I agree with it, but I wouldn't say Doom Slayer is "too late" to join the base game lol

 

[Hydreigonfan01]

This topic is controversial, but which character(s) seem too late to join the base game of the next smash bros? It is difficult to tell, but what are your guesses?

If the project plan was started in 2022, then I'm gonna say anything from 2023 onwards likely wouldn't be expected. So I doubt we'd get Rauru from Tears of the Kingdom for example.

 

[BrawlX10]

From the Soulcalibur series, I want both Siegfried Schtauffen and his other side, Nightmare. But which of the two do you think would have more hope as a newcomer to the Super Smash Bros. series?

Probably Nightmare since he's more visually distinct and i think a bit more iconic, don't quote me on the latter, i only played SC casually.

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

Probably Nightmare since he's more visually distinct and i think a bit more iconic, don't quote me on the latter, i only played SC casually.

Nightmare is also the main logo of the Franchise, being its mascot. So if it was between them, he'd take center stage easily.

 

[Perkilator]

This topic is controversial, but which character(s) seem too late to join the base game of the next smash bros? It is difficult to tell, but what are your guesses?

Probably anyone from after 2022 (except for maybe Alear, since Engage was finished way before its release).

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

This topic is controversial, but which character(s) seem too late to join the base game of the next smash bros? It is difficult to tell, but what are your guesses?

Since we don't know if Smash was the 2021/2022 project or not still, I'm gonna stick to my guns and say anyone after mid-2024, after Studio 2/Studio S's hiring wave and the 2024 Spirit events, since that still feels to me like something they'd do between projects while waiting for hiring to fill out the team for it.

 

[BrawlX10]

I don't really think the first DLC has to be a Joker parallel, but the biggest name that comes to mind would be Malenia.

Having the face of Elden Ring would be a very strong start to the DLC, arguably even stronger than Joker.

Having a Elden Ring character on the first pass of Smash 6 would be BIG. Elden Ring has sold like 28m copies, Malenia is probably one of the most recognizable 2020s characters by that alone, her inclusion will honestly probably be bigger than Joker was.
Malenia will probably draw some eyes to Smash 6 at very least, people who usually don't play Smash might become curious about it, not necesarily means they'll buy it ,but it will draw eyes for sure.

However, i can also Nintendo not going for it because Elden Ring has not nintendo apareances (and well there's also Dark Souls, which is like a decade older than Elden Ring, thus has more legacy....but they chose Persona over SMT, so i don't think it's a death setence at all.

This topic is controversial, but which character(s) seem too late to join the base game of the next smash bros? It is difficult to tell, but what are your guesses?

I think anything that released after 2023 is most likely bye-bye for the base roster. I think 2022-2023 are still up in the air, as is still posible Smash 6 started development in those years and not 2021.

 

[CosmicEternity44]

I have a question…

If any western characters get in Smash in the future, would they not have Japanese voices but just English (or whatever) voices in the game if they had voice actors, like how the Marvel side of characters had only English voice actors in at least Marvel vs. Capcom 3?

 

[Hadokeyblade]

I’d love to see a Mega Man Metroidvania where the different powers from the Robot Masters could help you traverse new areas and solve puzzles. Keep the same general aesthetic as the classic or X series but modernized. That could be a lot of fun.

Your describing Megaman ZX

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Elden Ring has not nintendo apareances

Wait until Wednesday

 

[Wonder Smash]

I have a question…

If any western characters get in Smash in the future, would they not have Japanese voices but just English (or whatever) voices in the game if they had voice actors, like how the Marvel side of characters had only English voice actors in at least Marvel vs. Capcom 3?

I say it depends. Doom Slayer is a silent protagonist so a Japanese voice may not even be needed for him. Crash, on the other hand, does have Japanese voice actors already, so he could possibly have one in Smash too. But then again, Crash is like Mario where he doesn't really say much, so...I don't know. lol

 

[CosmicEternity44]

I say it depends. Doom Slayer is a silent protagonist so a Japanese voice may not even be needed for him. Crash, on the other hand, does have Japanese voice actors already, so he could possibly have one in Smash too. But then again, Crash is like Mario where he doesn't really say much, so...I don't know. lol

I was talking more about characters who talk, like maybe Master Chief.

 

[Thegameandwatch]

If the project plan was started in 2022, then I'm gonna say anything from 2023 onwards likely wouldn't be expected. So I doubt we'd get Rauru from Tears of the Kingdom for example.

My opinion is the maximum deadline is around late 2023-early 2024 around the time the last remaining spirit events were being planned.

Honestly it’s just weird that Smash 6 had potential 5 to 7 year gap for choices if it’s really 2021-2022. It’s generally maximum 3-2 years in previous games outside of Greninja and Incineroar.

 

[ninjahmos]

I've said this before, but I'm hoping the roster for the next Smash game will balance out first-party and third-party characters. That includes newcomers.

That is, if the next game's roster is cut down to at least 45-53 veterans.

 

[BrawlX10]

Honestly it’s just weird that Smash 6 had potential 5 to 7 year gap for choices if it’s really 2021-2022. It’s generally maximum 3-2 years in previous games outside of Greninja and Incineroar.

I'm personally one of the 2021 doubters, it just feels too early. A 2023-2026 dev cycle just makes more sense to me.

 

[cashregister9]

Wait until Wednesday

Not true

The Patapon and Everybody's Golf ports can only mean that Bloodborne will be the launch title. Believe it. I'm not Crazy

 

[Wonder Smash]

I was talking more about characters who talk, like maybe Master Chief.

That's why I say it depends.

 

[CosmicEternity44]

That's why I say it depends.

Okay then. I am just wondering if those characters not big in Japan, or may not even have Japanese voice actors, may not get any Japanese voice actors like in some other games.

 

[Undella2]

A random thought I had earlier is the idea of the Yoshi Valley mario kart track being added as a new Yoshi stage of some sort. (Yes, it's from Mario Kart, but Yoshi's Island (the Melee one) is also a Yoshi stage and its straight-up from a mainline Mario game)

It's quite a nostalgic mario kart course for me, and it'd be neat to see in place of one of the other mario kart stages, imo.

 

[Ivander]

Not true

The Patapon and Everybody's Golf ports can only mean that Bloodborne will be the launch title. Believe it. I'm not Crazy

View attachment 400677

I'm pretty sure this'd be the reaction of people just for the fact that if Bloodborne appeared on the Switch 2, they'd realise "OMG, the Hunter is really a possibility for Smash Bros now."

 

[smashkirby]

Wow, this is just handing me a chance to plug on a silver platter

There's actually a lot of highly interesting and unique choices, but here's my top two:

The big one in the Smash fandom is Golden Sun, whose popularity and reputation as one of the absolute best GBA games is well-known. The game holds up great today and probably doesn't get enough credit for its novel blend of overworld puzzles with classic random-encounter JRPG gameplay. The moveset potential here is massive and well-documented.

I also think Wave Race could be a very interesting alternate take on the mounted character idea besides the bikers who get more discussion. This had very strong sales for an N64 game, is one of the best-remembered classics on that console just under the top tier of stuff like Mario 64, OoT, and etc., and touts a longterm industry legacy for its revolutionary water physics. And it has dolphins. This also shares a character pool with 1080 Snowboarding for whatever that's worth.

Among the others worth mentioning (far from an exhaustive list):
Lip from Panel de Pon could be a puzzle genre rep; Pilotwings is a commercially successful Miyamoto darling if one could decide on a suitable choice of character and moveset; Custom Robo actually got some respectable support on the Ballot and sported a fairly long lifespan; Sin & Punishment and Eternal Darkness are well-regarded critically, respectively representing arcade-style on-rails shooters and the horror genre; Starfy and Chibi-Robo are charming favorites among pockets of Smash fans; Style Savvy did some pretty significant numbers on the DS and 3DS and represents a unique genre; Fossil Fighters is honestly a very underrated entry in the monster-collecting genre; even Vince from Art Academy was recently elevated to AT status and is a representational relic of DSiWare.

Technically these next few are relevant on Switch, but if they got in I'd still see them as strong representatives of that middle period between NES-era and modern Nintendo, with a lot of legacy pull (and anyway I think they're worth a bit more discussion):

The remake didn't move the needle I don't think, and it struggles to make headway in Japan, but Advance Wars has a lot of critical success under its belt, even if not the best sales. Worth mentioning for its colorful cast of characters, potential soldier-summoning moveset potential, and long history. Also it's a personal favorite.

On pure sales record, Brain Age and Big Brain Academy would be squarely in the conversation, it's just a matter of coming up with a viable moveset. Mileage may vary on how people feel about the globular floating mug of Dr. Kawashima or the somewhat amorphous, 2-dimensional Dr. Lobe testing their mettle in Smash, but tackling the edugame genre would make for a unique challenge.

Also feel like mentioning: Endless Ocean...not sure how you would do a character for this one, unless people were ok with like a straight scuba diver fighter, but a stage with 3D marine animals in the background would be cool. Ashley from Another Code is a cool representative of the point-and-click genre.

Edit: obviously most of these have little to no chance for a PC (though some I think do have a pretty real chance). I just like talking about them. Though all of them have at least something unique and notable about them you can point to.

If you don't mind me asking, which series out of those you mentioned might have a legit shot for a playable newcomer?

As far as Sony owned characters I’d like to see that have a realistic chance, I’d go with Aloy from Horizon. I really enjoyed the first game and we could use more cool female fighters. Plus the stage would be awesome with the giant robotic dinosaurs. She’s already got Nintendo presence through LEGO Horizon, which helps.

Speaking of Sony-owned characters... given how Sony IS still a competitor of Nintendo's, do we expect them to be willing to lend Nintendo any of their characters as PLAYABLE, or will they go the Shovel Knight route of just letting them be ATs?

Yes, I know Shovel Knight is an indie, so it's not the most APT comparison, but SEGA, Capcom, and Konami already have PLAYABLE characters in addition to 3rd party ATs, so...

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

Been thinking about Rhythm Heaven again and being happy it wasn't a dream, and it got me thinking. Since putting on the clown wig this time actually got me results, I need to shift what I'm putting the wig on for in the future if we keep bringing back more dormant IPs, which I hope we will with the Switch's success.

I think it might be time for my Fossil Fighters clown wig era assuming the supposed Mouse Mode for the Joycons is real anyway, because I realized recently something like that would be the perfect solution for how to keep the fossil excavation mechanics intact when the Switch and Switch 2 don't have a stylus to utilize.

And just like the last original Mario & Luigi game pre-Brothership, Tomodachi Life, and Rhythm Heaven, Fossil Fighters last got a game 10-11 years ago on the 3DS. Obviously this is mostly copium and very dependent on that mouse mode actually being a thing, but if it is, this plan just might be crazy enough to work lmao