Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[Quillion]

That intro to the Capcom Showcase really shows who Capcom thinks its most iconic characters are.

Ryu
Monster Hunter
Resident Evil
Phoenix Wright
Arthur
Megaman
Dante

Who from Resident Evil?

 

[ahemtoday]

I am a full day late on this, but here goes:

I agree that some of them are weak sauce and should change that by spicing up the backgrounds. I'm guessing that basic white/void background thing is just a path of least resistance for the flashy camera angles they want. Shulk's should really knock you into his game for it because I don't really see why not for that one specifically and I feel the same about Duck Hunt's in that it should transport the opponents to the Wild Gunman game because I just don't see why not? It'd definitely be nice but I guess it wasn't a priority for Smash team and that's understandable.

I also actually quite like Simon and Richter's. I'm a fan of darky edgy aesthetics so yeah but besides that I just think it's an interesting/vibrant background.

I, er, no. I don't think they should "spice up the backgrounds". I don't think Shulk should knock you into his game. I don't think Shulk should be knocking you anywhere. It doesn't matter how cool your new place is, there's no reason he can't do a Chain Attack right there on the stage on which he is standing.

Yeah I call them inescapable-attack-sequences and they're really good because they provide an alternative method of creating a Final-Smash while also being able to co-exist equally with cutscene ones. Big blast beam Final-Smash-attacks are the closest of the more wackier/fun/uncompetitive Final-Smash-attacks that'd be able to be fit in under this philosophy of mine but I find them to be more of an actual move that's easier to land and offers kind of broken stage-control to the character doing it with the most unfair example being Inkling being able move around freely/attack while doing theirs.

I can't agree that supers/FSes/what-have-you need to all be designed the exact same way in order to be competitive. Beam supers have been a thing for a long time in traditional fighting games, and I do not see what is preventing them from appearing in Smash.

For that last part I'm not quite sure I understand what you're saying. I've heard others here discuss turning the X and Y buttons into some sort of new directional system unique to their inputs akin to how A and B buttons work currently (default settings of course) that I guess you'd call supers as opposed to specials but I'm not really a big fan of that idea. Sure it'd be more room for much more moves (having at least 4 supers with neutral, side, up, down from I understand) I guess but I just don't think it's congruent with Smash and also wouldn't the button essentially do nothing until you were in your super-state? I'm not sure I'd like that and it's kind of why I'd like Final-Smash-meter to be exclusively generated by taking/landing hits as opposed to Super-Smash-Specials which I'd like to have Super-Smash-Specials have their own dedicated charge/quasi-Rebel's-Guard button in order to give the player an active role in garnering these buffed up Special-attacks. I also think having them just being buffed version of the characters' existing specials saves resources and even empowered states basically require a model and a simple change in the characters' attributes/stats whereas having these hypothetical distinguished super-inputs be unique attacks would take a lot more resources. I'm sorry if I'm misunderstanding/misrepresenting your statements but that's what I got from it.

If you're sticking to super specials being the same as the standard ones, then I can get down with that. Street Fighter does the same thing. But I don't see the point in making them use entirely separate bars. If they use the same bar, it creates a choice: do I use an EX move, or build up more bar and do a Final Smash? If the former, which? But when they don't... there is no choice. They get their Final Smash and then they try to hit you with it before the bar runs out. I think it's adding in another meter for the sake of less intriguing decision-making.

My priorities kind of tend to focus on expanding upon proven concepts already in the game by way of universal distribution among the cast, finding and eliminating redundant button-real-estate and expanding upon the current established inputs. For example I believe the A-button itself is heavily unexplored. I've offered more detailed thoughts on this with my moveset expansion post linked in my signature under the Overhead/Crouch attacks spoiler, Walkable Jabs spoiler and the Aerial-Smash-attack spoiler. I'd also support the Special being expanded upon with the addition Back-Specials and Shield-Specials given to the entire cast which would essentially max out the Special-input's potential.

In a way, that's kind of my philosophy with these... let's call 'em Y-supers. The way I see it, moves are starting to come out the seams of the Smash moveset template. Characters need to have multiple specials for one direction, or a special resource they need to manage, or a powered-up form, or some sort of stance switch. And the issue with this is that... as implemented, it's the worst of both worlds to me. It isn't standardized because not only is not every character like this. but the ones that are all have unique mechanics in this space; but it also isn't unique because, like... it's all a special meter they expend on moves, or a super mode they occasionally enter.

So that's why I went for giving everyone a meter and four super moves they can do with it. (In addition to other things I've been wanting like air smashes.) Because if that's what every Smash character needs, then why not give it to them? If someone really needs a unique resource distinct from the standard meter - and I mean really needs like Steve, not "needs" in the same sense as cinematic Final Smashes need to teleport you - then they can get it instead. Maybe even in addition to the standard meter, if it doesn't have its own dedicated move(s) to expend it.

And while I'd like Final-Smash to have its own dedicated button so that it could allow for the player to use their specials while having a Final-Smash on deck I'd like it to be exclusive to R3/L3 inputs (the Gamecube controller needs to catch up, that Panda update was pretty much EXACTLY what Nintendo should be officially offering and on that note it'd also be nice to get an Elite-Pro-Controller while we're at it giving the option for a more upper-end controller with macros buttons which are just nice to have in general but would also provide more space for all these hypothetical dedicated buttons I've proposed) because I believe that just like the right/c-stick you need to limit what's allowed for R3/L3 inputs because not everything could/should be able to be mapped to these inputs.

I don't hate this idea but I feel like clicking the stick is a little too likely to happen on accident to be a comfortable Final Smash input.

Anyways I'd just like there to be a dedicated button for charge/meter-counter (think Limit-Charge and Rebel's Guard respectively) for my proposed Super-Smash-Special design philosophy because I'd prefer to give the player a more active role in generating this meter and I think in doing so it'd add more depth to the game. That's really all there is to it.

I like your thinking here, but between the two meters you've proposed, the one that needs the depth more is the FS meter. I was talking about the using of it having depth before, but if acquiring it has depth I think that'd be interesting too.

 

[DarthEnderX]

Who from Resident Evil?

They're just silhouettes. But it looks like Leon and Claire to me.

 

[Quillion]

ahemtoday and Chuderz :

I'd prefer that FS go back to being tied to the Smash Ball while the meter gets repurposed for super specials.

If we absolutely NEED a way to give FS its own input though, I think Shield+Y might work.

Anyway, I think it's best that we discuss this on this other thread, considering this thread quickly moves on if we do so.

 

[Yamat08]

considering the backgrounds are just .PNGs, I don't get why they didn't let you choose any stage to be the background. Sure, some would be a bit useless or redundant, but the additional flexibility would have been nice. Additionally, there's a really useless playlist feature in the game. It would be really beneficial if you could assign a playlist to a given stage, sometimes it can be really annoying hearing the same song on loop.

Between the stage backgrounds (among other potential Stage Builder features) and the lack of proper boss rematches, it feels like Ultimate's sitting on a lot of potential just from the resources that are already in the game (at least the added Spirit rematches were something decent). Hell, I honestly think they could've expanded on the photo mode by just giving us completely free reign of the characters and animations, I'd imagine something similar to Sakurai's modded version that he makes pictures with.

 

[fogbadge]

Who doesn’t love robot ninjas who fight with their hair?

me probably

 

[Gengar84]

me probably

"No...That's not true...That's impossible!"

01:46:45 into "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back"

m.youtube.com

Bottom text

 

[Stratos]

There are rumors of a new Nintendo Direct on June 29, but no one is sure if that's true.

 

[Diddy Kong]

That intro to the Capcom Showcase really shows who Capcom thinks its most iconic characters are.

Ryu
Monster Hunter
Resident Evil
Phoenix Wright
Arthur
Megaman
Dante

Could see most of them make Smash eventually. Honestly I think it's most likely that third party developers that already have been on board with Smash since Smash 4 are more likely to stay. Or basically, just SEGA, Capcom and Namco.

 

[Megadoomer]

There are rumors of a new Nintendo Direct on June 29, but no one is sure if that's true.

I'd take it with a gigantic grain of salt; rumours aren't often reliable (as we saw with Xbox's presentation - things like a new Banjo-Kazooie game, a new Crash Bandicoot game by Toys For Bob, a Crash Bandicoot multiplayer game, and a Goldeneye remaster were all rumoured, and had some supporting evidence, but none of them showed up), and for Directs, I feel like anyone can pick a Wednesday in June and claim that their sources heard about a Nintendo Direct on that day, even if their source is that they made it up or guessed.

For example, I can say my sources claimed that there will be a Direct on June 22nd, but in reality, I have no sources.

(I'd be a little surprised if we didn't get a Direct announcement today for a Direct tomorrow, considering that every other company has been having presentations in the past week or so, and if you've got video game news, then now seems like the best time to show it, but Nintendo's usually marched to the beat of their own drum even if that beat doesn't always make sense)

 

[Gengar84]

Honestly I’m a bit disappointed we didn’t get anything from RARE other than that Sea of Thieves trailer from the X-Box show. I was hoping to see something from the Perfect Dark game or possibly a reveal of a new Killer Instinct. Hopefully bringing the older Persona games to Game Pass means they might be getting whatever new Persona games come out to X-Box as well. That and Final Fantasy were the two main franchises keeping me with PlayStation. I’m interested in Overwatch 2 if it has a co-op campaign. I always thought the game looked really cool but I suck at competitive online games so I never tried it.

 

[Stratos]

Because Rare is owned by Microsoft, some people believe that Nintendo can not take it back and hope to at least acquire Playtonic, which was created and is made up by former members of Rare.

 

[Gengar84]

Because Rare is owned by Microsoft, some people believe that Nintendo can not take it back and hope to at least acquire Playtonic, which was created and is made up by former members of Rare.

I’d be happy with that. I’m not sure what Playtonic has been up to since Impossible Lair. Hopefully they’re still doing okay. I’d love to see them succeed.

 

[Geno Boost]

Can we agree that Crash, Waluigi, Geno would pretty much be the next big 3 of the smash community during the next smash game?

 

[Gengar84]

Can we agree that Crash, Waluigi, Geno would pretty much be the next big 3 of the smash community during the next smash game?

Hmmm.., They’re all pretty big but I’m not sure if they’re necessarily all at the very top. Master Chief, Ryu Hyabusa, Octoling, and Bandana Dee also get a ton of support so it’s probably a toss up between them as well.

 

[fogbadge]

Can we agree that Crash, Waluigi, Geno would pretty much be the next big 3 of the smash community during the next smash game?

id rather not if its all the same to you

 

[Gengar84]

id rather not if its all the same to you

My personal most wanted characters don’t really align with the general Smash community’s. I wouldn’t mind seeing any of those characters but none of them are in my top 50 favorites. I know Smash doesn’t cater to my own personal tastes so I wouldn’t complain if we didn’t get any of my personal favorites and got mostly popular fan requests instead.

 

[Stratos]

From what I read in Wikipedia, the Tencent has acquired a minority stake in Playtonic. Does that mean Playtonic will be owned by Tencent in the future? However, if the Playtonic is to be bought by someone, I would like it to be from Nintendo, although Nintendo makes almost no acquisitions.

 

[Gengar84]

From what I read in Wikipedia, the Tencent has acquired a minority stake in Playtonic. Does that mean Playtonic will be owned by Tencent in the future? However, if the Playtonic is to be bought by someone, I would like it to be from Nintendo, although Nintendo makes almost no acquisitions.

I honestly don’t know. I don’t really follow the business side of gaming too much but I am interested in what happens with Playtonic because I was a huge fan of RARE growing up. It would be awesome if Nintendo picked them up and let them work on their own games and possibly bring back the Donkey Kong Country games again. I would love to see that come full circle to see the original creators work on the DKC games again if they’re interested.

 

[Stratos]

I honestly don’t know. I don’t really follow the business side of gaming too much but I am interested in what happens with Playtonic because I was a huge fan of RARE growing up. It would be awesome if Nintendo picked them up and let them work on their own games and possibly bring back the Donkey Kong Country games again. I would love to see that come full circle to see the original creators work on the DKC games again if they’re interested.

Do you mean that Nintendo should buy both Rare and Playtonic?

 

[Gengar84]

Do you mean that Nintendo should buy both Rare and Playtonic?

I don’t think RARE is an option, I was talking about Playtonic specifically. Since many of the same people work at Playtonic that used to be with RARE back when they were with Nintendo, it would almost be like getting RARE back (but without their IP, which is kind of a big deal but I can buy an X-Box for that).

 

[Stratos]

I don’t think RARE is an option, I was talking about Playtonic specifically. Since many of the same people work at Playtonic that used to be with RARE back when they were with Nintendo, it would almost be like getting RARE back (but without their IP, which is kind of a big deal but I can buy an X-Box for that).

However, I would like Nintendo to buy Rare and Playtonic, although this seems impossible to me.

 

[Sucumbio]

Ryu
Monster Hunter
Resident Evil
Phoenix Wright
Arthur
Megaman
Dante

SF, MH, RE, AA, GnG, MM, DMC

7 awesome franchises... I support anything that one day has a rep from each in Smash.

For the next Smash...

SF, MH, RE, AA, GnG, MM, DMC
5 choice you pick fiiive!

Monster Hunter
Resident Evil
Ace Attorney
Ghosts n Goblins
Devil May Cry

My picks:
Note no consideration for plausibility.

MH ?? I dunno, the Hunter?... I don't play this franchise.
RE Wesker
AA Phoenix Wright
GnG Arthur
DMC Dante

Now as to the plausibility factor added in so read on only if you must!

I think Phoenix Wright should be considered as top dog in this particular contest.

DMC seems logical but ... Eh. Sony.

Arthur is probably going to emerge as an assist but maybe playable. Low key maybe.

RE again... Eh. Sony. But.... Well if we can suspend this one point then yeah as positive a maybe one could muster.

So really that leaves Monster Hunter the black sheep since I've never played it but I'm eager to learn more and how it could turn out a playable character.

 

[Stratos]

Even if a newcomer character for the Super Smash Bros. series is not on my list of characters I would like, he, she, it, whoever he or she or it is, is enough for me. "It" in case it is a robot like the R.O.B..

 

[Gengar84]

The only Monster Hunter game I’ve ever played was Stories 2 but I think a rider would make for a fun character. I’m not normally big on silent protagonists but I think the main character riding on the back of Ratha would make for an awesome Smash character.

 

[Sucumbio]

I’m not normally big on silent protagonists but I think the main character riding on the back of Ratha would make for an awesome Smash character.

Ah, so it is. I wasn't sure but indeed it'd be a class so the possibilities are actually huge cause you could do a hybrid character that's truest to the franchise while being uniquely Smash which as we all know Sakurai for better or worse is consistent.

 

[Geno Boost]

That intro to the Capcom Showcase really shows who Capcom thinks its most iconic characters are.

Ryu
Monster Hunter
Resident Evil
Phoenix Wright
Arthur
Megaman
Dante

Darkstalkers fans rn

 

[chocolatejr9]

From what I read in Wikipedia, the Tencent has acquired a minority stake in Playtonic. Does that mean Playtonic will be owned by Tencent in the future? However, if the Playtonic is to be bought by someone, I would like it to be from Nintendo, although Nintendo makes almost no acquisitions.

Given this is Tencent we're talking about, I wouldn't be surprised if they got Playtonic eventually. Tencent are one of the biggest advocates of the "everything must be bought" movement.

 

[Opossum]

Can we agree that Crash, Waluigi, Geno would pretty much be the next big 3 of the smash community during the next smash game?

It's...immensely hard to say. Waluigi is the only one I'm confident will have that much of a following, since he has virtually nothing standing in his way that can't be overcome next time.

The reality of the situation is that any semblance of a "Big 3" or "Big 4" or what have you only happened naturally during Smash 4. Any attempt to claim such a thing happened during Ultimate is revising history a bit.

Back during Smash 4 there were several proposed newcomers that were virtually unanimously wanted and expected by the community. These were Mewtwo returning, and the additions of Mega Man, Ridley, King K. Rool, Palutena, and Little Mac. At least here on Smashboards, anyway. Gamefaqs was mostly on board with that list too. Now of course, there were other categories that were fairly universal, but the exact choice wasn't. Most expected a Fire Emblem character, but there was a split between Chrom joining and Roy returning. Mario newcomers were a hot topic, but it was a three-way split between Toad, Bowser Jr., and "the four we have are all we need." Most expected a retro newcomer, and Takamaru was the most common pick, but it wasn't unanimous. Shulk and Isaac were both common requests but were often seen as mutually exclusive.

But Mewtwo, Mega Man, Ridley, King K. Rool, Palutena, and Little Mac? Those were truly unanimous. If you posted a prediction roster and even one of those characters was missing, there would 100% be heavy scrutiny and debate. And then all but Ridley and K. Rool got into Smash 4 (albeit with Mewtwo being DLC).

That's why I always advised against trying to recreate that. Many tried to frame Ridley, K. Rool, and Banjo as the "Big 3," but in truth, there was literally never a point where those three, specifically, were the three most wanted characters. By the time Banjo was seen as a possibility during the ballot, Ridley had long since been written off by most of his own fanbase as impossible, based on what happened in Smash 4. And since Ridley was the first post-Inkling newcomer revealed, there wasn't any time for that specific trio to really BE the "Big 3."

The other thing is that when the unanimous Smash 4 requests were, well, unanimous, the fanbase was working under much more restrictive guidelines. Third party requests were far less common and had to have very strong ties to Nintendo. Characters had to come from combat-oriented series due to Animal Crossing and Nintendogs being barred from Brawl. Even brand new Nintendo series for the roster had a hard time getting a unanimous following because prior to Smash 4, very few Miscellaneous new series were added, especially if they weren't retro or third party (just Fire Emblem in Melee and Pikmin and WarioWare in Brawl, but even Wario had the Mario connection). Smash 4's opening of many doors (Villager and Wii Fit Trainer, lots of new miscellaneous Nintendo franchises, and opening the door more for third parties) made it so truly unanimous newcomer sets would likely NEVER happen again.

Crash and Geno, respectively, would face division due to there being other Microsoft (lol) and Square-Enix characters seen as "competition." And apprehension due to Geno's unique rights issues would only further muddy things.

At most, I can see Waluigi filling a similar place as Inkling, Isabelle, and an Alola Pokémon during Ultimate's pre-release, where they were seen as among the most likely characters. But I don't see the rise of a unanimous "Big [Collective]" ever again.

 

[TCT~Phantom]

Can we agree that Crash, Waluigi, Geno would pretty much be the next big 3 of the smash community during the next smash game?

Crash and Waluigi I think are pretty likely to maintain their support bases. Waluigi has a widespread casual and hardcore appeal for Smash at this point. Meanwhile, Crash has a lot of support already and now with Activision no longer an issue in the grand scheme of things I think his support will grow too.

Geno though... I expect is gonna decline in active support. A large part of the Geno support honestly has always felt like a bandwagon of sorts. In the Brawl era it was one idea that just got very popular very quickly. In Smash 4, no one was really taking Geno that seriously outside of a few diehard loyalists until that Mii Costume came and Nintendo and Square remembered he existed. Honestly, I thought Geno was relatively likely for Smash Ultimate's base roster after that. But he did not make it. Square seems to be much more in favor of pushing their big, relevant series than an RPG they made over twenty years ago that didnt even release in Europe until the SNES mini. It is honestly telling how much the Geno fanbase grew right after that Mii costume was revealed. In Smash 4, Geno was at best a controversial character, seen as a relic of Brawl speculation gone too far. In Ultimate, there was a lot of affection for the idea of Geno getting in the game that I think can be attributed entirely to that Mii Costume. It really does feel at least to me that a large part of the Geno support was people who wanted to be on the "right side" of speculation, getting a long standing fan favorite right. In many ways, Geno made next to no sense in a vacuum, but the vocal fanbase and the Mii Costume dulled that vision.

Geno also has always been a controversial character. Even in the Brawl days when Geno had his vocal fan base, he was never this sort of S tier request that was agreed upon by the vast majority of fans. He was never a K Rool or a Ridley or a Banjo essentially. Those fanbases had detractors, but they did not have nearly the same amount of people actively disliking the idea of their character in. Geno's fanbase has always been a very vocal minority at the end of the day. If anything, Smashboards has amplified this. Smashboards I have always attested is not a representative sample for Smash Speculation. Dixie Kong for example has a very active fanbase on here, yet I have seen very little enthusiastic Dixie support in the wild. On the other hand, popular picks like Crash, Isaac, and Bandana Dee do translate into the wild often from what I have seen. But Geno honeslty is an interesting case because there has always been this active trepidation around him in the wild. You have a few people that are enthusiastic for the idea, but you also have a lot of people that actively dislike the idea of it. Some bring up the fanbase themselves, others bring up the character not making sense. I can say that at least I can get why the Geno fanbase got the way it did, with snake oil salesmen peddling inside info giving them false hope.

Geno will likely always have a solid fanbase on Smashboards. Heck, he will probably always after that Mii Costume have somewhat of a fanbase. But I doubt he will ever reach that widespread support that K Rool or Banjo had. I think his fanbase size wise will end up smaller than in Ultimate but bigger than in Smash 4's. He is no longer impossible, but he is not the easy horse to hitch too anymore. He is more or less the Schrodinger's Cat of speculation to me. Geno is both a likely and impossibly unlikely choice. That vocal fanbase exists and Geno is a relatively easy bone to throw fans, but he is a character that a ton of people just will not care about one bit.

If you want characters I think are more likely to end up being titans of Speculation and demand here are a few: Bandana Dee, Waluigi, Isaac, Crash, Master Chief, Dante, Ryu Hayabusa.

 

[Gengar84]

I predict that all of my personal favorites will somehow be the most requested characters by the general Smash community by the time the next game is announced. I haven’t figured out that’s going to happen yet though but I’ll think of something I’m sure lol.

 

[chocolatejr9]

I predict that all of my personal favorites will somehow be the most requested characters by the general Smash community by the time the next game is announced. I haven’t figured out that’s going to happen yet though but I’ll think of something I’m sure lol.

Easy: just keep mentioning them at every opportunity. That's what I do with my most wanteds.

Speaking of which, I haven't talked about Billy Hatcher in awhile, have I?

 

[Gengar84]

Easy: just keep mentioning them at every opportunity. That's what I do with my most wanteds.

Speaking of which, I haven't talked about Billy Hatcher in awhile, have I?

The tricky thing is finding a good balance. I want to talk about them enough to keep people thinking about them but not so much that it annoys people. I’ve had a few posters on here already tell me I talk about my favorites too often and that it was getting annoying.

 

[fogbadge]

Easy: just keep mentioning them at every opportunity. That's what I do with my most wanteds.

Speaking of which, I haven't talked about Billy Hatcher in awhile, have I?

yes let’s talk about billy

 

[Sucumbio]

Can we agree that Crash, Waluigi, Geno would pretty much be the next big 3 of the smash community during the next smash game?

Yeah I think any of these 3 would bring insane hype and I literally don't root for
any of them but I still support the hype bc my favs being in smash is a welcome respite and it's great to add new series to Smash...

Of the 3, I feel Waluigi is overdue for playable character like Toad. But pp ... Heh. Plant..

Geno is like baby Jesus.

 

[Gengar84]

Yeah I think any of these 3 would bring insane hype and I literally don't root for
any of them but I still support the hype bc my favs being in smash is a welcome respite and it's great to add new series to Smash...

Of the 3, I feel Waluigi is overdue for playable character like Toad. But pp ... Heh. Plant..

Geno is like baby Jesus.

Sorry Geno but my heart already belongs to another Square-Enix SNES JRPG side character.

Spoiler

 

[SPEN18]

Hm...titans of demand? Those perhaps closest to that IMO are:
Isaac;
Waluigi;
Bandana Dee, if they keep pushing him like they have been.
Those are the top three rn, I think, at least for 1Ps and maybe even overall. But I wouldn't call it a "Big 3," no, for various reasons.

These three I am closest to giving that "titan" label since the respective fanbases have been so active for so long, and they all have a clear potential path to actually making it in IMO: for Isaac, either getting a revival or, sans that, being the next 1P character off the Ballot; for Waluigi, demand and recognizability that spreads more naturally to casual audiences than most outstanding characters at this point; for Dee, continued marketing in recent Kirby games and, if "Sakurai bias" is a thing, then the scenario where Sakurai leaves Smash to a successor.
Again, I wouldn't call it a "Big 3," though, in part because it's debatable whether these are actually the top 3 rn and in part because there are others that could easily balloon to this level with just one or two more things going their way. Plus the "Big 3" label, as others have said, is kind of a myth whose three constituent characters have never at any one point approached unanimity, as far as I can recall.
I also don't like the idea of having a "Big 3," anyway. It just further buoys the bandwagons and the "hype culture" over more naturally, authentically generated demand.

Crash and the rest of the Western-appeal 3Ps are still too fickle to be in the titan/legend bracket of speculation IMO. Only in, like, Ult DLC did they start to really get onto the radar. I still think it only takes a few reveals to put a big damper on their support. Like, imagine the first three newcomers are, say, two 1P characters and a very Japan-oriented 3P. Maybe that all gets shown in the first Direct's worth of reveals. The demand hasn't been around long enough for me to be confident the support will survive Ult's DLC paradigm no longer propping these characters up.

Geno, well, I agree with the sentiment that his demand has basically always been lower than what has been purported by his fans. Plus you could probably name multiple Mario characters and multiple Square characters that are more likely to retain likelihood and demand going forward. I don't view Geno as a serious candidate at this point (though, to be clear, I have no ill will towards the fans).

But that's enough of this for me for now. I've already given more light of day to the whole "titan/legend of demand" thing than was necessary.

 

[Gengar84]

Hm...titans of demand? Those perhaps closest to that IMO are:
Isaac;
Waluigi;
Bandana Dee, if they keep pushing him like they have been.
Those are the top three rn, I think, at least for 1Ps and maybe even overall. But I wouldn't call it a "Big 3," no, for various reasons.

These three I am closest to giving that "titan" label since the respective fanbases have been so active for so long, and they all have a clear potential path to actually making it in IMO: for Isaac, either getting a revival or, sans that, being the next 1P character off the Ballot; for Waluigi, demand and recognizability that spreads more naturally to casual audiences than most outstanding characters at this point; for Dee, continued marketing in recent Kirby games and, if "Sakurai bias" is a thing, then the scenario where Sakurai leaves Smash to a successor.
Again, I wouldn't call it a "Big 3," though, in part because it's debatable whether these are actually the top 3 rn and in part because there are others that could easily balloon to this level with just one or two more things going their way. Plus the "Big 3" label, as others have said, is kind of a myth whose three constituent characters have never at any one point approached unanimity, as far as I can recall.
I also don't like the idea of having a "Big 3," anyway. It just further buoys the bandwagons and the "hype culture" over more naturally, authentically generated demand.

Crash and the rest of the Western-appeal 3Ps are still too fickle to be in the titan/legend bracket of speculation IMO. Only in, like, Ult DLC did they start to really get onto the radar. I still think it only takes a few reveals to put a big damper on their support. Like, imagine the first three newcomers are, say, two 1P characters and a very Japan-oriented 3P. Maybe that all gets shown in the first Direct's worth of reveals. The demand hasn't been around long enough for me to be confident the support will survive Ult's DLC paradigm no longer propping these characters up.

Geno, well, I agree with the sentiment that his demand has basically always been lower than what has been purported by his fans. Plus you could probably name multiple Mario characters and multiple Square characters that are more likely to retain likelihood and demand going forward. I don't view Geno as a serious candidate at this point (though, to be clear, I have no ill will towards the fans).

But that's enough of this for me for now. I've already given more light of day to the whole "titan/legend of demand" thing than was necessary.

Yeah, I’m not really huge on the concept of “titans of fan demand” either for the same reasons. I think it’s more fun if everyone just talks about what they personally want to see and whatever happens to overlap becomes the most popular.

 

[Stratos]

There is a lot of demand from some to come as a newcomer and the Rabbit from the Raving Rabbids series.

 

[Geno Boost]

do you guys think Foreman Spike chances to be in the next smash game would rise up a lot after the Mario movie get released?