Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[MBRedboy31]

I do think they could have altered the animations of a couple of Isabelle’s moves a bit more, even while keeping her similar to Villager. I imagine that she’d attack with her clipboard for a couple normals, and maybe she’d use her party popper instead of turnips for up air and down air (her up air and down air don’t have RNG like Villager’s do, so changing them to be something other than turnips wouldn't alter their function.)

 

[fogbadge]

I still say that Toad's niche in Smash can (and should) be the power-up guy, given that he operates the Toad Houses in the 2-D platformers.

also, check the toad thread for a surprise

i went there first

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Alright, I'm gonna say something controversial here. And keep in mind, I love Impa.

The Zelda inclusions that make the most sense are Skull Kid and Midna. They have the legacy. They have the popularity. They have the uniqueness. They're near perfect candidates.

The only thing that could hurt them is relevancy to the current market.

You could say that they would need to prove themselves, but I'd argue they already have. Proving themselves doesn't mean they have to appear more than once. Sheik proves that. And guess what? People love Sheik.

Those two are some of the most beloved Zelda characters, period. Aside from Link, Zelda and Ganondorf, no one is higher up on the totem pole.

Impa is close. She's darn close. And I'd love her to be included. But Skull Kid and Midna stand head and shoulders above the rest.

 

[MomijiInubashiri630]

Alright, I'm gonna say something controversial here. And keep in mind, I love Impa.

The Zelda inclusions that make the most sense are Skull Kid and Midna. They have the legacy. They have the popularity. They have the uniqueness. They're near perfect candidates.

The only thing that could hurt them is relevancy to the current market.

You could say that they would need to prove themselves, but I'd argue they already have. Proving themselves doesn't mean they have to appear more than once. Sheik proves that. And guess what? People love Sheik.

Those two are some of the most beloved Zelda characters, period. Aside from Link, Zelda and Ganondorf, no one is higher up on the totem pole.

Impa is close. She's darn close. And I'd love her to be included. But Skull Kid and Midna stand head and shoulders above the rest.

I agree with this. Though I think in terms of chances, Skull Kid probably stands above Midna rn. I think Sakurai/Team are very aware at the requests for Skull Kid with the addition of the assist and mii costume, and since Melee we haven't got a new unique Zelda character. Even if Skull Kid never comes back in a mainline game again, that wouldn't matter. Majora's Mask is an extremely iconic game, and will probably be remastered sometime outside of 3DS in the future. The Majora's Mask itself is probably one of the most iconic imagery in Zelda's history, and not to mention Skull Kid does have tons of moveset potential using his powers from Majora's Mask and Hyrule Warriors, maybe even using his attack from Twilight Princess as well. This is not to discount Midna though, it's just I feel Skull Kid has a little more going for him.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

There's certain characters (especially within the Zelda series) that often wonder if Sakurai and company in some sense want in Smash, but are essentially waiting for Nintendo to give them more to work with. I know that sounds silly given the SSB team's ability to craft movesets out seemingly little source material, but given just how perfectionist he especially has been, I can almost imagine Sakurai hoping that a Skull Kid or Midna gets another major appearance to give the Smash developers just enough to really to justice to them while crafting an interesting fighter.

 

[Gengar84]

There's certain characters (especially within the Zelda series) that often wonder if Sakurai and company in some sense want in Smash, but are essentially waiting for Nintendo to give them more to work with. I know that sounds silly given the SSB team's ability to craft movesets out seemingly little source material, but given just how perfectionist he especially has been, I can almost imagine Sakurai hoping that a Skull Kid or Midna gets another major appearance to give the Smash developers just enough to really to justice to them while crafting an interesting fighter.

If they’re willing to take inspiration from the Hyrule Warriors games, Midna and Skull Kid have a ton to work with. Easily enough for a full moveset. The same is true for Impa who’s had three unique movesets across both Hyrule Warriors games. I do wish they’d give side games like that more attention in Smash.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

I think Impa makes the most sense for an inclusion, since she shows up in more than one Zelda game.

Though personally i'm fine with Zelda not getting another rep, i think the 5 or 6 we got are good enough.

 

[Gengar84]

I think Impa makes the most sense for an inclusion, since she shows up in more than one Zelda game.

Though personally i'm fine with Zelda not getting another rep, i think the 5 or 6 we got are good enough.

My biggest issue is that three of those characters are variants of Link and that Ganondorf started as a clone of Captain Falcon. Zelda has a lot of fun characters that could make for fun Smash characters so it’s kind of a shame we haven’t had a unique character since Melee.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

I do like how each Link does just kinda represent different era's of the franchise.

I just wish they had the creativity to make it so Young Link's final smash had him turn into Fierce Diety Link so the tri force slash, that would have been awesome.

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

Note that a few work projects get a little use with Isabelle, as some attack animations are based upon that. It's not a mechanic, though, and I agree she could've been better that way.

She couldn't have been an Echo no matter what. Her bodyshape is different from Villager's. This never had any chance to happen(nor is any clone possible to be an Echo. Most of them have too many different body pieces. One of the few is Dr. Mario, and he was always far more unique from Mario's properties than Lucina and Dark Pit were from their bases).

 

[SPEN18]

I love all three of Impa, Skull Kid, and Midna as potential Zelda newcomers. Ideally we could get them all. A good case can be made for Skull Kid as the fan pick with one real standout, iconic, timeless appearance or for Impa as the more recurring and consistently relevant one. There's more than one path to the roster, after all. Midna I would not expect to get before Skull Kid and/or Impa but I'd happily take her whenever.

 

[Mamboo07]

three variants of Link

Toon and Young should have been different in move set variety.

Toon using dungeon items, and Young with the masks who everyone really wants a lot.

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

Tingle and Impa are my top picks by far. Ganon too. No, Ganondorf doesn't count. I want the pig. Not the 3D guys, but the actual 2D fairly large character who is at most closer to Bowser's normal size in Smash, maybe a bit bigger. Midna and Skull Kid never interested me that much, but they're still cool.

 

[Mamboo07]

Tingle and Impa are my top picks by far. Ganon too. No, Ganondorf doesn't count. I want the pig. Not the 3D guys, but the actual 2D fairly large character who is at most closer to Bowser's normal size in Smash, maybe a bit bigger. Midna and Skull Kid never interested me that much, but they're still cool.

Pig Ganon would be cool

 

[Laniv]

Alright, I'm gonna say something controversial here. And keep in mind, I love Impa.

The Zelda inclusions that make the most sense are Skull Kid and Midna. They have the legacy. They have the popularity. They have the uniqueness. They're near perfect candidates.

The only thing that could hurt them is relevancy to the current market.

You could say that they would need to prove themselves, but I'd argue they already have. Proving themselves doesn't mean they have to appear more than once. Sheik proves that. And guess what? People love Sheik.

Those two are some of the most beloved Zelda characters, period. Aside from Link, Zelda and Ganondorf, no one is higher up on the totem pole.

Impa is close. She's darn close. And I'd love her to be included. But Skull Kid and Midna stand head and shoulders above the rest.

I'd put Pig Ganon up there with Skull Kid and Midna, but other than that, yeah.

RIP Tetra, would've been nice to have another pirate

 

[Gengar84]

Did I hear something about a pirate?

 

[chocolatejr9]

Did I hear something about a pirate?

View attachment 367114

Must... resist urge... to post... 4Kids One Piece theme song...

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

Must... resist urge... to post... 4Kids One Piece theme song...

Why resist it? Like most 4Kids themes, it was actually pretty good. The show, not so much(though contrary to popular belief, Zolo is not a mistranslation but something even the Manga used too. But to be fair, I didn't mind the censoring cause it's for kids, except for the completely stupid hammer contraption weapon in the first episode. It wasn't funny or able to be taken seriously enough. Hell, holding up a regular Hammer would've been more dangerous in comparison. That's far less goofy).

Pig Ganon would be cool

Only core Triforce Trio member outright missing. Tetra I'd say too... but she barely showed up among the core games. Toon Zelda kind of goes there as well, being slightly used more often. But we have two core forms of Sheik, three of Link, but only one of Ganon. Something's odd here. The fact ALTTP Ganon doesn't even cameo in Smash is rather annoying. Like, no Spirit, Trophy, Sticker? Not even a cool Boss? Oof.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

We need more pirate stuff in games.

Pirates are inherently cool

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Hey as far as pirates, we did just get a Monkey Island game on Switch. Just saying Guybrush Threepwood is right there...

 

[Sucumbio]

Having never played BOTW is there any character from it that could or should be playable? I say yes to "pig" Ganon. Midna and Skull Kid seem like AT material but I wouldn't be opposed to their inclusion.

 

[Gengar84]

We need more pirate stuff in games.

Pirates are inherently cool

I totally agree, my favorite video game character ever is a space pirate named Zegram from Rogue Galaxy. He’s the guy in the picture I posted above.

As for BotW, I think any of the Champions could work, particularly Mipha or Urbosa. I like Urbosa more as a character but I think Mipha would probably have the more interesting moveset both being a trident user and use of water attacks.

 

[SPEN18]

Having never played BOTW is there any character from it that could or should be playable?

Yes, I'd like Mipha and/or Urbosa also.

 

[MrMcNuts]

We need more pirate stuff in games.

Pirates are inherently cool

Rayman 2 has you fight an army of Robo pirates so all I'm hearing is y'all need to play that

Nintendo pls put this on switch online

 

[Quillion]

Alright, I'm gonna say something controversial here. And keep in mind, I love Impa.

The Zelda inclusions that make the most sense are Skull Kid and Midna. They have the legacy. They have the popularity. They have the uniqueness. They're near perfect candidates.

The only thing that could hurt them is relevancy to the current market.

You could say that they would need to prove themselves, but I'd argue they already have. Proving themselves doesn't mean they have to appear more than once. Sheik proves that. And guess what? People love Sheik.

Those two are some of the most beloved Zelda characters, period. Aside from Link, Zelda and Ganondorf, no one is higher up on the totem pole.

Impa is close. She's darn close. And I'd love her to be included. But Skull Kid and Midna stand head and shoulders above the rest.

I don't know why people put Midna on the same tier as Skull Kid sometimes. Skull Kid is known for being a highlight of a great game, while Midna is known as a highlight of a divisive game. That alone puts Midna lower.

I do think Impa has the problem of being so inconsistent in appearances and abilities that any attempt to give her a moveset, canon-inspired or made-up, will come off as forced. Moveset potential may be a bad argument, but there's always a line where it comes off as forced.

You could say that they would need to prove themselves, but I'd argue they already have. Proving themselves doesn't mean they have to appear more than once. Sheik proves that. And guess what? People love Sheik.

Do people actually like Sheik in the Zelda fandom? She seems to be their equivalent of Roy, except that Sheik is more meh while Roy is more divisive (and was previously universally hated before). As best as I can find, people are starting to like Tetra more than Sheik when disregarding Smash.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

In fairness to Twilight Princess, Midna was one of the elements from that game that was most universally liked, so her consideration popularity for Smash isn't terribly surprising even with the divided thoughts on TP.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

I'm fine with Midna being an assisst trophy tbh.

 

[Quillion]

In fairness to Twilight Princess, Midna was one of the elements from that game that was most universally liked, so her consideration popularity for Smash isn't terribly surprising even with the divided thoughts on TP.

That's like having Balan from Balan Wonderworld in Smash then.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

This is probably a hot take but i think some characters just "Fit" better as assist trophies than they do playable characters

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

That's like having Balan from Balan Wonderworld in Smash then.

Well in the grand scheme of things we're talking about mainline Zelda titles which are 7/10 at their very worst. While I would certainly say that Majora's Mask is a stronger game than Twilight Princess, Midna being more popular than Skull Kid in various fandoms wouldn't surprise me, because their respective merits go beyond just the relative quality of their games (neither of which are at all considered lousy by most circles like a Balan Wonderworld largely is).

 

[MrMcNuts]

My only strong Zelda opinion when it comes to smash is give young link the Gilded Sword

That's it

 

[chocolatejr9]

This is probably a hot take but i think some characters just "Fit" better as assist trophies than they do playable characters

TBF, I'm not quite sure how a Pong paddle could work as playable. Unless they reference that one weird RPG spinoff...

 

[SPEN18]

Whatever your opinion on TP, in fairness it was still praised by critics. The GCN/Wii versions sit at 96/95 on Metacritic, both with the "must-play" tag slapped onto them. And those versions combined sold over 8mil per Wikipedia. Sure: critic scores and sales only tell so much of the story and have to be considered in context; I can understand docking TP a bit due to the fan criticism; and beyond baseline review score aggregates most people probably wouldn't say TP is as iconic or influential as Majora's Mask (which sets the bar insanely high). But the point is that TP remains an incredibly high-quality game, among the best on both GCN and Wii. I don't think the fan criticisms are enough to drastically change the equation here, especially when, as has been stated, Midna herself was praised by much of that same group.

That said, I still prefer the Kid over Midna but it's not like the two can't be mentioned in the same speculative breath.

 

[HyperSomari64]

TBF, I'm not quite sure how a Pong paddle could work as playable. Unless they reference that one weird RPG spinoff...

At least Sakurai can add those anthropomorphic versions from the Tetris Blocks (if a robot counts as "anthropomorphic"), specially the dog. (except the green one, which is a crybaby)

 

[Sucumbio]

TBF, I'm not quite sure how a Pong paddle could work as playable. Unless they reference that one weird RPG spinoff...

LoL! I just imagined this smacking everyone around final d

 

[SneakyLink]

TBF, I'm not quite sure how a Pong paddle could work as playable. Unless they reference that one weird RPG spinoff...

They could have references to Breakout thrown in since Breakout is influenced by Pong.
Neo Breakout in the Atari 50 collection has a fire ball that moves super fast so that’s one potential move.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Are people seriously trying to argue Twighlight Princess isn't a super popular game?

Have we fallen this much?

No really, this is assinine. This is going so hardcore gamer that we're ignoring the very fanbases we're talking about. This is dumb.

 

[MomijiInubashiri630]

Are people seriously trying to argue Twighlight Princess isn't a super popular game?

Have we fallen this much?

No really, this is assinine. This is going so hardcore gamer that we're ignoring the very fanbases we're talking about. This is dumb.

fr. Even though I said Skull Kid in my eyes is above Midna in likeliness, what I am seeing is very strange. TP is a pretty liked game, Midna I'd argue is a pretty loved and iconic Zelda character in general, she IS up there.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

I always figured Midna was one of the most popular characters, she certainly has the most fanart.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

I always figured Midna was one of the most popular characters, she certainly has the most fanart.