Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[Aligo]

So speaking of deluxe... wouldn't that be betraying their official statement that there will be no more fighter for Ultimate? If deluxe, port or FP3 happen, what would be justification for changing decision?

Nintendo would class the deluxe edition as a new game, a bit like with mario kart. Presumably it would come with a lot of under the hood changes too.

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

The thing about a Deluxe Edition is that it's not just "optimization for the new console", which is the most basic kind of port(sometimes with minor updates/fixes to gameplay), it's that it has actual new content. Which yes, immediately makes it a new game. You aren't paying for the old game. You're paying for a game that has new stuff.

That doesn't mean the prices were ultimately fair anyway, but it's complicated about how we actually pay way less than what a game is worth on average anyway. More importantly, this isn't like the constant Street Fighter II deluxe versions over and over and over again(which were overall new games).

Remastered is a good way to put it for a polished port compared to a game with some new content. While both do have new content, the former is generally minor stuff with balance changes, while the latter starts introducing way bigger changes, including potential DLC to keep it up. You're paying more and getting more in return. The price evens out.

That said, Deluxe doesn't sound remotely likely as they'd have to relicense everything for a new game in practice. They'd have to do so to even port it over. There's no way they would've been able to license for a new game over 6 years before "it could've had development worked on". Companies won't agree to a license for a future product unless they actually know what's going on. "For future use" isn't a thing that can be inherently done. It has to have a solid foundation to work with. Now, maybe a tiny bit of DLC content from Smash For may have been plausible to license for Smash Ultimate if all the information was given to any company enough to allow for the licensing of two games, but it was likely renegotiated at some point or the DLC costumes were never part of the same exact deal. All the third party costumes were put back onto DLC(which was not a thing for Smash Ultimate from the start. That didn't come till at least 2 years in as a concept). Maybe the companies wanted more, and the idea of them being available at the start of Ultimate was simply scrapped(and brought up later in 2017). Or, most likely, Sakurai only licensed the stuff for 4's DLC and that was it. New re-licensing for Ultimate.

I mean, I wouldn't be against a Deluxe Ultimate, but it's a crapload to pay for. It's going to get a price jump either way to justify this, so you're paying 70 at least. And that's assuming it has the entire game at base, and not having to repay for some kind of DLC(like the costumes).

 

[Sucumbio]

Ask a Game Dev

Can you explain how crossover content works? Think stuff like the Fortnite collab skins for Marvel, Star Wars, etc. Most big brands have branding and licensing departments that handle this kind of...

askagamedev.tumblr.com

Smash being a huge collaboration magnet since Brawl (and even during Melee but to no avail) it's very possible that the licensing departments did due diligence in terms of "licensing period" meaning it is entirely feasible 3rd party characters were negotiated for more than just Ultimate. It's not a guarantee obviously. Sora for example may have to be renegotiated. But maybe not? And mainstays like Sonic could be considered more likely to be in...

 

[Will]

Idk about y’all but after so many years of Ultimate and playing Ultimate and enjoying Ultimate, I want a new installment.

 

[TCT~Phantom]

Ask a Game Dev

Can you explain how crossover content works? Think stuff like the Fortnite collab skins for Marvel, Star Wars, etc. Most big brands have branding and licensing departments that handle this kind of...

askagamedev.tumblr.com

Smash being a huge collaboration magnet since Brawl (and even during Melee but to no avail) it's very possible that the licensing departments did due diligence in terms of "licensing period" meaning it is entirely feasible 3rd party characters were negotiated for more than just Ultimate. It's not a guarantee obviously. Sora for example may have to be renegotiated. But maybe not? And mainstays like Sonic could be considered more likely to be in...

If it matters, we likely have precedent of this in the form of Smash 4. The licenses for Cloud, Ryu, and Bayonetta in particular were almost certainly licensed with Ultimate in mind. If Nintendo would be actively planning some form of a Deluxe version within the first year of a hypothetical new system (for this assume 2025-2026), I would not be shocked if they took that same approach when licensing some of the DLC fighters for Ultimate.

Idk about y’all but after so many years of Ultimate and playing Ultimate and enjoying Ultimate, I want a new installment.

As someone who has spent so many years playing ultimate and enjoying ultimate, I want Ultimate to be the baseline for what the next game is going to be. It feels like the perfect middle ground of fast but not Melee fast, it has a wide selection of content, it has the best roster. I would rather not sacrifice what a great baseline we have in the vain pursuit of some hypothetical perfect smash game.

 

[Will]

As someone who has spent so many years playing ultimate and enjoying ultimate, I want Ultimate to be the baseline for what the next game is going to be. It feels like the perfect middle ground of fast but not Melee fast, it has a wide selection of content, it has the best roster. I would rather not sacrifice what a great baseline we have in the vain pursuit of some hypothetical perfect smash game.

Ultimate but replace the Story with the most polished refined new and improved take on Melee’s adventure mode that I dream of every night when I close my eyes and you got a deal.

No takebacks.

 

[Arcanir]

Ask a Game Dev

Can you explain how crossover content works? Think stuff like the Fortnite collab skins for Marvel, Star Wars, etc. Most big brands have branding and licensing departments that handle this kind of...

askagamedev.tumblr.com

Smash being a huge collaboration magnet since Brawl (and even during Melee but to no avail) it's very possible that the licensing departments did due diligence in terms of "licensing period" meaning it is entirely feasible 3rd party characters were negotiated for more than just Ultimate. It's not a guarantee obviously. Sora for example may have to be renegotiated. But maybe not? And mainstays like Sonic could be considered more likely to be in...

The problem with this is that going off of what Sakurai has said and implied, there is nothing that shows such negotiations happened. For instance, Sakurai was still pretty certain on saying that 'Everyone is Here' is probably not happening again even recently, so if such negotiations happened you'd think he'd be more positive on the chance of it happening again, not less. We also can't forget he's also semi-retired which also doesn't really mesh with the possibility.

As of now there's nothing suggesting they did negotiations for a future game before closing and instead more evidence to the contrary. If Everyone is Here happens again they'd likely have to renegotiate, we can't assume otherwise.

 

[fogbadge]

Ok so the tears of the kingdom gameplay vid gave me an idea for a stage for smash 6. I’ll spoiler it as I appreciate some want to go into totk blind

imagine if you would a stage constructed out of the objects you can fuse together. It could be like Mario maker, a different layout each time. One match you’re on a huge metal vehicle the next a block of logs and boulders

 

[Sucumbio]

The problem with this is that going off of what Sakurai has said and implied, there is nothing that shows such negotiations happened. For instance, Sakurai was still pretty bullish on saying that 'Everyone is Here' is probably not happening again even recently, so if such negotiations happened you'd think he'd be more positive on the chance of it happening again, not less. We also can't forget he's also semi-retired which also doesn't really mesh with the possibility.

As of now there's nothing suggesting they did negotiations for a future game before closing and instead more evidence to the contrary. If Everyone is Here happens again they'd likely have to renegotiate, we can't assume otherwise.

I'm not so sure. For one, Sakurai's involvement may not even matter. If the article I linked is to be taken as "typical" then it's entirely feasible Sega for instance negotiated for Sonic to be in Smash indefinitely. Now I will concede it's less likely to be the case for Snake because Konami is notorious for bullish deal making. And with Steve being a hot mess maybe Nintendo doesn't even want them back lol.

Also I think it's entirely possible to not redo "everyone is here" and still expect Sonic or Cloud to be in Smash from now on.

 

[Oracle Link]

One thing Smash could do to have Smash 6 With more Characters is this:
1. Keep the artstyle from ultimate (But more saturated pls)
2. Release Smash Spinoff games focused arround Specific franchises
3. Than port some of these spinoff Characters into the next smash
4. Profit

Also sakurai is semi retired eh? who do you think the next lead director should be?
My Vote would 100% be Shinya Kumazaki (The current Kirby Director) Kirby was already great but when he got to it Kirby got even better!
So i dunno maybe he can do the same to smash? Also Kirby is Literally the origin of smashes Gameplay so there is some overlap!

 

[Gengar84]

My biggest fear is if we get a reboot with a hugely scaled back roster, that basically eliminates the possibility of ever seeing B or C tier third party guests and the few we still get will only be from AAA hits. A lot of my favorite characters are below that AAA tier so it would kill a lot of the excitement in future Smash speculation for me. The only solution I see to that other than building on Ultimate is a rotating “Nintendo vs” model that gives us a fresh set of third party newcomers in each game based on that particular theme.

 

[chocolatejr9]

Ok so the tears of the kingdom gameplay vid gave me an idea for a stage for smash 6. I’ll spoiler it as I appreciate some want to go into totk blind

imagine if you would a stage constructed out of the objects you can fuse together. It could be like Mario maker, a different layout each time. One match you’re on a huge metal vehicle the next a block of logs and boulders

It'd be the closest thing we'd get to Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts content in Smash...

 

[fogbadge]

It'd be the closest thing we'd get to Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts content in Smash...

what about the house taking design influence from it

 

[TCT~Phantom]

The problem with this is that going off of what Sakurai has said and implied, there is nothing that shows such negotiations happened. For instance, Sakurai was still pretty bullish on saying that 'Everyone is Here' is probably not happening again even recently, so if such negotiations happened you'd think he'd be more positive on the chance of it happening again, not less. We also can't forget he's also semi-retired which also doesn't really mesh with the possibility.

As of now there's nothing suggesting they did negotiations for a future game before closing and instead more evidence to the contrary. If Everyone is Here happens again they'd likely have to renegotiate, we can't assume otherwise.

I have always said the full quote you are using is a lot less of a decisive "we can never do EiH again" than people like to say.

Here is the full quote.

"I think we’ve reached the limit, at least in terms of volume of content and fighters. Basically, if I were to have the opportunity to work on another Super Smash Bros. game, that means we would have to shrink the roster, but we need to think about whether fans would be pleased about that.

Also, I’ve been doing too much of the work myself, so I’d need to resolve that, too. The current Super Smash Bros. has too much of my personality poured into it. In order for a long-time series to continue thriving today, we need to think about eliminating the series’ dependence on just one person’s vision.

Of course, this is the way it is now because we weren’t successful in splitting the vision between multiple people before. This would be a challenge for the future and something that needs to be discussed with Nintendo, if there were to be a next installment in the Super Smash Bros. series."

Even in the first two lines, Sakurai is ambivalent rather than bullish about cuts. He says it could very will be the case that cuts happen, but they would have to ask whether that would be what fans want. Everyone is Here happened because Sakurai saw that was what fans wanted. This is far from the silver bullet that kills EiH that some people like to pretend it is. This statement, given the context behind EiH, is at least somewhat at odds with itself. For a completely new game, EiH will probably not be feasible. But of all people, Sakurai knows that the Smash fanbase wants its returning veterans back. The rest of the quote also focuses on Sakurai's involvment in Smash, and how he can't carry the series on his back forever.

The most damning thing no one likes to talk about is how Sakurai keeps discussing the next Smash with the word if, rather than when. I know for us, it is easy to just assume that Smash is going to keep on pumping out a new game every single console. But Nintendo has shown that they are not exactly unwilling to do a port to Sakurai in the past. If Sakurai did not want to do Brawl, Iwata noted they would look at porting Melee but with Online gameplay for the wii. Now, Nintendo in 2023 and 2005 are very different beasts. But it is not like they have been adverse to ports in the past. Think of how much of the Wii U's library has been ported off of the Wii U. Plenty of games either got ported or used their Wii U release as abase to work from, Smash included. I think this is where the crux of an Ultimate Deluxe comes from, in the same vein of Mario Kart 8. Maybe Nintendo will choose to take the path of least resistance, like they shown in the past.

An Ultimate Deluxe is also a good solution to the major issues Sakurai highlighted as well on the human side. Sakurai is not getting any younger and it was a challenge in the past finding anyone to share that vision of Smash with. An Ultimate deluxe is a low risk testing grounds for a future Smash producer taking the reigns from Sakurai. It still has a lot of work that needs to be done, but far less than reinventing the wheel. Its not that crazy to see them taking this route when Sakurai spends even more time discussing his concerns on the human side of things than cuts. It is easy to just harp on those first two sentences and say that EiH is dead on arrival for the future, but the context is very different. I read this quote as a man proud of his accomplishments but is worried about the future of the series. He knows that EiH is going to be difficult to maintain, but he knows a large part of the fanbase does want to avoid cuts. He knows that a Smash series completely resting on his vision is impossible, but it will be hard to move past it.

It is a lot more complicated than just saying his ambivalence on Everyone is Here means no negotiations for the future could have taken place. We obviously can't say for certain, but the precedent of Smash 4 into Ultimate does give us some idea that it is not off the table. Ryu, Cloud, and Bayo are the obvious examples, but we have evidence it goes deeper than that. Steve supposedly was in talks since ~2015. Sephiroth was in talks well before anything from FFVII ReMake would be feasible to use. If they were negotiating things over five years in advance when it comes to Ultimate DLC, having some form of negotiations in play for a hypothetical new game is not that out of the question. It doesn't even mean that every third party is set in stone to come back. Maybe at least one of the contracts did not have that potential future installment in mind and would have to be renegotiated. Or maybe Sakurai is not even talking on the third party side of things and thinks some first parties would have to inevitably get the axe due to being lower priority newcomers. It is nowhere close to a bullish condemnation of EiH, let alone contracts potentially allowing any third party a future appearance being completely off the table.

Ultimate but replace the Story with the most polished refined new and improved take on Melee’s adventure mode that I dream of every night when I close my eyes and you got a deal.

No takebacks.

You get your Melee style adventure mode alongside WoL. Bosses from WoL (or if it gets extended) get reused for this as well. Plenty of the stages will still be similar to the melee one and not a full on level traversal.

My biggest fear is if we get a reboot with a hugely scaled back roster, that basically eliminates the possibility of ever seeing B or C tier third party guests and the few we still get will only be from AAA hits. A lot of my favorite characters are below that AAA tier so it would kill a lot of the excitement in future Smash speculation for me. The only solution I see to that other than building on Ultimate is a rotating “Nintendo vs” model that gives us a fresh set of third party newcomers in each game based on that particular theme.

Even if EiH is not coming back, a hard reboot is almost certainly not happening. Nintendo is not going to reinvent the wheel when Smash Ultimate is the best selling fighting game of all time.

 

[Sucumbio]

WoL tho? SSE!

 

[Perkilator]

WoL tho? SSE!

Broke: World of Light
Woke: SSE
Bespoke: World of Light with a mix of its overworld and Spirit Battles and occasional SSE-style platforming levels

 

[RileyXY1]

I actually think that a reboot is the best solution. The next game might feature a change of directors for the first time, and this new director might have a different vision for the series from Sakurai and it would allow the new director to showcase their vision without having to piggyback off of Sakurai. Plus, the next Nintendo console might have backwards compatibility with the Switch, meaning that you could still be able to play Ultimate on it. It might be best to go in a new direction instead of constantly chasing the highs of Ultimate.

 

[Sucumbio]

I actually think that a reboot is the best solution. The next game might feature a change of directors for the first time, and this new director might have a different vision for the series from Sakurai and it would allow the new director to showcase their vision without having to piggyback off of Sakurai. Plus, the next Nintendo console might have backwards compatibility with the Switch, meaning that you could still be able to play Ultimate on it. It might be best to go in a new direction instead of constantly chasing the highs of Ultimate.

I'm down either way. If they reboot though it is a huge risk. I guess it depends on why someone likes Smash. Is it enough that their favorite vgc is in it? Konami did a Castlevania fg which ended up being absolute trash despite having like all my favorites. Extreme example ofc just saying they don't wanna go too far from concept or they could lose major sales.

 

[Laniv]

Ok so the tears of the kingdom gameplay vid gave me an idea for a stage for smash 6. I’ll spoiler it as I appreciate some want to go into totk blind

imagine if you would a stage constructed out of the objects you can fuse together. It could be like Mario maker, a different layout each time. One match you’re on a huge metal vehicle the next a block of logs and boulders

Yes please. Add in those attack-activated fans and we've got us a dang fine stage

 

[Zerp]

I still think a "Project M"-esque follow-up to Ultimate is the best solution. Like, think of a port that changes physics, mechanics and gives every character's toolkit a makeover. Gives you an excuse to have all the assets return while not having to feel like the same game. There's just this teensy issue called "Nintendo would never do that" lol.

 

[Gengar84]

I don’t know how many other people care but I’m really hoping that our mods can be easily transferred from Ultimate to Smash 6. I think something like that would probably only be possible with a deluxe edition than a reboot. Even then, I’m not sure how possible it would be since it would be on a different console. For me, mods give Smash almost infinite replayability since there’s something new to look forward to every week. It’s also the only chance a lot of my favorites would have of making it in.

 

[SPEN18]

If it matters, we likely have precedent of this in the form of Smash 4. The licenses for Cloud, Ryu, and Bayonetta in particular were almost certainly licensed with Ultimate in mind. If Nintendo would be actively planning some form of a Deluxe version within the first year of a hypothetical new system (for this assume 2025-2026), I would not be shocked if they took that same approach when licensing some of the DLC fighters for Ultimate.

Even if they did license for 4 and Ult at the same time, that's an isolated incident whose occurrence depended heavily on development going straight from 4 to Ult. They very clearly didn't do the same going from Ult to whatever the next game might be, and it's incredibly unlikely that they were already long-planning for a port that wouldn't come out for another four or five years at the absolute least, and on new hardware to boot. It's not clear that they have a concrete direction for the next game even now, let alone at the time that Ult's DLC was being negotiated with third parties.

Overall, from my end the whole "licensing issues won't be a problem again because of X unproven theory" comes off like wishful thinking to the max.

 

[RileyXY1]

Even if they did license for 4 and Ult at the same time, that's an isolated incident whose occurrence depended heavily on development going straight from 4 to Ult. They very clearly didn't do the same going from Ult to whatever the next game might be, and it's incredibly unlikely that they were already long-planning for a port that wouldn't come out for another four or five years at the absolute least, and on new hardware to boot. It's not clear that they have a concrete direction for the next game even now, let alone at the time that Ult's DLC was being negotiated with third parties.

Overall, from my end the whole "licensing issues won't be a problem again because of X unproven theory" comes off like wishful thinking to the max.

Pretty much. Licensing will be a pain in the ass regardless.

 

[Aligo]

Pretty much. Licensing will be a pain in the ass regardless.

To be fair, a smash reboot would be harder for Nintendo to license for, given that it would be an umproven and therefore far more risky venture.

Also a reboot can't realistically change that much anyway as smash has always had accessibility in mind and most ideas people have for a reboot are an anathema to that.

 

[JOJONumber691]

Honestly, I don't see a new game even starting development until at least a year into the next Nintendo Console, add in 2-3 Years of Dev Time from 2026 and it would come out around 2028-2029 at the earliest if you ask me. That's more than enough time to give Ultimate some breathing room and not sabotage the sales of the new game.

 

[TCT~Phantom]

Honestly, I don't see a new game even starting development until at least a year into the next Nintendo Console, add in 2-3 Years of Dev Time from 2026 and it would come out around 2028-2029 at the earliest if you ask me. That's more than enough time to give Ultimate some breathing room and not sabotage the sales of the new game.

I disagree, if only due to how historically Smash has handled it's release schedule. Nintendo likes to have a Smash Bros game earlier in it's system's lifespan. Melee was basically a launch title. Brawl was earmarked for 2007 but got delayed to 2008. Smash 4 was announced in 2011 for the then brand new 3DS and upcoming Wii U. While it came out three years into the Switch's lifespan, it came out in two for the Wii U. Ultimate came out in 2018, about a year and nine months from the Switch's launch.

I think a 2-3 year development window, even for an Ultimate Deluxe, does make sense. I just think that we would see something in 2025-27, depending on when the next Nintendo system launches. It would still give Ultimate a ton of breathing room since the game would be seven years old in 2025.

 

[HyperSomari64]

Imagine if Nintendo hired a celebrity as the newest announcer replacing Xander Mobus.
Yes, it would be a bad future.

 

[HyperSomari64]

darn it, double post.
sorry

 

[RileyXY1]

To be fair, a smash reboot would be harder for Nintendo to license for, given that it would be an umproven and therefore far more risky venture.

Also a reboot can't realistically change that much anyway as smash has always had accessibility in mind and most ideas people have for a reboot are an anathema to that.

Although a reboot would have a smaller roster and therefore less third parties than Ultimate (or even none at all). Besides, some characters are in desperate need for a rework, especially DK, Samus, Ganondorf, and Sonic, with the former three needing to have more moves from their source material and the latter needing more moves that aren't just about curling up into a ball.

 

[fogbadge]

Imagine if Nintendo hired a celebrity as the newest announcer replacing Xander Mobus.
Yes, it would be a bad future.

I’ll do it

 

[JOJONumber691]

I disagree, if only due to how historically Smash has handled it's release schedule. Nintendo likes to have a Smash Bros game earlier in it's system's lifespan. Melee was basically a launch title. Brawl was earmarked for 2007 but got delayed to 2008. Smash 4 was announced in 2011 for the then brand new 3DS and upcoming Wii U. While it came out three years into the Switch's lifespan, it came out in two for the Wii U. Ultimate came out in 2018, about a year and nine months from the Switch's launch.

I think a 2-3 year development window, even for an Ultimate Deluxe, does make sense. I just think that we would see something in 2025-27, depending on when the next Nintendo system launches. It would still give Ultimate a ton of breathing room since the game would be seven years old in 2025.

Not a lot of Breathing Room. The thing you have to keep in mind is that there's a good chance the next console will be backward compatible, and if it is then Smash Ultimate will still be sold by the time the next game starts development, meaning that Nintendo might view it wiser to start making plans and arrangements but not actually start development until after a year has passed, in order to give Smash Ultimate enough breathing room not to sabotage the release of a New Smash Game. It's still decently early on into the console's lifespan even if it's a year or two later than usual. And then for the rest of this next console's life span, you can have DLC and use that to hype people up. Basically, I think Nintendo would be wise to let Ultimate breathe some more before starting the development of the next game in the series, and that's assuming Sakurai comes back in the first place.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

Ask a Game Dev

Can you explain how crossover content works? Think stuff like the Fortnite collab skins for Marvel, Star Wars, etc. Most big brands have branding and licensing departments that handle this kind of...

askagamedev.tumblr.com

Smash being a huge collaboration magnet since Brawl (and even during Melee but to no avail) it's very possible that the licensing departments did due diligence in terms of "licensing period" meaning it is entirely feasible 3rd party characters were negotiated for more than just Ultimate. It's not a guarantee obviously. Sora for example may have to be renegotiated. But maybe not? And mainstays like Sonic could be considered more likely to be in...

In my head i very much believe they would have at least tried to negotiate for multiple Sora appearances, due to him being the most requested character.

Imagine if Nintendo hired a celebrity as the newest announcer replacing Xander Mobus.
Yes, it would be a bad future.

Chris pratt. lol

 

[Aligo]

Although a reboot would have a smaller roster and therefore less third parties than Ultimate (or even none at all). Besides, some characters are in desperate need for a rework, especially DK, Samus, Ganondorf, and Sonic, with the former three needing to have more moves from their source material and the latter needing more moves that aren't just about curling up into a ball.

To be fair a big cut reboot would probably drop ganondorf entirely, making it a moot point. A sonic redesign also requires better cooperation on the part of Sega, as they are the reason sonic ended up in a dire state in the first place.

In general it isn't a good to lose loads of characters for the sake of a few reworks - there is no guarantee the reworks would even be to your liking.

 

[Ivander]

Chris pratt. lol

Only Smash Bros. could have a narrator that's so cool stomping.....Koopas.

 

[RodNutTakin]

To be fair a big cut reboot would probably drop ganondorf entirely, making it a moot point. A sonic redesign also requires better cooperation on the part of Sega, as they are the reason sonic ended up in a dire state in the first place.

In general it isn't a good to lose loads of characters for the sake of a few reworks - there is no guarantee the reworks would even be to your liking.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I can see Ganondorf or Sonic getting changed further, but still be in the small minority of significantly-changed veterans for a future title that has most of Ultimate's cast. You can have a couple of reworks for those who need it the most while keeping a large character lineup.
And losing 60+ characters just so Donkey Kong has a Barrel Cannon up special is not a good exchange, if you ask me personally.

 

[fogbadge]

To be fair a big cut reboot would probably drop ganondorf entirely, making it a moot point. A sonic redesign also requires better cooperation on the part of Sega, as they are the reason sonic ended up in a dire state in the first place.

would you cite that?

 

[Lenidem]

Ok so the tears of the kingdom gameplay vid gave me an idea for a stage for smash 6. I’ll spoiler it as I appreciate some want to go into totk blind

imagine if you would a stage constructed out of the objects you can fuse together. It could be like Mario maker, a different layout each time. One match you’re on a huge metal vehicle the next a block of logs and boulders

Hey, as a Zelda-fan who decided to stop watching TotK videos to avoid being spoiled, I just wanted to say that I really appreciate the use of the spoiler tag. Thanks.

 

[RileyXY1]

There's a finite limit to how big the roster can get. Eventually it will reach the point when balancing is literally impossible. There's a reason why the OG Smash on the N64 is the most balanced entry in the series, at least in my opinion. Although I don't want the reboot's roster to be that small. My own personal belief is that the reboot's roster size should be around the size of Brawl's roster, or somewhere in between the roster sizes of Brawl and Smash 4.

 

[SPEN18]

I don't know how I would feel about someone else designing newcomers for an already-finished game. Ult has so much of Sakurai's footprint on it that allowing a new director to add their own content to it would risk a massive stylistic clash. And I think hardly anybody wants a port with no newcomers...
Plus if they're hiring a new director, then presumably they're going to vastly prefer it to be a long-term solution for the position, not a one-and-done situation of overseeing a port and then parting ways. A new director who's just been handed creative control is not going to be as eager to simply tack onto what somebody else has made; these kinds of people are artists at heart and not allowing them to do things their way is going to be problematic.

 

[RileyXY1]

I don't know how I would feel about someone else designing newcomers for an already-finished game. Ult has so much of Sakurai's footprint on it that allowing a new director to add their own content to it would risk a massive stylistic clash. And I think hardly anybody wants a port with no newcomers...
Plus if they're hiring a new director, then presumably they're going to vastly prefer it to be a long-term solution for the position, not a one-and-done situation of overseeing a port and then parting ways. A new director who's just been handed creative control is not going to be as eager to simply tack onto what somebody else has made; these kinds of people are artists at heart and not allowing them to do things their way is going to be problematic.

Pretty much. If they're changing directors then I want the next game to be a reboot, not a port, in order to allow the new director's creative vision to shine without it seeming like they're just piggybacking off of Sakurai. Plus, Ultimate itself is already compromised in terms of new content, as the base game only had a whopping five unique newcomers (Inklings, Ridley, King K. Rool, Simon, and Incineroar) and a whopping four new stages. A port might have an even lower amount of truly new content added.