Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

More Nintendo movies(whether connected by some kind of canon or not) sounds good to me.

Doesn't matter if it's a trend or not. The fact Nintendo is interested is a good thing~

 

[HyperSomari64]

If the N.C.U. becomes real, pretty sure that Pokémon will get a treatment similar to Spider-Man and it's Sony Pictures' deal.

 

[Stratos]

If there is a Super Smash Bros. Cinematic Universe, logically in the role of the biggest villains will be Master Hand and Crazy Hand, although I don't need to mention that.

 

[chocolatejr9]

More Nintendo movies(whether connected by some kind of canon or not) sounds good to me.

Doesn't matter if it's a trend or not. The fact Nintendo is interested is a good thing~

Maybe if we're lucky, they'll be willing to even give their more obscure series a chance with a movie, like Marvel and DC have in the past. Imagine something like a Custom Robo movie!

 

[fogbadge]

More Nintendo movies(whether connected by some kind of canon or not) sounds good to me.

Doesn't matter if it's a trend or not. The fact Nintendo is interested is a good thing~

You’re right following a trend isn’t a bad thing. It’s just I feel this particular trend hasn’t had much luck

 

[Ivander]

With The Super Mario Bros. Movie being such a hit, some fans are expecting a Mario Cinematic Universe or a Nintendo Cinematic Universe, and I've also read rumors that because of that, some from Nintendo, Illumination, and Universal Pictures want to do it. If there are third-party characters then it will be Super Smash Bros. Cinematic Universe.

I'll see what happens.

Just try to take time with each movie, don't rush them and make sure each one is solid, coherent and enjoyable. Now I'm not exactly against lesser known series getting movies, but I'm not expecting those getting anywhere near the same treatment as the Mario movie since there certainly aren't as many dedicated fans for those compared to Mario, Zelda and whatnot.

I would love it if they actually got fans of the games, as well as some of the creators, for if they make those movies to help them, but there's a part of me that thinks those ones might get more experimental due to being more unknown to the general public.
I would love them to get the same amount of nostalgic treatment as Mario if it encourages people who are interested in the series to look up those franchises or even encourages people to look up what they reference from the games.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Zelda newcomer next time y/n? And who is your pick?

 

[fogbadge]

Zelda newcomer next time y/n? And who is your pick?

All of them

 

[Geno Boost]

Zelda newcomer next time y/n? And who is your pick?

I feel Dark Link as an echo might be the most likely if regular Link keeps on changing and try to bring back Link old moveset by making Dark Link as separate
My pick for Zelda rep is Skull Kid though

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

I think the smart thing would be to take a lot of that Mario movie profit money and invest some of it into some reasonably priced TV projects. The latter carries less risk (especially if a Netflix or Paramount is willing to foot some of the bill) and its an arguably safer method to measure toe popularity of a Star Fox or a Kid Icarus if they decided to go that route. Maybe start some negotiations with a Crunchyroll about the possibility of an FE or Xenoblade series potentially.

 

[KingofPhantoms]

Zelda newcomer next time y/n? And who is your pick?

Tetra and/or Skull Kid for the win.

 

[Wonder Smash]

not much but i think its pretty much the same reason why there was not much for before sm4sh simply people didnt think there was a chance before phil spencer spoke out and now people know sega bought angry birds i do expect that demand might grow alot by the next smash game announcement.

The reason they didn't think Banjo and Kazooie didn't have a chance is because they were owned by one of Nintendo competitors. However, fans still wanted them in the game. Angry Birds was not owned by a competitor of Nintendo's, so fan demand for them wouldn't have been a problem if they really wanted them in Smash.

as for SMT compared to Angry Bird, SMT is literally ant sized because you are dealing one of the biggest games ever that reaches Minecraft level in terms of worldwide players thats why i do say in terms of the biggest gaming market that sega owns Sonic and Angry Birds are the biggest 2

Angry birds literally covers the mobile gaming market and almost the face of it for so many years and represent that era of video games and nintendo might want to cash on that now that they can simply reach out sega for it just like thats why Angry Birds is currently the biggest deal if they go with another SEGA rep

All you're going by is worldwide players but if there's no demand for it, then Nintendo might not want to use a character slot for them over something made in their own area. And we're talking Shin Megami Tensei, a major RPG franchise that's up there with Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.

 

[Perkilator]

I think the smart thing would be to take a lot of that Mario movie profit money and invest some of it into some reasonably priced TV projects. The latter carries less risk (especially if a Netflix or Paramount is willing to foot some of the bill) and its an arguably safer method to measure toe popularity of a Star Fox or a Kid Icarus if they decided to go that route. Maybe start some negotiations with a Crunchyroll about the possibility of an FE or Xenoblade series potentially.

On the topic of Nintendo anime, they seemed to be at their zenith in the mid-2000’s, and there are some games that should’ve gotten one as well.

do you know how much it's killing me inside imagining other GBA-era Nintendo games getting their own anime and the only ones we actually got were like

F-Zero
Kirby Right Back at Ya
and the obligatory Pokemon

...

WHERE ARE MY SACRED STONES AND GOLDEN SUN ANIMES RAGHHHHHHHHHHH pic.twitter.com/kyjP2jbyyh

— J-Der (READ PINNED FOR CDM!SSlDN INFO) (@jdrider02) February 7, 2023

 

[Wonder Smash]

With the resurgence of arcade style Beat em Ups in recent years, I think it would be cool to see at least one represented in Smash. There are a lot of great options to choose from with River City, Double Dragon, Final Fight, Streets of Rage, Battletoads, and more. I feel like all of these games have characters that would fit great in Smash depending on the priorities. For example, I believe River City was the first breakout hit in the genre so it would make a lot of sense for that reason. Mike Haggar might be the most widely recognized Beat em Up character so he could make sense too. The Battletoads are the most unique in both design and moveset so they’d be great despite not quite having the same general popularity as the others mentioned.

Who do you think would/should be our first rep for the genre and who do you personally want to see? I’ve mentioned before that my personal most wanted are the Battletoads but I think any of these are great options. My super long shot dream are the TMNT but we’d have to see a big shift in design philosophy for any character originating from outside gaming to make it.

Kunio and Riki.

Although for a long time Billy and Jimmy have been my most wanted, I think Kunio and Riki should be first. Not just because the beat'em up genre as we know it wouldn't exist without the River City series but it's also the most active beat'em up series in video games and do to their owm history on Nintendo consoles, it could easily pass for a Nintendo series itself (just like Mega Man and Dragon Quest). Plus, not only did they pioneer beat'em ups, but it was also the first to feature a 4-player fighting game, so that's like a direct connection to the Smash Bros series itself So overall, their series have done so much more than other beat'em ups, so it would make sense for Kunio and Riki to be first. Heck, I say they're base roster material.

 

[SPEN18]

The chances of MCU-level success with a cinematic universe are low, but as they say you won't know unless you try.

Among the things that could help Nintendo is the broad appeal of their brands. A focus on animation and a commitment to bringing people of all ages into the theaters could help distinguish the "NCU" from other attempts at the multifilm model.

 

[Idon]

Zelda newcomer next time y/n? And who is your pick?

Probably not but if I had to get a personal want in, Ghirahim is still the coolest non-Ganon villain they've ever made and he absolutely has the style and flair to make a cool smasher.

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

Zelda newcomer next time y/n? And who is your pick?

Hard choice between Pig Ganon and Tingle. Though Oracles Impa also comes very very close~

 

[TCT~Phantom]

Zelda newcomer next time y/n? And who is your pick?

I just wrote an article on the whole thing, so...

 

[fogbadge]

The reason they didn't think Banjo and Kazooie didn't have a chance is because they were owned by one of Nintendo competitors. However, fans still wanted them in the game.

there were those of us thought it cause microsoft seemed happy leaving the franchise dead

 

[dezeray112]

On the topic of Nintendo anime, they seemed to be at their zenith in the mid-2000’s, and there are some games that should’ve gotten one as well.

do you know how much it's killing me inside imagining other GBA-era Nintendo games getting their own anime and the only ones we actually got were like

F-Zero
Kirby Right Back at Ya
and the obligatory Pokemon

...

WHERE ARE MY SACRED STONES AND GOLDEN SUN ANIMES RAGHHHHHHHHHHH pic.twitter.com/kyjP2jbyyh

— J-Der (READ PINNED FOR CDM!SSlDN INFO) (@jdrider02) February 7, 2023

I've remembered watching the entire F-Zero anime a long time ago (there were a number of episodes that I enjoyed) that followed Rick Wheeler aka Ryu Suzaku in the Japanese version along with the Mobile Task Force members that include Jody Summer, Jack Levin, Dr. Stewart, Dr. Clash, Mr. EAD and Lucy Liberty who fight against the evil Dark Million Organisation led by Black Shadow in which his members include Miss Killer (a brainwashed Haruka Mizaki), Zoda, Bio Rex, Octoman etc.

 

[Speed Weed]

Honestly I don't think the size of Angry birds really matters if there's not a big request for the characters in Smash and they have a hard time coming up with a moveset. For example, the first Microsoft rep was Banjo despite Minecraft and Halo being way bigger franchise. Also to give another hypothetical example, I'm pretty sure if Activision would have a rep in Smash, it would be Crash Bandicoot, not a Call of duty, Warcraft or Candy crush rep.

Even with Rovio, I still think the most likely characters as future Sega rep would be either a second Sonic characters, an SMT rep or Arle from Puyo puyo. You could probably make a case for a Virtua fighter rep, Ichiban Kasuga, Axel Stone or Sakura Shinguji too before Angry birds imo.

You make a good point overall, but I have to admit, I find it weird how people keep specifically singling out SoR as a top SEGA candidate. I guess most of it is remnants from when the fourth game was a big deal, but it's weird how that perception of it has stuck around. It's a fantastic series and super important to the beat em up genre, but it's also a solid B-tier SEGA franchise, so I find it odd how people keep bringing it up in the same breath as names like Puyo, Yakuza and Sakura Wars. Like, what makes it anymore notable as a candidate than, say for example, House of the Dead or Valkyria Chronicles, which are also in that b-tier but are more popular in Japan and treated with more reverence by SEGA?

 

[Perkilator]

You make a good point overall, but I have to admit, I find it weird how people keep specifically singling out SoR as a top SEGA candidate. I guess most of it is remnants from when the fourth game was a big deal, but it's weird how that perception of it has stuck around. It's a fantastic series and super important to the beat em up genre, but it's also a solid B-tier SEGA franchise, so I find it odd how people keep bringing it up in the same breath as names like Puyo, Yakuza and Sakura Wars. Like, what makes it anymore notable as a candidate than, say for example, House of the Dead or Valkyria Chronicles, which are also in that b-tier but are more popular in Japan and treated with more reverence by SEGA?

Speaking of House of the Dead, I always thought the Magician could serve the same role as Rathalos and be both an Assist Trophy and a boss.

 

[CapitaineCrash]

You make a good point overall, but I have to admit, I find it weird how people keep specifically singling out SoR as a top SEGA candidate. I guess most of it is remnants from when the fourth game was a big deal, but it's weird how that perception of it has stuck around. It's a fantastic series and super important to the beat em up genre, but it's also a solid B-tier SEGA franchise, so I find it odd how people keep bringing it up in the same breath as names like Puyo, Yakuza and Sakura Wars. Like, what makes it anymore notable as a candidate than, say for example, House of the Dead or Valkyria Chronicles, which are also in that b-tier but are more popular in Japan and treated with more reverence by SEGA?

I wouldn't really put House of the dead in the same spot as Streets of rage to be honest. What put those franchise apart is, like you said, how Streets of rage 4 was a pretty big deal and was very succesful. On the other hand, House of the dead tried to make a comeback with the remake in 2022, but it didn't really have that success. I think Valkyria chronicles is fair, to be honest I don't know the franchise that much and people rarely, if ever, brought it up in the context of Smash speculation.

 

[toonito]

Zelda newcomer next time y/n? And who is your pick?

idk but Impa (Age of Calamity) is my most wanted Zelda newcomer

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

If I'm being honest, I think SOR is still bandied about because its the only other non-Sonic IP coming from the Genesis era that's still semi-relevant to Western fans. Puyo Puyo couldn't really come into its own outside Japan until the 5th generation & after, Golden Axe has faded away outside some reboot attempts, Shining Force has been in long hibernation, and Phantasy Star exists largely in its distinct online form. Barring co-owned IP's like Wonder Boy, Streets of Rage is one of the few semi-contemporary franchises that one can connect to what was Sega's most popular console in the West, and fairly or unfairly, that does carry a lot of weight with people.

 

[Ivander]

I wouldn't really put House of the dead in the same spot as Streets of rage to be honest. What put those franchise apart is, like you said, how Streets of rage 4 was a pretty big deal and was very succesful. On the other hand, House of the dead tried to make a comeback with the remake in 2022, but it didn't really have that success. I think Valkyria chronicles is fair, to be honest I don't know the franchise that much and people rarely, if ever, brought it up in the context of Smash speculation.

I would argue House of the Dead is more bigger than Streets of Rage, if not for the fact that House of the Dead used to be pretty synonymous with Resident Evil and Silent Hill as a founding father of the 3D Horror genre for video games. Streets of Rage was definitely a big deal too in terms of Beat-em Ups, but that wouldn't have existed had it not been for Double Dragon, Golden Axe and Final Fight(especially Final Fight when it comes to Streets of Rage).

If I'm being honest, I think SOR is still bandied about because its the only other non-Sonic IP coming from the Genesis era that's still semi-relevant to Western fans. Puyo Puyo couldn't really come into its own outside Japan until the 5th generation & after, Golden Axe has faded away outside some reboot attempts, Shining Force has been in long hibernation, and Phantasy Star exists largely in its distinct online form.

Kinda depends on whether you look at Shining Force itself or the Shining series as a whole. Cause the Shining series is still going on. Shining Force, not so much. And it didn't help that the Shining series largely stayed in Japan, much like Phantasy Star did since 2011/2012 until 2020.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

I view the Shining Series a bit like Phantasy Star in that respect; both still exist but feel decently removed from various elements of the Genesis era, while something like SOR 4 feels very in line with what the core 16 bit games were.

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

Kinda depends on whether you look at Shining Force itself or the Shining series as a whole. Cause the Shining series is still going on. Shining Force, not so much. And it didn't help that the Shining series largely stayed in Japan, much like Phantasy Star did since 2011/2012 until 2020.

Which sucks, cause it has soooooooooooo much potential wasted by never coming to the states.

Albeit, I like the tactical rpg's the most, but still. It's not like it's all it has to offer, and I very much enjoyed the action rpg's too. The only one I was iffy on is Sword of Hajya, and that's due to basically having it being "story, battle, story" with no real case of letting you explore or do much shopping in general. Shining in the Darkness felt like you were more in control, with the dungeon crawler aspects. Though that's probably more of a me thing, as I was never used to Fire Emblem doing something similar. Though then again, I like that weapons don't have an HP on them in general, so that helps a bit(do keep in mind I do like that magical items with special uses have a limitation to how often, otherwise they'd get a bit broken).

 

[TCT~Phantom]

I view the Shining Series a bit like Phantasy Star in that respect; both still exist but feel decently removed from various elements of the Genesis era, while something like SOR 4 feels very in line with what the core 16 bit games were.

Id say comparing Phantasy Star and Shining is a leap. It is easy to conflate the two: both were old school Sega RPGs that have some strong roots on the Genesis/Mega Drive. I think the cultural impact of the Genesis/Master System Phantasy Star games easily dwarfs the impact that Shining Force had. Heck, we know that Sakurai was a fan of the games in high school and entered/won a contest for the games. Even afterwords, I think its safe to say that Phantasy Star has had the larger impact both globally and in the west. Phantasy Star Online has dedicated fan servers on the Dreamcast to this day. PSO2 and New Genesis are still super successful, even if it took a while for PSO2 to make it to the West. While Shining is not a dead series, I think its post 1999 successes pale in comparison to Phantasy Star's.

In short, i would say someone like Alis or Chaz is a decent sleeper pick, particularly the former. I do not think I would say the same for Bowie for instance.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

I wasn't intending to say their overall popularity was really comparable, only that the more current games in both respective series just feel fairly different from their Genesis counterparts; contrasting with how one could more easily jump from SOR3 to SOR4 and not feel too lost given the core experience is still fairly similar.

 

[silenthunder]

I wouldn't really put House of the dead in the same spot as Streets of rage to be honest. What put those franchise apart is, like you said, how Streets of rage 4 was a pretty big deal and was very succesful. On the other hand, House of the dead tried to make a comeback with the remake in 2022, but it didn't really have that success. I think Valkyria chronicles is fair, to be honest I don't know the franchise that much and people rarely, if ever, brought it up in the context of Smash speculation.

House of the Dead is popular in arcades.

 

[SPEN18]

willing to even give their more obscure series a chance with a movie, like Marvel and DC have in the past.

That is honestly one of the most exciting developments that could come out of a Nintendo cinematic universe. However, they need to have success making movies with at least a few of their big brands first before they can start sprinkling in some of the lesser-known properties as standalone films.

So yeah let's not put the cart before the horse, but I agree it is super fun to dream on.

 

[Laniv]

Zelda newcomer next time y/n? And who is your pick?

Going back and forth between Pig Ganon and Impa (hopefully in her Skyward Sword design)

 

[KingofPhantoms]

I really don't know how House of the Dead could be represented in Smash, but I wouldn't complain if it was.

The games are extremely fun and surprisingly pretty challenging. It came before a lot of other modern survival horror games, too.

 

[Mamboo07]

I really don't know how House of the Dead could be represented in Smash.

Okay, here's how I imagine:

• The Curien Mansion itself as a stage
• The bosses themselves (who are named after tarot cards) making appearances as hazards on stages:
  • A stage based off HOTD 1 would have Chariot, Hangedman, Hermit, and Magician.
  • A stage based off HOTD 2 would have Judgement, Hierophant, Tower, Strength, and Emperor.
  • A stage based off HOTD 3 would have Death, Fool, Sun, and Wheel.
  • A stage based off HOTD 4 would have Justice, Lovers, Empress, Temperance, Star, and World.
  • And lastly, a stage based off Scarlet Dawn would feature Chariot and Hangedman returning, as well Priestess and Moon too.
• New boss battle for Classic Mode/World of Light against the Magican (Type-0)
• Creatures/Zombies as enemies in Smash Run

 

[Diddy Kong]

idk but Impa (Age of Calamity) is my most wanted Zelda newcomer

Same here. After Dixie she's my most wanted newcomer in general. Am optimistic about her chances too, realistically she should be able to be included, there's no reason not to

 

[Gengar84]

I think Streets of Rage makes more sense for Smash than other SEGA properties of similar popularity simply for the fact that Beat ‘em Ups are among the easiest genres to translate to a Smash moveset along with Fighting games and Platformers. Something like House of the Dead would be difficult as it is completely different than Smash and you’d have to take a lot more liberties with a moveset. I like characters that feel like they came straight out of their home series into Smash. Not that other genres are impossible, it’s just that their playstyle would be more difficult and not as resonant. There is a lot of great competition for the Beat ‘em Up spot in Smash (assuming the genre doesn’t get multiple characters). I think Streets of Rage, River City, Final Fight, Double Dragon, and Battletoads all have valid reasons for showing up and all deserve a spot at some point in Smash.

As for Zelda, my most wanted characters are classic pig Ganon and Hyrule Warriors Impa. I don’t mind her in Age of Calamity but she just doesn’t click with me the same way her HW incarnation does. I just love her design in that game. She also had a unique weapon in HW with the naginata and her giant sword plays pretty uniquely as well.

 

[Speed Weed]

I think Streets of Rage makes more sense for Smash than other SEGA properties of similar popularity simply for the fact that Beat ‘em Ups are among the easiest genres to translate to a Smash moveset along with Fighting games and Platformers. Something like House of the Dead would be difficult as it is completely different than Smash and you’d have to take a lot more liberties with a moveset. I like characters that feel like they came straight out of their home series into Smash. Not that other genres are impossible, it’s just that their playstyle would be more difficult and not as resonant. There is a lot of great competition for the Beat ‘em Up spot in Smash (assuming the genre doesn’t get multiple characters). I think Streets of Rage, River City, Final Fight, Double Dragon, and Battletoads all have valid reasons for showing up and all deserve a spot at some point in Smash.

As for Zelda, my most wanted characters are classic pig Ganon and Hyrule Warriors Impa. I don’t mind her in Age of Calamity but she just doesn’t click with me the same way her HW incarnation does. I just love her design in that game. She also had a unique weapon in HW with the naginata and her giant sword plays pretty uniquely as well.

For the record, I wasn't trying to imply that the other series' I mentioned are frontrunners or anything. I'd love to see them, but they're B-tier picks, they're not a priority. I just don't think Streets of Rage is any bigger or has any better chances than those

 

[Nabbitfan730]

On that Angry Birds note, The only way it can happen is if it was one of those out-of-left-field picks that Sakurai likes to add to each title like Ice Climbers, ROB, Piranha Plant etc as a most likely option.

No point of bring up it's Minecraft-like success because unlike Angry Birds, the former actually retained its success long enough for the pick to make sense and didn't fizzle out relatively quickly.

As mentioned before AB doesn't have the relevancy and support from Dedicated Smashers or the causal market nor the Nintendo Connection to make rounds especially compared to Sega's other IP even compares to SMT.

Not every buyout = Smash Pick Potential.

With the resurgence of arcade style Beat em Ups in recent years, I think it would be cool to see at least one represented in Smash. There are a lot of great options to choose from with River City, Double Dragon, Final Fight, Streets of Rage, Battletoads, and more. I feel like all of these games have characters that would fit great in Smash depending on the priorities. My super long shot dream are the TMNT but we’d have to see a big shift in design philosophy for any character originating from outside gaming to make it.

On this front, it would be cool to have a Beat-em up-style mode within Smash itself. Speaking on TMNT, the latest game especially shows that type would fit quite with Smash-style gameplay especially with Smash Run and SSE as being tried going through stages beating up mooks from the franchises selected with dedicated levels and world map.

Has that Adventure-theme going for it whilst sticking to Smash's strengths like WoL. Would make a great addition with all the chaos and madness with Multiplayer or even as a Single-Player style outing.

I still need to pick up Shredder's Revenge

 

[Gengar84]

On that Angry Birds note, The only way it can happen is if it was one of those out-of-left-field picks that Sakurai likes to add to each title like Ice Climbers, ROB, Piranha Plant etc as a most likely option.

No point of bring up it's Minecraft-like success because unlike Angry Birds, the former actually retained its success long enough for the pick to make sense and didn't fizzle out relatively quickly.

As mentioned before AB doesn't have the relevancy and support from Dedicated Smashers or the causal market nor the Nintendo Connection to make rounds especially compared to Sega's other IP even compares to SMT.

Not every buyout = Smash Pick Potential.



On this front, it would be cool to have a Beat-em up-style mode within Smash itself. Speaking on TMNT, the latest game especially shows that type would fit quite with Smash-style gameplay especially with Smash Run and SSE as being tried going through stages beating up mooks from the franchises selected with dedicated levels and world map.

Has that Adventure-theme going for it whilst sticking to Smash's strengths like WoL. Would make a great addition with all the chaos and madness with Multiplayer or even as a Single-Player style outing.

I still need to pick up Shredder's Revenge

I’m actually playing Shredder’s Revenge right now. I never thought any TMNT game could ever surpass Turtles in Tme but I think this actually managed to.

I’d love another in depth Smash single player that built off Subspace Emissary from Brawl. Taking the best parts from that while incorporating Beat ‘em Up elements with actual stages and enemies from the properties in Smash could be a ton of fun.