Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[Speed Weed]

I do think a sort of "classic Sunsoft" Spirit Event featuring stuff like Ikki and Atlantis no Nazo would be a lot of fun and a cool way of representing these games, some of which are pretty iconic to the Famicom

 

[DarthEnderX]

the dudes on the horses I don't entirely recognize myself

I found them. They're from Nobunaga's Ambition.

Twinbee, Bases Loaded, Mighty Bomb Jack, Pro Wrestling, City Connection, Ninja JaJaMaru-kun, Wagan Land

Excellent. Thank you.

None of these franchises is in Smash, so I guess the checklist is already done.

 

[TheQuester]

Since Level-5 is aparently back, do you think it could get a rep next game?

If it gets a rep i personally think it will be one of those 4:
Layton:

Jibanyan:

Endou:

Oliver:

I'm going to go with Layton or Oliver as the most likely ones.
Unfortunately, Yokai Watch has fallen off and Inazuma Eleven is in a grey area and we don't know if is considered an anime or videogame IP.

 

[Speed Weed]

I found them. They're from Nobunaga's Ambition.

ah there we go, that was my guess but I wasn't sure

 

[chocolatejr9]

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Admittedly, I'm not entirely sure how this will affect Nintendo (or Smash specifically), but given how these strikes have been going on for quite awhile now, I figured I'd share this just in case.

 

[Ivander]

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Admittedly, I'm not entirely sure how this will affect Nintendo (or Smash specifically), but given how these strikes have been going on for quite awhile now, I figured I'd share this just in case.

Probably not as much as some other companies, but it will certainly affect Nintendo in some capacity, like Mario, Zelda, Fire Emblem, Xenoblade and Smash Bros.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

Since Level-5 is aparently back, do you think it could get a rep next game?

If it gets a rep i personally think it will be one of those 4:
Layton:

Jibanyan:

Endou:

Oliver:

I'm going to go with Layton or Oliver as the most likely ones.
Unfortunately, Yokai Watch has fallen off and Inazuma Eleven is in a grey area and we don't know if is considered an anime or videogame IP.

I thought of a trailer idea for Mark (Endou) a while back when the topic of a Level 5 rep came up but forgot to post it.

The beginning makes you think its something related to Mario strikers, Bowser gets the upper hand and manages to throw the ball and Mario cant catch it, we see someone at the goal getting ready to block but he's hidden in shadow, the ball gets close to the goal and then we hear "GOD-HAND!" and it reveal Mark catching the ball for Mario.

Title card comes in and we see his smash attacks and basic moveset while a remix of the first games fight music plays.
The the usual "New character gets beat up" part of the trailer plays, w cut to another animated part where Mark is getting tired out, when he hears his friends cheering him on from the side, he smirks and the gameplay shows his specials which are lifted from the various special moves the other characters from his games have. While the vocal theme from the first game plays (Which we wouldnt get in the actual game)

 

[Curious Villager]

Since Level-5 is aparently back, do you think it could get a rep next game?

If it gets a rep i personally think it will be one of those 4:
Layton:

Jibanyan:

Endou:

Oliver:

I'm going to go with Layton or Oliver as the most likely ones.
Unfortunately, Yokai Watch has fallen off and Inazuma Eleven is in a grey area and we don't know if is considered an anime or videogame IP.

I'd probably put them in the order of Layton, Jibanyan, Oliver and Mark Evans in terms of likelyhood.

Layton's return in that Direct earlier this year was a pretty big deal (Apparently even trending higher than Zelda Tears of the Kingdom on Twitter when New World of Steam was announced) If Level-5 play's their cards right, it might bring in a renaissance for the character and his series, making him a good contender for the next Smash.

As for the second character, I'd probably still put Jibanyan in there, sure Yo-Kai Watch may be in a bit more shakier grounds lately, but its still pretty much Level-5's second major franchise behind Layton, I could even see Sakurai opting for him if he wishes to help Level-5 give the series a second chance at exposure through Smash like he did for several other franchises that have been popular in Japan but struggled to get any footing outside of its home territory.

Third I'd go with Oliver mainly because Ni No Kuni feels like the kind of series Sakurai would enjoy giving a shoutout in Smash.

And Inazuma eleven I mainly put last because of the series overall lack of presence in the US, having a bit of a reverse Earthbound effect. It might have gotten the first game ported to the 3DS eShop I think, but the rest of the series is still Europe and Japan exclusive iirc, and we know how hesitant Sakurai tends to be with characters that don't have much global exposure as he initially planned to make Marth and Roy Japan exclusives, Lucas cut had he known Mother 3 wasn't going to be localized and Takamaru and Lip's eternal struggle with Smash as is...
Had Inazuma Eleven gotten more of its games released in the US, I'd put Mark above Oliver mainly because of how Inazuma eleven basically being the third pillar of Level-5's IP's, right behind Layton and yo-Kai Watch.

That said, I do hope they receive something in the next game, even if no playable character, at least a trophy/spirit or mii costume would be nice, was pretty sad how they ended up being one of the few Japanese companies that got absolutely nothing in Ultimate..

 

[fogbadge]

Yeah Layton is certainly the most likely. Though I get the feeling Oliver has an edge over jibanyan

 

[Hadokeyblade]

Isnt Nino Kuni partially a studio Ghibli thing?

 

[Curious Villager]

Isnt Nino Kuni partially a studio Ghibli thing?

I believe it was made in partnership with Level-5.
Don't know if its to the same extend as Disney and Square Enix is with Kingdom Hearts.

Though if Sora stayed in the next Smash and Oliver joined in, seeing both Disney and Studio Ghibli represented in smash in some fashion might make for a fun little novelty...

 

[fogbadge]

Isnt Nino Kuni partially a studio Ghibli thing?

franchise is owned purely by level 5

 

[chocolatejr9]

I believe it was made in partnership with Level-5.
Don't know if its to the same extend as Disney and Square Enix is with Kingdom Hearts.

Though if Sora stayed in the next Smash and Oliver joined in, seeing both Disney and Studio Ghibli represented in smash in some fashion might make for a fun little novelty...

It'd be weirdly nostalgic, given Disney used to distribute Studio Ghibli films in the West...

 

[TheQuester]

Isnt Nino Kuni partially a studio Ghibli thing?

Ni No Kuni is owned by L-5, i've heard that the second game doesn't use studio ghibli characters anymore, even if they look similar.

I'd probably put them in the order of Layton, Jibanyan, Oliver and Mark Evans in terms of likelyhood.

Layton's return in that Direct earlier this year was a pretty big deal (Apparently even trending higher than Zelda Tears of the Kingdom on Twitter when New World of Steam was announced) If Level-5 play's their cards right, it might bring in a renaissance for the character and his series, making him a good contender for the next Smash.

As for the second character, I'd probably still put Jibanyan in there, sure Yo-Kai Watch may be in a bit more shakier grounds lately, but its still pretty much Level-5's second major franchise behind Layton, I could even see Sakurai opting for him if he wishes to help Level-5 give the series a second chance at exposure through Smash like he did for several other franchises that have been popular in Japan but struggled to get any footing outside of its home territory.

Third I'd go with Oliver mainly because Ni No Kuni feels like the kind of series Sakurai would enjoy giving a shoutout in Smash.

And Inazuma eleven I mainly put last because of the series overall lack of presence in the US, having a bit of a reverse Earthbound effect. It might have gotten the first game ported to the 3DS eShop I think, but the rest of the series is still Europe and Japan exclusive iirc, and we know how hesitant Sakurai tends to be with characters that don't have much global exposure as he initially planned to make Marth and Roy Japan exclusives, Lucas cut had he known Mother 3 wasn't going to be localized and Takamaru and Lip's eternal struggle with Smash as is...
Had Inazuma Eleven gotten more of its games released in the US, I'd put Mark above Oliver mainly because of how Inazuma eleven basically being the third pillar of Level-5's IP's, right behind Layton and yo-Kai Watch.

That said, I do hope they receive something in the next game, even if no playable character, at least a trophy/spirit or mii costume would be nice, was pretty sad how they ended up being one of the few Japanese companies that got absolutely nothing in Ultimate..

While i agree about Yo-kai Watch begin a important franchise for Level-5, does it have any new main games coming? It does seem like YW4 is going to be the last game in the main series for awhile and the 4th game didn't even got localized or sold very well.
I think i'll give the edge to NNK over YW for the 2nd most likely, Both NNK games are on the switch and localized, the first game is a cult classic, aparently a 3rd NNK is in development, the mobile game is popular in japan.
That said, Layton is most likely going to be the 1st L-5 rep anyways, he is iconic and like you said, his return has definitely made some impact.
I think the lack of L-5 is because they were in a bad situation in the Ultimate cycle, and didn't really recover and re-opoened his western side until this early year, they could definitely get something next game.
Oh, and i forgot about Fantasy Life, i could see Laura begin an Assist Trophy.

 

[CannonStreak]

This is Reddit. I don't know how good this is not, but I am going to spoiler this for potential cursing, if that is okay.

Spoiler: Potential Cursing

Reddit - Dive into anything

www.reddit.com

Do you all think this has to do with the rumor Jotadé posted earlier, or is it the same thing?

Thanks to cashregister9 for finding this.

 

[DarthEnderX]

Alright, this is the finished product then:

 

[Capybara Gaming]

Hello people, I really don't pass by this thread anymore, but I wanted to share some Smash speculation from a really close Discord partner.

It's a lot of info doh, so I'm gonna send a short summary first and then all the evidence they have found.

The summary is that practically with most of the major announcements or showcases at Directs and such, there tends to be a restock of related amiibo... and It seems some upcoming unnanounced restocks could be pointing to something Smash-related getting shown really soon if all this speculation turns out correct.

With that said, here's the evidence:

Spoiler

TLDR:

• Smash is getting 2 waves of restocks, restocks has always connected to a announcement or release of a game, DLC, or content update.
• Sora is meant to be getting a Amiibo revealed soon, new Amiibo announcements has, also, 100% always connected to a new release or announcement.
• Sora's Amiibo code isn't in the game, despite them perfectly being able to 2 years ago, which implies if it's happening, they held off, which means it probably was for more Ultimate, so Nintendo could have new Smash Amiibo to sell during it.
• The Gamecube Controller got restocked in Japan, last time that happened was with Vol. 2's reveal (3 weeks before)
• The restocks aren't happening in America yet, since NoA is the global marketing center for Nintendo, that probably means they're holding off for a announcement.
• Square Enix isn't marketing the SMRPG remake on social media, the last time they did that for a direct announcement was with DQ11S when it was revealed in the Feb 2019 direct, they only started marketing it a day before Hero's reveal.
• Before the restocks, Papa heard that "Something more may be happening with Smash Ultimate", the timeframe of the report the source heard would of been June 2023.
• Next gen isn't launching until Sep/Oct 2024, they wouldn't reveal a "Deluxe" or 6 a year out, that's more marketing than what Ultimate got.
• The restocks being 2 waves implies it'll also be released, since restocks in waves has only happened with releases, the only thing we could possibly get revealed and release that quickly is more DLC
• There isn't a bundle for Vol. 2 on the eShop
• The MK8DX DLC is ending in September, meaning Nintendo is going to need to have new DLC waves to fill in that void
• The German date for the restocks going on sale, Aug 28th, has past with no announcement from Nintendo.
• Smash site updated, removing the accessories tab.
• The restocks nor Sora Amiibo can be for NL23 (FAQ)

That's all I wanted to share, keep an eye throught September as maybe interesting stuff could happen (I for sure have that granted, because LEGO Marvel CMF 2 is coming out, yay!)

See ya'll another time.

While I'd be all for it, I just don't see them doing it. They made it quite clear they were done with development. Adding in some amiibo data isn't that complex of an update.

 

[Curious Villager]

Ni No Kuni is owned by L-5, i've heard that the second game doesn't use studio ghibli characters anymore, even if they look similar.




While i agree about Yo-kai Watch begin a important franchise for Level-5, does it have any new main games coming? It does seem like YW4 is going to be the last game in the main series for awhile and the 4th game didn't even got localized or sold very well.
I think i'll give the edge to NNK over YW for the 2nd most likely, Both NNK games are on the switch and localized, the first game is a cult classic, aparently a 3rd NNK is in development, the mobile game is popular in japan.
That said, Layton is most likely going to be the 1st L-5 rep anyways, he is iconic and like you said, his return has definitely made some impact.
I think the lack of L-5 is because they were in a bad situation in the Ultimate cycle, and didn't really recover and re-opoened his western side until this early year, they could definitely get something next game.
Oh, and i forgot about Fantasy Life, i could see Laura begin an Assist Trophy.

I suppose at the moment, yeah, NiNo Kuni would probably have the better shot over Yo-Kai Watch unless L5 has some big surprise up their sleeve like they did Layton.

Yeah, it probably was because they where in a middle of a rough spot during Ultimate's development that negotiating for content might not have been on their priorities at the time. Hopefully they will be able to make a good comeback with their upcoming games.

Fantasy Life getting content would be cool too, I know that one has a dedicated fanbase too.

Hopefully L5 gains a bit more of a presence in the next game, they've got some fun and unique IP's that would be fun to see in smash eitherway, playable or not.

 

[Dinoman96]

It probably helps that Nintendo published and funded Bayonetta 2. (it feels like that also plays a part in why the Bayonetta 1 versions of Bayonetta and Jeanne are used in mobile game appearances like the Shin Megami Tensei mobile game or Last Cloudia, rather than any of their more recent designs)

I'm not sure how often that sort of thing happens - Pac-Man Versus was designed by Miyamoto, but it was still published (and, presumably, funded) by Namco.

Here's a fun little list of all third party owned IPs repped in Smash that have had a game published by Nintendo, at least in Japan.

• Bayonetta (Bayonetta 1 on Wii U and Switch, Bayonetta 2, Bayonetta 3, and Bayonetta Origins were published by Nintendo worldwide)
• Banjo-Kazooie (Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie were published by Nintendo worldwide, and were co-owned by them with Rare prior to 2002)
• Rayman (Nintendo published Rayman Legends in Japan, where it remained a Wii U exclusive)
• Shovel Knight (Nintendo published Shovel Knight for Wii U and 3DS in Japan)
• Rabbids (Nintendo published Mario + Rabbids 1 & 2 in Japan)
• Culdcept (Nintendo published the Japan only Culdcept 3DS and its followup, Culdcept Revolt in Japan as well)
• Fatal Frame (Nintendo published the Japan only FF: Mask of the Lunar Eclispe, Spirit Camera worldwide, the Japan/EU only Project Zero 2: Wii Edition, and the original Wii U release of FF: Maiden of Black Water worldwide)
• Baten Kaitios (Baten Kaitios Origins was originally published by Nintendo worldwide on GCN)

There's also Geno and Mallow, two Square-Enix owned characters that appeared in the Nintendo published Super Mario RPG.

Notice how all of those series I mentioned above are primarily repped in Smash by their Nintendo published games (i.e all of the Baten Kaitios spirits + remix come from Origins specifically, Rabbids is just the M+R stuff, Rayman is just Legends, Culdcept's content just pertains to the 3DS games, etc)

Final Fantasy also had a Nintendo published game in the form of Crystal Chronicles, but that doesn't have any representation in Smash.

 

[Gengar84]

Since Level-5 is aparently back, do you think it could get a rep next game?

If it gets a rep i personally think it will be one of those 4:
Layton:

Jibanyan:

Endou:

Oliver:

I'm going to go with Layton or Oliver as the most likely ones.
Unfortunately, Yokai Watch has fallen off and Inazuma Eleven is in a grey area and we don't know if is considered an anime or videogame IP.

I think it’s possible. My favorite Level 5 games are the Dark Cloud games and Rogue Galaxy. The latter being one of my all time favorites overall and the home of my favorite video game character (Zegram Ghart). Unfortunately, both are partially owned by Sony and they seem to have dropped much of their Japanese support so neither are entirely likely.

 

[Stratos]

Based on Geno being a Mario franchise character but third party, I'm wondering if the same applies to Waluigi because he was made by Camelot Software Planning. Although on the other hand I would say it is owned by both Nintendo and Camelot Software Planning.

 

[Oracle Link]

Heres a roster for a potential Zelda Smash:

Some characters like yunobo werent in the assets i used!

 

[Dinoman96]

Based on Geno being a Mario franchise character but third party, I'm wondering if the same applies to Waluigi because he was made by Camelot Software Planning. Although on the other hand I would say it is owned by both Nintendo and Camelot Software Planning.

No, Nintendo flat out owns Waluigi full stock.

Geno and the other Mario RPG originals are honestly just a super ****ing weird case, especially since Nintendo's mostly been able to hold on to other third party developed Mario characters like the M&L and Paper Mario ones and also Rare's DKC characters.

 

[CapitaineCrash]

Since Level-5 is aparently back, do you think it could get a rep next game?

If it gets a rep i personally think it will be one of those 4:
Layton:

Jibanyan:

Endou:

Oliver:

I'm going to go with Layton or Oliver as the most likely ones.
Unfortunately, Yokai Watch has fallen off and Inazuma Eleven is in a grey area and we don't know if is considered an anime or videogame IP.

I'd say Layton is by far the most likely and I'd be surprised that we get a Level 5 rep that's not him. For a second I'd put Jibanyan and Inazuma eleven pretty much equal. Jibanyan used to be big, but it's now pretty much dead, and Inazuma eleven is still fairly big, but it's a very "regional thing" (it's mostly big in Japan and Europe). I'd put Oliver in last, I don't really see them going for him when most of the franchise popularity is coming from a mobile games that is mostly popular in Japan.

Here's a fun little list of all third party owned IPs repped in Smash that have had a game published by Nintendo, at least in Japan.

• Bayonetta (Bayonetta 1 on Wii U and Switch, Bayonetta 2, Bayonetta 3, and Bayonetta Origins were published by Nintendo worldwide)
• Banjo-Kazooie (Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie were published by Nintendo worldwide, and were co-owned by them with Rare prior to 2002)
• Rayman (Nintendo published Rayman Legends in Japan, where it remained a Wii U exclusive)
• Shovel Knight (Nintendo published Shovel Knight for Wii U and 3DS in Japan)
• Rabbids (Nintendo published Mario + Rabbids 1 & 2 in Japan)
• Culdcept (Nintendo published the Japan only Culdcept 3DS and its followup, Culdcept Revolt in Japan as well)
• Fatal Frame (Nintendo published the Japan only FF: Mask of the Lunar Eclispe, Spirit Camera worldwide, the Japan/EU only Project Zero 2: Wii Edition, and the original Wii U release of FF: Maiden of Black Water worldwide)
• Baten Kaitios (Baten Kaitios Origins was originally published by Nintendo worldwide on GCN)

There's also Geno and Mallow, two Square-Enix owned characters that appeared in the Nintendo published Super Mario RPG.

Notice how all of those series I mentioned above are primarily repped in Smash by their Nintendo published games (i.e all of the Baten Kaitios spirits + remix come from Origins specifically, Rabbids is just the M+R stuff, Rayman is just Legends, Culdcept's content just pertains to the 3DS games, etc)

Final Fantasy also had a Nintendo published game in the form of Crystal Chronicles, but that doesn't have any representation in Smash.

Doesn't Nintendo straight up co-own Fatal frame? I think I read that somewhere but I'm not sure if this is true or this is a misconception similar to how some pople think they co-own Bayoneta, which is not the case.

Also you could add to you list Dragon quest. In NA and Europe the DS and 3ds remake (9 and 6 on DS and 7 and 8 on 3ds) and both Dragon quest builders and 11 on Switch were published by Nintendo.

 

[MasterCheef]

This is Reddit. I don't know how good this is not, but I am going to spoiler this for potential cursing, if that is okay.

Spoiler: Potential Cursing

Reddit - Dive into anything

www.reddit.com

Do you all think this has to do with the rumor Jotadé posted earlier, or is it the same thing?

Thanks to cashregister9 for finding this.

Nintendo Prime just did a video on this. It is probably because they Dont want , Wii U / 3DS , on the box.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

Here's a fun little list of all third party owned IPs repped in Smash that have had a game published by Nintendo, at least in Japan.

• Bayonetta (Bayonetta 1 on Wii U and Switch, Bayonetta 2, Bayonetta 3, and Bayonetta Origins were published by Nintendo worldwide)
• Banjo-Kazooie (Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie were published by Nintendo worldwide, and were co-owned by them with Rare prior to 2002)
• Rayman (Nintendo published Rayman Legends in Japan, where it remained a Wii U exclusive)
• Shovel Knight (Nintendo published Shovel Knight for Wii U and 3DS in Japan)
• Rabbids (Nintendo published Mario + Rabbids 1 & 2 in Japan)
• Culdcept (Nintendo published the Japan only Culdcept 3DS and its followup, Culdcept Revolt in Japan as well)
• Fatal Frame (Nintendo published the Japan only FF: Mask of the Lunar Eclispe, Spirit Camera worldwide, the Japan/EU only Project Zero 2: Wii Edition, and the original Wii U release of FF: Maiden of Black Water worldwide)
• Baten Kaitios (Baten Kaitios Origins was originally published by Nintendo worldwide on GCN)

There's also Geno and Mallow, two Square-Enix owned characters that appeared in the Nintendo published Super Mario RPG.

Notice how all of those series I mentioned above are primarily repped in Smash by their Nintendo published games (i.e all of the Baten Kaitios spirits + remix come from Origins specifically, Rabbids is just the M+R stuff, Rayman is just Legends, Culdcept's content just pertains to the 3DS games, etc)

Final Fantasy also had a Nintendo published game in the form of Crystal Chronicles, but that doesn't have any representation in Smash.

I kinda assumed Baten Kaitos WAS a Nintendo IP. Just a realy niche one that they randomly decided to remaster.

 

[chocolatejr9]

I kinda assumed Baten Kaitos WAS a Nintendo IP. Just a realy niche one that they randomly decided to remaster.

Yeah, that seems to be a common misconception. Mostly because Baten Kaitos was made by Monolith Soft, who were eventually bought out by Nintendo.

 

[TheQuester]

I suppose at the moment, yeah, NiNo Kuni would probably have the better shot over Yo-Kai Watch unless L5 has some big surprise up their sleeve like they did Layton.

Yeah, it probably was because they where in a middle of a rough spot during Ultimate's development that negotiating for content might not have been on their priorities at the time. Hopefully they will be able to make a good comeback with their upcoming games.

Fantasy Life getting content would be cool too, I know that one has a dedicated fanbase too.

Hopefully L5 gains a bit more of a presence in the next game, they've got some fun and unique IP's that would be fun to see in smash eitherway, playable or not.

If YW5 is announced and released worldwide then i think i would put it in equal chances as NNK, until then i think NNK has the edge for now.
I would like to see Laura from Fantasy Life playable, but i think the most we'll get is a Laura AT or a Napdragon boss, while it has a dedicated fanbase i think Sakurai would go for YW or NNK for a rep of 2010s L-5.
If the new Layton game does well, i'd be surprised if we don't get at least a AT of Layton, the character is iconic. I think he's got good chances for a playable rep next game unless World of Steam flops, also can you imagine a World of Steam stage? it would be incredible.

I'd say Layton is by far the most likely and I'd be surprised that we get a Level 5 rep that's not him. For a second I'd put Jibanyan and Inazuma eleven pretty much equal. Jibanyan used to be big, but it's now pretty much dead, and Inazuma eleven is still fairly big, but it's a very "regional thing" (it's mostly big in Japan and Europe). I'd put Oliver in last, I don't really see them going for him when most of the franchise popularity is coming from a mobile games that is mostly popular in Japan.

I do personally put NNK over YW and IE.
NNK has a 3rd game in the works, See here, and the first game is a cult classic, i don't think any of the YW games are considered cult classics, even though they were popular back in the mid 2010s, i do think, if a YW5 releases and it comes to the west it will have the edge over NNK, but for now NNK makes more sense to me.
IE problem is not just that it's niche in the US, it's more that it's a grey area whatever it's considered an anime or game IP first.
While Pokemon and Yokai Watch have animes, they clearly are secondary to the games, but with IE you can't really tell, like we got a Aries/Orion anime with no games, but we're getting Victory Road which has no anime, so it's kind of in a simular situation as the .hack series, and even .hack seems to have more focus in the games, so IE is a unique situation for smash to me.

Also on a side topic, why do some people think Fortnite wouldn't fit in Smash? Regardless of if someone likes the game or not, i think Fortnite would fit just fine, both are cartoony games.

 

[Dinoman96]

Doesn't Nintendo straight up co-own Fatal frame? I think I read that somewhere but I'm not sure if this is true or this is a misconception similar to how some pople think they co-own Bayoneta, which is not the case.

From my understanding of things, Koei Tecmo owns the franchise overall but it does seem that Nintendo has ownership over FF4 and FF5, though they had a deal with KT to publish those games on other platforms on their own terms.

Also you could add to you list Dragon quest. In NA and Europe the DS and 3ds remake (9 and 6 on DS and 7 and 8 on 3ds) and both Dragon quest builders and 11 on Switch were published by Nintendo.

Yes, but I did say "at least in Japan" though, because when it comes to Smash, that seems to be what counts the most. That's why the likes of Rayman, Culdcept, and Shovel Knight are grouped with the misc. Nintendo IPs in the base game spirit lineup (and not bolted on at the end with Shantae, Monster Hunter, Virtua Fighter, etc), because they're counted as first party Wii U and 3DS releases as Nintendo initially published their respective games in Japan there.

 

[CapitaineCrash]

I do personally put NNK over YW and IE.
NNK has a 3rd game in the works, See here, and the first game is a cult classic, i don't think any of the YW games are considered cult classics, even though they were popular back in the mid 2010s, i do think, if a YW5 releases and it comes to the west it will have the edge over NNK, but for now NNK makes more sense to me.
IE problem is not just that it's niche in the US, it's more that it's a grey area whatever it's considered an anime or game IP first.
While Pokemon and Yokai Watch have animes, they clearly are secondary to the games, but with IE you can't really tell, like we got a Aries/Orion anime with no games, but we're getting Victory Road which has no anime, so it's kind of in a simular situation as the .hack series, and even .hack seems to have more focus in the games, so IE is a unique situation for smash to me.

I actually didn't know that NNK 3 was announced. I guess this could change thing, but to be fair Level 5 is so slow to release game that Smash 6 could release before we even see what NNK 3 looks like.

Also Ares was the tie in anime for Victory road, but the game was delayed so much that Ares aired years before the game launch. That being said, the game launched first if you look at the franchise history (the first Inazuma eleven was a couple months before the anime), so for me it still counts as a game franchise, altough it was always conceive as a cross media franchise so I can see why it could be considered a grey area.

 

[chocolatejr9]

I actually didn't know that NNK 3 was announced. I guess this could change thing, but to be fair Level 5 is so slow to release game that Smash 6 could release before we even see what NNK 3 looks like.

Also Ares was the tie in anime for Victory road, but the game was delayed so much that Ares aired years before the game launch. That being said, the game launched first if you look at the franchise history (the first Inazuma eleven was a couple months before the anime), so for me it still counts as a game franchise, altough it was always conceive as a cross media franchise so I can see why it could be considered a grey area.

Somewhat off topic, but hopefully Level-5 dials back the whole "cross media franchise" thing in the future: it's pretty much how they got into their mess in the first place...

 

[fogbadge]

Somewhat off topic, but hopefully Level-5 dials back the whole "cross media franchise" thing in the future: it's pretty much how they got into their mess in the first place...

well ni no kuni already has a film so I don’t think they’ve completely learned

 

[TheQuester]

I actually didn't know that NNK 3 was announced. I guess this could change thing, but to be fair Level 5 is so slow to release game that Smash 6 could release before we even see what NNK 3 looks like.

Also Ares was the tie in anime for Victory road, but the game was delayed so much that Ares aired years before the game launch. That being said, the game launched first if you look at the franchise history (the first Inazuma eleven was a couple months before the anime), so for me it still counts as a game franchise, altough it was always conceive as a cross media franchise so I can see why it could be considered a grey area.

Yep, i wouldn't be surprised if we get Smash 6 before we see what NNK3 looks like lol, but i think having an upcoming game helps in some way, even if takes forever to release.

About IE, you could say Endou is a videogame or anime character and both would be correct for most people, so he's technically...both?
Like adding IE in Smash would not open the gates to Goku obviously, but Endou is probably not a pure 100% videogame character like the rest of the roster, yet he still could be considered one since IE games are as equally important as the anime, it's weird lol.
Oh, and about Ares, i forgot that VR was Ares first and the anime was a tie-in, but now since VR is nothing like Ares, it's it's own thing.

C chocolatejr9 none of the current L5 project has an anime incoming, not even the next inazuma eleven has an anime planned.

 

[Curious Villager]

If YW5 is announced and released worldwide then i think i would put it in equal chances as NNK, until then i think NNK has the edge for now.
I would like to see Laura from Fantasy Life playable, but i think the most we'll get is a Laura AT or a Napdragon boss, while it has a dedicated fanbase i think Sakurai would go for YW or NNK for a rep of 2010s L-5.
If the new Layton game does well, i'd be surprised if we don't get at least a AT of Layton, the character is iconic. I think he's got good chances for a playable rep next game unless World of Steam flops, also can you imagine a World of Steam stage? it would be incredible.


I do personally put NNK over YW and IE.
NNK has a 3rd game in the works, See here, and the first game is a cult classic, i don't think any of the YW games are considered cult classics, even though they were popular back in the mid 2010s, i do think, if a YW5 releases and it comes to the west it will have the edge over NNK, but for now NNK makes more sense to me.
IE problem is not just that it's niche in the US, it's more that it's a grey area whatever it's considered an anime or game IP first.
While Pokemon and Yokai Watch have animes, they clearly are secondary to the games, but with IE you can't really tell, like we got a Aries/Orion anime with no games, but we're getting Victory Road which has no anime, so it's kind of in a simular situation as the .hack series, and even .hack seems to have more focus in the games, so IE is a unique situation for smash to me.

Also on a side topic, why do some people think Fortnite wouldn't fit in Smash? Regardless of if someone likes the game or not, i think Fortnite would fit just fine, both are cartoony games.

In regards to Layton, I'd hope NWoS does at least decently, the game seems to have a lot going for it right now, with even having a lot of big streamers and vTubers like Korone excited to play the game. It seems like the type of series that would lend itself well with that kind of audience. Where streamers can explore and solve puzzles with their chats and all.

I'd really hope Level-5 works together with Nintendo to market the game properly, they did an amazing job with Pikmin 4, so hopefully they do the same for Layton, maybe even finally releasing the original trilogy HD ports to Switch too...

And yeah, from what I've seen, Steam Bison would certainly make for a very amazing looking stage in Smash.

 

[CannonStreak]

Nintendo Prime just did a video on this. It is probably because they Dont want , Wii U / 3DS , on the box.

Um, what do you mean by the very last part about the Wii U and 3DS, if it does not hurt to ask. I am kind of confused.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

About IE, you could say Endou is a videogame or anime character and both would be correct for most people, so he's technically...both?
Like adding IE in Smash would not open the gates to Goku obviously, but Endou is probably not a pure 100% videogame character like the rest of the roster, yet he still could be considered one since IE games are as equally important as the anime, it's weird lol.
Oh, and about Ares, i forgot that VR was Ares first and the anime was a tie-in, but now since VR is nothing like Ares, it's it's own thing.

Well this is also true for stuff like Digimon and Yokai watch which are also multi media series.

But that simply doesnt matter when it comes to smash because Pokemon. And within the realm of third parties, Megaman, Street fighter and Final fantasy.

Megaman has Battle network and Star force content which are multi media projects from Capcom, Street fighter has a spirit from a manga and half of FF's representation comes from a theatrical film.

 

[HyperSomari64]

Well this is also true for stuff like Digimon and Yokai watch which are also multi media series.

But that simply doesnt matter when it comes to smash because Pokemon. And within the realm of third parties, Megaman, Street fighter and Final fantasy.

Megaman has Battle network and Star force content which are multi media projects from Capcom, Street fighter has a spirit from a manga and half of FF's representation comes from a theatrical film.

LOL, Can't wait for Scratch's and Grounder's (and maybe Coconuts') Spirits for the next Smash.

 

[chocolatejr9]

Can't wait for Scratch's and Grounder's (and maybe Coconuts') Spirits for the next Smash.

You joke, but Doctor Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine exists...

 

[HyperSomari64]

You joke, but Doctor Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine exists...

Man, imagine if Puyo Puyo Tsu was localized as a SATAM/Archie game.

 

[Stratos]

One character from the F-Zero series that stands out to me is Zoda, who was initially set up to be an alien from the planet Uma-41 intent on conquering Earth. But from the anime and games based on it, his story is completely different, there instead of being an alien from the planet Uma-41 he is an earthy maniac criminal who mutated into this form. How they thought to change his story in this way no one knows, but it is interesting nonetheless.