Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[Louie G.]

The rising discussion of Arle is very interesting. It feels like she's very common to find on people's likely lists nowadays and it's cool that she's getting so much attention lately!

No, she has to stay a dark horse or else fate will take a turn for the worse! Once we begin to expect a character en masse, we jinx it out of our reality! It's our curse as a community!

Joking aside, I'm glad that Arle is being more widely accepted and discussed too. I presume it's that slightly underspoken quality that made her feel like a very practical choice, a character who doesn't demand a ton of fanfare but has the notoriety and history to back it up. While also not having such a hugely vocal, omnipresent fanbase to stir tensions (won't name names, but you know what I mean). A popular Japanese character with a rising western presence, one of the next in line for one of Smash's most prominent and willing third party players...

Arle's reveal is sure to evoke a resounding declaration of "...sure, that makes sense" from fans across the world!

 

[RodNutTakin]

No, she has to stay a dark horse or else fate will take a turn for the worse! Once we begin to expect a character en masse, we jinx it out of our reality! It's our curse as a community!

Joking aside, I'm glad that Arle is being more widely accepted and discussed too. I presume it's that slightly underspoken quality that made her feel like a very practical choice, a character who doesn't demand a ton of fanfare but has the notoriety and history to back it up. While also not having such a hugely vocal, omnipresent fanbase to stir tensions (won't name names, but you know what I mean). A popular Japanese character with a rising western presence, one of the next in line for one of Smash's most prominent and willing third party players...

Arle's reveal is sure to evoke a resounding declaration of "...sure, that makes sense" from fans across the world!

Truth be told, I still want for her addition to come off as at least somewhat of a surprise, but I'm not going to split hairs much there, since I'll be happy either way as long as the Smash she's added to is a big one in terms of crossovers.

 

[fogbadge]

Like the minigame mode of Tatsunoko vs capcom where you played a shoot 'em up with some of the characters on the roster.

there was?

 

[Hadokeyblade]

there was?

This thing.

 

[fogbadge]

This thing.

i just must have never found it

 

[Ivander]

i just must have never found it

You did have to unlock it by doing the mini-game in the Ending Credits, the one with Doronjo and her gang on the bike and you had to get all the gold letters. If you finished with Roll, you would play as Roll in the ending credits instead and you could easily get the letters to unlock the shooter game.

 

[fogbadge]

You did have to unlock it by doing the mini-game in the Ending Credits, the one with Doronjo and her gang on the bike and you had to get all the gold letters. If you finished with Roll, you would play as Roll in the ending credits instead and you could easily get the letters to unlock the shooter game.

ah that’ll be why. never bothered with it

 

[Ivander]

So here's something to do. You know how we speculate about a Sega Smash Bros? So here's the deal:

• Sega Smash Bros. has been released in 1999 on the Sega Saturn.
  • It has 12 characters, 8 Starters, 4 unlockables. The characters it has are Sega characters from before 1998/1999 and no characters from subsidiaries that were gotten during and after 1998/1999, so no Compile, Atlus, Creative Assembly, etc. All of them except for 2 are from different games/franchises while the last 2 characters share the same franchise as two other characters respectively.​
  • It has 9 stages, all of which are from a different starter character franchise except for 1, which is from the same franchise as 1 other stage.​

Which characters and stages do you pick?

Spoiler: My list:

Characters:

1. Sonic the Hedgehog
2. Akira Yuki (Virtua Fighter)
3. Alis Landale (Phantasy Star)
4. Joe Musashi (Shinobi)
5. Opa Opa (Fantasy Zone)
6. Alex Kidd
7. Gunstar Red (Gunstar Heroes)
8. Sakura Shinguji (Sakura Wars)
9. Tails (Sonic the Hedgehog) - Unlockable
10. Jacky Bryant (Virtua Fighter) - Unlockable
11. Harrier (Space Harrier) - Unlockable
12. Gillius Thunderhead (Golden Axe) - Unlockable

Stages:

1. Angel Island Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 3)
2. Akira Stage (Virtua Fighter 2)
3. Palma (Phantasy Star)
4. Oboro Village, Ibaraki Province (Revenge of Shinobi)
5. Tabas (Fantasy Zone)
6. Mt. Eternal (Alex Kidd in Miracle World)
7. Flying Battleship (Gunstar Heroes)
8. Imperial Capital Tokyo (Sakura Wars)
9. Green Hill Zone (Mega Drive/Genesis based) (Sonic the Hedgehog)

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

So here's something to do. You know how we speculate about a Sega Smash Bros? So here's the deal:

• Sega Smash Bros. has been released in 1999 on the Sega Saturn.
  • It has 12 characters, 8 Starters, 4 unlockables. The characters it has are Sega characters from before 1998/1999 and no characters from subsidiaries that were gotten during and after 1998/1999, so no Compile, Atlus, Creative Assembly, etc. All of them except for 2 are from different games/franchises while the last 2 characters share the same franchise as two other characters respectively.​
  • It has 9 stages, all of which are from a different starter character franchise except for 1, which is from the same franchise as 1 other stage.​

Which characters and stages do you pick?

Spoiler: My list:

Characters:

1. Sonic the Hedgehog
2. Akira Yuki (Virtua Fighter)
3. Alis Landale (Phantasy Star)
4. Joe Musashi (Shinobi)
5. Opa Opa (Fantasy Zone)
6. Alex Kidd
7. Gunstar Red (Gunstar Heroes)
8. Sakura Shinguji (Sakura Wars)
9. Tails (Sonic the Hedgehog) - Unlockable
10. Jacky Bryant (Virtua Fighter) - Unlockable
11. Harrier (Space Harrier) - Unlockable
12. Gillius Thunderhead (Golden Axe) - Unlockable

Stages:

1. Angel Island Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 3)
2. Akira Stage (Virtua Fighter 2)
3. Palma (Phantasy Star)
4. Oboro Village, Ibaraki Province (Revenge of Shinobi)
5. Tabas (Fantasy Zone)
6. Mt. Eternal (Alex Kidd in Miracle World)
7. Flying Battleship (Gunstar Heroes)
8. Imperial Capital Tokyo (Sakura Wars)
9. Green Hill Zone (Mega Drive/Genesis based) (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Don't quite have a stage list yet but as far as characters...

Spoiler

1. Sonic the Hedgehog
2. Chaz Ashley (Phantasy Star IV)
3. NiGHTS (Nights Into Dreams)
4. Axel Stone (Streets of Rage)
5. Honey (Fighting Vipers)
6. Max (Shining Force I)
7. Akira (Virtua Fighter)
8. Joe Musashi (Shinobi)
9. Goah (Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder) - Unlockable
10. Shou Amabane (Burning Rangers) - Unlockable
11. Dr. Robotnik (Sonic the Hedgehog) - Unlockable
12. Blaze Fielding (Streets of Rage) - Unlockable

 

[HyperSomari64]

So here's something to do. You know how we speculate about a Sega Smash Bros? So here's the deal:

• Sega Smash Bros. has been released in 1999 on the Sega Saturn.
  • It has 12 characters, 8 Starters, 4 unlockables. The characters it has are Sega characters from before 1998/1999 and no characters from subsidiaries that were gotten during and after 1998/1999, so no Compile, Atlus, Creative Assembly, etc. All of them except for 2 are from different games/franchises while the last 2 characters share the same franchise as two other characters respectively.​
  • It has 9 stages, all of which are from a different starter character franchise except for 1, which is from the same franchise as 1 other stage.​

Which characters and stages do you pick?

Spoiler: My list:

Characters:

1. Sonic the Hedgehog
2. Akira Yuki (Virtua Fighter)
3. Alis Landale (Phantasy Star)
4. Joe Musashi (Shinobi)
5. Opa Opa (Fantasy Zone)
6. Alex Kidd
7. Gunstar Red (Gunstar Heroes)
8. Sakura Shinguji (Sakura Wars)
9. Tails (Sonic the Hedgehog) - Unlockable
10. Jacky Bryant (Virtua Fighter) - Unlockable
11. Harrier (Space Harrier) - Unlockable
12. Gillius Thunderhead (Golden Axe) - Unlockable

Stages:

1. Angel Island Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 3)
2. Akira Stage (Virtua Fighter 2)
3. Palma (Phantasy Star)
4. Oboro Village, Ibaraki Province (Revenge of Shinobi)
5. Tabas (Fantasy Zone)
6. Mt. Eternal (Alex Kidd in Miracle World)
7. Flying Battleship (Gunstar Heroes)
8. Imperial Capital Tokyo (Sakura Wars)
9. Green Hill Zone (Mega Drive/Genesis based) (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Will You keep the "Video Game-only" rule like Sakurai or Thorgi's Arcade? Maybe there will be more guest characters.

 

[Nabbitfan730]

The chaos is supposed to come from items and hazards, not characters being gimmickfests. In fact, part of Smash being a "simple party game that anyone can play" IS most of the characters being easy to understand.

Chaos does and should come from the characters too. Characters can be easy to understand AND add to the experience at the same time. Steve may be more complex than the others but there is a certain charm that comes being be hard to learn yet very powerful to master and you don't need to thesis to understand Hero either.

The rising discussion of Arle is very interesting. It feels like she's very common to find on people's likely lists nowadays and it's cool that she's getting so much attention lately!

Ah, i remember when Arle was big name leading up to the 2019's Game Awards were, alongside KOS-MOS, as runner-up for the Smash Announcement that was yet to be. When Speculation was still in a better place. Oh well.

 

[Wonder Smash]

So here's something to do. You know how we speculate about a Sega Smash Bros? So here's the deal:

• Sega Smash Bros. has been released in 1999 on the Sega Saturn.
  • It has 12 characters, 8 Starters, 4 unlockables. The characters it has are Sega characters from before 1998/1999 and no characters from subsidiaries that were gotten during and after 1998/1999, so no Compile, Atlus, Creative Assembly, etc. All of them except for 2 are from different games/franchises while the last 2 characters share the same franchise as two other characters respectively.​
  • It has 9 stages, all of which are from a different starter character franchise except for 1, which is from the same franchise as 1 other stage.​

Which characters and stages do you pick?

Spoiler: My list:

Characters:

1. Sonic the Hedgehog
2. Akira Yuki (Virtua Fighter)
3. Alis Landale (Phantasy Star)
4. Joe Musashi (Shinobi)
5. Opa Opa (Fantasy Zone)
6. Alex Kidd
7. Gunstar Red (Gunstar Heroes)
8. Sakura Shinguji (Sakura Wars)
9. Tails (Sonic the Hedgehog) - Unlockable
10. Jacky Bryant (Virtua Fighter) - Unlockable
11. Harrier (Space Harrier) - Unlockable
12. Gillius Thunderhead (Golden Axe) - Unlockable

Stages:

1. Angel Island Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 3)
2. Akira Stage (Virtua Fighter 2)
3. Palma (Phantasy Star)
4. Oboro Village, Ibaraki Province (Revenge of Shinobi)
5. Tabas (Fantasy Zone)
6. Mt. Eternal (Alex Kidd in Miracle World)
7. Flying Battleship (Gunstar Heroes)
8. Imperial Capital Tokyo (Sakura Wars)
9. Green Hill Zone (Mega Drive/Genesis based) (Sonic the Hedgehog)

It feels kind of strange to speculate on this since SEGA actually did make a crossover fighting game on the Sega Saturn, which was Fighters Megamix.

If we're talking like some kind of party fighter, it probably would've been something more like Power Stone (which I heard was an idea that was pitched to them) and looking at games like Sonic Adventure 2 Battle (specifically, the Shooting Battle) and Sonic Battle, that does seems more fitting.

I don't have a stage list either but as for my list of characters:

Spoiler

1. Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog)
2. Akira Yuki (Virtua Fighter)
3. Joe Musashi (Shinobi)
4. Alis (Phantasy Star)
5. Alex Kidd (Alex Kidd)
6. Opa Opa (Fantasy Zone)
7. Harrier (Space Harrier)
8. Nights (NiGHTS)
9. Tails (Sonic the Hedgehog) - Unlockable
10. Bahn (Fighting Vipers) - Unlockable
11. Sakura (Sakura Wars) - Unlockable
12. Rent-A-Hero (Rent-a-Hero) - Unlockable

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

So here's something to do. You know how we speculate about a Sega Smash Bros? So here's the deal:

• Sega Smash Bros. has been released in 1999 on the Sega Saturn.
  • It has 12 characters, 8 Starters, 4 unlockables. The characters it has are Sega characters from before 1998/1999 and no characters from subsidiaries that were gotten during and after 1998/1999, so no Compile, Atlus, Creative Assembly, etc. All of them except for 2 are from different games/franchises while the last 2 characters share the same franchise as two other characters respectively.​
  • It has 9 stages, all of which are from a different starter character franchise except for 1, which is from the same franchise as 1 other stage.​

Which characters and stages do you pick?

Spoiler: My list:

Characters:

1. Sonic the Hedgehog
2. Akira Yuki (Virtua Fighter)
3. Alis Landale (Phantasy Star)
4. Joe Musashi (Shinobi)
5. Opa Opa (Fantasy Zone)
6. Alex Kidd
7. Gunstar Red (Gunstar Heroes)
8. Sakura Shinguji (Sakura Wars)
9. Tails (Sonic the Hedgehog) - Unlockable
10. Jacky Bryant (Virtua Fighter) - Unlockable
11. Harrier (Space Harrier) - Unlockable
12. Gillius Thunderhead (Golden Axe) - Unlockable

Stages:

1. Angel Island Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 3)
2. Akira Stage (Virtua Fighter 2)
3. Palma (Phantasy Star)
4. Oboro Village, Ibaraki Province (Revenge of Shinobi)
5. Tabas (Fantasy Zone)
6. Mt. Eternal (Alex Kidd in Miracle World)
7. Flying Battleship (Gunstar Heroes)
8. Imperial Capital Tokyo (Sakura Wars)
9. Green Hill Zone (Mega Drive/Genesis based) (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Well, here's my take at the very least... albeit only the fighters, I've not gotten around to the stages yet. My main thought process is that this'd be a 3D fighter similar in appearance to something like Virtua Fighter or Fighting Vipers, but in practice this meant I also only wanted to focus on humanoid characters (hence, no Opa-Opa, I'm deeply sorry.)

1. Sonic is in the latter stages of his classic design, in spite of the modern look existing at this point. Not much to mention on him if I'm honest - given he was in Sonic the Fighters, he'd be a little similar here.
2. Gilius Thunderhead is our beat-em-up rep who I reckon would have been more likely than Axel Stone at this time in terms of being picked. Plus, his fantastical nature and abilities would lend well to this visual style. As for why him over Ax Battler... uniqueness, for the most part, and his reoccuring appearances.
3. Nei is the Phantasy Star rep, being a particularly popular character from the classic series. Sure, she might be from the second game (which is a little dated by this point), but I think she'd fit well in this game.
4. Sakura Shinguji is a more modern rep from a series (Sakura Wars) that's, at this time, doing pretty well! Not much to note on her, I just think she'd be a particularly good fit for this.
5. Kage-Maru is our first Virtua Fighter rep who's pretty much ported from the second game - no notes, really. I picked him over Akira because I think he's arguably just as iconic, plus elements of Akira's moveset can be seen in... someone else.
6. NiGHTS is another obvious Saturn rep who I wouldn't have too many notes on either, aside from noting that their alternate costume would be Christmas NiGHTS as opposed to Reala.
7. Bruno Delinger is probably the roster's wild-card, but I think he's justified given the popularity of Die Hard Arcade (or, as it was released in the US, Dynamite Cop.) He'd also be named Bruno Delinger worldwide, though, including in Japan. He'd be cool.
8. Bahn is picked as pretty much the protagonist of the Fighting Vipers franchise, though he functionally replaces Akira in that sense. Not much to note, he's pretty much ported from Fighting Vipers.
9. Knuckles is unlockable, and him being chosen is partially because he's got a similar skeleton to Sonic, plus he's got plenty of moveset potential focusing on his physicality. Again, he similarly is a lot like his Sonic the Fighters counterpart.
10. Keil Fluge is another Saturn rep, though he's not accompanied by a dragon at this point. Even so, I think Panzer Dragoon is important enough to justify being here, even as an unlockable character.
11. Pai Chan is our second Virtua Fighter rep, picked partially because I think her moveset could be interesting, but because she'd also be a nice departure from the American Bryants (compared to Bruno Delinger.)
12. Alex Kidd is the last unlockable fighter, picked as a retro rep and predominantly inspired by the older games with a couple of weird properties and mechanics in which he grows his hands whilst attacking with janken poses.

I think this could be good. Even if it'd be bizarre to see it in 1999, considering the Dreamcast is literally on the cusp of release.

 

[Ivander]

Will You keep the "Video Game-only" rule like Sakurai or Thorgi's Arcade? Maybe there will be more guest characters.

For this scenario, yes it's Video Game-only.

I think this could be good. Even if it'd be bizarre to see it in 1999, considering the Dreamcast is literally on the cusp of release.

I did 1999 because that's when the original Super Smash Bros. was released. I mean, I did try to make it a bit of a "What-if it was Sega rather than Nintendo" scenario.

 

[Speed Weed]

So here's something to do. You know how we speculate about a Sega Smash Bros? So here's the deal:

• Sega Smash Bros. has been released in 1999 on the Sega Saturn.
  • It has 12 characters, 8 Starters, 4 unlockables. The characters it has are Sega characters from before 1998/1999 and no characters from subsidiaries that were gotten during and after 1998/1999, so no Compile, Atlus, Creative Assembly, etc. All of them except for 2 are from different games/franchises while the last 2 characters share the same franchise as two other characters respectively.​
  • It has 9 stages, all of which are from a different starter character franchise except for 1, which is from the same franchise as 1 other stage.​

Which characters and stages do you pick?

Spoiler: My list:

Characters:

1. Sonic the Hedgehog
2. Akira Yuki (Virtua Fighter)
3. Alis Landale (Phantasy Star)
4. Joe Musashi (Shinobi)
5. Opa Opa (Fantasy Zone)
6. Alex Kidd
7. Gunstar Red (Gunstar Heroes)
8. Sakura Shinguji (Sakura Wars)
9. Tails (Sonic the Hedgehog) - Unlockable
10. Jacky Bryant (Virtua Fighter) - Unlockable
11. Harrier (Space Harrier) - Unlockable
12. Gillius Thunderhead (Golden Axe) - Unlockable

Stages:

1. Angel Island Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 3)
2. Akira Stage (Virtua Fighter 2)
3. Palma (Phantasy Star)
4. Oboro Village, Ibaraki Province (Revenge of Shinobi)
5. Tabas (Fantasy Zone)
6. Mt. Eternal (Alex Kidd in Miracle World)
7. Flying Battleship (Gunstar Heroes)
8. Imperial Capital Tokyo (Sakura Wars)
9. Green Hill Zone (Mega Drive/Genesis based) (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Aight here's mine:

Spoiler: sega smash brudda

1. Sonic the Hedgehog (...)
2. Akira Yuki (Virtua Fighter)
3. Alis Landale (Phantasy Star)
4. Sakura Shinguji (Sakura Wars)
5. NiGHTS (...)
6. Honey (Fighting Vipers)
7. Temjin (Cyber Troopers Virtual-ON)
8. Gilius Thunderhead (Golden Axe)
9. Miles "Tails" Prower (Sonic the Hedgehog)
10. Nei (Phantasy Star II)
11. Alex Kidd (...)
12. Opa-Opa (Fantasy Zone)

A few notes:

-I tried to place a focus on Saturn and arcade-era properties, since these were the most prominent at the time - so for example, Akira, Honey and Temjin are picked to represent SEGA's 3D arcade heyday, Sakura and NiGHTS are there for being some of the biggest titles on the Saturn, Gilius is picked over something like Streets of Rage due to Golden Axe's arcade pedigree and the fact that SoJ references it more often, stuff like that.
-Nei was picked as the second "second rep" due to offering something very stylistically and mechanically different from Alis, and to have another sort of fun nostalgic pick
-I tried to keep it to "core" SEGA properties for this first installment, since I figured it'd be best to start off by playing it safe with stuff they directly own and developed as opposed to having to get permission for certain non-inhouse SEGA properties. What this means is no Treasure or Westone characters or anything of the sort for now. Sakura technically would fall into this due to RED Company's involvement, but I decided to make an exception for her due to the current success of the IP and the fact that it was still partially developed in-house.
-Some series' that came close to making it included Panzer Dragoon (outprioritized by other Saturn reps), House of the Dead (figured it was still a teensy bit too new), and Shining Force (it was between them and Gilius, and Gilius got the nod to beef up the arcade representation and also because Camelot had like, just parted ways from SEGA at this point so I figured it might be better to hold off until future installments when the wound wasn't as fresh. Also I already had Alis as the "fantasy swordsman" archetype)

 

[DarthEnderX]

You know how we speculate about a Sega Smash Bros?

...no?

Will You keep the "Video Game-only" rule like Sakurai or Thorgi's Arcade? Maybe there will be more guest characters.

If Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is any indication, Sega would not restrain themselves in such a way.

 

[Ivander]

...no?

Obviously not for real, but we have discussed before what if Sakurai made Smash Bros. for Sega and speculated what characters he would have chosen. Most notably after we found and talked about his Phantasy Star 2 award.

 

[HyperSomari64]

For this scenario, yes it's Video Game-only.

There goes my dream of having Evander Holyfield into the trash.

 

[Hydreigonfan01]

master Chef

Gordon Ramsay is making it to Smash 6?!

 

[Wonder Smash]

I think this could be good. Even if it'd be bizarre to see it in 1999, considering the Dreamcast is literally on the cusp of release.

I was thinking the same thing. 1999 but on the Saturn instead of the Dreamcast? That seems kind of...awkward.

There goes my dream of having Evander Holyfield into the trash.

For a boxing character? SEGA has Kid "KO" Crusher for that. It'd be cool if they brought him back somehow.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

I was thinking the same thing. 1999 but on the Saturn instead of the Dreamcast? That seems kind of...awkward.



For a boxing character? SEGA has Kid "KO" Crusher for that. It'd be cool if they brought him back somehow.

Hey, if we're having Sega boxers for inclusion, we gotta go to the 1976 OG:

 

[Wonder Smash]

Hey, if we're having Sega boxers for inclusion, we gotta go to the 1976 OG:

I don't think those characters even had names back then.

But they're all part of the same series, so I just pick Kid Crusher as the rep for both games.

 

[Sucumbio]

We had a blast with Greatest Heavyweights on Genesis back in the day. Rocky Marciano was broken.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

...no?

If Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is any indication, Sega would not restrain themselves in such a way.

Ah my favorite videogame character

Danica nascar

 

[Louie G.]

I feel like understandably third parties are the hot button issue for the future of Smash, but I'm curious to know where everyone is standing on some of the first party franchises that have seen substantial growth during the Switch era. Namely I feel like Animal Crossing, Splatoon, Pikmin and Xenoblade are some of the series to watch. Do you guys feel like there's room for any substantial roster growth for these IPs next time around (or others that I didn't mention) or will this manifest more in non-playable content / stages?

Personally I feel like Tom Nook and Octoling are no-brainers for next Smash the same way Isabelle and Inkling were for Ultimate, since they will continue to be extremely relevant to their series no matter what - Nook would probably be completely original, but Octoling could go a number of ways from alternate costume, to echo fighter to even a Wolf-esque fighter with a similar skeleton but totally different weapons. But from there, there's obviously been discussion about Xenoblade 3 - which I'm less convinced about, mostly because we could easily see another new Xenoblade game by the time we hear news of a new Smash, and any talk of Mio and Noah will probably fizzle out in favor of the new kids on the block.

Pikmin is weird, although I believe you may as well make the new captain an alt if you're gonna keep Alph in his current position. Might be cute to do a thing where they're riding around on Oatchi if they want to aim for something original, I haven't played Pikmin 4 yet though so I can't comment on this too much... I just like Oatchi a lot. I've also had dreams of just outright playing as a Bulborb, if they wanted to be extra silly.

More abstractly, I'd actually love to see them tackle someone like DJ Octavio or even one of the Idols for Splatoon (or a team?). Definitely a harder sell, but we've seen them do crazier - I've become really keen on the idea of Octavio as a MODOK sort of fighter. And any member of Deep Cut would be tremendously fun in my opinion... maybe let's pull a Min Min and make Shiver playable for winning that last Splatfest (LOL)? Anyway, I'm curious what everyone has been feeling about these guys who feel like they've been the big winners / upward climbers of the last console era.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

I feel like understandably third parties are the hot button issue for the future of Smash, but I'm curious to know where everyone is standing on some of the first party franchises that have seen substantial growth during the Switch era. Namely I feel like Animal Crossing, Splatoon, Pikmin and Xenoblade are some of the series to watch. Do you guys feel like there's room for any substantial roster growth for these IPs next time around (or others that I didn't mention) or will this manifest more in non-playable content / stages?

I feel like Animal crossing is fine as is, it doesnt seem like it really needs more than what it has in Ultimate, maybe a new stage based on the setting of new horizons?

Splatoon could do with a new stage, one that's actually fun to play on. Maybe they could listen too fan demand and make the Octoling an echo.

Pikmin most likely wont get anything substantial, but i would like it if Oatchi became a second character, i think there's enough material to work with there.

Xenoblade is definitely going to be like Fire emblem/Pokemon/Mario and they keep adding new characters, since it's just that popular now.

 

[Geno Boost]

So here's something to do. You know how we speculate about a Sega Smash Bros? So here's the deal:

• Sega Smash Bros. has been released in 1999 on the Sega Saturn.
  • It has 12 characters, 8 Starters, 4 unlockables. The characters it has are Sega characters from before 1998/1999 and no characters from subsidiaries that were gotten during and after 1998/1999, so no Compile, Atlus, Creative Assembly, etc. All of them except for 2 are from different games/franchises while the last 2 characters share the same franchise as two other characters respectively.​
  • It has 9 stages, all of which are from a different starter character franchise except for 1, which is from the same franchise as 1 other stage.​

Which characters and stages do you pick?

Spoiler: My list:

Characters:

1. Sonic the Hedgehog
2. Akira Yuki (Virtua Fighter)
3. Alis Landale (Phantasy Star)
4. Joe Musashi (Shinobi)
5. Opa Opa (Fantasy Zone)
6. Alex Kidd
7. Gunstar Red (Gunstar Heroes)
8. Sakura Shinguji (Sakura Wars)
9. Tails (Sonic the Hedgehog) - Unlockable
10. Jacky Bryant (Virtua Fighter) - Unlockable
11. Harrier (Space Harrier) - Unlockable
12. Gillius Thunderhead (Golden Axe) - Unlockable

Stages:

1. Angel Island Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 3)
2. Akira Stage (Virtua Fighter 2)
3. Palma (Phantasy Star)
4. Oboro Village, Ibaraki Province (Revenge of Shinobi)
5. Tabas (Fantasy Zone)
6. Mt. Eternal (Alex Kidd in Miracle World)
7. Flying Battleship (Gunstar Heroes)
8. Imperial Capital Tokyo (Sakura Wars)
9. Green Hill Zone (Mega Drive/Genesis based) (Sonic the Hedgehog)

my pick would be

	Tails	Knuckles	Akira (Virtual Fighters)	Jacky (Virtual Fighters)	Alex Kidd
Sakura (Sakura Wars)	Opa-Opa (Fantasy Zone)	Alis (Phantasy Star)	Max (Shining Force)	Nights	Vectorman

you know you just reminded me that i made sega smash ultimate version roster before

 

[CannonStreak]

my pick would be

	Tails	Knuckles	Akira (Virtual Fighters)	Jacky (Virtual Fighters)	Alex Kidd
Sakura (Sakura Wars)	Opa-Opa (Fantasy Zone)	Alis (Phantasy Star)	Max (Shining Force)	Nights	Vectorman

you know you just reminded me that i made sega smash ultimate version roster before

Who is the guy with the one eyeball at the bottom-middle part of the roster?

 

[Geno Boost]

Who is the guy with the one eyeball at the bottom-middle part of the roster?

suezo from monster rancher

 

[92MilesPrower]

Who is the guy with the one eyeball at the bottom-middle part of the roster?

That's Suezo from Monster Rancher.

Edit: 'd

 

[CannonStreak]

suezo from monster rancher

That's Suezo from Monster Rancher.

Oh, okay. I would not say that is a bad choice for a guest character there.

 

[SPEN18]

I feel like Animal crossing is fine as is, it doesnt seem like it really needs more than what it has in Ultimate, maybe a new stage based on the setting of new horizons?

Splatoon could do with a new stage, one that's actually fun to play on. Maybe they could listen too fan demand and make the Octoling an echo.

Pikmin most likely wont get anything substantial, but i would like it if Oatchi became a second character, i think there's enough material to work with there.

Xenoblade is definitely going to be like Fire emblem/Pokemon/Mario and they keep adding new characters, since it's just that popular now.

Animal Crossing is fine as-is and Splatoon maybe gets an Echo but Xenoblade gets a continuous stream of reps? That doesn't seem right.

--

People are really underestimating AC, which is absolutely bonkers given how consistently well it's been doing. This series just did 40mil copies. They will find a moveset for at least one of its characters, plain and simple.
Splatoon definitely gets acknowledged, but I still see a lot of "just make an Echo and call it good" takes, which I don't think are the right way to look at it. We could easily see unique Octoling, or clone Octoling alongside another Splatoon rep.

 

[Louie G.]

People are really underestimating AC, which is absolutely bonkers given how consistently well it's been doing. This series just did 40mil copies. They will find a moveset for at least one of its characters, plain and simple.

I straight up believe Tom Nook is the most important Nintendo character missing from the roster right now, averaging out both general recognition and his significance within his own (hugely popular) series. By many people's metrics, Isabelle wasn't necessary either because Villager already represented the fundamental ideas behind Animal Crossing so well. For what it's worth, I was arguing that Isabelle would be her own unique character from day one. Isabelle and Tom Nook are pretty much of equal standing post New Horizons, sharing the spotlight as the face of the series and I suspect it will continue this way.

Personally I think giving Tom Nook a bit more of a "boujee" edge, that rich guy from a country club attitude, where he can use more luxurious vacation items and swing around bags full of bells on top of essentially pulling some ideas from Tanooki Mario is more than enough basis to work with. At its worst, which isn't even a bad thing, I feel like the AC characters can parallel the way the Star Fox gang is differentiated.

Splatoon definitely gets acknowledged, but I still see a lot of "just make an Echo and call it good" takes, which I don't think are the right way to look at it. We could easily see unique Octoling, or clone Octoling alongside another Splatoon rep.

Splatoon is odd because I feel like its major supporting players require you to be a bit more creative to envision working in Smash. I personally believe they are more than capable of being that creative, and we are too. Would love to see more people cooking up concepts for Octavio and the Idols like I mentioned before, I'm still not entirely sure what direction they would want to take but I also think starting and ending with Octoling is selling it short.

 

[Schnee117]

Splatoon can easily get two unique characters next time to be honest.
Octoling can go the route of Wolf and heavily use Inklings as a solid base but have more than enough alterations through using different weapons and items to be considered a unique fighter and then you can add Octavio or one of the Idol groups on top of that.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

Who is the guy with the one eyeball at the bottom-middle part of the roster?

His name is Suezo

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

Honestly, I'd say Tom Nook and Octoling are pretty safe choices if the next Smash sort of continues where Ultimate left off, though when it comes to the Animal Crossing, Splatoon, Pikmin and Xenoblade franchises, I reckon they're more likely to get non-fighter representation (ie, new stages, music, etc.) compared to more "hype" picks that are, like, guaranteed to sell copies (so predominantly third-party picks of note.) I'd be surprised not to see a new Splatoon stage at the very least, though.

 

[Garteam]

I straight up believe Tom Nook is the most important Nintendo character missing from the roster right now, averaging out both general recognition and his significance within his own (hugely popular) series.

Toad is typing...

 

[Louie G.]

Toad is typing...

No disrespect to Toad - and really Animal Crossing is kinda hard to compare to Mario in this respect, they have totally different goals - but I feel like Tom Nook is more essential to representing Animal Crossing than Toad is for Mario. Isabelle and Nook are the mascots of the franchise whereas Toad gets outclassed by at least the main four, which already has your core protagonists and antagonist laid out. Mario / Luigi / Peach / Bowser feels fairly complete to me whereas Villager and Isabelle are still missing that one final pillar. After that I think AC is pretty much set.

Although maybe I'm also just of this mindset because we've gone so long without Toad, and I've completely given up hope that he'll be added to Smash on his own. I feel like Captain Toad might be his best bet to give him a strong "hook" and allow him to be reconsidered. But I do feel like as important as he is, he's more like the most important "supporting" role than a main character absence, IMO. Regardless, he should still be in the game by now.

 

[fogbadge]

No disrespect to Toad

well that alone lost me

 

[Noipoi]

Yo, real talk.

Will the Mario RPG remake really help Geno's chances if getting in the next game? Will it finally be his turn