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Personally I really like Isabelle, Roy or Wolf style semi clones. Each of them are distinct enough to feel very different even if their inspirations are clearly derivative.
That said, just because the developers have resorted to semi clones does that mean that there isn't more moveset potential within those franchises' casts. Tom Nook can be unique. Krystal can be unique. And lots of Fire Emblem characters can be unique.
I disagree when it comes to some of the remaining options.
To stick to Tom Nook for a minute, there's already precedent for how he could work in a platform fighter, and that's by being this game's version of Business Casual Man from Slap City. He'd basically have a bell meter, and by landing certain attacks he'd get more money, while his stronger kill options would have him spend that money. This would also set him completely apart from Villager and Isabelle by necessitating a more aggressive, combo-heavy playstyle in order to accrue bells. And to go further, you could spend those bells on permanent upgrades to your moveset, making him a character that thrives off of rhythmic momentum to give himself a way to stay ahead.
He doesn't have to stick to the mold established by Villager and Isabelle.
Most of all? Banjo-Kazooie beehives. You have to pay attention if they have swarms in them or not. They give health either way, but they might also let out swarms of bees to sting you!
Other than that… idk maybe some of the extra weapons from Bayonetta she doesn’t use in her moveset? Maybe different kinds of Materia that give you appropriate passive bufs or even let you cast spells? E-Tanks or Health Pickups from Mega Man?
Personally I feel like it would be nice to have more supplementary Fire Emblem characters, part of why the lineup feels boring is that "main character syndrome". Many of them feel flat or similar in general personality or appearance because they fulfill a similar role in their game. Then you look toward Fire Emblem's AT lineup, where you have series mainstay Tiki and Ike's rival in the Black Knight, and that feels like a far more exciting and diverse group of characters to me. I think the true rut FE has gotten itself into is pigeonholing itself into that one exclusive type of character.
I don't see how the protagonists in FE are any less interesting. Personally I think the older protagonists were already different enough, I mean there were some mage types like Celica and Micaiah; some that represented different weapon types like Hector or Ephraim; some with different styles of fighting even if they were mostly swordplay like Eirika, Lyn, or Ike; some that were mounted like Sigurd; and some whose weapons had unique effects like Roy and Leif. And I thought of all that within like 10 seconds. But starting with Awakening/Fates I think IS has even consciously tried to go out of their way to make sure the protagonist has special abilities like Corrin's transformation or Byleth's whip sword.
The complaints about FE heroes being too generic are largely just lack of knowledge, stereotyping, or surface-level observations that don't even apply to everyone like "many of them have blue hair" or "many of them are nobles/princes."
How is Tiki more diverse than Corrin? How is BK more diverse than, say, Lyn or Eirika?
The actual fact is that many series would die to have the character diversity that FE has just within its protagonists.
If we don’t get a Dixie moveset utilizing the animal buddies as specials, I’d love to see them get in as rideable assist trophy like characters. That’s one aspect of the DKC games I feel was never really represented well in Smash.
I don't see how the protagonists in FE are any less interesting. Personally I think the older protagonists were already different enough, I mean there were some mage types like Celica and Micaiah; some that represented different weapon types like Hector or Ephraim; some with different styles of fighting even if they were mostly swordplay like Eirika, Lyn, or Ike; some that were mounted like Sigurd; and some whose weapons had unique effects like Roy and Leif. And I thought of all that within like 10 seconds. But starting with Awakening/Fates I think IS has even consciously tried to go out of their way to make sure the protagonist has special abilities like Corrin's transformation or Byleth's whip sword (even to the extent that certain pockets of fans have complained about the avatars no longer being more "ordinary" or relatable human characters).
The complaints about FE heroes being too generic are largely just lack of knowledge, stereotyping, or surface-level observations that don't even apply to everyone like "many of them have blue hair" or "many of them are nobles/princes."
How is Tiki more diverse than Corrin? How is BK more diverse than, say, Lyn or Eirika?
The actual fact is that most series would die to have the character diversity that FE has just within its protagonists.
My biggest complaint with resorting to only Fire Emblem lords is just personal preference. First, I’ve never really been a big fan of silent avatar characters which the recent lords tend to be, particularly Byleth. Second, my favorite characters are almost never the main characters, Fire Emblem or otherwise. Of the FE games I’ve played, my favorite characters have been Naesala, Lucia, Soren, the Black Knight, Tharja, Lon’qu, Rhinka, Rhajat, Shamir, Petra, Katherine, Felix, and Bernadetta, none of which were lords. I also liked Dimitri and Edelgard a good amount but not quite as much as the others I mentioned. Like I mentioned before, the way a character plays is pretty far down on my list of reasons for liking any particular Fire Emblem character.
My biggest complaint with resorting to only Fire Emblem lords is just personal preference. First, I’ve never really been a big fan of silent avatar characters which the recent lords tend to be, particularly Byleth. Second, my favorite characters are almost never the main characters, Fire Emblem or otherwise. Of the FE games I’ve played, my favorite characters have been Naesala, Lucia, Soren, the Black Knight, Tharja, Lon’qu, Rhinka, Rhajat, Shamir, Petra, Katherine, Felix, and Bernadetta, none of which were lords. I also liked Dimitri and Edelgard a good amount but not quite as much as the others I mentioned. Like I mentioned before, the way a character plays is pretty far down on my list of reasons for liking any particular Fire Emblem character.
It's fine to like or prefer other characters, I mean my favorite FE character is Barst for crying out loud. But the protagonists aren't less diverse or interesting by any concrete measure.
It's fine to like or prefer other characters, I mean my favorite FE character is Barst for crying out loud. But the protagonists aren't less diverse or interesting by any concrete measure.
True enough. The recent lords at least have very unique gameplay styles despite me not caring for them as much as characters. I think Robin was actually a pretty good example for how to do avatar characters right (in my opinion). I also feel like Shez is a much more interesting character than Byleth. I suppose it all depends on what you value in a character but I agree that gameplay variety isn’t really a problem. I just personally prefer to have the major archetypes covered before doing too many other completely original lord designs but, again, that’s just personal preference.
Fire Emblem is a series with SEVENTEEN mainline games that has consistently released them since the Famicom/NES days. I feel its representation in Smash is well deserved
1) Other series on roster from Nintendo that has a lot more games with lot more recognition that still somehow have less,
2) Doesn't help that FE characters aren't that distinct design-wise and especially playstyle-wise. Other than Ike, Corrin and Byleth. Most are Marth and his many derivations.
The fact that FE has 3rd biggest set of characters in Smash just behind Mario and Pokemon and above series like Zelda, Kirby, DK. Yeah the ire is justified,
Idk why most fans, not you specifically, are eager to dismiss this criticism.
Out of curiosity, I'd like to pose a query to you all with this sort of thing in mind - because let's be honest, I don't think new first-party picks would be a huge deal in some sort of third fighter's pass compared to third-party picks like, idk, Reimu, Doomguy or Jesus Christ from The Bible Game.
If Nintendo had finalised the documentation for a hypothetical Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Deluxe, in which the roster is brought from 89 to 100 (including all previous DLC picks and whatnot) and also decided to announce it today, which eleven picks do you feel would be likely to see in a project of that ilk? I'd love to see your thoughts!
For a quick rundown and explanations,
Tom Nook would be a unique fighter who'd predominantly have a more laid-back vibe compared to Villager or Isabelle, and whilst he wouldn't have access to the Pocket, he would have a lot of moves centred around furniture and the like to give him more outright power and range, at the cost of a little less speed and manouverability.
Framme & Clanne are the token Fire Emblem flavour-of-the-month reps, chosen because Engage is the most recent game. Whilst Alear is probably the obvious (and objectively correct) pick, I think it'd be interesting to have these two given their prominent early-game role. In terms of gameplay, you play as Framme using her brawling skills, but Clanne (in the background) can be used to cast spells or provide buffs.
Gholdengo is the token Pokémon rep for Generation 9 (skipping over Generation 8, unfortunately) and is chosen partially because of its notable placement in the Pokédex, the marketing surrounding it, and a desire to have someone a little unique in the roster. Note how I mentioned Tom Nook has more of a focus on furniture - that's because the money-centric moveset goes to Gholdengo.
Sidon is the pick I'm suggesting for the Zelda series, because whilst I agree that the series would benefit from the first wholly new character since (technically) Melee, I think Sidon's actually in a good spot for this - being a prominent side character in both BotW and TotK with a large following and generally a cool design. His moveset would focus on his use of a trident, as well as his ability to control water.
Mio is the last wholly new first-party pick, chosen because I think Xenoblade Chronicles 3 does warrant a character... plus, her fighting style and vibe would be a lot more unique than Noah's. That said, for her Final Smash, Noah of course would arrive to allow the pair to become an Ouroboros. As for her general fighting style - her discs would lend well to an up-close scrapper of sorts, though I imagine she could possibly throw them in a TRON-like manner.
Louie (Olimar ε) is our first of two Echo Fighters, I think Louie is more than justified in this role and would make a lot of sense. He's heavier and a bit slower than Olimar, representing his lazier nature, as well as featuring a slightly different hitbox. He also has a few new moves here and there (namely, Swooping Snitchbug as his up special and a couple of others), but is otherwise pretty similar on a conceptual level.
Octoling (Inkling ε) is a little more like Ken, in that whilst they share similar attributes and a skeleton to Inkling (as well as the Ink mechanic), many of their attacks are completely different, using different weapons and animations. However, many of them tend to fulfil a similar enough role. Octoling's generally a little less focused on the excitement of Inkling, and more focused on precision and professionalism. Perhaps controversially, their default design will be from Splatoon 3, though Agent 10008 as seen in Octo Expansion will of course be an alt (similar to how Agent 3 was an alt for Inkling.)
Bub is our first third-party character, picked for a few reasons. Firstly, the inclusion of both Hero and Sephiroth indicate that Square Enix are willing to play ball - but more prominently, Bub would be our representative for Taito, perhaps one of the biggest missing areas in the Smash series' general representation. Plus, I think he could have a really fun moveset involving elements from both Bubble Bobble and Puzzle Bobble.
Arle is our second third-party newcomer, picked because of the long-lasting popularity and prominence of the Puyo Puyo series, as well as the ability to represent SEGA a little more beyond just Sonic and then Atlus and technically Platinum Games. Plus, she'd have a massive amount of potential given her puzzle game origins (and isn't limited, like Dr. Mario, to being a semi-clone), not to mention her magical skills from the Madou Monogatari series.
Hunter, specifically in their Rise design, is my third third-party pick. I think Capcom makes a lot of sense here, but including another Street Fighter character felt a little foolish, and whilst another Mega Man pick could be fun, I decided against it. Plus, Hunter has a lot of potential given their use of seemingly all kinds of weapons, allies, and tools, such as the newly-added Wirebug! Oh, and give them gender alts and alts with different armour types, too.
Ryu Hayabusa is my last pick, someone I think people would appreciate. Koei-Tecmo are already playing ball with Smash as is, but haven't added much of their own stuff into the game as of yet - so, Ryu, as a classic Nintendo icon and someone with continuing relevance through the modern reboots, makes a lot of sense. Perhaps controversially, I'd suggest his moveset should take more from the reboots with minor elements from the classic games, with his classic alt as an alternate, secondary costume. It'd give him a little breathing room compared to both Simon and Mega Man (two other NES-era characters kind of saddled with the idea of "representing their game's playstyle".)
To be frank with you, I think we're just looking at this from different angles and I respect that. Your assertion is objectively correct, all of the non-echo FE characters play totally different and have unique mechanics. None of them are functionally similar, looking at it from this fighting style, in game function angle - which is ultimately what matters in the end - I have no issues with the roster or what you're saying.
I don't think Smash does FE justice from a characterization perspective. Corrin for example has a really fun moveset, but I get nothing from them as a character. They say robotic lines like "good" and "I won", there isn't a lot for me to dig into. There isn't a character there informing the way they act or fight. Back in Melee, Marth really stood out as this stuffy elequent swordsman because he was among so many zany, colorful characters with outgoing personalities, and his playstyle felt exactly in tune with the way he acted. He felt so cool and unique, and then Roy / Ike built on that with a more brutish fighting style to compliment their fiery design and large build respectively, and that worked magic against Marth's daintiness. That's the kind of contrast and variety that I had in mind initially. In my dumb, very subjective and very personal perspective it disappoints me that some of FE's picks lack so much charisma, because I've played enough to realize there are extremely fun and memorable characters in there and they've dropped the ball on the last two for me. It may sound silly but I wasn't trying to present this as the objective way everyone should feel.
So I just have to fess up and say my way of talking about variety and character might be different than yours, and I think yours is more important. I'm just obsessed with looking at fighting game rosters as a little dysfunctional family with a lot of fun dynamics and contrast to be had, the kind of stuff that Capcom does incredibly well but hasn't been much of a focus for Smash in quite a while. And I love when the way a character acts informs the way they fight. I think unique movesets are worthwhile, like yeah literally the most important thing, but I also believe Sakurai could make anyone fun. So I'd rather play as a unique character with a fun or identifiable personality than a unique character with none. That's all really.
On a more positive note, I truly love Chrom because despite being a scrapped together character I appreciate the little things like how he apologizes for plummeting to his death. He's a goofy dad and I think he's awesome, plus one of the most fun characters with potential to pull off absolutely stupid plays. So despite being an echo Chrom is someone who I've found a lot of enjoyment in from both fronts. And then there's Robin, his role as a strategist feels synonymous with his moveset and core mechanic. You have to play smart and make tough decisions to utilize your limited resources. Robin doesn't have the most "fun" personality but it feels very well plotted out and there's a synergy there. So it's certainly not every character for me, or even most of them.
Out of curiosity, I'd like to pose a query to you all with this sort of thing in mind - because let's be honest, I don't think new first-party picks would be a huge deal in some sort of third fighter's pass compared to third-party picks like, idk, Reimu, Doomguy or Jesus Christ from The Bible Game.
If Nintendo had finalised the documentation for a hypothetical Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Deluxe, in which the roster is brought from 89 to 100 (including all previous DLC picks and whatnot) and also decided to announce it today, which eleven picks do you feel would be likely to see in a project of that ilk? I'd love to see your thoughts!
For a quick rundown and explanations,
Tom Nook would be a unique fighter who'd predominantly have a more laid-back vibe compared to Villager or Isabelle, and whilst he wouldn't have access to the Pocket, he would have a lot of moves centred around furniture and the like to give him more outright power and range, at the cost of a little less speed and manouverability.
Framme & Clanne are the token Fire Emblem flavour-of-the-month reps, chosen because Engage is the most recent game. Whilst Alear is probably the obvious (and objectively correct) pick, I think it'd be interesting to have these two given their prominent early-game role. In terms of gameplay, you play as Framme using her brawling skills, but Clanne (in the background) can be used to cast spells or provide buffs.
Gholdengo is the token Pokémon rep for Generation 9 (skipping over Generation 8, unfortunately) and is chosen partially because of its notable placement in the Pokédex, the marketing surrounding it, and a desire to have someone a little unique in the roster. Note how I mentioned Tom Nook has more of a focus on furniture - that's because the money-centric moveset goes to Gholdengo.
Sidon is the pick I'm suggesting for the Zelda series, because whilst I agree that the series would benefit from the first wholly new character since (technically) Melee, I think Sidon's actually in a good spot for this - being a prominent side character in both BotW and TotK with a large following and generally a cool design. His moveset would focus on his use of a trident, as well as his ability to control water.
Mio is the last wholly new first-party pick, chosen because I think Xenoblade Chronicles 3 does warrant a character... plus, her fighting style and vibe would be a lot more unique than Noah's. That said, for her Final Smash, Noah of course would arrive to allow the pair to become an Ouroboros. As for her general fighting style - her discs would lend well to an up-close scrapper of sorts, though I imagine she could possibly throw them in a TRON-like manner.
Louie (Olimar ε) is our first of two Echo Fighters, I think Louie is more than justified in this role and would make a lot of sense. He's heavier and a bit slower than Olimar, representing his lazier nature, as well as featuring a slightly different hitbox. He also has a few new moves here and there (namely, Swooping Snitchbug as his up special and a couple of others), but is otherwise pretty similar on a conceptual level.
Octoling (Inkling ε) is a little more like Ken, in that whilst they share similar attributes and a skeleton to Inkling (as well as the Ink mechanic), many of their attacks are completely different, using different weapons and animations. However, many of them tend to fulfil a similar enough role. Octoling's generally a little less focused on the excitement of Inkling, and more focused on precision and professionalism.
Bub is our first third-party character, picked for a few reasons. Firstly, the inclusion of both Hero and Sephiroth indicate that Square Enix are willing to play ball - but more prominently, Bub would be our representative for Taito, perhaps one of the biggest missing areas in the Smash series' general representation. Plus, I think he could have a really fun moveset involving elements from both Bubble Bobble and Puzzle Bobble.
Arle is our second third-party newcomer, picked because of the long-lasting popularity and prominence of the Puyo Puyo series, as well as the ability to represent SEGA a little more beyond just Sonic and then Atlus and technically Platinum Games. Plus, she'd have a massive amount of potential given her puzzle game origins (and isn't limited, like Dr. Mario, to being a semi-clone), not to mention her magical skills from the Madou Monogatari series.
Hunter, specifically in their Rise design, is my third third-party pick. I think Capcom makes a lot of sense here, but including another Street Fighter character felt a little foolish, and whilst another Mega Man pick could be fun, I decided against it. Plus, Hunter has a lot of potential given their use of seemingly all kinds of weapons, allies, and tools, such as the newly-added Wirebug! Oh, and give them gender alts and alts with different armour types, too.
Ryu Hayabusa is my last pick, someone I think people would appreciate. Koei-Tecmo are already playing ball with Smash as is, but haven't added much of their own stuff into the game as of yet - so, Ryu, as a classic Nintendo icon and someone with continuing relevance through the modern reboots, makes a lot of sense. Perhaps controversially, I'd suggest his moveset should take more from the reboots with minor elements from the classic games, with his classic alt as an alternate, secondary costume. It'd give him a little breathing room compared to both Simon and Mega Man (two other NES-era characters kind of saddled with the idea of "representing their game's playstyle".)
1. Raven Beak: a mix of Samus and Ridley.
2. Gen 8 or 9 Pokemon: Cinderace as a leg boxer that kicks a fiery soccer ball, Urshifu has 2 battle styles you have to pick before starting a match, Meowscarada as a magician that does magician tricks, or Gholdengo using money moves and ghost moves.
3. Noah: Has his sword at the start, but can change to Zepyhr class at any time
4. Ayumi Tachibana: The gag character of the game with references to her classes she attended to and throws sleeping pills
5. Louie/Britney: Echo of Olimar/Alph. Instead of Purple and White Pikmin, they have Rock and Ice Pikmin and the final smash is Glowmob.
6. Octoling: Echo of Inkling. Similar to Inkling but with different .eapons
7. Mio: Echo of Noah. Has her zepyhr at the start, but can change to Swordfighter class at any time. BTW, if both Noah and Mio are in the same team with one of them has a final smash, theirs will be different with Ouroboros form as a finisher of the Chain Attack
8. Ryu Hayabusa: A mix of Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive.
9. Dr. Eggman: Has a mech, but it can be overloaded and he has to get out. Has a laser gun so he has to wait for the mech to reappear, kinda like DV.A
10. Crash Bandicoot: Has moves that he earned from the trilogy and can summon boxes.
11. Geno: the !00th fighter that is a red mage that can buff himself and a ranged fighter.
To be frank with you, I think we're just looking at this from different angles and I respect that. Your assertion is objectively correct, all of the non-echo FE characters play totally different and have unique mechanics. None of them are functionally similar, looking at it from this fighting style, in game function angle - which is ultimately what matters in the end - I have no issues with the roster or what you're saying.
I don't think Smash does FE justice from a characterization perspective. Corrin for example has a really fun moveset, but I get nothing from them as a character. They say robotic lines like "good" and "I won", there isn't a lot for me to dig into. There isn't a character there informing the way they act or fight. Back in Melee, Marth really stood out as this stuffy elequent swordsman because he was among so many zany, colorful characters with outgoing personalities, and his playstyle felt exactly in tune with the way he acted. He felt so cool and unique, and then Roy / Ike built on that with a more brutish fighting style to compliment their fiery design and large build respectively, and that worked magic against Marth's daintiness. That's the kind of contrast and variety that I had in mind initially. In my dumb, very subjective and very personal perspective it disappoints me that some of FE's picks lack so much charisma, because I've played enough to realize there are extremely fun and memorable characters in there and they've dropped the ball on the last two for me. It may sound silly but I wasn't trying to present this as the objective way everyone should feel.
So I just have to fess up and say my way of talking about variety and character might be different than yours, and I think yours is more important. I'm just obsessed with looking at fighting game rosters as a little dysfunctional family with a lot of fun dynamics and contrast to be had, the kind of stuff that Capcom does incredibly well but hasn't been much of a focus for Smash in quite a while. And I love when the way a character acts informs the way they fight. I think unique movesets are worthwhile, like yeah literally the most important thing, but I also believe Sakurai could make anyone fun. So I'd rather play as a unique character with a fun or identifiable personality than a unique character with none. That's all really.
On a more positive note, I truly love Chrom because despite being a scrapped together character I appreciate the little things like how he apologizes for plummeting to his death. He's a goofy dad and I think he's awesome, plus one of the most fun characters with potential to pull off absolutely stupid plays. So despite being an echo Chrom is someone who I've found a lot of enjoyment in from both fronts. And then there's Robin, his role as a strategist feels synonymous with his moveset and core mechanic. You have to play smart and make tough decisions to utilize your limited resources. Robin doesn't have the most "fun" personality but it feels very well plotted out and there's a synergy there. So it's certainly not every character for me, or even most of them.
Asking for more (and more accurate) characterization in Smash is not a radical idea, actually a pretty popular one around here. Though it's not specific to just FE. I appreciate the perspective.
Only just now realizing the ramifications of having to see the FNaF movie alone (my only in town friend moved away recently). My less rational side is contemplating driving to Jersy to see it with Noipoi
If Nintendo had finalised the documentation for a hypothetical Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Deluxe, in which the roster is brought from 89 to 100 (including all previous DLC picks and whatnot) and also decided to announce it today, which eleven picks do you feel would be likely to see in a project of that ilk? I'd love to see your thoughts!
[/SPOILER]
Out of curiosity, I'd like to pose a query to you all with this sort of thing in mind - because let's be honest, I don't think new first-party picks would be a huge deal in some sort of third fighter's pass compared to third-party picks like, idk, Reimu, Doomguy or Jesus Christ from The Bible Game.
If Nintendo had finalised the documentation for a hypothetical Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Deluxe, in which the roster is brought from 89 to 100 (including all previous DLC picks and whatnot) and also decided to announce it today, which eleven picks do you feel would be likely to see in a project of that ilk? I'd love to see your thoughts!
For a quick rundown and explanations,
Tom Nook would be a unique fighter who'd predominantly have a more laid-back vibe compared to Villager or Isabelle, and whilst he wouldn't have access to the Pocket, he would have a lot of moves centred around furniture and the like to give him more outright power and range, at the cost of a little less speed and manouverability.
Framme & Clanne are the token Fire Emblem flavour-of-the-month reps, chosen because Engage is the most recent game. Whilst Alear is probably the obvious (and objectively correct) pick, I think it'd be interesting to have these two given their prominent early-game role. In terms of gameplay, you play as Framme using her brawling skills, but Clanne (in the background) can be used to cast spells or provide buffs.
Gholdengo is the token Pokémon rep for Generation 9 (skipping over Generation 8, unfortunately) and is chosen partially because of its notable placement in the Pokédex, the marketing surrounding it, and a desire to have someone a little unique in the roster. Note how I mentioned Tom Nook has more of a focus on furniture - that's because the money-centric moveset goes to Gholdengo.
Sidon is the pick I'm suggesting for the Zelda series, because whilst I agree that the series would benefit from the first wholly new character since (technically) Melee, I think Sidon's actually in a good spot for this - being a prominent side character in both BotW and TotK with a large following and generally a cool design. His moveset would focus on his use of a trident, as well as his ability to control water.
Mio is the last wholly new first-party pick, chosen because I think Xenoblade Chronicles 3 does warrant a character... plus, her fighting style and vibe would be a lot more unique than Noah's. That said, for her Final Smash, Noah of course would arrive to allow the pair to become an Ouroboros. As for her general fighting style - her discs would lend well to an up-close scrapper of sorts, though I imagine she could possibly throw them in a TRON-like manner.
Louie (Olimar ε) is our first of two Echo Fighters, I think Louie is more than justified in this role and would make a lot of sense. He's heavier and a bit slower than Olimar, representing his lazier nature, as well as featuring a slightly different hitbox. He also has a few new moves here and there (namely, Swooping Snitchbug as his up special and a couple of others), but is otherwise pretty similar on a conceptual level.
Octoling (Inkling ε) is a little more like Ken, in that whilst they share similar attributes and a skeleton to Inkling (as well as the Ink mechanic), many of their attacks are completely different, using different weapons and animations. However, many of them tend to fulfil a similar enough role. Octoling's generally a little less focused on the excitement of Inkling, and more focused on precision and professionalism.
Bub is our first third-party character, picked for a few reasons. Firstly, the inclusion of both Hero and Sephiroth indicate that Square Enix are willing to play ball - but more prominently, Bub would be our representative for Taito, perhaps one of the biggest missing areas in the Smash series' general representation. Plus, I think he could have a really fun moveset involving elements from both Bubble Bobble and Puzzle Bobble.
Arle is our second third-party newcomer, picked because of the long-lasting popularity and prominence of the Puyo Puyo series, as well as the ability to represent SEGA a little more beyond just Sonic and then Atlus and technically Platinum Games. Plus, she'd have a massive amount of potential given her puzzle game origins (and isn't limited, like Dr. Mario, to being a semi-clone), not to mention her magical skills from the Madou Monogatari series.
Hunter, specifically in their Rise design, is my third third-party pick. I think Capcom makes a lot of sense here, but including another Street Fighter character felt a little foolish, and whilst another Mega Man pick could be fun, I decided against it. Plus, Hunter has a lot of potential given their use of seemingly all kinds of weapons, allies, and tools, such as the newly-added Wirebug! Oh, and give them gender alts and alts with different armour types, too.
Ryu Hayabusa is my last pick, someone I think people would appreciate. Koei-Tecmo are already playing ball with Smash as is, but haven't added much of their own stuff into the game as of yet - so, Ryu, as a classic Nintendo icon and someone with continuing relevance through the modern reboots, makes a lot of sense. Perhaps controversially, I'd suggest his moveset should take more from the reboots with minor elements from the classic games, with his classic alt as an alternate, secondary costume. It'd give him a little breathing room compared to both Simon and Mega Man (two other NES-era characters kind of saddled with the idea of "representing their game's playstyle".)
Dr. Eggman: Bowser needs a new Rival now that Sephiroth stole Ganondorf away. And Sonic is forever relevant.
Edge: Technically a third party but strongly connected to Mario. My personal favorite character from the series, the only one to not use a gun, and the only one to not either be a Mario series character or a Rabbid Clone of one. Well there's also Rayman but... maybe next time... again...
A Pokemon from whatever generation is newest at the time the roster is decided.
A character from whatever game from either the Fire Emblem or Xenoblade series is newest at the time the roster is decided.
A Sea of Thieves Pirate: A character nobody has ever suggested and yet I feel has a strong possibility. It's a pretty big IP for Microsoft and yet it never comes up in Smash speculation. I don't personally want it that much because i don't really like the game. But Pirates are cool and I'd love to see how Sakurai interprets the mechanics. Plus the presentation would make Xbox trend on Japanese twitter again.
Tingle: The worst and best pick for a new Zelda character at the same time.
Goku: From Nintendo's classic Famicom Fairytales game Yuyuki! Finally giving the fanbase what they've been clammoring for! I'm surprised there's such a fanbase and outcry for this character specifically given that the game never even launched in the west.
Space Invaders: The game is older than Pac-Man. Pac-Man is 1980, Space Invaders is 1978. It's an unexpected third Squeenix series (Sora is a grey area because of the Mouse). But most of all, this is a challenge. Make a fighter that never touches the ground and feels like it. Who's weight actually feels like when it jumps you're just ascending in a spaceship, and you have an appropriate ammount of jumps, and you don't feel like you're bopping around the stage flappy bird style, but the fighter is still balanced mechanically with the other characters.
And Three Echoes
Dixie Kong: How is this not here. I know she's not promoting a new game or anything but come on! It's too perfect! I do have a few ideas that would make her more of a Semi-Clone, but maybe save that for a later entry.
Octoling: This was also on OP's list but it's just too obvious an idea. You could also make Octolings an original fighter but this is just a quick and easy way to get some more Sploon love into the game.
Ms. Pac-Man: Even if it means paying AtGames.
Saving big characters like DoomSlayer, Crash Bandicoot, Master Chief, and other Microsoft IPs for a true new installment.
Out of curiosity, I'd like to pose a query to you all with this sort of thing in mind - because let's be honest, I don't think new first-party picks would be a huge deal in some sort of third fighter's pass compared to third-party picks like, idk, Reimu, Doomguy or Jesus Christ from The Bible Game.
If Nintendo had finalised the documentation for a hypothetical Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Deluxe, in which the roster is brought from 89 to 100 (including all previous DLC picks and whatnot) and also decided to announce it today, which eleven picks do you feel would be likely to see in a project of that ilk? I'd love to see your thoughts!
For a quick rundown and explanations,
Tom Nook would be a unique fighter who'd predominantly have a more laid-back vibe compared to Villager or Isabelle, and whilst he wouldn't have access to the Pocket, he would have a lot of moves centred around furniture and the like to give him more outright power and range, at the cost of a little less speed and manouverability.
Framme & Clanne are the token Fire Emblem flavour-of-the-month reps, chosen because Engage is the most recent game. Whilst Alear is probably the obvious (and objectively correct) pick, I think it'd be interesting to have these two given their prominent early-game role. In terms of gameplay, you play as Framme using her brawling skills, but Clanne (in the background) can be used to cast spells or provide buffs.
Gholdengo is the token Pokémon rep for Generation 9 (skipping over Generation 8, unfortunately) and is chosen partially because of its notable placement in the Pokédex, the marketing surrounding it, and a desire to have someone a little unique in the roster. Note how I mentioned Tom Nook has more of a focus on furniture - that's because the money-centric moveset goes to Gholdengo.
Sidon is the pick I'm suggesting for the Zelda series, because whilst I agree that the series would benefit from the first wholly new character since (technically) Melee, I think Sidon's actually in a good spot for this - being a prominent side character in both BotW and TotK with a large following and generally a cool design. His moveset would focus on his use of a trident, as well as his ability to control water.
Mio is the last wholly new first-party pick, chosen because I think Xenoblade Chronicles 3 does warrant a character... plus, her fighting style and vibe would be a lot more unique than Noah's. That said, for her Final Smash, Noah of course would arrive to allow the pair to become an Ouroboros. As for her general fighting style - her discs would lend well to an up-close scrapper of sorts, though I imagine she could possibly throw them in a TRON-like manner.
Louie (Olimar ε) is our first of two Echo Fighters, I think Louie is more than justified in this role and would make a lot of sense. He's heavier and a bit slower than Olimar, representing his lazier nature, as well as featuring a slightly different hitbox. He also has a few new moves here and there (namely, Swooping Snitchbug as his up special and a couple of others), but is otherwise pretty similar on a conceptual level.
Octoling (Inkling ε) is a little more like Ken, in that whilst they share similar attributes and a skeleton to Inkling (as well as the Ink mechanic), many of their attacks are completely different, using different weapons and animations. However, many of them tend to fulfil a similar enough role. Octoling's generally a little less focused on the excitement of Inkling, and more focused on precision and professionalism.
Bub is our first third-party character, picked for a few reasons. Firstly, the inclusion of both Hero and Sephiroth indicate that Square Enix are willing to play ball - but more prominently, Bub would be our representative for Taito, perhaps one of the biggest missing areas in the Smash series' general representation. Plus, I think he could have a really fun moveset involving elements from both Bubble Bobble and Puzzle Bobble.
Arle is our second third-party newcomer, picked because of the long-lasting popularity and prominence of the Puyo Puyo series, as well as the ability to represent SEGA a little more beyond just Sonic and then Atlus and technically Platinum Games. Plus, she'd have a massive amount of potential given her puzzle game origins (and isn't limited, like Dr. Mario, to being a semi-clone), not to mention her magical skills from the Madou Monogatari series.
Hunter, specifically in their Rise design, is my third third-party pick. I think Capcom makes a lot of sense here, but including another Street Fighter character felt a little foolish, and whilst another Mega Man pick could be fun, I decided against it. Plus, Hunter has a lot of potential given their use of seemingly all kinds of weapons, allies, and tools, such as the newly-added Wirebug! Oh, and give them gender alts and alts with different armour types, too.
Ryu Hayabusa is my last pick, someone I think people would appreciate. Koei-Tecmo are already playing ball with Smash as is, but haven't added much of their own stuff into the game as of yet - so, Ryu, as a classic Nintendo icon and someone with continuing relevance through the modern reboots, makes a lot of sense. Perhaps controversially, I'd suggest his moveset should take more from the reboots with minor elements from the classic games, with his classic alt as an alternate, secondary costume. It'd give him a little breathing room compared to both Simon and Mega Man (two other NES-era characters kind of saddled with the idea of "representing their game's playstyle".)
1. Alear - One of the most unique Fire Emblem lords and could bring unique gameplay with Summons, Swords, Fists and Sommie
2. Octolings - Give them a wholly unique moveset utilizing tools from Splatoon 2 and 3
3. Noah - Noah could bring some extra fun Xenoblade sword move stuff, he could be redundant but if you add in Kevesi and Agnian arts you could make things interesting.
4. Mio - Mio being separate from Noah, not a duo, is something I could see especially since you could do more interesting things that way.
5. Shantae - I think having Shantae be the first indie rep would be a fun time with a unique moveset and also the history with Nintendo.
6. Sportsmates - Give them the option to add a Mii head and you are cooking with gas, Make a whole Wii Sports moveset.
7. Ashley - Wario's other characters seem to be getting more and more spotlights, might as well add the most popular.
8. Oatchi - Yes, as a separate fighter, Oatchi would be a funny WTF pick and could bring more unique gameplay than if he was just thrown onto a moveset.
9. Chun-li - The fact that she isn't in already is kinda bogus, one of the most iconic characters of all time and more Street Fighter rep is welcome.
10. Doom Slayer - What else is there to say about this guy?
11. Gholdengo - A unique pokemon who is a certified silly guy™️ also having the 1000th pokemon be fighter 100 is funny
If Nintendo had finalised the documentation for a hypothetical Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Deluxe, in which the roster is brought from 89 to 100 (including all previous DLC picks and whatnot) and also decided to announce it today, which eleven picks do you feel would be likely to see in a project of that ilk?
Guess we can kick it off with the most glaring omissions, characters who I think are the most essential new additions.
1. Tom Nook
2. Octoling
3. Chun-Li
And maybe some of the stuff we missed out on between releases?
4. Dragaux(or Ring Fit Traineeif you want to play it safe) 5. New Pokemon... probably Meowscarada
6. Pikmin 4 Captain & Oatchi, because why not 7. Mio, or whoever you see fit from Xenoblade 3
A couple extra third parties from popular series (in the east and west respectively), filling in gaps in major genre representation as well.
8. Arle, our first unique puzzle game character 9. Master Chief, our first unique FPS character
And then a couple fan favorite promotions, with impossible to ignore fan responses.
10. Waluigi
11. sans.
Depending on whether or not there's DLC, I think Square Enix would get something new because I think it would be difficult to convince them to dump all their characters on the base roster without some additional compensation. If you want to replace Sans with Geno or someone else go right ahead.
Only just now realizing the ramifications of having to see the FNaF movie alone (my only in town friend moved away recently). My less rational side is contemplating driving to Jersy to see it with Noipoi
Out of curiosity, I'd like to pose a query to you all with this sort of thing in mind - because let's be honest, I don't think new first-party picks would be a huge deal in some sort of third fighter's pass compared to third-party picks like, idk, Reimu, Doomguy or Jesus Christ from The Bible Game.
If Nintendo had finalised the documentation for a hypothetical Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Deluxe, in which the roster is brought from 89 to 100 (including all previous DLC picks and whatnot) and also decided to announce it today, which eleven picks do you feel would be likely to see in a project of that ilk? I'd love to see your thoughts!
Out of curiosity, I'd like to pose a query to you all with this sort of thing in mind - because let's be honest, I don't think new first-party picks would be a huge deal in some sort of third fighter's pass compared to third-party picks like, idk, Reimu, Doomguy or Jesus Christ from The Bible Game.
If Nintendo had finalised the documentation for a hypothetical Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Deluxe, in which the roster is brought from 89 to 100 (including all previous DLC picks and whatnot) and also decided to announce it today, which eleven picks do you feel would be likely to see in a project of that ilk? I'd love to see your thoughts!
Out of curiosity, I'd like to pose a query to you all with this sort of thing in mind - because let's be honest, I don't think new first-party picks would be a huge deal in some sort of third fighter's pass compared to third-party picks like, idk, Reimu, Doomguy or Jesus Christ from The Bible Game.
If Nintendo had finalised the documentation for a hypothetical Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Deluxe, in which the roster is brought from 89 to 100 (including all previous DLC picks and whatnot) and also decided to announce it today, which eleven picks do you feel would be likely to see in a project of that ilk? I'd love to see your thoughts!
For a quick rundown and explanations,
Tom Nook would be a unique fighter who'd predominantly have a more laid-back vibe compared to Villager or Isabelle, and whilst he wouldn't have access to the Pocket, he would have a lot of moves centred around furniture and the like to give him more outright power and range, at the cost of a little less speed and manouverability.
Framme & Clanne are the token Fire Emblem flavour-of-the-month reps, chosen because Engage is the most recent game. Whilst Alear is probably the obvious (and objectively correct) pick, I think it'd be interesting to have these two given their prominent early-game role. In terms of gameplay, you play as Framme using her brawling skills, but Clanne (in the background) can be used to cast spells or provide buffs.
Gholdengo is the token Pokémon rep for Generation 9 (skipping over Generation 8, unfortunately) and is chosen partially because of its notable placement in the Pokédex, the marketing surrounding it, and a desire to have someone a little unique in the roster. Note how I mentioned Tom Nook has more of a focus on furniture - that's because the money-centric moveset goes to Gholdengo.
Sidon is the pick I'm suggesting for the Zelda series, because whilst I agree that the series would benefit from the first wholly new character since (technically) Melee, I think Sidon's actually in a good spot for this - being a prominent side character in both BotW and TotK with a large following and generally a cool design. His moveset would focus on his use of a trident, as well as his ability to control water.
Mio is the last wholly new first-party pick, chosen because I think Xenoblade Chronicles 3 does warrant a character... plus, her fighting style and vibe would be a lot more unique than Noah's. That said, for her Final Smash, Noah of course would arrive to allow the pair to become an Ouroboros. As for her general fighting style - her discs would lend well to an up-close scrapper of sorts, though I imagine she could possibly throw them in a TRON-like manner.
Louie (Olimar ε) is our first of two Echo Fighters, I think Louie is more than justified in this role and would make a lot of sense. He's heavier and a bit slower than Olimar, representing his lazier nature, as well as featuring a slightly different hitbox. He also has a few new moves here and there (namely, Swooping Snitchbug as his up special and a couple of others), but is otherwise pretty similar on a conceptual level.
Octoling (Inkling ε) is a little more like Ken, in that whilst they share similar attributes and a skeleton to Inkling (as well as the Ink mechanic), many of their attacks are completely different, using different weapons and animations. However, many of them tend to fulfil a similar enough role. Octoling's generally a little less focused on the excitement of Inkling, and more focused on precision and professionalism. Perhaps controversially, their default design will be from Splatoon 3, though Agent 10008 as seen in Octo Expansion will of course be an alt (similar to how Agent 3 was an alt for Inkling.)
Bub is our first third-party character, picked for a few reasons. Firstly, the inclusion of both Hero and Sephiroth indicate that Square Enix are willing to play ball - but more prominently, Bub would be our representative for Taito, perhaps one of the biggest missing areas in the Smash series' general representation. Plus, I think he could have a really fun moveset involving elements from both Bubble Bobble and Puzzle Bobble.
Arle is our second third-party newcomer, picked because of the long-lasting popularity and prominence of the Puyo Puyo series, as well as the ability to represent SEGA a little more beyond just Sonic and then Atlus and technically Platinum Games. Plus, she'd have a massive amount of potential given her puzzle game origins (and isn't limited, like Dr. Mario, to being a semi-clone), not to mention her magical skills from the Madou Monogatari series.
Hunter, specifically in their Rise design, is my third third-party pick. I think Capcom makes a lot of sense here, but including another Street Fighter character felt a little foolish, and whilst another Mega Man pick could be fun, I decided against it. Plus, Hunter has a lot of potential given their use of seemingly all kinds of weapons, allies, and tools, such as the newly-added Wirebug! Oh, and give them gender alts and alts with different armour types, too.
Ryu Hayabusa is my last pick, someone I think people would appreciate. Koei-Tecmo are already playing ball with Smash as is, but haven't added much of their own stuff into the game as of yet - so, Ryu, as a classic Nintendo icon and someone with continuing relevance through the modern reboots, makes a lot of sense. Perhaps controversially, I'd suggest his moveset should take more from the reboots with minor elements from the classic games, with his classic alt as an alternate, secondary costume. It'd give him a little breathing room compared to both Simon and Mega Man (two other NES-era characters kind of saddled with the idea of "representing their game's playstyle".)
If Nintendo had finalised the documentation for a hypothetical Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Deluxe, in which the roster is brought from 89 to 100 (including all previous DLC picks and whatnot) and also decided to announce it today, which eleven picks do you feel would be likely to see in a project of that ilk?
Gonna be honest, whether it's a prediction list, wishlist or what if scenario list, I'm just not a fan of list posting.
Some people will actually go into detail about their choices and whatnot but most of the time it's just several posts in a row with nothing but lists and no actual discussion.
Doesn't help that it's mostly the same scenario over and over. (Plus there's already a few roster rework/wishlist/what if scenario threads.)
Obviously this is a speculation thread, so I expect these things to be brought up, but I feel like the thread gets broken up by random lists every few pages or every other page in some cases.
Out of curiosity, I'd like to pose a query to you all with this sort of thing in mind - because let's be honest, I don't think new first-party picks would be a huge deal in some sort of third fighter's pass compared to third-party picks like, idk, Reimu, Doomguy or Jesus Christ from The Bible Game.
If Nintendo had finalised the documentation for a hypothetical Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Deluxe, in which the roster is brought from 89 to 100 (including all previous DLC picks and whatnot) and also decided to announce it today, which eleven picks do you feel would be likely to see in a project of that ilk? I'd love to see your thoughts!
For a quick rundown and explanations,
Tom Nook would be a unique fighter who'd predominantly have a more laid-back vibe compared to Villager or Isabelle, and whilst he wouldn't have access to the Pocket, he would have a lot of moves centred around furniture and the like to give him more outright power and range, at the cost of a little less speed and manouverability.
Framme & Clanne are the token Fire Emblem flavour-of-the-month reps, chosen because Engage is the most recent game. Whilst Alear is probably the obvious (and objectively correct) pick, I think it'd be interesting to have these two given their prominent early-game role. In terms of gameplay, you play as Framme using her brawling skills, but Clanne (in the background) can be used to cast spells or provide buffs.
Gholdengo is the token Pokémon rep for Generation 9 (skipping over Generation 8, unfortunately) and is chosen partially because of its notable placement in the Pokédex, the marketing surrounding it, and a desire to have someone a little unique in the roster. Note how I mentioned Tom Nook has more of a focus on furniture - that's because the money-centric moveset goes to Gholdengo.
Sidon is the pick I'm suggesting for the Zelda series, because whilst I agree that the series would benefit from the first wholly new character since (technically) Melee, I think Sidon's actually in a good spot for this - being a prominent side character in both BotW and TotK with a large following and generally a cool design. His moveset would focus on his use of a trident, as well as his ability to control water.
Mio is the last wholly new first-party pick, chosen because I think Xenoblade Chronicles 3 does warrant a character... plus, her fighting style and vibe would be a lot more unique than Noah's. That said, for her Final Smash, Noah of course would arrive to allow the pair to become an Ouroboros. As for her general fighting style - her discs would lend well to an up-close scrapper of sorts, though I imagine she could possibly throw them in a TRON-like manner.
Louie (Olimar ε) is our first of two Echo Fighters, I think Louie is more than justified in this role and would make a lot of sense. He's heavier and a bit slower than Olimar, representing his lazier nature, as well as featuring a slightly different hitbox. He also has a few new moves here and there (namely, Swooping Snitchbug as his up special and a couple of others), but is otherwise pretty similar on a conceptual level.
Octoling (Inkling ε) is a little more like Ken, in that whilst they share similar attributes and a skeleton to Inkling (as well as the Ink mechanic), many of their attacks are completely different, using different weapons and animations. However, many of them tend to fulfil a similar enough role. Octoling's generally a little less focused on the excitement of Inkling, and more focused on precision and professionalism. Perhaps controversially, their default design will be from Splatoon 3, though Agent 10008 as seen in Octo Expansion will of course be an alt (similar to how Agent 3 was an alt for Inkling.)
Bub is our first third-party character, picked for a few reasons. Firstly, the inclusion of both Hero and Sephiroth indicate that Square Enix are willing to play ball - but more prominently, Bub would be our representative for Taito, perhaps one of the biggest missing areas in the Smash series' general representation. Plus, I think he could have a really fun moveset involving elements from both Bubble Bobble and Puzzle Bobble.
Arle is our second third-party newcomer, picked because of the long-lasting popularity and prominence of the Puyo Puyo series, as well as the ability to represent SEGA a little more beyond just Sonic and then Atlus and technically Platinum Games. Plus, she'd have a massive amount of potential given her puzzle game origins (and isn't limited, like Dr. Mario, to being a semi-clone), not to mention her magical skills from the Madou Monogatari series.
Hunter, specifically in their Rise design, is my third third-party pick. I think Capcom makes a lot of sense here, but including another Street Fighter character felt a little foolish, and whilst another Mega Man pick could be fun, I decided against it. Plus, Hunter has a lot of potential given their use of seemingly all kinds of weapons, allies, and tools, such as the newly-added Wirebug! Oh, and give them gender alts and alts with different armour types, too.
Ryu Hayabusa is my last pick, someone I think people would appreciate. Koei-Tecmo are already playing ball with Smash as is, but haven't added much of their own stuff into the game as of yet - so, Ryu, as a classic Nintendo icon and someone with continuing relevance through the modern reboots, makes a lot of sense. Perhaps controversially, I'd suggest his moveset should take more from the reboots with minor elements from the classic games, with his classic alt as an alternate, secondary costume. It'd give him a little breathing room compared to both Simon and Mega Man (two other NES-era characters kind of saddled with the idea of "representing their game's playstyle".)
Out of curiosity, I'd like to pose a query to you all with this sort of thing in mind - because let's be honest, I don't think new first-party picks would be a huge deal in some sort of third fighter's pass compared to third-party picks like, idk, Reimu, Doomguy or Jesus Christ from The Bible Game.
If Nintendo had finalised the documentation for a hypothetical Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Deluxe, in which the roster is brought from 89 to 100 (including all previous DLC picks and whatnot) and also decided to announce it today, which eleven picks do you feel would be likely to see in a project of that ilk? I'd love to see your thoughts!
For a quick rundown and explanations,
Tom Nook would be a unique fighter who'd predominantly have a more laid-back vibe compared to Villager or Isabelle, and whilst he wouldn't have access to the Pocket, he would have a lot of moves centred around furniture and the like to give him more outright power and range, at the cost of a little less speed and manouverability.
Framme & Clanne are the token Fire Emblem flavour-of-the-month reps, chosen because Engage is the most recent game. Whilst Alear is probably the obvious (and objectively correct) pick, I think it'd be interesting to have these two given their prominent early-game role. In terms of gameplay, you play as Framme using her brawling skills, but Clanne (in the background) can be used to cast spells or provide buffs.
Gholdengo is the token Pokémon rep for Generation 9 (skipping over Generation 8, unfortunately) and is chosen partially because of its notable placement in the Pokédex, the marketing surrounding it, and a desire to have someone a little unique in the roster. Note how I mentioned Tom Nook has more of a focus on furniture - that's because the money-centric moveset goes to Gholdengo.
Sidon is the pick I'm suggesting for the Zelda series, because whilst I agree that the series would benefit from the first wholly new character since (technically) Melee, I think Sidon's actually in a good spot for this - being a prominent side character in both BotW and TotK with a large following and generally a cool design. His moveset would focus on his use of a trident, as well as his ability to control water.
Mio is the last wholly new first-party pick, chosen because I think Xenoblade Chronicles 3 does warrant a character... plus, her fighting style and vibe would be a lot more unique than Noah's. That said, for her Final Smash, Noah of course would arrive to allow the pair to become an Ouroboros. As for her general fighting style - her discs would lend well to an up-close scrapper of sorts, though I imagine she could possibly throw them in a TRON-like manner.
Louie (Olimar ε) is our first of two Echo Fighters, I think Louie is more than justified in this role and would make a lot of sense. He's heavier and a bit slower than Olimar, representing his lazier nature, as well as featuring a slightly different hitbox. He also has a few new moves here and there (namely, Swooping Snitchbug as his up special and a couple of others), but is otherwise pretty similar on a conceptual level.
Octoling (Inkling ε) is a little more like Ken, in that whilst they share similar attributes and a skeleton to Inkling (as well as the Ink mechanic), many of their attacks are completely different, using different weapons and animations. However, many of them tend to fulfil a similar enough role. Octoling's generally a little less focused on the excitement of Inkling, and more focused on precision and professionalism. Perhaps controversially, their default design will be from Splatoon 3, though Agent 10008 as seen in Octo Expansion will of course be an alt (similar to how Agent 3 was an alt for Inkling.)
Bub is our first third-party character, picked for a few reasons. Firstly, the inclusion of both Hero and Sephiroth indicate that Square Enix are willing to play ball - but more prominently, Bub would be our representative for Taito, perhaps one of the biggest missing areas in the Smash series' general representation. Plus, I think he could have a really fun moveset involving elements from both Bubble Bobble and Puzzle Bobble.
Arle is our second third-party newcomer, picked because of the long-lasting popularity and prominence of the Puyo Puyo series, as well as the ability to represent SEGA a little more beyond just Sonic and then Atlus and technically Platinum Games. Plus, she'd have a massive amount of potential given her puzzle game origins (and isn't limited, like Dr. Mario, to being a semi-clone), not to mention her magical skills from the Madou Monogatari series.
Hunter, specifically in their Rise design, is my third third-party pick. I think Capcom makes a lot of sense here, but including another Street Fighter character felt a little foolish, and whilst another Mega Man pick could be fun, I decided against it. Plus, Hunter has a lot of potential given their use of seemingly all kinds of weapons, allies, and tools, such as the newly-added Wirebug! Oh, and give them gender alts and alts with different armour types, too.
Ryu Hayabusa is my last pick, someone I think people would appreciate. Koei-Tecmo are already playing ball with Smash as is, but haven't added much of their own stuff into the game as of yet - so, Ryu, as a classic Nintendo icon and someone with continuing relevance through the modern reboots, makes a lot of sense. Perhaps controversially, I'd suggest his moveset should take more from the reboots with minor elements from the classic games, with his classic alt as an alternate, secondary costume. It'd give him a little breathing room compared to both Simon and Mega Man (two other NES-era characters kind of saddled with the idea of "representing their game's playstyle".)
ok here are my picks if we had to stop at 100 but i am not choosing based on likely because i dont like shoving forced advertisement pick
Camelot bros.
90 Waluigi: He is basically becoming the most requested Nintendo character at this point and he has been skipped over and over again by other Mario characters so its hard to ignore that the Waluigi community is growing more and more each Smash installment so his addition would make so much people happy.
91 Isaac (Golden Sun): Golden Sun series did surpass the million sales even if its regarded as dead series today the fanbase are still pretty much alive and still demands a Golden Sun rep heavily and Camelot has developed many games for Nintendo so its worth to represent them well with Golden Sun series instead of another Fire Emblem character at least this Swordguy McJRPG has been demanded for so long and wont disappoint most people.
Limbless bros.
92 Sukapon (Joy Mech Fight): Retro rep has been skipped during Smash ultimate and I don't want to see that happen again Joy Mech Fight is The Nintendo 2D fighting game before Smash was a thing the character there have funny look and charm and just like any retro rep we got Sukapon could fit there very well and now since he is an assist trophy after more than 25 years of absence many people have now been introduced to him in 3D and fully alive and he wouldn't be a hard character to develop or complicated like most fighting game reps we got but the fact that he is limbless means he could still do crazy stuff with his moveset and Joy Mech Fight also finally have gotten international release on Nintendo switch giving the chance to everyone try out that game.
93 Rayman: Ubisoft has been getting very close to Nintendo nowadays and develop of some of their games so a Ubisoft rep should come in and Rayman is the character that has been asked the most from that company and his addition could also help many Japanese people to look into Rayman games and get introduced to him more.
So basically Sukapon is for the Japanese community while Rayman is for the Non Japanese community a good deal for 2 lovable limbless characters.
Successful Nintendo series that has 0 content in any shape or form
94 Grovyle (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series): Some of the best stories and memorable games in Pokemon series comes from PMD series and that series still has no content at all in Smash especially some of the best music there is out there Grovyle is the biggest fan favorite having one of the best stories out there in the whole Pokemon series he is also a grass starter but also capable of using PMD items during the battle including the Time Gear which would bring something new to the table regarding how different he is from the other Pokemon representation we currently have.
3rd Party With Close Ties To Nintendo Long History
95 Bomberman: Remember all the good Mario party games? Hudson soft developed most of those games people loved for so long and they were successful and we know now Hudson is owned by Konami so lets have Bomberman represent Hudson history they deserve it and Bomberman is a gaming icon as well and has been around for like 30 years with a gaming library of more than 70 games.
Iconic Gaming Animals
96 Crash Bandicoot: He is a rival of both Mario and Sonic in the past and he is a gaming console mascot Mario vs Sonic vs Crash is a dream that through the head of so many people so making this a reality would be a historic moment in gaming also he is highly demanded character now that the series came back from the dead better than before also now Microsoft owns him making him easy to get
97 Penguin (Club Penguin): Now that Disney is on the table the addition of Club Penguin would be a huge thing as it would be the first to represent MMORPGs and that game had over 330 million registered users over the 12 years of its lifespan and being daily active and that alone shows that its way bigger than Kingdom Hearts and it also has a has a big community so seeing Club Penguin rep in Smash would be a huge shock to many who thought its gonna die forever, Club Penguin could basically continue to live on in the future Smash games similar situation to Banjo-Kazooie.
Unexpected Iconic 3rd Party WTF Villain
98 CATS (Zero Wing): Now here is your WTF character we are going a big step above Duck hunt and Piranha Plant by bringing the unpredictable CATS is basically like Space Invader but with an actual personality he is an iconic villain character that can represent the 2D Spaceship Shooting genre which we don't have yet also Toaplan games has been brought back during recent years and his addition could be regarded as similar to Terry just like he represent SNK as a whole CATS could do the same by representing Toaplan as a whole as Toaplan do have huge arcade library of games it would surprise many people to see CATS in action for the first time as we all know that we have only seen few frames of this character just like Duck Hunt but he could bring unique playstyle to the table based on what we see from Zero Wing, also Zero wing is currently on Nintendo switch
Worldwide Game Genre King
99 Tetromino (Tetris): One of the most badly represent gaming genre in Smash is the puzzle game genre with Dr. Mario just being a clone of Mario in fact even FPS genre has better representation with Inkling and Dark Samus however Tetris could fix that it is as big as Mario and Minecraft and Pokemon and its basically the king of the puzzle genre and its recognizable by everyone almost everywhere and the series has been represented in Smash in some way as far as Smash Brawl alongside Sonic and Metal Gear but only with music and also Tetris is known for having so much crossovers during its history including even Star Wars also the playstyle of a puzzle rep would be very interesting to see now that we have someone that is complex as Steve. also i made Tetromino the 99 fighter as a reference to Tetris 99 which i think would fit perfectly for him.
Long Time Fanservice
100 Geno (Super Mario RPG): Do I need to explain this? SMRPG is back baby! his demand has been going on forever and it keeps growing
I’m just going to go with my personal preference because I feel like a lot of “most likely” lists will turn out largely the same. Some combination of latest Fire Emblem lord, latest Pokémon starter, latest Xenoblade protagonist, Bandana Dee, Officer Howard, Ring Fit Trainee, Octoling, Geno, Ryu Hyabusa, Crash, Doom Slayer, Master Chief, and others are probably the most likely.
As for my personal top 11 wish list:
The Battletoads: These guys have been my brother’s personal favorite gaming characters since we were kids and RARE’s breakout original characters that put them on the map before Banjo. The roads all have really expressive and flashy moves with transforming limbs that would be awesome for Smash.
Fulgore: At one point, Killer Instinct was basically Nintendo’s fighting game series before Smash and before RARE was bought out by Microsoft. Beyond Fulgore’s awesome design, a Killer Instinct character would come with an amazing track list and potentially the iconic announcer calls for combos.
Magus: Chrono Trigger is one of my favorite games ever and Magus is among my favorite characters in gaming. As far as I’m aware, he was the first main antagonist that could be recruited as a party member. Crono is probably more likely but I believe Magus is more important to the series as a whole. He also has s really unique look and weapon while Crono himself could probably pass as another Hero visually.
Zegram Ghart: Admittedly this guy has next to zero chance coming from a Sony owned PS2 JRPG that he isn’t even the main character of but he’s my personal favorite video game character. Zegram has an awesome design and is voiced by one of my favorite voice actors in Steve Blum. Plus he’s a badass space pirate. Rogue Galaxy has fun combat that translates pretty well into Smash as well.
Illidan Stormrage: Another one of my own personal favorite characters in gaming. WarCraft has had a pretty huge impact in gaming as a whole despite never appearing on a Nintendo console. Illidan has such a cool, unique design, a great backstory, a really good voice, and a ton of moveset potential. The WarCraft IP has spanned multiple genres from RTS, MMORPG, a digital card game, and even a Hollywood movie so it definitely has the brand recognition.
Sarah Kerrigan: Unlike WarCraft, StarCraft has actually had a game on a Nintendo console. The queen of the Zerg, Kerrigan would be the perfect character to bring in RTS mechanics into Smash. I picture as a summoner variant that uses resources similar to Hero’s MP to summon units. StarCraft also has some great music that would be awesome in Smash.
Sub-Zero: Mortal Kombat is one of the biggest IPs in gaming and the biggest fighting game franchises not yet represented in Smash. Sub is my favorite character and Smash could use more ice elemental fighters. He’s got a really unique gameplay style that would make him stand out in Smash. They need to find some kind of way to include Techno Syndrome if we somehow get a MK character.
Zero: Mega Man X was one of my favorite SNES games and Zero has always been an awesome character. He’s already had a good amount of content in Smash from an assist trophy to a Mii outfit so id say his chances are pretty good
Alphen/Shionne tag duo: Along with Velvet and Yuri, these were some of my favorite protagonists in the series, particularly Shionne. The two have perfect synergy that compliment each other’s styles perfectly. Alphen is an aggressive melee attacker that deals damage to himself to strengthen his attacks and Shionne is a ranged healer/gunner. There are Alonso story reasons for the two to play as a team seeing as Alphen requires Shionne in order to use his flame sword. Tales of Arise is also getting DLC so it’s relevant again.
Bill Rizer/Lance Bean (alts): Contra was one of my favorite series growing up and Bill would have a really unique gameplay style in Smash, being almost entirely ranged based. Again, the series has some great music and there’s a lot you can do with the various gun mechanics.
Jinx: I never really cared much about the mainline League of Legends games beyond just thinking that it had cool looking characters but Arcane has made me a big fan of the lore. There are lots of great options to choose from for a character but Jinx seems like the most popular and was also really well done in Arcane. She’s another ranger fighter but would play totally differently from Bill and Shionne.
There are too many characters I’d love to see to fit them all on one 11 character list. Here are some honorable mentions: Xemnas, Lu Bu, Etna, Jenna Anderson, Jessie/James/Meowth, Gengar, Dixie, Medusa, Raziel, H’aanit, Guile, Garnet, Diablo, Impa, Rauru, EMMI, Raven Beak, Noah/Mio Ouroboros fusion, Death.
Gonna be honest, whether it's a prediction list, wishlist or what if scenario list, I'm just not a fan of list posting.
Some people will actually go into detail about their choices and whatnot but most of the time it's just several posts in a row with nothing but lists and no actual discussion.
Doesn't help that it's mostly the same scenario over and over. (Plus there's already a few roster rework/wishlist/what if scenario threads.)
Obviously this is a speculation thread, so I expect these things to be brought up, but I feel like the thread gets broken up by random lists every few pages or every other page in some cases.
Out of curiosity, I'd like to pose a query to you all with this sort of thing in mind - because let's be honest, I don't think new first-party picks would be a huge deal in some sort of third fighter's pass compared to third-party picks like, idk, Reimu, Doomguy or Jesus Christ from The Bible Game.
If Nintendo had finalised the documentation for a hypothetical Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Deluxe, in which the roster is brought from 89 to 100 (including all previous DLC picks and whatnot) and also decided to announce it today, which eleven picks do you feel would be likely to see in a project of that ilk? I'd love to see your thoughts!
For a quick rundown and explanations,
Tom Nook would be a unique fighter who'd predominantly have a more laid-back vibe compared to Villager or Isabelle, and whilst he wouldn't have access to the Pocket, he would have a lot of moves centred around furniture and the like to give him more outright power and range, at the cost of a little less speed and manouverability.
Framme & Clanne are the token Fire Emblem flavour-of-the-month reps, chosen because Engage is the most recent game. Whilst Alear is probably the obvious (and objectively correct) pick, I think it'd be interesting to have these two given their prominent early-game role. In terms of gameplay, you play as Framme using her brawling skills, but Clanne (in the background) can be used to cast spells or provide buffs.
Gholdengo is the token Pokémon rep for Generation 9 (skipping over Generation 8, unfortunately) and is chosen partially because of its notable placement in the Pokédex, the marketing surrounding it, and a desire to have someone a little unique in the roster. Note how I mentioned Tom Nook has more of a focus on furniture - that's because the money-centric moveset goes to Gholdengo.
Sidon is the pick I'm suggesting for the Zelda series, because whilst I agree that the series would benefit from the first wholly new character since (technically) Melee, I think Sidon's actually in a good spot for this - being a prominent side character in both BotW and TotK with a large following and generally a cool design. His moveset would focus on his use of a trident, as well as his ability to control water.
Mio is the last wholly new first-party pick, chosen because I think Xenoblade Chronicles 3 does warrant a character... plus, her fighting style and vibe would be a lot more unique than Noah's. That said, for her Final Smash, Noah of course would arrive to allow the pair to become an Ouroboros. As for her general fighting style - her discs would lend well to an up-close scrapper of sorts, though I imagine she could possibly throw them in a TRON-like manner.
Louie (Olimar ε) is our first of two Echo Fighters, I think Louie is more than justified in this role and would make a lot of sense. He's heavier and a bit slower than Olimar, representing his lazier nature, as well as featuring a slightly different hitbox. He also has a few new moves here and there (namely, Swooping Snitchbug as his up special and a couple of others), but is otherwise pretty similar on a conceptual level.
Octoling (Inkling ε) is a little more like Ken, in that whilst they share similar attributes and a skeleton to Inkling (as well as the Ink mechanic), many of their attacks are completely different, using different weapons and animations. However, many of them tend to fulfil a similar enough role. Octoling's generally a little less focused on the excitement of Inkling, and more focused on precision and professionalism. Perhaps controversially, their default design will be from Splatoon 3, though Agent 10008 as seen in Octo Expansion will of course be an alt (similar to how Agent 3 was an alt for Inkling.)
Bub is our first third-party character, picked for a few reasons. Firstly, the inclusion of both Hero and Sephiroth indicate that Square Enix are willing to play ball - but more prominently, Bub would be our representative for Taito, perhaps one of the biggest missing areas in the Smash series' general representation. Plus, I think he could have a really fun moveset involving elements from both Bubble Bobble and Puzzle Bobble.
Arle is our second third-party newcomer, picked because of the long-lasting popularity and prominence of the Puyo Puyo series, as well as the ability to represent SEGA a little more beyond just Sonic and then Atlus and technically Platinum Games. Plus, she'd have a massive amount of potential given her puzzle game origins (and isn't limited, like Dr. Mario, to being a semi-clone), not to mention her magical skills from the Madou Monogatari series.
Hunter, specifically in their Rise design, is my third third-party pick. I think Capcom makes a lot of sense here, but including another Street Fighter character felt a little foolish, and whilst another Mega Man pick could be fun, I decided against it. Plus, Hunter has a lot of potential given their use of seemingly all kinds of weapons, allies, and tools, such as the newly-added Wirebug! Oh, and give them gender alts and alts with different armour types, too.
Ryu Hayabusa is my last pick, someone I think people would appreciate. Koei-Tecmo are already playing ball with Smash as is, but haven't added much of their own stuff into the game as of yet - so, Ryu, as a classic Nintendo icon and someone with continuing relevance through the modern reboots, makes a lot of sense. Perhaps controversially, I'd suggest his moveset should take more from the reboots with minor elements from the classic games, with his classic alt as an alternate, secondary costume. It'd give him a little breathing room compared to both Simon and Mega Man (two other NES-era characters kind of saddled with the idea of "representing their game's playstyle".)
I realize my attempts at trying to figure out who's the most likely have been all over the place, but if I had to guess...
1. Octoling (Splatoon) - this feels like the closest that I can think of to a "sure thing" for the next Smash, whether it's a deluxe edition of Ultimate or it's doing its own thing. Splatoon has expanded a huge amount over the years, and Octoling seems like an easy Inkling echo.
2. Geno (Super Mario Bros.) - aside from the character's long-standing popularity among Smash speculation, Super Mario RPG is getting a remake on the Switch, so this seems like the best time to include him in Smash when it comes to synergy.
3. Sidon (The Legend of Zelda) - I haven't gotten too far into Tears Of The Kingdom, but by my understanding, the modern Champions play a bigger role in that (and in Age Of Calamity, the Dynasty Warriors-style spin-off) than they did in Breath of the Wild. Of those modern Champions, Sidon seems far and away the most prominent. (plus, it's been over 20 years since we've had a new unique Zelda character in Smash; it feels long overdue)
4. Alear (Fire Emblem) - Fire Emblem Engage doesn't look even remotely interesting to me, but a new Fire Emblem character seems almost inevitable, whether it's because of some sort of contractual obligation with Intelligent Systems or because Sakurai's a huge FE fan. (I feel like the Advance Wars remake is likely to get ignored, unfortunately) By my understanding, Alear can use/team up with spirits of past Fire Emblem characters, which seems like it could justify having them use more than just a sword. (though a sword would likely be their base weapon)
5. Koraidon/Miraidon (Pokémon) - while they likely have different moves in their source material (I haven't played Pokemon Scarlet, and I didn't get into the post-game of Pokemon Violet), I figure they probably have enough overlap with each other that they could be Olimar/Alph style alternate costumes. I'm not sure how well any of the starters would work, and these two are important to the overall plot of their respective versions and constant presences throughout the game.
6. Tails (Sonic the Hedgehog) - a second Sonic character seems long overdue, and while it's a tough call between Tails and Eggman for me (I figure that, if this is a deluxe version of Ultimate, they stubbornly wouldn't promote assist trophies), I figure Tails could either work as a unique fighter or as a Ken/Chrom sort-of-echo fighter for Sonic. (a lot of overlap, but some different moves would be required, like his recovery or any move where Sonic would normally hit people with the spikes on his back)
7. Dante (Devil May Cry) - the second-to-last batch of Mii costumes (the one that came with Kazuya) was specifically acknowledged as being characters who lots of people wanted to see playable, so I figure that at least one of them would make the cut. Between that, the success of Devil May Cry 5, and Capcom oddly not getting a unique newcomer in Ultimate, I figure Dante's pretty likely.
8. 2B (Nier Automata) - I'm not sure why, but this feels like a "Sakurai" kind of pick to me. (something akin to Joker or Terry - a character from a lesser-known franchise with a passionate fanbase) Her design would probably have to be altered to avoid issues with CERO (maybe making it so she's wearing white tights under her skirt, similar to Mythra's Smash design), but that seems like an easy enough fix. As an action game character, she'd transition pretty easily to a fighting game (she already has with Soul Calibur VI). This one's more of a gut feeling than anything based on logic, reasoning, or history, but I could see it happening.
9. Sol Badguy (Guilty Gear) - Sakurai seems to be a big fan of fighting games, and in terms of major Japanese fighting game developers, Arc System Works seems like the last "big" Japanese fighting game developer that isn't in Smash. (since they already have Capcom, Namco-Bandai, and SNK) Plus, he seems like he'd be quite a bit different from the other fighting game characters in Smash since (from my extremely limited Guilty Gear experience) he seems like a rushdown character.
10. Ryu Hayabusa (Ninja Gaiden) - I'm honestly surprised that he isn't in already. Smash takes heavy inspiration from 2D platformers, which Ryu has a lot of history in, and they could also draw from his 3D action games and his Dead Or Alive appearances.
11. Master Chief (Halo) - "Master Chief finishes the fight" is such a perfect tagline. Also, the last character reveal (and the hundredth character in this game) seems like it should be something that's a big deal, and while it might not be as shocking as others given that there'd already be at least two Microsoft characters in Smash bare minimum even if my other predictions don't come to pass, "Master Chief is added to Smash Bros." still seems like it would get a ton of attention.
There are other characters that I considered including (Rayman, Bandanna Waddle Dee, Doomguy), but I wasn't sure if they'd be likely, strictly speaking. (at least, from what I've seen) Then again, I'm likely overestimating the likelihood of characters that I'm a fan of, or there are popular characters who I'm simply not aware of.
I could potentially see Sans making it in, given that the announcement of his Mii costume alone generated a lot of buzz, but I'm not as sure about him.
Same here. I love sharing my lists and try to at least give a little explanation for why I’d love to see them but it would be nice if at least a few of them led to some kind of discussion. It seems like I’m mostly alone in what characters I personally want to see. That’s fine, but it does get a bit repetitive if I’m sharing the first basic intro to why I want to see a character if none of them really branch off to anything more.
I do try to give some feedback from other people’s lists but it usually comes from a place of what would personally interest me and what I think would be fun in Smash.
I don’t because I don’t tend to share prediction lists as I feel many would look mostly the same. I do like sharing my own list which is admittedly almost 100% biased on my end.
I don’t because I don’t tend to share prediction lists as I feel many would look mostly the same. I do like sharing my own list which is admittedly almost 100% biased on my end.
Yeah, it would help discussion if people gave more feedback on the lists, but just from my own observation, it seems that list posting is by nature not the most conducive to generating that feedback.
Not 100% sure why, but my guess would be that people actually interested in the topic are most likely to just post their own list in return, or may feel overwhelmed about responding to a list because every character on that list is probably worth an entire discussion on their own.
Edit: of course, people can still post their lists so long as the mods allow it; this is just my observation and hypothesis.
I felt like the jist of it was enough to get why I chose the characters I did, but expand on it a little more for the sake of discussion. I agree with the previous post about how it can be a little dry just to wade through a bunch of lists so I'll try to open up the forum to some of my choices.
Spoiled them so I'm not taking up valuable real estate in the thread. FWIW, this is the "SSBU Deluxe" hypothetical roster but it generally extends toward where my mind is at for whatever the next game ends up being too. So feel free to let me know where you agree and disagree!
As we talked about yesterday, Animal Crossing and Splatoon are a couple of the big winners of the Switch era. New Horizons is one of the greatest success stories for Nintendo in recent memory and has brought millions of new fans toward the series, so not unlike how new Mario characters are frequently added to the series I suspect Tom Nook will be a choice that will appeal to the wider casual audience of Nintendo fans. Meanwhile, Splatoon is still a relatively fresh Nintendo IP and Ultimate was really only able to lean into Splatoon 1. Since then we've got two more successful titles and an expansive DLC campaign starring an Octoling. Now it's standard for Octolings to be selectable as your default player character - there is no chance that we see another Smash game without them at least being some sort of costume option or echo fighter minimum. These are the two most obvious choices.
Maybe a bit more controversial because there are so many beloved Capcom series and characters that we're waiting to join the roster, but I'm just gonna be real with you all. Chun-Li outclasses all of them. Like, let's forget that she's "another Street Fighter rep", I think that sells her so tremendously short. She is one of the most iconic video game characters of all time, the "leading lady" of fighting games and arguably games in general. It's about specifically adding Chun-Li, not about adding more Street Fighter. She is the single biggest character not in the game and she's in arms reach - definitely a matter of "when" not "if".
4. Dragaux(or Ring Fit Traineeif you want to play it safe) 5. New Pokemon... probably Meowscarada
6. Pikmin 4 Captain & Oatchi, because why not 7. Mio, or whoever you see fit from Xenoblade 3
The dreaded recency picks. I don't really love doing these especially since we've got so much time until we see another game, but under the assumption this hypothetical deluxe version releases in like two years or so... these are some of the ones to watch. Ring Fit Adventure was a breakout success and with Splatoon and ARMS in the roster already, this feels like the last remaining essential "modern" Nintendo IP. Past that we don't have a lot - I know Astral Chain exists, but I honestly want to see them put out another game before I put faith in that. Every Smash game has a new Nintendo series to introduce and this is easily your best bet.
New Pokemon, yadda yadda. Meowscarada is kind of the boring pick but it's the one I would see them doing. I don't mind it because I think a magician sort of kit would be fun, an archetype we have a surprising lack of, on top of finally filling out that final evo triangle with a grass type starter. The latter point doesn't really matter at the end of the day but there's a part of me that would like to see it. Otherwise they just seem like the most prominent and the most popular of the three.
Captain & Oatchi is a more out there, silly idea but it's one that I wanted to add anyway. I think we need some more fighters who aren't really remotely humanoid. Pikmin's clout has raised noticeably on Switch and Pikmin 4 had a great launch, I don't think it necessarily "needs" a character to reflect that but it's one of the games that might come up when discussing these recent hits. At the end of the day, being a fun idea is the only justification needed.
Mio, I'm not so convinced on but like... I realized that I was selling your usual JRPGs a little short and those are characters they quite like to add. Xenoblade 3 is fairly popular, it's another series that has seen big wins on Switch, I do think Pythra being added through DLC makes it so this isn't completely essential but I think there's enough reason to go ahead and give Xenoblade another new face. Just due to the fleeting nature of these protagonists, and this applies to Meowscarada too, this is just tentative until they announce another game.
8. Arle, our first unique puzzle game character 9. Master Chief, our first unique FPS character
Outside of Chun-Li I've been pretty skim on third parties. I chose to keep it intimate this time with some of the companies that already saw major collaborations in the base game. Puyo Puyo and Halo are some of the most notable absent IPs from these companies, massively influential toward their respective genres (very important and currently absent genres) and boasting great notoriety in their respective regions. I could give you a million reasons why Arle is a good choice, and Master Chief speaks for himself, but I don't really want to give you the whole spiel so... all you need to know is that Puyo is one of the most successful Japanese gaming franchises not represented in Smash in any capacity, and Halo is Halo. Both would be extremely fresh and unique and cmon, this tonal contrast is just really silly and fun lmao.
Alright, not much that I need to say about these. Waluigi is the new Ridley. This statement used to frustrate me but now I know it to be true. There's a level of fan outcry here extending even beyond the kind that we've seen from these massively popular choices in the past, extending to the most casual of fans given that this is in fact a Super Mario character. I don't see a scenario where Smash continues and this demand continues to be ignored, if we're going for crowdpleasing first parties nobody even comes close.
Meanwhile, I said this the other day but the sheer excitement surrounding Sans' Mii Costume is unlike anything we've seen before. Undertale is massively popular worldwide, Toby Fox has brought the games to Nintendo consoles and continues to collaborate on Nintendo games. Getting more substantial indie content feels like an inevitability and there's nothing better suited for it than Undertale in terms of sheer reach and persisting presence. I think this would be an easy, inexpensive get and a guaranteed headliner.
The main feedback I can give to the previously posted lists is that if they added a Tetris block as the "puzzle game rep" over Arle I would admittedly be very annoyed. I think Tetris is good material for a stage and Puyo is better material for a character. Both are essential to the evolution of the genre and I believe they should both have more content than they do now, for whatever that's worth. Again a Tetris stage is kind of a no brainer.
1.- Dixie Kong (Probably the longest character that has been kinda "teased" into Smash. I feel adding her is long overdue.)
2.- Ashley (Similar to Dixie, I feel she is popular enough to warrant a spot and her moveset would be interesting.)
3.- Ring Fit Trainee (One of the most popular new IPs from Nintendo, and I'm really curious what they do with them.)
4.- Alear (Newest FE protagonist, and great moveset potential with the Emblem mechanic and a combination of sword and martial arts.)
5.- Impa (Zelda REALLY needs a character that isn't a variant of Link/Zelda/Ganondorf, and this is my personal pick.)
6.- Waluigi (Probably the most requested character that isn't in Smash yet. Just let him in, Sakurai.)
7.- Meowscarada (Not a huge follower of newer Pokemon games, but they usually get a guaranteed spot and this is my favorite of the most recent gen.)
8.- Shantae (Sakurai stated she was a highly requested character in the last Direct. Lots of moveset potential as well.)
9.- Arle (Historically significant character, great moveset potential, and fills in a puzzle game rep as well as the magical girl archetype. Also she's been on every Nintendo system. No, Virtual Boy doesn't count.)
10.- Terra (Mainly because I think the FF series should have a rep not from FF7, and she's my personal pick.)
11.- Phoenix Wright (Would be a great visual novel rep, with a very creative moveset, and he's very loved by fans and strongly associated with Nintendo systems.)
