Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[Hadokeyblade]

Considering he was said to be the most requested character in all of smash i find it hard to believe they would cut him.

I feel they'll at least try to bring him back.

 

[Garteam]

I'm surprised that this hasn't been posted yet:

 

[Perkilator]

What potential new franchises would you like to see in the next Smash game? Whether it be from Nintendo, 3rd party companies already represented, or new companies altogether.

 

[RodNutTakin]

In my mind it's closer to 50ish vets and 10-12 newcomers. I definitely don't think we're gonna see the roster get sliced down to half size or something but depending on what is offered in base (hopefully more emphasis on single player modes?) and what adjustments are being made to veterans something is gonna have to give.

64 feels like the magic roster number to me, maybe for sentimental reasons given the series' roots, but also slots in right between the roster scale of Smash 4 and Ultimate which feels correct. I agree with you on how after a certain point the cuts become a lot less easy to reason with. There are a lot of characters like Palutena, Wolf and Duck Hunt who I can't bring myself to see go but might be more "on the bubble" - when I break it down to what I consider the bare essentials it only leaves me room for a handful of pet picks. I'm flip flopping on it pretty often.

Bottom line I feel like you narrowed it down to who I personally consider the more important characters, I can tell you made an effort to keep nearly every unique first party series represented, but it gets tricky because I still feel deep in the back of my mind that it's too optimistic.

Personally I'd be fine with continuing on the kind of development model we had with 4 and Ultimate; that being a game on a new engine that has a good baseline of 60ish characters, followed by a second game done with the same engine and team that builds off of the first and generally adds on more, then repeating that process over with a new engine.
It'd be a way to keep things fresh without too much losses in the long run. Obviously, directly climbing up higher and higher would be a very difficult task, but no one would want to put up with waiting 19 more years to get an 80+ roster again either. This would be a good way of doing it; a game that gets most of the popular characters back on a new engine with several fresh faces added, and then a direct follow-up that brings back some missed characters and goes for more out-there and ambituous newcomers. It'd be kind of like how King of Fighters has eras, except it'd just be one game followed by a "Dream Match" game for each "era."

 

[Nabbitfan730]

I am maintaining my take that the next game will have cuts but I don't think it will be scorched earth like a lot of people suggest.

Seconded. The way people are suggesting this reboot sounds almost as ridiculous as EiH 2. I'm definitely expecting cuts and I believe they are inevitable but saying the roster is going to be reduce to Melee numbers at 20s is asinine. Especially when the next title will most likely be $70.

People say this because they are fixated for heavy revisions of all veterans but that isn't really main priority.

It's clear Sakurai and Nintendo want to keep the roster mostly in tact from their wording. Not everyone will come back but full-blown reboot from scratch is just not feasible. Even from the early from Melee to Brawl to 4 where teams and developers were changed every title, it was still same game being built upon overtime.

I would expect the reboot to be just like that. I say Brawl-4 numbers for base is good number to start.

 

[Louie G.]

I'm surprised that this hasn't been posted yet:

I've got plenty of issues with certain choices here - which is to be expected in such a condensed roster, we all have different priorities. But cutting Mega Man is indefensible and cutting Diddy Kong of all characters definitely needs some more justification than "we needed extra space". Also, Meta Knight for Bandana Dee is not an even trade I'm sorry. I don't know who I'd suggest cutting instead but these aren't the move.

In respect to Mega Man, I always hated the argument of "if Capcom could choose one, they'd choose Ryu!" and anything similar to that. Realistically they wouldn't have to choose, but why is this posed like these companies get to boss Nintendo around? If Sakurai comes in and asks for someone specific, he's intending to get that character. They asked for Mega Man first, they'd probably ask for him again. Let Capcom have three characters, nobody will be mad.

Also as dope as Raven Beak would be, that's not gonna happen. And we need to give Sylux a rest until we actually see what he does in Prime 4. Honestly I find the insistence on putting these characters in but cutting like, Min Min is counterintuitive. He clearly wants to prioritize getting newer Switch-era characters in where he can like Ring Fit and Xeno 3, so why retract the ones we already have? Or why prioritize a new Metroid character over Animal Crossing or Splatoon here, which have grown way more and have more consistently important characters absent?

Sorry to be so negative, I guess uhh... I agree with what he said about Meowscarada I think they'd be cool.

What potential new franchises would you like to see in the next Smash game?

Rhythm Heaven and Puyo Puyo are the ones I'd sell my soul for. There are a bunch of others I'd enjoy seeing but that's top priority.

 

[Nabbitfan730]

What potential new franchises would you like to see in the next Smash game? Whether it be from Nintendo, 3rd party companies already represented, or new companies altogether.

Rayman
Shovel Knight
Monster Hunter
Touhou
Digimon
Halo

Maybe Castle Crashers or Soul Calibur. The latter 5 I have no real connection with but it's nice to have new series I'm unfamiliar with join the fray. Maybe I will gain the connection.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

What potential new franchises would you like to see in the next Smash game? Whether it be from Nintendo, 3rd party companies already represented, or new companies altogether.

The only first party series as newcomers i really want to see is Golden sun.

The others are third party, stuff like Yakuza, Ace Attorney, Digimon and Super robot wars.

 

[Ivander]

What potential new franchises would you like to see in the next Smash game? Whether it be from Nintendo, 3rd party companies already represented, or new companies altogether.

Are we counting in playable fighters or overall series in Smash Bros? Cause I mean if just the former, I'd still be good for Isaac getting in and Golden Sun getting it's playable rep. Obviously, I'm still hoping for Custom Robo and Monster Hunter to get a playable character. Some Final Fantasy content not from FFVII only would be great.

That said, I'm good with any new series getting in Smash in general, though I hope at least 2/3 or more new Nintendo franchises get a playable character.

 

[Stratos]

You know I just thought of something now that I read that Masahiro Sakurai said that he doesn't know how the next Super Smash Bros. could be bigger than Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, I don't know what you guys think but what I thought was about the roster like you know the characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is 89 if we count all 12 DLCs. So I thought the number of characters plus DLC would be 89 again, with the difference that some veteran characters would be replaced with newcomers. As for the rest be whatever, I mean not a reboot of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate at all of course.

 

[Nabbitfan730]

But cutting Mega Man is indefensible and cutting Diddy Kong

Mega Man and Diddy Cut? A huge disagree already.

I know Mega Man isn't the big dog was even when his 11th came out just 5 years but the dude is synonymous with Nintendo's history and even then isn't a hard pick to negotiate for.

Also why Diddy of all people either? He's still a prominent character in both DK and Mario series with a huge backing. Why would he be cut?

 

[SPEN18]

What potential new franchises would you like to see in the next Smash game? Whether it be from Nintendo, 3rd party companies already represented, or new companies altogether.

There are a lot of first party series I think should get a shot and which compare favorably to several series currently on the roster.
Golden Sun is a top priority on that front. I love Advance Wars and Wave Race though they probably need new games to actually get in, outside of filling some surprise or retro slot. Ring Fit is kind of an easy lay-up pick. Excitebike is kind of the last real big "NES retro" first party pick. Rhythm Heaven was a missed opportunity in 4.
There are others as well but that's kind of like a short list. Of course I don't expect to get all of them and there are a lot of great picks from existing franchises also, but I hope we can make some progress on this front in Smash 6.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

There are a lot of first party series I think should get a shot and which compare favorably to several series currently on the roster.
Golden Sun is a top priority on that front. I love Advance Wars and Wave Race though they probably need new games to actually get in, outside of filling some surprise or retro slot. Ring Fit is kind of an easy lay-up pick. Excitebike is kind of the last real big "NES retro" first party pick. Rhythm Heaven was a missed opportunity in 4.
There are others as well but that's kind of like a short list. Of course I don't expect to get all of them and there are a lot of great picks from existing franchises also, but I hope we can make some progress on this front in Smash 6.

What would you even do with Wave race? A stage maybe?

 

[Quillion]

What would you even do with Wave race? A stage maybe?

At least with a Wave Race character, they could have a reason to have a creative made-up moveset again instead of a moveset that tries way too hard to recreate the mechanics of the fighter's home game.

 

[Gengar84]

At least with a Wave Race character, they could have a reason to have a creative made-up moveset again instead of a moveset that tries way too hard to recreate the mechanics of the fighter's home game.

As long as those mechanics translate to a character that’s fun to play in Smash, I think it’s a good thing to aim for to make characters feel as close to playing them in their home series. I can understand preferring more movesets that take more creative liberties though.

 

[SPEN18]

What would you even do with Wave race? A stage maybe?

The obvious rep would be Ryota Hayami. I haven't thought up a fully fleshed-out moveset, but I imagine it working kind of like a mounted character would except (1) there would be way less animation complication than, say, a horse would create and (2) the character could perform certain actions off of the mount (in this case it'd be a jet ski) whenever and however much it is necessary to make the moveset work (i.e. the jet ski could disappear in certain situations much like other items and vehicles characters use in their movesets).

Various moves could involve rushing, jumping, and performing tricks with the jet ski just like in the Wave Race games. There's actually a lot more there than meets the eye with the potential for flips, barrel rolls, helicopters, drifts and sharp turns, wheelies, and handstands or other tricks/poses/attacks on top of the jet ski. You could also have moves with wave, splash, or other water effects. Maybe you drop a buoy on them at some point. Man, the dolphins could even be incorporated in some way, like maybe for the throws you toss them a fixed distance and the dolphin pops out to whack them with its tail or nose, something like that.

There is more than enough there to put something together and all I can say is every time I imagine it in my head it seems super fun.

Stage is easy, I suggested Dolphin Park before.

 

[Quillion]

As long as those mechanics translate to a character that’s fun to play in Smash, I think it’s a good thing to aim for to make characters feel as close to playing them in their home series. I can understand preferring more movesets that take more creative liberties though.

I mean, if the character does fight in their home series, they absolutely should take some elements of that into Smash. I'll concede that something like both Ganondorf and Zelda are too far removed from their canon incarnations that they impact fun factor.

But then you have trash like Mario's FLUDD replacing his Tornado, which is decidedly less fun.

There needs to be a balance, like all things should have.

 

[Gengar84]

I mean, if the character does fight in their home series, they absolutely should take some elements of that into Smash. I'll concede that something like both Ganondorf and Zelda are too far removed from their canon incarnations that they impact fun factor.

But then you have trash like Mario's FLUDD replacing his Tornado, which is decidedly less fun.

There needs to be a balance, like all things should have.

I’ll agree with the FLUDD. It’s kind of cool in theory but I never liked using it in practice. It’s also a specific move from one Mario game that he’s never used since. I also wish Link didn’t lose his hookshot tether grab just because he didn’t use it in Breath of the Wild. His hookshot was a lot of fun and his grab is kind of boring now.

I feel like characters that have had multiple appearances like Link and Mario should aim for a moveset that represents the character as a whole rather than take moves from one specific game. That just makes the character feel kind of dated if the source is old and not used regularly.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Mega Man and Diddy Cut? A huge disagree already.

I know Mega Man isn't the big dog was even when his 11th came out just 5 years but the dude is synonymous with Nintendo's history and even then isn't a hard pick to negotiate for.

Also why Diddy of all people either? He's still a prominent character in both DK and Mario series with a huge backing. Why would he be cut?

Louie is agreeing with you?

 

[Wonder Smash]

What potential new franchises would you like to see in the next Smash game? Whether it be from Nintendo, 3rd party companies already represented, or new companies altogether.

If you mean for the roster:


If you mean just a new representation of any kind, I'd also like to see something directly from Shin Megami Tensei in Smash. Nihon Falcom doesn't have anything but it's a company I think would be an interesting addition to Smash too.

Oh and some Contra in there for sure.

 

[Quillion]

I’ll agree with the FLUDD. It’s kind of cool in theory but I never liked using it in practice. It’s also a specific move from one Mario game that he’s never used since. I also wish Link didn’t lose his hookshot tether grab just because he didn’t use it in Breath of the Wild. His hookshot was a lot of fun and his grab is kind of boring now.

I feel like characters that have had multiple appearances like Link and Mario should aim for a moveset that represents the character as a whole rather than take moves from one specific game. That just makes the character feel kind of dated if the source is old and not used regularly.

That's why I was hoping we would have a "classic" OoT/TP-style Link as a clone or echo of the main "BotW" Link. BotW deliberately lets go of certain things that have been iconic of Zelda, so at least give us some option to keep the old Link around.

 

[DarthEnderX]

What potential new franchises would you like to see in the next Smash game? Whether it be from Nintendo, 3rd party companies already represented, or new companies altogether.

Let's see...

1. Bubble Bobble
2. Double Dragon
3. Gradius
4. Ninja Gaiden
5. StarTropics
6. Contra
7. Pro Wrestling
8. Rygar
9. Battletoads
10. Bionic Commando
11. Crystalis
12. Blaster Master
13. Maniac Mansion
14. Wizards & Warriors

They don't all need Fighters, but they all need to make appearances.

 

[DarthEnderX]

Hey look, it's that Takamaru guy.

 

[Ivander]

Hey look, it's that Takamaru guy.

Think that's surprising, I think this is the first time Devil World has come over to the West officially.

 

[Noipoi]

What potential new franchises would you like to see in the next Smash game? Whether it be from Nintendo, 3rd party companies already represented, or new companies altogether.

I know Undertale is already in the game, but I want it to get the full treatment. A fighter, a stage, everything. And a Freddy Fazbear mii costume sounds hilarious, so add FNAF too.

On a more serious note, the Crash Bandicoot series would be rad. And Rayman just needs to be a fighter already.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Hey look, it's that Takamaru guy.

Takamaru is my pick for a retro character at this point.

Mach Rider is a close second.

 

[Ivander]

Takamaru is my pick for a retro character at this point.

Mach Rider is a close second.

Mach Rider is that character whom I would be interested in, but I want to see like a "Smash Bros. Brawl Pit transformation" for him. Like besides the updated look, Brawl was also where Pit got his dual-blade Bow. In regards to Mach Rider, I know it seems simple to design him similarly to Captain Falcon, but you know what I think would be cool and fitting in regards to Mach Rider and his game?
If his bike was somewhat re-designed and could now transform into a kind of "Exo-suit/Suit Attachment" for Mach Rider that he uses in combat. His bike's laser blasters attached near his arms for projectiles and other attacks, the wheels near his feet to use for mobility, parts of the bike serving as protective armor. I mean, when Mach Rider got hit, he and his bike would break apart and then rejoin, why not allow the bike to break apart to rejoin and become something different that Mach Rider can use for on-foot combat? And he'd be true to his name of "Mach Rider", because in that case, he'd now be riding Mach armor into battle.

Like I'm fine receiving him if he got in with his original design, but I think Mach Rider is one of those characters whom I think could really benefit from being updated and being given some creative ideas and measures for his design and moveset.

 

[SPEN18]

I feel like Mach Rider is really overestimated within the fandom. Which is kind of weird to say about a character of that level of notoriety. Of course a lot of it is because of the leak. Still, IMO his moveset potential is not really appreciably better than Excitebiker's, at least in terms of being able to pull off the core of the biker archetype. Which both can do quite well, but with Excitebike being a much more significant game in the NES era and one with direct connection to Miyamoto.

I mean, Mach Rider is a cool game also and I don't have any disdain for it, but speaking with the full benefit of hindsight, Mach Rider being on the Grinch leak probably should've been a pretty clear indicator that it was fake...

Again, not to discredit the cool tricks Mach Rider can pull off like fracturing into pieces and coming back together, or whipping out his machine gun. But Excitebiker not having those things doesn't make him worse; he'd just probably be a less eccentric take on the biker concept, potentially more focused on other mechanics such as acceleration, jumping, and stunts which are equally reflective of the source material and equally fun if done right.

 

[Kirbeh]

I don't think Mach Rider is necessarily overestimated. After all most talk around the character is that they would be cool or a personal retro pick, not really referring to the belief that they're actually likely.

That aside, I'm in agreement with Ivander. I think Mach Rider would need a significant reimagining like Pit got back in Brawl.

As for what that could be, there are loads of directions they could take it in. I'm personally partial to the idea of giving him a chain and making him a sort of Smash Bros. version of Marvel 3 Ghost Rider. That would cover his tilts and smash attacks while the guns, bike, etc. would be his specials.

As for Excite Biker, I'd love to see them too. And honestly I think you could do both while making them distinct from another. I've never liked the argument that was used in the past sometimes where if you went with one the other was off the table.

 

[Nabbitfan730]

Louie is agreeing with you?

I know. I'm referring to video he was talking about.

 

[Geno Boost]

What potential new franchises would you like to see in the next Smash game? Whether it be from Nintendo, 3rd party companies already represented, or new companies altogether.

there are alot i would like to see
Super Mario RPG
Alex Kidd
Golden Sun
Bomberman
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
Joy Mech Fight
Rayman
Crash Bandicoot
Teleroboxer
Club Penguin
Zero Wing
Wario Land
Space Invaders
Arkanoid
Microsoft Entertainment Pack
Doom
Angry Birds
Shin Megami Tensei
Digimon
Tetris
Bejeweled
Darkstalkers
Battletoads
Pro Wrestling NES
Sutte Hakkun
Nester Funky Bowling/Nintendo Power
Touhou
Captain Rainbow
Dig Dug
Vectorman
Daytona
Plants vs zombies
Spyro
Ballz 3D
Cooking Mama
Mortal Kombat

 

[Diddy Kong]

Hey look, it's that Takamaru guy.

For 2 games in a row right now we as a Smash community where "very sure" Takamaru would be one of the token retro newcomers. Funny how that turned out. Nobody speaks of him anymore now.

Also he was my pick for a retro Nintendo newcomer, but I think right now it's Balloon Fighter cause of Iwata. Sukapon is also still a solid choice.

 

[fogbadge]

What potential new franchises would you like to see in the next Smash game? Whether it be from Nintendo, 3rd party companies already represented, or new companies altogether.

let's see: Chibi-Robo, Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, Another Code, Golden Sun, Astral Chain, Rhythm Paradise, Advance Wars, Nintendogs, Professor Layton, Yo-kai Watch, Ace Attorney, Soul Calibur, Digimon, Hollow Knight, A Hat in Time

 

[Truth the Ceomasterz33]

Deleted posts

 

[Opossum]

For 2 games in a row right now we as a Smash community where "very sure" Takamaru would be one of the token retro newcomers. Funny how that turned out. Nobody speaks of him anymore now.

Also he was my pick for a retro Nintendo newcomer, but I think right now it's Balloon Fighter cause of Iwata. Sukapon is also still a solid choice.

I mean...the reason for the dip in Takamaru discussion was because he was disconfirmed literally right at the start of Ultimate, while also not having the massive casual support that Waluigi had to leverage it. Add to that the fact that in recent years, people have been obsessed with controlling the narrative and saying wild things like "um actually a retro slot isn't a thing" to shut down any and all discussion of him, and badabing badaboom, people are subliminally dissuaded from talking about him in favor of The Same Five Characters.


But anyway **** that, here's a Takamaru moveset I made a while ago since it's relevant. He's great and I refuse to pretend he isn't.

Spoiler

Concept: Takamaru's design centers around the idea of him using his far reaching and oppressive projectiles to pepper the opponent with damage, until he can then rush in and deliver a decisive blow with his katana to finish them off. He can keep the opponent guessing by changing the patterns of his projectiles, leaving them overwhelmed. He's fairly light, however, and can't take as many strong close range attacks, so strong Rushdown characters will punish him hard if they can wade through his wall of projectiles.

Jab: A very quick slash attack from Takamaru's katana. Visually, it's identical to his close range Assist Trophy attack. A move with very little start and end lag, it can combo into itself up to three times before the opponent is too far away to hit.

Dash Attack: Takamaru performs a slide kick while dashing. A slight water effect is also used, referencing Takamaru's ability to walk on water.

Forward Tilt: Takamaru quickly swipes his blade forward. Tapping forward tilt again will cause him to make a quick follow-up attack consisting of a quick swipe from the other direction.

Up Tilt: Takamaru draws his blade and makes a quick arc above his head.

Down Tilt: When crouched, Takamaru's blade is sheathed. For this attack, he quickly throws a small ember of a fire ball in front of him on the ground, acting similarly to Steve's Flint and Steel. This move can then lead into other attacks while the foe is in hit stun.

Forward Smash: Takamaru raises his katana above his head before bringing it down in a strong slash downward.

Up Smash: Takamaru spins a windmill sword above his head, its blades causing high damage and sending the foe skyward.

Down Smash: While Takamaru is crouched, his blade is sheathed. For this attack, he quickly draws his blade and slashes at the opponent's legs in an iaijutsu maneuver. This move is one of Takamaru's best kill moves, having high power and very low start up, but at the expense of fairly lengthy endlag by comparison, as Takamaru must sheathe his sword afterward.

Neutral Aerial: Takamaru summons a circle of fire balls around him, which quickly circle him before disappearing. These fire balls damage foes if they get in the way.

Forward Aerial: Takamaru performs a series of three strikes in the air, with the final being an overhead strike. Takamaru's fall is slowed during this move to allow for combo-ability.

Back Aerial: Takamaru swings around and delivers a powerful horizontal slash. This is a very powerful single-strike attack and a reliable kill move for Takamaru.

Up Aerial: A move that looks and acts very similarly to Cloud's up aerial. Takamaru lifts his katana aloft, blade side up, to strike the foe from above.

Down Aerial: Takamaru unsheathes his sword and quickly makes an arc beneath him. This move can act as a meteor smash.

Pummel: Takamaru grabs his opponent with one hand and knees for damage. During the grab and pummel, Takamaru's katana is sheathed.

Forward Throw: Takamaru tosses the foe in front of him before lunging forward with three iaijutsu slashes.

Back Throw: Takamaru tosses the foe behind him before, with eyes shut and without moving backwards, draws his blade and swings it behind him, launching the foe.

Up Throw: Takamaru tosses the foe up before crouching. He then disappears, reappears in the air, and rapidly slashes the foe upward.

Down Throw: Takamaru tosses the foe into the ground and disappears. He reappears above and descends on the foe with a strong slash of his blade.

Neutral Special: Shuriken Toss - This very quick projectile goes about the length of a mid-charge Water Shuriken from Greninja, but is significantly faster to compensate for somewhat lower power. Takamaru tosses a single shuriken in a straight line unless under the effects of a Shogi Piece.

Side Special: Windmill Sword Technique or Fire Ball Technique - This move changes depending on whether the special button is tapped or held. If the button is tapped, Takamaru uses the Windmill Sword Technique, launching a single windmill sword forward. This projectile travels further than the Shuriken Toss, but it is significantly weaker. However, it also carries the foe for the remainder of its range after they're hit. If the button is held, Takamaru uses the Fire Ball Technique. Takamaru shoots out a single large fire ball. The range is quite poor for a projectile, only traveling the length of about a Battlefield platform, but its power is much higher than Takamaru's other projectiles to compensate.

Up Special: Invisibility Scroll - Takamaru takes out an Invisibility Scroll and disappears in a puff of smoke. He then reappears in the chosen direction with a strong slash of his katana. This move is effectively a mixture of Sheik's Deku Nut and Greninja's Shadow Sneak.

Down Special: Shogi Shift - Pressing this button will allow Takamaru to shift between four modes, which affect his neutral and side specials.

-Takamaru starts out in the No Shogi phase, where he does not have a Shogi piece. In this mode, the neutral and side specials behave as described in their sections. Takamaru will also return to this mode if he stays in one of the other three modes for too long, and if so, the other mode goes through a recharge period before it can be used again, similar to Shulk's Monado Arts.

-Of the three other modes, the first is the Rook. The Rook koma appears above Takamaru briefly, and in this mode, Takamaru's projectiles will instead fly out in the four cardinal directions.

-The second of the three is the Bishop. The Bishop koma appears briefly above Takamaru, and his projectiles will now fly out in a fan pattern of three in front of him. Each is weaker than normal, but retains the strength if all three manage to hit close up, but also comes with the benefit of a larger general range due to the fan pattern.

-The third and final of these modes is the King, in which the King koma appears above Takamaru briefly. Instead of changing the attack's direction and pattern, the King koma instead shoots out not one, but three of the same projectile, multiplying the power of the move by three. To compensate for its power, however, the recharge period for this mode is longer than it is for the Rook or Bishop.

Final Smash: Inazuma Lightning - A tanooki appears next to Takamaru and cheers as Takamaru lifts his hand skyward. The sky then darkens as massive lightning strikes rapidly strike the stage, causing massive damage to any opponent that gets hit. If a foe who has over 100% damage is struck, they are instantly KO'd. After ten rapid lightning strikes, the storm clears and the Final Smash finishes.

Up Taunt: A tanooki appears and falls into Takamaru's arms, who looks at it in surprise, before it disappears again.

Side Taunt: Takamaru draws his blade outward as a shing sound effect is heard.

Down Taunt: Takamaru turns away from the camera and sheathes his sword.

 

[Gengar84]

I mean...the reason for the dip in Takamaru discussion was because he was disconfirmed literally right at the start of Ultimate, while also not having the massive casual support that Waluigi had to leverage it. Add to that the fact that in recent years, people have been obsessed with controlling the narrative and saying wild things like "um actually a retro slot isn't a thing" to shut down any and all discussion of him, and badabing badaboom, people are subliminally dissuaded from talking about him in favor of The Same Five Characters.


But anyway **** that, here's a Takamaru moveset I made a while ago since it's relevant. He's great and I refuse to pretend he isn't.

Spoiler

Concept: Takamaru's design centers around the idea of him using his far reaching and oppressive projectiles to pepper the opponent with damage, until he can then rush in and deliver a decisive blow with his katana to finish them off. He can keep the opponent guessing by changing the patterns of his projectiles, leaving them overwhelmed. He's fairly light, however, and can't take as many strong close range attacks, so strong Rushdown characters will punish him hard if they can wade through his wall of projectiles.

Jab: A very quick slash attack from Takamaru's katana. Visually, it's identical to his close range Assist Trophy attack. A move with very little start and end lag, it can combo into itself up to three times before the opponent is too far away to hit.

Dash Attack: Takamaru performs a slide kick while dashing. A slight water effect is also used, referencing Takamaru's ability to walk on water.

Forward Tilt: Takamaru quickly swipes his blade forward. Tapping forward tilt again will cause him to make a quick follow-up attack consisting of a quick swipe from the other direction.

Up Tilt: Takamaru draws his blade and makes a quick arc above his head.

Down Tilt: When crouched, Takamaru's blade is sheathed. For this attack, he quickly throws a small ember of a fire ball in front of him on the ground, acting similarly to Steve's Flint and Steel. This move can then lead into other attacks while the foe is in hit stun.

Forward Smash: Takamaru raises his katana above his head before bringing it down in a strong slash downward.

Up Smash: Takamaru spins a windmill sword above his head, its blades causing high damage and sending the foe skyward.

Down Smash: While Takamaru is crouched, his blade is sheathed. For this attack, he quickly draws his blade and slashes at the opponent's legs in an iaijutsu maneuver. This move is one of Takamaru's best kill moves, having high power and very low start up, but at the expense of fairly lengthy endlag by comparison, as Takamaru must sheathe his sword afterward.

Neutral Aerial: Takamaru summons a circle of fire balls around him, which quickly circle him before disappearing. These fire balls damage foes if they get in the way.

Forward Aerial: Takamaru performs a series of three strikes in the air, with the final being an overhead strike. Takamaru's fall is slowed during this move to allow for combo-ability.

Back Aerial: Takamaru swings around and delivers a powerful horizontal slash. This is a very powerful single-strike attack and a reliable kill move for Takamaru.

Up Aerial: A move that looks and acts very similarly to Cloud's up aerial. Takamaru lifts his katana aloft, blade side up, to strike the foe from above.

Down Aerial: Takamaru unsheathes his sword and quickly makes an arc beneath him. This move can act as a meteor smash.

Pummel: Takamaru grabs his opponent with one hand and knees for damage. During the grab and pummel, Takamaru's katana is sheathed.

Forward Throw: Takamaru tosses the foe in front of him before lunging forward with three iaijutsu slashes.

Back Throw: Takamaru tosses the foe behind him before, with eyes shut and without moving backwards, draws his blade and swings it behind him, launching the foe.

Up Throw: Takamaru tosses the foe up before crouching. He then disappears, reappears in the air, and rapidly slashes the foe upward.

Down Throw: Takamaru tosses the foe into the ground and disappears. He reappears above and descends on the foe with a strong slash of his blade.

Neutral Special: Shuriken Toss - This very quick projectile goes about the length of a mid-charge Water Shuriken from Greninja, but is significantly faster to compensate for somewhat lower power. Takamaru tosses a single shuriken in a straight line unless under the effects of a Shogi Piece.

Side Special: Windmill Sword Technique or Fire Ball Technique - This move changes depending on whether the special button is tapped or held. If the button is tapped, Takamaru uses the Windmill Sword Technique, launching a single windmill sword forward. This projectile travels further than the Shuriken Toss, but it is significantly weaker. However, it also carries the foe for the remainder of its range after they're hit. If the button is held, Takamaru uses the Fire Ball Technique. Takamaru shoots out a single large fire ball. The range is quite poor for a projectile, only traveling the length of about a Battlefield platform, but its power is much higher than Takamaru's other projectiles to compensate.

Up Special: Invisibility Scroll - Takamaru takes out an Invisibility Scroll and disappears in a puff of smoke. He then reappears in the chosen direction with a strong slash of his katana. This move is effectively a mixture of Sheik's Deku Nut and Greninja's Shadow Sneak.

Down Special: Shogi Shift - Pressing this button will allow Takamaru to shift between four modes, which affect his neutral and side specials.

-Takamaru starts out in the No Shogi phase, where he does not have a Shogi piece. In this mode, the neutral and side specials behave as described in their sections. Takamaru will also return to this mode if he stays in one of the other three modes for too long, and if so, the other mode goes through a recharge period before it can be used again, similar to Shulk's Monado Arts.

-Of the three other modes, the first is the Rook. The Rook koma appears above Takamaru briefly, and in this mode, Takamaru's projectiles will instead fly out in the four cardinal directions.

-The second of the three is the Bishop. The Bishop koma appears briefly above Takamaru, and his projectiles will now fly out in a fan pattern of three in front of him. Each is weaker than normal, but retains the strength if all three manage to hit close up, but also comes with the benefit of a larger general range due to the fan pattern.

-The third and final of these modes is the King, in which the King koma appears above Takamaru briefly. Instead of changing the attack's direction and pattern, the King koma instead shoots out not one, but three of the same projectile, multiplying the power of the move by three. To compensate for its power, however, the recharge period for this mode is longer than it is for the Rook or Bishop.

Final Smash: Inazuma Lightning - A tanooki appears next to Takamaru and cheers as Takamaru lifts his hand skyward. The sky then darkens as massive lightning strikes rapidly strike the stage, causing massive damage to any opponent that gets hit. If a foe who has over 100% damage is struck, they are instantly KO'd. After ten rapid lightning strikes, the storm clears and the Final Smash finishes.

Up Taunt: A tanooki appears and falls into Takamaru's arms, who looks at it in surprise, before it disappears again.

Side Taunt: Takamaru draws his blade outward as a shing sound effect is heard.

Down Taunt: Takamaru turns away from the camera and sheathes his sword.

Even if it’s true that a designated retro slot isn’t a thing, that doesn’t mean that we can’t still get retro characters. I feel like too many people falsely correlate the fact that something doesn’t have to happen with the idea that it means it can’t happen. The same goes for people that assume that just because something hasn’t happened yet, it means that thing will never happen. I feel like a lot of people focus too narrowly on trying to find patterns and dismiss anything that doesn’t fit into those patterns.

As for Takamaru himself, I’ve never played his games but I like the idea of a playable samurai in Smash. I wonder if he’ll get a reworked design like Pit did in Brawl. Takamaru’s classic design is just a little boring visually for my personal taste.

 

[Speed Weed]

Hey look, it's that Takamaru guy.

bottom text

 

[Simnm]

]

I can see Freddy and the others being added as Mii Costumes, which I think would be appropriate that series

Nah fully playable character
We all said the same thing for steve look what happened
Hes has unique moveset potential
His only potential rival is nemesis but his design may be a problem for him

 

[Gengar84]

]

Nah fully playable character
We all said the same thing for steve look what happened
Hes has unique moveset potential
His only potential rival is nemesis but his design may be a problem for him

Technically Jill, Chris, and Leon count as horror reps even though they themselves aren’t scary. I like all three protagonists but I feel like if you want to rep the horror genre, the character you choose should be scary. That’s why I personally like Nemesis as the Resident Evil rep even though the protagonists are probably more popular.

 

[RileyXY1]

Even if it’s true that a designated retro slot isn’t a thing, that doesn’t mean that we can’t still get retro characters. I feel like too many people falsely correlate the fact that something doesn’t have to happen with the idea that it means it can’t happen. The same goes for people that assume that just because something hasn’t happened yet, it means that thing will never happen. I feel like a lot of people focus too narrowly on trying to find patterns and dismiss anything that doesn’t fit into those patterns.

As for Takamaru himself, I’ve never played his games but I like the idea of a playable samurai in Smash. I wonder if he’ll get a reworked design like Pit did in Brawl. Takamaru’s classic design is just a little boring visually for my personal taste.

That was why almost all the newcomers came out of left field last time. People just focused too much on patterns.

Joker: Due to Persona being an almost Playstation-exclusive series no one expected him to get in. If Atlus was to get content they instead expected to see Shin Megami Tensei getting a rep instead because that series actually had mainline entries on Nintendo systems.
Byleth: As the previous four DLC characters were all third parties many people expected it to be the same for the final character. The only thing pointing in Byleth's favor was the absence of a Spirit Event for Fire Emblem: Three Houses while other games released around the same time like Astral Chain, Pokémon: Sword and Shield, and Daemon x Machina got one.
Min Min: ARMS was seen as a base game or bust deal, so many people were shocked to learn that it would indeed be getting a fighter. This caused a mad dash of speculation, especially considering that the obvious frontrunner in Spring Man was an Assist Trophy. Min Min came out of left field since she was a Spirit in the base game, and many people at the time believed that Spirits can't be promoted to fighters, despite both Mewtwo and Lucas getting to be DLC in Smash 4 despite both having trophies in the base game.
Sephiroth: Due to Final Fantasy's lack of content in the base game and general issues with Square Enix no one expected the series to get a second rep. Instead at the time a lot of people were pointing to Jonesy from Fortnite to be the next character. Not even a post claiming that the song choice in the trailer would be a hint to the fighter pointed people in the direction of Sephiroth, making him a massive shock to the community.
Pyra and Mythra: After ARMS got a rep, there was heavy speculation on Xenoblade Chronicles 2 getting a character, as Sakurai wanted to rep both in the base game but couldn't due to time constraints. However, virtually expected it to be Rex who got in. Pyra and Mythra came out of left field for both this reason and the fact that they were a transformation fighter, as many people thought that the concept was dead following Smash 4's decision to separate Charizard, Zero Suit Samus, and Sheik and that the concept only came back due to them having to bring the Pokémon Trainer back for the sake of Everyone is Here.
Kazuya: Tekken was a popular choice in speculation for a second Namco Bandai character, and many thought that it would get one because at that point it was the only remaining veteran third party company that hadn't gotten a newcomer yet, whether they be in the base game or DLC. However, most people thought that it would be Heihachi, who was released as a Mii Fighter costume during Min Min's wave. Sakurai also planned for Heihachi to join the roster in Smash 4, but scrapped him due to moveset problems, which led to many people doubting that Tekken could get a character at all.
Sora: Sora was the biggest shock of the whole game. He came out of left field for many reasons, one of them was Disney's involvement. People debated over whether or not they would have to include classic Disney characters as Spirits or Mii Fighter costumes. Many people also didn't think that such a big character would end off the pass due to Smash's tendencies to save the promotional picks for last, and they instead turned to the last DLC character being a promotional pick like Corrin and Byleth, although they instead pointed to the protagonist of Shin Megami Tensei 5 to be the final character instead because there was no new Fire Emblem game in sight.

I did not list Hero, Banjo and Kazooie, Terry, and Steve due to them being either leaked or decently expected by the community.