Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[dream1ng]

Is that a joke? BCP didn't just inhibit MK9, it essentially replaced it.

No, that's backwards. BCP exists because the next Mario Kart was probably judged as unnecessary to be on the Switch due to MK8D's significant continued success, and so moved to the Switch 2. That was probably all decided before the BCP was even a thing, because, again, the next game is the priority.

Then in the absence of the next MK on the Switch, something like the BCP made sense. It was in reaction to MK9's situation, MK9's situation wasn't in reaction to it. The BCP just arrived first for obvious reasons.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

https://youtube.com/shorts/wPjNbcXVmU4?feature=shared

Against my better judgment, I have returned after many years.
Won't be as active as I used to be, but figured I'd pop in and say hello while speculations are starting to bubble, if anyone cares. :V

EDIT: Ah, there we go. Felt naked without the gold text.

 

[Noipoi]

https://youtube.com/shorts/wPjNbcXVmU4?feature=shared

Against my better judgment, I have returned after many years.
Won't be as active as I used to be, but figured I'd pop in and say hello while speculations are starting to bubble, if anyone cares. :V

I care. Welcome back, brother!

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

I care. Welcome back, brother!

Been some time, hasn't it?

Though I won't clutter the thread too much with non-speculation talk.

Saw people doing a list of 25 characters they'd want a while back and might be joining that bandwagon late.

 

[Captain Fun]

Is that a joke? BCP didn't just inhibit MK9, it essentially replaced it.

To be honest I think the BCP was a way to salvage work done on Mario Kart Tour before it stopped receiving updates. I think we’re still going to get a new mainline MK within the next few years.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

https://youtube.com/shorts/wPjNbcXVmU4?feature=shared

Against my better judgment, I have returned after many years.
Won't be as active as I used to be, but figured I'd pop in and say hello while speculations are starting to bubble, if anyone cares. :V

EDIT: Ah, there we go. Felt naked without the gold text.

Golen hath returned.

I am happ

 

[smashkirby]

https://youtube.com/shorts/wPjNbcXVmU4?feature=shared

Against my better judgment, I have returned after many years.
Won't be as active as I used to be, but figured I'd pop in and say hello while speculations are starting to bubble, if anyone cares. :V

EDIT: Ah, there we go. Felt naked without the gold text.

Welcome back!

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

https://youtube.com/shorts/wPjNbcXVmU4?feature=shared

Against my better judgment, I have returned after many years.
Won't be as active as I used to be, but figured I'd pop in and say hello while speculations are starting to bubble, if anyone cares. :V

EDIT: Ah, there we go. Felt naked without the gold text.

Welcome back~

 

[NintenRob]

After nearly a year of absence from this place, I'm back!! Heyo!!!!

"Who are you"



Oh nevermind. I'm gonna change my name anyway

 

[Swamp Sensei]

After nearly a year of absence from this place, I'm back!! Heyo!!!!

"Who are you"



Oh nevermind. I'm gonna change my name anyway

Yoo welcome back.

We got two oldies.

KEEP BRINGING THEM BACK

 

[epicmartin7]

Sooooooo, I've been going back and forth on this whole speculation about a new Smash game for awhile.

Annnnnnd... my internal gut says more Smash Ultimate DLC. I don't think Smash Ultimate will be "ported". I think it will simply have a compatibility update and take advantage of the new hardware that way. In similar vein to some PS4 --> PS5 and XBONE --> X(S/X) upgrades.

I honestly think we're done with ports. Wii U ports were during a time where the Switch had no backwards compatibility, and the Wii U was completely in the graveyard barely in peoples homes by that point. So economically, it made sense to try and resell those games as very few people bought them initially.

I think if they're working on Smash Ultimate again, the way they'd likely approach it is by adding content that sells the appeal of the new system (kinda like the labo support that was added.) Maybe exclusive features that are touted as "only" possible with a more powerful system.

In regards to a new Smash game, I do think that they'd likely need to reinvent the entire wheel or do something extremely different to make itself standout from Ultimate. But, imo, I think that'd take a lot of dev time, and from what I gather in the job listings posted, I think they're getting started on it.

So if we're going to get Smash stuff ASAP at/near Switch 2's launch, I could see it being a compatibility update that maybe prepares for new content down the line.

Buuuuut, this is just me taking a thought dump and kinda had to put my two cents as this has been jiggling around in my head A LOT. If ya'll have any thoughts, let me know.

 

[NintenRob]

Yoo welcome back.

We got two oldies.

KEEP BRINGING THEM BACK

Heyo Swamp!!! Long time no see

 

[epicmartin7]

Yoo welcome back.

We got two oldies.

KEEP BRINGING THEM BACK

Oh hey swamp! How've you been?

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Oh hey swamp! How've you been?

Heyo Swamp!!! Long time no see

Man, great seeing everyone come back.

 

[NintenRob]

I just realised I'm approaching my ten year anniversary

 

[Arcanir]

Glad to see some of the old guard's popping back in, it's great to see you guys!

 

[DarthEnderX]

So you think there won’t be a new Mario Kart for the next console?

There will obviously be a new MK at some point. And it will probably be called MK9. But it won't be the same game. The MK9 that you WOULD have gotten on Switch, was replaced by the BCP instead.

To be honest I think the BCP was a way to salvage work done on Mario Kart Tour before it stopped receiving updates.

It was a way to salvage the work done on Tour AND a way to salvage the work being done on MK9.

There's a reason why, in the BCP, the city courses from Tour are listed as "Tour" but the Nitro courses from Tour aren't labeled as being from anything.

It's because those courses were originally developed for MK9. But once Nintendo decided they weren't going to release MK9 during the Switch's life cycle, those tracks were then added to Tour instead, which were then in turn added to the BCP(or vice versa).

Merry Mountain, Ninja Hideaway, Sky-High Sundae, Piranha Plant Cove, Yoshi's Island, Pirhana Plant Pipeline and Squeaky Clean Sprint, is what you got instead of MK9 on Switch.

 

[NintenRob]

It's because those courses were originally developed for MK9. But once Nintendo decided they weren't going to release MK9 during the Switch's life cycle, those tracks were then added to Tour instead, which were then in turn added to the BCP(or vice versa).

Merry Mountain, Ninja Hideaway, Sky-High Sundae, Piranha Plant Cove, Yoshi's Island, Pirhana Plant Pipeline and Squeaky Clean Sprint, is what you got instead of MK9 on Switch.

I don't think there's any actual evidence for this. Sky High Sundae especially felt like it was made specifically for Tour given it's emphasis on tricking and point building. Also I was under the impression Tour had a different development team to the standard Mario Kart (though I'll have to fact check that one)

 

[Captain Fun]

It was a way to salvage the work done on Tour AND a way to salvage the work being done on MK9.

There's a reason why, in the BCP, the city courses from Tour are listed as "Tour" but the Nitro courses from Tour aren't labeled as being from anything.

It's because those courses were originally developed for MK9. But once Nintendo decided they weren't going to release MK9 during the Switch's life cycle, those tracks were then added to Tour instead, which were then in turn added to the BCP(or vice versa).

Merry Mountain, Ninja Hideaway, Sky-High Sundae, Piranha Plant Cove, Yoshi's Island, Pirhana Plant Pipeline and Squeaky Clean Sprint, is what you got instead of MK9 on Switch.

I would imagine the Nitro courses were originally made as Tour originals and repurposed as “new” courses for marketing reasons, which is supported by the lack of notable antigravity segments. I doubt Nintendo tabled MK9 for the booster pass instead of just quietly working on it- not unless there was some kind of big issue with development that would require them to basically start over. Scrapping work for 9 and putting it in Tour when they would have known well in advance that Tour was on its way out doesn’t make much sense either.
I never expected MK9 on Switch, I don’t think that was ever on the cards. But I also don’t think it has anything to do with the BCP.

 

[WeirdChillFever]

Yoo welcome back.

We got two oldies.

KEEP BRINGING THEM BACK

Somehow got the urge to return to this site like yesterday and suddenly the band’s getting back together? Ridiculous timing here.

Other than that self-celebratory mythologizing, I wonder how everyone would feel if the new Spririts (Rauru, Oatchi, Noah & Mio and Deep Cut) were to be the new characters in a possible Ultimate Deluxe. It’s not a scenario that has any feasible basis in reality but I feel like it’s a good mix between expected and dark horses to get the speculative muscles grooving again.

Personally I would love Rauru as a way to open the Zelda-part of the roster and I feel TotK has plenty of quote-unquote moveset potential at its disposal between the constructs and general mechanics of the game. Ascending as a recovery alone would be big fun, and Rauru is brimming with personality that the story didn’t do justice. Splatoon is well overdue for a second character (even though they only joined in with Ultimate) and Deep Cut does have the sauce and Oatchi is just a ridiculous choice but so so fun.

 

[Gengar84]

Welcome back everyone! It’s great to see this place picking up again.

My most wanted Zelda newcomer is Hyrule Warriors Impa but Rauru is also a great choice. He’d be a good way to represent the new abilities from Tears of the Kingdom without having to remake Link. Noah and Mio would be great too. Since we just had a transform Xenoblade rep, I like the idea of their Ouroboros fusion form to be the playable character to make them stand out from Pyra and Mythra. I’ve never heard of Deep Cut so I don’t have much to say on that one.

 

[Gorgonzales]

Somehow got the urge to return to this site like yesterday and suddenly the band’s getting back together? Ridiculous timing here.

Other than that self-celebratory mythologizing, I wonder how everyone would feel if the new Spririts (Rauru, Oatchi, Noah & Mio and Deep Cut) were to be the new characters in a possible Ultimate Deluxe. It’s not a scenario that has any feasible basis in reality but I feel like it’s a good mix between expected and dark horses to get the speculative muscles grooving again.

Personally I would love Rauru as a way to open the Zelda-part of the roster and I feel TotK has plenty of quote-unquote moveset potential at its disposal between the constructs and general mechanics of the game. Ascending as a recovery alone would be big fun, and Rauru is brimming with personality that the story didn’t do justice. Splatoon is well overdue for a second character (even though they only joined in with Ultimate) and Deep Cut does have the sauce and Oatchi is just a ridiculous choice but so so fun.

I could definitely see Oatchi working as a newcomer, and as a diehard Pikmin fan I'd love to see him included. I'd imagine him to have a more bruiser-type playstyle compared to Olimar. I think he could have Pikmin too, but he uses them differently compared to Olimar: for instance, his down B could be shaking them off and dismissing them to dig at the ground and gradually unearth an item while Oatchi fends off the opponent, representing the more Dandori side of Pikmin. It'd be really fun to use his charging Rush attack and have him fling all the Pikmin on his back onto the opponent at once, with that being how he uses Pikmin for offense compared to Olimar's throwing. A color palette based on Moss would make the whole thing complete.

My inner pessimist can't help but feel that the Smash team would mess him up, given of how their treatment of Olimar (and the Pikmin franchise as a whole) is... less than stellar.

...Is it too late to start a loud movement to advocate for Olimar to get his personality?

 

[NintenRob]

Of the spirits, the only one I could see being a new character is Noah and Mio. (And maybe Oatchi)

Rauru.... I dunno. Just doesn't feel like a Smash Bros Fighter. It feels like you'd be adding him for the abilities he gives Link rather than the character himself. If you were forced to add a Totk rep, he'd be the guy. But that to me would be like adding Prince Florian because you were forced to add a Mario Wonder character. There are just better choices for Zelda as a whole imo (though I'm probably bias)

Deep cut are just too far down the pecking order, they'd have to contend with the Squid Sisters, DJ Octavio, Octolings and Off The Hook.


Oatchi is a maybe. I haven't played Pikmin 4 but I could see them as a potential Piranha Plant esque pick to a certain extent (except making a bit more sense). He's more distinct to the captain's which is a plus. I think I need to play Pikmin 4 before forming a solid opinion. Better than a bulborb.


Noah and Mio are definitely fighter material, only question is implementation and if we care about more Xenoblade reps (I don't). Implementing them properly may be difficult between Ouroburos, Lucky 7 and the general fact there's two of them. But singling them out would feel odd as well (though they got away with it in Pyra without Rex)

 

[NintenRob]

Somehow got the urge to return to this site like yesterday and suddenly the band’s getting back together? Ridiculous timing here.

Other than that self-celebratory mythologizing, I wonder how everyone would feel if the new Spririts (Rauru, Oatchi, Noah & Mio and Deep Cut) were to be the new characters in a possible Ultimate Deluxe. It’s not a scenario that has any feasible basis in reality but I feel like it’s a good mix between expected and dark horses to get the speculative muscles grooving again.

Personally I would love Rauru as a way to open the Zelda-part of the roster and I feel TotK has plenty of quote-unquote moveset potential at its disposal between the constructs and general mechanics of the game. Ascending as a recovery alone would be big fun, and Rauru is brimming with personality that the story didn’t do justice. Splatoon is well overdue for a second character (even though they only joined in with Ultimate) and Deep Cut does have the sauce and Oatchi is just a ridiculous choice but so so fun.

I think there's the general feel in the air right now that a new Smash Bros game is likely in development. We know Bandai has a team working on something right now, Sakurai says he's ending his video series this year (meaning he's probably working on his next game) and apparently there's someone still working on the game in order to add the new spirits

Something is up

 

[Gengar84]

Who would you all pick for the next Pokemon rep, whether you think it’s the most likely or just one you want to see the most?

For me, I think the most likely is probably Zoroark and it’s Hisuian form as an alt. Hisuian Zoroark just got a series of animated shorts. It was the Pokemon chosen as a bonus for buying S/V DLC and came with the move Happy Hour which incentivized you to use it all the time as the best way to earn money in the game. The next logical remakes are Gen 5, which will probably make Zoroark even more relevant around that time. Hisuian Zoroark is also probably in my personal top 5 favorite Pokemon so it would be awesome to see. Meowscarada and a Gen 10 rep also seem like fairly safe choices. We did just get a Dark type bipedal cat starter in Ultimate so that might be a reason not to default to Meowscarada.

For my personal most wanted, my top 3 favorite Pokemon are Gengar, Cofagrigus, and Golisopod. Out of those, Gengar is the only one I feel has an actual chance. It’s constantly among the most popular Pokemon and hasn’t missed a game yet likely for that reason. The problem is that we already have a lot of Gen 1 reps so they might want to go with something else.

 

[WeirdChillFever]

I could definitely see Oatchi working as a newcomer, and as a diehard Pikmin fan I'd love to see him included. I'd imagine him to have a more bruiser-type playstyle compared to Olimar. I think he could have Pikmin too, but he uses them differently compared to Olimar: for instance, his down B could be shaking them off and dismissing them to dig at the ground and gradually unearth an item while Oatchi fends off the opponent, representing the more Dandori side of Pikmin. It'd be really fun to use his charging Rush attack and have him fling all the Pikmin on his back onto the opponent at once, with that being how he uses Pikmin for offense compared to Olimar's throwing. A color palette based on Moss would make the whole thing complete.

View attachment 382831

My inner pessimist can't help but feel that the Smash team would mess him up, given of how their treatment of Olimar (and the Pikmin franchise as a whole) is... less than stellar.

...Is it too late to start a loud movement to advocate for Olimar to get his personality?

I’m going to be honest I haven’t played Pikmin 4 past the demo so I’m not too knowledgeable on all the abilities there, but I like the idea of him using Pikmin in a more swarmy, force-of-nature-y kind of way. I do agree on Olimar needing his personality, Pikmin characters are very kooky and have a lot of charm and it’s a miss that Smash doesn’t really showcase that with Olimar.

Of the spirits, the only one I could see being a new character is Noah and Mio. (And maybe Oatchi)

Rauru.... I dunno. Just doesn't feel like a Smash Bros Fighter. It feels like you'd be adding him for the abilities he gives Link rather than the character himself. If you were forced to add a Totk rep, he'd be the guy. But that to me would be like adding Prince Florian because you were forced to add a Mario Wonder character. There are just better choices for Zelda as a whole imo (though I'm probably bias)

Deep cut are just too far down the pecking order, they'd have to contend with the Squid Sisters, DJ Octavio, Octolings and Off The Hook.


Oatchi is a maybe. I haven't played Pikmin 4 but I could see them as a potential Piranha Plant esque pick to a certain extent (except making a bit more sense). He's more distinct to the captain's which is a plus. I think I need to play Pikmin 4 before forming a solid opinion. Better than a bulborb.


Noah and Mio are definitely fighter material, only question is implementation and if we care about more Xenoblade reps (I don't). Implementing them properly may be difficult between Ouroburos, Lucky 7 and the general fact there's two of them. But singling them out would feel odd as well (though they got away with it in Pyra without Rex)

Likelihood-wise, yeah, they’re all dark horses, Rauru for the representation of the Zelda series’ tendency to not add the latest “companion” character and generally sticking with the Triforce Trio, Deep Cut for losing out in the series veteran department to the characters you mentioned and literal series veteran Cap’n Cuttlefish (though they might win out because of their fresh recency-filled faces), Oatchi for a potential lack of priority for Pikmin and Noah and Mio for a potential lack of priority for Xenoblade.

I do think they are good choices, representing a balance of series which have blown up since Ultimate’s conclusion and series which need fresh blood anyway. Personally I’d pick Master Kohga over Rauru to represent, as it were, the open world duology of Zelda, but it’s always going to be a jarring jump from Triforce Trio to recurring character at best (unless you go for Impa, who has gained some notoriety thanks to Age of Calamity)

Who would you all pick for the next Pokemon rep, whether you think it’s the most likely or just one you want to see the most?

For me, I think the most likely is probably Zoroark and it’s Hisuian form as an alt. Hisuian Zoroark just got a series of animated shorts. It was the Pokemon chosen as a bonus for buying S/V DLC and came with the move Happy Hour which incentivized you to use it all the time as the best way to earn money in the game. The next logical remakes are Gen 5, which will probably make Zoroark even more relevant around that time. Hisuian Zoroark is also probably in my personal top 5 favorite Pokemon so it would be awesome to see. Meowscarada and a Gen 10 rep also seem like fairly safe choices.

For my personal most wanted, my top 3 favorite Pokemon are Gengar, Cofagrigus, and Golisopod. Out of those, Gengar is the only one I feel has an actual chance. It’s constantly among the most popular Pokemon and hasn’t missed a game yet likely for that reason. The problem is that we already have a lot of Gen 1 reps so they might want to go with something else.

I couldn’t tell you a single useful thing about the latest generation outside of Quaxly, so I’m not gonna win the most-likely-prediction award there, but I would like an Ultra Beast or a regional bird to make their appearance in Smash.

 

[Gengar84]

I’m going to be honest I haven’t played Pikmin 4 past the demo so I’m not too knowledgeable on all the abilities there, but I like the idea of him using Pikmin in a more swarmy, force-of-nature-y kind of way. I do agree on Olimar needing his personality, Pikmin characters are very kooky and have a lot of charm and it’s a miss that Smash doesn’t really showcase that with Olimar.



Likelihood-wise, yeah, they’re all dark horses, Rauru for the representation of the Zelda series’ tendency to not add the latest “companion” character and generally sticking with the Triforce Trio, Deep Cut for losing out in the series veteran department to the characters you mentioned and literal series veteran Cap’n Cuttlefish (though they might win out because of their fresh recency-filled faces), Oatchi for a potential lack of priority for Pikmin and Noah and Mio for a potential lack of priority for Xenoblade.

I do think they are good choices, representing a balance of series which have blown up since Ultimate’s conclusion and series which need fresh blood anyway. Personally I’d pick Master Kohga over Rauru to represent, as it were, the open world duology of Zelda, but it’s always going to be a jarring jump from Triforce Trio to recurring character at best (unless you go for Impa, who has gained some notoriety thanks to Age of Calamity)



I couldn’t tell you a single useful thing about the latest generation outside of Quaxly, so I’m not gonna win the most-likely-prediction award there, but I would like an Ultra Beast or a regional bird to make their appearance in Smash.

Those sound like really interesting additions. I think my favorite Ultra Beast is Guzzlord and my favorite regional bird is Corviknight. Either of those would be really cool to see. There are lots of other regional birds I like as well like Pidgeot and Noctowl.

For Ultra Beasts, one idea I like is a spoiler for the end game story for Gen 7 so I’ll put it in tags just in case:

Spoiler

Nihilego’s possession of Lusamine. That would be a fun way to introduce a playable human character and villain to Smash.

 

[WeirdChillFever]

Those sound like really interesting additions. I think my favorite Ultra Beast is Guzzlord and my favorite regional bird is Corviknight. Either of those would be really cool to see. There are lots of other regional birds I like as well like Pidgeot and Noctowl.

For Ultra Beasts, one idea I like is a spoiler for the end game story for Gen 7 so I’ll put it in tags just in case:

Spoiler

Nihilego’s possession of Lusamine. That would be a fun way to introduce a playable human character and villain to Smash.

Actuallyyy I was thinking more in the line of the first evolution of regional bird Pokémon like Fletchling rather than Talonflame. I think it’d be a fun way to represent the start of the adventure and the more mundane Pokémon tropes (and to add a cute/silly factor over all the cool/edgy fully evolved humanoid Pokémon). Similarly, my pick for an Ultra Beast would be Poipole although your idea is awesome as well

 

[Gengar84]

Actuallyyy I was thinking more in the line of the first evolution of regional bird Pokémon like Fletchling rather than Talonflame. I think it’d be a fun way to represent the start of the adventure and the more mundane Pokémon tropes (and to add a cute/silly factor over all the cool/edgy fully evolved humanoid Pokémon). Similarly, my pick for an Ultra Beast would be Poipole although your idea is awesome as well

That is a cool and unique idea to call back to the start of a journey, I like it. In that case, as far as unevolved regional birds go, my favorite is Hoothoot. I actually prefer it to its evolution. Pidgey is probably next. I’d love to see either of them in Smash as well. I never really consider unevolved Pokemon when thinking about Smash reps but we do have Pikachu, Pichu, Jigglypuff, Squirtle, and Ivysaur so it’s definitely not out of the question. There are several Pokemon I prefer their unevolved versions of compared to their evolutions.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Who would you all pick for the next Pokemon rep, whether you think it’s the most likely or just one you want to see the most?

I've got a couple options:

Gengar: /v/ still has me Gengarpilled from all the fake leaks about it during Ultimate's speculation period. The fact the thing is still one of the most marketed and popular Pokémon to this day also helps.

Regigigas: https://youtu.be/Mze6Hj7Uprs?feature=shared
Rivals of Aether's mod lives rent free in my head.

Magnemite: The fact this thing had a supposed Ballot presence in Japan makes me laugh and kinda want to see it being added since the Ballot did influence a number of fighters in Ultimate.

Great Tusk: https://youtu.be/cWeytwy6sis?feature=shared
Don't really care about this Pokémon in general, but seeing it in action in this Pokémon fighting fangame won me over even if I know it will never happen.

Bidoof: I feel Bidoof would be a perfect Piranha Plant type pick and I would love to see a trailer using the same cinematic style as Bidoof's Big Stand.

Bloodmoon Ursaluna: No real reason other than it immediately becoming one of my favorites after being leaked. Kind of like

And finally a more unconventional one because Trainers are typically ignored in Smash outside of but I feel this one is a potential darkhorse given her sheer popularity.

Using Haunter almost exclusively, but able to call upon other Pokémon to assist like a Mahvel style such as Banette, Litwick, or Kadabra (to double as acknowledgement Kadabra has been "unbanned" in media).


I got plenty of other ideas, but this post is too long already.

Well, ****, there's also Baxcalibur which is the closest thing to Godzilla in Smash I'd ever get.

 

[Gengar84]

I've got a couple options:

Gengar: /v/ still has me Gengarpilled from all the fake leaks about it during Ultimate's speculation period. The fact the thing is still one of the most marketed and popular Pokémon to this day also helps.

Regigigas: https://youtu.be/Mze6Hj7Uprs?feature=shared
Rivals of Aether's mod lives rent free in my head.

Magnemite: The fact this thing had a supposed Ballot presence in Japan makes me laugh and kinda want to see it being added since the Ballot did influence a number of fighters in Ultimate.

Great Tusk: https://youtu.be/cWeytwy6sis?feature=shared
Don't really care about this Pokémon in general, but seeing it in action in this Pokémon fighting fangame won me over even if I know it will never happen.

Bidoof: I feel Bidoof would be a perfect Piranha Plant type pick and I would love to see a trailer using the same cinematic style as Bidoof's Big Stand.

Bloodmoon Ursaluna: No real reason other than it immediately becoming one of my favorites after being leaked. Kind of like

And finally a more unconventional one because Trainers are typically ignored in Smash outside of but I feel this one is a potential darkhorse given her sheer popularity.

Using Haunter almost exclusively, but able to call upon other Pokémon to assist like a Mahvel style such as Banette, Litwick, or Kadabra (to double as acknowledgement Kadabra has been "unbanned" in media).


I got plenty of other ideas, but this post is too long already.

Those are all great ideas. I’ve brought up the idea of playable trainers a few times here and think it could be a really interesting and unique way to represent Pokemon that hasn’t been done before. My thoughts are that they could play similarly to Yuna from Dissidia but use Pokemon instead of Aeons so they take a more active role in the battle compared to Red/Pokemon Trainer. I love the whole Gengar line so I’ll gladly take Hex Maniac. Great Tusk is my favorite Paradox Pokemon and in my top three for the Gen overall along with Ceruledge and Lokix so that would be awesome too. It would also be a very unique build for Smash where it’s closest comparison is Ivysaur.

 

[Louie G.]

I wonder how everyone would feel if the new Spririts (Rauru, Oatchi, Noah & Mio and Deep Cut) were to be new characters

Rauru - Trying to learn more about him, he seems pretty cool. I think I'd be a bit struck by him getting the precedent that was denied to someone like Skull Kid or Midna, both of which I would still like to see and whose popularity has persisted far longer than the current hotness. But I do think Rauru would be another addition to the Mewtwo or Sephiroth school of intimidating god-among-men sort of fighters which is an archetype I enjoy quite a lot. Mewtwo doesn't go far enough with it, Sephiroth would be lucky to return so I'd be open to seeing a new take. Preferably we could get him AND one of the older fan favorites, if any mainstay series warrants adding two new faces at this point it's probably Zelda.

Oatchi - Love this idea, mainly because I really think we could use more abstract and silly looking fighters. A playable Bulborb was always an appealing idea to me and if we can't get that, this feels like it's pretty close. I haven't played Pikmin 4 (yet!) but to my understanding Oatchi can get more physical than your typical captain with charge attacks, bites and whatnot. And that being on top of being able to do anything the other player characters can do, which makes me wonder how they may differentiate the involvement of Pikmin. Gorgonzales pitches some intriguing ideas so I'm more than open to it. Don't have much more to say here but this might be the one I want to see happen the most, lol. I had tossed around the idea of having a Pikmin 4 recruit riding around on his back, but apparently he can do everything they can do anyway so it might be a bit redundant? Mount characters are neat, though.

Noah / Mio - I'm not terribly interested in Noah, but I dig Mio's weapon of choice. Apparently they can both use them? But I'm not sure I would see Smash having Noah switch between a bunch of weapons so I still think if that was a major inspiration they would go for her. In any case, I really don't think these two would be a duo. Maybe some swap and assist mechanic could work (see: Angry Beavers in NASB), but I feel like this would be another Pyra scenario. And I think I would prefer that to be the case as well, these two would probably be too clunky to control together like Ice Climbers and are a little too different for me to feel like it warrants swapping between them like Pyra / Mythra. My preference for the latter is to be more of a stance change deal rather than a full on separate character, like I don't think Zelda / Sheik were very cohesive at all (Pokemon Trainer I can give a pass, but we only need one). In any case, yeah I like those rings and would be interested to see what a moveset involving those may entail. Outside of Pit we don't have a lot of dual-wielding characters.

Deep Cut - I loooove these three. Compared to the other idols, I would say these guys have the most concrete potential. Squid Sisters and Off the Hook have seniority, but having actual boss fights helps these guys be a little easier to visualize as fighters. Would they go for it though? I'm not sure, and while I think the aforementioned two idol teams could function as a duo it might be difficult to implement all three. In which case, who would be the leader and how would the others factor in? Shiver is my favorite, and honestly feels like the easiest to imagine and build on. I can imagine Frye's eels being pretty cool to toy around with though, and Big Man has the most distinct build of the three. My ideal may be some sort of assist summon mechanic, but I'm uncertain if this is something they'd want to persue or if they'd feel comfortable giving one member precedent over the others. That was our hangup over the Pokemon starters for a little while though, and Greninja shut that out so maybe it's much ado about nothing here too and they'll just add Shiver on her own or something. Who knows.

All in all, I hope this spirit event may get people thinking about which new faces are showing potential and could potentially be on the radar. Noah / Mio have been a popular one already, but Splatoon idols and Oatchi are worth more conversation and Rauru has been on a bit of an upward climb. Certainly it goes beyond these four, but I think this offers a nice diverse spread of fun characters already. I do believe all four of these series have grown in a meaningful way during the Switch era and deserve substantial new content. I'd be pretty glad to see any of them.

 

[DarthEnderX]

Who would you all pick for the next Pokemon rep, whether you think it’s the most likely or just one you want to see the most?

Garchomp. Super cool. Super popular. And is two Types not playable in Smash yet.

 

[SPEN18]

I made a post about Rauru just a bit ago. Basically, the main things going against him are that he doesn't have the long-established popularity of other older Zelda characters, or even the popularity of other BotW-era characters, and he would maybe confuse a few of the people who only played BotW but not TotK. However, if we're looking for a modern Zelda rep, he is the most natural one at this point. Less of a side character than the Champions are, important to the plot and integral to TotK's early story setup. In that respect I disagree with saying that he'd only be there for the moveset and not the character himself. Of course, his great and natural moveset options which well-represent his game mechanically are another plus, making him a natural focus character for BotW-era representation.

 

[WeirdChillFever]

Rauru - Trying to learn more about him, he seems pretty cool. I think I'd be a bit struck by him getting the precedent that was denied to someone like Skull Kid or Midna, both of which I would still like to see and whose popularity has persisted far longer than the current hotness. But I do think Rauru would be another addition to the Mewtwo or Sephiroth school of intimidating god-among-men sort of fighters which is an archetype I enjoy quite a lot. Mewtwo doesn't go far enough with it, Sephiroth would be lucky to return so I'd be open to seeing a new take. Preferably we could get him AND one of the older fan favorites, if any mainstay series warrants adding two new faces at this point it's probably Zelda.

Oatchi - Love this idea, mainly because I really think we could use more abstract and silly looking fighters. A playable Bulborb was always an appealing idea to me and if we can't get that, this feels like it's pretty close. I haven't played Pikmin 4 (yet!) but to my understanding Oatchi can get more physical than your typical captain with charge attacks, bites and whatnot. And that being on top of being able to do anything the other player characters can do, which makes me wonder how they may differentiate the involvement of Pikmin. Gorgonzales pitches some intriguing ideas so I'm more than open to it. Don't have much more to say here but this might be the one I want to see happen the most, lol. I had tossed around the idea of having a Pikmin 4 recruit riding around on his back, but apparently he can do everything they can do anyway so it might be a bit redundant? Mount characters are neat, though.

Noah / Mio - I'm not terribly interested in Noah, but I dig Mio's weapon of choice. Apparently they can both use them? But I'm not sure I would see Smash having Noah switch between a bunch of weapons so I still think if that was a major inspiration they would go for her. In any case, I really don't think these two would be a duo. Maybe some swap and assist mechanic could work (see: Angry Beavers in NASB), but I feel like this would be another Pyra scenario. And I think I would prefer that to be the case as well, these two would probably be too clunky to control together like Ice Climbers and are a little too different for me to feel like it warrants swapping between them like Pyra / Mythra. My preference for the latter is to be more of a stance change deal rather than a full on separate character, like I don't think Zelda / Sheik were very cohesive at all (Pokemon Trainer I can give a pass, but we only need one). In any case, yeah I like those rings and would be interested to see what a moveset involving those may entail. Outside of Pit we don't have a lot of dual-wielding characters.

Deep Cut - I loooove these three. Compared to the other idols, I would say these guys have the most concrete potential. Squid Sisters and Off the Hook have seniority, but having actual boss fights helps these guys be a little easier to visualize as fighters. Would they go for it though? I'm not sure, and while I think the aforementioned two idol teams could function as a duo it might be difficult to implement all three. In which case, who would be the leader and how would the others factor in? Shiver is my favorite, and honestly feels like the easiest to imagine and build on. I can imagine Frye's eels being pretty cool to toy around with though, and Big Man has the most distinct build of the three. My ideal may be some sort of assist summon mechanic, but I'm uncertain if this is something they'd want to persue or if they'd feel comfortable giving one member precedent over the others. That was our hangup over the Pokemon starters for a little while though, and Greninja shut that out so maybe it's much ado about nothing here too and they'll just add Shiver on her own or something. Who knows.

All in all, I hope this spirit event may get people thinking about which new faces are showing potential and could potentially be on the radar. Noah / Mio have been a popular one already, but Splatoon idols and Oatchi are worth more conversation and Rauru has been on a bit of an upward climb. Certainly it goes beyond these four, but I think this offers a nice diverse spread of fun characters already. I do believe all four of these series have grown in a meaningful way during the Switch era and deserve substantial new content. I'd be pretty glad to see any of them.

For what it’s worth, Shiver won the in-game Splatfest and is now canonically the leader of Deep Cut, although it doesn’t change anything in the game so far. It is a bit of an arbitrary way to decide who the “main character” would be in the moveset and who would take more of an assisting role, but there is some sort of precedence of having Shiver as the leader.

 

[Scrimblo Bimblo]

I think what Rauru has over the likes of Midna and Skull Kid is 1. Better timing, Skull Kid would have joined in Brawl at the earliest, when Majora's Mask was already pretty old; 2. Zelda now is more mainstream than ever, with TotK of course being currently in the spotlight; and last but not least 3. Unlike the other two, Rauru can bring in the main mechanics from the game he's in, as those abilities, lore-wise, were supposed to originally be his, I think he lends himself to this role extremely well; while with Midna and Skull Kid you'd have to more or less improvise what they actually do in battle, and they'd get in for the sake of having them more than to translate their origin games in Smash.
I just think he's in a very good spot.
As a character he's actually kinda just there to be honest, Skull Kid and Midna were both a loooot more memorable, but that ship has sailed and Rauru still offers fun abilities and a cool design which is all you really need.
Also there's not really many other options to do TotK justice. They could alter Link's design and give him normal bombs again, but they'd never go as far as to give him Ascend or Ultrahand, which wouldn't really be that exciting.

Skull Kid would be amazing though. They'd need to use a bit of lateral thinking to build his moveset, but he has plenty of stuff to pull from and playing as a dark shaman possessed by an evil mask would just be so cool.
I really do think it's too late for him though, but he's always going to be one of my most wanteds

 

[Ivander]

New Hyrule Warriors.....

Hmm, I didn't say anything...I think Rauru would be cool. I don't see him happening, but if he happened to get in Smash Bros., I'd be good with him.

 

[Gorgonzales]

Regarding Rauru... I mean at this point I'd take anyone who isn't a triforce wielder. Skull Kid, Impa, Tingle, Midna, Groose, Darunia, Vaati, a Bokoblin, literally whatever, I would not care as long as it wasn't another Link/Zelda/Ganon.

I know nothing about Rauru and still I'm like "sure yeah, throw him in there". He seems important and relevant enough.

 

[SPEN18]

I think another Splatoon rep is pretty much happening, but I don't think it will be Deep Cut. Octoling, DJ Octavio, and possibly Squid Sisters would probably happen first.

Pikmin has gotten big enough now that I think a second rep could be warranted. Not sure how much of a priority it will be, though having Miyamoto very invested in it certainly helps, and I am still trying to figure out my opinion on Oatchi as a potential rep.

 

[Perkilator]

After having played Return to Dream Land Deluxe, I think both Bandana Waddle Dee and Magolor deserve to be playable characters. Because the Kirby franchise’s gone long enough without any new characters, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to want to have two Kirby newcomers…which also just so happens to be the same number Brawl introduced via Meta Knight and King Dedede.