Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[GoldenYuiitusin]

I just think the spelling of "Coliseum" is strange.

Yes, "coliseum," is a perfectly accepted spelling of the word.

But I don't like it. It's stupid.

We stan Colosseum.

 

[Ivander]

I also stan for Holosseum. As a Custom Robo fan.

 

[HyperSomari64]

I also stan for Holosseum. As a Custom Robo fan.
View attachment 385182

I though you meant the Sega game.

This would rock as a stage.

 

[DarthEnderX]

here's a question for you: is there anything in smash you wanted renamed?

Yeah. Dr Mario, Pichu and other clones renamed to Echoes.

I'm not sure of the other words to make it work, but Temple being renamed to Palace in some way would make it more clear how much it's meant to be based around Zelda II, not any other game specifically.

In Zelda 2 they WERE Temples though. They're called "Shinden" in JA. Just like in OoT.

Palace was just the NA localization trying to be less religious.

 

[Slartibartfast]

I figure I’d ask around here, does anyone know who made this? I think this is one of the best potential rosters for Smash 6 I’ve ever seen. I dunno I guess I’m just tickled that someone would think to add Adol Christin and Rock Howard to the roster. The third party section of this roster is just superb, plus there’s not too many unnecessary cuts.

 

[DarthEnderX]

I think this is one of the best potential rosters for Smash 6 I’ve ever seen.

Parodius octopus over Bill Rizer?! Trash roster!

 

[RodNutTakin]

I figure I’d ask around here, does anyone know who made this? I think this is one of the best potential rosters for Smash 6 I’ve ever seen. I dunno I guess I’m just tickled that someone would think to add Adol Christin and Rock Howard to the roster. The third party section of this roster is just superb, plus there’s not too many unnecessary cuts.

uhhhhh
hello there, I did this a few months back as an attempt of a genuine prediction roster for the next game. feel free to ask me anything, I guess.

Parodius octopus over Bill Rizer?! Trash roster!

I'm sorry, but that's what my gut says is next in line for Konami after Bomberman. It's a combination of things--Parodius incorporates material from a lot of other Konami IPs (not dissimilar to how Pac-Man is treated in Smash), and it's an easy way to fill in for representing Gradius as a whole (which has legendary status in Japan and is very familiar amongst older Nintendo players) without dealing with the brain-wracking nightmare that would be somehow turning the Vic Viper ship into a fighter. Not to mention adding in representation for all of the other STGs Konami pumped out in their arcade and MSX heydays. Contra just doesn't have the same reach, I'm afraid. I doubt most casual gamers even know of Super C or Rebirth, let alone something like Hard Corps.

 

[fogbadge]

….hotel dusk? Nintendo?
crickets

give them time they only just finished another code

 

[UberPyro64]

I figure I’d ask around here, does anyone know who made this? I think this is one of the best potential rosters for Smash 6 I’ve ever seen. I dunno I guess I’m just tickled that someone would think to add Adol Christin and Rock Howard to the roster. The third party section of this roster is just superb, plus there’s not too many unnecessary cuts.

I don't know who made it, but it's very good, I would say keep Greninja, though. It's one of the most popular new Pokemon.

Also, no Lucina, Joker, and Sora make me sad.

 

[Slartibartfast]

uhhhhh
hello there, I did this a few months back as an attempt of a genuine prediction roster for the next game. feel free to ask me anything, I guess.

I'm sorry, but that's what my gut says is next in line for Konami after Bomberman. It's a combination of things--Parodius incorporates material from a lot of other Konami IPs (not dissimilar to how Pac-Man is treated in Smash), and it's an easy way to fill in for representing Gradius as a whole (which has legendary status in Japan and is very familiar amongst older Nintendo players) without dealing with the brain-wracking nightmare that would be somehow turning the Vic Viper ship into a fighter. Not to mention adding in representation for all of the other STGs Konami pumped out in their arcade and MSX heydays. Contra just doesn't have the same reach, I'm

uhhhhh
hello there, I did this a few months back as an attempt of a genuine prediction roster for the next game. feel free to ask me anything, I guess.

I'm sorry, but that's what my gut says is next in line for Konami after Bomberman. It's a combination of things--Parodius incorporates material from a lot of other Konami IPs (not dissimilar to how Pac-Man is treated in Smash), and it's an easy way to fill in for representing Gradius as a whole (which has legendary status in Japan and is very familiar amongst older Nintendo players) without dealing with the brain-wracking nightmare that would be somehow turning the Vic Viper ship into a fighter. Not to mention adding in representation for all of the other STGs Konami pumped out in their arcade and MSX heydays. Contra just doesn't have the same reach, I'm afraid. I doubt most casual gamers even know of Super C or Rebirth, let alone something like Hard Corps.

Hi. lol. I stumbled upon this on /v/ and figured it was someone from Smashboards that made this. Sorry if this is weird to you. I gotta say off the bat that this is a refreshing take on a roster prediction, for me anyways. Most roster mockups i’ve seen I assume come from hardcore Nintendo fans that neglect or cut a bunch of characters from the third party line-up. Like everyone seems hellbent on cutting Terry Bogard for some reason. As a budding appreciator of… I guess you could call it the old-school Japanese gaming scene? Y’know, games like Ys or the Kunio-kun games and PC-98 stuff, I appreciate some of the more niche picks here like Tako and Diskun. Based on the variety of games Sakurai plays and knows about, as shown on his Youtube channel, I feel this type of roster is more likely than a lot of people think. So yeah, I felt compelled to seek out and commend whoever made this, so uh, good stuff. I’ll ask you this, for the “newcomer” slots, is this a free space for whatever first party franchises aren’t already represented with a character? For me I’d put Isaac from Golden Sun and Takamaru from the Mysterious Murasame Castle. Isaac cause I have recency bias and just finished the first Golden Sun on Switch, and Takamaru to complete the “Famicom Four,” which consists of the Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Kid Icarus and Takamaru’s game.

 

[Dinoman96]

I have to say, it'd sure be a hootenanny to hype up Sora as the winner of the Smash ballot, only to cut him the very next game and then not even bring him back as DLC

 

[Gorgonzales]

I have to say, it'd sure be a hootenanny to hype up Sora as the winner of the Smash ballot, only to cut him the very next game and then not even bring him back as DLC

I don't know why people see this as such an unbelievable thing. He won the Smash ballot and got into Ultimate. He doesn't need anything else, they've fulfilled the desire of people wanting to see him in. If they cut him, I would not be surprised at all considering all of the legal hoops he'd have to go through a second time.

 

[Perkilator]

Quoting from the news article about the Partner Showcase:

Here’s my bingo card for the big day.

 

[NintenRob]

Every single third party character has a chance to be cut just on the basis they are third party and would require rights and negotiations.


At any time, any of the companies could say they want more money for you to use the character, or Nintendo could say no, we ain't paying that. We really just have no idea what happens behind the scenes when negotiating for these characters. There's always going to be an element of uncertainty, even it varies from character to character.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

and it's an easy way to fill in for representing Gradius as a whole (which has legendary status in Japan and is very familiar amongst older Nintendo players) without dealing with the brain-wracking nightmare that would be somehow turning the Vic Viper ship into a fighter.

If we really wanted to represent Gradius outside of the Vic Viper, the Moai exists and is commonly used for such.

 

[smashkirby]

At the time, they wanted more Yoshi stages, so gave that one an odd franchise change. The stages were organized that way on the Select Screen. It's really a Melee thing.

You know something I kind of miss in Smash? That naming scheme Melee had for its stages where we got both the name of the land/world that the stage was located in (i.e. Eagleland: Onett, Infinite Glacier: Icicle Mountain, Dream Land: Green Greens, etc.)

Like, I imagine that these days, we'd get something like 'Diamond City: WarioWare Inc', 'Diamond City: Gamer', or Angel Land: Palutena's Temple?

Actually, what do you all think some stages would be titled if they continued with Melee's naming scheme?

Can get Endless Ocean, Famicom Detective Club and Trace Memory remakes, but still no Golden Sun

For real though, I'm sure by now Nintendo must know that Golden Sun is wanted... I mean, didn't the first and second game get a bundled solo release (i.e. NOT added with other games) onto the GBA NSO not too long ago? That has to say SOMETHING, right?

Spoiler: Partner Showcase potential spoiler

Endless Ocean has been speculated as a possible reveal for the Partner Showcase,

Seems likely but we won't know until the video drops.

Spoiler

Wait, a Partner Showcase reveal? I thought Endless Ocean was in a similar boat to series like Fatal Frame (that is to say, partially owned by Nintendo themselves)? Like, where it's more likely to see it in a normal Direct?

I also stan for Holosseum. As a Custom Robo fan.
View attachment 385182

With how successful the Switch has been over the course of its lifetime, I can only pray that Custom Robo gets looked at by Nintendo again. Maybe as a Switch 2 launch title? Please?

 

[CommanderZaktan]

Tonight is the announcement of the final spirit event. Any guesses of what could it be? I'm still betting that it's gonna be Sonic Frontiers.

 

[Gorgonzales]

i am predicting nothing from forgotten land for obvious reasons (lol)

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

I'm not predicting anything because things have been all over. For all we know it could be a Spirit Event for Ecco the Dolphin.

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

I'm not predicting anything because things have been all over. For all we know it could be a Spirit Event for Ecco the Dolphin.

I mean, we all know what I want but won't get it.

...I'll take Halo spirits as a good secondary option. Though I doubt this too. Fortnite on the other hand would be pretty funny.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Tonight is the announcement of the final spirit event. Any guesses of what could it be? I'm still betting that it's gonna be Sonic Frontiers.

How do you know? Has there been a pattern of some kind?

 

[Scrimblo Bimblo]

Since the next spirit batch is the absolute definitive final last content update of any kind for Ultimate, I hope it's something epic, weird, and possibly Smash-related.

It's going to be a cross promotion for some 3rd party game in the partners Direct

 

[Gorgonzales]

Since the next spirit batch is the absolute definitive final last content update of any kind for Ultimate, I hope it's something epic, weird, and possibly Smash-related.

It's going to be a cross promotion for some 3rd party game in the partners Direct

its gonna be an elephant mario and wonder flower spirit

 

[HyperSomari64]

Outside of Tsubasa, I wanna see the other six people from #FE as spirits (Itsuki, Kiria, Touma, Eleonora, Yashiro, Mamori)

 

[AreJay25]

I'm just laughing at the possibility of FE: Engage potentially getting nothing in these Spirit Events

Because I know for a FACT that some people are going to go full conspiracy mode and look into it way harder than they have any reason to

 

[CommanderZaktan]

How do you know? Has there been a pattern of some kind?

Yea.
1st event: random spirits from Nintendo
2nd event: random spirits from third party
3rd event: spirits from a Nintendo game
4th event: spirits from a third party game

 

[DarthEnderX]

He won the Smash ballot and got into Ultimate. He doesn't need anything else, they've fulfilled the desire of people wanting to see him in.

He needs to fulfill my desire of seeing him fight every other Smash character, ever, until the end of time.

I'm sorry

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Yea.
1st event: random spirits from Nintendo
2nd event: random spirits from third party
3rd event: spirits from a Nintendo game
4th event: spirits from a third party game

1 event is not a pattern.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Remember when everything was going to be a bunch of new Nintendo releases after the first event?

Remember when everything was going to be several games at a time, not necessarily Nintendo only after the first two events?

Hell, even the pattern of "post-Sora releases" was broken by Hades since that released on Switch and in Japan before Sora.

 

[Opossum]

The thing is also, like...

Pokémon was always going to get an event for just itself. Hell, I literally guessed as much. It's a Pokémon thing, not an indicator that the fourth set of spirits will necessarily come from one particular game.

TPCI just doesn't like to share when they don't need to do so.

 

[Garteam]

uhhhhh
hello there, I did this a few months back as an attempt of a genuine prediction roster for the next game. feel free to ask me anything, I guess.

I'm sorry, but that's what my gut says is next in line for Konami after Bomberman. It's a combination of things--Parodius incorporates material from a lot of other Konami IPs (not dissimilar to how Pac-Man is treated in Smash), and it's an easy way to fill in for representing Gradius as a whole (which has legendary status in Japan and is very familiar amongst older Nintendo players) without dealing with the brain-wracking nightmare that would be somehow turning the Vic Viper ship into a fighter. Not to mention adding in representation for all of the other STGs Konami pumped out in their arcade and MSX heydays. Contra just doesn't have the same reach, I'm afraid. I doubt most casual gamers even know of Super C or Rebirth, let alone something like Hard Corps.

I really like this roster! All of your choices seem like they have a lot of thought put into them. I especially like how you prioritized keeping and expanding on Third Parties in Smash while still giving the Nintendo side the attention it deserves. I do have a couple of alternatives ideas to pitch that might improve the roster further:

• I think Lucina, Dark Pit, Pokemon Trainer, Joker, and Byleth should be in the roster. Lucina and Dark Pit are incredibly easy to develop and, unlike many other echoes, have gameplay differences that justify their separation from a large character. Lucina in particular feels like a necessary inclusion given how she's become more popular than Marth in both Smash and Fire Emblem. Pokemon Trainer does have the difficulty of being three characters in one, but Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard were actualized well enough in Ultimate to transfer them with few changes, thereby cutting down on dev time. Similarly, both Persona 5 and Three Houses were massively popular and both Joker and Byleth have become pretty popular in Ultimate. Persona would need to be relicensed, but Atlus is seemingly pretty easy to work with.
• Due to Nintendo and Namco Bandai's relationship being so strong, I think Kazuya is going to be a base game character. He's very complicated and likely difficult to develop, but a lot of the ground work for his inclusion can be transferred from Ultimate to cut back on the labour of needing to recreate his cavalcade of animations. I also understand making Sephiroth a DLC out of a belief that Square is going to play hardball on FF7's content, but my guy is telling me Square will license Sephiroth and instead hiding new FF7 content behind a Tifa pack. I also think Sora needs to be included in some form, be it in the base game or as DLC.
• Bandana Waddle Dee's exclusion is a little weird. He's incredibly popular as a Smash candidate, he continues to grow in prominence in his home series, he's the most popular first-party after Waluigi, and he has a pre-packaged moveset that would distinguish him from the rest of the roster. I think Geno hits many of these same notes and his inclusion would also be worth considering, but he also has the factor of Square's ownership that needs to be contented with.
• I would consider potentially expanding the number of secondary Third Parties even further. Alucard and Chun-Li both feel they're forming the four horsemen of secondary Third Party reps with Shadow and Zero. I also think Zero could work with X as a transforming character, where both hunters would have identical stats and movement but dramatically different normals and specials (basically inverting how Pyra and Mythra work).
• I like your DLC line-up already, but I do think a Resident Evil character, a Dark Souls character, and Nakoruru are pretty slept on as far DLC picks go. You might also want to consider bringing some of the more popular cut characters, like Wii Fit Trainer and Roy, back. Shiori could also fill Mako as a classic Konami rep. Mako has the edge of a true international presence, but Tokimemo is still very fondly remembered by Japanese gamers today, Shiori might be slightly easier to animate, and you could get into Konami's PC Engine support while also going back to the arcades and MSX with her moveset.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

You know something I kind of miss in Smash? That naming scheme Melee had for its stages where we got both the name of the land/world that the stage was located in (i.e. Eagleland: Onett, Infinite Glacier: Icicle Mountain, Dream Land: Green Greens, etc.)

Like, I imagine that these days, we'd get something like 'Diamond City: WarioWare Inc', 'Diamond City: Gamer', or Angel Land: Palutena's Temple?

Actually, what do you all think some stages would be titled if they continued with Melee's naming scheme?

They'd probably have to rename a stage or two too fit the naming scheme.

Like "Midgar: Sector 7" "Alrest: The cloud sea" or something. Not gonna lie i think about this more than i should.

"South town: King of fighters stadium"

"Radiant Garden: Hollow Bastion"

"Japan: Mementos"

"Japan: Suzaku castle"

 

[BuckleyTim]

Would be incredibly surprised if they just leave out Mario Wonder at this rate. Not that I wouldn't like to see something else than the most obvious mario spirits possible, though...

 

[Dukefire]

We stan Colosseum.

Still remember Wes's entrance as an Ex-team Snagem. That rebellion and mood that sets the player up for a good story. Gale of Darkness too was good after Wes's actions.

 

[7NATOR]

uhhhhh
hello there, I did this a few months back as an attempt of a genuine prediction roster for the next game. feel free to ask me anything, I guess.

I'm sorry, but that's what my gut says is next in line for Konami after Bomberman. It's a combination of things--Parodius incorporates material from a lot of other Konami IPs (not dissimilar to how Pac-Man is treated in Smash), and it's an easy way to fill in for representing Gradius as a whole (which has legendary status in Japan and is very familiar amongst older Nintendo players) without dealing with the brain-wracking nightmare that would be somehow turning the Vic Viper ship into a fighter. Not to mention adding in representation for all of the other STGs Konami pumped out in their arcade and MSX heydays. Contra just doesn't have the same reach, I'm afraid. I doubt most casual gamers even know of Super C or Rebirth, let alone something like Hard Corps.

Can I ask, what did you use to make this?

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

With Konami specifically I think character inclusion comes down to whatever Nintendo/the Smash development team wants. A lot of their more consistent (non-collection) work is focused on the Japanese market (eBaseball, Yu-Gi-Oh, Momotaro) all of which would be pretty unlikely as SSB fighter inclusion for one reason or another. Silent Hill could hypothetically be pushed but given that revival is happening more on non-Nintendo consoles and the potential akwardness of making Pyramid Head work as a fighter, I suspect that might be out too. Outside a Big Boss esque clone, Snake and Raiden feel like Metal Gear's ceiling.

Legacy IP's of all types definitely seem most likely from whether they be theirs (Castlevania, Metal Gear, Suikoden, Contra) or Hudson Soft's (Bomberman, Adventure Island).

Something I will give Contra is that it's been decently active for an older Konami active. Granted three new entries in five years (Rogue Corps, Returns, & Operation Galuga) isn't huge when one was a mobile title and another was frankly awful, but that's still more many other ones have gotten. If someone on the Smash team sees value in some aspect of Contra's gunplay (or the interesting set of characters in stuff like Hard Corps) then a fighter from there appearing feels entirely sensible.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

uhhhhh
hello there, I did this a few months back as an attempt of a genuine prediction roster for the next game. feel free to ask me anything, I guess.

I'm sorry, but that's what my gut says is next in line for Konami after Bomberman. It's a combination of things--Parodius incorporates material from a lot of other Konami IPs (not dissimilar to how Pac-Man is treated in Smash), and it's an easy way to fill in for representing Gradius as a whole (which has legendary status in Japan and is very familiar amongst older Nintendo players) without dealing with the brain-wracking nightmare that would be somehow turning the Vic Viper ship into a fighter. Not to mention adding in representation for all of the other STGs Konami pumped out in their arcade and MSX heydays. Contra just doesn't have the same reach, I'm afraid. I doubt most casual gamers even know of Super C or Rebirth, let alone something like Hard Corps.

The picture does not load for me.

I'd like to see it.

 

[RodNutTakin]

Finally got around to replying to everyone's posts, sorry for the wait.

I don't know who made it, but it's very good, I would say keep Greninja, though. It's one of the most popular new Pokemon.

Also, no Lucina, Joker, and Sora make me sad.

The Pokemon section was a tough call with the space I was allotted, if I had room for just two more characters on the image then Greninja and Lucina would be there. Joker being gone is primarily just because I might see the next Persona being out by the time we get Smash 6, and I'm uncertain on what would be the route Sakurai or Atlus would take from there.

Hi. lol. I stumbled upon this on /v/ and figured it was someone from Smashboards that made this. Sorry if this is weird to you. I gotta say off the bat that this is a refreshing take on a roster prediction, for me anyways. Most roster mockups i’ve seen I assume come from hardcore Nintendo fans that neglect or cut a bunch of characters from the third party line-up. Like everyone seems hellbent on cutting Terry Bogard for some reason. As a budding appreciator of… I guess you could call it the old-school Japanese gaming scene? Y’know, games like Ys or the Kunio-kun games and PC-98 stuff, I appreciate some of the more niche picks here like Tako and Diskun. Based on the variety of games Sakurai plays and knows about, as shown on his Youtube channel, I feel this type of roster is more likely than a lot of people think. So yeah, I felt compelled to seek out and commend whoever made this, so uh, good stuff. I’ll ask you this, for the “newcomer” slots, is this a free space for whatever first party franchises aren’t already represented with a character? For me I’d put Isaac from Golden Sun and Takamaru from the Mysterious Murasame Castle. Isaac cause I have recency bias and just finished the first Golden Sun on Switch, and Takamaru to complete the “Famicom Four,” which consists of the Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Kid Icarus and Takamaru’s game.

Thank you man, that means a lot. I've got an ever-expanding appreciation for the Japanese gaming scene as a whole, so I'm glad to hear that someone else appreciates and shares my enthusiasm. And I absolutely agree with being sick of the extreme purism a noticeable chunk on /v/ tends to go with, I feel like they're missing the point with trying to push the idea of the game going the traditional fighting game route of "going back to basics" every new installment.
The two 1st party newcomer placeholder spots are ones I intended to have each fulfill a different purpose. The base game slot can be absolutely anyone that fits the bill, whether it's a newcomer introducing another series to the playable lineup like Isaac or Takamaru as you mentioned, or a new character for an existing series like a fourth Kirby character or Oatchi from Pikmin 4. The DLC slot on the other hand is pretty much a placeholder for a character from any brand new Nintendo IP created for the next system (i.e. it's a slot for a character that nobody but the people developing at Nintendo know about).

I have to say, it'd sure be a hootenanny to hype up Sora as the winner of the Smash ballot, only to cut him the very next game and then not even bring him back as DLC

I'd like Sora to be back as much as the next guy, but it's not something I can say with confidence that it can happen. It was a right place at the right time moment that led to his inclusion to begin with, after all. It's part of the reason why I included Doomguy and Crash at the end, since Microsoft owns both now and I could see them being added out of popular request in an attempt to soften the blow if they can't get Sora back.

If we really wanted to represent Gradius outside of the Vic Viper, the Moai exists and is commonly used for such.

Just because a game's enemy is more iconic than its protagonist doesn't mean it's a shoo-in. Just ask the Slime from Dragon Quest. Even then, a Moai head wouldn't really offer much in terms of creativity IMO, this isn't like Slime or even Piranha Plant where there's dozens of variants to potentially draw moves from. Every Moai in Gradius (and Parodius) only does up to two things; spit basic projectiles, and maybe fly/float around. And that's not even going into the lack of limbs, either.
Tako simply works IMO since he's an actual character design that can use most of Gradius's general mechanics, while also being able to animate like a normal fighter would (primarily like other "waddling head" characters like Kirby, Jiggs and Meta Knight).

I really like this roster! All of your choices seem like they have a lot of thought put into them. I especially like how you prioritized keeping and expanding on Third Parties in Smash while still giving the Nintendo side the attention it deserves. I do have a couple of alternatives ideas to pitch that might improve the roster further:

• I think Lucina, Dark Pit, Pokemon Trainer, Joker, and Byleth should be in the roster. Lucina and Dark Pit are incredibly easy to develop and, unlike many other echoes, have gameplay differences that justify their separation from a large character. Lucina in particular feels like a necessary inclusion given how she's become more popular than Marth in both Smash and Fire Emblem. Pokemon Trainer does have the difficulty of being three characters in one, but Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard were actualized well enough in Ultimate to transfer them with few changes, thereby cutting down on dev time. Similarly, both Persona 5 and Three Houses were massively popular and both Joker and Byleth have become pretty popular in Ultimate. Persona would need to be relicensed, but Atlus is seemingly pretty easy to work with.
• Due to Nintendo and Namco Bandai's relationship being so strong, I think Kazuya is going to be a base game character. He's very complicated and likely difficult to develop, but a lot of the ground work for his inclusion can be transferred from Ultimate to cut back on the labour of needing to recreate his cavalcade of animations. I also understand making Sephiroth a DLC out of a belief that Square is going to play hardball on FF7's content, but my guy is telling me Square will license Sephiroth and instead hiding new FF7 content behind a Tifa pack. I also think Sora needs to be included in some form, be it in the base game or as DLC.
• Bandana Waddle Dee's exclusion is a little weird. He's incredibly popular as a Smash candidate, he continues to grow in prominence in his home series, he's the most popular first-party after Waluigi, and he has a pre-packaged moveset that would distinguish him from the rest of the roster. I think Geno hits many of these same notes and his inclusion would also be worth considering, but he also has the factor of Square's ownership that needs to be contented with.
• I would consider potentially expanding the number of secondary Third Parties even further. Alucard and Chun-Li both feel they're forming the four horsemen of secondary Third Party reps with Shadow and Zero. I also think Zero could work with X as a transforming character, where both hunters would have identical stats and movement but dramatically different normals and specials (basically inverting how Pyra and Mythra work).
• I like your DLC line-up already, but I do think a Resident Evil character, a Dark Souls character, and Nakoruru are pretty slept on as far DLC picks go. You might also want to consider bringing some of the more popular cut characters, like Wii Fit Trainer and Roy, back. Shiori could also fill Mako as a classic Konami rep. Mako has the edge of a true international presence, but Tokimemo is still very fondly remembered by Japanese gamers today, Shiori might be slightly easier to animate, and you could get into Konami's PC Engine support while also going back to the arcades and MSX with her moveset.

Thank you, I'm glad you like it! And you pretty much hit the nail on the head here, I wanted to make something that would feel like it was still primarily continuing the scope from Ultimate in spite of the characters lost.
As I said, Lucina barely missed out on this image. I'd say you can definitely give or take a couple of extra Echoes outside of what's already on there. I mainly put the Legends Arceus trainer to make up for only having Charizard out of the original Trainer lineup here. I might be taking a gamble with not having Byleth on here, mainly on the assumption that a newer FE game could potentially dethrone 3H in popularity, so I could easily be wrong on this aspect.

I doubt a third FF7 character will happen, and part of the reason I made Sephiroth DLC again was mainly to compensate for Cloud AND Hero in base game, along with potentially including Remake/Rebirth content as DLC this time. Kazuya is DLC again primarily since I can imagine the justification being to have him based off of Tekken 8 this time. BN seems to be pushing 8 hard, and I could see the idea of redoing Smash X Tekken happening with just how different 8 is in presentation and direction compared to 7.

I'm not confident one way or the other on BWD just yet, that's honestly part of the reason why I put in that base-game placeholder slot.

I feel Chun-Li and Alucard are a leg behind compared to the choices I put on here. I feel Alucard especially is in an uphill situation, most people I've seen were happy with what Castlevania already has, and in terms of Konami ATs, I definitely saw more grieving over Bomberman.

Main reason I didn't put a Resident Evil character on here was because of the difference in how that series was treated versus how Devil May Cry was treated (the former only has a Spirit Event, the latter got a Mii Costume that was stated to be done because of demand for Dante). As for Dark Souls, I honestly don't know enough about the exact relationship between Namco and From Software to make a definitive call, especially since IIRC the latter party managed to wrestle the rights for Elden Ring from the former party recently. Also no hate against Nakoruru intended, but I am very certain that if Sakurai gets to add a second, completely new SNK fighter, it's going to be Iori Yagami. Other DLC veterans beyond third-party ones are absolutely a possibility, but I wanted to focus specifically on newcomers since it'd be cluttered otherwise.

I don't know much about TokiMemo but I can't really see it get a fighter at this point in time. Though if it's any compensation, if Tako gets in I could see this track being part of the DLC:

Can I ask, what did you use to make this?

GIMP was all I needed program-wise. I used some Roster Builder assets, too.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Just because a game's enemy is more iconic than its protagonist doesn't mean it's a shoo-in. Just ask the Slime from Dragon Quest. Even then, a Moai head wouldn't really offer much in terms of creativity IMO, this isn't like Slime or even Piranha Plant where there's dozens of variants to potentially draw moves from. Every Moai in Gradius (and Parodius) only does up to two things; spit basic projectiles, and maybe fly/float around. And that's not even going into the lack of limbs, either.
Tako simply works IMO since he's an actual character design that can use most of Gradius's general mechanics, while also being able to animate like a normal fighter would (primarily like other "waddling head" characters like Kirby, Jiggs and Meta Knight).

Was enough to work in another platform fighter, where that image comes from.

And that's not getting into other games the Moai appears in which should count too if you count everything for the octopus.
Kind of a double standard really to prop up the octopus while denying something that actually represents Gradius that Konami references quite a bit.



Just saying, if the aim is to represent Parodius, then yeah, you go with the octopus. (Though representing Parodius over the actual Gradius raises a lot of questions given Gradius is the more historic franchise that is literally why Parodius even exists).

But you want to represent Gradius.....you go with something that actually represents it, which is where the Moai comes in if not the Vic Viper.

 

[Speed Weed]

Man, I would love to see Shiori, and I'm always up for Smash including more significant classic Japanese franchises, but for as long as Smash maintains a focus on global appeal, I unfortunately think we're not seeing characters like her show up - TokiMemo's only real presence internationally is by way of the Girls' side series and select crossovers, most notably Super Bomberman R. At this point, the series does have a relatively large internet following in the West, but that's a kind of fringe grassroots movement that I don't think the Smash team is going to have on their radar when gauging these characters. Again, it's a shame, TokiMemo is mega important and if it were up to me we'd prolly see tons of classic JP characters of that ilk, but if Japan-exclusivity prevented first-party character Takamaru from getting in, imagine how much higher the barrier of entry is for third-party characters who are often pushed front-and-center to sell the game and/or its DLC.