Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[Gengar84]

Even a rep from Pokémon Scarlet/Violet would be interesting. Would they go with a starter like usual? Would they go for Koraidon and Miraidon? A popular Pokémon that isn't a starter or legendary like Tinkaton? Are they crazy enough to make a moveset for Terapagos?

Out of all those options I think the only one that would dissapoint me would be Meowscarada. I don't like Meowscarada.

I like Meowscarada but I’d rather have several other Pokemon, even from just Scarlet/Violet. Some of my favorites are Ceruledge, Great Tusk, Lokix, Koraidon, Miraidon, Annihalape, and Iron Thorns. Something out there like a playable Sada/Turo could be a lot of fun too. The professors in this game are such interesting characters with cool designs, especially Sada imo. I won’t go into spoilers but there’s also something about them as characters that could lead to pretty interesting movesets.

I like Beat em up games, but I don't think it's that baffling that there's no rep from this genre in Smash. It's mostly a dead genre, and the small revival that recently happened with Streets if rage 4, Battletoads 2020 and River city girls 2 happened after Ultimate release and after dlc were even chosen (Since fighter pass 2 was announced in 2019 and those games released after 2020). Even with those revival, I think there's just way to much competition in third party characters to be really consider huge candidate. I wouldn't sleep on it happening, but I'd be pretty surprised if Streets of rage get a rep before Yakuza or Puyo puyo, or if Battletoads gets in before numerous others Microsoft character.

Sadly, I think I agree with you. At the moment, I think their best chance is if Sakurai/Nintendo specifically want to include a classic character that was at their most popular a long time ago. I like the idea of Smash celebrating the entire history of gaming and not exclusively what’s currently popular. I don’t think that’s out of the question but there is still a lot of competition. As far as relevancy, the developers for Shredder’s Revenge said that they’d love to make a sequel if there’s enough interest in it. I think the game performed pretty well so I’m hopeful. Not that TMNT themselves has any chance without a huge shift in character selection philosophy, which is unlikely. Still, I think it’s a positive sign for the genre as a whole.

 

[Wonder Smash]

Whether it’s Double Dragon, River City, Battletoads, Streets of Rage, Final Fight, or something else, it would be cool to get some kind of Beat ‘em Up character for Smash. Those games just feel like such a natural fit for a game like Smash I’m a bit surprised it hasn’t happened by now. It’s probably because the genre has been pretty niche for a long time but I feel like there’s been a bit of a resurgence with games like Shredder’s Revenge and Streets of Rage 4.

Yeah, for sure! I sure hope it does get some representation in the next Smash game.

It IS a bit weird how little representation the genre has at the moment, especially considering the director of this series and his clear love for the classics. Like you mentioned, the beat 'em up genre was HUGE in the late 80's/90's and it's currently in the best shape that it's been since that point. Maybe it's something Sakurai has considered/would consider, but considering the companies that own a lot of the bigger beat 'em up IP's and the competition they would have to deal with from within said companies, it might be a bit easier said than done to try and get a character in unfortunately.

It might not be that hard with ASW, though. As far as River City and Double Dragon, their only competition is Guilty Gear. Fortunately, River City is still thriving as a series, so I think their chances as an ASW rep is pretty good for Smash.

 

[Speed Weed]

Thing with beat-em-ups is really just that most of the big options are from companies with a lot of competition and a lot of bigger fish to fry - Final Fight would be cool, but I don't think it's getting in before a lot of other Capcom stuff, and I've spoken in the past on why I don't entirely agree with the amount of discussion Streets of Rage gets as a SEGA candidate. Beat-em-ups are a great and important genre, it's just that a lot of the stuff that would come to people's minds is stuff that's waiting on a long line. This is why I feel someone like Kunio is our best bet - hugely important name in the genre's history, very prolific, still active, more popular in Japan, has a foot in the door already, and only really has to compete with Guilty Gear when it comes to Arcsys IMO: and even then they appeal to completely different niches

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

I like Meowscarada but I’d rather have several other Pokemon, even from just Scarlet/Violet. Some of my favorites are Ceruledge, Great Tusk, Lokix, Koraidon, Miraidon, Annihalape, and Iron Thorns. Something out there like a playable Sada/Turo could be a lot of fun too. The professors in this game are such interesting characters with cool designs, especially Sada imo. I won’t go into spoilers but there’s also something about them as characters that could lead to pretty interesting movesets.

The Gen 9 designs seem to be pretty polarizing, so people either love or hate the designs. Ceruledge though? Ceruledge freaking rules. I also wouldn't mind if they went absolutely bonkers and added something like the tiger giraffe. I don't have any particular affinity for Raging Bolt, but boy would it be funny.

There's also an option of swapping out Pokémon Trainers. Instead of Red and Leaf do Florian and Juliana and give them starters from Legends Arceus, Scarlet/Violet, and Legends Z-A, with the possible edition of a standalone Gen 10 Pokémon alongside that. That would probably come at the cost of just about all of the Pokémon veterans other than Pikachu, so I dunno how worth it that would be, but it would be interesting.

Would be funny if that's how Decidueye got in too.

 

[Wonder Smash]

It's just hard to take your theory on DD fans' reaction to Billy and Jimmy getting Mii'd seriously when there's no way it'd be as big as if Waluigi got AT'd a fourth time.

Wait, so if you know people can get that upset, then why is it so hard for you to take my theory seriously?

 

[TheQuester]

That's a good point. The games like to pull from what happened recently at the time, so Smash 4 gets stuff like Rosalina & Luma and Wii Fit Trainer. Decisions like that wouldn't entirely make sense too much farther down the line. It's also why Pokémon's characters are picked in advance. X & Y was beginning development at around the same time as Smash 4, so we hadn't even seen Greninja yet, but any Gen 5 Pokémon would have been 4 years old by that point, and the series would have moved on a year ago (since that's when X & Y came out).

This has me curious though. Gen 9 is probably in its twilight years, but Pokémon Legends Z-A comes out in 2025. Are we getting something from there? Would they rather go with Scarlet/Violet anyway? Is Gen 10 coming out in the same year (like Gen 9 did with Pokémon Legends Arceus) so we'll get something from those games instead?

I think Pokémon is in for either an interesting or an...interesting decision in the next game.

I don't think they'll go with a Legends Z-A character over a Scarlet/Violet character, i also think Gen 10 might wait for 2026 this time around, but that's for another topic.
I think Smash 6 might go back to have a lot of new base game stages, so we could see some stages from games like Legends Arceus/Z-A or Showtime.
I do think we could see a Gen 10 rep eitherway at least with my release date, because i'm expecting the game to release around 2027, Smash 4 released in the secon year of the WiiU so it's not like it hasn't happened before, asuming the Switch 2 releases in 2025, of course.

The only way we get a new smash game in 2027 or later is if development literally has not started yet.

Which is honestly entirely possible, unless that game that started devlopment in mid 2023 game ends up begin Smash 6.
Pre-production could also take longer than usual.

 

[kirbstr]

That's a good point. The games like to pull from what happened recently at the time, so Smash 4 gets stuff like Rosalina & Luma and Wii Fit Trainer. Decisions like that wouldn't entirely make sense too much farther down the line. It's also why Pokémon's characters are picked in advance. X & Y was beginning development at around the same time as Smash 4, so we hadn't even seen Greninja yet, but any Gen 5 Pokémon would have been 4 years old by that point, and the series would have moved on a year ago (since that's when X & Y came out).

This has me curious though. Gen 9 is probably in its twilight years, but Pokémon Legends Z-A comes out in 2025. Are we getting something from there? Would they rather go with Scarlet/Violet anyway? Is Gen 10 coming out in the same year (like Gen 9 did with Pokémon Legends Arceus) so we'll get something from those games instead?

I think Pokémon is in for either an interesting or an...interesting decision in the next game.

Pokemon is for sure in an interesting spot. Safest bet would be a gen 9 pokemon since gen 10 might be just a bit too far out to be included in the next smash game. Maybe we'll get a greninja situation where Sakurai gets concept art of the new pokemon early to include one of them.

 

[AreJay25]

It might not be that hard with ASW, though. As far as River City and Double Dragon, their only competition is Guilty Gear. Fortunately, River City is still thriving as a series, so I think their chances as an ASW rep is pretty good for Smash.

Sure, Arc Sys is probably the best bet when it comes to inclusion. The only real big roadblock is Guilty Gear.

The problem is, well... the big roadblock is Guilty Gear. Guilty Gear is doing the best it's ever done in recent years. Unless Sakurai/Nintendo would be willing to double dip from ASW, I just have a hard time seeing Double Dragon/River City taking priority over their poster child, even if they have seniority.

 

[SpecterFlower]

But this is Smash here and there's no doubt in my mind that DD fans play Smash and would love to see it get represented.

Maybe a handful of 50 year olds do but imma be real.

I think you’re like one of three people campaigning for this. Fight the good fight but the series has very little notoriety or popularity.

it would be like me saying katamari is the most wanted for smash and I do think katamari a fair bit more popular but it also really isn’t in the grand scheme of things.

 

[DarthEnderX]

Wait, so if you know people can get that upset, then why is it so hard for you to take my theory seriously?

Because people will always get upset. That's not a reason to not add something.

Maybe a handful of 50 year olds

Yes?

 

[Wonder Smash]

Because people will always get upset. That's not a reason to not add something.

...

Wait, what? That wasn't what I was saying.

Sure, Arc Sys is probably the best bet when it comes to inclusion. The only real big roadblock is Guilty Gear.

The problem is, well... the big roadblock is Guilty Gear. Guilty Gear is doing the best it's ever done in recent years. Unless Sakurai/Nintendo would be willing to double dip from ASW, I just have a hard time seeing Double Dragon/River City taking priority over their poster child, even if they have seniority.

Well, I wouldn't be surprise if they double dip. I can picture Guilty Gear and River City both getting reps. Maybe Kunio and Riki can be in the base roster while Sol (like most of the fighting game characters) will come later as DLC.

 

[kirbstr]

I like Meowscarada but I’d rather have several other Pokemon, even from just Scarlet/Violet. Some of my favorites are Ceruledge, Great Tusk, Lokix, Koraidon, Miraidon, Annihalape, and Iron Thorns. Something out there like a playable Sada/Turo could be a lot of fun too. The professors in this game are such interesting characters with cool designs, especially Sada imo. I won’t go into spoilers but there’s also something about them as characters that could lead to pretty interesting movesets.

Completely agree, though Meow is probably the most likely candidate, there are so many other and better choices imo.

Gholdengo is my #1 pick for a pokemon from gen 9. Unique design, unique signature move and ability, interesting concept and moveset potential for a pokemon, represents gen 9's open world gameplay, rides around on a ****ing golden surf board. Not to mention he's officially pokemon #1000.

 

[Gengar84]

The main reason I’d go with the Battletoads (besides the fact that they’re my brother’s favorite characters) is that their designs and abilities are so unique compared to almost every other character in the genre. Most characters are pretty normal looking people in street clothes and do pretty standard attacks. The Toads are huge anthropomorphic frogs that can transform their limbs, grow horns, and ride futuristic speeder bikes. There are a few Beat ‘em Ups that have a stronger legacy but none of the characters really jump out at me in quite the same way. Thats not to say that I’ll only accept the Battletoads and no one else, just describing what appeals to me about them as characters.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

If we get a Guilty Gear character, I want their stage to have a mix of King of Fighter's Stadium's and Strive's wall break gimmicks: The stage has walls, and if someone gets K.O.'ed through them, you watch them get launched across the area to the next stage transition as everyone rushes in. It'd probably be pretty difficult to impliment, but it would be so cool.

Also give me like, all the Strive character themes.

 

[SpecterFlower]

Okay? Nintendo counts it but the fact of the matter is nobody actually cares

This is just very wrong numerically and looking at the fanbase , it’s more liked than it is t even if I don’t love it much.

it’s mostly outside of the fanbase where the hate for it comes from.

don’t mess with us hardcore Mario kart fans there’s like 3000 of us.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Completely agree, though Meow is probably the most likely candidate, there are so many other and better choices imo.

Gholdengo is my #1 pick for a pokemon from gen 9. Unique design, unique signature move and ability, interesting concept and moveset potential for a pokemon, represents gen 9's open world gameplay, rides around on a ****ing golden surf board. Not to mention he's officially pokemon #1000.

Since Greninja's reasoning for inclusion was "I wanted a ninja" and Incineroar's was "I wanted a wrestler", I wouldn't count out Quaquaval if it was just between the starters.

I don't expect Skeledurge though, which is sad 'cuz that's what I'd prefer.

EDIT: I just looked them up to see what kind of gimmicks they could pull for these characters (why on earth is Meowscarada's Hidden Ability Protean?) and the heck happened with Quaquaval's shiny? It looks like someone just cranked up the brightness and called it a day.

 

[SpecterFlower]

The only way we get a new smash game in 2027 or later is if development literally has not started yet. Games like smash are not designed to be in development for that long. Smash is uniquely time-sensitive in going from the planning stage to release as a result of the games they try to reference. The concept behind it, being basically a 2.5D fighting/party game with a fixed camera, also shouldn't be that complicated to develop either.

Even if they are building the game completely from scratch again, like they did with Smash 4, it should still fit that 2-3 year development window. The ONLY way I could see the game taking nearly 5 years to develop would be if they built the game from scratch while also trying to bring back Ultimate's entire roster and completely update every veteran fighter's move set or something. That or they go for a significantly more ambitious story mode than even Brawl on top of trying to launch the game with 90+ characters.

But you also have to face the reality of game dev as consoles get more and more powerful.

a modern undertaking of smash is 5 years with 1k people

Yeah you can probably do it in 3 with a massive budget with 2k people but that’s going to be a mess.

Look at the credits of Nintendo’s other recent AAA offerings.

smash being done in 3 years is a 2010’s era dream.

Ultimate was unqiue in that it was 4.5 and they already completed half the game with smash four

I don’t see them making a 3rd smash 4 like game

 

[TheQuester]

Tbh, i could see Streets of Rage getting first in terms of beat 'em up reps, SoR4 did pretty well, didn't it? Not sure if it's a hot take or not.

Now that we're talking about 3rd party series, what 3rd party series do you think have a chance to get a rep but aren't talked as much?
For me would definitely be Borderlands, Mass Effect, Trails of Coldsteel, Rune Factory, Streets of Rage and Hollow Knight.

 

[Wonder Smash]

Maybe a handful of 50 year olds do but imma be real.

Sounds like a person that doesn't even keep up with the series.

I think you’re like one of three people campaigning for this. Fight the good fight but the series has very little notoriety or popularity.

it would be like me saying katamari is the most wanted for smash and I do think katamari a fair bit more popular but it also really isn’t in the grand scheme of things.

Oh sure. This series have very little notoriety or popularity that it set the standards for the beat'em up genre, influencing other companies to create their own classic beat'em ups such as Final Fight and Golden Axe.

That makes sense...

 

[Gengar84]

Tbh, i could see Streets of Rage getting first in terms of beat 'em up reps, SoR4 did pretty well, didn't it? Not sure if it's a hot take or not.

Now that we're talking about 3rd party series, what 3rd party series do you think have a chance to get a rep but aren't talked as much?
For me would definitely be Borderlands, Mass Effect, Trails of Coldsteel, Rune Factory, Streets of Rage and Hollow Knight.

There’s a ton actually. Borderlands is definitely one that is very popular but never gets talked about. There’s also League of Legends, WarCraft, StarCraft, Diablo, Hexen, Tomb Raider, Dynasty Warriors, and many more.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

So, when Shulk was added, Sakurai stated that he wasn't the kind of character they would usually add.

It's hard to imagine that considering Xenoblade's status now, but why do you think Sakurai said that back then?

 

[fogbadge]

So, when Shulk was added, Sakurai stated that he wasn't the kind of character they would usually add.

It's hard to imagine that considering Xenoblade's status now, but why do you think Sakurai said that back then?

tbh I think he just said it without much thought

 

[kirbstr]

But you also have to face the reality of game dev as consoles get more and more powerful.

a modern undertaking of smash is 5 years with 1k people

Yeah you can probably do it in 3 with a massive budget with 2k people but that’s going to be a mess.

Look at the credits of Nintendo’s other recent AAA offerings.

smash being done in 3 years is a 2010’s era dream.

Ultimate was unqiue in that it was 4.5 and they already completed half the game with smash four

I don’t see them making a 3rd smash 4 like game

Mario Wonder took 4 years with 435 people. Metroid Dread took 4 years with 220 people. Both through the pandemic mind you.

Why would smash need 5 years and 1k people? Smash is not a super complex 3D platformer/open world exploration game like Odyssey, BotW, TotK, or even games like Scarlet/Violet and Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

 

[Pupp135]

So, when Shulk was added, Sakurai stated that he wasn't the kind of character they would usually add.

It's hard to imagine that considering Xenoblade's status now, but why do you think Sakurai said that back then?

I think this has to deal with Xenoblade being a relatively new series that hadn’t made a very large impact at the time of Shulk’s inclusion (I think plans were worked on shortly after Xenoblade’s western release) unlike Pokemon or Splatoon at the time respectively SSB64 and Ultimate started development.

 

[SpecterFlower]

So, when Shulk was added, Sakurai stated that he wasn't the kind of character they would usually add.

It's hard to imagine that considering Xenoblade's status now, but why do you think Sakurai said that back then?

Smash aside from fire emblems and snake was pretty 90% cartoony mascots until the smash 4 dlc

That could be why I guess.

 

[TheQuester]

There’s a ton actually. Borderlands is definitely one that is very popular but never gets talked about. There’s also League of Legends, WarCraft, StarCraft, Diablo, Hexen, Tomb Raider, Dynasty Warriors, and many more.

I could definitely see Tomb Raider happening next game as DLC, she's so iconic.

So, when Shulk was added, Sakurai stated that he wasn't the kind of character they would usually add.

It's hard to imagine that considering Xenoblade's status now, but why do you think Sakurai said that back then?

I think he meant in terms of recognizability and legacy, Xenoblade Chronicles wasn't really well known by most casual fans back in 2014 and it wasn't a retro character either to make up for it, it was a relatively new franchise with one moderate succeful game, that was honestly a first.

I think Sakurai is more willing to add lesser known characters for the general public those days, through, he said in Terry's presentation that begin fun to play is more important to him, so maybe if he thinking characters like Adol Crystil from Ys, Ryza from Atelier or Prince from Katamari would be fun to play, maybe he considers them even if a lot of fans might not know them, for example.
Of course, most newcomers would still be relatively know characters, i doubt he'll go overboard with it, either.

 

[Gengar84]

I don’t think the series has much a chance due to too much competition, but has anyone here ever brought up Star Ocean? I’ve played 2-5 but Star Ocean 3 particularly stood out to me as one of my earlier JRPGs when I was just getting into the genre. The game introduced me to what would become two of my favorite voice actors, Crispin Freeman who played Albel Nox and Wendee Lee who played Nel Zelpher. I’d love to see either of these two in Smash but I’d put them right down there with Zegram Ghart in terms of likelihood. In other words, I don’t think they’re ever going to happen, probably even with a 500+ character roster.

 

[AreJay25]

Tbh, i could see Streets of Rage getting first in terms of beat 'em up reps, SoR4 did pretty well, didn't it? Not sure if it's a hot take or not.

Now that we're talking about 3rd party series, what 3rd party series do you think have a chance to get a rep but aren't talked as much?
For me would definitely be Borderlands, Mass Effect, Trails of Coldsteel, Rune Factory, Streets of Rage and Hollow Knight.

I think there's a non 0% chance that a Granblue Fantasy character could make it. I also think Virtua Fighter might have an okay shot if these reboot rumors really lead to a big resurgence.

I would have also said Hades, but, uh... kinda hard to underrate the chances of something that just recently got a Spirit lmao.

 

[Noipoi]

So, when Shulk was added, Sakurai stated that he wasn't the kind of character they would usually add.

It's hard to imagine that considering Xenoblade's status now, but why do you think Sakurai said that back then?

He's british

 

[Guynamednelson]

Mario Wonder took 4 years with 435 people. Metroid Dread took 4 years with 220 people. Both through the pandemic mind you.

Why would smash need 5 years and 1k people? Smash is not a super complex 3D platformer/open world exploration game like Odyssey, BotW, TotK, or even games like Scarlet/Violet and Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate credits (Nintendo Switch, 2018) - MobyGames

The official game credits for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate released on Nintendo Switch in 2018. The credits include 1,619 people.

www.mobygames.com

This says 1,619 people worked on the game, but each Smash game's credits include credits for people in charge of the franchises included, regardless of how much they actually contributed to Smash.

 

[Wonder Smash]

Tbh, i could see Streets of Rage getting first in terms of beat 'em up reps, SoR4 did pretty well, didn't it? Not sure if it's a hot take or not.

The thing is, Streets of Rage is a SEGA series, so it's going to have an uphill battle. There's also Yakuza/Like A Dragon, Shin Megami Tensei, and maybe even Phantasy Star. All series are much bigger than Streets of Rage.

When paying tribute to the beat'em up genre, I think using Technos Japan is the best way to do it. They were truly the king of the beat'em up genre. That's why using either River City or Double Dragon would be the best choice for me.

 

[Gengar84]

I’ve always considered Musou games to be the spiritual successors to the Beat ‘em Up genre. I’m not sure if that’s way off base but both involve playing co-op to take down hordes of enemies in somewhat mindless but still very fun fashion. You could argue that some of the genre also carried over to action games like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta but they don’t usually have the multiplayer aspect of Musou or Beat ‘em Ups. They’re probably more in line with classics like Ninja Gaiden.

 

[Ivander]

So, when Shulk was added, Sakurai stated that he wasn't the kind of character they would usually add.

It's hard to imagine that considering Xenoblade's status now, but why do you think Sakurai said that back then?

Aside from Wii Fit Trainer, Shulk was the only base newcomer who came from a new series made during the Wii era. All of the other base newcomers came from franchises that originated before the Gamecube(as Animal Crossing originally originated on the N64)
And Xenoblade sold nowhere near as much as Wii Fit. So it's not like they were pressured to add Shulk and Xenoblade, they could've ignored it. But somehow, against the odds(That's Dunban over there), Shulk and Xenoblade, a not-so-big Nintendo IP at the time, managed to get in.

 

[fogbadge]

I want a plot where

He's british

so's diddy

 

[Noipoi]

so's diddy

Yeah but Diddy sounds like “ooh ooh ah ah” he doesn’t say “Oi it’s chewsday innit”

There’s a difference

 

[Gengar84]

Speaking of Xenoblade dialect, do you think they’re going to stick with “sparking” and “snuffing” moving forward or was that just a Xenoblade 3 thing? I always found it kind of amusing when they used those words in place of swearing. It definitely helped make Eunie more entertaining. Almost like the Ninja Turtles’ “what the shell!?”.

 

[CapitaineCrash]

I already talked about it in the past, but I really don't see Streets of rage a serious candidate when Puyo puyo, Virtua fighter, Like a dragon, Phantasy star, Sakura wars are right there, and I would even argue that Valkyria chronicles or even Shinobi have more chances than Streets of rage, and that's not even including the chances of simply having a second Sonic character or more from SMT or Persona too.

 

[kirbstr]

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate credits (Nintendo Switch, 2018) - MobyGames

The official game credits for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate released on Nintendo Switch in 2018. The credits include 1,619 people.

www.mobygames.com

This says 1,619 people worked on the game, but each Smash game's credits include credits for people in charge of the franchises included, regardless of how much they actually contributed to Smash.

That page says there was an overlap of around 535 people credited on both Ultimate and Smash 4 Wii U. We know the same people worked on both games, and the core team of developers at Bandai Namco for them was somewhere between 120-200 people based on their own statements and postings for job applications.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Streets of Rage is honestly my preference as as the Smash beat em up selection given the aesthetics, soundtracks, and character designs. Even with third party competition from the other series within the major developers, I don’t think any one beat em up IP has that much of advantage over the others, especially given the genre’s less visible status these days.

 

[TheQuester]

I already talked about it in the past, but I really don't see Streets of rage a serious candidate when Puyo puyo, Virtua fighter, Like a dragon, Phantasy star, Sakura wars are right there, and I would even argue that Valkyria chronicles or even Shinobi have more chances than Streets of rage, and that's not even including the chances of simply having a second Sonic character or more from SMT or Persona too.

Yeah, tbh, i think Like a Dragon and Puyo Puyo are more likely.
I think Shinobi and Phantasy Star are about the same level of likeness personally, through.

I don’t think the series has much a chance due to too much competition, but has anyone here ever brought up Star Ocean? I’ve played 2-5 but Star Ocean 3 particularly stood out to me as one of my earlier JRPGs when I was just getting into the genre. The game introduced me to what would become two of my favorite voice actors, Crispin Freeman who played Albel Nox and Wendee Lee who played Nel Zelpher. I’d love to see either of these two in Smash but I’d put them right down there with Zegram Ghart in terms of likelihood. In other words, I don’t think they’re ever going to happen, probably even with a 500+ character roster.

If Star Ocean has a breakout hit then it could happen eventually, i don't seem them picking Star Ocean over Nier, Bubble Bobble, Chrono or Octopath, right now, so it has an uphill battle, until it becomes feasible.
I think it has about the same chances as Valkyrie Profile, TWEWY or even Lufia...which isn't a lot, saldly.

Eventually (honestly....in like 40 years minimum, and i'm begin generous) they'll have to start picking the nicher IPs, because they'll start to run out of new big franchises to add, both 1st party and 3rd party, by then Star Ocean might be feasible.