Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[SMAASH! Puppy]

On the subject of new mechanics, how about something like this: Assist Spirits. They would be a meter style resource with several charges that you could build up over the course of a match. Expending a charge causes the Spirit to come in and do an assist type move. Building the meter fully allows you to use a Super Assist, which is basically a super, but for your assist character (I have a way with words, I know).

Lets use Waluigi as an example. Waluigi's Assist has him appear in front of the player, and swing a tennis racket. This attack is a reflector, but otherwise is fairly unremarkable. His Super Assist has him kick a soccer ball at the nearest opponent. If it hits, they are wrapped in purple vines, stunning them. Like with all stun mechanics, this is more effective at higher percents.

Could be a fun way to add assists and supers at the same time.

 

[osby]

So... Honest question.

Do you think Terry's inclusion in Smash and his positive reception led to to revival of the Fatal Fury franchise? For those who aren't aware, Fatal Fury is getting a new game after 20 years. It's going to be called Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.

I wouldn't rule out the possibility, though Terry was announced for Smash in September 2019. We know City of the Wolves was in development in August 2022. If Smash had an impact on a new Fatal Fury, then they acted kinda quickly on that.

 

[SpecterFlower]

No kidding! It's not like it will be like Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, or Sword and Shield, which were not good games.

And those Pokemon games were not so good for reasons other than cutting Pokemon, right?

The actual content in them is some of the enst in the seires. They are held back by bugs.

mother wise scarlet and violet would be the end in the seires, it’s a shame

 

[BritishGuy54]

On the subject of backwards compatibility and Smash 6, I think we will get Smash 6. A deluxe port makes little sense and these are different times compared to something like Mario Kart 8.

Also a Smash 6 would give some much needed attention to modern Nintendo. Their legacies are in the making, and I’d like to see what they can offer to Smash.

If cuts happen, that’s fine. I suspect 30-40 will be on the chopping block, such as licensing issues, lack of relevance, or something else entirely. Still a lot of fighters, but not a situation where there’s too few.

And if EiH does happen again, I can be surprised because I wouldn’t be expecting it.

 

[Chuderz]

Oh if you want a Smash style crossover game in a different genre than platform fighter then I think the ticket would be a Smite style 3rd person MOBA. Disregarding the processes of getting this game actually made it'd basically be a guaranteed success and there's so many reasons why it's a good idea.

You have a real-time action based combat game that can easily utilize Nintendo's IPs in a crossover just like Smash that's also simultaneously very distinct from Smash in multiple ways namely the use of a 3D space for traversal and battle. A fun little idea is to have Nintendo style "creeps" too (it's MOBA terminology for the lane soldiers) for the different stages. You could have Goombas and Koopas for Mario stages, Waddle Dees for Kirby stages, Deku Scrubs for Zelda stages, Kremlings for Donkey Kong stages and the list goes on and on.

It's a genre of game Nintendo hasn't themselves gotten into other than Pokemon Unite with is only Pokemon and uses the traditional bird's eye perspective. That game (Pokemon Unite) is also a blatant low-effort (when you factor in GameFreak and Tencent's billions upon billions in resources) cash grab and we're going to go ahead presume a new Smash style Nintendo crossover game would be a labor of love with a healthy amount of resources just like Smash is.

The "best" reason not to do it is the existence of Pokemon Unite and Nintendo deciding they don't want to compete with that. It's whatever then because if that's the reason not to do it then it's a terrible reason because the 3rd person Smite perspective is very untapped in the MOBA market and it gives a better sense of a immersion and is more approachable for casual players. With how many business relationships Smash by itself opens for them I can't imagine Nintendo thinking it's a bad idea to introduce more "Smash" style crossover games to their lineup. A Smash MOBA and yes even a Smash Kart racer would absolutely be extremely good for the company if they could pull it off though Smash Kart would be the biggest risk since it would have to replace Mario Kart.

 

[DarthEnderX]

At the likely cost of quality?

You can't ignore the bad things that are possible just so you can get what you want, you know.

I acknowledge the possibility but completely reject the likeliness.

Smash is one of the most popular and profitable games in the world. Nintendo has all the resources it needs to expand the game in any area it wants without sacrificing other areas.


And even if they couldn't. Yes, I'd still be willing to sacrifice some quality or complexity to get more characters.

But I don't have to. Because Nintendo can do both.

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

So... Honest question.

Do you think Terry's inclusion in Smash and his positive reception led to to revival of the Fatal Fury franchise? For those who aren't aware, Fatal Fury is getting a new game after 20 years. It's going to be called Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.

KoF 14 came out in 2016 and KoF 15 in 2022 and the former has a beefy dlc period. SamSho in 2019 which shows SNK was busy. It might of given SNK a bit of a radar on how FF/KoF is received but I do t think it has an actual bearings. I see revival of FF/Garou as SNK exploring bringing back old IPs. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a new AoF or Metal Slug game.

 

[fogbadge]

So... Honest question.

Do you think Terry's inclusion in Smash and his positive reception led to to revival of the Fatal Fury franchise? For those who aren't aware, Fatal Fury is getting a new game after 20 years. It's going to be called Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.

who's terry?

 

[Garteam]

As someone who was (and still to some extent is) a proponent of Ultimate Deluxe, the factor that attracted most people to the concept was pretty simple: people aren't sure if there will ever be a Smash game that could follow up on Ultimate.

Most people can accept a Smash game with fewer characters and not every veteran, but most people question what would need to be done for a new Smash game to not feel like a step backward from where Ultimate was. I think it can be done, but what that game would look like and how ambitious Sakurai would need to be are still kind of up in the air

We're Smash fans, so we'll at least be open to whatever comes. I don't know about what the other 29.9 million people who bought Ultimate would be receptive to.

 

[Gengar84]

As someone who was (and still to some extent is) a proponent of Ultimate Deluxe, the factor that attracted most people to the concept was pretty simple: people aren't sure if there will ever be a Smash game that could follow up on Ultimate.

Most people can accept a Smash game with fewer characters and not every veteran, but most people question what would need to be done for a new Smash game to not feel like a step backward from where Ultimate was. I think it can be done, but what that game would look like and how ambitious Sakurai would need to be are still kind of up in the air

We're Smash fans, so we'll at least be open to whatever comes. I don't know about what the other 29.9 million people who bought Ultimate would be receptive to.

Yeah, that’s my biggest fear for the next Smash. I can accept a reduced character count but I’d need something really substantial to make up for it in order for Smash 6 to not feel like a downgrade. Whether that’s a really ambitious adventure mode like SSE, overhauled gameplay mechanics, or a new shift in direction (for example, X vs Nintendo), I think we need something big. Alternatively, I’m happy to just continue building on top of what Ultimate has already done and wouldn’t really need any kind of huge shift.

 

[Scrimblo Bimblo]

Ultimate 2 with tons of DLC is just the most logical solution.
At the end of the day most people want three things, in this order:
-more characters
-more stages/music
Gap
-more modes

There's no need to reinvent the wheel.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Another reason I'm down with a roster with cuts is not just to open up room for more substantial content but also so that "EVERYONE IS HERE!" keeps on being this special feeling that only happens on rare occasions.

I don't want to see Sakurai or whoever is the director struggle with potential legal nightmares concerning getting everyone back over and over on every single game when Sakurai himself reported Ultimate's base roster in and of itself almost didn't happen because if there's one time they fail to deliver, we won't ever hear the end of it. Best to rip the band-aid off right away, I say.

It'd also feel way less special to have everyone if having everyone becomes the norm but that's just me and my fighting game brain being used to roster cuts.

 

[Gengar84]

Another reason I'm down with a roster with cuts is not just to open up room for more substantial content but also so that "EVERYONE IS HERE!" keeps on being this special feeling that only happens on rare occasions.

I don't want to see Sakurai or whoever is the director struggle with potential legal nightmares concerning getting everyone back over and over on every single game when Sakurai himself reported Ultimate's base roster in and of itself almost didn't happen because if there's one time they fail to deliver, we won't ever hear the end of it. Best to rip the band-aid off right away, I say.

It'd also feel way less special to have everyone if having everyone becomes the norm but that's just me and my fighting game brain being used to roster cuts.

Yeah, I can understand that. While I’d prefer everyone to come back, I can understand if that isn’t possible. I just hope I can keep a lot of my favorites around.

 

[DarthEnderX]

Yeah, that’s my biggest fear for the next Smash. I can accept a reduced character count but I’d need something really substantial to make up for it in order for Smash 6 to not feel like a downgrade. Whether that’s a really ambitious adventure mode like SSE, overhauled gameplay mechanics, or a new shift in direction (for example, X vs Nintendo), I think we need something big. Alternatively, I’m happy to just continue building on top of what Ultimate has already done and wouldn’t really need any kind of huge shift.

The only big change that I care enough about to accept losing a bunch of characters for is a change to a Cel-shaded art style.

And...I guess Rollback Netcode, if that's something that simply can't be added without rebuilding the game from scratch.


Those are the only two major changes that I would want to Ultimate. Outside of those, the only problems I have with Ultimate are minor tweaks that wouldn't require an entirely new game to address. And certainly nothing I'd be willing to sacrifice characters to fix.

 

[Gengar84]

The only big change that I care enough about to accept losing a bunch of characters for is a change to a Cel-shaded art style.

And...I guess Rollback Netcode, if that's something that simply can't be added without rebuilding the game from scratch.


Those are the only two major changes that I would want to Ultimate. Outside of those, the only problems I have with Ultimate are minor tweaks that wouldn't require an entirely new game to address. And certainly nothing I'd be willing to sacrifice characters to fix.

I’d love a cel shaded style too. I wouldn’t imagine a change in graphical style alone would necessitate removing a bunch of characters. I imagine it’s just flattening the texture images and creating and applying an appropriate shader. I think you can do that with the existing models so you wouldn’t really even have to create new ones from scratch.

Better online would be cool but that’s not really a selling point for me since I pretty much exclusively play locally with my brother and friends. Most of the time just by myself against the AI if I’m being honest lol.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Better online would be cool but that’s not really a selling point for me since I pretty much exclusively play locally with my brother and friends. Most of the time just by myself against the AI if I’m being honest lol.

Yeah, but now that the world is more connected than ever combined with the prevalence of voice chat services like Discord means the online should start being a focus because the difference between playing with friends in the same room and playing with friends from across the world has gotten slimmer.

It's going to need a good online for sure. Hopefully if Bandai Namco is still in charge, they'll do what they did for Tekken 8 and outsource the online infrastructure to someone who knows how to make a rollback netcode.

 

[pitchfulprocessing]

So... Honest question.

Do you think Terry's inclusion in Smash and his positive reception led to to revival of the Fatal Fury franchise? For those who aren't aware, Fatal Fury is getting a new game after 20 years. It's going to be called Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.

I really doubt it had a significant impact. SamSho and KOFXV all sold decently on their own merits.

 

[Gengar84]

Yeah, but now that the world is more connected than ever combined with the prevalence of voice chat services like Discord means the online should start being a focus because the difference between playing with friends in the same room and playing with friends from across the world has gotten slimmer.

It's going to need a good online for sure. Hopefully if Bandai Namco is still in charge, they'll do what they did for Tekken 8 and outsource the online infrastructure to someone who knows how to make a rollback netcode.

Oh yeah, I’m not saying that they shouldn’t focus on the online. It’s obviously very important for a ton of people. Just that I personally don’t really play online games much so it wouldn’t really impact my enjoyment of the game whether or not it had good online.

 

[dezeray112]

KoF 14 came out in 2016 and KoF 15 in 2022 and the former has a beefy dlc period. SamSho in 2019 which shows SNK was busy. It might of given SNK a bit of a radar on how FF/KoF is received but I do t think it has an actual bearings. I see revival of FF/Garou as SNK exploring bringing back old IPs. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a new AoF or Metal Slug game.

I'm personally hoping for a new World Heroes entry.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

I think Smash would look gorgeous in a faux pixel art artstyle. I wouldn't have it emulate any specific era of pixel art (mainly because I think they'd pick a Nintendo console to base it on which would be pretty limiting), and they wouldn't be able to go as hard on a faux 2D artstyle as someone like ArkSystemWorks (they only get away with it because fighting games only have two characters on screen at a time, and also they hand animate them), but with a good enough art direction I think they could pull it off.

Oh yeah, I’m not saying that they shouldn’t focus on the online. It’s obviously very important for a ton of people. Just that I personally don’t really play online games much so it wouldn’t really impact my enjoyment of the game whether or not it had good online.

It wouldn't impact my enjoyment at all since I don't have online. Even if I did though I wouldn't play often because online Smash makes me anxious for some reason.

 

[7NATOR]

In Regards to Everyone is here being a thing for future Smash games, I'd assume by the time we get Smash 7 or 8, That AI might be developed enough to the point that the can expedite the Process of Development, or make it faster and easier on the manpower required, that or any other type of technological advancements in Software development

On the subject of new mechanics, how about something like this: Assist Spirits. They would be a meter style resource with several charges that you could build up over the course of a match. Expending a charge causes the Spirit to come in and do an assist type move. Building the meter fully allows you to use a Super Assist, which is basically a super, but for your assist character (I have a way with words, I know).

Lets use Waluigi as an example. Waluigi's Assist has him appear in front of the player, and swing a tennis racket. This attack is a reflector, but otherwise is fairly unremarkable. His Super Assist has him kick a soccer ball at the nearest opponent. If it hits, they are wrapped in purple vines, stunning them. Like with all stun mechanics, this is more effective at higher percents.

Could be a fun way to add assists and supers at the same time.

I actually had thought about there being some type of Assist System in the game to make Assist Trophy characters more prominent, especially since It can show of the newfound power of the Switch 2, and it allows more Characters to be represented in the gameplay for the crossover. but honestly, I think even the idea of having to summon a Character is too complex already for Casuals, nevermind adding some type of Super meters and moves tied to it. People even have problems with Tagging characters in, which might be part of the reason 1v1 Fighters outsell Tag Fighters

Also Assists I think are at their best when they are allowed to move around in this platformer fighting game. I don't think Assists in Smash can work like other Fighting games just apparing in front or behind the player

I think the best thing to do with an Assist Mechanic would just make it so the Assist Character is always paired with the Main Playable character. As an Example, You can play as Sonic Regularly, or you can play as Sonic & Knuckles, where Knuckles will follow along with you and has a Set number of Attacks you can control him to do. However you Share stocks so if one of you dies, that's a lost stock for both

As someone who was (and still to some extent is) a proponent of Ultimate Deluxe, the factor that attracted most people to the concept was pretty simple: people aren't sure if there will ever be a Smash game that could follow up on Ultimate.

Most people can accept a Smash game with fewer characters and not every veteran, but most people question what would need to be done for a new Smash game to not feel like a step backward from where Ultimate was. I think it can be done, but what that game would look like and how ambitious Sakurai would need to be are still kind of up in the air

We're Smash fans, so we'll at least be open to whatever comes. I don't know about what the other 29.9 million people who bought Ultimate would be receptive to.

If you go by Youtube Views and also by trends on what sells the Most, it Would definitely be some type of Big Single Player mode with Cutscenes and an actual Story. The World of Light Announcement for Ultimate was one of the Highest viewed for Smash Ultimate, and the Subspace emissary has alot of Views for it's Cutscenes

In Any Case, I do think Sakurai and the Team will try to achieve Everyone is Here again, in addition to new additions. Yes Everyone is Here almost didn't happen, and even acknowledged as recent as a year ago that it would be difficult to do again and would really need to think if the Next Smash game is worth upsetting some fans

But because they did everyone is Here, it became the Best Selling Fighting game of all time, on the one of the Best Selling Consoles of all time. They allowed the Extra Development needed for both TOTK and Mario Wonder, so I Imagine for the successors to the Big 3 games on the Switch (Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Animal Crossing New Horizons, and Smash Ultimate), they'd be willing to do the same, to sell the Next Console to people that already have Switches, and even people that don't, I can already imagine if the Next Smash had all of this

-Every Characters comes back...AGAIN!
-100+ Character Roster
-Story Mode
-Rollback Netcode

 

[Gengar84]

I think Smash would look gorgeous in a faux pixel art artstyle. I wouldn't have it emulate any specific era of pixel art (mainly because I think they'd pick a Nintendo console to base it on which would be pretty limiting), and they wouldn't be able to go as hard on a faux 2D artstyle as someone like ArkSystemWorks (they only get away with it because fighting games only have two characters on screen at a time, and also they hand animate them), but with a good enough art direction I think they could pull it off.


It wouldn't impact my enjoyment at all since I don't have online. Even if I did though I wouldn't play often because online Smash makes me anxious for some reason.

Same here. I don’t think I’ve had Switch online since they started charging for it. I’m not really a great competitive player so when I did play online, it was definitely more anxiety inducing and frustrating than fun for me. I kind of just like messing around and having fun than trying to seriously compete.

 

[DarthEnderX]

I imagine it’s just flattening the texture images and creating and applying an appropriate shader. I think you can do that with the existing models so you wouldn’t really even have to create new ones from scratch.

You COULD do that. But if you wanted to make it look really good, you should really be reanimating the models from scratch.

But once you'd done that, you could reuse those models over and over for years and they'd still look amazing. The way GG Xrd models still do to this day.

Which means you could keep reusing those models while you built back up to EiH again.

 

[Gengar84]

You COULD do that. But if you wanted to make it look really good, you should really be reanimating the models from scratch.

But once you'd done that, you could reuse those models over and over for years and they'd still look amazing. The way GG Xrd models still do to this day.

Which means you could keep reusing those models while you built back up to EiH again.

Yeah, that’s a good point. I’m having a hard time thinking of how they can possibly make those Guilty Gear models look better than they already do. I think I’d be happy with those graphics even 20 years from now so they really are future proofed. Although I definitely remember saying the same thing when I saw Melee’s graphics for the first time and here we are lol.

 

[fogbadge]

Most of the time just by myself against the AI if I’m being honest lol.

same

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

I think the best thing to do with an Assist Mechanic would just make it so the Assist Character is always paired with the Main Playable character. As an Example, You can play as Sonic Regularly, or you can play as Sonic & Knuckles, where Knuckles will follow along with you and has a Set number of Attacks you can control him to do. However you Share stocks so if one of you dies, that's a lost stock for both

That...sounds far more complicated than what I proposed. Unless you were talking about an Ice Climbers style mechanic, but that would feel kinda weird.

EDIT: Thinking about it, I don't think summoning is inherently complicated. Pokkén Tournament has a similar mechanic, but it really just amounts to "if meter full, can summon Diglett", though you do get the choice of assist between rounds, which gives it some meaningful decisions. Tag games are harder because everyone is Pokémon Trainer, also tagging is usually a weird input, also tagging is a pretty risky thing to do.

"Keep it simple, stupid" is one of Super Smash Bros.'s main design philosophies, so it may not want to add any extra mechanics at all, but if they did want to, I don't think any variation of a summoning mechanic would violate the principle.

 

[Perkilator]

On the topic of DLC for the next game:

I kinda hope the next Smash Bros. game does more than two DLC Season Passes. Especially if any of them involve returning Fighters.

Three or four Passes, each with five Fighters, would be just dandy. Especially if the Switch 2 has considerable staying power.

— Jake the VGA Fella (@TheVGAfanatic) April 29, 2024

How would you guys feel if this happened?

 

[Gengar84]

On the topic of DLC for the next game:

I kinda hope the next Smash Bros. game does more than two DLC Season Passes. Especially if any of them involve returning Fighters.

Three or four Passes, each with five Fighters, would be just dandy. Especially if the Switch 2 has considerable staying power.

— Jake the VGA Fella (@TheVGAfanatic) April 29, 2024

How would you guys feel if this happened?

I’m willing to keep buying DLC characters for as long as they’re willing to sell them (as long as the prices remain reasonable). I’d be more than happy to get several years of additional content. That just increases the chances of actually getting any of my most wanted characters.

 

[fogbadge]

On the topic of DLC for the next game:

I kinda hope the next Smash Bros. game does more than two DLC Season Passes. Especially if any of them involve returning Fighters.

Three or four Passes, each with five Fighters, would be just dandy. Especially if the Switch 2 has considerable staying power.

— Jake the VGA Fella (@TheVGAfanatic) April 29, 2024

How would you guys feel if this happened?

im not sure how I would feel about this. I probably wouldn’t end up buying it all anyway so I suppose it hardly matters what I think

 

[BritishGuy54]

On the topic of DLC for the next game:

I kinda hope the next Smash Bros. game does more than two DLC Season Passes. Especially if any of them involve returning Fighters.

Three or four Passes, each with five Fighters, would be just dandy. Especially if the Switch 2 has considerable staying power.

— Jake the VGA Fella (@TheVGAfanatic) April 29, 2024

How would you guys feel if this happened?

My wallet will not be pleased.

 

[SPEN18]

im not sure how I would feel about this. I probably wouldn’t end up buying it all anyway so I suppose it hardly matters what I think

But it does matter. Not buying matters just as much as buying. If not enough people are going to hold interest that long after initial release, they're not gonna go that far.

--

Anyway I would not hold my breath for more DLC than Ult had, which was already quite a lot. Ult had the benefit of a massive install base and a sufficiently willing director, two conditions that we can't be sure will be repeated to the same extents.

Regardless, it's very cart-before-horse to be worrying over all this now; personally it's very strange to see so many people just skipping over speculating on the most immediate future of the series, the actual game itself that all this hypothetical DLC would actually be building on. Though I know it's largely a function of a very lengthy Ult DLC cycle being the most recent thing.

 

[7NATOR]

On the topic of DLC for the next game:

I kinda hope the next Smash Bros. game does more than two DLC Season Passes. Especially if any of them involve returning Fighters.

Three or four Passes, each with five Fighters, would be just dandy. Especially if the Switch 2 has considerable staying power.

— Jake the VGA Fella (@TheVGAfanatic) April 29, 2024

How would you guys feel if this happened?

I see 3 being the Max. It has been stated that DLC is a risky investment, and 3 Fighter Passes would already get close or on the dot to matching or even exceeding the price of the Base game. 4 would definitely do it. Plus Nintendo is one of few companies that can still rely on selling $60-$70 games, without a sale, and rake in that money. Most companies are trying to bank on Long term support or live-service for their games

Also on this note, I still remember the 16 Slot datamine in Smash Ultimate WOL, and while there was some funky business of what was going on with the slots being removed and added and such, I think it would add up to 3 Passes being the absolute Max, with 5 per pass (Plant counting as one of the 16). I also believe 91 characters on the CSS (counting random) would was the limit, which addsup the 16 slots

Going into a quick theory of mine, I think this info makes it more likely that the Next Smash was already in mind at least by the time FP2 was greenlit in 2019 because it seems FP3 was not in the cards, despite the strong sales of the Fighter passes, but I think it's because there's no need for a FP3 when there is going to be a New Smash game confirmed to be in Development

I also think that for Sora at least, If this timeline matches up, I think he's definitely going to return in the Next Smash knowing that they could negotiate for his appearance in Ultimate and the Next Smash.

 

[Guynamednelson]

Regardless, it's very cart-before-horse to be worrying over all this now; personally it's very strange to see so many people just skipping over speculating on the most immediate future of the series, the actual game itself that all this hypothetical DLC would actually be building on. Though I know it's largely a function of a very lengthy Ult DLC cycle being the most recent thing.

I think it has more to do with the characters that are currently popular in speculation being more likely for DLC, what with the kinds of characters it specialized in.

Although this time, they'd have to compete with cut veterans for slots.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

I think it has more to do with the characters that are currently popular in speculation being more likely for DLC, what with the kinds of characters it specialized in.

Although this time, they'd have to compete with cut veterans for slots.

I don't think it'd be an active competition for slots and moreso how Smash 4 handled it, with cut veterans having dedicated slots.

It'd sure feel like [cut veteran] "stole [newcomer]'s slot" if it's not someone you like but in reality, it would have never been a newcomer slot in the first place.

 

[DarthEnderX]

How would you guys feel if this happened?

A good? Elated even if it doesn't end up having to be half returning charaters.

But it does matter. Not buying matters just as much as buying. If not enough people are going to hold interest that long after initial release, they're not gonna go that far.

Tell that to Street Fighter 5. That game had 5 seasons of DLC and it only got MORE popular as the game went on.

 

[Louie G.]

It'd sure feel like [cut veteran] "stole [newcomer]'s slot" if it's not someone you like but in reality, it would have never been a newcomer slot in the first place.

Yeah, especially if they continue with a similar model to Ultimate. It's unlikely that returning veterans would be able to sustain a full challenger pack of content, unless maybe it's a returning third party series absent from base game. If they want to sell off Cloud / Sephiroth or Sora later or something, then by all means I don't think they'll have a problem doing that. If we're talking first party veterans, those would probably be peppered in differently.

Maybe we have one returning veteran alongside each original newcomer, or something. Hard to say how this would operate but I think it'd be difficult to justify selling... let's say Wolf and maybe a returning Star Fox stage for the price of a brand new character, stage and music. So I think the answer would probably be reassessing how they approach the fighters pass and offering bundles of old and new content at once.

 

[Perkilator]

Or maybe veterans could be added back in free updates while newcomers get proper Challenger Packs?

 

[Guynamednelson]

It'd sure feel like [cut veteran] "stole [newcomer]'s slot" if it's not someone you like but in reality, it would have never been a newcomer slot in the first place.

Yeah, I didn't mean it like that, just that if the next game isn't EIH (which it won't be), you should expect some of the DLC fighters to be veterans.

 

[smashkirby]

Hey, all! Does anyone here remember that Smash Bros. mod I brought up here sometime ago regarding that mod of Yuka from Rhythm Heaven being modded into Ultimate? Well...

Ever seen somebody do karate in a dress? 🥋 💃
(W.I.P animation is fucking hard) #rhythmheaven #nintendo pic.twitter.com/Al8sSHpuTO

— Soda & Pop INC. (@SodaAndPop_Inc) April 29, 2024

They seem to be making REAL good progress on it! For the record, the person making this mod even has plans for a costume where Yuka would be wearing Karate Joe's own gi as an alternate costume!

Karate Woman #rhythmheaven pic.twitter.com/hXF7sc8h73

— Soda & Pop INC. (@SodaAndPop_Inc) February 16, 2024

A stage can also work too. With the girls singing on the background.

That'd be PERFECT! Bonus points if they decide to go the extra mile and change up who's singing in the background, be it the OG 765 idols, the Million Live idols, Cinderella Girls idols, Shiny Colors idols, and on rare occasions? The SideM boys!

Happy Birthday Kirby!

The pink hero made his debut in Kirby’s Dream Land for Game Boy, which launched in Japan on this day in 1992.

View attachment 388568

@/NintendoAmerica

My favorite video game character since 2002, and more or less the reason I ever bothered to give a rat's tail about video games in general whatsoever upon seeing him as a playable character in the very first Smash Bros. on N64!

I guess I'm not people then because I always buy every costume but you don't see me campaigning for Gil from Tower of Druaga or Minecraft Pig

Joke's on you, pal... I'd LOVE to see Gil (and ANY of Namco's other arcade stars for that matter) in Smash Bros. as playable characters!

Jokes on you I am absolutely campaigning for Gil from Tower of Druaga

You know it!

it arguably has the best version of Classic Mode in the series since each character has their own tailormade mode which can incentivize aiming for a high score since there's less RNG involved.

I'm not going to lie, I think Ultimate's Classic Mode should have been saved for another Smash Bros. game rather than the game where 'Everyone Is Here', because now that I've gone through every character's route, it just feels kind of boring taking on the same characters per route. I mean, with 80+ characters? It would have been fun seeing who I'd be fighting next and whatnot.

What's more, I feel like the 'route' idea would have been more substantial for me if Ultimate did what games like MvC3 and other fighting games did and have a cutscene play at the beginning and/or end.

 

[SPEN18]

I think it has more to do with the characters that are currently popular in speculation being more likely for DLC, what with the kinds of characters it specialized in.

Although this time, they'd have to compete with cut veterans for slots.

If you're speaking of those with the attitude of "I just wanna talk about third parties": yeah, there is definitely that as well. Though what I was alluding to is that Ult's DLC being the most recent cycle also lends itself to discussing those characters and that rostering paradigm more freely than if we're in the thick of base game cycle.