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Potential universal mechanics for future Smash games.

GolisoPower

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With all these new characters in Smash Ultimate, we've seen more of an abundance of unique mechanics that can potentially be made into something universal in future installations of the series. And today, I'm going to list what mechanics have the most potential:

  1. Shield-Specials (:ultinkling:)
    1. Inkling's gimmick, Ink, is replenished by pressing Shield, then pressing B. This mechanic, I feel, has potential to be a future 5th special for certain characters, such as Potions for the Pokemon Trainer or V-Triggers for Ryu & Ken. Sort of a more...passive Special, if you will.
  2. Held-A Attacks (:ultsimon:/:ultrichter:)
    1. No, I'm not talking about stuff like rapid-jabs or the like. What I'm talking about is how Simon and Richter can perform this Sheik-chain attack if the player holds B. This can be applied other ways, like switching weapons, alternative attacks, etc. Should Elma make it in, she could potentially have a Held-A that allows her to switch between swords and guns.
  3. Dodge Attacks (:ult_terry:)
    1. Dodge Attacks seem like an absolutely likely mechanic that can be universal, considering a large portion of Smash mechanics are inspired by SNK games (Short-hopping, spot-dodging, rolling, etc.). However, dodge-attacks seem very easy to implement for other characters. They can just adapt tilt-attacks to use in dodge attacks.
  4. Backward Specials (:ult_terry: again)
    1. Terry also brings a second potential universal mechanic: a back-special. His Side-B is divided into two: His forward special Burning Knuckle, and his back special, Crack Shoot. While this does limit his recovery options when off-stage, it also gives Terry more tools to work with in Smash. I feel that akin to the Shield Special, Back Specials have a lot of potential to be a universal mechanic.
That's all I have so far, but I feel pretty confident in what I've gathered.
 

Oddball

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Honestly, I'm against most things that would make play more complex. Smash was a nice break from how complicated other fighting games have gotten. It doesn't need to copy them.

Back specials are an especially bad idea. It fits Terry because of his unique mechanic of always facing his enemy and the fact that he comes for a fighting game series that's know for it's technical aspects. Frankly, it barley works for him, it's way to easy to accidentally use the wrong move when fighting gets hectic.
 
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Predatoria

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Honestly, I'm against most things that would make play more complex. Smash was a nice break from how complicated other fighting games have gotten. It doesn't need to copy them.

Back specials are an especially bad idea. It fits Terry because of his unique mechanic of always facing his enemy and the fact that he comes for a fighting game series that's know for it's technical aspects. Frankly, it barley works for him, it's way to easy to accidentally use the wrong move when fighting gets hectic.
I'm a bit hesitant as well.

I'm somewhat new to playing Smash at a level where I actually understand the game's fundamental mechanics, and it would've been a lot more difficult to learn if things were more complicated. For example, some people wish there were more advanced and difficult to do techs in the game, but I'm personally relieved there are not. Call me a casual, but, yeah, I am a casual, as are most people tbh.

I'm also wary that most newcomers nowadays seem to have some special mechanic that's tied to their HUD, such as Arsene, Wonder Wing, and Terry's Go mechanic. Not every character needs a special meter or move they charge up.
 
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whitesnake

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this is a great thread. I like the idea of pushing the thinking but agree that smash should not be over-complicated. The ease of picking it up / simple button inputs distinguish it from outer fighting games

I would like to see the formula tweaked for the sake of variety, without sacrificing simplicity if that can be done
 

Quillion

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Honestly, I'm against most things that would make play more complex. Smash was a nice break from how complicated other fighting games have gotten. It doesn't need to copy them.
Counterpoint: Side Specials made it harder to do neutral Bs while running, now we can't imagine Smash without them.

I absolutely think it's time that Smash introduce a new universal mechanic by next game. I honestly think Smash is on the verge of becoming as stagnant as Pokémon if it doesn't, and it's only saved by the fact that Smash doesn't release nearly as often as Pokémon does.

That said, there should only be ONE universal mechanic introduced at a time. They shouldn't do everything GolisoPower GolisoPower introduced at once, but just one at a time so that we acclimate to them.

Here are my three main ideas for what they can do to really shake up Smash's core gameplay:
  • Shield-Specials. Yes, I share this idea with GolisoPower GolisoPower . I agree that it should only be reserved for some kind of "passive" special that doesn't attack, so the annoyance of cancelling shield or air-dodge in midair with an attack won't exist.
  • EX/Super Specials. This is sort of universalizing Cloud's Limit mechanic. They should sacrifice one of the jump buttons (Y/X) and make it so this would instead fire off a souped-up special at the cost of a bar of meter.
  • Wavedash as a dedicated button. They can do this by sacrificing one of the shoulder buttons to make this work, and we would be able to tilt the control stick at different angles to adjust the length. We should also be able to cancel all jabs and tilts and some specials with this move, opening up the waveshine to other characters as well as it becoming more balanced as an intentional mechanic.
 

Ben Holt

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I just want gliding to return. Not glitched like Brawl.
I also want Mario to be able to glide with his cape.
 

Quillion

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I just want gliding to return. Not glitched like Brawl.
I also want Mario to be able to glide with his cape.
I feel like gliding would be better done Project M's way of attaching it to Side Bs instead of having it be attached to jumping.
 

Ben Holt

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I feel like gliding would be better done Project M's way of attaching it to Side Bs instead of having it be attached to jumping.
Nah. Wastes a move slot.
 

MarioMeteor

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An idea occurred to me a few days ago: tech jumps. You know how you can jump immediately out of a wall tech? It would be the same thing, only on the ground. Your character would break their fall and then jump in one swift motion. It would be just as punishable as a tech roll or a tech in place if the opponent reads it, but it would be another option to have.
 
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Ben Holt

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Oh yea. I forgot an old idea I had.
Mario and Luigi should deal damage when footstooling considering their original attack was jumping on enemies.
 

Mogisthelioma

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I like the idea of shield specials. It would be a great way to flesh out movesets that need better design.
I also think shield taunts would be cool tool. Same idea as shield specials. It would double the amount of taunts we already have.
 

Ben Holt

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A color editor would be cool along with a costume editor.
Imagine character customization in Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 2, Let's Go Pikachu, and Mario Oddesy.
You could dress up Link with his costumes and even give him different swords and shields, as long as the hitboxes are the same. So no giant clubs or spears.
Robin could be as customizable as they are in Fire Emblem Awakening.
Mario could swap out his hat and costume like Mario Odyssey.
Inkling could change eye color, hair style, ink color, headwear, shirts, shorts, and shoes like in Splatoon 2.

So basically, at minimum, every character could be colored differently, but could be as customizable as Link and Inkling at most.

I also have a thread I made in my signature dedicated to the return of Custom Moves.

I've always liked the idea of people truly making the fighters their own.
These two mechanics would add infinite uniqueness.
 

Quillion

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Oh yea. I forgot an old idea I had.
Mario and Luigi should deal damage when footstooling considering their original attack was jumping on enemies.
I think Mario should just get a faster version of Doc's d-air for that and turn Side-B into Spin attack.

Also, aren't we talking about universal mechanics here?
 

Wigglerman

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I find the correlation that new mechanics makes Smash too difficult or too similar to other fighters. The issue is that Smash is only superficially simple. It's designed in such a way that absolutely anyone can play among their peers and not need to remember complex input commands to do even the basic things. However Smash always tends to have 'hidden' mechanics that require the 'casual' to dig deeper to discover and implement should they so desire to. The game also allows the use of the simple mechanics involved to be used in creative or 'difficult' ways for those who push the limits of the game.

Smash is only 'as difficult' as you want to make it. The truth could be said about any fighting game. How 'difficult' you decide to make it usually depends on your play group and your own personal ambition to either learn more complex stuff or just enjoy the game at the most fundamental level.

Smash does need something interesting and new to give players something to chew on. It doesn't even need to be a difficult mechanic but simply a useful and fun one. What that mechanic could be, I couldn't really begin to fathom. There's countless things they could try to do to take Smash 'to the next level'. I enjoy Ultimate greatly but even I feel like I yearn for just a little something more, even if I don't know what it is yet. It feels like Ultimate should have done just a little something to spice things up mechanically.
 
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Quillion

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Smash does need something interesting and new to give players something to chew on. It doesn't even need to be a difficult mechanic but simply a useful and fun one. What that mechanic could be, I couldn't really begin to fathom.
I still think adding the wavedash as a proper mechanic instead of emergent tech can be just that. We can easily sacrifice one of the shoulder buttons to accomodate it.
 

Ryu Myuutsu

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Did they ever clarify the reason why the removed gliding?

It was such a good mechanic, but I suspect it was because of Meta Knight's broken Up B and it's potential to stall under the stage. Still a shame.
 

Wigglerman

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I still think adding the wavedash as a proper mechanic instead of emergent tech can be just that. We can easily sacrifice one of the shoulder buttons to accomodate it.
Pretty much, yeah. I only use the second shoulder button now out of habit for a second jump button and that's just a carry over from Smash 4 days for easier OOS tech that's just easier to do in Ultimate. Wave Dash or something. I wish the perfect shield mechanic in this game worked better as there are times even a parry isn't rewarding so the risk often isn't worth it. That alone could have made Ultimate feel better and it did early on, but now a year later I rarely use it because so many characters don't give a dang you parried. They still got advantage or a stupidly active multi hit box to stuff it.
 

Ryu Myuutsu

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Pretty much, yeah. I only use the second shoulder button now out of habit for a second jump button and that's just a carry over from Smash 4 days for easier OOS tech that's just easier to do in Ultimate. Wave Dash or something. I wish the perfect shield mechanic in this game worked better as there are times even a parry isn't rewarding so the risk often isn't worth it. That alone could have made Ultimate feel better and it did early on, but now a year later I rarely use it because so many characters don't give a dang you parried. They still got advantage or a stupidly active multi hit box to stuff it.
Parry is actually pretty rewarding vs most aerials and when shield projectiles at mid-close range; it's the multihit moves you have to watch out for. I feel that that benefits of that mechanic are often looked over and most people underuse it.
 
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