Concept: Another Xenoblade rep
Chance: 40%
The way I see it, there are only 3 possible candidates when it comes to another Xenoblade character: Fiora, Elma, and Rex (Lora is an honorable mention but there is just no way she is getting in over Rex). In terms of who would get in, I think it'd be Rex > Elma > Fiora.
Fiora benefits from being a popular request in the Smash 4 days and the new upcoming Xenoblade 1 remake giving her further relevancy. I don't think Sakurai really cares that much about the remake enough to add another XB1 character though, especially when there are two games in the series without characters. The fact that Sakurai went out of his way to add Fiora into Shulk's final smash in Ultimate really gives me the feeling that he has no further plans for her.
Elma has a die hard fanbase and has one big advantage over Rex in that she was created without being too late for Ultimate. Unfortunately for her, Xenoblade X didn't do all that well and soon after Xenoblade 2 arrived to take the spotlight. If Elma isn't FP5 then I think she's pretty much doomed to join the likes of Micaiah and Sceptile in the
popular picks released at the absolute worst time group.
Rex is without a doubt the most likely Xenoblade character. Sakurai
greatly enjoyed Xenoblade 2 and is well aware of Rex's popularity since he pretty much said "sorry he couldn't be playable" during the Rex mii costume showcase in the November 2018 Direct. Sakurai has also stated that a Xenoblade 2 character could not be added in the base game
due to bad timing, which makes me think if Ultimate had released a year or two later then Rex would've been a lock. Honestly I think Rex is a lot like Chrom in that Sakurai wanted to add him but couldn't due to certain issues: with more DLC arriving I think Rex is one of the frontrunners when it comes to a first party character.
Things aren't all good for Rex though: his game already has 2 mii costumes, 3 songs, and 8 spirits (one of which is Rex himself) present in Ultimate. While there is definitely more room for additional Xenoblade 2 content (especially with Torna being a thing), there is a chance Sakurai could be thinking "that's enough XB2 content to please the fans, now onto other unrepped series." If it wasn't for the XB2 content present in the base game then I'd probably give Rex alone a 70% chance of happening, but I fear that it may all come back to haunt him.
Want: 100%
Xenoblade 2 is probably the most memorable experience I've had with a game all year. By the middle of chapter 2, I just couldn't get into it and was really regretting my purchase of the game. But after finally getting used to the combat and doing some sidequests, I really got into it and was hooked onto the story by the end of chapter 3. It's one of my favorite Switch games and one of the few games to make me tear up.
Rex has his faults for sure; for starters, he's a textbook example of a stock Shōnen hero (my ultimate XB2 pick would be Morag/Brighid but that obviously would never happen). But gameplay-wise he would be a blast to play especially since he'd incorporate Pyra and possibly Mythra as well. Also Xenoblade 2 has one of the best soundtracks in a recent Nintendo game. Seriously,
just listen to some of these compositions. The Torna DLC
is no exception to this, so more Xenoblade tracks are always welcome.
Lora would also be cool as I'm about halfway through the Torna DLC. I'd like to see how the tag-team combat from her game would translate into Smash. As for Fiora and Elma, I have no attachment to them but would be perfectly fine if either of them made it in.
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Sunflower chance prediction: 2.81%
Nominations:
2B x5
