Smash Switch Speculation: Star Fox

Note: These articles are more for discussion purposes before E3. They'll be short, sweet, and to the point for a brief recap and looking into possible characters/stages for each series in Smash Bros. These also go by a "Don't expect too much" philosophy. Please remember to be civil in the comments discussion.

The Star Fox series has had a big stake in the Super Smash Bros. series, much to the surprise of many people. In the original Super Smash Bros., there was one Star Fox stage, with Fox as the series' only character. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, both of those numbers were brought up to two. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the series had only two stages still, but three characters. Across Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U, the series got chopped down to two characters and received an overall three stages.

So, what about this time?

Returning Characters​

Fox is bound to return - Beyond that, it's a little bit iffy. It's hard to see them cutting Falco after three appearances unless we get a very small roster (which is doubtful). Wolf returning is where things start to get trickier. On one hand, he was cut from Smash 3DS/Wii U, but on the other hand, he not only beat all odds and made it against other characters in the first place, but he was also highly requested to return from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

New Characters​

It's hard to see there being a new character and frankly we'll be fortunate if we all of the previous Star Fox characters return. Beyond that, Krystal seems like a pretty heavy lock since she could have an interesting moveset. Slippy or Peppy would be an easy clone addition but not much more than that. Any Star Wolf characters or other characters are doubtful at best. It's really more worth focusing on the returning characters mostly, for this franchise.

Returning Stages​

Orbital Gate Assault or Lylat Cruise seems like an easy lock, if one stage returns. According to Sakurai, Orbital Gate Assault took a year to develop, so it's very hard to see a stage like that being cut from the game. Venom would be nice to see the return of, but don't hold any breath for it.

New Stages​

Star Fox 64 and Assault seem like where it'll go for its reboots. Smash has a tradition of using what makes each franchise unique. That said, a stage on top of a landmaster or something based on Star Fox Adventures could be possible, but the best guess to put is "Something on a ship."

Author's Note: What are your thoughts on the Star Fox franchise? What Star Fox related content would you like to see in Smash for Switch? Let us know in the comments below!

 

Considering Sm4sh brought back Lucus, I'm really surprised they never brought back Wolf. He would've been extremely easy to bring into Sm4sh, and he actually does have some unique factor going on for him. All things considered, if any more Star Fox characters are added, it's gonna be either Wolf or Krystal, very likely. Both of 'em are stars in some way, shape or form.

But personally, I want Slippy in as another joke character.

 

I have no idea if what they are going to do with stages. Corneria and Lylat Cruise are ones I want back (especially if they fix Lylat's ledges).

For characters, it would be cool to see Wolf back and Krystal added. I also would like to see Falco buffed. At this point, all we can do is to wait for further information and hope.

 

Honestly i think we'll get wolf and krystal this time around, i feel like we are actually running out of significant Nintendo charecters to add at this point, with wolf and krystal being 2 of the last highly requested charecters, I can see them being added just out of a lack of better options

 

I wouldn't be surprised if they hold off Wolf until DLC like they did Mewtwo, especially if Star Fox is to get a newcomer this time around. Krystal lacks relevance, but is a popular character that's been considered for Smash before. Slippy is less requested, but has been in Star Fox since the beginning, and was arguably the main character in the Star Fox Guard side-game. Both Krystal and Slippy would offer unique movesets, being a staff user and engineer, respectively. I've actually made movesets for the both of them, which you can find at the bottom of the post.

As for stages, I really hope Orbital Gate Assault returns, and that we see a new stage or two based off of Star Fox Zero. Star Fox Zero has a lot to offer, being new designs for the Star Fox cast, potential for stages, great music, etc.

Spoiler: Krystal Moveset

Name: Krystal
Series: Star Fox
First Appearance: Star Fox Adventures (2002)
Archetype: Defensive Staff User
Gimmick: Staff Energy Meter

Overview​

Overall, Krystal’s moveset takes heavy inspiration from Star Fox Adventures, as well as many real-world bo staff techniques. Krystal fights using her Cerinian Staff from Star Fox Adventures, although she does have some attacks without use of the staff. This makes Krystal very unique, not just in comparison to the rest of the Star Fox cast, but there is also no staff-based fighter yet seen in Smash.

Krystal is a defensive fighter, with plenty of long-ranged jabs and pokes using her staff to keep opponents at a distance. A lot of her attack animations require positioning, so one of her flaws is that some of her attacks have a somewhat slow start-up. However, her animations were designed to always end in a position where Krystal can quickly recover from.

There is a small gimmick to Krystal’s moveset, being her staff’s energy meter. Used by her staff’s various upgrades, this energy meter drains as she uses her special moves. When those moves are not being used, the energy meter slowly regenerates on its own, but it builds back up even faster when moves connect.

Attributes​

Height: 5’7”

Weight: 77

Jump Heights

• Ground: 40
• Short: 17
• Midair: 40

Air Speed: 1

Fall Speed

• Normal Fall: 1.4
• Fast-Fall: 2.24

Movement Speed

• Walk: 1
• Dash: 1.45

Normals​

Neutral: Based off the neutral staff combo from Star Fox Adventures, Krystal’s Neutral is a four-hit attack using her Cerinian Staff. First input, Krystal leans in close for a jab with the butt of the staff into the opponent’s side. Second input, Krystal does wide swing with head of the staff, slamming it into the other side of the opponent. The third input leads into a 360° turning kick, where both legs have a hit box. First leg primes the opponent for the second, of which is the stronger combo finisher.

Dash: As she is sprinting, Krystal makes a leap forward, slamming the head of the staff straight down onto her opponent. Slower start-up, but great range and knockback. The staff itself does damage, but being hit by the head of the staff will spike an opponent. Useful, as the attack’s range can reach beyond a ledge. Based off the downward swing attacks from Star Fox Adventures.

Tilts​

Side Tilt: Krystal sends her staff forward with a strong thrust. She leans into this attack, and combined with the staff’s length, makes this move a very long range poke. Can be angled to be slightly upward or downward. The head of the staff deals more damage and knockback.

Up Tilt: Based off an attack from Star Fox Adventures, Krystal lowers the head of the staff near the opponents feet, and raises it for an uppercut thrust. This launches opponents off their feet into the air, and makes for a perfect primer for follow-up attacks. The head of the staff does more damage and knockback.

Down Tilt: Krystal squats down and kicks her leg out to the side and performs a quick 45° leg sweep. Very quick attack, and great for set-ups.

Smashes​

Side Smash: Krystal performs a small jump while making a 360° spin in the air. As she comes down, she slams the head of the staff into the opponent. The attack grants invincibility frames during the mid-air spin. Relatively slow start-up, but one of the strongest forward smashes when hit with the head of the staff. While charging, a small blue aura travels from the butt of the staff to the staff’s head. Used as a measure of how much charge the attack has.


Up Smash: Krystal couches down while charging, positioning the staff upright. She then shoots up onto her toes, shoving the staff straight upward with both arms. This attack has one of the highest vertical ranges in the series. Immensely powerful, especially if hit by the head of the staff at the end of the attack. While charging, a small blue aura travels from the butt of the staff to the staff’s head. Used as a measure of how much charge the attack has.


Down Smash: Krystal performs a 360° spin, kneeling down and performing a one-handed sweeping motion with the staff. One of Krystal’s few moves that hit behind her. While charging, a small blue aura travels from the butt of the staff to the staff’s head. Used as a measure of how much charge the attack has.

Aerials​

Neutral Air: Krystal twists her upper body to the side and performs a skip catch spin. The 360° staff spin hits on both sides of her, due to the staff’s length, and hits multiple times. Autocancels after a short-hop, making it great for short hop approaches.

Forward Air: Krystal raised her staff upward, then violently slams the staff downward with both hands for a wide-arcing attack. If the head of the staff lands on an opponent during the downwards swing, it results in a meteor smash.

Back Air: Krystal turns around, swinging the staff one-handedly in an upwards arc. Has great range and knockback, especially if hit with the head of the staff, and autocancels after a short hop. Strong kill move.

Up Air: Krystal raises her staff using a close-grip and spins it in a helicopter-like fashion. With the staff centered above her, it covers a wide area. Great for juggling opponents.

Down Air: Krystal tucks her staff in and leans forward, performing a somersault motion. During the somersault, she sticks her tail out, creating a 90° downward facing swing. The last portion of her tail is the sweet spot, meteor smashing anyone who gets hit.

Throws ​

Grab: Krystal reaches forward with her back hand, while shifting her grip on the staff with the other hand. While holding an opponent, she keeps them at arm’s length and the staff is held where the head is pointed straight at the victim's chest.

Pummel: Using the head of the staff, Krystal repeatedly jabs it into the victim’s chest or abdomen. A slower pummel, but deals high percent damage.

Forward Throw: Krystal lets go of the grabbed victim and raises the bottom of the staff up for a small uppercut to stun the opponent. Once the staff is in a horizontal position, Krystal swiftly jabs them with the butt of the staff. Strong horizontal knockback.

Back Throw: Krystal positions the opponent behind her, then plants the end of her staff into the ground. Krystal then lifts herself up, and using the staff as a vault, performs a strong flying kick into the opponent’s back.

Up Throw: Krystal kneels down on one knee as she’s placing the upper half the staff underneath the grabbed opponent. Krystal then uses all her weight to force the other half of the staff down, using her knee as a fulcrum. Thus, shooting the grabbed opponent into the air. Strong kill move.

Down Throw: As she steps to the side, Krystal slams the opponent down onto the ground. She then lifts up her staff and performs a downward, vertical thrust into the victim’s spine. Easy to follow up with.

Get-Ups​

Front Get-Up: Krystal pops up and around into a kneeling position, then spins the staff once around her neck.

Back Get-Up: Krystal sits up into a kneeling position and spins the staff once around her neck.

Trip Get-Up: Krystal spins the staff once around her neck.

Ledge Attack: Krystal does a hard, one-armed swing with the staff across the ground.

Specials​

Neutral Special: Fire Blast - This attack shoots a fiery projectile from the end of the staff, and consumes a very small amount of the staff’s energy meter. This attack cannot be charged or prolonged by holding its input. The fire blasts travel quickly, and do not expire after a certain distance.

Side Special: Ice Blast - This attack spouts an icy blast from the end of the staff. Holding down its input will cause the effects and range of the attack to become greater. If an enemy is within the ice blast for too long, they become frozen. The attack consumes a small amount of the staff’s energy meter, but the longer it’s held, the faster it drains.

Up Special: Rocket Boost - For this attack, Krystal places the staff in front of her and is boosted straight upwards. The longer the input is held, the faster and further the Rocket Boost carries Krystal. The more charge, the more energy consumed. While charging, a small blue aura travels from the butt of the staff to the staff’s head. Used as a measure of how much charge the attack has.

Down Special: Ground Quake - For this attack, Krystal lifts the staff above her head, then slams it onto the ground, causing an earthquake. The longer the input is held, the more range and power the Ground Quake will have. The more charge, the more energy consumed. While charging, a small blue aura travels from the butt of the staff to the staff’s head. Used as a measure of how much charge the attack has.

Final Smash: CloudRunner Raid - Krystal’s Final Smash is based off of the opening to Star Fox Adventures, where Krystal rides a CloudRunner as she attacks General Scales’ ship. For her Final Smash, Krystal summons the same CloudRunner, who carries her to the foreground of the stage. From here, Krystal uses her overcharged staff to fire powerful blasts onto the stage. No limit to blasts fired during the 15 seconds it is active.

Defenses​

Shield: Krystal kneels down, standing the staff upright as it creates a force field around her. The force field does not shrink when hit, preventing shield stabbing. Rather, the blue force field will become more and more transparent. This is based off the Force Field staff ability from Star Fox Adventures.

Sidestep Dodge: Krystal tucks the staff in close and pivots to the side off her foot.

Forward Roll: Krystal plants the end of her staff into the ground in front of her and uses it to vault herself from Point A to B. As she vaults, she simply pulls herself up along the side of the staff.

Backward Roll: Krystal plants the end of her staff into the ground behind her and uses it to vault herself form Point A to B. As she vaults, she positions her body more horizontally, rather than upright. Based off the backwards dodge from Star Fox Adventures.

Extras​

Entrance: Krystal flys in on the CloudRunner from the Star Fox Adventures opening.

Stance: Basically, Krystal’s pose in the Smashified Artwork.

Idle Animations

• Animation 1: Krystal positions her staff across her upper back and shoulders, then twists from side to side to stretch.

• Animation 2: Krystal stands the staff upright with one arm, closes her eyes, and looks down while placing her fingers against her temple.

Taunts

• Up Taunt: Based off her victory animation from Star Fox: Assault, Krystal stands her staff upright with one hand, and leans forward. She shakes her finger with her free hand and says “You’re not ready yet!”
  
  
• Side Taunt: Krystal swings her staff one-handedly to the side and shouts “Is that the best you can do?”
  
  
• Down Taunt: Krystal leans back on one leg and twirls the staff three times with one hand by her side as she remarks “Had enough?”

Victory Animations

• Animation 1: Krystal performs a 4-point strike, before twirling the staff behind her.

• Animation 2: Krystal spins the staff and launches it into the air, catching it and holding the pose.

• Animation 3: Krystal sheaths the staff on her back and turns to the CloudRunner beside her, closing her eyes and resting her head on the CloudRunner’s beak as she says “Thank-you.”

Special Victory Dialogue

• Victory vs. Fox: “I told you, Fox, I can handle myself!” - Krystal

• Defeat vs. Fox: “Hope I didn’t hit you too hard.” - Fox

• Victory vs. Falco: “You should stick to the air, Falco.” - Krystal

• Defeat vs. Falco: “Don’t worry about it, you’re improving.” - Falco

• Victory vs. Slippy: “Hurts when Fox isn’t here to watch your back, huh?” - Krystal

• Defeat vs. Slippy: “That staff can’t beat my tech!” - Slippy

• Victory vs. Wolf: “Joining you was a mistake, Wolf!” - Krystal

• Defeat vs. Wolf: “Can’t believe I let you fly with us.” - Wolf

Spoiler: Slippy Moveset

Name: Slippy Toad
Series: Star Fox
First Appearance: Star Fox (1993)
Archetype: Defensive Engineer
Gimmick: Cameras

Overview​

Slippy’s moveset is inspired primarily out of Star Fox: Assault, Star Fox Zero, and Star Fox Guard. Star Fox Assault is what gives him a majority of his attacks, using various different weapons from that game. Almost all of his moves revolve around the use of gadgets, weapons, or tools. Slippy’s moveset was also designed to keep his quirky personality intact, such as when he looks back while stabbing opponents with a screwdriver.

The moves Slippy uses are mostly long-range attacks with high power, but also come with high lag. Moves where he uses weapons are his strongest options, as they’re used to keep opponents away. Slippy does have a few close-combat moves using his tools, but since Slippy isn’t the strongest physically, close-quarters are usually a last resort for him.

Slippy’s moveset gimmick brings something new to the table for Smash. Slippy is able to place down the cameras from Star Fox Guard, which acts as a stationary sentry gun. This is another effective tool for Slippy, as the camera can be used in a variety of ways. The amount of cameras Slippy has active really depends on hardware capabilities, though.

Attributes​

Height: 5’6”

Weight: 106

Jump Height

• Ground: 45
• Short: 20
• Midair: 45

Air Speed: 0.9

Fall Speed

• Normal Fall: 1.75
• Fast-Fall: 2.8

Movement Speed

• Walk: 0.75
  
  
• Dash: 1.25

Normals​

Neutral: Slippy swings his screwdriver twice in an ‘X’ shape, then looks away and covers his eyes as he rapidly stabs forward with it. The flurry of stabs ends with a final, mid-level thrust.


Dash: As he’s dashing forward, Slippy performs a shoulder-bash. If it connects, it has high knockback and quick recovery. If it misses, then Slippy trips and falls, slightly extending the move, but adding more recovery time.

Tilts​

Side Tilt: Slippy takes out his wrench and swings it across with one hand. Rapid inputs will have Slippy alternate which side he swings from, making a back-and-forth motion.


Up Tilt: Slippy performs a small hop and sticks his hands above his head, holding a screwdriver in one and a wrench in the other. Short range but it’s a very quick move that's useful for follow-ups.


Down Tilt: Slippy kneels down and drives an active drill into the opponent’s feet. Quick animation, and hits multiple times. Excellent primer for follow-ups, and can even knock off opponents holding onto a ledge.

Smashes​

Side Smash: Slippy takes a kneeling position as he pulls out the sniper rifle from Star Fox: Assault, and lines up a shot. Quick Side Smash inputs will lead to an inaccurate shot, leading to unintentional upward or downward angles. The longer the attack is charged, the more powerful and accurate the shot is. Would have the longest range of any Side Smash, and would be one of the strongest in the series. For balance though, the shot would leave Slippy on his butt, leading to a long recovery time.

Up Smash: Slippy pulls out the gatling gun from Star Fox: Assault, and fires full-auto into the air. However, Slippy can’t handle the recoil, so the gatling gun sprays side to side. This creates a very long-range attack in a 45° radius above.

Down Smash: Slippy pulls out two grenades from Star Fox: Assault, one in each hand. For the attack, Slippy takes a step forward while bending over, then casts them to his sides. This creates a disjointed hitbox, and the explosions occur just far enough away that Slippy doesn’t blow himself up. Great knock-out potential.

Aerials​

Neutral Air: True to the series’ signature barrel roll, Slippy turns to the side, sticks hit arms and legs out, and performs a cartwheel-like motion in air. Each limb does damage, and hits on both sides of him. A good ‘get off me’ move.

Forward Air: Slippy whips out the machine gun from Star Fox: Assault and fires a full-auto burst forward. Has long range, and auto-cancels upon landing.

Back Air: Once again, Slippy’s got a bogey on his tail. Since other teammates are already in Smash, Slippy gets a bit of help from Peppy. Slippy leans forward, as Peppy fires three lasers behind him. First laser is right behind Slippy, the second laser is a little bit further out, and the last a bit further than the second. Very strong knockout move.

Up Air: Slippy takes out his wrench and does a wide arcing swing over his head. Makes for an excellent juggling move.

Down Air: Slippy takes out the homing launcher from Star Fox: Assault, aims down, and fires. The rocket travels fast, and only explodes when it comes into contact with an opponent or a platform. Explosion has high damage and knockback, even meteor smashing midair opponents. For balance, the move has long start-up and end-lag, and if timed right, Slippy can hurt or even knock himself out if he fires the rocket too close to the ground.

Throws
​

Grab: Slippy takes a step, leans forward, and reaches out with both hands.

Pummel: Once Slippy has his hands on an opponent, his pummel involves him turning his head to the side and slamming it into the opponent’s.

Forward Throw: Slippy, while still holding onto the opponent, jumps up and places his feet on his opponent’s chest. He then performs a strong drop-kick. Strong knockback.

Back Throw: Slippy performs a leap-frog like motion, jumping over the opponent’s head. As he’s landing, Slippy slams a sensor bomb onto the opponent’s back, and it detonates as soon as Slippy lands. Another throw with strong knock back.

Up Throw: Slippy crouches down and rolls onto his back while placing his feet onto the opponent’s chest. He then performs an upward kick with both legs. Good for follow-ups.

Down Throw: Slippy performs a small hop as he throws his opponent onto the ground, then performs a body slam onto them. Deals high percent damage, but low knockback.

Get-Ups​

Front Get-Up: Slippy shoots his arms and legs out, then gets himself back up with a push-up like motion.

Back Get-Up: Slippy shoots his arms and legs out, then gets himself back up by rolling over into a kneeling position, then stands.

Trip Get-Up: Slippy kicks hit legs out in front of him and he leans back and shoots hit arms out, then stands.

Ledge Attack: As Slippy is trying to climb back onto the ledge, he sticks his long, stretchy tongue outward.

Specials​

Neutral Special: Blaster - Slippy pulls out the standard blaster from Star Fox: Assault and charges it up. The longer the blaster is charged, the further the distance it travels as well as the more damage and knockback it has. Just like in the game its from, the color of the charged shot will change depending on how much power it has. Long range and disjointed with a fast recovery.

Side Special: Direct-i - Slippy sends forward Direct-i from Star Fox Zero. Direct-i travels horizontally across the stage, and when he comes into contact with an opponent, he grabs them. Once Direct-i has grabbed onto an opponent, he sends a consistent electrical shock through them. After three seconds, Direct-i legs go and disappears.

Up Special: Booster Pack - Slippy’s puts on the Booster Pack from Star Fox: Assault and takes flight. The Booster Pack runs on a fuel system, which lasts about four seconds. This grants Slippy impressive vertical and horizontal recovery, and does not leave Slippy in a helpless state after use.

Down Special: AegisCam - Slippy places down an AegisCam from Star Fox Guard. The AegisCam acts as a stationary sentry gun, automatically targeting enemies within range and firing lasers at them. Lasers deal decent percent damage, but do not stun. The AegisCam has a set amount of health, and can be destroyed if it takes enough damage. As for how many Slippy places down, it depends on what the system can handle. 3 would be ideal, 2 would be more balanced, but 1 is more realistic with hardware limits.

Final Smash: Gyrowing - Slippy hops in the Gyrowing from Star Fox Zero and takes to the top of the stage. From here, Slippy can fly left and right across the top, and drop up to three large bombs upon the stage. These bombs have a very large explosive radius, and deal massive damage, often instantly knocking-out opponents. Lasts fifteen seconds total, or until all three bombs are dropped.

Defenses​

Shield: Slippy hunkers down with his hands over his eyes.

Sidestep Dodge: Slippy pivots on one foot off to the side, and waves his arms around as if he’s about to lose his balance.

Forward Roll: Slippy performs a somersault forward, and turns around once it’s over.

Backward Roll: Slippy performs a backwards somersault.

Extras​

Entrance: Slippy flies in on his Arwing and jumps out. Rather than landing gracefully like Fox and Falco, he lands on his butt. He then stands up and rubs the pain away just before the fight begins.

Stance: Slippy stands facing forward, with his arms angled at his sides.

Idle Animations

• Animation 1: Slippy puts his hands on his belt and readjusts it.

• Animation 2: Slippy puts his hands on his hat and repositions it.

Taunts

• Up Taunt: Slippy covers his eyes, and then quickly move his hands in a peek-a-boo like motion as he says “Ha! Thought you could hide from me, eh?”

• Side Taunt: Slippy tries to spin his blaster with one hand. As the blaster loops back around, it hits him in the face.

• Down Taunt: Slippy puts his hand on the side of his headset and briefly leans forward before standing back up straight and says “Shield analysis complete!”

Victory Animations

• Animation 1: Slippy jumps up and down while sticking his arms up and shouts “I won! Returning to base!”

• Animation 2: Slippy performs his victory animation from Star Fox: Assault. He clicks his heels to the left, then the right, and performs a ‘sinking’ dance. After the freeze frame, Slippy will stick his arms out in front of him, move them side to side, and perform the ‘sinking’ dance again on repeat.

• Animation 3: Slippy holds out his wrench towards the camera and says “Mess with the best, go down like the rest!”

Special Victory Dialogue

• Victory vs. Fox: “This won’t get me kicked off the team, right?” - Slippy

• Defeat vs. Fox: “You did fine, Slip” - Fox

• Victory vs. Falco: “You’re all talk, bird-brain!” - Slippy

• Defeat vs. Falco: “Stick to the pond, frog-boy!” - Falco

• Victory vs. Krystal: “That staff can’t beat my tech!” - Slippy

• Defeat vs. Krystal: “Hurts when Fox isn’t here to watch your back, huh?” - Krystal

• Victory vs. Wolf: “Maybe next time you’ll think twice!” - Slippy

• Defeat vs. Wolf: “I hate that frog…” - Wolf

 

[Pretend this comment doesn't exist Opps]

 

Considering Sm4sh brought back Lucus, I'm really surprised they never brought back Wolf. He would've been extremely easy to bring into Sm4sh, and he actually does have some unique factor going on for him. All things considered, if any more Star Fox characters are added, it's gonna be either Wolf or Krystal, very likely. Both of 'em are stars in some way, shape or form.

But personally, I want Slippy in as another joke character.

The one thing getting in the way of Wolf returning would probably be how many re-used animations he has in Brawl. Some work pretty well, like down-air or back air. Some, like up-tilt or his dash attack (which is based on Sonic's animation for running into a wall - yes, seriously)... not so much.

Plus Wolf was also in a weird predicament where Smash 4 came out sandwiched between a remake of an older game and a then-upcoming reboot. His Assault design was already outdated, his 64 3D design would've been outdated and also would possibly look out of place with Fox and Falco's more Assault-esque designs, and his Star Fox Zero design might not have even been finalized at that point - and if it had been, it would be major spoilers for a game that wouldn't be out for more than a year.

Normally Smash doesn't care about spoilers - look at Zelda and Sheik - but they probably wouldn't have spoiled something that wasn't gonna be out until a year after the base game. Even with DLC, the latest release period would've been right around the time Star Fox Zero came out, and when they do have spoilers, they usually wait about two years after the game being spoiled comes out.

 

If the stage has a different set of Star Fox conversations than one another, it’ll come back

 

Newcomers:
There's the possibility of there being a completely new space animal from an upcoming Starfox Switch game (a new main/central character):

Maybe in the next Starfox game Fox'll be accompanied by a new crew and to help hype up the game they'll add one of his new crewmates to smash.

I can't really see them adding in a character from an old Starfox game since the Starfox Series's following pales in comparison to that of Super Mario Bros, Zelda, Pokemon, etc.

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Returning:
Fox and Falco are most likely here to stay as they're both pretty solid/fully realized characters. Their movesets are all figured out and have already been altered/"balanced" in the past. Making them WAY easier to transfer over to Smash 5 than a Smash 4 newcomer (e.g. Bowser Jr.) who might have to get re-worked, balanced, etc. (Like Melee Falco vs Brawl Falco). That along with their popularity and reputation makes it highly unlikely that they'll be dropped from the cast.

Contrarily, Wolf is not a fully realized character. He's only had one iteration (Brawl) unlike Fox's four or Falco's three. So adding him back to the cast would not only take a lot of time, effort, and resources, it would also require him to have an avid following/fanbase. That's the only way Nintendo would dedicate the number of man-hours it would take to bring him back.

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We have two examples of this happening in the past that serve as evidence that we can speculate on:

Two Characters, Two Circumstances, Two Outcomes

Pichu:
Added: Melee
Missing In: Brawl, Smash 4
Reason: Pichu was a joke character, the fanbase didn't hate her, they just didn't care or pay much attention to her (outside of using her to make people angry/embarrass players in pools.) So she was dropped from the cast of playable characters as a result.

Dr. Mario:
Added: Melee
Missing In: Brawl
Returned: Smash 4
Reason: Probably originally cut due to his many similarities to Mario and because the Brawl Dev Team thought he was unoriginal and unnecessary. But since he had become a character loved by the smash community (Cause Doc is sick and Shroomed is super rad to watch) people were upset by his removal as a playable character. So he was brought back in Smash 4.

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So Wolf coming back is pretty unlikely. While he's not as unnecessary as Pichu was and he has a bit of a following, he's not Dr. Mario levels of popular. So as much as I would love seeing or lost dog returned to us...it's probably not happening.

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Stages:
I don't really care too much about stages lol

 

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Author's Note: What are your thoughts on the Star Fox franchise? What Star Fox related content would you like to see in Smash for Switch? Let us know in the comments below!

I've never played it beyond a few minutes of with a relative who owned it. I think an aerial combat game isn't a bad idea, though not my cup of tea. I might get interested if they added KOTOR-style Swoop racing, but that's just me.

Regardless, Falco has been my favorite character to play in SSB since I was a pre-teen, and it's hard to see that changing even in this next game. So, naturally, I'm completely against cutting him, especially after his godawful nerfing in tr4sh.

I think Project M more than any other game realizes the full potential of the Star Fox trio, just as it does for the Fire Emblem trio. For FE, you have, as most powerful, one for the tip, one for the hilt, and one for the middle of the blade. SF doesn't work as cleanly (but you might consider it as comboing primarily horizontally, vertically, and diagonally), but just as if not more intriguingly. If the developers copy Brawl Wolf and ignore the alterations PM and B- brought, then he might as well stay dead---that's how bland they made him originally.

I want the option to play both Brawl Falco and Melee Falco (in terms of movesets). It could either be discrete (separate characters), or a mixture in one character---for example, Melee Reflector tapped, Brawl Reflector held. I furthermore believe that the PM alts should be a thing in Smash 5. I want them to keep Lylat Cruise's "Corneria" (but give it a snappy remix) and "Star Wolf" (but give it a snappy remix), include a remix of "The Loner, Falco Lombardi" from Star Fox Command, and a mix of "Boss Titania" and "Boss Corneria, Meteor" from StarFox SNES.

I don't care to see more Star Fox characters. I'm more concerned that they get EVERYTHING right with Fox, Falco, and Wolf. I don't want even a second of attention to be distracted from making their appearance in this game be absolutely perfect. Otherwise, I'm 100% certain they're going to f*** up.

I want customs to return in this game, and I want their custom moves to be way better this time around; giving Falco a Fox laser wasn't a bad idea, but poorly executed. We need the option to shorten again, but I also want the option to drift or fall flat after using side b (that is, to have SSBB and SSBM side-b ending mechanics available).

VEEENOOOOOOM

Seriously, Lylat Cruise but PM style tilt and no tilt alts. Keep the Smash taunts but make them briefer, so that they can be reasonably pulled off mid-match (think Jigglypuff's rest time).

Give Fox and Falco their Melee Japanese voices and go back in the direction of the Brawl voices for English. Wolf's VA was fine in both cases.

A friend of mine pointed out that Wolf's eyes are canonically violet/purple---fix that.

SSB4 black falco costume, SSBB blue falco costume, SSBM red falco costume, necessarily. This matter of colors is highly important and needs to be discussed more.

I will save more additions for future edits.

 

I want Slippy in as another joke character.

I hate the idea of a joke character. I think all characters should be worth playing and good in their own right. A character like Pichu who is logically supposed to be inferior, to replace the handicap feature in traditional fighting games, is the exception.

Corneria and Lylat Cruise are ones I want back (especially if they fix Lylat's ledges).

It's only slightly more difficult to recover to than Smashville's. I think you're complaining about the tilting.

I wouldn't be surprised if they hold off Wolf until DLC like they did Mewtwo

If they do this, I'll be the first to start calling this iteration tra5h. DLC is a bull**** practice.

Unrelatedly, you neglected to specify jumpsquat in your movesets.

Some, like up-tilt or his dash attack (which is based on Sonic's animation for running into a wall - yes, seriously)... not so much.

Interesting, didn't know that. They should just pilfer PM's animations.

There's the possibility of there being a completely new space animal from an upcoming Starfox Switch game (a new main/central character)

Isn't that what Fox's son was for?