Official Smash Ultimate Discussion

[Jdaster64]

Representation be danged, if Luigi's grab is changed to Poltergust suction rather than it just being used for a new throw, he's immediately dropping to "play once every couple dozen matches" main-potential tier at best for me.

Don't need two could-be mains ruined by horrible grabs (though to be fair, is untenable for other reasons as well.)

Interesting point about the wasted opportunity for Luigi's Mansion cross-promotion, though; I personally don't see a Smash Direct being later than the 9th for reasons previously stated, so the 8th's not a bad expectation to hold onto in any case.

 

[Shroob]

Loz knew about the E3 build, he knew nothing else.


There is 0 reason to treat Loz like he knew anything else.



Zero.

 

[Will]

Guys, Loz's funeral was months ago. Denying his death is unhealthy, you have to grieve.
Move on in life.

 

[Koopaul]

Okay, now THIS is an interesting question:
If you were Sakurai, what third party character(s) would you try and go through to get in Smash?

Judging by Sakurai's 3rd party additions in the past they either got to be highly requested like Sonic, gaming legends like Pac-Man, or they got to be characters that currently have a strong relationship with Nintendo like Bayonetta.

With that said I'm guessing Steve? Geno, and... I'd like to Banjo-Kazooie but I'm not entirely certain about them.

So just Steve and Geno for now. Steve for being a gaming legend with a good relationship with Nintendo and Geno being a popular choice among Smash fans.

 

[CrusherMania1592]

Okay, now THIS is an interesting question:
If you were Sakurai, what third party character(s) would you try and go through to get in Smash?

Easy for me

1. Geno - Popular, fan-demanding, tried to get him in for awhile

2. Crash Bandicoot - Iconic in the 90's, Popular with older fans, revival of the series after N.Sane Trilogy, Sonic vs Mario vs Crash is long overdue, and personal bias from me

3. Joker - Because I'm taking your heart. I wanna see the All-Out Attack as the Final Smash and would be interesting to see Mona and/or Futaba as a secret taunt

Honorable mentions: Lloyd Irving, Yuri Lowell, Spyro the Dragon, Banjo, Rayman

What if they're the edible type of pants you can order from sex shops?

I wonder if they ever made condoms that can also act as fruit rollups

https://scontent-ort2-2.xx.fbcdn.ne...=595e52e36e09df91dfced84f75dcb1d0&oe=5BCF377B if broken link. Not sure how the hell that isn't working

 

[StupendousMike]

Loz knew about the E3 build, he knew nothing else.


There is 0 reason to treat Loz like he knew anything else.



Zero.

He predicted the Zero assist trophy?! He's a prophet!

 

[SigmaMewtwo]

Okay, now THIS is an interesting question:
If you were Sakurai, what third party character(s) would you try and go through to get in Smash?

Five for myself, and five for others here:
KOS-MOS, Crono, Professor Layton, Phoenix Wright and Joker
Sora, Banjo, Geno, Doomguy and Shantae

Had to limit myself somewhere, or I'd have added a lot more

 

[Radical Bones]

I wish Paper Mario was still hotly debated as a potential newcomer

This would be his trailer theme btw:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtksi0Qhklk

 

[Iridium]

The best thing about "leakers" is that they remind of us why we actually would love to see some characters get in. Otherwise, they hurt us by faking...almost everything, for a majority of them. That's how I look at them, at least.

 

[Idon]

1. Kazuya or Demi-fiend, guys in my sig, yadda yadda. I've written essays on why I want em and why I think they """""deserve"""" to be in with design, history, trend-setter, worldwide appeal, etc etc. Outside of that, they're plain old cool. I mean, this was obvious, he's my goddamn profile pic.
2. Monster Hunter. Great game series, mother of an entire genre (and only notable game series in said genre), and a really fun set of tools. You'll probably know them as the person that is the most famous user of the really gigantic slow as hell overhead greatsword slam.
3. Ryu Hayabusa. He's like the video game ninja. Come on. Also, fun game series. Ryu is practically the only reason the Izuna drop as a move is even associated with ninjas.
4. Doomguy. Daddy of all FPSes and he's got a ton of fun guns to use on top of a great entertaining personality that doesn't rely on 5 games worth of melodramatic monologue. Also, chainsaws. Who doesn't love chainsaws?
5. Nightmare. Iconic videogame villain with the most iconic "evil sword" on top of being one of most famous 3D fighters next to the Mishima family. It's not every day your mascot is some guy who's unabashedly pure evil.
6. Quote. Mr. Indie, inspired a ton of developers worldwide to pursue their own indie projects, and was a game I think practically everyone played if they had a PC. Also helps he has a ton of guns, a lot of them unconventional to use.
7. Dante from the Devil May Cry Series. Practically defined the entire genre, and is by far the most popular one. Has cuh-razy weapons that are all super fun and span decades. Seriously, the man can style while eating pizza. In fact the only reason I don't put him higher is because Bayonetta is already in and they both kinda occupy that same niche.

That's it for characters I want on top of thinking they're deserving of a place in Smash history. That's who I'd personally gun for if I had the reigns.

Now if I also could choose anyone else, I'd probably just pick and choose who I actually like from the other 3rd party franchises, deserving or no.

 

[Luigi The President]

I wish Paper Mario was still hotly debated as a potential newcomer

This would be his trailer theme btw:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtksi0Qhklk

Tell me about it. I don't talk about him nearly as much, but I miss him just as much.

I think it'd be this. The whole orchestral intro plays as build-up before the splash screen hits when the song drops.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-ZiCJnUYPA

 

[alemerltoucanet]

This is either really easy or really difficult for me, since mainly the only remaining characters I'd like are third parties. And in general, I think the ones I want make the most sense for Smash, but I can't completely remove my biases. Banjo & Kazooie (Microsoft) and Crash (Activision) are the big ones. The former is a former Nintendo character, so their lineage is stronger than most third parties, and the latter because Crash is the most iconic platformer not yet in Smash. Both fit in well, move wise, and very popular among the polls.

Outside of that, I think Sora (Disney/Square Enix) is the biggest third party and would create waves with Disney involved. Extra points if I, as Sakurai, could somehow sneak in Disney icons, but not necessary. Rayman (Ubisoft) is another very popular platformer, who's popularity rose during Smash 4 thanks to the fake leak, and Ubisoft would probably be one of the easiest companies to work with. Finally, while my personal Capcom rep is Dante, I feel like Phoenix Wright (Capcom) would be a fan favorite given his position in the polls, as well as his strong history with Nintendo.

Yeah, I'd honestly love a lot of these characters as well! Most notably Banjo & Kazooie and Rayman, as these characters are ones that fans of their respective franchise have really garnered me to just love. I think Sora would be groundbreaking as he'd open the door to show that Nintendo and Disney are really willing to work at it. Crash would be amazing for his fans as this would be showing them love and that'd be great representation to show that Activision is willing to play ball, which could lead to Tracer.

 

[Llort A. Ton]

I think these guys would all show up on Sakurais radar (at least) and would all make it in if Ultiamte DLC went on for like a decade (not gonna happen but oh well)
Geno
Ken
Shadow
Steve
Master Chief
Banjo Kazooie
Joker
Sora
Dragonborn
Doomguy
Crash
Rayman
Scorpion
Lloyd
Heicachi
Dragon Quest character
Lara Croft
Dante
RE character
Ryu Hayabusa
2B
Phoenix Wright
I know I pretty much just named a bucket list of popular names, but these are about all the 3rd parties left thatll really pack a punch with their inclusion (and even then I think a couple dont quite reach that)

 

[Graizen]

Bandai Namco developed Smash with Sakurai, and developed Pokken.
Bandai developed every single Digimon game and Virtual Pet.
Digimon vs Pokémon is a legendary rivalry from the 90s.
Digimon is the third biggest Bandai Namco Franchise, losing only to Pac-man and Virtual Pets.
Digimon have 13 Games on Nintendo Consoles.
Digimon Universe have a Game on 3DS from 2017 and Digimon Survive will be on the Switch in 2019.
Digimon is also much more recognizable than Tekken and all Tales of games.


Say again why Digimon is not the best choice from all the Bandai Namco franchises?

 

[Mr. Trumo]

I wish Paper Mario was still hotly debated as a potential newcomer

This would be his trailer theme btw:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtksi0Qhklk

No kidding. I wish Paper Mario had just a liiiitle bit more representation than just a stage. :/

 

[Luigi The President]

Bandai Namco developed Smash with Sakurai, and developed Pokken.
Bandai developed every single Digimon game and Virtual Pet.
Digimon vs Pokémon is a legendary rivalry from the 90s.
Digimon is the third biggest Bandai Namco Franchise, losing only to Pac-man and Virtual Pets.
Digimon have 13 Games on Nintendo Consoles.
Digimon Universe have a Game on 3DS from 2017 and Digimon Survive will be on the Switch in 2019.
Digimon is also much more recognizable than Tekken and all Tales of games.


Say again why Digimon is not the best choice from all the Bandai Namco franchises?

Because Heihachi is cooler than Agumon

 

[Robertman2]

I think these guys would all show up on Sakurais radar (at least) and would all make it in if Ultiamte DLC went on for like a decade (not gonna happen but oh well)
Geno
Ken
Shadow
Steve
Master Chief
Banjo Kazooie
Joker
Sora
Dragonborn
Doomguy
Crash
Rayman
Scorpion
Lloyd
Heicachi
Dragon Quest character
Lara Croft
Dante
RE character
Ryu Hayabusa
2B
I know I pretty much just named a bucket list of popular names, but these are about all the 3rd parties left thatll really pack a punch with their inclusion (and even then I think a couple dont quite reach that)

this but with goku and leon kennedy

 

[CroonerMike]

Bandai Namco developed Smash with Sakurai, and developed Pokken.
Bandai developed every single Digimon game and Virtual Pet.
Digimon vs Pokémon is a legendary rivalry from the 90s.
Digimon is the third biggest Bandai Namco Franchise, losing only to Pac-man and Virtual Pets.
Digimon have 13 Games on Nintendo Consoles.
Digimon Universe have a Game on 3DS from 2017 and Digimon Survive will be on the Switch in 2019.
Digimon is also much more recognizable than Tekken and all Tales of games.


Say again why Digimon is not the best choice from all the Bandai Namco franchises?

Tekken is more popular these days.

 

[CosmicQuark]

Bandai Namco developed Smash with Sakurai, and developed Pokken.
Bandai developed every single Digimon game and Virtual Pet.
Digimon vs Pokémon is a legendary rivalry from the 90s.
Digimon is the third biggest Bandai Namco Franchise, losing only to Pac-man and Virtual Pets.
Digimon have 13 Games on Nintendo Consoles.
Digimon Universe have a Game on 3DS from 2017 and Digimon Survive will be on the Switch in 2019.
Digimon is also much more recognizable than Tekken and all Tales of games.


Say again why Digimon is not the best choice from all the Bandai Namco franchises?

Agumon is the best Bandai Namco character, from my perspective. Just the thought of living out those Pokemon vs Digimon battles from the nineties would be amazing.

 

[Robertman2]

No one gives a **** about Digimon anymore.

 

[Dee Dude]

Tbh, I’d pick Veemon.

 

[SonicMario]

I think these guys would all show up on Sakurais radar (at least) and would all make it in if Ultiamte DLC went on for like a decade (not gonna happen but oh well)
Geno
Ken
Shadow
Steve
Master Chief
Banjo Kazooie
Joker
Sora
Dragonborn
Doomguy
Crash
Rayman
Scorpion
Lloyd
Heicachi
Dragon Quest character
Lara Croft
Dante
RE character
Ryu Hayabusa
2B
I know I pretty much just named a bucket list of popular names, but these are about all the 3rd parties left thatll really pack a punch with their inclusion (and even then I think a couple dont quite reach that)

May I suggest Tails in this list too. Especially with Shadow there and some of other characters that were Mii costumes on there

 

[NineS]

Bandai Namco developed Smash with Sakurai, and developed Pokken.
Bandai developed every single Digimon game and Virtual Pet.
Digimon vs Pokémon is a legendary rivalry from the 90s.
Digimon is the third biggest Bandai Namco Franchise, losing only to Pac-man and Virtual Pets.
Digimon have 13 Games on Nintendo Consoles.
Digimon Universe have a Game on 3DS from 2017 and Digimon Survive will be on the Switch in 2019.
Digimon is also much more recognizable than Tekken and all Tales of games.


Say again why Digimon is not the best choice from all the Bandai Namco franchises?

Because this thing exists:

 

[Luigi The President]

I think these guys would all show up on Sakurais radar (at least) and would all make it in if Ultiamte DLC went on for like a decade (not gonna happen but oh well)
Geno
Ken
Shadow
Steve
Master Chief
Banjo Kazooie
Joker
Sora
Dragonborn
Doomguy
Crash
Rayman
Scorpion
Lloyd
Heicachi
Dragon Quest character
Lara Croft
Dante
RE character
Ryu Hayabusa
2B
I know I pretty much just named a bucket list of popular names, but these are about all the 3rd parties left thatll really pack a punch with their inclusion (and even then I think a couple dont quite reach that)

Spyro. Granted I don't really care for him but he'd still be considered way before some of these.

 

[Noipoi]

No one gives a **** about Digimon anymore.

That's not true. Digimon's still got tons of fans.
I'm not one of them but still.

 

[Androobie]

Bandai Namco developed Smash with Sakurai, and developed Pokken.
Bandai developed every single Digimon game and Virtual Pet.
Digimon vs Pokémon is a legendary rivalry from the 90s.
Digimon is the third biggest Bandai Namco Franchise, losing only to Pac-man and Virtual Pets.
Digimon have 13 Games on Nintendo Consoles.
Digimon Universe have a Game on 3DS from 2017 and Digimon Survive will be on the Switch in 2019.
Digimon is also much more recognizable than Tekken and all Tales of games.


Say again why Digimon is not the best choice from all the Bandai Namco franchises?

The only time Digimon has even come to my mind in the past few months is because of your borderline obsession with it. Meanwhile, Tekken is a game that I constantly watch on Twitch and hear people talking about on Internet forums.

 

[Deleted member]

So now I guess Sassy Geno is RIP? That's all I could glimpse over work. Hopefully I didn't miss anything. BUT I MISSED SCOTT UPLOADING **** ME MAN.

 

[amazonevan19]

GAME:

Smash Bros trailer starts, a music starts playing...
What music would make you HYPE?

I would probably die from hype if either of these started playing in a trailer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6BbvCC0VI0 - Doomguy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kTBbTSjZpI - Shadow the Hedgehog

Edit: to whoever posted the DOOM theme as the song for Doomguy, I'm sorry, but Rip and Tear is his obligatory theme for Smash, should he make it.
Edit 2: I'd also be happy with this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNkQMtZAMAw

 

[SegaNintendoUbisoft]

Aside from Dr.Eggman, Perfect Chaos could make for a really interesting boss fight.

Lord knows the boy needs it after the disrespect Sonic Forces gave him.

 

[SuperSceptile15]

Here's something I thought would be interesting to discuss:
What is your favorite franchise in Smash represented with at least one playable character, and what are your opinions of that franchise in its current state? My favorite series is Pokemon, and honestly, it's kind of difficult to be a fan of it now. I really dislike the direction that the franchise has gone in lately. Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee look absolutely terrible. The graphics look like they came straight from a mobile phone game. Mew is stuck to a $50 peripheral, so if you haven't gotten one yet, you're screwed. There's no Cloud Save compatibility. The moves have such half-***** animations. They couldn't even get Blastoise to fire water out of its cannons. The director, Masuda, constantly makes up lousy excuses for why certain features are left out or made worse. Those are just a few of my gripes with the games, but I have honestly never wanted a Pokemon game to fail as much as it has now. The worst part is that so many apologists of the games try to shut down all dissent and criticism, as if GameFreak can do no wrong. Earlier, there was one guy who compared critics of LGPE to freaking BRONIES. It's just... ugh, I can't. Sorry for complaining so much. Regardless, though, I still love Pokemon and am really looking forward to using the Pokemon Trainer in Ultimate, especially Leaf and Ivysaur.

 

[Luigi The President]

Here's something I thought would be interesting to discuss:
What is your favorite franchise in Smash represented with at least one playable character, and what are your opinions of that franchise in its current state? My favorite series is Pokemon, and honestly, it's kind of difficult to be a fan of it now. I really dislike the direction that the franchise has gone in lately. Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee look absolutely terrible. The graphics look like they came straight from a mobile phone game. Mew is stuck to a $50 peripheral, so if you haven't gotten one yet, you're screwed. There's no Cloud Save compatibility. The moves have such half-***** animations. They couldn't even get Blastoise to fire water out of its cannons. The director, Masuda, constantly makes up lousy excuses for why certain features are left out or made worse. Those are just a few of my gripes with the games, but I have honestly never wanted a Pokemon game to fail as much as it has now. The worst part is that so many apologists of the games try to shut down all dissent and criticism, as if GameFreak can do no wrong. Earlier, there was one guy who compared critics of LGPE to freaking BRONIES. It's just... ugh, I can't. Sorry for complaining so much. Regardless, though, I still love Pokemon and am really looking forward to using the Pokemon Trainer in Ultimate, especially Leaf and Ivysaur.

Favorite is Mario.

Still the king of my heart, always. Will never stop being a huge Mario fan. Odyssey's a masterpiece.

 

[Good Guy Giygas]

Okay, now THIS is an interesting question:
If you were Sakurai, what third party character(s) would you try and go through to get in Smash?

Ken (Street Fighter)
Raiden (Metal Gear)
Frogger (Frogger)
Leon Kennedy (Resident Evil)
Tails (Sonic the Hedgehog)
Ryu Hayabusa (Ninja Gaiden)
Nightmare (Soul Caliber)
Lego Obi-Wan Kenobi (Lego Star Wars) (joking)

 

[T3Z3R1]

Bandai Namco developed Smash with Sakurai, and developed Pokken.
Bandai developed every single Digimon game and Virtual Pet.
Digimon vs Pokémon is a legendary rivalry from the 90s.
Digimon is the third biggest Bandai Namco Franchise, losing only to Pac-man and Virtual Pets.
Digimon have 13 Games on Nintendo Consoles.
Digimon Universe have a Game on 3DS from 2017 and Digimon Survive will be on the Switch in 2019.
Digimon is also much more recognizable than Tekken and all Tales of games.


Say again why Digimon is not the best choice from all the Bandai Namco franchises?

>Digimon is more recongizable than Tekken and All Tales of games

Have you seen EVO? So much amazing **** involving Tekken have happened there, and it even showcased Maijn against those Korean dudes which was very hyped. And I still think that pokemon is more recognized than Digimon is, I don't think that kids today never heard of it before.

 

[Noipoi]

Here's something I thought would be interesting to discuss:
What is your favorite franchise in Smash represented with at least one playable character, and what are your opinions of that franchise in its current state? My favorite series is Pokemon, and honestly, it's kind of difficult to be a fan of it now. I really dislike the direction that the franchise has gone in lately. Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee look absolutely terrible. The graphics look like they came straight from a mobile phone game. Mew is stuck to a $50 peripheral, so if you haven't gotten one yet, you're screwed. There's no Cloud Save compatibility. The moves have such half-***** animations. They couldn't even get Blastoise to fire water out of its cannons. The director, Masuda, constantly makes up lousy excuses for why certain features are left out or made worse. Those are just a few of my gripes with the games, but I have honestly never wanted a Pokemon game to fail as much as it has now. The worst part is that so many apologists of the games try to shut down all dissent and criticism, as if GameFreak can do no wrong. Earlier, there was one guy who compared critics of LGPE to freaking BRONIES. It's just... ugh, I can't. Sorry for complaining so much. Regardless, though, I still love Pokemon and am really looking forward to using the Pokemon Trainer in Ultimate, especially Leaf and Ivysaur.

Pokemon is my favorite series too, and I also think Pikachu and Eevee look pretty lame. Good thing Gen 8 is on the way so I can forget about it soon!
I also love Mario, Splatoon, Kirby, and recently Zelda.

 

[CosmicQuark]

The only time Digimon has even come to my mind in the past few months is because of your borderline obsession with it. Meanwhile, Tekken is a game that I constantly watch on Twitch and hear people talking about on Internet forums.

There's nothing wrong with obsessing over characters (of course, I would say that). Still, I've brought up Digimon among others, so it's certainly subjective. Especially those of us from the nineties who liked to imagine a battle between Pokemon and Digimon. And for me, Smash is the only fighting game I'm interested in, so Tekken or other fighting game characters would be a bore for me personally--they're already in fighting games, I want to see characters in Smash you otherwise wouldn't see in a crossover fighter.

 

[SAMation]

No one gives a **** about Digimon anymore.

There's plenty of people who care about digimon, also can't deny that it once had a much larger fanbase. Some people in this thread hold it to a high regard too.

 

[Idon]

Here's something I thought would be interesting to discuss:
What is your favorite franchise in Smash represented with at least one playable character, and what are your opinions of that franchise in its current state? My favorite series is Pokemon, and honestly, it's kind of difficult to be a fan of it now. I really dislike the direction that the franchise has gone in lately. Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee look absolutely terrible. The graphics look like they came straight from a mobile phone game. Mew is stuck to a $50 peripheral, so if you haven't gotten one yet, you're screwed. There's no Cloud Save compatibility. The moves have such half-***** animations. They couldn't even get Blastoise to fire water out of its cannons. The director, Masuda, constantly makes up lousy excuses for why certain features are left out or made worse. Those are just a few of my gripes with the games, but I have honestly never wanted a Pokemon game to fail as much as it has now. The worst part is that so many apologists of the games try to shut down all dissent and criticism, as if GameFreak can do no wrong. Earlier, there was one guy who compared critics of LGPE to freaking BRONIES. It's just... ugh, I can't. Sorry for complaining so much. Regardless, though, I still love Pokemon and am really looking forward to using the Pokemon Trainer in Ultimate, especially Leaf and Ivysaur.

For Fire Emblem?
sigh...
Just don't **** up the writing in Three Houses, alright Intelligent Systems? SoV's a step in the right direction, but if I have to have to listen to another person verbally masturbate my avatar character like in Fates, I'm quitting.

As for Zelda, I'd also like some more main story focus to go with that meaty overworld content. Not just "Beat Ganon; save Zelda." Also, more in depth combat. The environmental manipulation's great, but fighting your 100th robot made me realize a lot of combat is just mashing the same combo and dodge over and over.
Also, please make Link left handed again. That'd be nice.

 

[Luigi The President]

The ol' Graizen "they SHALL discuss Digimon" trick has worked again and we have fallen for it RIP

 

[alemerltoucanet]

Here's something I thought would be interesting to discuss:
What is your favorite franchise in Smash represented with at least one playable character, and what are your opinions of that franchise in its current state? My favorite series is Pokemon, and honestly, it's kind of difficult to be a fan of it now. I really dislike the direction that the franchise has gone in lately. Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee look absolutely terrible. The graphics look like they came straight from a mobile phone game. Mew is stuck to a $50 peripheral, so if you haven't gotten one yet, you're screwed. There's no Cloud Save compatibility. The moves have such half-***** animations. They couldn't even get Blastoise to fire water out of its cannons. The director, Masuda, constantly makes up lousy excuses for why certain features are left out or made worse. Those are just a few of my gripes with the games, but I have honestly never wanted a Pokemon game to fail as much as it has now. The worst part is that so many apologists of the games try to shut down all dissent and criticism, as if GameFreak can do no wrong. Earlier, there was one guy who compared critics of LGPE to freaking BRONIES. It's just... ugh, I can't. Sorry for complaining so much. Regardless, though, I still love Pokemon and am really looking forward to using the Pokemon Trainer in Ultimate, especially Leaf and Ivysaur.

Sonic the Hedgehog. Yes, this is very biased as I am in fact a long time Sonic fan, but it's faxx.
Anyways, I'd say the franchise seems pretty good, as it is the only third party with two stages, Knuckles as an Assist Trophy, and Shadow more than likely happening. I think Sonic is in a good spot. Though, I hope only having two more new/possibly returning songs isn't just it for the soundtrack, and my goodness Sakurai needs to give me Tails already.
EDIT: Oh, and Sonic in his current gaming state? Ehh, it's pretty uncertain right now, but I think SEGA is leaning towards the more positive future than negative as they have probably learned from Forces for the next game by now, Christian Whitehead and his team with the classic franchise is looking super good for possible future instalments, and then there's the Sonic movie next year which could either make or break Sonic's state when the time comes. We'll just wait and see.

 

[StupendousMike]

Here's something I thought would be interesting to discuss:
What is your favorite franchise in Smash represented with at least one playable character, and what are your opinions of that franchise in its current state? My favorite series is Pokemon, and honestly, it's kind of difficult to be a fan of it now. I really dislike the direction that the franchise has gone in lately. Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee look absolutely terrible. The graphics look like they came straight from a mobile phone game. Mew is stuck to a $50 peripheral, so if you haven't gotten one yet, you're screwed. There's no Cloud Save compatibility. The moves have such half-***** animations. They couldn't even get Blastoise to fire water out of its cannons. The director, Masuda, constantly makes up lousy excuses for why certain features are left out or made worse. Those are just a few of my gripes with the games, but I have honestly never wanted a Pokemon game to fail as much as it has now. The worst part is that so many apologists of the games try to shut down all dissent and criticism, as if GameFreak can do no wrong. Earlier, there was one guy who compared critics of LGPE to freaking BRONIES. It's just... ugh, I can't. Sorry for complaining so much. Regardless, though, I still love Pokemon and am really looking forward to using the Pokemon Trainer in Ultimate, especially Leaf and Ivysaur.

Sonic. I remember waking up on Saturday mornings to watch the SatAM cartoon. I had Sonic pillowcases. It's been a series of constant ups and downs since the end of the Genesis era, and almost feels like two distinct series at this point. If Mania and Forces represent the diverging paths Sega can take with their mascot, I hope they travel down the route that brought Fang, Mighty and Ray back into the fold.