Official Smash Ultimate Discussion

[StormC]

I still think it's weird that K. Rool is the only character Sakurai directly mentioned the ballot as the source for in this game.

Snake was said to be brought back "by popular demand."
Everyone Was Here is "what we believe players want."
Ridley got in due to "outcry from fans, especially overseas."
Chrom and Dark Samus were mentioned to be popular in Japan and the west.
Nothing for Simon/Richter, Daisy, Inkling, Isabelle, or their popularity. At best, Sakurai said Simon Belmont has "finally" joined the battle.

But only K. Rool was singled out as getting a lot of votes on the Smash Ballot. It's very strange.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

Anyone hopes maybe during the final Smash Direct that Sakurai reveals the Ballot results?

 

[Deleted member]

Look, throw whatever shade you will at her, but the fact is regardless of how she got in or how many people were backing her, Bayonetta's still in Smash.
She's here and she's not going anywhere. That's just how it is. Holding a grudge over something that happened to a video game three years ago will only do you more harm than good.

Smash4 ballot times was basically this. X10. Everyday. Increase this x30 when a DLC was Announced.

I feel like this fanbase is trapped in the Mangeyko Sharingan. A never ending loop if suffering lol.

 

[NineS]

Anyone hopes maybe during the final Smash Direct that Sakurai reveals the Ballot results?

I doubt he'll reveal it. Otherwise, he may potentially give away future characters we could get as DLC, minus those that came out after the ballot. If we get the ballot results, it won't be until far after he's done with DLC, or at least that's what I'd assume.

 

[StormC]

Anyone hopes maybe during the final Smash Direct that Sakurai reveals the Ballot results?

No way. It would be a **** show. Fans would argue over who botted/double voted more, and then let's say Bayonetta placed below Isaac, but Isaac didn't get in, Isaac fans would be livid.

Personally, if I had to hedge my bets on the true "winner" of the Smash Ballot, in terms of getting the most votes period, it would be Snake.

-Veteran who was one of the most popular characters in Brawl
-Third party (THE original third party), a very popular and iconic one at that
-Generally badass, likeable character, even for non-MGS fans
-Unlike Wolf, Snake wasn't seen as a lock, so fans would have to mobilize more
-Is popular and well known among more casual fans, obviously especially those who played Brawl
-The only veteran to be singled out as particularly popular

After that, who's to say. I personally believe K. Rool was the highest voted Nintendo newcomer. He'd have to place pretty freaking well for Sakurai to dig up an old 90s video game boss and put him in a roster with >10 new characters.

 

[NineS]

I feel like this fanbase is trapped in the Mangeyko Sharingan. A never ending loop if suffering lol.

I believe I know a person who said it best:

"Everything that starts is designed to end. We are perpetually trapped in a never-ending spiral of hype and suffering. Is this a curse? Or some kind of punishment? I often think about the god-like man who blessed us with this cryptic puzzle...and wonder if we'll ever get the chance to ask him."

That's how it went... Or, I think that's how she said it anyway...

 

[amazonevan19]

Anyone hopes maybe during the final Smash Direct that Sakurai reveals the Ballot results?

Never gonna happen. For one, they'll have to throw out all the Goku and Shrek votes, which will piss off a metric ton of people. Secondly, by revealing results, it'll show how the ballot was rigged for Smash 4 and ultimately just a marketing ploy/field test for who was going to make the cut in smash 5.

It's something anyone with a brain should realistically understand based on the mountain of evidence we have confirming the ballot was a ruse, but why CONFIRM that beyond a shadow of a doubt? Revealing results would be one of the worst PR move Sakurai could do for Ultimate at this point.

Why even bring up the ballot when all it'll do is rip open old wounds and divert people's attention back to Smash 4 2015? It's time to move on. Sakurai's paying penance with Ultimate. I see Ridley and K Rool as Sakurai's big fat "SORRY" and love letter to the fanbase at the same time.

 

[TreeBranch]

Oh no, you'll summon him

I'm assuming he's asleep, so I'll argue in Shantae's favor instead! Hahaha, I guess it's over for you! Shantae has many more games under her belt, while Shovel Knight is still extremely new. She is also much more popular in Japan I believe, while Shovel Knight has failed to make a splash. Shantae also has all kinds of transformations, magic, and different types of hair whips that could be incorporated into her moveset. Shovel Knight has lots of potential top however. They could both work as the indie rep I suppose, but I feel Shantae is just more deserving based on her legacy.

 

[Beatrice]

Look, throw whatever shade you will at her, but the fact is regardless of how she got in or how many people were backing her, Bayonetta's still in Smash.
She's here and she's not going anywhere. That's just how it is. Holding a grudge over something that happened to a video game three years ago will only do you more harm than good.

I feel like this fanbase is trapped in the Mangeyko Sharingan. A never ending loop if suffering lol.

Not a unique phenomenon to Smash.

 

[Shroob]

Jesus, if Incineroar, Ken, and a small, very small, handful of characters are left, imagine the ****storm that'll happen if in this next Direct, after Sakurai mentions that they'll be doing DLC again, imagine this line:


"We know how much the fans enjoy seeing new faces added to the roster periodically, so we're handing the reigns over to you once again. We will be re-opening the Smash Fighter Ballot."

 

[Deleted member]

Anyone hopes maybe during the final Smash Direct that Sakurai reveals the Ballot results?

If Sakurai wishes to drive this fandom crazy all the way to hospitals, then yeah, why not? Nothing bad will ever happen in that scenario.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

Jesus, if Incineroar, Ken, and a small, very small, handful of characters are left, imagine the ****storm that'll happen if in this next Direct, after Sakurai mentions that they'll be doing DLC again, imagine this line:


"We know how much the fans enjoy seeing new faces added to the roster periodically, so we're handing the reigns over to you once again. We will be re-opening the Smash Fighter Ballot."

Then watch how among the first DLC characters are promotional ones like Edelgard, Gen 8 Pokemon and Sylux.

 

[Deleted member]

No offense to the Shantae fans, but just because someone existed for over a decade doesn't mean they have a "legacy".

Her "legacy" started about the same time as Shovel Knight's, let's be clear.

 

[StormC]

Jesus, if Incineroar, Ken, and a small, very small, handful of characters are left, imagine the ****storm that'll happen if in this next Direct, after Sakurai mentions that they'll be doing DLC again, imagine this line:


"We know how much the fans enjoy seeing new faces added to the roster periodically, so we're handing the reigns over to you once again. We will be re-opening the Smash Fighter Ballot."

I honestly don't think we'll get another ballot, at least for this game. The jig is up this time and they still have the old data on hand they can use if they were so inclined. Not much would change in the last 3 years. People would still want Isaac, Bandana Dee, Banjo, etc. It wouldn't be very informative for him.

 

[Shroob]

Then watch how among the first DLC characters are promotional ones like Edelgard, Gen 8 Pokemon and Sylux.

Rex and Pyra


C'mon, we have Cruncii hinting at XB2 music in Smash, it's either going to be a surprise reveal in the next Direct, or DLC*I hope*

 

[Deleted member]

I honestly don't think we'll get another ballot, at least for this game. The jig is up this time and they still have the old data on hand they can use if they were so inclined. Not much would change in the last 3 years. People would still want Isaac, Bandana Dee, Banjo, etc. It wouldn't be very informative for him.

New faces that wouldn't have been on the Ballot can be factored in, such as Nier Automata's 2B.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

Rex and Pyra


C'mon, we have Cruncii hinting at XB2 music in Smash, it's either going to be a surprise reveal in the next Direct, or DLC*I hope*

Rex & Pyra I definitely do think is a guarantee but I still wouldn't rule out the possibility of a Gen 8 Pokemon and TH FE character with Sylux probably being less likely out of the three.

 

[Zinith]

If another Ballot happened I'd try to shore up support for Boshi HARD!!!

 

[NineS]

New faces that wouldn't have been on the Ballot can be factored in, such as Nier Automata's 2B.

I think I may need an evaluation if my mind lights up so much at seeing the words "Nier", "Automata", and "2B" being said by someone else in a positive context.

Is this what it feels like, Zinith?

 

[Fenriraga]

No offense to the Shantae fans, but just because someone existed for over a decade doesn't mean they have a "legacy".

Her "legacy" started about the same time as Shovel Knight's, let's be clear.

Not really. Her legacy more started when DSiware existed, I feel.

It's similar to Quote/Cave Story, in a way. They both showed up on Nintendo's dry, empty WiiWare/DSiWare libraries as a beacon of "actual video game" among a sea of mediocrity, and got quite a bit of spotlight thanks to it. It did well enough to pretty much get ported to every other platform under the sun- again, much like Cave Story. Risky's Revenge was very much one of the games that sparked the Indie Boom before Shovel Knight literally threw a molotov under it.

And Shantae was not a household name by any means back in the day, but her game was ALWAYS considered a hidden gem for the GBC in the same way many other games got swept under the radar. I remember Nintendo Power hardly ever shut up about it, too. She definitely existed.

 

[TreeBranch]

No offense to the Shantae fans, but just because someone existed for over a decade doesn't mean they have a "legacy".

Her "legacy" started about the same time as Shovel Knight's, let's be clear.

I guess "history" would be a more appropriate word then? I'm pretty sure Shantae was decently popular before Shovel Knight's release anyway...

 

[StormC]

New faces that wouldn't have been on the Ballot can be factored in, such as Nier Automata's 2B.

The top 10-15 would still look largely the same, I wager. (Do that many people actually want to play as 2B...?)

 

[Michael the Spikester]

My ballot vote would obviously be Leon Powalski.

 

[Shroob]

Actually, Crunchii dropped that XB2 hint, right?


Isn't it a bit strange that we'd have XB2 music in Smash, but no stage, or Rex?



I don't own a Switch so I'm not priivy to the 'lore' of XB2, but I guess it could be on Gaur Plain.... still would be weird for Rex to not get a stage if he'd be DLC though...

 

[Deleted member]

Jesus, if Incineroar, Ken, and a small, very small, handful of characters are left, imagine the ****storm that'll happen if in this next Direct, after Sakurai mentions that they'll be doing DLC again, imagine this line:


"We know how much the fans enjoy seeing new faces added to the roster periodically, so we're handing the reigns over to you once again. We will be re-opening the Smash Fighter Ballot."

If another Ballot happens, this site might crash and never be restarted again.

 

[Luigi The President]

Actually, Crunchii dropped that XB2 hint, right?


Isn't it a bit strange that we'd have XB2 music in Smash, but no stage, or Rex?



I don't own a Switch so I'm not priivy to the 'lore' of XB2, but I guess it could be on Gaur Plain.... still would be weird for Rex to not get a stage if he'd be DLC though...

Not really.

Music can quite honestly take like a week at most to get in the game. Doesn't have to be decided in 2015 like characters.

 

[Zinith]

I think I may need an evaluation if my mind lights up so much at seeing the words "Nier", "Automata", and "2B" being said by someone else in a positive context.

Is this what it feels like, Zinith?

You bet it does!!!

 

[Deleted member]

The top 10-15 would still look largely the same, I wager. (Do that many people actually want to play as 2B...?)

A recent poll in Japan had 2B within the Top 10.

So yeah, people would want to play as her.

 

[Demonslyer401]

If the ballot does return do you think they'll pull the same stunt they did with

 

[Shroob]

Not really.

Music can quite honestly take like a week at most to get in the game. Doesn't have to be decided in 2015 like characters.

I guess, I just think it'd be weird for a XB2 track to be on Gaur Plains, and then a potential XB2 stage added in later as DLC.

 

[Deleted member]

The top 10-15 would still look largely the same, I wager. (Do that many people actually want to play as 2B...?)

I mean, I'd like to. 2B would be awesome to see in Smash.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

If the ballot does return do you think they'll pull the same stunt they did with

The only question is who would be this ballots Bayonetta?

 

[Deleted member]

The only question is who would be this ballots Bayonetta?

Dante. Easily.

 

[SuperSceptile15]

In other news... it's been twenty years since the Game Boy Color was originally released in Japan!
https://twitter.com/GAMEdigital?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

 

[TreeBranch]

The top 10-15 would still look largely the same, I wager. (Do that many people actually want to play as 2B...?)

I've seen a lot of talk about 2B throughout this site, but it might just be limited to this site. 2B's popularity seems very similar to Bayonetta's before her reveal. A total sleeper hit. Her lack of ties to Nintendo however might be an issue

 

[N3ON]

I mean...if we go by talk, then I guess Shantae is a better candidate than Shovel Knight?
Imo she's not

The only reason Shantae is more discussed than Shovel Knight is because one already has a confirmed role. They're not on equal ground any more.
And yeah it's not a 1:1 thing, but speaking of that confirmed role, guess which one was more discussed around the time of the ballot?

what i mean is that because a character is talked more than another doesn't mean it is more believable I mean..
We're discussing Agumon every 3 days and Goku once per week here.

Well first of all, discussion prompted by a single user's repetition is obviously an outlying case, and I think you know that.

Second of all, you don't think after the better part of a year, the character Nintendo is touting as (with caveats) the most requested character of all requests, after all the poll taking and the months of discussions and the campaigning, is one, no matter who they are, that had virtually no discernable demand at all, you think people would swallow that pill? Let alone Cloud, the character that only revisionists would claim was received in a unanimously welcome fashion? Really?

All three third-party DLC characters were divisive. Any of them winning wouldn't be overly believable, but Bayonetta was actually the only one with some semblance of a decent fanbase beforehand.

Frankly since the whole thing was a premeditated ploy, if Cloud had performed better on the ballot, Nintendo could've just marketed him as the winner.

 

[CosmicQuark]

If another Ballot happened I'd try to shore up support for Boshi HARD!!!

I promise if I get Banjo in the base, I'll vote Boshi.

 

[amazonevan19]

Jesus, if Incineroar, Ken, and a small, very small, handful of characters are left, imagine the ****storm that'll happen if in this next Direct, after Sakurai mentions that they'll be doing DLC again, imagine this line:


"We know how much the fans enjoy seeing new faces added to the roster periodically, so we're handing the reigns over to you once again. We will be re-opening the Smash Fighter Ballot."

I'm ready to campaign and campaign hard

 

[NineS]

Actually, Crunchii dropped that XB2 hint, right?


Isn't it a bit strange that we'd have XB2 music in Smash, but no stage, or Rex?



I don't own a Switch so I'm not priivy to the 'lore' of XB2, but I guess it could be on Gaur Plain.... still would be weird for Rex to not get a stage if he'd be DLC though...

Well, something I think people usually forget about or ignore, but with good reason is...

Will Sakurai, or at this point, has Sakurai decided to add last minute unplanned characters? Frankly, I feel it's unlikely this time around, but we've seen in the past that it is possible for characters that weren't part of the original project plan to make it into the base Smash game. Characters that were added as last minute additions either because Sakurai felt it was worth it, or because it seems like they have the time to do so in this situation.

Do I think we have any sort of last minute characters that Sakurai didn't originally plan back in 2015-2016 that are now in Smash as playable? I consider it a possibility, but I don't think it's happening with DLC.

Still, XB2 music does seem odd, especially without a XB2 stage or character. Not impossible for it to just seem like it is, but odd.

 

[CrusherMania1592]

Jesus, if Incineroar, Ken, and a small, very small, handful of characters are left, imagine the ****storm that'll happen if in this next Direct, after Sakurai mentions that they'll be doing DLC again, imagine this line:


"We know how much the fans enjoy seeing new faces added to the roster periodically, so we're handing the reigns over to you once again. We will be re-opening the Smash Fighter Ballot."

Wait for the salt once we find out the Ballot Winner is gonna be Goku