Official Smash Ultimate Discussion

[RADSheikah]

How would people feel about Third-Party clones coming in alongside the third party vets? Characters like: Tails/Knuckles/Shadow, Proto Man/Bass, or Ken/Akuma?

 

[Deleted member]

Smash Direct is announced for 4/20.

Labo rep is revealed on the day of it's release.

This is such a Sakurai thing to do that I want to breath it into reality just so we have something to talk about.

4/20

Isn't that the birthday of one of the most disgusting and horrible people on the planet? What was the name..................oh right, Lucina!

Lucina confirmed for 4/20 Direct i guess.

 

[92MilesPrower]

About time I got around to making a roster.

Spoiler: Big ol' list of reasoning

VETERANS:
I've organized veterans into a couple of groups based on how I feel about their chances of returning.

LOCKS:
These characters, all from Brawl and earlier, I feel will be in the game 100%. and.

All of these characters are extremely important for their respective franchises and are definitely series staples that I'd be shocked if they were to get cut from the game. Mr. Game and Watch, R.O.B., Ness, and Captain Falcon stay because of how they've pretty much become synonymous with Smash Bros., and Charizard and Mewtwo as well because of their massive popularity. Nintendo and Sega are constantly on good terms with each other, so Sonic is gonna be back.

BORDERLINE LOCKS:
I am somewhat skeptical about these Brawl and earlier veterans, but the chances of them returning are very high.and.

Sheik, despite not appearing in any main series Zelda games other than OoT, has cemented her place in Smash Bros. with her popularity and uniqueness. Her playability in Hyrule Warriors and the costume in BotW also help her chances. Toon Link stays because it's been clear since Brawl that there has to be a Link clone. However, if Link's moveset is updated entirely as most expect, Toon Link will no longer be a clone, and deserves to stay. Lucario is extremely popular, and returned in Smash 4, defying the expectations of quite a few people. In that case, he's definitely welcome back. Jigglypuff isn't as relevant or popular as she used to be back in the 90s and early 2000s, but she's a member of the original 12, and has always come back. Even though the odd case with her in Brawl (only unlockable after Sonic and everyone else is unlocked, no appearance in the SSE) said that she might actually be lower priority than the rest of the original cast, and I may have somewhat of a personal bias against her, she's bound to return. Lucas returning as DLC in Smash 4 was a result of a ton of outcry from fans, and him being excluded once more would lead to more outcry once again. The Mother series has a huge cult following, and many would be upset to see Lucas leave again.

EXTREMELY LIKELY:
I believe these characters that debuted in Smash 4 have extremely high chances of returning. and.

Rosalina and Bowser Jr. are both very popular characters (Rosalina moreso if I'm not mistaken), have very unique movesets, and are important to the Mario franchise (Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings have been around for quite a while and are recognizable as Bowser's main lackeys, Rosalina represents the hugely successful and popular Galaxy games). Little Mac is historically important to Nintendo, and a highly requested character that deserves to stay in the game after being upgraded from an Assist Trophy. Palutena is basically the second protagonist of the Kid Icarus games, and her popularity combined with being from a Sakurai franchise are enough for her to stay. Robin represents Awakening, which was a huge game for Fire Emblem, is popular according to the Heroes poll, and is a very unique FE rep being primarily a magic user rather than a swordsman. You must live under a rock if you don't think Greninja will return. Its massive role in the anime, as well as it placing 1st on the 2016 Pokemon popularity poll in Japan are more than enough to guarantee its return to Smash Bros. Animal Crossing is a massively popular series all over the globe, and Villager is pretty much guaranteed because of that. Tons of people like Shulk and Xenoblade Chronicles, which is why he got into Smash 4 in the first place, and the huge success of the Xenoblade franchise cements his spot in the roster. Mr. Game and Watch and R.O.B. both returned in Smash 4, so Duck Hunt can definitely return in Smash Switch. The dog and duck are extremely recognizable, and represent another important piece of Nintendo history. Nintendo can definitely keep a good relationship with Bandai Namco and Capcom, and tons of people would be clearly upset to see Pac-Man and Mega Man removed from the roster, as they are two of gaming's most beloved and recognizable stars that have been around for decades alongside Mario and Sonic. Sakurai would have clearly lost all common sense if he were to cut Bayonetta, after she won the fighter ballot. Bayonetta 2 and 3 being Nintendo exclusives still helps as well. Cutting Mii Fighters would be like cutting 3 entire fighters. Their inclusion allows players to put any character, no matter how outlandish, into Smash Bros., and they represent the entire Wii era onwards.

PRETTY LIKELY:
Once again, a group of characters that I'm not too sure about, but I feel will likely return to Smash Bros. and.

Wii Fit Trainer was an extremely odd character that hardly anyone expected to be in Smash Bros., but Sakurai made it happen. The Wii Fit games were very successful, and knowing Sakurai, he's likely to bring this "out-of-left-field" character back. It's very clear that Nintendo has a good relationship with Capcom, who's always willing to do crossover fighting games (Marvel, Tatsunoko, SNK, Tekken), and Ryu is almost always present in them, being basically the poster boy of traditional fighting games. However, Ryu can end up being switched out for a different representative by Capcom such as a Monster Hunter representative, but his importance to gaming as a whole will likely keep him on the roster. Hopefully Nintendo can keep a good relationship with Square Enix, despite Square being very touchy about their IPs and such. However, if they're fine with letting Noctis from FFXV into Tekken, then Cloud can definitely return to the battlefield, especially with him getting the most requests out of every Final Fantasy character in the fighter ballot.

RETURNS:
Like most others, I predict the return of and.

Wolf was very likely voted for a ton in the ballot, but Bayonetta (and Cloud to an extent) was clearly more popular and got into Smash 4 over Wolf. With the results of the fighter ballot to look at, Sakurai can see how much fans wanted the lycan anti-hero back in Smash Bros., and his return will be greatly accepted, especially if he's given a more unique moveset. Ice Climbers were obviously meant to be in Smash 4, but didn't make the cut because of system limitations. The Switch can definitely handle the Ice Climbers this time around, and nearly everyone wants them to return to the roster.

CUTS:
As you'll notice, there's 5 cuts: and.

I've decided to cut the first three as separate characters, and decided to make them just alternate costumes, to not have slots wasted by 3 clones again. If Sakurai can't make them have unique movesets, then they're better off as alternate costumes in the vein of Alph and the Koopalings. Doctor Mario being brought back only to get cut entirely once more would be very odd, so a costume would be a compromise. If Mario can wear his doctor outfit in Odyssey and not have different abilities all of a sudden, then it isn't odd for Doc to be a costume and fit in with an updated moveset with Cappy. Dark Pit is literally a clone of Pit. Although I doubt it would happen, if he were to get a unique moveset, I'd be fine with him as a separate character, but he's better off as a costume. Lucina is too popular to cut entirely, but I can't think of any ways to make her unique compared to Marth, so she'll just have to do as a costume, unfortunately.

Roy and Corrin both aren't technically cut, I'll explain what I mean. Rather than choosing one of the two to put in the roster for certain, I've left a blank spot for either one or the other, or a potential newcomer from Fire Emblem. Sakurai has stated that even before adding Corrin as DLC, he felt there were too many representatives for the franchise. The other three (technically 4 with Lucina as a costume) stay for relevance, popularity, and uniqueness, and there's enough room for one more representative from the franchise without it feeling too crammed and over-represented. Personally, I'd pick Roy out of him and Corrin, but the possibility of a new character taking their place is very possible. Because of her clear popularity with the Heroes poll, and how she was an Assist Trophy twice, Lyn could take this slot. Or, we could have a different character from a past game, such as Celica or Alm from Echoes. There's even the very low chance of the protagonist of the next Fire Emblem game taking this slot, but as there is no information on the next game other than it's for the Switch and in development, I'm very doubtful.

NEWCOMERS:
I'll go into depth with each newcomer in this section.

CAPTAIN TOAD:
Toad has always deserved to be in Smash Bros. for quite a while now, being the only member of the main Mario 8 not in Smash Bros. (Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Wario, and Toad), and Captain Toad is far better than just your average Toad. Appearing in the Mario Galaxy games, Super Mario 3D World, and eventually his own spin-off game, Captain Toad is clearly a popular character. He has plenty to work with for a potential moveset from his playable appearances, and can have an interesting playstyle/gimmick with the fact that he's constantly wearing a heavy backpack that weighs him down.

KING K. ROOL:
It's about time Donkey Kong got their third rep. Although I'd be fine with Dixie Kong, I always preferred King K. Rool over her for just a single new rep for DK, and I feel a single new DK rep is more likely than 2. Despite his lack of appearances as of late in the newer Donkey Kong Country games, many people still remember King K. Rool, being the main antagonist of the majority of main series Donkey Kong games, and there has been clearly plenty of fan outcry for his inclusion in Smash to the point that Sakurai had made a Mii costume for him. Although he'd be yet another heavyweight villain, he has plenty of potential for a unique moveset based off of his various boss fights in the Donkey Kong series. If Sakurai can bring retro characters such as Duck Hunt back, then he sure can bring an old villain from an important series back in Smash.

TAKAMARU:
Sakurai has stated that he was definitely considering adding Takamaru to Smash 4, but decided against it because not many people would know who he was. There was even the old questionnaire he did leading up to Melee about Smash 64's development, where he stated that if Takamaru were to appear in another game, he'd definitely put him into Smash Bros. After appearing as an Assist Trophy, having his game released on the eShop in the west, and having an attraction based off of his game in Nintendoland, Takamaru shouldn't be too unfamiliar now to western audiences. He'd perfectly fit the role that Ice Climbers, Pit, and Little Mac all had in the Smash Bros. games they debuted in respectively, a popular retro revival character that fans have asked for (not sure if fans asked for Ice Climbers in Melee but they were retro revival characters anyways). Although he is a swordsman, he has plenty of material to work with from his origin game, and him being a samurai unlike other sword-wielders gives him the potential to have a different style of swordplay than Link or Marth, for example.

BANDANA DEE:
Tons of media for Kirby has shown Bandana Dee as the fourth member of Kirby's quartet of main pals alongside King Dedede and Meta Knight, and he's consistently shown up in the games ever since reappearing in Super Star Ultra. So he's obviously in the running for the fourth slot of the Kirby series. Plus, he's from a Sakurai series, which might get a little bit of priority over some other franchises. Unlike all other characters in Smash Bros., Bandana Dee wields a spear (also a parasol sometimes), which can make for a very interesting and unique moveset.

DECIDUEYE:
In Smash Bros., we already have Charizard, a fire type starter Pokemon, and Greninja, a water type starter Pokemon. Clearly, there's a lack of a grass type starter Pokemon in the game, and Decidueye fits both that role, as well as the role of a representative of the seventh generation of Pokemon games. The likelihood of the eighth generation Pokemon games being released before Smash Switch is very low, with there being a lack of news about those games and the seventh generation just about to end with Zeraora's reveal. In that case, there's still time for a seventh generation representative to be put into Smash Bros., unless another Greninja situation occurs. Regardless, Decidueye has appeared in Pokken Tournament DX as playable, being notably much more popular than the other fully evolved Alolan starters. A moveset based around mostly archery can be very unique as well.

REX (& PYRA):
Sakurai has stated that he really likes Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which was also extremely well received in general just like the original XC. The franchise has become super popular, and definitely deserves a second representative in Smash Bros., specifically from XC2, which has even sold better than the original XC. Rex, the protagonist of XC2, can definitely have a unique moveset in Smash Bros. based around switching blades, drives, and such, with Pyra appearing in some way to help him out with certain moves. As development for the game started as early as 2014, it could definitely be a Greninja situation of sorts.

INKLING:
They're confirmed. ...Yep, that's it.

SPRING MAN:
ARMS is a new IP that has been heavily promoted by Nintendo as a competitive game, and has been fairly successful, garnering a pretty sizable fanbase. Even though support for ARMS is basically over, people will very likely remember ARMS because of the very heavy promotion of it. It was clear that Nintendo wanted it to become a big and popular new IP, so why wouldn't they have a character in Smash Bros.? Being the mascot of the game, Spring Man is the obvious choice, but some of the other characters could appear as alternate costumes. A moveset based around the extendable and customizable arms would be very unique, with weapons such as the elemental gloves, boomerangs, dragons, and poppers that all can be implemented in numerous ways.

MACH RIDER:
Remember when Sakurai had purchased a Vifam mecha figure for mostly the little machine gun it had? He wanted to use it for reference. If anything, he was likely planning on using it for reference for a Smash Bros. newcomer character rather than just a simple Assist Trophy or regular trophy in Smash 5. Why would he go that far just to get a toy model for reference for a non playable character? Out of the possible characters that could use a machine gun, I decided to go with Mach Rider. Sakurai had stated he wanted Mach Rider in the Smash Bros. sequel in his post Smash 64 questionnaire, and likely still wants to put him into a Smash Bros. game eventually. He'd fit the role of "WTF retro character" just like Mr. Game and Watch, R.O.B., and Duck Hunt perfectly, not being expected at all by players. In the case of a moveset, if Sakurai can give the likes of Captain Falcon an entirely original moveset despite only piloting the Blue Falcon in the actual F-Zero games, then he sure can make an original moveset for Mach Rider based around his machine gun.

RAYMAN:
Ubisoft and Nintendo clearly have a very good relationship, and if any 3rd party company's gonna get a rep, it's gonna be them. And who better than Rayman? He was considered iconic enough to get himself, Globox, and Barbara all trophies in Smash 4, despite not being playable. Not to mention, there's the very well received Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle that released just last year, which features the Rabbids, which were originally from a Rayman game. He'll fit right in with the likes of Mario, Sonic, Mega Man and Pac-Man perfectly, and has a ton of potential for a unique and fun moveset.

Well, here goes nothing. Critique me.

(Side note: I was considering adding a couple of more characters such as Dillon as an e-Shop rep and Chibi Robo as a somewhat odd WFT-esque choice, but I felt the roster would've been too cluttered and also be uneven in shape. Speaking of being cluttered, I definitely could've organized the roster a bit better, tbh. Either way, though, I feel very satisfied with the way it is currently. I tried to go for a more realistic view of what the roster could be and not go over the top with some predictions, and I even did a bunch of research for some of my explanations, notably that pre-Melee questionnaire. Keep in mind I still haven't considered DLC yet really.)

 

[Imadethistoseealeak]

4/20

Isn't that the birthday of one of the most disgusting and horrible people on the planet? What was the name..................oh right, Lucina!

Lucina confirmed for 4/20 Direct i guess.

TIL Lucina's birthday is 4/20. Lit.

DECIDUEYE:
In Smash Bros., we already have Charizard, a fire type starter Pokemon, and Greninja, a water type starter Pokemon. Clearly, there's a lack of a grass type starter Pokemon in the game, and Decidueye fits both that role, as well as the role of a representative of the seventh generation of Pokemon games. The likelihood of the eighth generation Pokemon games being released before Smash Switch is very low, with there being a lack of news about those games and the seventh generation just about to end with Zeraora's reveal. In that case, there's still time for a seventh generation representative to be put into Smash Bros., unless another Greninja situation occurs. Regardless, Decidueye has appeared in Pokken Tournament DX as playable, being notably much more popular than the other fully evolved Alolan starters. A moveset based around mostly archery can be very unique as well.

I feel like the whole grass starter thing isn't a solid reason. There's no reason to think Sakurai has picked Pokemon based on their type, just popularity, relevancy and Moveset potential. I agree the Archer Moveset is unique but people are defintely sleeping on other Gen 7 Pokemon. Decidueye isn't even really that popular, just in smash speculation (he's in my top 10 , I'm not a hater just pointing it out).

As for the rest I approve the Arms inclusion and I'm saddened by a lack of Ridley .

 

[Tree Gelbman]

How would people feel about Third-Party clones coming in alongside the third party vets? Characters like: Tails/Knuckles/Shadow, Proto Man/Bass, or Ken/Akuma?

Outside of maybe Ken? Most of these have the potential to be very unique on their own merits.

And even Ken can be quite different from Ryu. Just not as much as Akuma.

 

[Opossum]

Well, here goes nothing. Critique me.

(Side note: I was considering adding a couple of more characters such as Dillon as an e-Shop rep and Chibi Robo as a somewhat odd WFT-esque choice, but I felt the roster would've been too cluttered and also be uneven in shape. Speaking of being cluttered, I definitely could've organized the roster a bit better, tbh. Either way, though, I feel very satisfied with the way it is currently. I tried to go for a more realistic view of what the roster could be and not go over the top with some predictions, and I even did a bunch of research for some of my explanations, notably that pre-Melee questionnaire. Keep in mind I still haven't considered DLC yet really.)

I like the addition of Mach Rider! He's personally my second favorite choice for a retro character.

As a side note though, if you were having trouble making Lucina unique, her stance and fighting style in Awakening is actually very different from Marth's (she takes Chrom's fighting style with her own unique stance). In addition, you could maybe have some of her moves utilize her signature lance from Heroes, Geirskögul. Just spouting ideas. I definitely think there's enough to at least semi-clone her.

 

[Rockaphin]

How would people feel about Third-Party clones coming in alongside the third party vets? Characters like: Tails/Knuckles/Shadow, Proto Man/Bass, or Ken/Akuma?

I'd love to see Ken Masters as a clone. I think I'd be a little disappointed if Knuckles was a clone of Sonic though.

I'm really hoping to see Ryu on the base roster. That way, we're more likely to see more content from Street Fighter.

Chun-Li as an Assist Trophy, Other character themes (frickin' Guile's Theme plz), more trophies, and uh.... Ken as a clone character.

 

[Tree Gelbman]

If Ken got into Smash as a clone character and Chun Li is just sitting right there with her iconic ass thunder thighs waiting in a Smash Newcomer audition lobby and Sakurai picks ''Red Ryu" over her?

Oh you best believe I'm burning that ************'s house to the ground.

 

[Deleted member]

Matthew Taranto of Brawl in the Family name made a Slime Moveset:

I wonder if he is gonna make more of these.

 

[Tree Gelbman]

If Ken got into Smash as a clone character and Chun Li is just sitting right there with her iconic *** thunder thighs waiting in a Smash Newcomer audition lobby and Sakurai picks ''Red Ryu" over her?

Oh you best believe I'm burning that ************'s house to the ground.

I can start a grease fire at 3AM too, Sakurai.

Try me.

Sorry Ken. I love you boo. But I gotta do it to him.

 

[Pallex]

Gumzilla made me think of an interesting idea.

What would happen if they made a Smash-Original character? You know, like Tabuu?

So far, it's been established in the canon that the Smash Bros universe is not a multi-dimensional arena that opens up to every world each character comes from (as I'm sure we all originally thought), but is in fact a single mysterious world where all the characters seem to just exist in (and with a predefined set of rules that they all seem fairly familiar with, ergo the trophy condition).

In reality, the only genuine residents of this world (though few) are immensely powerful (Master Hand, Crazy Hand, Tabuu—though Tabuu originates in Subspace, but isn't Subspace merely a parallel dimension to the world of Smash?) or are given no known history. Technically speaking, the oldest residents we know of outside the Hands are the R.O.B.s, but they've been all wiped out save for one. Sm4sh's Battlefield pretty much showed us their history outside of the Isle of the Ancients. And even then, it's questionable if the R.O.B.s have always been there, or if they're in the boats as all the other Fighters.

After this many entries in the series with an established canon, would anyone be opposed to a character that isn't the Hands to be a representative of the Smash world itself?

I would pick Sandbag to be a playable character. He's playable in Super Smash Flash 2.

Spoiler

 

[92MilesPrower]

How would people feel about Third-Party clones coming in alongside the third party vets? Characters like: Tails/Knuckles/Shadow, Proto Man/Bass, or Ken/Akuma?

Just saying, anyone who says something like this clearly doesn't know squat about Sonic's friends. They all have tons of potential for unique movesets. Tails has his ability of flight and a ton of gadgets, Knuckles is more of a brawler type rather than quick like Sonic and is incredibly strong, and Shadow has a whole array of Chaos powers. Can't really say much about the other franchises, though, since I'm not too familiar with them like I am with Sonic (see my name).

 

[SuperMasterHand]

Zelda just needs to suck it up and invent a 4th character so important that he or she has to be in every game then Sakurai will be forced to add another Zelda rep.

The problem with that is the series has always relied way way way too much on the Link/Zelda/Ganon rivalry. I mean it's interwoven into the lore of that series, so Billy Maysing that **** and going ''BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!" is kind of impossible.

And yes I just used the late great Billy Mays as a verb.

I already post this idea days ago but I feel the King of Hyrule is iconic enough to be the 4th, he would be the best fit next to the 3 triforces characters
He was in severals games, also in Botw
Could have a unique moveset (maybe the champions? Or attacks using the boat from WindWaker ?)

And it would also be the WTF character from sakurai
I'm sure it would be hype to see him fight

 

[Tree Gelbman]

Impa, Tetra, Skull Kid, Vaati, and Tingle fans would literally be so confused if he got in though.

The messy ***** in me that loves drama loves your idea.

The logical side of me says it's probably best to leave it up to those guys to be the 5th rep.

 

[SuperMasterHand]

EDIT : Double Post cause of bad signal, sorry

 

[Polan]

I can start a grease fire at 3AM too, Sakurai.

Try me.

Sorry Ken. I love you boo. But I gotta do it to him.

You underestimate Sakurai's power.

 

[ErenJager]

I would pick Sandbag to be a playable character. He's playable in Super Smash Flash 2.

Spoiler

Sandbag for smash!!! I need Sandbag..

 

[The Original Robot boy]

No way, this is as surprising as Inkling's inclusion in Smash Switch.

I would think so Springmans legs just kept throwing me off so much

 

[Yoshi-Thomas]

Impa, Tetra, Skull Kid, Vaati, and Tingle fans would literally be so confused if he got in though.

The messy ***** in me that loves drama loves your idea.

The logical side of me says it's probably best to leave it up to those guys to be the 4th rep.

The messy you is correct though, he is the one we need.
And in the best possible form obviously.

Also, if we have a direct in three days, I hope there won't be Smash Bros. revealed, I want the surprise for E3.
OR another character implied in the same way than the Inklings, with the said character watching this ball of fire.

 

[Imadethistoseealeak]

The messy you is correct though, he is the one we need.
And in the best possible form obviously.

Also, if we have a direct in three days, I hope there won't be Smash Bros. revealed, I want the surprise for E3.
OR another character implied in the same way than the Inklings, with the said character watching this ball of fire.

I think another teaser is more likely and then having the full trailer at E3. Maybe they can reveal the title in a new teaser??? But even that feels like E3 material

 

[Gestahl]

I already post this idea days ago but I feel the King of Hyrule is iconic enough to be the 4th, he would be the best fit next to the 3 triforces characters
He was in severals games, also in Botw
Could have a unique moveset (maybe the champions? Or attacks using the boat from WindWaker ?)

And it would also be the WTF character from sakurai
I'm sure it would be hype to see him fight

The king could have the boat from windwaker as a move!

 

[-crump-]

Matthew Taranto of Brawl in the Family name made a Slime Moveset:

I wonder if he is gonna make more of these.

I love literally everything this man does. I really want his new Waluigi book.

I think Slime is the most obvious choice if for some reason Sakurai wanted a second Square Enix character. Dragon Quest is one of the biggest RPG franchises inhistory, anf it continues to be hugely successful today. The Slime is iconic, easily recognizable, has appeared in every DQ game (IIRC) , and has even appeared numerous times alongside Mario and friends.

 

[Gumzilla]

So what do you think the next pokemon rep will be? I think it'll either be Decidueye, Mimikyu or Zeraora. Decidueye and Mimikyu are most likely but maybe Zeraora will get the Greninja treatment and be playable before he's legally obtainable in the games!

 

[Yoshi-Thomas]

So what do you think the next pokemon rep will be? I think it'll either be Decidueye, Mimikyu or Zeraora. Decidueye and Mimikyu are most likely but maybe Zeraora will get the Greninja treatment and be playable before he's legally obtainable in the games!

I believe it'll be Decidueye or Rowlet.
But I would prefer Mimikyu or Incineroar over him.
I don't know Zeraora and its popularity enough to have an opinion on it.

 

[Superyoshiom]

About time I got around to making a roster.

Spoiler: Big ol' list of reasoning

VETERANS:
I've organized veterans into a couple of groups based on how I feel about their chances of returning.

LOCKS:
These characters, all from Brawl and earlier, I feel will be in the game 100%. and.

All of these characters are extremely important for their respective franchises and are definitely series staples that I'd be shocked if they were to get cut from the game. Mr. Game and Watch, R.O.B., Ness, and Captain Falcon stay because of how they've pretty much become synonymous with Smash Bros., and Charizard and Mewtwo as well because of their massive popularity. Nintendo and Sega are constantly on good terms with each other, so Sonic is gonna be back.

BORDERLINE LOCKS:
I am somewhat skeptical about these Brawl and earlier veterans, but the chances of them returning are very high.and.

Sheik, despite not appearing in any main series Zelda games other than OoT, has cemented her place in Smash Bros. with her popularity and uniqueness. Her playability in Hyrule Warriors and the costume in BotW also help her chances. Toon Link stays because it's been clear since Brawl that there has to be a Link clone. However, if Link's moveset is updated entirely as most expect, Toon Link will no longer be a clone, and deserves to stay. Lucario is extremely popular, and returned in Smash 4, defying the expectations of quite a few people. In that case, he's definitely welcome back. Jigglypuff isn't as relevant or popular as she used to be back in the 90s and early 2000s, but she's a member of the original 12, and has always come back. Even though the odd case with her in Brawl (only unlockable after Sonic and everyone else is unlocked, no appearance in the SSE) said that she might actually be lower priority than the rest of the original cast, and I may have somewhat of a personal bias against her, she's bound to return. Lucas returning as DLC in Smash 4 was a result of a ton of outcry from fans, and him being excluded once more would lead to more outcry once again. The Mother series has a huge cult following, and many would be upset to see Lucas leave again.

EXTREMELY LIKELY:
I believe these characters that debuted in Smash 4 have extremely high chances of returning. and.

Rosalina and Bowser Jr. are both very popular characters (Rosalina moreso if I'm not mistaken), have very unique movesets, and are important to the Mario franchise (Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings have been around for quite a while and are recognizable as Bowser's main lackeys, Rosalina represents the hugely successful and popular Galaxy games). Little Mac is historically important to Nintendo, and a highly requested character that deserves to stay in the game after being upgraded from an Assist Trophy. Palutena is basically the second protagonist of the Kid Icarus games, and her popularity combined with being from a Sakurai franchise are enough for her to stay. Robin represents Awakening, which was a huge game for Fire Emblem, is popular according to the Heroes poll, and is a very unique FE rep being primarily a magic user rather than a swordsman. You must live under a rock if you don't think Greninja will return. Its massive role in the anime, as well as it placing 1st on the 2016 Pokemon popularity poll in Japan are more than enough to guarantee its return to Smash Bros. Animal Crossing is a massively popular series all over the globe, and Villager is pretty much guaranteed because of that. Tons of people like Shulk and Xenoblade Chronicles, which is why he got into Smash 4 in the first place, and the huge success of the Xenoblade franchise cements his spot in the roster. Mr. Game and Watch and R.O.B. both returned in Smash 4, so Duck Hunt can definitely return in Smash Switch. The dog and duck are extremely recognizable, and represent another important piece of Nintendo history. Nintendo can definitely keep a good relationship with Bandai Namco and Capcom, and tons of people would be clearly upset to see Pac-Man and Mega Man removed from the roster, as they are two of gaming's most beloved and recognizable stars that have been around for decades alongside Mario and Sonic. Sakurai would have clearly lost all common sense if he were to cut Bayonetta, after she won the fighter ballot. Bayonetta 2 and 3 being Nintendo exclusives still helps as well. Cutting Mii Fighters would be like cutting 3 entire fighters. Their inclusion allows players to put any character, no matter how outlandish, into Smash Bros., and they represent the entire Wii era onwards.

PRETTY LIKELY:
Once again, a group of characters that I'm not too sure about, but I feel will likely return to Smash Bros. and.

Wii Fit Trainer was an extremely odd character that hardly anyone expected to be in Smash Bros., but Sakurai made it happen. The Wii Fit games were very successful, and knowing Sakurai, he's likely to bring this "out-of-left-field" character back. It's very clear that Nintendo has a good relationship with Capcom, who's always willing to do crossover fighting games (Marvel, Tatsunoko, SNK, Tekken), and Ryu is almost always present in them, being basically the poster boy of traditional fighting games. However, Ryu can end up being switched out for a different representative by Capcom such as a Monster Hunter representative, but his importance to gaming as a whole will likely keep him on the roster. Hopefully Nintendo can keep a good relationship with Square Enix, despite Square being very touchy about their IPs and such. However, if they're fine with letting Noctis from FFXV into Tekken, then Cloud can definitely return to the battlefield, especially with him getting the most requests out of every Final Fantasy character in the fighter ballot.

RETURNS:
Like most others, I predict the return of and.

Wolf was very likely voted for a ton in the ballot, but Bayonetta (and Cloud to an extent) was clearly more popular and got into Smash 4 over Wolf. With the results of the fighter ballot to look at, Sakurai can see how much fans wanted the lycan anti-hero back in Smash Bros., and his return will be greatly accepted, especially if he's given a more unique moveset. Ice Climbers were obviously meant to be in Smash 4, but didn't make the cut because of system limitations. The Switch can definitely handle the Ice Climbers this time around, and nearly everyone wants them to return to the roster.

CUTS:
As you'll notice, there's 5 cuts: and.

I've decided to cut the first three as separate characters, and decided to make them just alternate costumes, to not have slots wasted by 3 clones again. If Sakurai can't make them have unique movesets, then they're better off as alternate costumes in the vein of Alph and the Koopalings. Doctor Mario being brought back only to get cut entirely once more would be very odd, so a costume would be a compromise. If Mario can wear his doctor outfit in Odyssey and not have different abilities all of a sudden, then it isn't odd for Doc to be a costume and fit in with an updated moveset with Cappy. Dark Pit is literally a clone of Pit. Although I doubt it would happen, if he were to get a unique moveset, I'd be fine with him as a separate character, but he's better off as a costume. Lucina is too popular to cut entirely, but I can't think of any ways to make her unique compared to Marth, so she'll just have to do as a costume, unfortunately.

Roy and Corrin both aren't technically cut, I'll explain what I mean. Rather than choosing one of the two to put in the roster for certain, I've left a blank spot for either one or the other, or a potential newcomer from Fire Emblem. Sakurai has stated that even before adding Corrin as DLC, he felt there were too many representatives for the franchise. The other three (technically 4 with Lucina as a costume) stay for relevance, popularity, and uniqueness, and there's enough room for one more representative from the franchise without it feeling too crammed and over-represented. Personally, I'd pick Roy out of him and Corrin, but the possibility of a new character taking their place is very possible. Because of her clear popularity with the Heroes poll, and how she was an Assist Trophy twice, Lyn could take this slot. Or, we could have a different character from a past game, such as Celica or Alm from Echoes. There's even the very low chance of the protagonist of the next Fire Emblem game taking this slot, but as there is no information on the next game other than it's for the Switch and in development, I'm very doubtful.

NEWCOMERS:
I'll go into depth with each newcomer in this section.

CAPTAIN TOAD:
Toad has always deserved to be in Smash Bros. for quite a while now, being the only member of the main Mario 8 not in Smash Bros. (Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Wario, and Toad), and Captain Toad is far better than just your average Toad. Appearing in the Mario Galaxy games, Super Mario 3D World, and eventually his own spin-off game, Captain Toad is clearly a popular character. He has plenty to work with for a potential moveset from his playable appearances, and can have an interesting playstyle/gimmick with the fact that he's constantly wearing a heavy backpack that weighs him down.

KING K. ROOL:
It's about time Donkey Kong got their third rep. Although I'd be fine with Dixie Kong, I always preferred King K. Rool over her for just a single new rep for DK, and I feel a single new DK rep is more likely than 2. Despite his lack of appearances as of late in the newer Donkey Kong Country games, many people still remember King K. Rool, being the main antagonist of the majority of main series Donkey Kong games, and there has been clearly plenty of fan outcry for his inclusion in Smash to the point that Sakurai had made a Mii costume for him. Although he'd be yet another heavyweight villain, he has plenty of potential for a unique moveset based off of his various boss fights in the Donkey Kong series. If Sakurai can bring retro characters such as Duck Hunt back, then he sure can bring an old villain from an important series back in Smash.

TAKAMARU:
Sakurai has stated that he was definitely considering adding Takamaru to Smash 4, but decided against it because not many people would know who he was. There was even the old questionnaire he did leading up to Melee about Smash 64's development, where he stated that if Takamaru were to appear in another game, he'd definitely put him into Smash Bros. After appearing as an Assist Trophy, having his game released on the eShop in the west, and having an attraction based off of his game in Nintendoland, Takamaru shouldn't be too unfamiliar now to western audiences. He'd perfectly fit the role that Ice Climbers, Pit, and Little Mac all had in the Smash Bros. games they debuted in respectively, a popular retro revival character that fans have asked for (not sure if fans asked for Ice Climbers in Melee but they were retro revival characters anyways). Although he is a swordsman, he has plenty of material to work with from his origin game, and him being a samurai unlike other sword-wielders gives him the potential to have a different style of swordplay than Link or Marth, for example.

BANDANA DEE:
Tons of media for Kirby has shown Bandana Dee as the fourth member of Kirby's quartet of main pals alongside King Dedede and Meta Knight, and he's consistently shown up in the games ever since reappearing in Super Star Ultra. So he's obviously in the running for the fourth slot of the Kirby series. Plus, he's from a Sakurai series, which might get a little bit of priority over some other franchises. Unlike all other characters in Smash Bros., Bandana Dee wields a spear (also a parasol sometimes), which can make for a very interesting and unique moveset.

DECIDUEYE:
In Smash Bros., we already have Charizard, a fire type starter Pokemon, and Greninja, a water type starter Pokemon. Clearly, there's a lack of a grass type starter Pokemon in the game, and Decidueye fits both that role, as well as the role of a representative of the seventh generation of Pokemon games. The likelihood of the eighth generation Pokemon games being released before Smash Switch is very low, with there being a lack of news about those games and the seventh generation just about to end with Zeraora's reveal. In that case, there's still time for a seventh generation representative to be put into Smash Bros., unless another Greninja situation occurs. Regardless, Decidueye has appeared in Pokken Tournament DX as playable, being notably much more popular than the other fully evolved Alolan starters. A moveset based around mostly archery can be very unique as well.

REX (& PYRA):
Sakurai has stated that he really likes Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which was also extremely well received in general just like the original XC. The franchise has become super popular, and definitely deserves a second representative in Smash Bros., specifically from XC2, which has even sold better than the original XC. Rex, the protagonist of XC2, can definitely have a unique moveset in Smash Bros. based around switching blades, drives, and such, with Pyra appearing in some way to help him out with certain moves. As development for the game started as early as 2014, it could definitely be a Greninja situation of sorts.

INKLING:
They're confirmed. ...Yep, that's it.

SPRING MAN:
ARMS is a new IP that has been heavily promoted by Nintendo as a competitive game, and has been fairly successful, garnering a pretty sizable fanbase. Even though support for ARMS is basically over, people will very likely remember ARMS because of the very heavy promotion of it. It was clear that Nintendo wanted it to become a big and popular new IP, so why wouldn't they have a character in Smash Bros.? Being the mascot of the game, Spring Man is the obvious choice, but some of the other characters could appear as alternate costumes. A moveset based around the extendable and customizable arms would be very unique, with weapons such as the elemental gloves, boomerangs, dragons, and poppers that all can be implemented in numerous ways.

MACH RIDER:
Remember when Sakurai had purchased a Vifam mecha figure for mostly the little machine gun it had? He wanted to use it for reference. If anything, he was likely planning on using it for reference for a Smash Bros. newcomer character rather than just a simple Assist Trophy or regular trophy in Smash 5. Why would he go that far just to get a toy model for reference for a non playable character? Out of the possible characters that could use a machine gun, I decided to go with Mach Rider. Sakurai had stated he wanted Mach Rider in the Smash Bros. sequel in his post Smash 64 questionnaire, and likely still wants to put him into a Smash Bros. game eventually. He'd fit the role of "WTF retro character" just like Mr. Game and Watch, R.O.B., and Duck Hunt perfectly, not being expected at all by players. In the case of a moveset, if Sakurai can give the likes of Captain Falcon an entirely original moveset despite only piloting the Blue Falcon in the actual F-Zero games, then he sure can make an original moveset for Mach Rider based around his machine gun.

RAYMAN:
Ubisoft and Nintendo clearly have a very good relationship, and if any 3rd party company's gonna get a rep, it's gonna be them. And who better than Rayman? He was considered iconic enough to get himself, Globox, and Barbara all trophies in Smash 4, despite not being playable. Not to mention, there's the very well received Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle that released just last year, which features the Rabbids, which were originally from a Rayman game. He'll fit right in with the likes of Mario, Sonic, Mega Man and Pac-Man perfectly, and has a ton of potential for a unique and fun moveset.

One of the few rosters here that I've legitimately liked. But as much as I'd love for the clones to become palette swaps, they cost so little development times that I could, for better or worse, see all three coming back for the next game.

 

[Gumzilla]

I believe it'll be Decidueye or Rowlet.
But I would prefer Mimikyu or Incineroar over him.
I don't know Zeraora and its popularity enough to have an opinion on it.

I guess Incineroar would be cool. I mean he's not my favorite of the Alolan starters but eh.

 

[ErenJager]

So what do you think the next pokemon rep will be? I think it'll either be Decidueye, Mimikyu or Zeraora. Decidueye and Mimikyu are most likely but maybe Zeraora will get the Greninja treatment and be playable before he's legally obtainable in the games!

Missingno.

 

[Imadethistoseealeak]

So what do you think the next pokemon rep will be? I think it'll either be Decidueye, Mimikyu or Zeraora. Decidueye and Mimikyu are most likely but maybe Zeraora will get the Greninja treatment and be playable before he's legally obtainable in the games!

I'm sure Zeraora will be released before Smash Switch is. Either way I personally find them a boring choice. I don't think Sakurai makes his pics based off Pokemon Types, but we already have an electric type :/.

Decidueye is pretty likely and is in my top 10, but Mimikyu is just as likely and is in my top 3 so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Guybrush20X6]

A thought occurred to me, do we know how long Metroid Prime 4 and before it, federation force were in the works?

 

[Pakky]

The messy you is correct though, he is the one we need.
And in the best possible form obviously.

Also, if we have a direct in three days, I hope there won't be Smash Bros. revealed, I want the surprise for E3.
OR another character implied in the same way than the Inklings, with the said character watching this ball of fire.

capital idea mah boy

 

[MoonlitIllusion]

So what do you think the next pokemon rep will be? I think it'll either be Decidueye, Mimikyu or Zeraora. Decidueye and Mimikyu are most likely but maybe Zeraora will get the Greninja treatment and be playable before he's legally obtainable in the games!

Hopefully decidueye, looking at the options I think he would bring the most unique moveset, the grass bird archer archetype would be bomb (although I'd take Primarina over them anyday lol, they're still the best starter)

 

[Blargg888]

Just saying, anyone who says something like this clearly doesn't know squat about Sonic's friends. They all have tons of potential for unique movesets. Tails has his ability of flight and a ton of gadgets, Knuckles is more of a brawler type rather than quick like Sonic and is incredibly strong, and Shadow has a whole array of Chaos powers. Can't really say much about the other franchises, though, since I'm not too familiar with them like I am with Sonic (see my name).

Protoman and Bass definately have potential for different movesets.

Protoman has his shield, which would already present a pretty drastic change. Put that on top of all the existing robot master powers, and Protoman and Bass could wield powers that Smash Megaman doesn't making them drastically different characters.

So what do you think the next pokemon rep will be? I think it'll either be Decidueye, Mimikyu or Zeraora. Decidueye and Mimikyu are most likely but maybe Zeraora will get the Greninja treatment and be playable before he's legally obtainable in the games!

Same here, TBH.

Decidueye, Mimikyu, and Zeraora seem most likely to me.

That said, there's always room for surprises... So I'm keeping one eye open.

 

[Tree Gelbman]

My answer to the next Mega Man rep is Tron Bonne.

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

 

[Arcanir]

So what do you think the next pokemon rep will be? I think it'll either be Decidueye, Mimikyu or Zeraora. Decidueye and Mimikyu are most likely but maybe Zeraora will get the Greninja treatment and be playable before he's legally obtainable in the games!

Decidueye, Incineroar, Lycanroc, and Mimikyu would be my guesses for one reason or another. Zeraora is possible, though as you said it would probably have to get the Greninja treatment for that to be the case.

 

[Deleted member]

So what do you think the next pokemon rep will be? I think it'll either be Decidueye, Mimikyu or Zeraora. Decidueye and Mimikyu are most likely but maybe Zeraora will get the Greninja treatment and be playable before he's legally obtainable in the games!

If the roster was decided by early 2016 like I think it has, then I feel it's going to be between Decidueye, Incineroar, and possibly Buzzwole, based on what he might think of their concept art.
Buzzwole being part of a major new concept for Pokémon (Ultra Beasts) could also be something he might consider, but the owl and tiger would probably be more interesting in concept to him.

Obviously, I hope for Incineroar (though I wouldn't mind Buzzwole either). I want to play as one of my new favorite Pokémon in something, damn it. Decidueye already took Pokken from me....it taking Smash too would just be a middle finger in more ways than one.

 

[RADSheikah]

Protoman and Bass definately have potential for different movesets.

Protoman has his shield, which would already present a pretty drastic change. Put that on top of all the existing robot master powers, and Protoman and Bass could wield powers that Smash Megaman doesn't making them drastically different characters.

I could see Protoman having specials based on 3 (his debut), 5 (when he was the 'villain'), 9 and 10 (when he was playable). And Bass getting specials from 7, (his debut) &Bass, and 10 (When he was playable.) While Mega Man keeps his from 1,2,4,6,8, and possibly 11.

 

[MrReyes96]

My answer to the next Mega Man rep is Tron Bonne.

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

If we have a cute girl in a mech i’d prefer it be Mechanica

 

[Ura]

Minus all the Ridley support.

Isn't he popular over there?

I don't think Sakurai would have commented on him if Ridley wasn't popular in Japan.

 

[Gumzilla]

I also had an idea for a character concept! What if we had a character who used characters from built in DSi and 3DS apps and games in their moveset? Kind of like Mr. G&W representing the Game & Watch series as a whole!

Imagine a character using a Face Invader to recover back to the stage! Or having the parakeet fly at the opponent as the side b!

 

[Deathcarter]

So what do you think the next pokemon rep will be? I think it'll either be Decidueye, Mimikyu or Zeraora. Decidueye and Mimikyu are most likely but maybe Zeraora will get the Greninja treatment and be playable before he's legally obtainable in the games!

More and more I'm thinking it's going to be Lycanroc. Zeraora is way too new, Decidueye is awesome but apparently isn't promoted much in the anime (which I have never watched admittedly), and while I'm pulling for Mimikyu, I'm pessimistic about him given his lack of visual diversity compared to the other common suggestions.