[SPOILER ALERT] - The Sevens Squares. - A Square-Enix general support threads.

[RandomAce]

Ah yes, Erdrick the shill pick.

Can't wait to buy DQ III.

Wait what?

Well, obviously we are getting that DQIII remake for the Switch, ya know?

I think what some people mean by “shill” pick, that even I referred to, is that Erdrick would be here mainly for SE to try to shove DQ down the market outside of Japan and try to make it an even bigger multi million franchise.

It’s one thing to try to make a franchise bigger on your own, like SE could’ve just advertised upcoming DQ games better and present it to gamers outside of Japan to get them interested. I mean, the US has shown time and time again that there is a lot of success for RPGs, and they actually did succeed before with DQ8.

But when the reason for inclusion in Smash was basically promotion, it rubs off the wrong way in a lot of people’s eyes.

Smash is supposed to be a celebration apparently, but I honestly can’t agree when people keep throwing out, “oh, but DQ is iconic” or “oh DQ is the grandfather of RPG”, because if we were to go by that leak, none of that mattered and the tipping point was basically a financial opportunity.

Although, I’m hoping I’m wrong and that it was Sakurai and Nintendo that went up for chracters and that they agreed on DQ for the series legacy and SE joined along for the ride. But at the same time, there are other characters that I would rather see that would generally make a bigger splash like Geno and Sora. Geno would be a big deal if you’re going by how Geno’s inclusion would be entirely due to the passion of fans and the creator coming as one. Sora is pretty obvious.

@tehponycorn’s 3 BIG RPGs and @Shishœ’s Japan demand for DQ be damned. The former is literally an arbitrary quota that is based on one country that I doubt anyone cared about and the latter is as vague as you can get in terms of DQ’s popularity and how it relates to Smash since we don’t even know if Erdrick would be someone they would go all over for.

 

[KHJason95]

For the billionth time. I did not say that Erdrick was going to be announced at Jump Festa.

As much as I want Dragon Quest to get promoted, I do not think it's possible. It is just my opinion and I will stick by it.

 

[Untouch]

I do not think shill third party reps exist.
Nintendo and Sakurai choose who can get in, Square Enix may only agree to a character if they can get something out of it first, and promote based on the character, but they were not picked to shill a franchise first.

 

[Super_Queijo]

For the billionth time. I did not say that Erdrick was going to be announced at Jump Festa.

I didn’t said that either, I said “the new DQ”.
Edit: I goofed, the new DQ was already announced, That shows how much I care for the franchise hehe

 

[Fatmanonice]

Ah yes, Erdrick the shill pick.

Can't wait to buy DQ III.

Wait what?

Erdrick is basically the Dragon Quest equivalent of Marth. He's only playable in III and its remakes but I-III focus specifically on him/her, XI is a prequel, and he's regularly referenced in everything else. His last playable appearance in the West was the Game Boy Color remake in 2001 and 2000 in Japan if you don't count the cell phone ports.

 

[KHJason95]

Erdrick is basically the Dragon Quest equivalent of Marth. He's only playable in III and its remakes but I-III focus specifically on him/her, XI is a prequel, and he's regularly referenced in everything else. His last playable appearance in the West was the Game Boy Color remake in 2001 and 2000 in Japan if you don't count the cell phone ports.

Oh, I see your point. (Even though you weren't talking to me.)

 

[SSGuy]

It's suspicious to see insiders jump on the bandwagon of a 4chan post.

At some point, we need to decide if insiders know the DLC or not. Why would they had the actual character if they knew about him all along? All of this kind of seems very suspicious and grain of salt like. We knew nothing about Cloud so what makes Erdrick so different? Isn't Square known as the company that is so secretive? There just seems to be a lot of changing narratives going on without any upfront answers.

 

[Fatmanonice]

It's suspicious to see insiders jump on the bandwagon of a 4chan post.

At some point, we need to decide if insiders know the DLC or not. Why would they had the actual character if they knew about him all along? All of this kind of seems very suspicious and grain of salt like. We knew nothing about Cloud so what makes Erdrick so different? Isn't Square known as the company that is so secretive? There just seems to be a lot of changing narratives going on without any upfront answers.

It's just hard bracing for disappointment just because most people wholly agree that aside from Slime, the DQ characters would be the most underwhelming picks of the list of 7 by a wide margin. Could be wrong but, hey, there's a reason seatbelts and airbags are standard in cars. As someone said in the Geno thread, I've seen more unironic support for a Tetris block in my almost 20 years of being a Smash fan than any specific Dragon Quest character and that speaks volumes on this issue.

 

[SSGuy]

It's just hard bracing for disappointment just because most people wholly agree that aside from Slime, the DQ characters would be the most underwhelming picks of the list of 7 by a wide margin. Could be wrong but, hey, there's a reason seatbelts and airbags are standard in cars. As someone said in the Geno thread, I've seen more unironic support for a Tetris block in my almost 20 years of being a Smash fan than any specific Dragon Quest character and that speaks volumes on this issue.

It's not bracing for disappointment that I am having an issue with. It is the constant changing narrative that is kind of giving me an issue.

 

[-Coco-]

It's not bracing for disappointment that I am having an issue with. It is the constant changing narrative that is kind of giving me an issue.

There isn't though. Erdrick has been on Verges list for months. Polarpanda has stated numerous times that he has heard DQ more than anything and Xenother literally showed PMs dating back in November. As for why the 5chan post made Xenother come out, who knows.

 

[PolarPanda]

It's suspicious to see insiders jump on the bandwagon of a 4chan post.

At some point, we need to decide if insiders know the DLC or not. Why would they had the actual character if they knew about him all along? All of this kind of seems very suspicious and grain of salt like. We knew nothing about Cloud so what makes Erdrick so different? Isn't Square known as the company that is so secretive? There just seems to be a lot of changing narratives going on without any upfront answers.

It was actually a Japanese post on the Japanese equivalent, 5chan. People take it as reliable because one thing from it already got confirmed, that Arcsystems was developing a Granblue fighting game, those details which nobody else stated publically. Seeing that seem leak mention details they heard, such as Erdrick, only added to their confidence it's Erdrick. Basically.

 

[-Coco-]

It was actually a Japanese post on the Japanese equivalent, 5chan. People take it as reliable because one thing from it already got confirmed, that Arcsystems was developing a Granblue fighting game, those details which nobody else stated publically. Seeing that seem leak mention details they heard, such as Erdrick, only added to their confidence it's Erdrick. Basically.

Wasn't there rumors of a Granblue fighting game floating around for a long time though?

 

[Fatmanonice]

The narrative hasn't really changed though. DQ has been on the table since the summer with Hitagi even claiming people have been fired because of information he's shared. I do agree on the poor kept secret aspect though and it really begs the question of, since this has been a topic for months, why hasn't Square specifically gone after Hitagi, Xenother, or Vergeben? It's been a casual part of the conversation since August and I do agree on that front that it doesn't line up with Square's God of Wrath reputation.

 

[Nemuresu]

why hasn't Square specifically gone after Hitagi, Xenother, or Vergeben?

I don't know, why is it that Square and Disney haven't taken legal action against that guy who stole a copy of Kingdom Hearts 3? Or why Nintendo or any other company haven't done anything against those guys or any of the other insiders at ResetERA?

 

[EarlTamm]

I don't know, why is it that Square and Disney haven't taken legal action against that guy who stole a copy of Kingdom Hearts 3? Or why Nintendo or any other company haven't done anything against those guys or any of the other insiders at ResetERA?

Actually, I thought I heard they have taken legal action against the KH3 guy.

 

[3DSNinja]

I still don't think leaks are trustworthy. I think we might be getting Crono because everyone is saying DQ so crono would make sense.

 

[Fatmanonice]

I don't know, why is it that Square and Disney haven't taken legal action against that guy who stole a copy of Kingdom Hearts 3? Or why Nintendo or any other company haven't done anything against those guys or any of the other insiders at ResetERA?

For Kingdom Hearts III, they might. Apparently they have the guy's name and home address and are ready to pull the trigger if definitive proof comes out that he sold a single copy. As for Nintendo, they shut down a ton of YouTube channels because of Ultimate and regularly demonetize channels for leaking stuff too. Reddit and Tumblr pages get shut down too. Again, it all circles back to this being a poor kept secret from a company that's supposedly the harshest in the industry when it comes to leaks.

 

[Dr. Jojo Phantasma]

Anyway, who is going to buy Erdrick for sure if he ends up being DLC? Well, even if I wasn't a Dragon Quest fan, by principle I will buy every DLC character as Smash is one of few games I refuse not to have a complete roster on.

 

[Deleted member]

Anyway, who is going to buy Erdrick for sure if he ends up being DLC? Well, even if I wasn't a Dragon Quest fan, by principle I will buy every DLC character as Smash is one of few games I refuse not to have a complete roster on.

I'm in the same boat, but even if I wasn't... in case I havent made it clear the answer is yes lol

 

[Icewolff92]

Anyway, who is going to buy Erdrick for sure if he ends up being DLC? Well, even if I wasn't a Dragon Quest fan, by principle I will buy every DLC character as Smash is one of few games I refuse not to have a complete roster on.

I bought Fighter pass day one so for the same reason as you

 

[DaybreakHorizon]

The idea that people are getting this upset, crying "shill pick" and despairing over something that isn't even confirmed yet... God damn, you guys take this stuff too seriously.
This is a good post, but I disagree with the idea that these characters come at the cost of one another. For example, Nintendo approached Square for Cloud because they wanted Cloud, not a Square Enix mascot to fill a quota..

The characters are inherently against each other though, or at least that's how it's perceived. Hence, the vitriol towards Dragon Quest.

Bayonetta was not a failing series. It was a cult series that made near a million on a flopping system. It has sense corrected that and made more on a successful system.

Get your facts correct.

Dragon Quest in Smash in this manner is nothing but Nintendo doing Square's dirty work and reaping the celebration of what Dragon Quest already achieved at the same time.

It taints what should already be a happy occasion with ****ty business practices and they deserve egg on their faces if this is what they've done.

Dragon Quest should get in because it's a legacy RPG series that wrote a lot of the formula. Not ''AND IT NEEDS HELP IN THE WEST NINTENDO. HELP US."

No, Square, you get off your *** and actually properly promote and not take the easy way out is what you do.

>Dragon Quest
>Failing series

Surely that's intentional hyperbole, right? Dragon Quest performs well in the west. As I mentioned before, Dragon Quest IX sold over a million copies by the end of the 2010 fiscal year, and Dragon Quest XI has performed similarly well. Selling 1 million units isn't unimpressive; many titles wish they could sell over a million copies.

Also, again, the promotion of Dragon Quest is inherent with a Dragon Quest character's inclusion in Smash Bros., and we don't know if it's the primary reason for it. I regret ever bringing up the idea of promotion because people have latched onto it as if it's the only reason why Erdrick or a Dragon Quest representative would get in as if they need some reason to hate it other than it not being their character of choice. I'm not accusing you specifically of doing this, but that's what I'm seeing on this thread. It's like @Onereasonanddone said, it looks like people are going through the five stages of grief moreso than speculating.

That's... Not true at all. Simon was wanted. Megaman was wanted. Bayonetta was wanted. Even Pac-Man and Joker were wanted (Persona is actually more popular in the West than Japan). As we keep saying, Erdrick is a shill pick because virtually no one outside Japan wants him and even in Japan the evidence for strong support for any specific DQ character is weak. The best people have been able to come up with is that Japan wants Dragon Quest stuff in a very vague sense. People saying that Erdrick isn't radically different from all the other third party picks and isn't alienating is an attempt at building burning.

No, it's not all the same. DQ is very legally complicated with a minimum of 4 IP holders for the basic franchise meaning Square isn't even getting much for them in Smash. That said, it's an ad, an investment. It's the fourth attempt to get Westerners to care enough to satisfy Square. The series doesn't really even need saving and would still be a runaway success if it was a Japanese exclusive. Let's just call the situation what it is. No need to White Knight it.

>Accusing people playing Devil's Advocate of White Knighting

Okay, that's enough. You're obviously not going to budge in your opinions. I get that you've wanted Geno for a very long time and getting Erdrick, a perceived shill pick, would be incredibly disappointing for you. But there is evidence of Dragon Quest's solid performance in the West; Selling over a million units for the most recent releases is not "pathetic" like you say it is, but you're not going to listen. There's no point in attempting to argue with you at this point because you're simply going to ignore any evidence presented against you and now you've resorted to engaging in ad hominem attacks, which is when your argument dies. It's simply not worth it at this point.

It's just hard bracing for disappointment just because most people wholly agree that aside from Slime, the DQ characters would be the most underwhelming picks of the list of 7 by a wide margin. Could be wrong but, hey, there's a reason seatbelts and airbags are standard in cars. As someone said in the Geno thread, I've seen more unironic support for a Tetris block in my almost 20 years of being a Smash fan than any specific Dragon Quest character and that speaks volumes on this issue.

No it really doesn't. It just means Dragon Quest support isn't popular within the "Smash Bubble" that so many fans are prone to limit their views to.

Anyway, who is going to buy Erdrick for sure if he ends up being DLC? Well, even if I wasn't a Dragon Quest fan, by principle I will buy every DLC character as Smash is one of few games I refuse not to have a complete roster on.

I already bought the Fighters Pass, so I'm in this for the long run. Like you, I refuse to have an incomplete roster for Smash Bros., so I would buy Erdrick anyways.

 

[PokéfreakofBACON]

There's one good reason why it's not going to be Erdrick. I don't care how many times insiders have heard his name, there's a huge reason why it cannot possibly be him.

Square Enix isn't picking the DLC characters. Nintendo is. In the most cynical of views, Nintendo would pick a character that would make them lots of money. Would they pick a character that the large majority of western fans won't care to buy? Probably not. Unless, of course, they think it would make them money in other ways... which it won't. Fire Emblem got NO increase in sales from Melee or Brawl. The only reason Awakening sold well was because Sakurai put in TWO characters from it, along with an awesome reveal trailer, and then they also advertise Awakening quite a bit outside of that. Will one DQ character being a paid DLC character (one that nobody is forced to use/see/play as/against) save DQ in the west? **** no. If he was in the base roster, sure. I can see Erdrick helping DQ if everyone who bought Ultimate saw Erdrick. As DLC though? No.

Then there's the less cynical view, where Nintendo wants to make Ultimate as good of a game as possible, by including iconic characters that people want in Smash. Is Erdrick that? Maybe to the people in Japan. Sora, Sephiroth, and even Geno are more well-known globally than Erdrick, and significantly more requested for Smash. The only way Erdrick would get in is if Square somehow used Cloud as blackmail to force Nintendo into making Erdrick DLC. Which is just not something I can see happening.

Anyway, who is going to buy Erdrick for sure if he ends up being DLC? Well, even if I wasn't a Dragon Quest fan, by principle I will buy every DLC character as Smash is one of few games I refuse not to have a complete roster on.

The fighter pass only saves me money if I were going to buy all five, or if I were going to get four of them I'd get the fifth free. If Erdrick is one of the five, and someone else is just as boring as him, then I'd not buy the pass. I'm probably going to buy the fighter pass on Christmas anyway though.

 

[OpticalBlast]

It was actually a Japanese post on the Japanese equivalent, 5chan. People take it as reliable because one thing from it already got confirmed, that Arcsystems was developing a Granblue fighting game, those details which nobody else stated publically. Seeing that seem leak mention details they heard, such as Erdrick, only added to their confidence it's Erdrick. Basically.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Vergeben and/or Hitagi say something about a Granblue Arc Systems fighting game about a month ago? Unless you're talking about the details regarding P5U or whatever.

 

[Fatmanonice]

Nobody has specifically said Erdrick would be announced at Jump Festa but it's like the only appropriate venue to do so given Bird Studio already has an overwhelmingly huge prescence at it. As we've long since established, announcing it during an international Direct or E3 would go over about as well as trying to teach a limbless baby how to swim. That said, it would have to be at a Japanese hyper focused event because Japan forms 93% of the people that would potentially care and the Tokyo Game Show is 9 months from now. Not an absolute "now or never" moment but pretty much the only one in the near future where there would be a positive reaction and not blank stares or people looking at their phones.

 

[StormC]

Fire Emblem got NO increase in sales from Melee or Brawl. The only reason Awakening sold well was because Sakurai put in TWO characters from it, along with an awesome reveal trailer, and then they also advertise Awakening quite a bit outside of that.

FEA had been out for two years in Japan and one year in US/EU before the Robin/Lucina trailer. It already sold gangbusters well before the Smash reveals.

 

[PokéfreakofBACON]

No it really doesn't. It just means Dragon Quest support isn't popular within the "Smash Bubble" that so many fans are prone to limit their views to.

You keep bringing up the "smash bubble" and I would just like to try and mention that it almost certainly means nothing. Sure, I'll agree there's plenty of people who don't really ever talk about Smash and want certain characters, but most of us (I assume most of us, at least I do) talk to PLENTY of people outside of smash-bros centric forums. Including people I know IRL, on general gaming communities, communities based around completely different games, etc. Outside of the smash bubble (and Nintendo directs where they announced new games), I have literally never heard anyone talk about Dragon Quest at all. Ever. Period.

You know what I have heard outside of the smash bubble? People asking for Geno, Sora, Waluigi, Banjo Kazooie, and Tetris in smash. I have several friends who live and die by RPGs, but if they ever talk about smash bros, they usually talk about wanting Sora or Geno or more FF characters or Joker or literally anyone from an RPG. Except for Dragon Quest.

I may not have any Japanese friends, but I still think it's pretty telling that the only reason I know what Dragon Quest even IS is because of Nintendo Directs, and a few people speedrunning the first few DQ games at AGDQ/SGDQ.

FEA had been out for two years in Japan and one year in the US before the Robin/Lucina trailer. It already sold gangbusters well before the Smash reveals.

Shows how much I know about FE, lmao. This just proves my point even more, though. Smash bros doesn't do **** for advertising games like this.

 

[StormC]

I think Erdrick would tickle older Japanese fans in a way certain nostalgic characters would for us westerners.

I haven't read the whole thread, but back in 2006, Famitsu held a poll on the best video games, and DQ3 came in third behind FF7 and FFX - the fact that it got that position after two decades compared to more relatively recent games is pretty impressive. DQ3 was also easily one of the most hyped games ever in Japan, to the point where there were hundreds of reports of kids cutting school to get the game at launch, and it resulted in an urban legend that laws were passed in Japan to prevent DQ games from being released on schooldays. DQ3 is a seminal game for Japan the way we regard games like Pokemon Red and Blue or Super Mario Bros. I think even if there isn't an active demand for Erdrick in Japan, a lot of people there would be blown away by him.

Of course, that might just mean nothing. DQ might still get nothing and they could go for something else entirely. But it could just be a case of Nintendo wanting a character that will get the Japanese fanbase really excited. Or maybe there's a DQ3 remake in the pipeline. Who knows. I'm pretty neutral on DQ being in Smash, but it definitely has the legacy for it. I think it's just a matter of whether or not Square wants to work out the legal stuff and if Nintendo thinks a DQ character would be palatable to the west (or big enough in Japan to justify going for a choice that's more niche to westerners).

I'm still not 100% sold we're actually getting a Square character post-Joker, but whoever it is will be very interesting since they all have "barriers."

 

[PokéfreakofBACON]

I think Erdrick would tickle older Japanese fans in a way certain nostalgic characters would for us westerners.

I haven't read the whole thread, but back in 2006, Famitsu held a poll on the best video games, and DQ3 came in third behind FF7 and FFX - the fact that it got that position after two decades compared to more relatively recent games is pretty impressive. DQ3 was also easily one of the most hyped games ever in Japan, to the point where there were hundreds of reports of kids cutting school to get the game at launch, and it resulted in an urban legend that laws were passed in Japan to prevent DQ games from being released on schooldays. DQ3 is a seminal game for Japan the way we regard games like Pokemon Red and Blue or Super Mario Bros. I think even if there isn't an active demand for Erdrick in Japan, a lot of people there would be blown away by him.

Of course, that might just mean nothing. DQ might still get nothing and they could go for something else entirely. But it could just be a case of Nintendo wanting a character that will get the Japanese fanbase really excited. Or maybe there's a DQ3 remake in the pipeline. Who knows. I'm pretty neutral on DQ being in Smash, but it definitely has the legacy for it. I think it's just a matter of whether or not Square wants to work out the legal stuff and if Nintendo thinks a DQ character would be palatable to the west (or big enough in Japan to justify going for a choice that's more niche to westerners).

I'm still not 100% sold we're actually getting a Square character post-Joker, but whoever it is will be very interesting since they all have "barriers."

DQ would certainly make lots of Japanese fans happy- no one here is contesting that. (I think) The problem is that, outside of Japan, Erdrick would be met with a resounding, "Who?"

 

[StormC]

DQ would certainly make lots of Japanese fans happy- no one here is contesting that. (I think) The problem is that, outside of Japan, Erdrick would be met with a resounding, "Who?"

Which is why it will be very interesting to see the reactions if he gets in. This "Square character" exists only in legend at the moment, and I'm not taking it for a given that we're actually getting one. Not after basically every "insider" ate crow at the Joker reveal.

 

[Fatmanonice]

DaybreakHorizon two things

1. I didn't say DQ sales were pathetic. I said they were underwhelming compared to Japan. They're meh and okay on their best days with Dragon Quest XI being the one exception largely in part to being available on a ton of platforms. The spin-offs, however, have been god awful sales wise outside Japan.

2. I've already said multiple times that I don't think Erdrick "steals" Geno's spot and have listed my reasons for being against the character. Should I sum it up again? A character that almost nobody wants even in Japan with no personality and dubious unique characteristics from a franchise with a predominantly ho-hum reception outside Japan that practically strong arms the Smash fanbase to not only fund a Western marketing venture by Square but patronize garbage people like Sugiyama and (to a lesser extent) Toriyama is a crap situation all the way around. If anything, Erdrick's comically awful liscensing probably helps another Square character for DLC later because it's practically a net loss with how the hypothetical pie is split 7 ways (Nintendo, Namco, Square Enix, Armor Project, Bird Studio, Heart Beat, and Sugiyama) but that doesn't change how I still don't want him.

 

[Icewolff92]

The only way Erdrick would get in is if Square somehow used Cloud as blackmail to force Nintendo into making Erdrick DLC. Which is just not something I can see happening

Well.. Stealth said that Square was the one that almost made Everyone Here not happen so. I don't know.. Shrugs..
I'm as skeptic as you and Fatman and doesn't think it so much evidence for Ederick like tehponycorn says. But that doesn't mean it's impossible

 

[PokéfreakofBACON]

Well.. Stealth said that Square was the one that almost made Everyone Here not happen so. I don't know.. Shrugs..
I'm as skeptic as you and Fatman and doesn't think it so much evidence for Ederick like tehponycorn says. But that doesn't mean it's impossible

Using Cloud as blackmail like that is something I'd expect to happen between 6 year olds, not two giant companies. If you ask me, I'm pretty sure the exact thing that happened was that SE wanted to be DLC, so Nintendo agreed to have an SE character as DLC, and have as little content in the base game as possible so they could sell the rest later. That's why we only have 2 FF songs and no SE spirits aside from Geno/Mallow.

But hey, that's just a theory. A GA- [user was banned for this post]

 

[Icewolff92]

You keep bringing up the "smash bubble" and I would just like to try and mention that it almost certainly means nothing. Sure, I'll agree there's plenty of people who don't really ever talk about Smash and want certain characters, but most of us (I assume most of us, at least I do) talk to PLENTY of people outside of smash-bros centric forums. Including people I know IRL, on general gaming communities, communities based around completely different games, etc. Outside of the smash bubble (and Nintendo directs where they announced new games), I have literally never heard anyone talk about Dragon Quest at all. Ever. Period.

You know what I have heard outside of the smash bubble? People asking for Geno, Sora, Waluigi, Banjo Kazooie, and Tetris in smash. I have several friends who live and die by RPGs, but if they ever talk about smash bros, they usually talk about wanting Sora or Geno or more FF characters or Joker or literally anyone from an RPG. Except for Dragon Quest.

I may not have any Japanese friends, but I still think it's pretty telling that the only reason I know what Dragon Quest even IS is because of Nintendo Directs, and a few people speedrunning the first few DQ games at AGDQ/SGDQ.



Shows how much I know about FE, lmao. This just proves my point even more, though. Smash bros doesn't do **** for advertising games like this.

You might be thinking of Corrin considering Fates was only out in Japan he was revealed for Smash at first.

 

[StormC]

Using Cloud as blackmail like that is something I'd expect to happen between 6 year olds, not two giant companies. If you ask me, I'm pretty sure the exact thing that happened was that SE wanted to be DLC, so Nintendo agreed to have an SE character as DLC, and have as little content in the base game as possible so they could sell the rest later. That's why we only have 2 FF songs and no SE spirits aside from Geno/Mallow.

But hey, that's just a theory. A GA- [user was banned for this post]

There's only two FF songs because of licensing issues with Nobuo Uematsu, pretty sure.

 

[Icewolff92]

Using Cloud as blackmail like that is something I'd expect to happen between 6 year olds, not two giant companies. If you ask me, I'm pretty sure the exact thing that happened was that SE wanted to be DLC, so Nintendo agreed to have an SE character as DLC, and have as little content in the base game as possible so they could sell the rest later. That's why we only have 2 FF songs and no SE spirits aside from Geno/Mallow.

But hey, that's just a theory. A GA- [user was banned for this post]

Could be... and I hope your right. Be it Sora, Geno, Sephiroth... any of them would be more WW hype. I'm indifferent towards Dragon Quest as a franchise, but acting like he would be hype WW like Joker? Give me a break

 

[REZERO]

I think Erdrick would tickle older Japanese fans in a way certain nostalgic characters would for us westerners.

I haven't read the whole thread, but back in 2006, Famitsu held a poll on the best video games, and DQ3 came in third behind FF7 and FFX - the fact that it got that position after two decades compared to more relatively recent games is pretty impressive. DQ3 was also easily one of the most hyped games ever in Japan, to the point where there were hundreds of reports of kids cutting school to get the game at launch, and it resulted in an urban legend that laws were passed in Japan to prevent DQ games from being released on schooldays. DQ3 is a seminal game for Japan the way we regard games like Pokemon Red and Blue or Super Mario Bros. I think even if there isn't an active demand for Erdrick in Japan, a lot of people there would be blown away by him.

Of course, that might just mean nothing. DQ might still get nothing and they could go for something else entirely. But it could just be a case of Nintendo wanting a character that will get the Japanese fanbase really excited. Or maybe there's a DQ3 remake in the pipeline. Who knows. I'm pretty neutral on DQ being in Smash, but it definitely has the legacy for it. I think it's just a matter of whether or not Square wants to work out the legal stuff and if Nintendo thinks a DQ character would be palatable to the west (or big enough in Japan to justify going for a choice that's more niche to westerners).

I'm still not 100% sold we're actually getting a Square character post-Joker, but whoever it is will be very interesting since they all have "barriers."

I agree. I didn't know about it being that legendary but DQ was up with Monster Hunter in sales in Japan.

Although, even with that all being said I'm skeptical. Not many people know about Erdrick like they do Sora or Sephiroth.

 

[Dr. Jojo Phantasma]

There's only two FF songs because of licensing issues with Nobuo Uematsu, pretty sure.

That is exactly it, though Sugiyama probably won't be easy to negotiate with I bet. Probably might ask a high as hell price for even MIDI.

 

[PokéfreakofBACON]

That is exactly it, though Sugiyama probably won't be easy to negotiate with I bet. Probably might ask a high as hell price for even MIDI.

It doesn't explain why there's literally no spirits from FF, though. Not even of the summons that show up in the stage we have.

 

[StormC]

I agree. I didn't know about it being that legendary but DQ was up with Monster Hunter in sales in Japan.

Although, even with that all being said I'm skeptical. Not many people know about Erdrick like they do Sora or Sephiroth.

That's why this Square character is going to be very interesting no matter who it is.

Geno: Only really known to diehard Smash fans.
Erdrick: Virtually unknown outside of Japan (although the name "Dragon Quest" is fairly well known), licensing issues.
Sephiroth: Would be the first unique secondary addition to a third party IP, and would be getting in despite an absolute dearth of FF content.
Crono: Dead franchise that Square has seemingly no interest in returning to.
Sora: Disney.

All of the above is why I'm still skeptical about the Square character actually existing. Every choice seems like it has a drawback.

 

[mbvswb]

Eli5: Why is a random post making everyone think erdrick is in?