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The General Bandai-Namco Discussion Thread

Which Bandai-Namco characters would you like to see get in?


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    137

RetrogamerMax

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Eh, I dunno. Does he really strike as a :ult_terry: case?
He's not as iconic as Terry in terms for his franchises. But Yoshimitsu is very popular and lot of Soul Calibur and even Tekken fans would be happy with his inclusion in Smash. Everytime I've heard most people bring up a Soul Calibur rep getting into Smash Bros., Yoshimitsu would be the 2nd name most bring up besides Nightmare.
 

AinsOoalGown

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I really wanted Tekken in hindsight but with it seemingly out of the way I think its really between Tales of and Dark Souls. Soul Calibur would be nice too but its hard to picture it being chosen over Tekken. Id also like a retro pick of some sort but cant see they betting on it in the pass.

That assuming they dont just go wacky and pick like Katamari, that would be so neaat.
 

KirbyWorshipper2465

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I really wanted Tekken in hindsight but with it seemingly out of the way I think its really between Tales of and Dark Souls. Soul Calibur would be nice too but its hard to picture it being chosen over Tekken. Id also like a retro pick of some sort but cant see they betting on it in the pass.

That assuming they dont just go wacky and pick like Katamari, that would be so neaat.
The Prince already showed up as a Pac-cameo taunt, so he's out until Bamco can prove to me that they don't have any cold feet.

 

RetrogamerMax

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OU MAH GUUD SOOPER REEL NYAM-COW LEEK!
Look at dat in the middle! It's a Smash Bros. poster outside of that office on the wall. Maybe Nightmare or KOS-MOS Smash renders, models, voice clips are on the computer in dat room. :grinch:
 

SharkLord

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for some reason i always associated Sophitia with SC more closely than Nightmare, and I'd never played any of the games
I think it's because Sophitia's more associated with the actual Soulcalibur; Nightmare instead wields the Soul Edge (Which, despite only being the namesake of the first game, is ironically more important than it's counterpart).

That, or your brain is just used to looking for protagonists rather than villains.
 

RetrogamerMax

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I think it's because Sophitia's more associated with the actual Soulcalibur; Nightmare instead wields the Soul Edge (Which, despite only being the namesake of the first game, is ironically more important than it's counterpart).

That, or your brain is just used to looking for protagonists rather than villains.
Nightmare is to Soul Calibur like Heihachi is to Tekken. The villain or the antagonist is more iconic than the protagonists.
 

Giga Man

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I voted for Lloyd Irving, Ms. Pac-Man, and the Ghosts. Lloyd and Ms. Pac are my most wanteds, but the Ghosts would be a nice bonus. Either Ms. Pac-Man or the Ghosts would be a good excuse to put more Pac-Man content in Smash since I consider it to be the worst represented franchise currently. Anything to get Pac-Maze back as a stage in some form.
 

NonSpecificGuy

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Commander_Alph Commander_Alph brought up a good point elsewhere. So far, all the content from Bandai-Namco in Smash has been from the Namco side. What’s the possibility that the next BN rep come from the other side? Like a whole Cloud then Hero then Sephiroth thing. Obviously the biggest Bandai IP that is created by Bandai is Digimon. I think it’s actually pretty plausible to see Agumon be our next Bamco character.
 

RetrogamerMax

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Commander_Alph Commander_Alph brought up a good point elsewhere. So far, all the content from Bandai-Namco in Smash has been from the Namco side. What’s the possibility that the next BN rep come from the other side? Like a whole Cloud then Hero then Sephiroth thing. Obviously the biggest Bandai IP that is created by Bandai is Digimon. I think it’s actually pretty plausible to see Agumon be our next Bamco character.
Probably so. But we just have to wait and see how things turn out. Afterall, it's Bandai-Namco's final decision on whether another character of their's get's in or not.
 

RetrogamerMax

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So here's a interesting question: Will we ever get another arcade Namco rep like Pac-Man? There's Ms. Pac-Man, Ghosts, Galaga, and Dig Dug. So could any of those characters besides Ms. Pac-Man work?
 

Commander_Alph

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Speaking of Digimon and Agumon I'm surprised that there is no Agumon support thread, I could make one but I don't know anything about Digimon other than the Rumble Arena games
 

RetrogamerMax

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UserKev

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So here's a interesting question: Will we ever get another arcade Namco rep like Pac-Man? There's Ms. Pac-Man, Ghosts, Galaga, and Dig Dug. So could any of those characters besides Ms. Pac-Man work?
I'm in support for Pooka. Dig Dug guy would be weird. Pookas are the real icons in Dig Dug and even made cameos in other instaments.
 

DanganZilla5

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Bamco really does have a lot of great options. After Lloyd who got a Mii costume in Smash 4, it's hard to tell who is the runner-ups. Soul Calibur has SC2 with Link and SC6 revived the series and is going strong. Digimon has gained a steady fanbase here in the West and is now getting games on the Switch. Dark Souls is a modern classic with a legacy. There is evidence that Klonoa will get another game very soon. Katamari Demacy is a niche, but very memorable game that has attracted an audience because of its weirdness. Taiko no Tatsujin is very popular in Japan and has been slowly gaining traction here in the West. And of course you got the arcade icons like Galaga and Dig Dug.

If I had to make a tier list of most likely Bamco series it would go something like this:

S Tier:
Tales Of

A Tier:
Digimon, Soul Calibur, Dark Souls

B Tier:

Katamari, Taiko no Tatsujin

C Tier:

Klonoa, Dig Dug, Galaga, other arcade characters and other bamco reps

I just realized I forgot about Tekken but that's because in my eyes the heihachi costume is probably the only content we will get. And Gil got costumed too so he is dead in the water.
 

RetrogamerMax

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Bamco really does have a lot of great options. After Lloyd who got a Mii costume in Smash 4, it's hard to tell who is the runner-ups. Soul Calibur has SC2 with Link and SC6 revived the series and is going strong. Digimon has gained a steady fanbase here in the West and is now getting games on the Switch. Dark Souls is a modern classic with a legacy. There is evidence that Klonoa will get another game very soon. Katamari Demacy is a niche, but very memorable game that has attracted an audience because of its weirdness. Taiko no Tatsujin is very popular in Japan and has been slowly gaining traction here in the West. And of course you got the arcade icons like Galaga and Dig Dug.

If I had to make a tier list of most likely Bamco series it would go something like this:

S Tier:
Tales Of

A Tier:
Digimon, Soul Calibur, Dark Souls

B Tier:

Katamari, Taiko no Tatsujin

C Tier:

Klonoa, Dig Dug, Galaga, other arcade characters and other bamco reps

I just realized I forgot about Tekken but that's because in my eyes the heihachi costume is probably the only content we will get. And Gil got costumed too so he is dead in the water.
I wouldn't forgot about KOS-MOS since I would put her, Lloyd, Yuri, and Nightmare as the prime candidates for the potential Namco rep slot. While Xenosaga wasn't the most successful series, it is important to Xenoblade as without Xenosaga's failure in sales near the end, Monolith Soft wouldn't have left Namco and been bought by Nintendo later on to make Xenoblade. And for that reason alone in my opinion is enough to grant KOS-MOS a slot.
 

DanganZilla5

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I wouldn't forgot about KOS-MOS since I would put her, Lloyd, Yuri, and Nightmare as the prime candidates for the potential Namco rep slot. While Xenosaga wasn't the most successful series, it is important to Xenoblade as without Xenosaga's failure in sales near the end, Monolith Soft wouldn't have left Namco and been bought by Nintendo later on to make Xenoblade. And for that reason alone in my opinion is enough to grant KOS-MOS a slot.
I don't want to go on a tangent here but I don't see KOS-MOS having a shot. The series is dead, a HD collection was said to be not profitable enough, and Nintendo would certainly go with Rex instead. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I don't see a realistic timeline where she happens.
 

RetrogamerMax

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I don't want to go on a tangent here but I don't see KOS-MOS having a shot. The series is dead, a HD collection was said to be not profitable enough, and Nintendo would certainly go with Rex instead. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I don't see a realistic timeline where she happens.
Still I wouldn't count her out. Her series is part of the Xenoverse, but she isn't a Xenoblade character though. Plus you're forgetting about Elma and Xenoblade X doesn't have music in the game so Elma could happen instead of Rex.
 

DanganZilla5

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Still I wouldn't count her out. Her series is part of the Xenoverse, but she isn't a Xenoblade character though. Plus you're forgetting about Elma and Xenoblade X doesn't have music in the game so Elma could happen instead of Rex.
The reason I pointed out Rex is because he is a Monolith Soft character. I'm saying that if Monolith Soft begged Nintendo to add one of their characters, Nintendo would probably go for Rex. I do think Elma has a small chance, but Xenoblade 2 is on the Switch and to my knowledge is the best selling game in the series. Right now, X is stuck on the Wii U so I struggle to see them going for Elma instead of the newest protagonist, unless if they are making a Xenoblade X Definitive Edition.

If I end up being wrong, then so be it. But logically, Rex is the most likely Xenoverse character.
 

RetrogamerMax

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The reason I pointed out Rex is because he is a Monolith Soft character. I'm saying that if Monolith Soft begged Nintendo to add one of their characters, Nintendo would probably go for Rex. I do think Elma has a small chance, but Xenoblade 2 is on the Switch and to my knowledge is the best selling game in the series. Right now, X is stuck on the Wii U so I struggle to see them going for Elma instead of the newest protagonist, unless if they are making a Xenoblade X Definitive Edition.

If I end up being wrong, then so be it. But logically, Rex is the most likely Xenoverse character.
Well, Rex is popular and relevant. But Sakurai did say something about a "Xenoblade Chronicles 2 rep being potentially too late for base game" at least while Xenoblade X was made before Ultimate's project plan was finished in 2015. Check this out:

So with the rumor about Hero, Sephiroth, and Steve being planned all the way back since base game right here:


And Elma's actress talking about a secret project she couldn't discuss around the same time that leak up above popped up on the Internet on 5chan, the timeline adds up if they were also planning to add another Xenoblade rep all the way back then.

What is that? Xenoblade X music is missing from the game?! And what is that? Byleth, Min Min, and Sephiroth brought MIA content from their series with them in their Challenger Packs?!

No. I remember Bill Trinen said it.
Not saying it's going to happen, but Elma's chances look really good right now.
 
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SharkLord

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I kinda doubt KOS-MOS because generally Smash prefers the biggest possible characters a company can offer (Note that it's characters, plural; The exact biggest character is often subjective and hard to determine, since they each have their own merits.) There's I theory I wrote about it
Here's a theory I've been thinking about for a little.

Biggest Options Theory
Biggest Options Theory is simple: That each third-party character is one of (Though not necessarily the) biggest options their company has to offer. There's two definitions of "biggest option" here: Impact and recognizability in the overall industry, and popularity in the Smash fanbase.

Let's look at the third-parties so far:

  • :ultsnake: - From arguably the most well-known stealth game and highly influential for storytelling (Though he could've been an exception due to being a Kojima request, he still fits regardless)
  • :ultsonic: - Was Mario's rival back in the day, immensely popular request, Sega's mascot
  • :ultmegaman: - NES legend, one of the biggest requests back in the Smash 4 days, one of Capcom's mascots (Or at least he was)
  • :ultpacman: - Easily one of the most recognizable video game characters period, Bamco's mascot
  • :ultryu: - Mr. Fighting Game himself, one of Capcom's mascots
  • :ultcloud: - Mr. JRPG, cited as being having the most requests for a Final Fantasy character
  • :ultbayonetta: - A potential exception; She was supposedly chosen for the ballot, which would give her the edge in popularity, but there's also the possibility that Nintendo chose her in advance to push her series, which Nintendo helped fund.
  • :ultsimon: - NES star, did well on the ballot
  • :ultrichter: - Sort of an exception; He was an easy clone who Simon took some moves from. Though, he's basically just a Simon alt so we can count him out.
  • :ultken: - The original Echo Fighter; Though, as a borderline-semiclone, he's still fairly easy to make compared to most of the fighters listed here, so we could count him out too
  • :ultjoker: - A recent success, he's been heavily pushed by Sega lately. If we narrow it down to Atlus specifically, his home series is easily their biggest IP (Sorry SMT)
  • :ulthero3: - Representative for the defining JRPG, a cultural phenomenon in Japan
  • :ultbanjokazooie: - Extremely popular, constantly topping polls since the Melee era. If we go for Rare specifically, I think they're easily their most recognizable creation
  • :ult_terry: - The mascot of SNK as a whole, despite his lack of relevance in recent games.
  • :ultsteve: - The biggest game ever
  • :ultsephiroth: - One of the most iconic villains in gaming, and has one of the most iconic boss themes to boot
Based on the 14-16 characters so far, we can predict that future third-party characters will also be the from the biggest games in a company's selection and/or the most frequently-requested characters they own.
I also compiled a list of characters who would fit under that theory
Going off of this, I'm going to try and compile a list of each represented companies' biggest possible series. Please do review this list; I want to make sure it's accurate. Bold is already represented in the base game, italics are a maybe, strikethrough has post-launch content. Fighters who got a DLC pack. are strikethrough'd and bolded, as are companies who got a pack in FP2 specifically. I'll take interviews and such into account later.

Konami
  • Metal Gear
    • Metal Gear Rising Revengeance
  • Castlevania - Already covered, very extensively I must add. Not sure there's much left that count feasibly be added at this point.
  • Bomberman
  • Frogger
  • Contra
  • Silent Hill
Sega (Atlus)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog
    • Eggman Empire - Not necessarily a subseries or game, but is a side of the series that hasn't been covered yet
  • Persona
    • Shin Megami Tensei - Ironic that it's listed under Pesona, when it's the other way around
  • Yakuza
  • Puyo Puyo
  • Sakura Wars
Capcom
  • Mega Man
    • Mega Man X
    • Mega Man Battle Network
    • Mega Man Legends
  • Street Fighter
    • Street Fighter 3: Third Strike
    • Street Fighter IV
  • Monster Hunter
    • Only a boss; Full pack isn't out of the running
    • Monster Hunter Rise
  • Resident Evil, also known as Biohazard in Japan...
  • Devil May Cry
  • Ace Attorney
Bandai-Namco
  • Pac-Man
  • Tekken
  • Tales
  • Dark Souls
  • Digimon?
Square Enix (Taito)
  • Final Fantasy
  • Dragon Quest
  • Kingdom Hearts?
  • Tomb Raider
  • Nier: Automata
  • Space Invaders
  • Bubble Bobble
Microsoft (Rare, various indies)
  • Banjo-Kazooie
  • Minecraft
  • Cuphead?
  • Halo
  • Gears of War
SNK
  • Fatal Fury
    • King of Fighters
  • Samurai Shodown
  • Metal Slug
Again, feel free to review this list and give me some suggestions. I want to make this one a definitive list.
I don't think Xenosaga would really fit the biggest possible options for Bandai-Namco. The best it could manage was one million, it's been dormant for a long time and Harada(?) flat-out stated Xenosaga HD wouldn't be profitable. She shows up a lot in other games, yes, but Xenosaga itself just isn't on that level.
KOS-MOS is in a similar situation to Morrigan from Darkstalkers in that she has a lot of cameo appearances but is from a series that is all but forgotten beyond dedicated circles, and Xenosaga is like Banjo-Kazooie, being a series owned by one company but is more popular with fans of another. Thing is, Banjo and Kazooie got in because of their massive, massive amount of fan support, and while KOS-MOS has her fans, her support isn't anywhere close to Banjo's. Not to be the party pooper, but when sandwiched between massive Bandai-Namco franchises and Nintendo's own, more relevant Xenoblade properties, KOS-MOS' chances just don't look that bright.
 

DanganZilla5

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Well, Rex is popular and relevant. But Sakurai did say something about a "Xenoblade Chronicles 2 rep being potentially too late for base game" at least while Xenoblade X was made before Ultimate's project plan was finished in 2015. Check this out:




Not saying it's going to happen, but Elma's chances look really good right now.
I have to admit, this is a good argument. If we do end up getting something new with Elma, I will turn my head. For now, I will stick with Rex as one of my predictions but I will keep Elma in mind.

Anyway, I don't want to make this anymore off-topic considering this is the Bamco thread, not a Xenoblade thread.
 
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Louie G.

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But who do they have that isn't a avatar? I nothing about the series.
I mean, if you didn't want to go for an avatar character you could go for Solaire. He's pretty much the defacto mascot of the series and even has an amiibo. He can do pretty much whatever Chosen can do too, IIRC.

But I see nothing wrong with going for Chosen Undead either, considering we've already seen several avatar characters appear over the course of Ultimate. The uniquely dark and dreary aesthetics of Dark Souls would help them stand out well enough against the cast to make "generic knight" feel like a fresh idea. It's like how Steve or Villager work because Minecraft / Animal Crossing have such an instantly recognizable and unique style.

Granted, Dark Souls doesn't have as dynamic a style as those two, but I think the juxtaposition of Dark Souls and most of the colorful cartoon / anime styled characters in Smash would help establish a very unique presence one way or another.
 
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SharkLord

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But who do they have that isn't a avatar? I know nothing about the series.
From what I can gather:
  • The Chosen Undead is the main character for the first and most iconic game. They would most likely be the best way to translate the gameplay of the series.
  • Solaire is a very popular character, to the point he got his own amiibo.
  • Artorias is also popular, and can pull off huge leaps and swing around a massive sword. He could potentially be a good rep for the bosses
 

Commander_Alph

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S Tier:
Tales Of

A Tier:
Digimon, Soul Calibur, Dark Souls

B Tier:

Katamari, Taiko no Tatsujin

C Tier:

Klonoa, Dig Dug, Galaga, other arcade characters and other bamco reps
I don't know anything about Tales and it's pretty odd that it's in S Tier alone, I don't recall someone talking about it and it seems that the popularity is pretty much the same as DQ but a little smaller or worst yet the same as Idolm@ster (though that's a bit of an exaggeration). Is it because it's the only mii costume that hasn't yet returned that you put it higher?
 
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