The Switch 7: Potential Switch Era Newcomers

Disclaimer: The views of this article are purely represented by the author and do not reflect the rest of SmashBoards.​

Ever since the launch of the Nintendo Switch in March 2017, Nintendo has had quite the first party lineup. It’s so vast that it’s given us countless possibilities for Super Smash Bros. newcomers. So far, there are only three Switch-era Nintendo newcomers, and all of them were DLC additions. Of course, we’re talking about Byleth from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Min Min from ARMS, and Pyra & Mythra from Xenoblade Chronicles 2. But now that we’re likely in between games, many potential candidates have made their name known. So, let’s take a look at seven potential Super Smash Bros. newcomers.

The Switch 7
Characters listed are sorted chronologically by their game’s release date.​

Officer Howard (Astral Chain)​	Not to be confused with Akira Howard, their twin sibling. Officer Howard is the character you play as in Astral Chain. Despite only selling about 1.3 million units as of March 2024,Astral Chain has been a cult classic ever since it came out. Officer Howard would undoubtedly be a puppet fighter since they fight with their Legion by their side. However, there are two questions that would need to be answered: Would Officer Howard only use one Legion, or would they use all five Legions? Whatever ideas Sakurai and his team have for Officer Howard, would the next Nintendo console be able to handle it? Technical limitations are what prevented Rex from fighting alongside Pyra & Mythra in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Ring Fit Trainee (Ring Fit Adventure)​	As of March 2024, Ring Fit Adventure is the 11th best-selling Switch game of all time, so it would make sense for the Ring Fit Trainee to be a newcomer. While they may look similar to Wii Fit Trainer at face value, the Ring Fit Trainee’s game has a very unique battle system. The gameplay revolves around the Ring-Con peripheral. Both the combat and exploration range from relatively simple exercises to fighting battles. The unique Fit Skills of the latter gameplay style can translate wonderfully to a platform fighter. The former gameplay style also has unique Ring skills that help the Trainee out in the overworld. These include using the Ring as a vacuum, a rowing paddle, and even as a glider.
Raven Beak (Metroid Dread)​	Between his boss fight and the greater-scope implications on the story of Metroid, Raven Beak has become quite the fan favorite since Metroid Dread’s release. Now he’s up there with Sylux as one of the frontrunners for a Metroid newcomer. His boss fight alone gives him all sorts of material for a moveset, but most of the attacks he uses utilize Aeion. Aeion is a “mystical and powerful resource” of Chozo design. Samus uses Aeion in Metroid: Samus Returns and Metroid Dread for upgrades called Aeion Abilities, some of which Raven Beak uses.
Noah & Mio (Xenoblade Chronicles 3)​	Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has a job system that allows the two Off-Seers to use Arts from one class while in another. Not to mention, the outfits they wear for each class are ripe with potential costumes. However, while Noah and Mio are characters who rely on each other, fans are divided on how they should be handled. Do you include only one character from the duo, with the other being relegated to an assisting role like Rex was with Pyra & Mythra? Or do you include both; in which case, would they be separate playable characters? Or could you somehow try to implement a more unique character swapping mechanic? Assuming they do go for a character swapping mechanic, it could probably work like Marvel vs. Capcom-style assist tagging, like the Angry Beavers in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2.
Meowscarada (Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet)​	Several Pokémon introduced in Generation 9 have risen to become fan favorites. Meowscarada, Tinkaton, Ceruledge, Ogerpon, the Paradox Pokémon, etc. Among the potential Gen 9 candidates for Super Smash Bros., Meowscarada seems to be the one The Pokémon Company is pushing. What with all of its merchandise, its playable appearance in Pokémon UNITE, and its evolutionary line’s starring role in the anime. That said, simply being a Pokémon is no guarantee of an invite. Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield were the most recent Pokémon games throughout the entirety of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s DLC life cycle. And yet, the former two games got Spirits but no DLC fighter.
Alear (Fire Emblem: Engage)​	Fire Emblem in general is a pretty divisive topic when it comes to Smash speculation. Alear alone is one of the most contentious parts of Fire Emblem: Engage. But precedence for picking protagonists (three of which are Avatars) has trained fans to expect the Divine Dragon as a newcomer. Similar to Noah & Mio, there’s a lot of potential for Alear’s hypothetical moveset. There are many options, like only having Emblem Marth in play, or transplanting the current Fire Emblem side of the roster into their moveset. And, they could even use Emblem Rings based on characters who aren’t playable in Super Smash Bros. (Celica, Sigurd, Leif, Lyn, Eirika & Ephraim, and Micaiah).
Rauru (The Legend of Zelda: Tears of Kingdom)​	Given how The Legend of Zelda hasn’t gotten a fully unique newcomer in years, the case can be made for anyone that isn’t part of the Triforce trio. But Rauru in particular stands out as an easy candidate to represent the gameplay of Tears of the Kingdom. While Rauru is rarely shown fighting in Tears of the Kingdom, his hand powers allow for an unusually unique fighter. Combine that with a Zonaite Sword, Zonai devices to fuse to it and his proficient light magic, and you have something that can make Rauru appealing.

Honorable Mention​

Rex (Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed)​

As mentioned earlier, Rex doesn’t actively fight alongside Pyra & Mythra in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate due to technical limitations. Regardless, Rex appears in Future Redeemed as a major character with a new fighting style that could bypass those problems. In Future Redeemed, Rex fights solo using both Aegis swords in a dual-wielding fashion, with plenty of Arts to boot. The only reason he isn’t listed as part of the “Switch 7” is because while he doesn’t fight alongside them in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he does appear in Pyra & Mythra’s battle intros, taunts, Final Smashes and victory animations.

Author’s Note: By no means do I think any of these characters are guaranteed. All I really wanted was to highlight their merits as potential newcomers. With that being said, are there any other potential Switch era newcomers that you’d like to see? Let us know in the comments below!

Credits:
Writing: Perkilator
Editing: @Zerp and @Sari
Graphics: @Zerp

 

I'd much prefer Dragaux and EMMI over Ring Fit Trainee and Raven Beak, but even then, I'd rather they draw from more retro sources.

 

I gotta say this is a list of characters whose chances are vastly overestimated.

Ring Fit and the Legionare seem the most likely but I still feel they’re inclusion would depend on their games getting follow ups

Meowscarade and Alear are both depending on still being relevant but with Z-A and another FE remake on the way that ain’t happening

Raven Beak’s perception is skewed somewhat. after all we know lore importance doesn’t mean a thing to smash and he’s no where near as popular as Ridley and Dark Samus

Rauru only seems to get talked about by people who want the newest Zelda abilities in smash. I recall there being similar discussions after BOTW came out and he’s not proven to be as popular among the fans as certain other one offs

Noah and Mio are the only ones I’m not sure of. Xenoblade hasn’t been in smash long enough for there to be any real precedent. We’ve had one obvious choice and one the next one on the list after the obvious choice. Regardless though I don’t see us getting both of them together

Rex the only time sakurai ever revisited rejected characters was with the ballot

 

As someone who really liked Engage and thought Alear was pretty neat...I see next to no chance of them getting in, honestly. Precedent is not on their side.

We know from what Sakurai said during Smash 4 that if Awakening had come out even a month earlier or later than it did, Robin wouldn't have made the cut. As such, for Alear to get in on the same merits, the roster for the next Smash game would've had to have been finalized no later than January 2023. And at this point that's incredibly unlikely to have been the case (for example, Sakurai was still actively working on his YouTube channel at the time, implying he wasn't in the midst of game development).

Fire Emblem also moves quickly. On average, new games in the series come out every two years. We know there's already another game in the pipeline due to both leaks and Engage's own datamining.

So with all of that in mind, if Alear were to get in, it would be specifically because Sakurai went back for them. And in fairness, there is precedent for Sakurai going back. Both Marth and Chrom are instances of cases where a Fire Emblem fighter was chosen despite them not being from the most recent game at the time.

But that's where we hit another snag: both of these characters were added for their popularity. Marth scored better on the Melee poll than all other Fire Emblem characters at the time combined. Chrom was added in Ultimate specifically because he scored well on the Fighter Ballot. Yes, other factors like Marth's importance and Chrom's ease of development played a part, but the commonality there is their relatively sky high popularity compared to other options at the time.

So with that in mind, if Sakurai were to go back for a past Fire Emblem character...why would he not go for one that has shown to be particularly popular? Lyn, Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude are all incredibly popular characters within the Fire Emblem fanbase, and the first two in particular also had notable Smash fanbase demand, which, in a fandom that's needlessly abrasive toward the series, is particularly of note.

I am genuinely of the opinion that we'd sooner get a second Three Houses character than Alear.

 

This title screwed with my 11 AM brain so hard, I literally said out loud "they already made 5 other Switches?"

 

I'd love Raven Beak, or just any Metroid addition tbh, they often have cool designs

I'd hope for a different Pokemon, I don't want the Pokemon newcomers to just be Part-Dark Starters
Tinkaton, Grafaiai, Clodsire, Ogerpon all are better choices imo

 

Meowscarade and Alear are both depending on still being relevant but with Z-A and another FE remake on the way that ain’t happening

I have to disagree on Meowscarada on this one. It's been heavily pushed as the face of Gen 9 and I can see it making it if continued that way assuming we don't get Gen X by 2025's roster decision for Sakurai

I'd hope for a different Pokemon, I don't want the Pokemon newcomers to just be Part-Dark Starters
Tinkaton, Grafaiai, Clodsire, Ogerpon all are better choices imo

That's on Game Freak for making them all part-Dark. Nothing towards Sakurai about this one and each of them were pretty popular in their own series (6, 7, and 9). The problem is outside of Pikachu, Jiggs, Pichu, and Mewtwo is that we've only gotten starters saved for Lucario being incredibly popular during Brawl's development. If there was any that should've been in the recent game, I would've put in Toxtricitiy. But it is what it is.

But I do hope for Gen 10 that we don't get anymore Fighting/Dark/Ghost for secondary typing since they're being overused right now. Ghost and Dark are 3 generations straight for this (yes, I'm including Arceus because that's where the Arceus starters got a new regional form and included their secondary typing).

So with that in mind, if Sakurai were to go back for a past Fire Emblem character...why would he not go for one that has shown to be particularly popular? Lyn, Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude are all incredibly popular characters within the Fire Emblem fanbase, and the first two in particular also had notable Smash fanbase demand, which, in a fandom that's needlessly abrasive toward the series, is particularly of note.

I am genuinely of the opinion that we'd sooner get a second Three Houses character than Alear.

If I had to pick, Edelgard would be my pick on that simply for axe alone. Another heavy/defense user that is also a powerhouse and a female villain rep?

Sign me up

 

I have to disagree on Meowscarada on this one. It's been heavily pushed as the face of Gen 9 and I can see it making it if continued that way assuming we don't get Gen X by 2025's roster decision for Sakurai

that’s a mighty big if considering we’re not even 100% sure the next smash is being worked on

 

I wish you guys (writing team and fans alike) would speculate more on possible mechanical changes/improvements than just more of the same character speculation that just goes in circles.

 

Im sorry to say but personally Elfilin should probably be on that list!

 

Agent 8 from Splatoon 2 would be a good pick for a second Splatoon rep, they debuted on the Switch.

 

The Astral Chain protagonist naming situation has always been somewhat controversial but I feel if they’re added to Smash they should just be called by the name “Akira”. Yes it’s technically not the main controllable character throughout the game but it is the main character’s twin which is basically identical to them and can be playable so I’ve never found it necessary to call them “Officer Howard” or “Legionis” in Smash personally.

 

The Astral Chain protagonist naming situation has always been somewhat controversial but I feel if they’re added to Smash they should just be called by the name “Akira”. Yes it’s technically not the main controllable character throughout the game but it is the main character’s twin which is basically identical to them and can be playable so I’ve never found it necessary to call them “Officer Howard” or “Legionis” in Smash personally.

sure and let’s call Mario Luigi while we’re at it

 

The Astral Chain protagonist naming situation has always been somewhat controversial but I feel if they’re added to Smash they should just be called by the name “Akira”. Yes it’s technically not the main controllable character throughout the game but it is the main character’s twin which is basically identical to them and can be playable so I’ve never found it necessary to call them “Officer Howard” or “Legionis” in Smash personally.

IS akira Howard the other gender you didnt pick? You know like in the pokemeon games were you only get the name for the character you dont play?

 

IS akira Howard the other gender you didnt pick?

That's right.

 

IS akira Howard the other gender you didnt pick? You know like in the pokemeon games were you only get the name for the character you dont play?

Pretty much yeah.

I guess calling them “Akira” would technically mean the character who isn’t the main protagonist would be in the game but I don’t really have a problem with that lol

 

Pretty much yeah.

I guess calling them “Akira” would technically mean the character who isn’t the main protagonist would be in the game but I don’t really have a problem with that lol

In that case let's make it easier for everyone and just call them "Howard"

 

I'm very interested in what the Switch era and beyond could bring for newcomers. Out of these, I would go with Ring Fit Trainee, Raven Beak, and Rauru, and add Oatchi. And I guess you could kinda count Octolings being based on stuff from Splatoon 2 and 3.

I'd love to see a WFT/RFT rivalry and Wii Balance Board/Ring friendship in that trailer.