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Things to Remember for Fighter's Pass Volume 2

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A few days ago, a Nintendo Direct came and went. Since this was the first general Nintendo direct in, well, seven months, there was plenty to talk about and get excited over. The big announcements included an Animal Crossing event, a release date for Xenoblade Chronicles HD, a new mode for Ring Fit Adventure, and the first announcement for Fighters Pass Volume 2.

We have already done an article for why an ARMS character is such a big deal but in this, I’m hoping to focus on a larger picture.

1. Everything You Know Is Wrong
Or, more to the point, everything in speculation should be thought of as pros and cons.

How I (try to) approach character speculation, as how most characters should be addressed this way, is by trying to think of the advantages and disadvantages rather than jumping to a conclusion. There’s only one hard rule to having a character in Smash: It must be a video game character. Even then, James Bond was in consideration before. Heck, we live in the timeline where a freaking Piranha Plant is on the roster before half-a-dozen Nintendo characters I could list off.

Here, ARMS, a series that got underlooked simply for already having stuff in Smash (even by me!), ends up not only having a character in Fighter’s Pass Volume 2, but being the first character, thus setting the tone for the rest of the pass.

What I’m getting at here is, any and all gaming properties should be considered, and when discussing, the focus should be towards looking at pros and cons, not outright dismissing any possibility. We really don’t know what’ll be up next, especially since this is DLC. We’re over 70+ characters in the series, and this is our 14th DLC character (if you count the three veterans).

2. Revisiting already included content is entirely possible
So ARMS is the first time we’re getting a DLC character from a new series that already has existing content. ARMS has 5 spirits, two mii costumes (+ Masks), and an assist trophy. Here’s the twist: The top 5 contenders that people have their eyes on are already spirits. Revisiting games or franchises with already included content should be included on “things we can change.”

“Having a spirit means they can’t have a character” to which I scratch my head at. I can understand drawing a line at Assist Trophies, but spirits? There’s, like, over a thousand of them. To think a multi-billion dollar company will disclude a character simply because of a pre-existing .PNG is mind boggling.

3. Any time, any way

Focusing a little less on characters over here...

This Smash cycle has introduced us to numerous announcement timings - We had the quickest hype cycle from the game’s announcement (in June) to release (early December), an announcement for a direct at EVO, and the first fighter’s pass character at The Game Awards. To top it off, we got the reveal of the first Volume 2 character less than three months after the initial announcement (to be fair, a character was not included in it) and a direct that took 7 months of in-between time.

We have six characters and we’re in it for the long haul. Any major event, or any random day, is really on the table.

Another important thing to remember: This announcement was right in the middle of a direct with about a minute focused on it. Previously, we’ve been treated to CG Trailers. Will that still be the case here? Probably, but the actual announcement could be done in any way.

4. Marketing (probably) Counts

Or doesn’t? I don’t know. This is a hard gamble to say. It’s weird that ARMS, of all things, was chosen. The series that had a release near launch, dropped off the face of the earth for three years, and then gets a character in Smash and a free weekend.

Something’s up.

Immediately after this announcement, I heard talks of ARMS 2, or them revisiting ARMS in some way, and I could see it. ARMS was a fairly early launch game to test the waters, so I could see them making another game, throwing it at E3 this June’s direct. In addition, if it’s a new ARMS protagonist, this should be more inclusive to our speculation instead of the opposite (considering new franchises that we may not even know about could be on the roster, rather than going back to ‘discluding spirits’).

Or, quite the polar opposite: The series enticed Sakurai so much that, on second look, he decided to revisit it and Nintendo worked around that as an extra chance to remarket the game.

Two wild conclusions on the table, and here’s what I get out of it: If the character was a marketing choice, I believe it’s possible for the Smash team to revisit franchises that already exist. If the character was truly a revisiting franchises choice, then maybe marketing will play a lesser role.

How will we know? No way to really tell until the character comes out.

5. The Longest DLC Cycle for a Nintendo game (thus far)
Smash Ultimate came out towards the tail end of 2018. We endured a year-long DLC cycle that went all through-out 2019 and ended January 2020. With the completion date to be done by December 31st 2021 (possibly sooner, given that Fighters Pass 1 was slated to be done by February 2020 and finished in January 2020), this makes it a three year long DLC cycle.

This doesn’t even include the possibility (currently, none) of there being more DLC during, or after the DLC cycle. Given that we’ve had surprises like the Cuphead, Sans, and Assassin’s Creed Mii to keep people enticed, nothing’s off the table.

Folks, we’re in this for the long haul.

I won’t dive into endless speculation about ideas like an Echo Fighter pack or alternate costumes, but focusing on what we have at hand, Smash is no longer the main juggernaut that Nintendo’s advertising; other games are releasing, so there’s a good chance that these announcements will be less bombastic and more spread out.

Despite an ARMS pick being underwhelming to many, I think the longer cycle does present itself for at least one or two big surprises to keep people back into playing the game.

Conclusion:

So to recap:
  • Pros and Cons for discussing characters, not shoe-ins and exclusions
  • Revisiting previous content is possible
  • Don’t expect characters to be announced at a certain time or in a certain way
  • Marketing could count; reigniting interest most definitely does
  • We’re in for one of the longest DLC cycles for a Nintendo game, so who knows what’ll happen
Rather than doom and gloom, If ARMS should show us anything, it’s that Nintendo will always be interested in reigniting existing franchises. Smash is included in that, so we’re in for an entertaining two years.

Author’s Note: What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!
 
Lucas "Thirdkoopa" Guimaraes

Comments

I think the most important thing to remember is that Nintendo Corporate -- who called the shots on who to push for in the pass -- have to have a reason to push for each of the characters that get in. For the first Fighter's Pass, I think the goal for each character was to get the audience for that character interested in Smash:
- Joker was the star of a popular PS4 exclusive
- Hero was the face of the mammoth Dragon Quest franchise
- Banjo was the mascot for N64 nostalgia, as well as being the most popular character in Rare Replay (an XBox One pack-in)
- Terry appealed to the FCG, a group of fans that become extremely dedicated to the games they love
- Byleth was the star of the biggest Fire Emblem game yet -- a franchise that's become one of Nintendo's rising stars

However, an ARMS character is different. ARMS has a tiny audience compared to Smash, and most of the people who own and play ARMS probably have Smash already (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Smash has killed ARMS's sales entirely). It seems obvious to me that Nintendo is now trying to direct the juggernaut of a Smash fanbase to play ARMS by adding an ARMS character as DLC -- showing an entirely new direction they might be taking for Fighter Pass vol. 2.

Ultimately, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that we (or at least I) have no idea where FPv2 is going until we get at least 2-3 more reveals.
 
I Still hope Geno becomes a Fighter;

That would be an AMAZING way to Celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Mario!!!!!!!

I Hope those Remasters aren't an april fools day Joke!!!
 
i dont think they really considered bond, they just lots of reasons not to do it

I Still hope Geno becomes a Fighter;

That would be an AMAZING way to Celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Mario!!!!!!!

I Hope those Remasters aren't an april fools day Joke!!!
of super mario bros
 
Another problem the Smash community runs into is this habit of focusing only on the 8-10 characters they decide are "most likely". Once that inner circle is set, 90% of discussion ends up revolving around only them. Not only does it alienate fans of anyone else, the tunnel vision makes it more likely that everyone overlooks a bunch of characters who end up getting in. Which kind of ruins the point of all the talk and analysis!
 
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This post was warned for trolling.
The only thing I'm looking forward to is the end so I can stop hearing about this ****ty game.
 
There's two rules that're broken currently.
"A franchise already in Smash can't have a DLC Fighter." Broken by ARMS.
"Mii Costumes can't be Fighters." Broken by numerous characters, including K. Rool, Samus, Link twice and Chrom.*
*one caveat to this is that the costumes are also represented by Spirits, so the argument is ultimately irrelevant due to the overlap.

These are the rules that aren't currently broken.
"Assist Trophies can't be Fighters."
"Spirits can't be Fighters."
We will only know these in time.
 
People just have to remember not to state things objectively. Speculation is no different than educated guesses.
 
There's two rules that're broken currently.
"A franchise already in Smash can't have a DLC Fighter." Broken by ARMS.
"Mii Costumes can't be Fighters." Broken by numerous characters, including K. Rool, Samus, Link twice and Chrom.*
*one caveat to this is that the costumes are also represented by Spirits, so the argument is ultimately irrelevant due to the overlap.

These are the rules that aren't currently broken.
"Assist Trophies can't be Fighters."
"Spirits can't be Fighters."
We will only know these in time.
I think the reasoning is that characters can't be added in the same game where their Mii costume was introduced -- Chrom and K Rool got in, but not i the same game their Mii costumes were added. Other Mii costumes were added after the character, like Link or Samus.
 
There's two rules that're broken currently.
"A franchise already in Smash can't have a DLC Fighter." Broken by ARMS.
"Mii Costumes can't be Fighters." Broken by numerous characters, including K. Rool, Samus, Link twice and Chrom.*
*one caveat to this is that the costumes are also represented by Spirits, so the argument is ultimately irrelevant due to the overlap.

These are the rules that aren't currently broken.
"Assist Trophies can't be Fighters."
"Spirits can't be Fighters."
We will only know these in time.
"Assist Trophies can't be Fighters"
That rule was broken by Little Mac, Dark Samus and Isabelle.
 
I think everyone knew ARMS would get a fighter at some point... Not exactly a character I wanted, but it might be cool.

Here's my hopes after the ARMS announcement:
6. Dr. Coyle (don't know much about arms but I heard she's pretty awesome)

7. Any Gen 8 Pokémon Character (I'd like Toxtricity, Zacian/Zamazenta, Grapploct, Wooloo, or even Bea the gym leader herself)

8. Lara Croft

9. Tracer (Overwatch)

10. Doom Slayer OR Scorpion (Mortal Kombat)

11. Heihachi

Just my little hopes and wishes for FPv2, but dome of these probably won't happen if any of them do at all. :mybodyisreggie::alakadoof::157::ultpiranha:
 
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Elma from Xenoblade Chronicles X could be in if ARMS can get in. Xenoblade is criminally underrepped for how diverse the series is and Xenoblade X itself was heavily overlooked just as ARMS was. X has no music as well.

Sakurai has shown in the past he does not care about "representation" balance, but considering this pass could have a new precedent set anything could happen. I think whatever happens we will likely have another first party rep this pass.
 
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Elma from Xenoblade Chronicles X could be in if ARMS can get in. Xenoblade is criminally underrepped for how diverse the series is and Xenoblade X itself was heavily overlooked just as ARMS was. X has no music as well.

Sakurai has shown in the past he does not care about "representation" balance, but considering this pass could have a new precedent set anything could happen.
I think this could be the case, especially since Xenoblade 2, which has two Mii costumes of Nia and Rex, as well as music in the base game, is already way more popular than X. Both X and ARMS are barely blips on most Nintendo fans’ radar, so them getting promotional reps could make those two games shine more
 
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ARMS is definitely in an interesting predicament, seeing as none of the base game spirits have a series symbol. With Spring Man, Ribbon Girl, Min Min, Twintelle, and Ninjara presumably out of the question, I guess our playable ARMS rep could be someone as unusual as Helix, as interesting as Mechanica, or even the reigning champ himself, Max Brass.
 
My personal desires for the remaining 5 Characters are:

1. Geno from Super Mario RPG
2. Heihachi Mishima from Tekken
3. Travis Touchdown from No More Heroes
4. Crash Bandicoot OR Spyro
5. Bandana Waddle Dee
 
I think this could be the case, especially since Xenoblade 2, which has two Mii costumes of Nia and Rex, as well as music in the base game, is already way more popular than X. Both X and ARMS are barely blips on most Nintendo fans’ radar, so them getting promotional reps could make those two games shine more
I could maybe see that if Nintendo decides to rerelease Xenoblade X on the Switch. The pass is running until at least 2021, so there's definitely some time to let that happen.

Until then, however, I rate Elma's chances at 0.
 
I could maybe see that if Nintendo decides to rerelease Xenoblade X on the Switch. The pass is running until at least 2021, so there's definitely some time to let that happen.

Until then, however, I rate Elma's chances at 0.
FWIW I can see Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition being at least announced late this year or early next, and released in 2021
 
ARMS is definitely in an interesting predicament, seeing as none of the base game spirits have a series symbol. With Spring Man, Ribbon Girl, Min Min, Twintelle, and Ninjara presumably out of the question, I guess our playable ARMS rep could be someone as unusual as Helix, as interesting as Mechanica, or even the reigning champ himself, Max Brass.
It doesn't have much reason to have had a series symbol, considering the series had neither a character nor Stage. The existing ARMS Spirits will likely have their series symbol added once the Fighter is released.
The sole exception is the Mii series, but seeing as the Mii Spirits apparently have a "synergy bonus" with Mii Fighters, whatever that means, I assume there's some programing reason for them to have a symbol to themselves.
 
For the first Fighter's Pass, I think the goal for each character was to get the audience for that character interested in Smash:

- Byleth was the star of the biggest Fire Emblem game yet -- a franchise that's become one of Nintendo's rising stars

However, an ARMS character is different. ARMS has a tiny audience compared to Smash, and most of the people who own and play ARMS probably have Smash already (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Smash has killed ARMS's sales entirely). It seems obvious to me that Nintendo is now trying to direct the juggernaut of a Smash fanbase to play ARMS by adding an ARMS character as DLC -- showing an entirely new direction they might be taking for Fighter Pass vol. 2.

Ultimately, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that we (or at least I) have no idea where FPv2 is going until we get at least 2-3 more reveals.
I'm curious... do you really think their were more people that came to Smash from Fire Emblem Three Houses, than from ARMS? I know we dont need to go down the round of Fire Emblem characters. I just cannot imagine that the audience of new FE:TH who didnt play another Fire Emblem OR Smash, is quite smaller than the entirety of ARMS sales.
 
I'm curious... do you really think their were more people that came to Smash from Fire Emblem Three Houses, than from ARMS? I know we dont need to go down the round of Fire Emblem characters. I just cannot imagine that the audience of new FE:TH who didnt play another Fire Emblem OR Smash, is quite smaller than the entirety of ARMS sales.
I'm not gonna say it was bigger than ARMS's entire sales -- but there are definitely a helluvalot more people who bought a Switch for Fire Emblem and hadn't played smash, than bought ARMS when it came out and haven't played Smash. I know personal anecdote isn't really good evidence, but I have a friend who was an FE fan who didn't buy his own copy of Smash (he usually played at my place) until Byleth came out -- whereas I'm not even sure anyone I know owns ARMS , apart from my little brothers who just got it after they tried it during the free-to-play period -- and they already had Smash (courtesy of moi).

In fact, there are 3 character additions who managed to get people I know to buy Smash:
- Isabelle got my AC friend to buy smash
- Banjo got my uncle to buy Smash fro his daughters
- Aforementioned friend who bought it due to Byleth
 
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I'm not gonna say it was bigger than ARMS's entire sales -- but there are definitely a helluvalot more people who bought a Switch for Fire Emblem and hadn't played smash, than bought ARMS when it came out and haven't played Smash. I know personal anecdote isn't really good evidence, but I have a friend who was an FE fan who didn't buy his own copy of Smash (he usually played at my place) until Byleth came out -- whereas I'm not even sure anyone I know owns ARMS , apart from my little brothers who just got it after they tried it during the free-to-play period -- and they already had Smash (courtesy of moi).

In fact, there are 3 character additions who managed to get people I know to buy Smash:
- Isabelle got my AC friend to buy smash
- Banjo got my uncle to buy Smash fro his daughters
- Aforementioned friend who bought it due to Byleth
Curious statements. Thanks for clarifying.
I think the value Smash adds to other franchises- especially if it could help ARMS in any bit of the way it helped Fire Emblem, is that Smash has the potential to put another franchise on the map- which of course would be much more of a long term investment that just pushing a character for the game sale- even with a system.

I suppose time will tell!
 
Currently almost half of 2020 and I still read on here and other communities thats this might still happen.
I don’t think you’re supposed to post an image like that, even with the edits.

Aside from that, we know for a fact Goku won’t happen because Sakurai’s said it himself over and over and over.

Anyways, here’s my current wishlist:
FP6: Min Min
FP7: Sora
FP8: Crash Bandicoot
FP9: Adeleine and Ribbon
FP10: Sirfetch’d
FP11: Arle Nadja
 
If the goal was to convince me to buy the second fighter's pass after the crushing disappointment that was Byleth, an ARMS character--a character who arguably should have been in the base roster instead of being one of the last six DLC characters--isn't getting the job done. ARMS is fine, don't get me wrong, but it's just that: Fine. As in, "not great," and "not terrible." It's just "okay." Interesting in what it could mean for future picks, but not interesting in and of itself. It doesn't alienate me, but almost worse than alienating me, it doesn't electrify me, entice me, or excite me in any way, shape, or form. I'm not alone in that. If you're in the business of making money, that's a problem. I'm just not impressed yet.
 
I'm not sure how much the marketing matters. So, far, it seems two choices (for pass one) were heavily influenced by marketing, but the others seem like almost anti-marketing (Persona 5 isn't on Switch, the Banjo-Kazooie franchise is own by Microsoft, and Terry...was Terry).

At the same time, not sure how much Sakurai liking a franchise matters if he's not picking them.

I do hope it's more Nintendo focused though. If we're getting lower level names like Terry, at least make them Nintendo.
 
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I'm not sure how much the marketing matters. So, far, it seems two choices (for pass one) were heavily influenced by marketing, but the others seem like almost anti-marketing (Persona 5 isn't on Switch, the Banjo-Kazooie franchise is own by Microsoft, and Terry...was Terry).

At the same time, not sure how much Sakurai liking a franchise matters if he's not picking them.

I do hope it's more Nintendo focused though. If we're getting lower level names like Terry, at least make them Nintendo.
I think marketing has to matter at least a little. I think Nintendo wants the first character from the fighter passes to be Nintendo IP's and one's that they can give more of a spotlight to maybe? Piranha Plant still doesn't really make sense tho so... who knows.
 
D
Where are they gonna put the new stages for the second FP? Another page? There should never be a "Page 2" of anything in a Smash game, if you ask me. It makes the stage number seem like an after thought, like they never thought this would happen before or even after launch and they just had to adapt. They COULD squish the stage icons like they did the icons in Games & More, but I guess it's not even that important and I'm just being a fussy little **** as usual. I only got the Fighter's Passes so the game wouldn't be lying when it claims "Everyone is Here" because if I didn't it'd be falsely advertising itself. They better release a deluxe edition of the game someday that includes everything so I can shut up about and stop being so annoying.

I didn't even know they were getting new stages 'til I checked the official website, so that means more music preferences to sort out and thus more new songs I've never heard of and will likely disregard. Seriously, the only ARMS song I've heard is the main theme, how am I gonna enjoy listening to tunes I've never heard before? I can only give so many a decent chance before I lose my patience.
 
D
Didn't mean to post this here, aaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
 
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