Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[SubspaceJigglypuff]

Geno had fans before he was mentioned. He did well on the Melee poll.

IIRC, I think Ayumi did decently actually.

Sakurai's statement on Geno also came in part because of his pre-existing Brawl popularity. The interview in question has Sakurai acknowledge Geno as a popular request.

Mashed Potato Samurai: That’s right. He’s very popular. When talking about older characters, Geno always gets a lot of requests.

I'll concede that his statements gave second wind to Geno support 'cause from what I've heard he was going the way of Samurai Goroh before that, but if Sakurai is to be believed, it didn't create it.

...Now that I'm thinking about it more tho, nobody in my age range was even old enough to participate in Brawl speculation and I myself only know his Smash trajectory through being a Geno fan and spending too much time on this site. So I can easily see why the sentiment exists.

 

[Louie G.]

Regardless, does the exact source of popularity matter in the long run?

Accusations of “meme popularity” or bandwagoning only go so far. At a certain point it’s more than that. Ignoring the Smash 2 poll that’s still a campaign that has existed since Brawl, usually bandwagons fads die off instead of people sticking with them for 10-15 years. Even if Sakurai lit that flame, it’s not Sakurai who has been keeping it burning.

Also the Smash 2 poll is a neat bit of history, but it’s pointless to make anything out of those results today. Although I do think it’s relatively safe to assume Geno wasn’t all that popular of a choice until the next game. I’ve heard people say “people asked for Crash in Melee” too and it’s like three people. Doesn’t mean all that much anymore.

 

[Aaayei]

Damn, between remakes of the original 2 games on Switch and a brand new one, FDC stocks are way way up

Ayumi seems hella likely for next Smash now. Feels kinda like a Little Mac situation in 4 except she's got multiple recent releases to stand on instead of just one.

 

[Louie G.]

Ayumi seems hella likely for next Smash now. Feels kinda like a Little Mac situation in 4 except she's got multiple recent releases to stand on instead of just one.

I see where you’re coming from, but I might not go that far. Little Mac is more recognizable and had been one of the leading fan picks around that time, so his support and icon status alongside his newfound relevance was kind of a perfect storm. Also, he’s such an obvious fighter.

Ayumi has one of these things, which is that she’s relevant again. But FDC is still a relative obscurity outside Japan and her support base has always been pretty small, albeit surprisingly dedicated. I don’t want to discredit these new moves that FDC is making, but I wouldn’t jump to put her on that level yet.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

I do think it's worth saying that Famicom Detective Club is small. Visual novels are profitable but it's really rare for them to sell gangbusters.

Like the last few Nintendo IPs to get characters had to be multi-million seller IPs. The only one who wasn't (Xenoblade at the time) was stated to be a character that wasn't like the ones they'd usually add.

Even if it's successful, it may be too small.

 

[Shinuto]

What about Little Mac?

I do think it's worth saying that Famicom Detective Club is small. Visual novels are profitable but it's really rare for them to sell gangbusters.

Like the last few Nintendo IPs to get characters had to be multi-million seller IPs. The only one who wasn't (Xenoblade at the time) was stated to be a character that wasn't like the ones they'd usually add.

Even if it's successful, it may be too small.

 

[DarthEnderX]

1:24 That seems like a bad trade.

But like... What would Ayumi do?

Doesn't her backstory say she's part of the naginata club or something? So...that I guess?

 

[Swamp Sensei]

What about Little Mac?

Punch Out!! is a multi million seller. Both the NES game and the Wii game sold millions when combined. And that's not including the arcade and SNES game.

 

[Wonder Smash]

I swear, almost every time I come on here I manage to derail the conversation to be about SMT, and I never mean to...

Anyway yeah I obviously think an SMT rep would be cool, although I feel like the Nahobino is far more likely than the Demi-Fiend now, and no other protag really has a shot (unless they do a hero scenario and we get the SMT 1, 2, 4 and 4A protags as alts for one generic "Messiah". I just hope they would include music from spin-offs beyond persona (the Digital Devil Saga osts were put on streaming services this week and I've been registering to them, genuinely probably Shoji Meguro's best work).

However I very much do not want Jack Frost as a playable character (or at least not the first rep for the series), because as much as I love him as the series mascot, he doesn't really represent the series well tonally, or mechanically (we'd need a summoner).

I would love Raidou Kuzunoha from the devil summoner games too, but not only is he impossible due to being incredibly niche, but his outfit keeps getting removed from games because it looks like an imperialist japan uniform (which is a shame but also absolutely makes sense).

There's nothing wrong with talking about SMT. So many other subjects get talked about way more than that, so it's something more fresh and worth bringing up in relation to Smash. Besides, with Persona already represented in Smash Ultimate and even containing some references to SMT, it's not like it would be completely unrelated to Smash anyway.

 

[CommanderZaktan]

So I did some research and Ayumi will be playable in some sections of Emio since that Satellaview game where she was a protagonist and Yūko Minaguchi, who voiced Videl in DBZ, first voiced her before the remakes. Here's hoping they'll remake that game too in the future.

 

[Will]

I’m fine with Famicom Detective Club getting a playable character. I have this hunch of it happening as an oddball pick.

But if it’s Ayumi?

She better make MvC3 Phoenix look like a basic character if you really want to convince me this .png of a schoolgirl has got something new to bring to Smash.

Sorry gamers but I’m on team Emio.

 

[Gorgonzales]

But like... What would Ayumi do?

I really don't think the question "What would [this character] even do?" should be asked after we've received 5 entries of this series where you could ask that very same question for at least one newcomer on each of their rosters. Anyone can have a moveset, it's just a matter if the one in charge is creative enough to realize it. (Which, thankfully, Sakurai is. Most of the time.)

 

[Ivander]

Yoshio Sakamoto must be living the dream with the Switch. He got to finally finish Metroid Dread and the Famicom Detective Club series not only got dual-release remakes, but a new game as well. Most people wish their favorite smaller series were in a position this favourable.

Also, I really hope some people do "de-makes" of this new Famicom Detective Club game. I'd love to see people's interpretations of this game as an NES game in the style of the original NES Detective Famicom Club games.

1:24 That seems like a bad trade.

Aren't most trades in urban legends?

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

I really don't think the question "What would [this character] even do?" should be asked after we've received 5 entries of this series where you could ask that very same question for at least one newcomer on each of their rosters. Anyone can have a moveset, it's just a matter if the one in charge is creative enough to realize it. (Which, thankfully, Sakurai is. Most of the time.)

This is a complete non-answer to the question.

Swamp's not trying to "gatekeep" Ayumi out, he wants ideas on how she would work.

 

[Shinuto]

I’m fine with Famicom Detective Club getting a playable character. I have this hunch of it happening as an oddball pick.

But if it’s Ayumi?

View attachment 392530​

She better make MvC3 Phoenix look like a basic character if you really want to convince me this .png of a schoolgirl has got something new to bring to Smash.

Sorry gamers but I’m on team Emio.

If Sakurai considered her for melee he already has more than enough to work with for a moveset.

 

[Wonder Smash]

I really don't think the question "What would [this character] even do?" should be asked after we've received 5 entries of this series where you could ask that very same question for at least one newcomer on each of their rosters. Anyone can have a moveset, it's just a matter if the one in charge is creative enough to realize it. (Which, thankfully, Sakurai is. Most of the time.)

That's probably why the question was asked. Like, what would her moveset be like?

 

[Swamp Sensei]

I really don't think the question "What would [this character] even do?" should be asked after we've received 5 entries of this series where you could ask that very same question for at least one newcomer on each of their rosters. Anyone can have a moveset, it's just a matter if the one in charge is creative enough to realize it. (Which, thankfully, Sakurai is. Most of the time.)

I wasn't being snarky. I was trying to become educated.

 

[TheLamerGamer]

There's nothing wrong with talking about SMT. So many other subjects get talked about way more than that, so it's something more fresh and worth bringing up in relation to Smash. Besides, with Persona already represented in Smash Ultimate and even containing some references to SMT, it's not like it would be completely unrelated to Smash anyway.

Oh absolutely, and it's not like I'll completely stop bringing it up seeing as it's my favourite game series. There are a lot of series like that as well, where they have a lot of potential and a real chance at getting in, but just aren't brought up as much.

 

[Will]

If Sakurai considered her for melee he already has more than enough to work with for a moveset.

You can make any moveset out of scratch.

Serial Killer with Bag on Head sounds better than Schoolgirl Velma-lite. But that’s just my opinion.

 

[Ivander]

You can make any moveset out of scratch.

Serial Killer with Bag on Head sounds better than Schoolgirl Velma-lite. But that’s just my opinion.

You say like it wouldn't be cool to beat up the Demon King of Evil, the Giant Dragon from Outer Space and the Eldritchian Spawn that can create a supernova with a schoolgirl.

And come now, we were just talking about archetypes not in Smash Bros and ironically and unironically we don't have a schoolgirl character in Smash Bros. Meanwhile, most of the villains are already serial killers(but I wouldn't be against Emio appearing).

Edit: Just to mention, I am aware of Inkling's schoolgirl outfit, but she wears that out of fashion trends.

 

[Simnm]

The new single player/story mode for the next smash
Should be a 2d open world similiar to that of terraria and apotheon/poptropica alike

 

[Gorgonzales]

I wasn't being snarky. I was trying to become educated.

Oh, my bad. Sorry about that!

 

[Will]

You say like it wouldn't be cool to beat up the Demon King of Evil, the Giant Dragon from Outer Space and the Eldritchian Spawn that can create a supernova with a schoolgirl.

It’d be more fun to me if Emio did it instead.

And come now, we were just talking about archetypes not in Smash Bros and ironically and unironically we don't have a schoolgirl character in Smash Bros. Meanwhile, most of the villains are already serial killers(but I wouldn't be against Emio appearing).

 

[Shinuto]

It’d be more fun to me if Emio did it instead.


View attachment 392531

That's boring.

 

[Louie G.]

She better make MvC3 Phoenix look like a basic character if you really want to convince me this .png of a schoolgirl has got something new to bring to Smash.

Sorry gamers but I’m on team Emio.

I’ll be on team Emio if / when we figure out what the guy does. But even then this game may or may not be too late to influence Smash in that way. If Sakurai got info as simple as “we’re making a new FDC” and heard Ayumi is still in it then he’s at least got a few other games to work with beyond that.

Given that she’s continued to have an important role in the series up to this point, I imagine she’d probably be the optimal choice. You’d be able to represent both the old and new entries that way, and the moveset potential doesn’t hinge entirely on a game that isn’t out yet. Not saying all of this should make Ayumi interesting to you, but it’s just a more sensible choice. And personally I can’t imagine a character built around mystery and VN elements being anything but refreshing in Smash.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

It's clear Emio will be an Assist that kills the target but puts a paper bag on their head.

 

[pitchfulprocessing]

Can already imagine the moveset.

Neutral B: Bloody Blast

Side B: Scary Slam

Up B: Nightmare Rise

Down B: Horror Counter

Final Smash: Emio.EXE

His playstyle is of course, naturally, a zoner.

Unfortunately, with recent revelations, I'll have to revise this moveset.

 

[Opossum]

Unfortunately, with recent revelations, I'll have to revise this moveset.

Simply change Emio.exe to Emio.fdc

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Question, are the other FDC games horror adjacent?

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Guys guys! Sakurai has already established what she'd do.

Take a picture!

 

[fogbadge]

Question, are the other FDC games horror adjacent?

not the first one but the second has a ghost story as a major part of it so yeah

 

[pitchfulprocessing]

Simply change Emio.exe to Emio.fdc

This is a much better joke than what I could have come up with

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Really though. I did not expect this to be another Famicom Detective Club game. A bit weird that the series title didn't change though. Shouldn't it be the Switch Detective Club now?

In any case, it's pretty unlikely that this game will do anything for Ayumi's chances at joining the base roster due to the timing of it. If the game doesn't take off then it could royally screw her over.

 

[DarthEnderX]

A bit weird that the series title didn't change though. Shouldn't it be the Switch Detective Club now?

It should just be called Detective Club.

 

[Ivander]

Question, are the other FDC games horror adjacent?

Not focused on exactly, but the second game did involve stories of a ghost girl. And it also had some notably creepy music.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

It should just be called Detective Club.

Yup. That makes sense.

Also assuming the name is the same in Japan, the game's title is "The Smiling Man - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club", which is pretty funny to me.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

"No smash fanbase, Just because the series got a new entry doesnt automatically mean Ayumi is joining smash."

I wouldnt be against it but i dont know what kind of moveset they would have in mind for them.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

"No smash fanbase, Just because the series got a new entry doesnt automatically mean Ayumi is joining smash."

I wouldnt be against it but i dont know what kind of moveset they would have in mind for them.

It's been said that she knows her way around a sword (specifically a naginata), so while I doubt she'd be an orthodox swordfighter, she's not entirely a stranger to combat. It is funny to think about though.

Who would win:

• A sadistic dragon with plasma breath.
• One sword-wielding detective enthusiast schoolgirl.

 

[DarthEnderX]

It's been said that she knows her way around a sword (specifically a naginata)

Naginatas aren't swords.

 

[Kirbeh]

I can't believe I actually called it. My first thought with the Emio teaser was that it would be a sequel or spiritual successor to FDC.

A new IP would have been cool too but I'm glad that they're seemingly looking to breathe new life into some of their old IP.

I am more curious about the supposed divisive ending that he's already teasing. Part of me wonders whether he might kill off Ayumi as one of Emio's victims for a big plot point.