Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[Kirbeh]

I dunno, but I still think Hazanshu would work better as a Down B for her than Focus Attack.

I'd take just about any other move/mechanic over focus attack. FA is great and all but I wouldn't want it to become overused like counters.

I'd honestly only keep it on Ryu next time around. Ken could get his Dragonlash Kick as a new move and Chun could get Hazanshu. And then you also add Juri by recycling some of Chun's moves like Hazanshu for Ryodansatsu.

 

[cashregister9]

I used to be a Chun-li detractor for some reason, but now I think she is almost a necessity.

All of the third parties I think should get a second rep IMO, Tekken, Sonic and Street Fighter especially.

 

[Gengar84]

I gotta disagree here, if anything, they toned it down from SF4. I feel like SF6 is a pretty balanced middle ground for his portrayal.

I’m just going off of character trailers for the games so I’m probably not super well informed but that’s my initial impression from the trailers. I used to be a pretty big Street Fighter fan on the SNES but I haven’t played much since then. Same goes for Mortal Kombat. I still like the characters so I’m collecting each unique character in the Jada Toys line. They’re surprisingly well made for their price point.

I used to be a Chun-li detractor for some reason, but now I think she is almost a necessity.

All of the third parties I think should get a second rep IMO, Tekken, Sonic and Street Fighter especially.

I’m not really a detractor of any character but there’s obviously some characters I’d much prefer over others. I try to build up my own favorites without putting others down but I guess I can be unintentionally insensitive sometimes. Just know that basically everything I say here comes from my own personal preferences and I’m not trying to make some grand statement about who does or doesn’t deserve to be in Smash.

Funny enough, some characters I used to speak out against eventually made it into some of my most wanted characters. For example, whenever anyone used to bring up League of Legends here, I had a bad habit of derailing the topic and saying I’d rather have a WarCraft character. I wasn’t really trying to put down people that wanted a LoL character but I felt WarCraft was being overlooked and the two were comparable. After watching Arcane, I can see why those people were such big supporters since the characters and stories were so well written. If I was more invested in Street Fighter, I’d probably come around to supporting Chun-Li more than I do. Right now, I’d have a slighlty positive but mostly indifferent reaction to her inclusion just because we already have two characters but I could easily see that changing.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Do you think they’ll still use the Focus Attack for Chun-Li’s down special to keep her in line with Ryu and Ken or do you think they’d base her more off the gameplay style of Third Strike to differentiate her?

She has enough trademark specials to not require Focus Attack.

Like, Ryu really is famous for just three specials which are admittedly a staple of the Shoto archetype to the point where other fighting game franchises also adopted that mold but it still means there was a gap to fill which Focus Attack filled nicely.

Even without Serenity Stance from SF6 which I threw a concept for the other day, it's easy to think of specials since she has a variety of options thanks to Lightning Kicks (which itself could also just be a "mash A" move to reference its old input), Kikoken, Spinning Bird Kick, Tensho Kicks and Hanzashu. Heck, they can probably cram her air throw in there too.

She doesn't need Focus Attack.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Make Focus Attack the new Counter.

 

[fogbadge]

I used to be a Chun-li detractor for some reason, but now I think she is almost a necessity.

All of the third parties I think should get a second rep IMO, Tekken, Sonic and Street Fighter especially.

you mean unique second rep

 

[Louie G.]

I kinda hope Chun-Li wouldn’t just have Focus Attack again, since I think she’s got enough potential to fill a special kit without it, but I do wonder if Sakurai would like to maintain some consistency across the board. Maybe as a compromise Chun-Li may an input-specific special or two like Terry’s GO Meter (mind you, without the comeback element), or a back special?

At this point I wonder if all of them would get a slight rework to make it like the more current Drive Impact complete with a paint splatter visual overhaul. Focus Attack is a little dated by now, although a bit more cohesive with the designs we have in Smash.

 

[Gengar84]

I’m not sure what it is but something about playing Ryu and Ken in Smash doesn’t quite feel as fun to me as using Terry and Kazuya. I have a much stronger connection to Street Fighter than either Fatal Fury or Tekken so it’s a shame I could never quite get the hang of playing Ryu and Ken as well.

 

[Guynamednelson]

At this point I wonder if all of them would get a slight rework to make it like the more current Drive Impact complete with a paint splatter visual overhaul. Focus Attack is a little dated by now, although a bit more cohesive with the designs we have in Smash

I think the Drive Impact's visual effects are a bit too much compared to the Focus Attack's, so I don't mind it that much.

That said, what about Drive Rush? I don't think its visuals are too obnoxious, and it'd still help distinguish Chun-Li from the Shotos.

 

[Slime Scholar]

When Ryu was added to Smash 4, Street Fighter IV was the most recent SF game. There have been two entries since then, the most recent being a huge hit.

I would sooner expect Ryu and Ken to lose the focus attack than for them to give it to Chun-Li, or any other hypothetical SF newcomer, considering SF4 isn't even in the rearview mirror anymore.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

I’m not sure what it is but something about playing Ryu and Ken in Smash doesn’t quite feel as fun to me as using Terry and Kazuya. I have a much stronger connection to Street Fighter than either Fatal Fury or Tekken so it’s a shame I could never quite get the hang of playing Ryu and Ken as well.

It's probably that Ryu and Ken have the same kind of air mobility as in the source material.

Fixed jump arcs just do not work well on a platform fighter imo. Especially one where aerials are so important like Ultimate.

Terry and Kazuya do not have that, though the latter is the only one in the game without a frame 3 jumpsquat.

 

[Guynamednelson]

When Ryu was added to Smash 4, Street Fighter IV was the most recent SF game. There have been two entries since then, the most recent being a huge hit.

I would sooner expect Ryu and Ken to lose the focus attack than for them to give it to Chun-Li, or any other hypothetical SF newcomer, considering SF4 isn't even in the rearview mirror anymore.

At the same time, the drive system's mechanics include throwbacks to several pre-SFV ones: Alpha Counters from SF Alpha, Parries from SF3 (I hate how there's slowmo on Drive Parries because the point of parrying is that it's supposed to be FASTER to act out of than standard blocking btw) and the Focus Attack from SFIV. It still partially makes sense for Ryu and Ken to have one if the latest SF is supposed to have its own take on the mechanic.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

If they're adding the remake, they're only adding the remake's OST so you'd have to keep waiting for the original.

I mean, they split the NES and Famicom Disk System versions of the original Metroid. I don't see why TTYD would get preferential treatment.

I mean that's fair, like I said they definitely could still do that.

It's just when the entire original OST is also accessible at any time in the game that came out 6 months ago with the Nostalgic Tunes badge, I could see it going either way basically lol

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

I mean that's fair, like I said they definitely could still do that.

It's just when the entire original OST is also accessible at any time in the game that came out 6 months ago with the Nostalgic Tunes badge, I could see it going either way basically lol

If that happens, I'm going to Japan to beat the **** out of whichever Nintendo executive prevented the Music app from having Splatoon 3's post-launch content in there because that just feels like non-Japanese Splatoon fans getting dunked on for the millionth time.

 

[Gengar84]

Okay, since I haven’t really kept up with modern Street Fighter, does Guile still only have Sonic Boom and Flash Kick for his specials? That was always the biggest thing I was struggling with when trying to envision a Smash moveset for him. Ryu was a lot easier since he had three specials that all felt like perfectly natural fits for the directional Smash specials. On the subject of Chun-Li, do you think her Lightning Kick is what inspired Fox’s jab combo? His jab always reminded me of Chun-Li.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

If that happens, I'm going to Japan to beat the **** out of whichever Nintendo executive prevented the Music app from having Splatoon 3's post-launch content in there because that just feels like non-Japanese Splatoon fans getting dunked on for the millionth time.

Who knows, maybe they'll add those to the app after Ordertune has been on sale for a while, since apparently that soundtrack is releasing in like mid-December and they probably don't wanna undercut the sales, unlike with other post-release music like MK8D or Scarlet/Violet's.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Okay, since I haven’t really kept up with modern Street Fighter, does Guile still only have Sonic Boom and Flash Kick for his specials? That was always the biggest thing I was struggling with when trying to envision a Smash moveset for him. Ryu was a lot easier since he had three specials that all felt like perfectly natural fits for the directional Smash specials. On the subject of Chun-Li, do you think her Lightning Kick is what inspired Fox’s jab combo? His jab always reminded me of Chun-Li.

He did get new sauce as of SF6, but he would probably still need Focus Attack or an equivalent (which would be very good on him since he could charge a Sonic Boom or Flash Kick while doing that)

 

[DarthEnderX]

Here’s a question that I’m stuck on. If they ever do another Smash Ballot or something similar and we only get one vote, are you planning to vote for your absolute favorite character even if they’re not at all likely or would you narrow it down to characters you feel actually have a decent chance and vote for your favorite among those?

My most wanted. All the way.

I voted for Simon in the last Ballot. I'd vote for Hayabusa in the next one.

I dunno, but I still think Hazanshu would work better as a Down B for her than Focus Attack.

Hazanshu rules so hard!

That said, it's a move that could work just as well for a Down Smash as it does a Down Special.

All of the third parties I think should get a second rep IMO, Tekken, Sonic and Street Fighter especially.

I'm only really interested in that for franchises with REALLY iconic secondary characters. Like Zero, Alucard, Raiden, etc.

When Ryu was added to Smash 4, Street Fighter IV was the most recent SF game. There have been two entries since then, the most recent being a huge hit.

I would sooner expect Ryu and Ken to lose the focus attack than for them to give it to Chun-Li

Replace Focus Attack with Drive Impact.

 

[Freduardo]

Okay time to weigh in on the third party franchises getting three characters:

Street Fighter: Chun Li makes the most sense. Guile makes plenty of sense.... I want M Bison. I like M Bison. I like how he plays. Having the slide kick down smash would be awesome.

Final Fantasy: Someone from the newest game probably makes the most sense. I want Kefka. I have no good explanation other than I want to play as Kefka. And Terra.... VI is my favorite.

Sonic: We're getting 2 to catch up to everyone's 3: Knuckles and Eggman. Shadow works as an echo. Tails is the classic P2. They make potentially more sense. I want Knuckles and Eggman.

Mega Man: Protoman and Sigma. Roll, Bass, or Zero probably all make more sense. I want Protoman and Sigma.

Pac-Man: Ms. Pac Man echo. I'm not going to pretend there's a third character here.

Kingdom Hearts: Riku and Mickey.

Fatal Fury/King of Fighters: Mai makes the most sense even if Sakurai already said no. I want Rock Howard and Heidurn.

Castlevania: Soma Cruz and Charlotte from Portrait of Ruin. Other characters may make more sense.

Dragon Quest: I only played 8 and swords.... so Yangus and Slime.

Metal Gear: Raiden and Revolver Ocelot

Bayo: Jeane and Robin make the most sense. I have no input.

Banjo: I guess we add Gruntilda and his sister... this probably shouldn't happen.

Minecraft: I got nothing here.

 

[Will]

Pac-Man: Ms. Pac Man echo. I'm not going to pretend there's a third character here.

Why pretend to pretend?

Just upgrade the Ghost Assist, bam, now you have playable PAC-MAN Ghost.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

It's probably that Ryu and Ken have the same kind of air mobility as in the source material.

Fixed jump arcs just do not work well on a platform fighter imo. Especially one where aerials are so important like Ultimate.

Terry and Kazuya do not have that, though the latter is the only one in the game without a frame 3 jumpsquat.

One of the biggest reasons I hate playing Ryu/Ken but love playing Terry. That and the light/medium system.

I'm so glad Terry had none of that as I wasn't looking forward to playing another Ryu/Ken type.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

One of the biggest reasons I hate playing Ryu/Ken but love playing Terry. That and the light/medium system.

I'm so glad Terry had none of that as I wasn't looking forward to playing another Ryu/Ken type.

Well, given things like short hops and dodge rolls were likely inspired from SNK games based on what we know of Sakurai, Smash already had the perfect implementation of Terry's movement so it made sense to let him move the same as anyone else.

I personally don't mind the light/medium system (fun fact, Terry still has it for specials), but Ultimate adding proximity moves to Ryu and Ken on top of the light/medium normals gimmick is just too much.

 

[fogbadge]

Kingdom Hearts: Riku and Mickey.

there'll be nothing left of the game's budget