Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[SubspaceJigglypuff]

I don’t know how accurate this is, but this is an interesting source regarding Mewtwo’s absence in Brawl. It seems that it’s Melee assets couldn’t really be reused in Brawl, so the fighter would have to be remade from scratch essentially.

I remember reading this a while ago. It does make some interesting claims, mostly about Subspace's development. But as far as I can tell it went under the radar and nobody has tried to dig into these claims further, unless I missed it; I woulda liked to see that.

...But I'm also skeptical about it since the guy guesses Toon Link and Jigglypuff probably weren't considered for being cut despite Sakurai having said on record that both were close to expulsion. It's not even speculation, it's straight from Sak's mouth.

 

[Thegameandwatch]

...But I'm also skeptical about it since the guy also guesses Toon Link and Jigglypuff probably weren't considered for being cut despite Sakurai saying clearly that both were close to expulsion.

My opinion is that Jigglypuff and Toon Link had risk of being cut but not to the same degree as Wolf who was seemingly rushed like how he has broken animations, his meteor cancel window is at 60 and has weird physics in Subspace.

Mewtwo was presumably going to be next in line since it has an unused victory theme that is listed after Jigglypuff but before Toon Link and it has an empty Wii Remote sound.

 

[BuckleyTim]

Just under one hour remains until we see if the leakers are right about the announcement... Of an announcement.

Granted, they could shadow drop things tomorrow if they so inclined, but I wouldn't hold my breath for that if nothing shows up today.

 

[RileyXY1]

At this point I don't know if the Switch 2 is even coming out this year. It's possible that it gets announced sometime in the summer for an early 2026 launch so that it would have the same amount of prerelease marketing as the OG Switch, which means Gen 10 can't come out next year unless it's on the OG Switch as well, and I highly doubt that.

 

[Sucumbio]

Wait what's wrong with Rayman? I'd be down

 

[RileyXY1]

Wait what's wrong with Rayman? I'd be down

Mostly due to being massively neglected and the possibility of the company that owns him not even existing anymore by the time this year ends.

 

[Oracle Link]

The only one I’ve seen get a lot of support is a revamped Ganondorf based on his appearance and boss fight from TotK. I’ve seen Rauru brought up a few times, and I’ve even mentioned him myself, but not many people seem to interested in the idea, especially in comparison to long time favorites like Skull Kid and Midna.

Yeah true Ganondorf is the only one where people want a major full on revamp (probably Half TOTK and HALF Classic based)
Toy Link aswell as all adult links and zelda would be costumes! For a generic Link/ ZELDA (and toon link obviously)

You can actually do that without changing the animations!

In general The newcomers most people want are Impa, Midna and skullkid everyone else is a bit divise (Especially which champion/ Sage you pick or if we need Rauru)
I for example am of the opinion That the first Champion / Sage should be a goron but a lot People want urbosa arguably the one with the least unique stuff (even riju is more intersting weapon wise) and rauru is probably one of the more divise zelda newcomers period because he just screams recency/ Botw/TOTK bias as his species was introduced in those GAmes!
Ive Seen a lot of people wanting GAnon which im more on bord with now that he has a modern iteration of his blue look (EOW) But still there is the issue that another ganon would be too much probably (although please include him in a zelda fighter)

Some talk about Zelda in that game but I found several posts that essentially say to make echoes an aesthetic change where it’s used for Down despite being unrelated.

They will likely change one move (probably side b) and leave it at that. Down b is already a move that Zelda has canonically used unlike her other specials which only appear in spinoffs if it’s used by her.

I did say Characterwise not moveset Wise!
And no they'll most likely include the trirodd in her down b because zelda has never canonically SUMMONED a phantom she posses already existing ones!
So just have her summon a phantom or darknut with the trirod which would in essence be the same move just much more fitting!

 

[waddledeeonredyoshi]

Sorry but what's the story behind 2021 being the hypothetical year of a Smash 6 planning stage? I recall Sakurai saying it actually began April 2022 unless I'm mistaken.

 

[Gengar84]

Sorry but what's the story behind 2021 being the year of the hypothetical year of a Smash 6 planning stage? I recall Sakurai saying it actually began April 2022 unless I'm mistaken.

Good question. I’m just going off what other people here are saying. I never actually watched Sakurai’s YouTube video talking about his new project.

 

[AreJay25]

Sorry but what's the story behind 2021 being the year of the hypothetical year of a Smash 6 planning stage? I recall Sakurai saying it actually began April 2022 unless I'm mistaken.

2021 would have been the year he started drafting up the project plan.

2022 would be the beginning of development.

 

[Scrimblo Bimblo]

Sorry but what's the story behind 2021 being the year of the hypothetical year of a Smash 6 planning stage? I recall Sakurai saying it actually began April 2022 unless I'm mistaken.

Development started in April 2022, but Sakurai wrote the project proposal in 2021, between Kazuya's and Sora's releases iirc

 

[pitchfulprocessing]

No announcement. It's over. We're done. There's no point anymore. Shut down the site. Sell your Switch. Smash is dead. Nintendo is dead. I regret all my life decisions.

 

[Perkilator]

Call it coping, but I feel like Sakurai could’ve made changes to the project plan at some point(s) between July 2021-April 2022 in between working on his YouTube channel.

 

[BuckleyTim]

 

[Oracle Link]

No announcement. It's over. We're done. There's no point anymore. Shut down the site. Sell your Switch. Smash is dead. Nintendo is dead. I regret all my life decisions.

? I mean you really believed the leaks that nintendo would shadow drop the switch 2?
It shouldve been proof enough that every leak had diffrent information/Pictures!
Obviously nintendo would announce the console and than wait atleast half a year! People need to be able to save up money!

 

[Gengar84]

The 2021 window does give me a little bit of hope for a few characters I want to see as they were particularly relevant around that time. Namely, Alphen/Shionne, Jinx, Hisuian Zoroark and Officer Howard. Tales of Arise was pretty successful and really helped push the Tales series into the modern era, Arcane was a huge hit no one was really expecting, and Legends Arceus was widely praised with Hisuian Zoroark being the most pushed Pokemon from that game. Astral Chain was still somewhat relevant as it had just released a couple years prior. Even Battletoads just got a reboot in 2020, though they’re still a long shot. Not saying any of those are definitely happening but the timing lines up pretty well for them at least.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

Mostly due to being massively neglected and the possibility of the company that owns him not even existing anymore by the time this year ends.

Well then just talk to the hypothetical new owners

 

[pitchfulprocessing]

What if Nintendo in the finale of the month says "Switch 2, what a joke," throws their Joy-Cons away, and becomes an Xbox in Microsoft's honor.

 

[Guynamednelson]

Sorry but what's the story behind 2021 being the year of the hypothetical year of a Smash 6 planning stage? I recall Sakurai saying it actually began April 2022 unless I'm mistaken.

In the finale of Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games, Sakurai said he's already written the project plan for a new game in 2021.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

What if Nintendo in the finale of the month says "Switch 2, what a joke," throws their Joy-Cons away, and becomes an Xbox in Microsoft's honor.

The Nintendosoft Switchbox.


Kinda sounds like an electrical apparatus. lol

 

[pitchfulprocessing]

The Nintendosoft Switchbox.


Kinda sounds like an electrical apparatus. lol

Should have seen it coming really.

 

[Noipoi]

Guess that’s a no on the Switch 2 announcement.

Then again, iirc the Switch’s initial announcement was teased later in the day. So I suppose there’s still a chance.

I’m not getting my hopes up though.

RIP Nate the Hate’s credibility

 

[Laniv]

Maybe next week??

 

[BuckleyTim]

Implying Nate the Hate won't be a name we hear about until the day we die because no one cares if anyone involved in the rumor mill is wrong or not

What gives me pause though is that Pyoro also hinted (lol) at the 16th. IDK about Nate, but pyoro... Is less shaky in their "predictions".

 

[Shinuto]

The Game Boy Advance is older now than the first Game & Watch was when Melee came out.

Can we get Isaac in as a “retro character” pls?

Screw that let's get Jill from Drill Dozer.

 

[pitchfulprocessing]

Personally I'm confused as to why Nintendo is so focused on Donkey Kong Country Returns HD anyways, because I'm not going to buy it until they take it down and then re-release it on the Switch 2 for 70 dollars, the value it deserves.

 

[Garteam]

Rayman is one of the few IPs that I could see Nintendo purchasing in the event that the IP owner was having an IP firesale to cover debt. They liked the series enough to publish Origins and Legends in Japan, which got the series trophies and spirits in Smash.

 

[pitchfulprocessing]

Rayman is one of the few IPs that I could see Nintendo purchasing in the event that the IP owner was having an IP firesale to cover debt. They liked the series enough to publish Origins and Legends in Japan, which got the series trophies and spirits in Smash.

All jokes aside even if Ubisoft did get to that level I don't see why Nintendo would bite. They supported Legends in particular because otherwise the Wii U's third party support would be even more abysmal than it was, and it's an IP which has very little presence in Japan and kind of needs a big publisher to sell it well, moreso than something like Mass Effect or other Wii U third parties. I don't think Nintendo would spend for what's ultimately another platformer series, the purchases upper management do make are either very close long time partners or ones which diversify their portfolio.

 

[waddledeeonredyoshi]

View attachment 397757

This is my first time really looking at it and Good Lord the Returns port is over 50 euros in my country.

Nintendo overpricing their old games is nothing new but that price for a port of a game from 2010 might as well just be actual theft.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

Rayman is one of the few IPs that I could see Nintendo purchasing in the event that the IP owner was having an IP firesale to cover debt. They liked the series enough to publish Origins and Legends in Japan, which got the series trophies and spirits in Smash.

And the two Mario games made by the Rayman guys

 

[BuckleyTim]

Nintendo buying Rayman is such a silly thought. If they want to make another platformer they could just revive one of the dozen dormant series they have, both 2d and 3d.

 

[Gengar84]

Nintendo buying Rayman is such a silly thought. If they want to make another platformer they could just revive one of the dozen dormant series they have, both 2d and 3d.

Yeah, I don’t exactly see the point of acquiring a new platforming IP when they barely use the ones they already have. I’m still waiting on a new Donkey Kong game. I’d love to see Nintendo partner with Playtonic to make it if Retro is busy. Playtonic did a great job with Yukalaylee and one Impossible Lair.

 

[Scrimblo Bimblo]

I'm really going to waste 60 bucks of my hard-earned pay on the second copy of a game I 100%'d some ten years ago unless someone stops me.
I don't even know where my Wii is though, so maybe it's not that bad? Probably??

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Maybe the true clowns were the friends we made along the way.

 

[pitchfulprocessing]

I guess the takeaway from all this is that it was a waste of time to argue about the possibility of Ultimate Deluxe so much, because what will actually happen is Ultimate HD (retailing 80 dollars)

 

[Louie G.]

(I see no reason why you wouldn't count the 3rd party characters)

Because for Ultimate at least, most of them were decided independently from the initial project plan. They don’t really have any bearing on what the game looks like at launch, except Simon who you could lump in with K Rool and Ridley if you’d like and bring fan favorite picks and “topical” picks at a dead even 50/50. ( / ).

So factoring in all the third parties kind of distracts from the main point we’re discussing, and many weren’t even chosen by Sakurai, but how are most of them not topical anyway? Banjo & Kazooie were like the only characters there who hadn’t had a game in over five years. By nature of DLC guest characters though, who lie more on mass appeal / recognizability, it’s not very realistic to anticipate brand new characters like that to begin with.

I guess we got Joker and DQ11 Hero?

 

[Kirby Dragons]

This honestly makes me wonder what kind of characters who debuted in the DS could be great additions, to be honest.

Maxwell and a Fossil Fighters character (I've been supporting V-Raptor) are my choices.

Why not? Aerials could be tricks, the bike could be perpendicular to the stage on grabs so their hands can actually reach, etc.

This kind of creative challenge might be exactly what makes the Excitebiker a good "surprise". Sure, we know about Excitebike but most people would probably rule it out because of that very question you pondered about, so seeing them as a fully realized character would still be surprising.

After all, looking at all the surprises...

• The Game & Watch getting some kind of representation would've happened at some point given its importance in Nintendo's history but having what's essentially an OC with each attack representing a different game is a wild concept for Smash even to this day.
• R.O.B. certainly wasn't the most obscure pick either with the cameos he's got across the years on top of being playable in Mario Kart DS but no one would've expected the peripheral to be playable in Smash. Even more so after being revealed as a single-player enemy.
• Duck Hunt was far from an unknown yet is still the very character we got the term of "surprise" character from.
• Piranha Plant is without a doubt the "surprise" character of Ultimate but no one in their right mind would even think of calling a common Mario enemy an "obscure" character.

So the "surprise" might not necessarily be unknown characters but moreso the idea that it could be someone we wouldn't expect to get a moveset.

I'd certainly be interested to see that moveset if they do manage to get it to work. It'd take a lot of creativity and problem solving.

 

[Noipoi]

$60 for the second port of Returns is absolutely ridiculous.

But I never beat it as a kid, my 3DS is pooped out so I can’t play that version, and I think it’d be cool to have every DKC game on my Switch, so…

 

[DarthEnderX]

$60 for the second port of Returns is absolutely ridiculous.

I'd just rent it on Gamefly. Except I beat it back in the day and have no interest in replaying it.

 

[Garteam]

All jokes aside even if Ubisoft did get to that level I don't see why Nintendo would bite. They supported Legends in particular because otherwise the Wii U's third party support would be even more abysmal than it was, and it's an IP which has very little presence in Japan and kind of needs a big publisher to sell it well, moreso than something like Mass Effect or other Wii U third parties. I don't think Nintendo would spend for what's ultimately another platformer series, the purchases upper management do make are either very close long time partners or ones which diversify their portfolio.

It's not really about releasing a new game so much as it is about being able to rerelease old titles at a reduced, long-term price. Nintendo could give Raymans 1, 3, and Origins formal rereleases and put Rayman 2 onto NSO as another incentive to get the Expansion Pass. There's also the benefit of no longer needing to pay licensing fees if a Mario + Rabbids rerelease comes about. That's also not considering rereleasing the Rabbids games.