Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[Royaru]

RE: Xenoblade
Shulk and Pyra/Mythra are staying for the next Smash, maybe Shulk's design will be updated to FC and their respective stages are staying as well.
As for new content; at least a new character (Noah/Mio are the most likely), I wouldn't see it strange an Echo (Alvis, Pneuma, N or M, A), AT from game 2 and/or 3, some new stage, maybe some item (core crystal??). Consuls D&J as a boss.
Elma as a DLC character with NLA as stage.

On the other hand, I quite agree with what BritishGuy54 has said.
Pikmin, Xenoblade, Splatoon, and Animal Crossing are franchises that have grown a lot in the Switch generation. AC: NH is the console's best-selling original game with 10 million more than the second.
Nintendo will definitely support these franchises so that they continue to grow in the coming years, and Smash will be no exception. It's quite likely that all of them will get a lot of content, perhaps we'll see cases like Kirby in Brawl or FE in For.

 

[BrawlX10]

If sakurai has any involvement in the switch 2 direct, then I assume it'd be with an original project. I just think it's too early to get much more than a title out of smash unless they really are building more off the ultimate than we'd want.

I don't think it's too early, they already got some footogage to show for Mario Kart 9, if Smash has been in development since like April 2022...i think it's reasonable they'll have something to show after 3 years of development, the game would've been in development more than Smash 4 at this point.

 

[Wario Bros.]

Sakurai qrt'd the April Direct announcement
View attachment 398698
Does he usually do that for post-Ultimate Directs?

While it's possible Sakurai's project could indeed be shown off in the Direct, Nintendo years ago stopped people/companies who have news in an upcoming Direct from retweeting Nintendo's announcement.

 

[Dukefire]

While it's possible Sakurai's project could indeed be shown off in the Direct, Nintendo years ago stopped people/companies who have news in an upcoming Direct from retweeting Nintendo's announcement.

In a way, contained chaos until the right moment.

 

[Louie G.]

Honestly, I don't talk about it much but I expect Splatoon to kinda go crazy next game. The original released in May 2015, just 7 months before Ultimate's project plan was made.

Since then, Splatoon has had two sequels (alongside their respective DLC campaigns) and has been jettisoned up the ranks to the point that it's a pillar of the company's entire brand image.

This is where my mind has been at for some time now, I don't think everyone is ready for how big a glow-up this is going to be.

I acknowledged the other day too, but an interesting tidbit - Splatoon got four Mii Costumes across FP2, while any other Nintendo series that got a DLC costume was limited to one. I don't know what I'm suggesting you garner from this information, but I think it's kind of a testament to how much fruit the series bears that has hardly been explored. Smash 4 DLC costumes were something of an omen of things to come too, so acknowledging how much focus was put on Splatoon in particular here seems relevant on top of the more obvious and explicit brand presence.

Having a dozen no-brainer choice for stages and items given the very nature of the series, such instantly iconic and beloved music, various weapon types and beloved characters to explore... with how badly the timing hindered Splatoon's presence last game, it's hard not to imagine Smash 6 making up for lost time in spades. Not just on behalf of the series' success, but for just how much material it's giving Smash to work with.

I actually didn’t mind Robin at all despite being an avatar.

I like Robin, in a weird case where I felt the avatar character provided more flavor than the more defined, traditional lords. But I think Robin has more than just being that avatar to their credibility - their role as the "tactician" gives them kind of a meta significance, and providing both another traditional mage to the roster (a relatively underexplored archetype) and a resource management character gave them a strong practical edge. I think they were a very smart choice.

But then you get to Corrin and Byleth. They're fine. But I don't think they feel so clearly defined as Robin does, where you can see the strong sense of vision behind the idea. Byleth's use of all three major weapons from Three Houses feels ok to play with, but is IMO kind of a clumsy and uninspired moveset design. Whereas a bit more time might have clued the team in on someone like Edelgard's lasting popularity... and personally, I'd prefer to see a full axe, lance or bow themed moveset explored instead of just becoming another pretty standard kit of specials to cycle through. Corrin is cool enough to me, at least moveset wise, but people just don't like them very much. Fair enough.

I guess my bottom line is... well, a couple things. One, that Robin stands out on their own merit outside of being an avatar. Two, that I think Robin's avatar role would have felt more special if it didn't become the standard moving forward. But three, is that the decisions to go with these avatars by default is kind of a byproduct of work being done on Corrin and Byleth before anyone knew who would make waves. It kinda makes you wonder how Three Houses speculation would be going right now if we didn't rush into it with FP1... I'd probably be pushing a lot for Edelgard myself. I acknowledge I have my own preferences about this, others are more into the avatar picks than I am. But it's undeniable that jumping into representing lhe new FE game before release, much like choosing a new Pokemon, runs the risk of neglecting choices that reveal their popularity and credibility over time.

 

[Shinuto]

Her weapon is twice her size, there's no way she doesn't end up being one of the most fun characters to play if she gets in.
Big hammer go crash.

Think of all the Tinkaton destroying Falco in his arwing memes

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

But then you get to Corrin and Byleth. They're fine. But I don't think they feel so clearly defined as Robin does, where you can see the strong sense of vision behind the idea. Byleth's use of all three major weapons from Three Houses feels ok to play with, but is IMO kind of a clumsy and uninspired moveset design. Whereas a bit more time might have clued the team in on someone like Edelgard's lasting popularity... and personally, I'd prefer to see a full axe, lance or bow themed moveset explored instead of just becoming another pretty standard kit of specials to cycle through.

Even more annoyingly, Byleth does have a meta angle to take advantage of with his role as Professor or his connection to Sothis, but they wanted so badly to be like "he's not just another anime swordfighter guys no really" that they just gave him a bunch of other character's weapons and called it a day.

 

[Gengar84]

This is where my mind has been at for some time now, I don't think everyone is ready for how big a glow-up this is going to be.

I acknowledged the other day too, but an interesting tidbit - Splatoon got four Mii Costumes across FP2, while any other Nintendo series that got a DLC costume was limited to one. I don't know what I'm suggesting you garner from this information, but I think it's kind of a testament to how much fruit the series bears that has hardly been explored. Smash 4 DLC costumes were something of an omen of things to come too, so acknowledging how much focus was put on Splatoon in particular here seems relevant on top of the more obvious and explicit brand presence.

View attachment 398709

Having a dozen no-brainer choice for stages and items given the very nature of the series, such instantly iconic and beloved music, various weapon types and beloved characters to explore... with how badly the timing hindered Splatoon's presence last game, it's hard not to imagine Smash 6 making up for lost time in spades. Not just on behalf of the series' success, but for just how much material it's giving Smash to work with.



I like Robin, in a weird case where I felt the avatar character provided more flavor than the more defined, traditional lords. But I think Robin has more than just being that avatar to their credibility - their role as the "tactician" gives them kind of a meta significance, and providing both another traditional mage to the roster (a relatively underexplored archetype) and a resource management character gave them a strong practical edge. I think they were a very smart choice.

But then you get to Corrin and Byleth. They're fine. But I don't think they feel so clearly defined as Robin does, where you can see the strong sense of vision behind the idea. Byleth's use of all three major weapons from Three Houses feels ok to play with, but is IMO kind of a clumsy and uninspired moveset design. Whereas a bit more time might have clued the team in on someone like Edelgard's lasting popularity... and personally, I'd prefer to see a full axe, lance or bow themed moveset explored instead of just becoming another pretty standard kit of specials to cycle through. Corrin is cool enough to me, at least moveset wise, but people just don't like them very much. Fair enough.

I guess my bottom line is... well, a couple things. One, that Robin stands out on their own merit outside of being an avatar. Two, that I think Robin's avatar role would have felt more special if it didn't become the standard moving forward. But three, is that the decisions to go with these avatars by default is kind of a byproduct of work being done on Corrin and Byleth before anyone knew who would make waves. It kinda makes you wonder how Three Houses speculation would be going right now if we didn't rush into it with FP1... I'd probably be pushing a lot for Edelgard myself. I acknowledge I have my own preferences about this, others are more into the avatar picks than I am. But it's undeniable that jumping into representing lhe new FE game before release, much like choosing a new Pokemon, runs the risk of neglecting choices that reveal their popularity and credibility over time.

It would have been way more work than realistically feasible but I’d have loved some customization options for Robin in Smash in order to at least approximate the versions we played as in Awakening. The body frame would have been tricky to make work though. I personally went with an adult female with tied back black hair and Wendee Lee’s voice. I was trying to make her resemble Lulu from Final Fantasy X so I named her Lulu. I actually really like how she ended up looking and Wendee is one of my favorite voice actresses.

 

[HyperSomari64]

Wendee is one of my favorite voice actresses.

Funny how she was credited in Ultimate, but Lyn still has Lani Milena's voice

 

[Gengar84]

Funny how she was credited in Ultimate, but Lyn still has Lani Milena's voice

She’s actually one of the reasons I’d love to see Lyn in Smash. Hopefully they’d go with Wendee Lee if they actually go with Lyn as the playable fighter.

 

[Dinoman96]

If sakurai has any involvement in the switch 2 direct, then I assume it'd be with an original project. I just think it's too early to get much more than a title out of smash unless they really are building more off the ultimate than we'd want.

I really don't think it's actually that early to get Smash, tbh.

Sakurai began his new project back in April 2022; if that really is Smash and it's going to be revealed in the April Direct this year, then that would be exactly three years of development time, which is probably the most lengthy for any Smash game.

Brawl began development in October 2005, was released in January 2008 = 2 years, 3 months.
Smash 4 began development shortly after KI Uprising in spring 2012, was released in September 2014 = 2 years, 4-6 months give or take.
Smash Ultimate began development in early 2016, was released in December 2018 = nearly 3 years

So from that perspective, no, I don't think it's "too early" for it being Smash. For all we know, the game could still come out in 2026, it's just that they're going back to the Brawl/Smash 4 marketing cycle of revealing the game a whole year before its release and slowly unveil returning veterans, items, stages, ATs via updates on a website.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

The funny thing about Corrin is that they could actually be appealing if written better. Like, in Smash, their personality is that of cardboard; could not be more generic if they tried. Meanwhile in Fire Emblem Warriors, they're the kind of person that politely asks you to step aside because they don't want to hurt you while charging at you with a raging torrent, dragon lance feet, and a chainsaw sword. That's just funny.

 

[Gengar84]

I do think it’s strange that so many people are predicting a drastically scaled back roster while, at the same time, saying that it’s way too early to reveal Smash. If Smash 6 is really getting that much of an extended development cycle, you’d think they’d be able to have a fairly large roster even if it couldn’t bring back literally every character.

 

[Ivander]

The funny thing about Corrin is that they could actually be appealing if written better. Like, in Smash, their personality is that of cardboard; could not be more generic if they tried. Meanwhile in Fire Emblem Warriors, they're the kind of person that politely asks you to step aside because they don't want to hurt you while charging at you with a raging torrent, dragon lance feet, and a chainsaw sword. That's just funny.

Fire Emblem Heroes also gives alot more personality to the Avatar characters, between both their Seasonal Alts and the FEH Manga. If you think the politely step aside while charging with a dragon form and a chainsaw sword is funny, nothing beats a giant water dragon coming at you yelling, "Candy, please!" and "You do have candy, right?"

 

[Thegameandwatch]

I do think it’s strange that so many people are predicting a drastically scaled back roster while, at the same time, saying that it’s way too early to reveal Smash. If Smash 6 is really getting that much of an extended development cycle, you’d think they’d be able to have a fairly large roster even if it couldn’t bring back literally every character.

It will likely be bigger than Smash 4 at a minimum in my opinion. Maximum would likely be the same as base Ulimate or slightly less like 60-65 characters.

 

[Gengar84]

It will likely be bigger than Smash 4 at a minimum in my opinion. Maximum would likely be the same as base Ulimate or slightly less like 60-65 characters.

Yeah, I think around Ultimate’s base size is reasonable. I’m hoping they’d continue the DLC throughout the life of the Switch 2 so we can hit 100 characters by the time it’s all said and done. That would be a cool milestone to strive for.

 

[SharkLord]

Regarding the FE discourse, I believe things started heating up after Roy got brought back for Smash 4. In the base game FE had gone up to four fighters, including a clone; I think Lucina was contentious at the time but it wasn't too glaring. Marth was the FE guy, Ike was a fan-favorite, and Awakening got the series off life support (With Lucina herself also being a fan-favorite), so it all made sense. But Roy was the fifth Fire Emblem character, on top of being another clone. And then Corrin happened before Fates was even localized and that sent everyone up in flames.

So long story short, if Xenoblade gets like one fighter and one clone, I don't think it'll be too bad. If it starts getting DLC fighters, maybe we'll see some discourse, but that hinges on how popular or unique the new fighter is. But DLC's too far away to think about, so for the most part I think Xeno's fine.

 

[Gengar84]

Regarding the FE discourse, I believe things started heating up after Roy got brought back for Smash 4. In the base game FE had gone up to four fighters, including a clone; I think Lucina was contentious at the time but it wasn't too glaring. Marth was the FE guy, Ike was a fan-favorite, and Awakening got the series off life support (With Lucina herself also being a fan-favorite), so it all made sense. But Roy was the fifth Fire Emblem character, on top of being another clone. And then Corrin happened before Fates was even localized and that sent everyone up in flames.

So long story short, if Xenoblade gets like one fighter and one clone, I don't think it'll be too bad. If it starts getting DLC fighters, maybe we'll see some discourse, but that hinges on how popular or unique the new fighter is. But DLC's too far away to think about, so for the most part I think Xeno's fine.

How early do you think they plan out all the DLC? Do you think they more or less have everything set shortly after they decide on the base roster?

 

[BrawlX10]

I do think it’s strange that so many people are predicting a drastically scaled back roster while, at the same time, saying that it’s way too early to reveal Smash. If Smash 6 is really getting that much of an extended development cycle, you’d think they’d be able to have a fairly large roster even if it couldn’t bring back literally every character.

I'm personally don't think we'll have a drastically scaled roster, i think we'll just have a fewer more cuts than usual. Brawl had 6 cuts and Smash 4 had 6 cuts (Base game). So maybe this time around we get around 11-12 cuts in the base game instead of 6, i think the most popular of the cut characters will likely return as DLC, too, so i think at least half the cuts will be temporary.
My guess people who are predicting 25-30 cuts are in the soft-reboot camp rather than the regular smash sequel camp, im in the later camp, so i don't think we'll get that many cuts.
If i have a "wild" prediction regarding Smash 6 is that i think most stages will be brand new, think of Brawl or WiiU amount of new stages with a few returning ones like maybe stuff like Minecraft World, Boxing Ring and Duck Hunt. I think even most of the returning veterans that are 3rd party will have a new stage.
I also think we'll have a refresh of the item selection, of course, most classic items like the Beam Sword, Crates, Bumpers, Fire Flowers, Superstars, Maximum Tomato, Heart Container, Bob-omb and etc will be there, but i think they'll priorize new items this time around as well, I don't think items like Gust Belows, Bullet Bill, Galaga, Beetle, Ramblin' Mushroom, Black Hole....etc will make it back, just a gut feeling.

 

[Gengar84]

I'm personally don't think we'll have a drastically scaled roster, i think we'll just have a fewer more cuts than usual. Brawl had 6 cuts and Smash 4 had 6 cuts (Base game). So maybe this time around we get around 11-12 cuts in the base game instead of 6, i think the most popular of the cut characters will likely return as DLC, too, so i think at least half the cuts will be temporary.
My guess people who are predicting 25-30 cuts are in the soft-reboot camp rather than the regular smash sequel camp, im in the later camp, so i don't think we'll get that many cuts.
If i have a "wild" prediction regarding Smash 6 is that i think most stages will be brand new, think of Brawl or WiiU amount of new stages with a few returning ones like maybe stuff like Minecraft World, Boxing Ring and Duck Hunt. I think even most of the returning veterans that are 3rd party will have a new stage.
I also think we'll have a refresh of the item selection, of course, most classic items like the Beam Sword, Crates, Bumpers, Fire Flowers, Superstars, Maximum Tomato, Heart Container, Bob-omb and etc will be there, but i think they'll priorize new items this time around as well, I don't think items like Gust Belows, Bullet Bill, Galaga, Beetle, Ramblin' Mushroom, Black Hole....etc will make it back, just a gut feeling.

Mostly new stages would be cool as long as they actually have interesting layouts that are fun to play on. Smash 4 went a bit overly gimmicky with a lot of their stages and Ultimate’s were too safe and boring for the most part. A lot of stages in Ultimate felt like Battlefield variants, which is kind of pointless when we have Omega and Battlefield versions of every stage already. I still say Smash 64 and Melee had the best general stage designs in the series.

 

[HyperSomari64]

I still want a Xenoblade collab in FEH so badly

Even if logistically, it will never happen

 

[SharkLord]

How early do you think they plan out all the DLC? Do you think they more or less have everything set shortly after they decide on the base roster?

I think Sakurai tweeted "hey guys we've settled all our Fighter's Pass characters, I can't really take requests here" at some point around Ult's launch, but I can't find it If we can find that one tweet and check the date, I think that gives a pretty decent idea of when they start settling the roster. Regardless, I still think it was around the game's launch, so that suggests they don't start thinking about DLC until the base game is mostly finished.

 

[fogbadge]

I still want a Xenoblade collab in FEH so badly

Even if logistically, it will never happen

would you settle for xenoblade warriors?

 

[HyperSomari64]

would you settle for xenoblade warriors?

Absoluto-mondo, Sir!

 

[Gengar84]

would you settle for xenoblade warriors?

I feel like we haven’t had a spinoff Warriors title in a while. There’s still a ton of IP I’d love to see get a Warriors game. Xenoblade could be pretty fun.

 

[HyperSomari64]

I feel like we haven’t had a spinoff Warriors title in a while. There’s still a ton of IP I’d love to see get a Warriors game. Xenoblade could be pretty fun.

Even the CEO at Koei Tecmo wants a Mario musou.

Edit: Mario Maker is already a Mario musou. Just make a level with a zillion Goombas and Koopa Troopas and Presto!

 

[Thegameandwatch]

I think Sakurai tweeted "hey guys we've settled all our Fighter's Pass characters, I can't really take requests here" at some point around Ult's launch, but I can't find it If we can find that one tweet and check the date, I think that gives a pretty decent idea of when they start settling the roster. Regardless, I still think it was around the game's launch, so that suggests they don't start thinking about DLC until the base game is mostly finished.

Bonuses seem like an exception such as Smash 4 Mewtwo and Ulimate Plant where they were decided before the other DLC characters.

Plant probably around the time when the developers were making the late development stuff such as spirits and Palutena's Guidance.

 

[Gengar84]

Even the CEO at Koei Tecmo wants a Mario musou.

My most wanted overall would probably be TMNT. I think my most wanted for Nintendo specifically would be Pokemon. There are multiple Pokemon wars in the lore that could be a great setting for a Warriors game. The one involving AZ from X and Y could be really cool.

 

[BrawlX10]

This is where my mind has been at for some time now, I don't think everyone is ready for how big a glow-up this is going to be.

I acknowledged the other day too, but an interesting tidbit - Splatoon got four Mii Costumes across FP2, while any other Nintendo series that got a DLC costume was limited to one. I don't know what I'm suggesting you garner from this information, but I think it's kind of a testament to how much fruit the series bears that has hardly been explored. Smash 4 DLC costumes were something of an omen of things to come too, so acknowledging how much focus was put on Splatoon in particular here seems relevant on top of the more obvious and explicit brand presence.

View attachment 398709

Having a dozen no-brainer choice for stages and items given the very nature of the series, such instantly iconic and beloved music, various weapon types and beloved characters to explore... with how badly the timing hindered Splatoon's presence last game, it's hard not to imagine Smash 6 making up for lost time in spades. Not just on behalf of the series' success, but for just how much material it's giving Smash to work with.



I like Robin, in a weird case where I felt the avatar character provided more flavor than the more defined, traditional lords. But I think Robin has more than just being that avatar to their credibility - their role as the "tactician" gives them kind of a meta significance, and providing both another traditional mage to the roster (a relatively underexplored archetype) and a resource management character gave them a strong practical edge. I think they were a very smart choice.

But then you get to Corrin and Byleth. They're fine. But I don't think they feel so clearly defined as Robin does, where you can see the strong sense of vision behind the idea. Byleth's use of all three major weapons from Three Houses feels ok to play with, but is IMO kind of a clumsy and uninspired moveset design. Whereas a bit more time might have clued the team in on someone like Edelgard's lasting popularity... and personally, I'd prefer to see a full axe, lance or bow themed moveset explored instead of just becoming another pretty standard kit of specials to cycle through. Corrin is cool enough to me, at least moveset wise, but people just don't like them very much. Fair enough.

I guess my bottom line is... well, a couple things. One, that Robin stands out on their own merit outside of being an avatar. Two, that I think Robin's avatar role would have felt more special if it didn't become the standard moving forward. But three, is that the decisions to go with these avatars by default is kind of a byproduct of work being done on Corrin and Byleth before anyone knew who would make waves. It kinda makes you wonder how Three Houses speculation would be going right now if we didn't rush into it with FP1... I'd probably be pushing a lot for Edelgard myself. I acknowledge I have my own preferences about this, others are more into the avatar picks than I am. But it's undeniable that jumping into representing lhe new FE game before release, much like choosing a new Pokemon, runs the risk of neglecting choices that reveal their popularity and credibility over time.

I have a feeling Splatoon is going to have 2 newcomers (Squid Sisters and Octolong), some people think i'm crazy for this prediction lol, but i think it makes sense to expand the splatoon roster.
Probably a bunch of new items as well, the Reefslider from 3 for example. As for stages i think we'll get one from S2 and another from S3, i think Moray Towers might be gone through, it wasn't a particulary well recived stage either iirc.

 

[Kirbeh]

My most wanted overall would probably be TMNT. I think my most wanted for Nintendo specifically would be Pokemon. There are multiple Pokemon wars in the lore that could be a great setting for a Warriors game. The one involving AZ from X and Y could be really cool.

For Nintendo, I'd take a Kirby Warriors. After all, effortlessly mowing down endless hoards is just lore accurate for most Kirby characters.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

If i have a "wild" prediction regarding Smash 6 is that i think most stages will be brand new, think of Brawl or WiiU amount of new stages with a few returning ones like maybe stuff like Minecraft World, Boxing Ring and Duck Hunt. I think even most of the returning veterans that are 3rd party will have a new stage.

This is exactly how I want stages to go. Pretty much all new minus a few returning out of Ultimate's new stages (stages like New Donk City, Cloud Sea of Alrest, Garreg Mach, etc.) and maybe a couple that are kinda ubiquitous for their character like Boxing Ring.

I think it's one of the easiest ways to differentiate it from Ultimate bringing nearly every old stage back, and a lot of the old stages are hitting that Mario Kart 8 fatigue for me, especially the really old ones like Temple that have been in every game since their debut.

 

[Kirbeh]

This is exactly how I want stages to go. Pretty much all new minus a few returning out of Ultimate's new stages and maybe a couple that are kinda ubiquitous for their character like Boxing Ring.

I think it's one of the easiest ways to differentiate it from Ultimate bringing nearly every old stage back, and a lot of the old stages are hitting that Mario Kart 8 fatigue for me, especially the really old ones like Temple that have been in every game since their debut.

I agree almost completely with this, except for the Temple part. For whatever reason that's one of a select few stages I never get tired of (the others being FoD and PS1, ironically also Melee stages even though I grew up on Brawl.)

 

[Gengar84]

I agree almost completely with this, except for the Temple part. For whatever reason that's one of a select few stages I never get tired of (the others being FoD and PS1, ironically also Melee stages even though I grew up on Brawl.)

Me too. It’s one of my favorite Smash stages ever. I also loved 64’s Hyrule Castle and Saffron City as well as Brawl’s side scrolling Mario stage. I just miss the underground section.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

I agree almost completely with this, except for the Temple part. For whatever reason that's one of a select few stages I never get tired of (the others being FoD and PS1, ironically also Melee stages even though I grew up on Brawl.)

I think I've talked about my Temple disdain before, but I've just never been a fan of Smash's overly big stages. Temple's probably the best of them, but that's not a very high bar to clear when your competition is stuff like New Pork City, Gaur Plain (I like Metal Face, but being so huge and split in half down the middle?), Great Cave Offensive, and Palutena's Temple lmao

 

[Kirbeh]

Me too. It’s one of my favorite Smash stages ever. I also loved 64’s Hyrule Castle and Saffron City as well as Brawl’s side scrolling Mario stage. I just miss the underground section.

I'm pretty fond of the N64 stages too. Honestly, while I would prefer most stages to be brand new, I'd still hope that they port over, maybe 5 or so from each game (counting 3DS and Wii U separately of course.) A second page dedicated to 30 legacy stages is still a lot but still within reason imo.

 

[Gengar84]

I felt like New Pork City was a lot better in Ultimate than it was in Brawl. It was originally way too hard to make out the platforms and I got lost all the time but Ultimate’s lighting really helped with that and I don’t mind the stage so much anymore. I think the huge stages are awesome in theory but I tend to lose track of my character all the time on them.

 

[ninjahmos]

I do think it’s strange that so many people are predicting a drastically scaled back roster while, at the same time, saying that it’s way too early to reveal Smash. If Smash 6 is really getting that much of an extended development cycle, you’d think they’d be able to have a fairly large roster even if it couldn’t bring back literally every character.

If not drastically scaled back, then I would suspect the next game's roster might be bigger than Smash 4 but smaller than Ultimate.

 

[Kirbeh]

I think I've talked about my Temple disdain before, but I've just never been a fan of Smash's overly big stages. Temple's probably the best of them, but that's not a very high bar to clear when your competition is stuff like New Pork City, Gaur Plain (I like Metal Face, but being so huge and split in half down the middle?), Great Cave Offensive, and Palutena's Temple lmao

Again, almost entirely in agreement here. Not a fan of PT, GP or GCO. NPC is at least okay in my book but not very good overall. Temple to me, remains the main exception.

I think it's the upper limit for how big stages should and it's layout just happens to work imo. I don't any other big (or eventual giant) stages feel good to play on but Temple still feels just right. I can totally understand getting bored of seeing/playing on it after so long though.

I actually don't play it super often since I tend to stick to 1v1s so that probably helps in my case

 

[Louie G.]

I have a feeling Splatoon is going to have 2 newcomers (Squid Sisters and Octolong), some people think i'm crazy for this prediction lol, but i think it makes sense to expand the splatoon roster.

I've been a vocal advocate of this for some time now - although I've been more of a champion for Off the Hook than Squid Sisters. I think both are perfect viable choices it just kinda boils down to what approach they want to take with it. Off the Hook's ability to represent new weapons and more varied designs / playstyles is a bit more compelling, but if the moveset is focused more around choreographed dance moves and what have you it might be better to use two more similar models in Callie and Marie.

I have seen this sentiment more often lately though, which is cool. I'm glad that the community at large has been warming up to the idea of expanding on more contemporary IP, or at least those relatively newer to Smash Bros, because... let's face it, we've got our nitpicks about the roster but most of the longstanding legacy / classic series in Smash have had years to build a satisfying lineup of its major players while currently massive series like Animal Crossing or Splatoon are missing out on their respective series staples like Tom Nook or Squid Sisters. With only a couple Smash titles under their belt so far it makes sense that this wouldn't be addressed immediately, but we're probably nearing their "Melee / Brawl moment" of rounding out their core cast.

 

[Gengar84]

If not drastically scaled back, then I would suspect the next game's roster might be bigger than Smash 4 but smaller than Ultimate.

Yeah, I could see that. I wouldn’t want it to go below a 65 character base roster. I think somewhere between 65-75 seems reasonable. Depending on how much they recycle Ultimate’s assets, I could see a bit larger than that. If the game is a hard reboot I think a smaller roster does make more sense. We’ll see what happens.