Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[dream1ng]

Oh really, what’s the censored version? I assumed that’s essentially what her 2XKO design is. As long as I get the Arcane designs in some way, I’m cool with them as alts.

It's the one with the bandage wrap around her chest used in WR

 

[Gengar84]

It's the one with the bandage wrap around her chest used in WR

Yeah, I just saw that just before you posted it. I agree this would be the best base outfit since it stands out more compared to the others. Her hooded Arcane outfit has similar white bandaging on her top so that ties in well. I’d also love if they incorporate the best elements of her League and Arcane personas. She can still be fun and wacky like League but have more emotional depth like Arcane. There’s only so much you can do in a Smash moveset but I think it would be cool.

 

[BrawlX10]

I think Smash will start its marketing next year and if it's anything like Smash 4's it'd take about a year or so is the main reason I personally don't think Smash would be next year. Of course I also think it started development in about mid-2024, so that also plays a part in it since 2027 would give it at least two and a half years of dev time, probably closer to three years or so. Not confirmed of course, but I've said for a while that that makes the most sense to me.

But even if you make the marketing Dojo wise go faster than 4's, since there are more veterans to confirm and likely more newcomers (a more standard amount) that each need a time to show off their trailers (and unlike in 4's dual release case probably wouldn't wait until after release to show them), I feel like it'd basically equalize the time taken.

Honestly, the "Pic of the Day" in Smash 4 had a lot of fluff, mostly because it didn’t just feature daily updates—it also included random pictures the dev team shared. For the next Smash game, I think it would be better to go back to a format like the Brawl Dojo, which focused solely on daily updates. This would work even if the development cycle is shorter. The Brawl Dojo opened on May 22, 2007, and Brawl was released on January 31, 2008. The Dojo only lasted about eight months, so a similar approach could work even if the game is announced in January 2026 and released in November 2026, giving us about 10 months of updates.

As for confirming returning content, I don’t think it’s a huge issue. In fact, having multiple veteran reveals per month could keep things exciting. Plus, they could reveal one newcomer each month, depending on how many new characters they include (I’m guessing around 8 newcomers). They also don’t have to reveal every single veteran fighter upfront—they could save some surprises for post-release, which might help spread out updates.

Returning items, assist trophies, Poké Balls, and stages could be bundled into single updates to avoid taking up multiple days. For example, we might get updates like: “RETURNING ITEMS 1” showcasing 5 items, or “RETURNING ASSIST TROPHIES 1,” “RETURNING POKÉBALLS 1,” and “RETURNING STAGES 1,” etc. This would help avoid running out of time for updates if the schedule gets tight.

If we assume around 72 returning veterans and 8 newcomers, that’s 80 fighter reveals—about over two months of daily updates. This still leaves roughly 7 months for other content like new items, stages, game modes, music, etc. I think this can all be done in under a year.

 

[DarthEnderX]

How many new omers do you expect in smash first reveal assuming it's not some small teaser like ultimates with only one being inkling.

2?

Whatever the case, I’m sure they’ll at least make an entirely new IP to demonstrate mouse mode

Not necessary.

 

[Gengar84]

Honestly, the "Pic of the Day" in Smash 4 had a lot of fluff, mostly because it didn’t just feature daily updates—it also included random pictures the dev team shared. For the next Smash game, I think it would be better to go back to a format like the Brawl Dojo, which focused solely on daily updates. This would work even if the development cycle is shorter. The Brawl Dojo opened on May 22, 2007, and Brawl was released on January 31, 2008. The Dojo only lasted about eight months, so a similar approach could work even if the game is announced in January 2026 and released in November 2026, giving us about 10 months of updates.

As for confirming returning content, I don’t think it’s a huge issue. In fact, having multiple veteran reveals per month could keep things exciting. Plus, they could reveal one newcomer each month, depending on how many new characters they include (I’m guessing around 8 newcomers). They also don’t have to reveal every single veteran fighter upfront—they could save some surprises for post-release, which might help spread out updates.

Returning items, assist trophies, Poké Balls, and stages could be bundled into single updates to avoid taking up multiple days. For example, we might get updates like: “RETURNING ITEMS 1” showcasing 5 items, or “RETURNING ASSIST TROPHIES 1,” “RETURNING POKÉBALLS 1,” and “RETURNING STAGES 1,” etc. This would help avoid running out of time for updates if the schedule gets tight.

If we assume around 72 returning veterans and 8 newcomers, that’s 80 fighter reveals—about over two months of daily updates. This still leaves roughly 7 months for other content like new items, stages, game modes, music, etc. I think this can all be done in under a year.

I really like this. The Dojo was by far the most exciting prerelease media for any game ever so I’d love to see something like it return. The pic of the day just wasn’t the same. I’d be more than happy with around 72 returning veterans and 8 newcomers in the base game. Especially if it had a longer DLC cycle so we can get to at least 100 characters by the time everything is finished.

 

[RileyXY1]

Guessing Sakurai would opt for the og design (with the chest wrap if need be for good boys and girls) as the default - it's from the "main game" and he seems to lean more towards the classic design for third-parties when they have multiple well-known ones (though obv not as a rule), with the Arcane one as an alt.

I also think the other design not originating from a game would only further compel Sakurai to not have it as the default.

But if Riot was insistent on the opposite, I don't see Sakurai pulling a "if you make me use Ghostly Adventures I will cut Pac-Man".


It's increasingly uncommon to see Nintendo games announced more than a year before their release, and unless the schedule is barren or lackluster without it, I don't think Smash will prove an exception. I know it used to have very long pre-release wait times, but I think between Nintendo's changing tactics, Sakurai's previous distaste expressed towards how early Smash has been revealed as well as having to spend time updating the DOJO/PotD, as well as what I'm expecting will be a somewhat small base with a greater focus on continued DLC makes me predict something akin to Ultimate's release again, being revealed less than a year before release.

In fact if the game were to hypothetically release holiday 2026, I could see a very similar timeframe play out to Smash in 2018.

I also doubt there will be more newcomers in 6's base than 4's given the latter wasn't made with DLC planned in advance.

Unless they're doing Everyone is Here again I can't really see them doing a truncated pre-release like Ultimate had.

 

[Perkilator]

Speaking of Luigi's Mansion 3... What content from that game should be in Smash?

For me:

• Last Resort
• King Boo as an AT and/or boss

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

Final Nintendo Music update before the Switch 2's Direct finally dropped, and it's the original F-ZERO.

 

[SneakyLink]

Final Nintendo Music update before the Switch 2's Direct finally dropped, and it's the original F-ZERO.

Plus the F-Zero X Expansion Kit

 

[Thegameandwatch]

Plus the F-Zero X Expansion Kit

Which includes Rainbow Road because it was a bonus track.

The opposite of Mario Kart 8 that had two F-Zero Tracks.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

Plus the F-Zero X Expansion Kit

Indeed. I really need to start checking if the Recent Highlights bit at the top of the page has the little dots to tell me there's more than one thing added lmao

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

A lot of the movesets I see proposed for her that don't get the "too similar to Diddy" or "just a generic animal" complaints tend to focus strictly on her hair, making her fight more like Guilty Gear's Millia Rage or Marvel's Medusa

immediately imagines Dixie Kong doing Millia's Bad Moon and hair car attacks.

 

[Gengar84]

I will say, I do much prefer Jinx’s and Vi’s Arcane designs to their default League counterparts. I feel like their new designs just show off so much more personality. Nothing really against their game designs and they do make sense as the default but I think Arcane’s just go a step further. I do prefer game Warwick to his Arcane design though.

On a similar subject, if some of your most wanted characters have multiple designs from different games, are there any you’d be much more excited to see in particular? For example, I’d love the Battlemaniacs versions of the Battletoads, Zero’s MMX design, Sub-Zero’s UMK3 design and Impa’s Hyrule Warriors design.

 

[Ivander]

Whatever the case, I’m sure they’ll at least make an entirely new IP to demonstrate mouse mode, like how they made ARMS to demonstrate the Switch 1’s Joy-Con tech.

And the main character will be a mouse, to really give the player the feeling that they are using a mouse.

Not necessary.

It's his time to shine.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

And the main character will be a mouse, to really give the player the feeling that they are using a mouse.

It's his time to shine.
View attachment 400792

I'll do you one better.

(Yes I know it's a rat, not a mouse, but what is a rat but a bigger mouse?)

 

[BackseatSakurai]

It happens or we riot.

 

[Perkilator]

Which includes Rainbow Road because it was a bonus track.

The opposite of Mario Kart 8 that had two F-Zero Tracks.

It’s like poetry, it rhymes

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

In hindsight, a Mario Paint stage would have been pretty fun. Fighting on a musical scale, avoiding the flyswatter, watching platforms disappear via various erase options. It wouldn't have been wholly original given the Mario Maker and Pictochat levels, but there's still potential in the idea.

 

[BrawlX10]

I really like this. The Dojo was by far the most exciting prerelease media for any game ever so I’d love to see something like it return. The pic of the day just wasn’t the same. I’d be more than happy with around 72 returning veterans and 8 newcomers in the base game. Especially if it had a longer DLC cycle so we can get to at least 100 characters by the time everything is finished.

Honestly, i just think even in just 8 months of pre-release, not even 10, they'll be able to cover most stuff from Smash 6 if they do it Brawl DOJO-style. I think people overstimate how much time we'll need to cover the game with dialy updates, they can also always make some veterans and stages unlockable and reveal them post-release if they really want to free up some time, anyways, they don't really need to reveal everything pre-release.

 

[Perkilator]

In hindsight, a Mario Paint stage would have been pretty fun. Fighting on a musical scale, avoiding the flyswatter, watching platforms disappear via various erase options. It wouldn't have been wholly original given the Mario Maker and Pictochat levels, but there's still potential in the idea.

Speaking of stages:

 

[ninjahmos]

In hindsight, a Mario Paint stage would have been pretty fun. Fighting on a musical scale, avoiding the flyswatter, watching platforms disappear via various erase options. It wouldn't have been wholly original given the Mario Maker and Pictochat levels, but there's still potential in the idea.

We already have the medley, we just need the stage.

 

[dream1ng]

She can still be fun and wacky like League but have more emotional depth like Arcane.

If you're looking for emotional depth I'm not sure Smash is your best bet

Maybe Smash reveals

Unless they're doing Everyone is Here again I can't really see them doing a truncated pre-release like Ultimate had.

If you think the goal will be to string out reveals as long as possible, you better start expecting to see Smash in two days.

But it's not going to be that, it's going to be working backwards from a release window, deciding on when they want to start promoting the game, and then fitting all the promotion in that span. Their priority will be the beginning and end dates of promotion, not making sure all characters are spread out.

Smash usually gets a long pre-release, but it's not like it needs one. <1 year would be sufficient for all the base newcomers if there's more than Ultimate but fewer than the earlier games since Directs often have multiple reveals, and the veterans can be dropped periodically in and out of presentations.

 

[BackseatSakurai]

Counterpoint, they kinda already gave Dragon Quest multiple reps by using multiple protagonists as alts, i thought that was a better way of handling it.

It is very Dragon Quest to outdo the competition via simplicity and elegance. I will say it is a shame that out of all the RPGs in Smash, it's the one that got the perfect solution that makes excessive reps seem pointless, given that it's the one that probably "deserves" some bloat if any of them do.

 

[Gengar84]

If you're looking for emotional depth I'm not sure Smash is your best bet

Maybe Smash reveals


If you think the goal will be to string out reveals as long as possible, you better start expecting to see Smash in two days.

But it's not going to be that, it's going to be working backwards from a release window, deciding on when they want to start promoting the game, and then fitting all the promotion in that span. Their priority will be the beginning and end dates of promotion, not making sure all characters are spread out.

Smash usually gets a long pre-release, but it's not like it needs one. <1 year would be sufficient for all the base newcomers if there's more than Ultimate but fewer than the earlier games since Directs often have multiple reveals, and the veterans can be dropped periodically in and out of presentations.

Yeah, I know there’s only so much you can convey in a Smash moveset but I think it’s still possible through taunts and victory screens to do something simple but impactful. Plus there’s the potential of some kind of story mode.

 

[Guynamednelson]

Yes I know it's a rat, not a mouse

Not according to the Pokedex

 

[DarthEnderX]

I will say, I do much prefer Jinx’s and Vi’s Arcane designs to their default League counterparts.

I like her 2XKO design best. And since it'll already be tied to a 2D fighting game moveset, it'll transfer to Smash easiest.

On a similar subject, if some of your most wanted characters have multiple designs from different games, are there any you’d be much more excited to see in particular? For example, I’d love the Battlemaniacs versions of the Battletoads, Zero’s MMX design, Sub-Zero’s UMK3 design and Impa’s Hyrule Warriors design.

Pretty much all of those(I assume you mean the masked UMK3 Sub-Zero).

Also Hyrule Warriors Ganondorf. Modern Hayabusa. Galuga Rizer/Bean. And classic chibi Kunio/Riki.

 

[Gengar84]

I like her 2XKO design best. And since it'll already be tied to a 2D fighting game moveset, it'll transfer to Smash easiest.

Pretty much all of those(I assume you mean the masked UMK3 Sub-Zero).

Also Hyrule Warriors Ganondorf. Modern Hayabusa. Galuga Rizer/Bean. And classic chibi Kunio/Riki.

I really like her 2XKO design too but my favorites are still her Arcane designs. I think I’d go with the censored League design for the base just because it looks more different distinct in comparison to her main Arcane design.

Yeah, the masked version that they also used in Fortnite. Thats THE Sub-Zero look for me.

 

[BrawlX10]

Speaking of stages:

You know after watching a bit of this video....i think Waluigi Pinball has a good chance to show up as a stage if Waluigi is a newcomer next game.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

I'll do you one better.

At first I surprised that Rattata was so huge, but really, I should have expected nothing less of the top percentage of Rattatas.

 

[Gengar84]

At first I surprised that Rattata was so huge, but really, I should have expected nothing less of the top percentage of Rattatas.

I could never listen to this wrestler’s theme without always thinking of Joey and his Rattata. If I knew how to make an AMV, I probably would made a compilation of anime Rattata clips to this song:

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

m.youtube.com

 

[Dukefire]

Well, prepare for the jokes tomorrow. It also means 1 more day.

 

[RileyXY1]

If you think the goal will be to string out reveals as long as possible, you better start expecting to see Smash in two days.

But it's not going to be that, it's going to be working backwards from a release window, deciding on when they want to start promoting the game, and then fitting all the promotion in that span. Their priority will be the beginning and end dates of promotion, not making sure all characters are spread out.

Smash usually gets a long pre-release, but it's not like it needs one. <1 year would be sufficient for all the base newcomers if there's more than Ultimate but fewer than the earlier games since Directs often have multiple reveals, and the veterans can be dropped periodically in and out of presentations.

Part of the reason why Brawl and Smash 4 had such elongated pre-release periods was because they were revealing both veterans and newcomers separately, and they were often spread out. Thanks to Ultimate bringing everyone back such a long pre-release wasn't needed, and they could just reveal all the veterans at once. Such a shortened pre-release period requires them to reveal all the veterans at once, as otherwise we would have multiple character reveals every week, which just isn't practical. Therefore they need to do Everyone is Here again if they want to do an Ultimate styled pre-release period.

 

[Undella2]

Why doesn't this site have new character support threads opened up between games or whatnot, anyway? Isn't "between games when development for the next one might be starting/progressing" the best time to rally support for one's favorite character or characters so developers might be able to take note? (however unlikely it may be for such threads to actually directly impact things)

 

[Laniv]

Speaking of Luigi's Mansion 3... What content from that game should be in Smash?

King Boo as a fighter, Gooigi as an Echo (or an alt), The Last Resort as a stage, and... oh I dunno, E. Gadd as an Assist Trophy.

 

[Gengar84]

Why doesn't this site have new character support threads opened up between games or whatnot, anyway? Isn't "between games when development for the next one might be starting/progressing" the best time to rally support for one's favorite character or characters so developers might be able to take note? (however unlikely it may be for such threads to actually directly impact things)

That’s pretty much my thinking as well. I think our site is likely too small to have much an impact anyways but by the time the game is revealed, the roster would have been finalized a long time ago so rallying support is a bit pointless. Still fun that it gives us an outlet to talk about our favorite characters but it could never affect the actual roster.

 

[BrawlX10]

Such a shortened pre-release period requires them to reveal all the veterans.

They don't really. 8-10 months is enough time to reveal them periodically.
Keep in mind that also:
. If there's cuts, it means they don't have to cover all veterans
. They can also use unlockable status as a excuse to not have to cover all veterans pre-release.

 

[MBRedboy31]

Smash should have some kind of funny side mode that uses the Joycon mouse. Maybe, one of the players, instead of fighting, can draw terrain, drop in objects and items, ect. to mess around with everyone else.

They could've done that back on the Wii U, but, better late than never, I guess.

The mouse would also be very handy for Stage Builder, of course.

 

[cashregister9]

Smash should have some kind of funny side mode that uses the Joycon mouse. Maybe, one of the players, instead of fighting, can draw terrain, drop in objects and items, ect. to mess around with everyone else.

They could've done that back on the Wii U, but, better late than never, I guess.

The mouse would also be very handy for Stage Builder, of course.

HELL YEAH BABY THE RETURN OF STREETSMASH, LET'S GOOOOO

 

[Perkilator]

The mouse would also be very handy for Stage Builder, of course.

Speaking of (man, I say that a lot), I will always second the idea of adding Target Test/Board the Platforms/Race to the Finish as Stage Builder options to share bonus stages online.

 

[MBRedboy31]

HELL YEAH BABY THE RETURN OF STREETSMASH, LET'S GOOOOO

Maybe they could flesh it out more with having the different character disks have different abilities, all available on the big screen for multiple players to play. Maybe each player could have a team of disks, making it a strategic yet chaotic team fight instead of a battle royale.