• Welcome to Smashboards, the world's largest Super Smash Brothers community! Over 250,000 Smash Bros. fans from around the world have come to discuss these great games in over 19 million posts!

    You are currently viewing our boards as a visitor. Click here to sign up right now and start on your path in the Smash community!

Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

GoldenYuiitusin

Smash Champion
Joined
Jan 10, 2024
Messages
2,009
Location
Questioning my existence while asleep
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.
It wouldn't affect the roster regardless. It's not like Sakurai's going to browse SmashBoards and base decisions around who has a thread and how many posts are in it.

When you think about it, the idea of "rallying support" in general is pointless. It's more or less cheering for a sports team once the season starts. Doesn't affect the outcome but it brings supporters together when things are active.
 

ninjahmos

Smash Lord
Joined
Aug 12, 2018
Messages
1,921
Location
Noneya Business
Switch FC
SW-8579-4123-9016
I'm a little late on this, but the Switch 2's mouse controls would be perfect for a Mario Paint revival, and if Nintendo ever does decide to do that, they should reuse features from Mario Paint, Mario no Photopi, Mario Artist (Paint Studio, Talent Studio and Polygon Studio) and maybe even Mario Maker.

Oh, and it probably won't happen anytime soon, but I'm also kind of hoping Nintendo will do a revival of Talent Studio, with Miis as an additional feature along with the customizable characters from the original game.
 
Last edited:

Pupp135

Smash Champion
Joined
Mar 30, 2020
Messages
2,377
A few Res here:
What do you think are the top five most likely new Nintendo franchises to get a character in the next Smash Bros, and why?
Ring Fit Adventure: Nintendo’s most successful IP to debut in the Switch era by a large margin.
Excitebike: Personally, the Excitebike Rider feels like the next step for adding a surprise fighter given that his moveset would be unconventional, and he also comes from a now overlooked 1980s IP.
Golden Sun: This primarily hinges on the requests that Isaac has within the SSB community.
Astral Chain: Another IP introduced in the Switch era, and I think Officer Howard may have a hook that interests Sakurai.
Famicom Detective Club: The franchise received a revival during the Switch era, but I feel more confident in the four above.

How are we feeling about Bomberman?

He's an assist trophy and a Mii costume and I feel like he's pretty inoffensive / pleasing to everyone - feels like a major oversight to not have him in, but feel like he's rarely brought up actively. I personally would say he's top 5 / top 10 most likely third-party newcomers.
Konami was pretty generous with the content that we had in Ultimate, and if we do get Snake and/or the Belmonts back, I think Bomberman has a decent shot at joining as he seems to be a liked character overall, and he does have some notable non-playable treatment in Ultimate. I think his chances are reduced if Konami characters are not a priority next game.

How many newcomers do you expect in smash first reveal assuming it's not some small teaser like ultimates with only one being inkling.
I think two or three newcomers feels like the most likely option as newcomers are part of the draw towards SSB, and SSBFor had a similar number of newcomers revealed initially.
 

smashkirby

Smash Hero
Joined
Feb 15, 2014
Messages
7,062
Location
Smashville
I think it's way too early for a Sony rep, so i don't think Nintendo is going to ask them anything yet. Plus they still have the Master Chief card, presumably, so if they want a character from a "rival" console, then they'll go for Chief first as Microsoft is with a better relationship with Nintendo.
When Sony ports a Ratchet and Clank or non-lego Horizon game or something into a Nintendo console, then maybe we can start consider them, but for now it's just baby steps.
Fair point. So, I guess the same can be said for a Sony AT, huh? I mean that we most likely won't be seeing Ratchet or Sly or even Spike as an AT?

Heck, the more I think about it... I kind of doubt we'd even get something like PaRappa or a Hot Shots character (Golf and Tennis alike) as a Trophy/Spirit...

I dont tbh, i'd like a dedicated website, but that's just probably me begin outdated and prefering using my pc at home.
You're not the only one. I know Smash is a massive deal, ESPECIALLY nowadays, but to avoid it getting lost in the 'clutter' of Nintendo Today? I'd prefer Nintendo not rock the boat on this one and just stick with a dedicated Smash Bros. website.

Well, Golden Sun is by far the most likely, due to Isaac's Ballot performance and its general popularity. To a certain extent, this and Rhythm Heaven have tended to dominate or even bottleneck a lot of the discussion on non-80s, non-current Nintendo series (I mean before RH's recent reveal for Switch, which is why I didn't list it). I do wonder how discussion of these middle-era Nintendo franchises could've gone if, say, we got Isaac in Brawl or Ult and Chorus Kids in Smash 4, but I digress with that lament.

As for the rest, I think it's like, individually they're not very likely, but collectively there could be some chance, since there's so many of them with so many different potential hooks.
However, speaking very generally, I think "more commercial success and a clearer idea of how they would work or have a hook --> more likely." I also think things like being internally developed or having some specific connection to someone like Miyamoto who has some clout w/in the company are advantages.

As for some other specific series:

I do think that as long as we're entertaining the idea of a mounted character like Excitebiker as a kind of surprise or retro rep, a Wave Race rep stands out as another possibility for that which could be even more surprising, had actually pretty similar sales, and also has a connection to Miyamoto, who produced.

As I alluded to, Custom Robo actually may have done pretty decent on the Ballot. It was appearing on polls here and there and actually ranked as high as Sora in the big aggregated polling spreadsheet. Now, clearly it didn't do nearly as well as Sora on the actual Ballot, as Sora seems to be a huge polling outlier, and I don't see CR as any sort of top vote-getter, but there's a good chance it got some notice. It's still unlikely to be repped by a PC because it's basically defunct without a developer or clear future, and didn't sell all too well even when it was still ongoing, but at least there's a little something there you can point to.

I think Brain Age and Big Brain Academy are good examples of series that have a pretty good case actually on paper, in terms of sales and the fact they're still active series even if their big sales breakthroughs are well in the past. It's just, does Sakurai see the hook with either Dr. Kawashima or Dr. Lobe as fighters, and are these series too much in the periphery of Nintendo's collection of ongoing series to motivate trying to find a creative way to make them work?
Style Savvy I would have included in this category until recently. Unfortunately, with Fashion Dreamer being essentially a successor to the series but not published by Nintendo, its chances seem pretty dead now, despite its previous run of pretty good sales with a presumably low budget and high casual appeal.

Lastly, I'd like to bring up Pilotwings, because it's another one that at least on paper has a pretty good case: sold pretty well and was well-regarded critically in its day, had some novel gameplay that made its mark on the industry and pushed the limits of its consoles, was produced by Miyamoto, and was even briefly revived for the 3DS. It just again has sort of similar problems to some of the others: without it being relevant and without the hook for the moveset being as immediately obvious as some others, and on top of that questions on whether Nintendo would be comfortable repping Pilotwings with one of its lesser-known OCs, I'm not sure what the path to a PC would be. I guess if the Miis were ever given a moveset actually based on their games, you could work in some aircrafts or gadgets from Pilotwings Resort as part of their recovery. But again, on paper, it can't not come to mind when we think of inactive series not repped in Smash that have merit on par with some of the series already in Smash.
Yeah, this all seems about on par with what's probably expected of C/D-list Nintendo franchises at this point... that said, I have to say that I really hope Nintendo doesn't automatically default to the Miis for a Pilotwings character. I'm just saying, these guys are right there...

tumblr_nwntm18wTG1tu022ro2_1280.jpg

Aside from that, may I ask what you think about the odds for Chibi-Robo and Wars? I know they both have... uphill climbs, but I feel as though Chibi-Robo getting that Mii Gunner outfit says something positive (in a similar manner to Custom Robo's Ray MK III getting a Mii Fighter outfit) and while Wars has trouble REALLY catching on in the East, it DOES have a storied legacy that spans longer than stuff like Golden Sun and Rhythm Heaven.
 

TheFirstPoppyBro

ᕦ_(⌐■+|+■)_ᕤ
Joined
Sep 5, 2011
Messages
8,809
Location
Gensokyo
NNID
breloomer236
3DS FC
2449-4708-5381
Switch FC
SW-7045-4156-8715
You're not the only one. I know Smash is a massive deal, ESPECIALLY nowadays, but to avoid it getting lost in the 'clutter' of Nintendo Today? I'd prefer Nintendo not rock the boat on this one and just stick with a dedicated Smash Bros. website.
I feel like they'd still make a Dojo since they have for the last three games to have a dedicated spot for this kind of stuff, but any announcements on the Dojo would also get posted to Nintendo Today, since it is Nintendo news related.

If they do Pic of the Day again, that could also go up on there, since Nintendo Today also has things like Character profiles and little New Horizons comics featuring the Nooks.
 
Last edited:

KingofPhantoms

The Spook Factor
Joined
Feb 12, 2013
Messages
33,987
Location
Southern California
3DS FC
1006-1145-8453
It wouldn't affect the roster regardless. It's not like Sakurai's going to browse SmashBoards and base decisions around who has a thread and how many posts are in it.

When you think about it, the idea of "rallying support" in general is pointless. It's more or less cheering for a sports team once the season starts. Doesn't affect the outcome but it brings supporters together when things are active.
I like to think it probably helped the results for the ballot and bring characters like Ridley more to Sakurai's attention, at the very least.

Had not as many people rallied large groups of supporters for the characters (who actually originated from video games, at least) who got tons of ballot votes, would the characters they voted for have gotten in anyway? Probably, but I doubt it that didn't make a decent impact for more people to realize that there were so many other supporters of Ridley, Bayo, K. Rool, Sora and others out there and for people to help bring the ballot to the attention of more people who wanted those characters.

With that said, yeah, one site specifically like Smashboards isn't going to make much of an impact all on it's own. Character support needs to go beyond one website, let alone one that isn't a major social media platform or has many active users. But I fully believe that the sheer amount of support a few characters have gotten on the internet over the years has helped bring some of them to Sakurai's attention, and that some of them likely wouldn't have gotten in by Ultimate otherwise.
 

ninjahmos

Smash Lord
Joined
Aug 12, 2018
Messages
1,921
Location
Noneya Business
Switch FC
SW-8579-4123-9016
Yeah, this all seems about on par with what's probably expected of C/D-list Nintendo franchises at this point... that said, I have to say that I really hope Nintendo doesn't automatically default to the Miis for a Pilotwings character. I'm just saying, these guys are right there...

View attachment 400805
Speaking of Pilotwings, I'm hoping they not only bring back the PW64 characters if they do a revival, but also do renditions of music from both the original SNES game and 64.

In fact, I'm also kind of hoping that the musical style will be similar to 70s/80s funk music, like 64.
 
Last edited:

BrawlX10

Smash Ace
Joined
Feb 1, 2025
Messages
500
If unlockable characters somehow return at brawl/melee's amount....what characters do you feel are likely to be unlockable?
If these veterans return, i think they could be unlockable, maybe: :ultpiranha: , :ultcorrin: , :ultpalutena: , :ultsephiroth: , :ultkazuya: .
 

SharkLord

Smash Hero
Joined
Jun 20, 2020
Messages
7,915
Location
Pangaea, 250 MYA
This isn't to dismiss the legitimate skepticism toward the Hunter's situation... perhaps there is something else going on, or candidates that are deemed stronger choices. Just clarifying before I get into this that it isn't the ONLY factor. If you want to remain skeptical I think it's totally fair. I'm not like, 100% convinced of it myself I'm just speaking on a bit of hypocrisy / shade here that I recognize among some fans.

There is no doubt some resistance on behalf of (relative) disinterest. With a wealth of colorful Capcom characters I feel that some fans want to write Monster Hunter out of the equation as cleanly as possible to get closer to their "cool" pick like Dante or Phoenix Wright. Same reason why IMO I see people write off Chun-Li under the guise of "new series reps" and so forth. In MH's case, it's hinging on progressively further irrelevant statements dating back to MVCI.

Like okay, yes we have a few bits and pieces of info to suggest maybe Capcom wasn't keen on Monster Hunter crossing over for a time. But this was an open and shut case for so many people during Ultimate DLC, and meanwhile you had some people suggesting Doom Slayer would be playable all the way up until the last reveal despite having been shot down like a year prior. The community picks and chooses which info it wants to run with and which it doesn't. I think Monster Hunter is often treated unfairly because for whatever reason a lot of Smash fans aren't familiar with or excited by it.
Honestly? I think you're on to something. The point of contention I originally had was people insisting that we needed a monster as the primary MH rep, and trying to use Monster Hunter Stories to justify the pitch because that let you use monsters (Ahem, Monsties) to fight. I didn't want to point fingers and assume people aren't Monster Hunter fans without actually knowing their tastes, but I'd be lying if I said the "Monster Hunter is about the monsters" mindset doesn't come from non-fans, at least to some degree.

If people just think Rathalos is really friggin' cool, I get it. It's a big red wyvern that breathes fire, has poisonous claws, and has a highly detailed ecology built up for it. Rathalos is really friggin' cool. But when discussing the prospect of a Monster Hunter fighter in Smash, the belief that it needs to be the monsters is still quite prevalent. Whether it's because of an aversion to avatar characters, the MvC3 statement, a lack of first-hand knowledge of Monster Hunter, or just personal preference, it feels like people start with the conclusion of "Monster Hunter must be represented with a monster" and work back from there, instead of evaluating the potential fighters equally and weighing them against the fighters Smash usually adds.
 

The Prankster 16

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Apr 4, 2018
Messages
353
Location
Green Dolphin Street Prison
Switch FC
SW-5261-0723-0145
On the topic of Capcom characters, I just bought and started on the DMC games for the first time to get to know Dante, and I was wondering if those ESRB restrictions will affect Smash 6 in any way? Nintendo had to censor the game logos for all the Mii Costumes from M-Rated series, and it even bled into the newer spirits with the ones added in 2024 with ratings over E-10+, even the Noah & Mio Spirit didn't show that it was from Xenoblade. I also bring this up because Astro Bot released last year and was also rated E-10+, but was able to get away with a multitude of refrences to T/M Rated games and franchises. Will this hurt the chances of more M-Rated characters, or is there some kind of work-around that I don't know about?
 
Last edited:

Thegameandwatch

Smash Ace
Joined
Dec 21, 2024
Messages
692
Location
Superflat World: Flat Zone
If unlockable characters somehow return at brawl/melee's amount....what characters do you feel are likely to be unlockable?
If these veterans return, i think they could be unlockable, maybe: :ultpiranha: , :ultcorrin: , :ultpalutena: , :ultsephiroth: , :ultkazuya: .
My guesses for unlockable characters:

:ultbayonetta::ultbowserjr::ultbyleth::ultcloud::ultcorrin::ultdoc::ultduckhunt::ultfalco::ultganondorf::ultincineroar::ultjigglypuff::ultkazuya::ultkrool::ultmewtwo::ultgnw::ultpalutena::ultpichu::ultpiranha::ultrob::ultroy::ultken::ultsephiroth::ultsora::ultsteve::ult_terry::ultwolf::ultyounglink::ultjoker:. Also All echos.

50/50 or has a chance: :ultbanjokazooie::ultfalcon::ulthero::ultmarth::ultluigi::ulttoonlink::ultlucario::ultrobin::ultpyra::ultgreninja::ultness::ultlucas::ulticeclimbers::ultwiifittrainer:

it even bled into the newer spirits with the ones added in 2024 with ratings over E-10+, even the Noah & Mio Spirit didn't show that it was from Xenoblade.
From what I have checked, the Xenoblade 3 spirit and other T rated spirits also doesn’t have the series name when the language is changed to Japanese so it’s probably something else rather then it being because of ESRB.
 

SMAASH! Puppy

Smash Legend
Joined
Feb 13, 2015
Messages
14,076
Location
Snake Man's stage from Metal Blade Solid
On the topic of Capcom characters, I just bought and started on the DMC games for the first time to get to know Dante, and I was wondering if those ESRB restrictions will affect Smash 6 in any way? Nintendo had to censor the game logos for all the Mii Costumes from M-Rated series, and it even bled into the newer spirits with the ones added in 2024 with ratings over E-10+, even the Noah & Mio Spirit didn't show that it was from Xenoblade. I also bring this up because Astro Bot released last year and was also rated E-10+, but was able to get away with a multitude of refrences to T/M Rated games and franchises. Will this hurt the chances of more M-Rated characters, or is there some kind of work-around that I don't know about?
As far as we've seen the ESRB regulations disallow the use of the names of higher rated IPs, but not the use of the IPs themselves. So Dante can appear in Smash without issue so long as "Devil May Cry" isn't anywhere in the game or the trailer for him. Likely, this will just mean that all series/game names will be removed from the game.

No idea if this applies to logos or not.
 

Louie G.

Smash Legend
Joined
Aug 21, 2013
Messages
10,241
Location
Rhythm Heaven
it feels like people start with the conclusion of "Monster Hunter must be represented with a monster" and work back from there, instead of evaluating the potential fighters equally and weighing them against the fighters Smash usually adds.
I had to eat some humble pie once Steve finally rolled around and much of what I said about Minecraft representation - that it would be just fine with a stage, items, etc but didn't need a character - was null and void. Personally, I think that a really nice Monster Hunter stage, more music and a couple items on top of the Rathalos boss would be really solid in and of itself. But after Steve's reveal I figured I wouldn't make that same mistake skewed largely by my own character philosophy and less so where Smash's priorities lie. Just personally as someone who doesn't like to default to a generic avatar.

In the scope Capcom characters bursting with colorful designs and fun personalities a Monster Hunter feels a bit underwhelming, dynamically speaking. Particularly when Smash already has a lot of these kind of characters to begin with. But that's just it... Smash is fine with it. It doesn't matter what I think, the precedent is well established and there's nothing about Monster Hunter that falls outside of it. The only reason it's a question at all is because of those weird Capcom statements that may or may not still hold. Again, can't blame anyone for simply erring on the side of caution here, but I think the impulse to make it a monster or a Palico or whatever feels progressively more and more like cope.

But I will say at least in respect to something like Palico, if Hero / Slime is anything to go by then Sakurai probably would have some sort of backup plan if they wanted to ask for a Monster Hunter character. I think Rathalos is fine where they are though, if Sakurai took like 15 years to shake the idea that Ridley could only be done justice as a boss then I don't think he's adding mini Monster Hunter monsters any time soon.
 
Last edited:

NotGenerico

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Feb 16, 2019
Messages
220
On the topic of Capcom characters, I just bought and started on the DMC games for the first time to get to know Dante, and I was wondering if those ESRB restrictions will affect Smash 6 in any way? Nintendo had to censor the game logos for all the Mii Costumes from M-Rated series, and it even bled into the newer spirits with the ones added in 2024 with ratings over E-10+, even the Noah & Mio Spirit didn't show that it was from Xenoblade. I also bring this up because Astro Bot released last year and was also rated E-10+, but was able to get away with a multitude of refrences to T/M Rated games and franchises. Will this hurt the chances of more M-Rated characters, or is there some kind of work-around that I don't know about?

There's a simple solution. Make the next Smash Bros T-Rated like Brawl. After Clive was added as DLC, the T-Rated Tekken 8 was able to refer to Final Fantasy XVI, a M-rated game, by name with no issues.
 
Last edited:

TheFirstPoppyBro

ᕦ_(⌐■+|+■)_ᕤ
Joined
Sep 5, 2011
Messages
8,809
Location
Gensokyo
NNID
breloomer236
3DS FC
2449-4708-5381
Switch FC
SW-7045-4156-8715
As far as we've seen the ESRB regulations disallow the use of the names of higher rated IPs, but not the use of the IPs themselves. So Dante can appear in Smash without issue so long as "Devil May Cry" isn't anywhere in the game or the trailer for him. Likely, this will just mean that all series/game names will be removed from the game.

No idea if this applies to logos or not.
I feel like it'd be difficult to do that though in some cases, especially in the music menus where it always lists the origin game for the song in question, especially if it prevents Nintendo from even mentioning things they own like Xenoblade, since the games are all Teen rated. Like EARTHBOUND is rated Teen these days.

I almost wonder if the team will just find it easier to take the T rating like back in Melee's day before E10+ even existed, or if mentioning those series might do it on its own like "This is the lowest you can go after listing these franchises".
 
Last edited:

Undella2

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Sep 4, 2018
Messages
344

There's a simple solution. Make the next Smash Bros T-Rated like Brawl. After Clive was added as DLC, the T-Rated Tekken 8 was able to refer to Final Fantasy XVI, a M-rated game, by name with no issues.
Why was Brawl in particular even rated T?

Edit: Just checked and apparently Melee was also rated T? What was in those games to make the ratings people give them that?
 
Last edited:

SMAASH! Puppy

Smash Legend
Joined
Feb 13, 2015
Messages
14,076
Location
Snake Man's stage from Metal Blade Solid
There's a simple solution. Make the next Smash Bros T-Rated like Brawl. After Clive was added as DLC, the T-Rated Tekken 8 was able to refer to Final Fantasy XVI, a M-rated game, by name with no issues.
Huh. I guess it would make sense that it only effects E(10+) rated games, and brought them up to T rather than M. It at least feels more reasonable. The main question then would be is Smash E10+ by mandate or just because that's where it shook out?

Why was Brawl in particular even rated T?

Edit: Just checked and apparently Melee was also rated T? What was in those games to make the ratings people give them that?
There was the aforementioned fact that E10+ didn't exist yet, but for Brawl, my guess would be Zero Suit Samus. Particularly the cutscene where the camera does close ups on her while she drops from a vent.
 

SharkLord

Smash Hero
Joined
Jun 20, 2020
Messages
7,915
Location
Pangaea, 250 MYA
Tbh, i wouldn't count Rathalos out as the MH rep. We never had a "giant" character before in Smash (think of iron giant in MVs), i could see Sakurai giving the concept of a giant fighter a try and Rathalos seems like a good candidate for it.
I had to eat some humble pie once Steve finally rolled around and much of what I said about Minecraft representation - that it would be just fine with a stage, items, etc but didn't need a character - was null and void. Personally, I think that a really nice Monster Hunter stage, more music and a couple items on top of the Rathalos boss would be really solid in and of itself. But after Steve's reveal I figured I wouldn't make that same mistake skewed largely by my own character philosophy and less so where Smash's priorities lie. Just personally as someone who doesn't like to default to a generic avatar.

In the scope Capcom characters bursting with colorful designs and fun personalities a Monster Hunter feels a bit underwhelming, dynamically speaking. Particularly when Smash already has a lot of these kind of characters to begin with. But that's just it... Smash is fine with it. It doesn't matter what I think, the precedent is well established and there's nothing about Monster Hunter that falls outside of it. The only reason it's a question at all is because of those weird Capcom statements that may or may not still hold. Again, can't blame anyone for simply erring on the side of caution here, but I think the impulse to make it a monster or a Palico or whatever feels progressively more and more like cope.

But I will say at least in respect to something like Palico, if Hero / Slime is anything to go by then Sakurai probably would have some sort of backup plan if they wanted to ask for a Monster Hunter character. I think Rathalos is fine where they are though, if Sakurai took like 15 years to shake the idea that Ridley could only be done justice as a boss then I don't think he's adding mini Monster Hunter monsters any time soon.
The biggest logistic issue for Rathalos isn't just that he's big, it's also that he's long. We have a handful of fighters who use all fours to varying degrees - :ultpikachu: :ultdk: :ultkrool: :ultduckhunt: :ultivysaur: - But they're all quite compact in build. Even Ridley has to hunch over to minimize his hitbox, and his tail is thin and can be held close to his body. Rathalos, on the other hand, is very horizontal, and his tail is thick and doesn't curl up like with Ridley's. To represent him right, he has to be ginormous, but if you don't scale him down to the size of a large dog he can hog entire platforms to himself just by standing on them. But if he's "just" the size of an Alaskan Malamute, he doesn't have quite the same impact, so...

As for Ridley, like you mentioned, it took Sakurai 15 years to change his mind on him. Aside from that, it's worth noting that A: His Metroid 1 proportions are based on a mainline game, not a relatively obscure spinoff like Stories, and B: Ridley recieved numerous, consistent requests during those 15 years. Rathalos doesn't have quite the same push going for him, so Sakurai wouldn't have the same motivation to add him.

That said, Louie's right in regards to Palico - Smash almost always prioritizes the player character, but we do know that Slime was considered as a Plan B for if Hero was off-limits. Palicoes have only been playable once in Generations, technically twice if you count Generations Ultimate as a second release, but they're marketed quite often in crossovers and would be the most logical option after the playable Hunters.
 
Last edited:

TheFirstPoppyBro

ᕦ_(⌐■+|+■)_ᕤ
Joined
Sep 5, 2011
Messages
8,809
Location
Gensokyo
NNID
breloomer236
3DS FC
2449-4708-5381
Switch FC
SW-7045-4156-8715
There was the aforementioned fact that E10+ didn't exist yet, but for Brawl, my guess would be Zero Suit Samus. Particularly the cutscene where the camera does close ups on her while she drops from a vent.
The rating is really vague and not helpful but it only specifically points to "Cartoon Violence" and "Crude Humor" for some reason lol

Did see people in a Reddit thread guessing ZSS cutscene, Master Hand's red wounds after freeing himself of Tabuu's chains, Snake's weapons (though that seemingly didn't affect Ultimate so I doubt it's that)...
 
Last edited:

SMAASH! Puppy

Smash Legend
Joined
Feb 13, 2015
Messages
14,076
Location
Snake Man's stage from Metal Blade Solid
The rating is really vague and not helpful but it only specifically points to "Cartoon Violence" and "Crude Humor" for some reason lol
Odd. I could have sworn it also had "Suggestive Themes", but I guess it doesn't. Maybe I'm thinking of SSB4. Ultimate probably has it too because Bayo.

Also, "Crude Humor" is most definitely caused by Wario.
 

TheFirstPoppyBro

ᕦ_(⌐■+|+■)_ᕤ
Joined
Sep 5, 2011
Messages
8,809
Location
Gensokyo
NNID
breloomer236
3DS FC
2449-4708-5381
Switch FC
SW-7045-4156-8715
Odd. I could have sworn it also had "Suggestive Themes", but I guess it doesn't. Maybe I'm thinking of SSB4. Ultimate probably has it too because Bayo.

Also, "Crude Humor" is most definitely caused by Wario.
Yeah, Smash 4 is E10+ for Cartoon Violence, Comic Mischief, and Mild Suggestive Themes, and Ultimate drops the Mild for just straight up Suggestive Themes.

And I would think so too with Wario, but that bit of the rating never comes up again, despite Wario being a mainstay, so I have no clue lmao

EDIT: I read the full rating explanation, and it actually does specifically single out Wario at the end of Ultimate's saying "One character emits flatulence gas clouds to attack opponents", so it actually probably is him after reading him get singled out lmao

Maybe they just changed him from Crude Humor to Comic Mischief?
 
Last edited:

Þe 1 → Way

Smash Champion
Joined
Dec 12, 2020
Messages
2,519
Location
Wouldn’t You Like To Know?
Tbh, i wouldn't count Rathalos out as the MH rep. We never had a "giant" character before in Smash (think of iron giant in MVs), i could see Sakurai giving the concept of a giant fighter a try and Rathalos seems like a good candidate for it.
Okay but if they do follow through on the requests for a massive Smash character and settle on a giant Dragon, I think Ridley kinda needs a full redesign to join Rathalos on that scale.

Speaking of which, if this inclusion were to be figured out, I think that'd be one significant point in favor of a character like Master Hand becoming properly playable. Definitely a fun hypothetical!
 

SMAASH! Puppy

Smash Legend
Joined
Feb 13, 2015
Messages
14,076
Location
Snake Man's stage from Metal Blade Solid
Yeah, Smash 4 is E10+ for Cartoon Violence, Comic Mischief, and Mild Suggestive Themes, and Ultimate drops the Mild for just straight up Suggestive Themes.

And I would think so too with Wario, but that bit of the rating never comes up again, despite Wario being a mainstay, so I have no clue lmao
He is slightly worse in Brawl since there are cutscenes where he picks his nose and stuff, but yeah that's kinda weird.
 

Diddy Kong

Smash Obsessed
Joined
Dec 8, 2004
Messages
26,678
Switch FC
SW-1597-979602774
Heard there was some DK moveset discussion, and felt like I'd pop by since it's a bit of a hot-button for me:

Please explain what Diddy Kong can do that is not generic made-up monkey attacks. To my knowledge, almost every single canon Diddy Kong ability - with the exception of the spring tail - is somewhere in his moveset. Diddy Kong is - at his core - a funny little monkey, it's unreasonable to expect him to not act like a funny little monkey.

EDIT to acknowledge Guitar Gazump... a screen-wipe move with theming more closely tied to Dixie. I don't think it counts, but it's acknowledged
Rocket Barrel Jet is a Canon Diddy ability, basically everything from DK64. Dual Peanut Popguns 🥜, cartwheel attacks, and overall acrobatics. Its nothing Dixie is associated with. Diddy is the faster more reckless of the duo between him and Dixie.

They're both monkeys. Sure. But that's where the similarities end. DK and Funky have more in common and people want him to be unique too. Why? There's more than enough reason for him to be. Dixie even more so.

She was considered for Brawl and if she was just a quick Diddy replica, she'd have made it in on those permits. But she's not. Simple as that.

To dive deeper into that subject, they where considered to have a dual fighter mechanic, one where you'd switch out between the two during battle. Why would that be if there where no significant differences between the two? The only characters that had similar gimmicks at that time where Zelda and Sheik and of course Pokemon Trainer.

So just place these puzzle pieces right together and you see why it makes no sense.
 

KingofPhantoms

The Spook Factor
Joined
Feb 12, 2013
Messages
33,987
Location
Southern California
3DS FC
1006-1145-8453
All Snake has to do is get a cigarette smoking taunt and we’re locked in. :bowsette:
Alternatively or, in addition, add TF2's Heavy to Smash and make all of the other eight Classes/mercs show up for his final Smash.

Spy visibly smoking a cigarette on screen for about 2-3 seconds it all it should take. Thu this is the perfect excuse to add the Heavy as a newcomer. :4pacman:
 

SMAASH! Puppy

Smash Legend
Joined
Feb 13, 2015
Messages
14,076
Location
Snake Man's stage from Metal Blade Solid
She was considered for Brawl and if she was just a quick Diddy replica, she'd have made it in on those permits. But she's not. Simple as that.

To dive deeper into that subject, they where considered to have a dual fighter mechanic, one where you'd switch out between the two during battle. Why would that be if there where no significant differences between the two? The only characters that had similar gimmicks at that time where Zelda and Sheik and of course Pokemon Trainer.

So just place these puzzle pieces right together and you see why it makes no sense.
Most of the Echo Fighters could easily have differences that make them stand apart, or even fully unique compared to their base fighter. It would be easy to make a fully unique Dark Pit or Dark Samus for example. What we ended up with is decidedly not that though, and while I'm not arguing that this is ideal, or can/would happen to Dixie Kong, I do think it's worth considering that Dixie Kong originally being intended to be unique (or at least a semi-clone) doesn't save her from being made into an Echo Fighter at a second pass if Sakurai deemed her worth adding, but not so much that they would spend the normal amount of resources on her.



Here's a hot take though: If they were to base Dixie off of Diddy, the most important change isn't to swap the Peanut Popgun with Bubblegum Popgun or Rocketbarrel to Hairlecopter, it's Bananna Peel. Bananna Peel is the big showstoper move for Diddy Kong, and his whole game plan is based around it. If Dixie Kong is to feel deviate from that, she needs either a different way to interract with the Banana Peel, or to nix it entirely. Also, if any two moves were to clash with her personality, it'd be this and Monkey Flip, though the latter might be able to get away with an animation change.
 

GoldenYuiitusin

Smash Champion
Joined
Jan 10, 2024
Messages
2,009
Location
Questioning my existence while asleep
The only reason it's a question at all is because of those weird Capcom statements that may or may not still hold. Again, can't blame anyone for simply erring on the side of caution here, but I think the impulse to make it a monster or a Palico or whatever feels progressively more and more like cope.
I feel the need to speak my mindset here.
I think I've made it clear by now that I'm not really expecting a Monster Hunter fighter in general and I am not at all convinced about the arguments for it/the counters to arguments against it.


For one, the fact Ultimate went by with not only adding Rathalos as a boss, not only adding Rathalos as an Assist, not only having music tracks on top of that in the base game, but going back to re-add the Mii Costumes from Smash For AND a new hat for Felyne in the DLC, as well as adding a Spirit Event for Rise and a promotional Spirit for Stories 2, and not even so much as a peep about having a fighter by the end of DLC? That comes off as incredibly damning to me. As far as I'm concerned it should have already happened in Ultimate if it was going to happen, if Monster Hunter was already considered a big enough deal to have notable representation.

No amount of "oh, but it's only because they prioritized other series 🥺 " when they still found it enough of a priority for a BOSS with associated tracks and then going back to expand representation through DLC, or "oh, but Monster Hunter wasn't as big as it is now 🥺 " when it was already Capcom's 3rd biggest seller by the time of the project proposal in December of 2015 and it overtook Street Fighter as their 2nd by the end of March of 2017, well before DLC was ever a factor, is going to sway me on this.

And then there's the Hunter itself. The whole reason for this topic over the idea of the Hunter being a fighter.
I have absolutely no reason to believe a Hunter specifically in the cards.
While people are quick to point out how we only had a specific denial for Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 that was "null" because of Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite, this isn't the "gotcha" moment they hope it is.

Infinite is still literally to this day the only collaboration that features Monster Hunter with an actual original Hunter. All other collaborations feature only the Monsters (usually prioritizing Rathalos) or the armors for other characters to wear. All the ones before Infinite and all the ones since. Including Smash itself twice.
Quite literally the only human character that is represented in Smash from the franchise is the Rider from Stories 2. And that's only because he's riding the Razewing Ratha that the Spirit is representing.
A Hunter isn't even an Assist, to which they awkwardly had Rathalos perform double duty for, nor is a Hunter a SPIRIT even with the Rise event when they had plenty of renders to work with along the Palamute and Palico.


But instead once again, the Monsters were focused on and the Hunters left out. Which feels very deliberate. And quite frankly? I don't see this changing for the next Smash. Even if Monster Hunter gets a fighter, there is more reason to believe it's going to be a Monster (especially some type of Rathalos) or a Felyne since they've also been playable within the franchise and use weapons not unlike the Hunters themselves. But there's also the possibility Monster Hunter just continues to not get a fighter and all representation be it boss, Assist, collectible, etc. is all Monsters (or armors for Miis) whether people like it or not.


But that's just me, and it's something I've needed to get off my chest.
 
Last edited:

Cyberfire

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Dec 20, 2013
Messages
321
Location
London
The talk of Luigi's Mansion last night got me thinking. In terms of sales, it's been a much more successful spin-off than Wario or Yoshi, so is it time to give the series universe status in Smash?

I don't think they'd ever recategorise Luigi himself, but say King Boo was a new fighter alongside a LM3/4 stage? Could have an L symbol besides them on the UI rather than the Super Mushroom...
 

DarthEnderX

Smash Hero
Joined
Nov 10, 2014
Messages
8,895
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)
Yup.

By the time Smashboards opens it's character threads, they're basically useless.
 

BrawlX10

Smash Ace
Joined
Feb 1, 2025
Messages
500
Hot take, but i think it's not that unlikely that Smash 6 gets anounced tomorrow, even if it's just a teaser like the Inkling's eye one.
Brawl got oficially anounced when Melee was 4 years old
Smash 4 got oficially anounced when Brawl was 5 years old
Ultimate got oficially anounced when Smash 4 was 3 years old and the last DLC was 2 years ago.
Ultimate is currently 6 years old and the last DLC was 3 years ago.
Based on the reveals of the previous games, it doesn't seem too farfetched....specially if they want a "longer" pre-release (which i doubt tbh, but throwin the posibility there) then tomorrow wouldn't be a bad starting point if the game's targeting 2026.
 

Arcanir

An old friend evolved
Joined
Jul 8, 2013
Messages
6,737
Location
Getting geared up for the 20th
NNID
Shoryu91
3DS FC
4253-4855-5860
The biggest logistic issue for Rathalos isn't just that he's big, it's also that he's long. We have a handful of fighters who use all fours to varying degrees - :ultpikachu: :ultdk: :ultkrool: :ultduckhunt: :ultivysaur: - But they're all quite compact in build. Even Ridley has to hunch over to minimize his hitbox, and his tail is thin and can be held close to his body. Rathalos, on the other hand, is very horizontal, and his tail is thick and doesn't curl up like with Ridley's. To represent him right, he has to be ginormous, but if you don't scale him down to the size of a large dog he can hog entire platforms to himself just by standing on them. But if he's "just" the size of an Alaskan Malamute, he doesn't have quite the same impact, so...

As for Ridley, like you mentioned, it took Sakurai 15 years to change his mind on him. Aside from that, it's worth noting that A: His Metroid 1 proportions are based on a mainline game, not a relatively obscure spinoff like Stories, and B: Ridley recieved numerous, consistent requests during those 15 years. Rathalos doesn't have quite the same push going for him, so Sakurai wouldn't have the same motivation to add him.

That said, Louie's right in regards to Palico - Smash almost always prioritizes the player character, but we do know that Slime was considered as a Plan B for if Hero was off-limits. Palicoes have only been playable once in Generations, technically twice if you count Generations Ultimate as a second release, but they're marketed quite often in crossovers and would be the most logical option after the playable Hunters.
Yeah, I think if push comes to shove and they can't do the Hunter, they'd just do the Palico similar to the Slime for the Heroes. Aside from 3 the Palico has always been the faithful companion to the Hunter and is very recognizable to every player of the franchise and even those outside of it since it does pop up in crossovers like you said (ex. A palico NPC appears in Dragalia Lost and even had a sticker). They also can do some of the things the Hunters can such as using traps and bombs, so while it wouldn't be able to use the iconic Greatsword, you'd still be able to tap into some of those recognizable elements.
 

TheFirstPoppyBro

ᕦ_(⌐■+|+■)_ᕤ
Joined
Sep 5, 2011
Messages
8,809
Location
Gensokyo
NNID
breloomer236
3DS FC
2449-4708-5381
Switch FC
SW-7045-4156-8715
Hot take, but i think it's not that unlikely that Smash 6 gets anounced tomorrow, even if it's just a teaser like the Inkling's eye one.
Brawl got oficially anounced when Melee was 4 years old
Smash 4 got oficially anounced when Brawl was 5 years old
Ultimate got oficially anounced when Smash 4 was 3 years old and the last DLC was 2 years ago.
Ultimate is currently 6 years old and the last DLC was 3 years ago.
Based on the reveals of the previous games, it doesn't seem too farfetched....specially if they want a "longer" pre-release (which i doubt tbh, but throwin the posibility there) then tomorrow wouldn't be a bad starting point if the game's targeting 2026.
I mean we can't really use time since the last game as a good comparison point though.

We only get one Smash per system, and no Nintendo system has EVER lasted as long as the Switch has at 8 years so far and games set to release next year in year 9. Prior to the Switch every system was 6 years maximum, sometimes even just 4 or 5.
 
Last edited:

SMAASH! Puppy

Smash Legend
Joined
Feb 13, 2015
Messages
14,076
Location
Snake Man's stage from Metal Blade Solid
The fact that the series pretty much got everything but a character doesn't really disconfirm the chances of getting a character since we don't know anything about the decision making process behind the Monster Hunter content. For all we know the reason why it got all that but no fighter is literally just because Sakurai wasn't pursuing a fighter at the time, but wanted a Boss.

It's also worth noting that even assuming that hunters aren't really allowed in crossovers and their appearance in MVCI was done without consent, that doesn't mean that Sakurai couldn't sell them on the pitch like they did with Hero, who's appearance broke the rule of having the protagonists depicted fighting each other.

Also, I could be wrong on this but, isn't one of the Mii Costumes a set of gear associated with the Monster Hunter rather than any specific monster? If so that's already a step away from a playable Monster Hunter.


So yeah. I don't think they're a lock, but they're also not disconfirmed either.
 
Top Bottom