What if this was the series roster that got Ultimate up to 100 fighters?

[MysticalCatlife]

I once previously challenged myself to make a roster that had to get Ultimate up to 100 characters and made multiple revisions to it...

And I ensured the series would have no cut characters as well along with limiting third party franchises to one rep (companies can have as many franchises as they can).

Spoiler: 64

001). Mario
002). Donkey Kong
003). Link
004). Samus
005). Yoshi
006). Kirby
007). Fox
008). Pikachu
009). Luigi
010). Captain Falcon
011). Ness
012). Mewtwo (Jigglypuff will be instead demoted to a Poke Ball Pokemon)

Spoiler: Melee

013). Peach
014). Bowser
015). Ice Climbers
016). Zelda
017). Sheik
018). Olimar (to promote Pikmin's launch at the time)
019). Scizor (as the Gen 2 rep instead of Pichu)
020). Falco
021). Marth
022). Ganondorf
023). Skull Kid
024). Wario (added in Mewtwo's spot since he was added in 64 and Wario would've been added next in Melee if Sakurai had more development time)
025). Roy
026). Mr. Game & Watch

Spoiler: Brawl

027). Meta Knight
028). Pit
029). Wolf Link (Link transformation)
030). Zero Suit Samus
031). Little Mac (would have his Punch-Out Wii design prior to 2009, similarly to how Pit was redesigned prior to Kid Icarus Uprising)
032). Snake
033). Ike
034). Pokemon Trainer (fights by himself)
035). Charizard
036). Sceptile
037). Diddy Kong
038). Lucas
039). Sonic
040). King Dedede
041). Isaac
042). Lucario
043). Villager
044). R.O.B.
045). Midna
046). Wolf

Spoiler: Wii U

Spoiler: BASE

047). Mega Man (would be revealed at E3 2013)
048). Wii Fit Trainer (would be revealed at E3 2013)
049). Wonder Red (to promote The Wonderful 101's launch at the time)
050). Zoroark (would be revealed at the time of Gen 6's launch)
051). Greninja (would be revealed at the time of Gen 6's launch)
052). Rosalina
053). Waddle Dee (would be revealed at the time of Triple Deluxe's launch)
054). Barista
055). King Hippo (as a joke character in similar vein to Pichu was)
056). Mii Brawler (would be revealed at E3 2014)
057). Mii Swordfighter (would be revealed at E3 2014)
058). Mii Gunner (would be revealed at E3 2014)
059). Ghirahim (would be revealed at E3 2014)
060). Palutena (would be revealed at E3 2014)
061). Pac-Man (would be revealed at E3 2014)
062). Chrom
063). Shulk
064). Bowser Jr.
065). Duck Hunt
066). Dark Pit

Spoiler: DLC

067). Ryu (would release the time of when Mewtwo's DLC originally came out)
068). Inkling (would be revealed at E3 2015 to promote Splatoon's recent launch at the time)
069). Ridley (would be revealed at E3 2015)
070). King K. Rool (would be revealed at E3 2015)
071). Elma (to promote Xenoblade X's launch at the time)
072). Cloud
073). Azura (Corrin was passed over since Azura would sound more unique being a javelin wielder)
074). Bayonetta

Spoiler: Ultimate

Spoiler: BASE

075). Spring Man
076). Daisy
077). Dark Samus
078). Celica (added because of Fire Emblem Echoes 3DS)
079). Rex
080). Monster Hunter
081). Takamaru (added due to how many times he was previously considered and why he kept getting cut, so it was about time to add him here)
082). Simon
083). Bomberman
084). Dixie Kong
085). Isabelle
086). Jill Valentine
087). Eevee (added to promote Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee)
088). Waluigi
089). Crash

Spoiler: FIGHTER PASS 1

090). Joker
091). Hero
092). Terry (revealed at E3 2019)
093). Byleth
094). Banjo & Kazooie

Spoiler: FIGHTER PASS 2

095). Akira Howard
096). Steve (would release during the time of when the cancelled E3 2020 was suppose to happen)
097). Rayman (would release during the time of when the cancelled E3 2020 was suppose to happen)
098). Heihachi
099). Ayumi Tachibana (added because of Famicom Detective Club remakes and due to the fact she was previously considered for Melee)
100). Sora

Spoiler: EXPLAINING THE CUTS

Jigglypuff - Replaced with Mewtwo and demoted to a Poke Ball Pokemon.

Dr. Mario - Literally just another Mario, replaced with Olimar to promote Pikmin's recent release at the time.

Pichu - Replaced with Scizor as the Gen 2 rep.

Young Link - Replaced with Skull Kid due to being an echo Link.

Squitle and Ivysaur - Pokemon Trainer fights by himself without using any Pokemon, and there was no need for an additional water and grass starter Pokemon (since Greninja and Sceptile are there).

Toon Link - Replaced with Midna due to being an echo Link.

Robin and Lucina - Not technically the main protagonist of Awakening, and Chrom was initially considered for that slot to begin with, also to avoid Fire Emblem overrepping.

Corrin - Indeed he may be the Fates protagonist while Azura is the deuteragonist, Azura would've sounded more unique to to being a javelin weilder and a water singer (and would offer a secondary attack gimmick for her neutral attack).

Richter - Due to the "third party franchises limited to one rep" rule, he was replaced with Bomberman (as the additional Konami rep) due to being an echo of Simon.

Ken - Due to the "third party franchises limited to one rep" rule, he was replaced with Jill (as a newcomer Capcom rep) due to being an echo of Ryu.

Incineroar - Replaced with Eevee in promotion of Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee's recent release at the time, and there was no need for an additional fire starter Pokemon (since Charizard is there). Incineroar literally also has Crash's spin attack.

Piranha Plant - Replaced with Waluigi due to being just a generic obstacle character.

Min Min - Replaced with Spring Man since he was technically suppose to be the ARMS rep for the base roster to begin with though was cut since the roster was finalized before ARMS's launch.

Sephiroth - Replaced with a Rayman DLC due to the "third party franchises limited to one rep" rule.

Pyra/Mythra - This was the hardest cut choice out of all of them considering this was the best DLC character imo. Cutting them off the roster lead to two open slots for two newcomers, I was originally gonna have Takamaru be a newcomer in Smash Wii U, but decided to move him to Ultimate's newcomers to add Ghirahim in Smash Wii U to add more Zelda reps. This cut was also made to avoid Xenoblade overrepping since this is a "1.5" type of character. They were replaced by Rex since he had the same situation as Spring Man. Monster Hunter also would've made tons of sense for being a newcomer in Ultimate considering the Assist Trophy and boss.

Kazuya - Replaced with Heihachi since he's technically the Tekken mascot and imo, since I seen a Tekken 7 arcade machine before, Heihachi's moveset looked more interesting than Kazuya's.

 

[Torgo the Bear]

I made a concept for this, featuring just enough newcomers to crank it to 100 total. It does, however, assume that Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard, Pyra, and Mythra are all separate characters. These would be the newcomers:

 

[Linkmain-maybe]

Tbh, I don’t want 100 fighters. The roster feels bloated enough and the magic of a character getting into smash is gone. Characters would start to fight too similarly, so you have 10+ characters who do the same thing with slight differences (Which is already a problem)

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

Here was my... weirder, part realistic/part fanfiction idea that I had a while back for an "Ultimate Deluxe" concept.

I think that if we got to 100 characters, it wouldn't make sense to continue. I'd say pretty much everyone would be in agreement that it makes sense to cut down the roster for future, um... rosters.

 

[Perkilator]

This is a fantasy roster I keep mulling over; I think if you take a few liberties, you can technically count this as 100 characters.

Spoiler: 64

Starters

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Unlockables

• (Stage fought: Peach's Castle)
  • Complete 1P Game as any character
  • Complete Board the Platforms with
  • 25 Vs. Matches
• (Stage fought: Dream Land)
  • Complete 1P Game with 3+ lives and no continues
  • 50 Vs. Matches
• (Stage fought: Planet Zebes)
  • Complete 1P Game within 20 minutes without continues
  • 75 Vs. Matches
• (Meowth) (Stage fought: Saffron City)
  • Complete Target Test and Board the Platforms as all starters
  • Complete 1P Game as all starters
  • 100 Vs. Matches

Spoiler: Melee

Starters

1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. /
15. (Scizor)

Unlockables

1. (Stage fought: Mushroom Kingdom II)
   • Complete Stage 1 of Adventure Mode with the time ending in a ":X2" in the second's slot, then defeat in less than a minute and clear the rest of the mode
   • 10 Vs. Matches on Mushroom Kingdom
   • 100 Vs. Matches
2. (Stage fought: Pokémon Stadium)
   • Complete Event Match #37
   • Summon 100 Poke Ball Pokémon
   • 200 Vs. Matches
3. Ayumi Tachibana (Stage fought: Onett)
   • Unlock 100 different Trophies
   • 300 Vs. Matches
4. (Stage fought: Battlefield)
   • Clear 100-Man Melee
   • 400 Vs. Matches
5. (Stage fought: Fountain of Dreams)
   • Clear Classic or Adventure Mode as all starters without continuing
   • Play Vs. Matches at least once with all 15 starters
   • 500 Vs. Matches
6. (Stage fought: Great Bay)
   • Clear Classic or Adventure Mode with 20 characters
   • Clear Classic Mode as on Hard+
   • 600 Vs. Matches
7. (Stage fought: Hyrule Temple)
   • Clear Event Match #29
   • Clear Adventure Mode as on Hard+
   • 700 Vs. Matches
8. (Stage fought: Final Destination)
   • Play for a total of 15 hours
   • Summon a Legendary Pokémon 75 times
   • 800 Vs. Matches
9. (Stage fought: Hyrule Temple)
   • Clear Classic or Adventure Mode as on Hard+ without continuing
   • Clear every bonus game in Classic Mode as
   • 900 Vs. Matches
10. (Stage fought: Flat Zone)
    • Clear Classic or Adventure Mode as all other characters
    • Clear Target Test as all other characters
    • Clear 50 Event Matches
    • 1000 Vs. Matches

Spoiler: Brawl

Starters

1. 
2. 
3. 
4. /
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 
23. *

Unlockables

1. (Stage fought: Luigi's Mansion)
   • Recruit in SSE
   • Clear Classic Mode with no continues
   • 100 Vs. Matches
2. (Stage fought: Onett)
   • Recruit in SSE
   • Reflect 10 projectiles
   • 200 Vs. Matches
3. (Stage fought: )
   • Recruit in SSE
   • Clear Classic mode on Normal+ within 12 minutes
   • 300 Vs. Matches
4. (Stage fought: )
   • After beating SSE, head to the Ruined Zoo and run away from the Pig King Statue without losing a life; you'll fight Meowth instead of Porky, and winning ends the level there
   • Clear 20 Event Matches
   • 400 Vs. Matches
5. (Stage fought: Corneria)
   • Recruit in SSE
   • Clear 100-Man Brawl
   • 500 Vs. Matches
6. (Stage fought: )
   • Recruit in SSE
   • Clear Classic Mode on Normal+ as any character
   • 600 Vs. Matches
7. (Stage fought: )
   • Recruit in SSE
   • Clear Classic Mode as on Hard+
   • 700 Vs. Matches
8. (Stage fought: Pokémon Stadium)*
   • After beating SSE, head to the end of the Path to the Ruins without losing a life; you'll fight Mewtwo instead of Wario
   • Clear Boss Battles on Hard+
   • 800 Vs. Matches
9. (Stage fought: Temple)*
   • After beating SSE, head to the end of the Wilds I without losing a life; you'll fight Roy instead of Galleom
   • Clear Classic Mode as on Hard+
   • 900 Vs. Matches
10. (Stage fought: )
    • Recruit in SSE
    • Clear Target Smash with 20+ characters
    • 1000 Vs. Matches
11. (Stage fought: )
    • Defeat Tabuu in SSE
    • Clear Classic Mode with 10+ characters
    • Play 10 hours of Vs. Matches
    • 1100 Vs. Matches
12. (Stage fought: )
    • Recruit in SSE
    • Complete Target Smash on all difficulties with any character
    • Get 5 KO's in Cruel Brawl
    • 1200 Vs. Matches
13. (Stage fought: Mario Bros.)
    • Recruit in SSE
    • Collect 200 different Trophies
    • 1300 Vs. Matches
14. (Stage fought: )
    • After beating SSE, head to the Lake; you'll fight Toon Link instead of Rayquaza, and winning ends the level there
    • Clear Classic Mode as without continuing
    • 1400 Vs. Matches
15. (Stage fought: )
    • After beating SSE, head to the end of the Glacier without losing a life; you'll fight Wolf instead of Meta Knight/Lucario
    • Clear Boss Battles on any difficulty
    • 1500 Vs. Matches

*Characters added in a hypothetical rerelease

Spoiler: Smash 4 (Base)

Starters

1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 
23. 
24. Snivy
25. 
26. 
27. 
28. 
    • 
    • 
    • 
29. 
30. 
31. 

Unlockables

1. (Stage fought: Magicant / Onett)
   • Reflect 10 projectiles
   • Clear Classic Mode on 2.0+
   • 10 Vs. Matches
2. (Stage fought: Unova Pokémon League / Kalos Pokémon League)
   • Defeat 100 enemies in Smash Run (3DS only)
   • Collect at least 50 different pieces of equippment
   • 20 Vs. Matches
3. (Stage fought: Prism Tower / Kalos Pokémon League)
   • Summon a Poké Ball Pokémon 100 times
   • Summon a Master Ball Pokémon 50 times
   • 30 Vs. Matches
4. (Stage fought: Corneria / Orbital Gate Assault)
   • Clear 100-Man Smash
   • 40 Vs. Matches
5. (Stage fought: Gerudo Valley / Skyloft)
   • Clear Classic Mode as on 5.5+
   • 50 Vs. Matches
6. (Stage fought: )
   • Clear Classic Mode with 10+ characters
   • 60 Vs. Matches
7. (Stage fought: Dream Land GB/ )
   • Get 5 KO's in Cruel Smash
   • 70 Vs. Matches
8. (Stage fought: Brinstar / Pyrosphere)
   • Get 30 KO's with Samus's Final Smash
   • Defeat Ridley on the Pyrosphere stage (Wii U only)
   • 80 Vs. Matches
9. (Stage fought: Unova Pokémon League / Hyrule Temple)
   • Get 30 combined KO's with 's and 's Final Smashes
   • Outlast to up to 300% damage
   • 90 Vs. Matches
10. (Stage fought: Golden Plains / Mario Galaxy)
    • Get a successful recovery as 5 times
    • 100 Vs. Matches
11. (Stage fought: Prism Tower / Kalos Pokémon League)
    • Clear Classic Mode as and Snivy on 6.0+
    • Clear a Final Battle in Smash Run without taking damage
    • 125 Vs. Matches
12. (Stage fought: Reset Bomb Forest / Palutena's Temple)
    • Clear Classic Mode as and on 5.5+
    • 150 Vs. Matches
13. (Stage fought: PAC-MAZE / PAC-LAND)
    • Clear Classic Mode as on 5.5+
    • Eat 50 Ghosts on PAC-MAZE (3DS only)
    • 200 Vs. Matches
14. (Stage fought: Arena Ferox / Coliseum)
    • Clear Classic Mode as on 5.5+
    • Clear Classic Mode as on 5.5+
    • 300 Vs. Matches
15. (Stage fought: 3D Land / Delfino Plaza)
    • Clear Classic Mode as on 6.0+
    • Clear Classic Mode as on 6.0+
    • 400 Vs. Matches
16. (Stage fought: Duck Hunt)
    • Clear Target Blast as all other characters
    • Clear Classic Mode as all other characters on 6.0+
    • Unlock every Masterpiece (Wii U only)
    • 500 Vs. Matches

Spoiler: Smash 4 (DLC)

1. 
2. Ayumi Tachibana
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. (Azura)
8. 

Spoiler: Ultimate (base)

64

• 1.
• 2.
• 3.
• 4.
  • 4ε.
• 5.
• 6.
• 7.
• 8.
• 9.
• 10.
• 11.
• 12.

Melee

• 13.
  • 13ε.
• 14.
• 15.
• 16.
• 17.
• 18.
• 19. Ayumi Tachibana
• 20.
  • 20ε.
• 21.
• 22.
• 23.
• 24.
• 25.
• 26.
  • 26ε.

Brawl

• 27.
• 28.
  • 28ε.
• 29.
• 30.
• 31.
• 32.
• 33.
• 34.
• 35.
• 36.
• 37.
• 38.
  • 38ε. (Alph)
• 39.
• 40.
• 41.
• 42.
• 43.

Smash 4

• 44. Snivy
• 45.
• 46.
• 47.
• 48.
• 49.
• 
  • 50.
  • 51.
  • 52.
• 53.
• 54.
• 55.
• 56.
• 57.
• 58.
• 59.
  • 59ε. (Echo)
• 60.
• 61.
• 62.

Newcomers

• 63.
• 64.
  • 64ε.
• 65. Crash Bandicoot
• 66.
• 67.
• 68.
• 69.
• 70. Waluigi

Spoiler: Starters

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• Crash
• 

Spoiler: Unlock order

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• Ayumi
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• Snivy
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• Waluigi

Spoiler: Ultimate (DLC)

Fighters Pass Vol. 1

• 71. Sakura Shinguji
• 72.
• 73.
• 74.
• 75. (Sora)

Fighters Pass Vol. 2

• 76.
• 77. Bandana Waddle Dee
• 78.
• 79-80. /
• 81.
• 82. Dr. Eggman

 

[BowserKing]

My choices
Note: Miis, Pokémon Trainer and Pyra/Mythra are one fighter.
1.Fawful
2.Geno
3.Dixie Kong
4.Midna
5.Bandanna Dee
6.Krystal
7.Lugia
8.Dragapult
9.Bio-Rex
10.Shadow
11.Shantae
12.Ray-Man
13.Issac
14.Crash Bandicoot
15.Viridi
16.Ashley

 

[Butters Stotch]

Ignore this

 

[Butters Stotch]

Here was my... weirder, part realistic/part fanfiction idea that I had a while back for an "Ultimate Deluxe" concept.

View attachment 342164

I think that if we got to 100 characters, it wouldn't make sense to continue. I'd say pretty much everyone would be in agreement that it makes sense to cut down the roster for future, um... rosters.

As crazy as the idea sounds, I think Wiimote would make for a genuinely funny addition and it could be worked in quite easily with the accessories compatible and the positions it can take.

027). Meta Knight
028). Pit
029). Wolf Link (Link transformation)
030). Zero Suit Samus
031). Little Mac (would have his Punch-Out Wii design prior to 2009, similarly to how Pit was redesigned prior to Kid Icarus Uprising)
032). Snake
033). Ike
034). Pokemon Trainer (fights by himself)
035). Charizard
036). Sceptile
037). Diddy Kong
038). Lucas
039). Sonic
040). King Dedede
041). Isaac
042). Lucario
043). Villager
044). R.O.B.
045). Midna
046). Wolf

While I'm not the biggest fan of transformations, I really dig the idea of having Wolf Link in as one.

 

[Perkilator]

Decided to change mine after over a year:

Spoiler: Original 12

• 1. Mario
• 2. Donkey Kong
• 3. Link
• 4. Samus
• 5. Yoshi
• 6. Kirby
• 7. Fox
• 8. Pikachu
• 9. Luigi
• 10. Ness
• 11. Captain Falcon
• 12. Meowth

Spoiler: Melee

• 13. Peach
• 14. Bowser
• 15. Ice Climbers
• 16. Sheik
• 17. Zelda
• 18. Scizor
• 19. Wario
• 20. Diddy Kong
• 21. Ayumi Tachibana
• 22. Marth
• 23. Mewtwo
• 24. Mr. Game & Watch
• 25. Young Link
• 26. Ganondorf
• 27. Falco
• 28. Roy

Spoiler: Brawl

• 29. Meta Knight
• 30. Pit
• 31. Zero Suit Samus
• 32. Snake
• 33. Ike
• 34-36. Pokémon Trainer
  • Totodile
  • Grovyle
  • Charizard
• 37. Lucas
• 38. Sonic
• 39. King Dedede
• 40. Olimar
• 41. Lucario
• 42. R.O.B.
• 43. Toon Link
• 44. Wolf

Spoiler: Sm4sh

• 45. Villager
• 46. Mega Man
• 47. Wii Fit Trainer
• 48. Rosalina & Luma
• 49. Little Mac
• 50. Greninja
• 51-53. Mii Fighters
  • Brawler
  • Swordfighter
  • Gunner
• 54. Palutena
• 30ε. Dark Pit
• 55. PAC-MAN
• 22ε. Lucina
• 56. Robin
• 57. Shulk
• 58. Bowser Jr. / Koopalings
• 59. Duck Hunt
• 60. Rayman
• 61. Ryu
• 62. Cloud
• 63. Azura
• 64. Bayonetta

Spoiler: Ultimate (base)

Unique Fighters

• 65. Inkling
• 66. Simon Belmont
• 67. Ridley
• 68. King K. Rool
• 69. Incineroar
• 70. Bandana Waddle Dee
• 71. Min Min
• 72. Isabelle
• 73-74. Pyra / Mythra
• 75. Banjo & Kazooie

Echo Fighters

• 4ε. Dark Samus
• 13ε. Daisy
• 14ε. Dry Bowser
• 28ε. Chrom
• 36ε. Dixie Kong
• 40ε. Alph
• 56ε. Celica
• 61ε. Ken Masters
• 66ε. Richter Belmont

Spoiler: Fighters Pass

Fighters Pass Vol. 1

• 76. Joker
• 77. Hero
• 78. Crash Bandicoot
• 79. Estelle Bright
• 80-82. Team Neo Geo
  • 80. Terry Bogard
  • 81. Iori Yagami
  • 82. Nakoruru
• 83. Steve

Fighters Pass Vol. 2

• 84. Byleth
• 85. Dr. Eggman
• 86. Sephiroth
• 87. Ring Fit Trainee
• 88. Kazuya
• 89. Sora

 

[Master Hero Sock-on-Rye]

I think I'll try my hand at this.

Notes:
-The N64 uses discs, and the Gamecube runs on DVDs.
-Any real-world clones have distinct movesets, or are at least as varied as Ken.
-Fighter #100 will be a non-gaming character.

Super Smash Bros. (SNES)
1: Mario
2: Donkey Kong
3: Link
4: Samus
5: Bowser
6: Marth
7: Pit
8: Little Mac

Smash 64:
9: Yoshi
10: Kirby
11: Fox
12: Pikachu
13: Luigi
14: Ness
15: Captain Falcon
16: Togepi (Replaces Jigglypuff as the Pokemon joke fighter.)
17: King Dedede
18: Diddy Kong

Melee:
19: Peach
20: Ice Climbers
21: Zelda
22: Sheik
23: Mewtwo
24: Falco
25: Toad
26: Young Link
27: Ganondorf
28: Roy
29: Mr. Game and Watch
30: Wario

Brawl:
31: Meta Knight
32: Zero Suit Samus
33: Solid Snake
34: Ike
35: Squirtle
36: Charizard
37: Chikorita (Gen 2 starter, and a Grass type.)
38: King K. Rool
39: Lucas
40: Sonic
41: Olimar
42: Toon Link
43: Lucario
44: R.O.B.
45: Wolf
46: Takamaru
47: Bomberman
48: Isaac

Smash 4:
49: Villager
50: Mega Man
51: Wii Fit Trainer
52: Rosalina and Luma
53: King Hippo
54: Greninja
55: Mii Brawler
56: Mii Swordfighter
57: Mii Gunner
58: Palutena
59: Dark Pit
60: Pac-Man
61: Robin
62: Lucina
63: Shulk
64: Bowser Jr.
65: Duck Hunt
66: Ryu
67: Cloud
68: Corrin
69: Bayonetta
70: Rayman

Ultimate:
71: Inkling
72: Ridley
73: Simon Belmont
74: Richter Belmont
75: Chrom
76: Dark Samus
77: Dixie Kong
78: Isabelle
79: Ken
80: Incineroar
81: Goomba (Frankly, a Mario enemy that deserves an invite more than the Pirahna Plant species.)
82: Spring Man
83: Joker
84: Hero
85: Banjo and Kazooie
86: Terry Bogard
87: Kyo Kusanagi
88: Waluigi
89: Pyra
90: Mythra
91: Steve
92: Sephiroth
93: Ayumi Tachibana
94: Heihachi
95: Geno
96: Crash Bandicoot
97: Master Chief
98: Q*Bert
99: Sora
100: Popeye

There. 100 original fighters, and a greater finale than even Ultimate's final days had.

 

[nirvanafan]

My idea to get to 100

Fighter Pass 3
90 - 2B
91 - Hayabusa
92 - Crash
93 - Dural
94 - Andy

Fighter Pass 4
95 - Raven Beak
96 - Dante
97 - Eggman
98 - DJ Octavio
99 - Nightmare
100 - Master Chief

 

[DragonRobotKing26]

OkAy,here's my roster

Super Smash Bros.
1-Mario
2-Donkey Kong
3-Link
4-Samus
5-Yoshi
6-Kirby
7-Fox
8-Pikachu
9-Luigi
10-Ness
11-Captain Falcon
12-Mewtwo

Super Smash Bros. Melee
13-Peach
14-Bowser
15-Ice Climbers
16-Sheik
17-Zelda
18-Toad
19-Diddy Kong
20-Scizor
21-Falco
22-Marth
23-Mach Rider
24-Meta Knight
25-King Dedede
26-Ganondorf
27-Wario
28-Wolf
29-Ayumi
30-Mr. Game & Watch

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
31-Dark Matter
32-Pit
33-Zero Suit Samus
34-Waluigi
35-Snake
36-Ike
37/38/39-Pokémon Trainer (Squirtle,Ivysaur & Charizard)
40-Gardevoir
41-Krystal
42-Lucas
43-Sonic
44-Ridley
45-Bowser Jr.
46-Midna
47-Olimar
48-Lucario
49-R.O B.
50-Toon Link
51-Pac-Man

Super Smash Bros. 4
52-Villager
53-Mega Man
54-Wii Fit Trainer
55-Rosalina & Luma
56-Ashley
57-Little Mac
58-Saki
59-Zoroark
60-Greninja
61-Mii Brawler
62-Mii Swordfighter
63-Mii Gunner
64-King K. Rool
65-Palutena
66-Rayman
67-Cloud
68-Robin
69-Shulk
70-Duck Hunt
71-Takamaru
72-Porky
73-Ryu
74-Geno
75-Bayonetta

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
76-Inkling
77-Daisy
78-Scorpion
79-Ryu Hayabusa
80-Simon
80-Dixie Kong
81-Dark Samus
82-Dark Pit
83-Viridi
84-Isabelle
85-Decidueye
86-Piranha Plant
87-Banjo & Kazooie
88-Hero
89-Terry
90-Monokuma
91-Min Min
92-Rex
93-Steve
94-Joker
95-Shovel Knight
96-Sukapon
97-Shantae
98-Kazuya
99-Sora
100-Sandbag

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

It's not often I actually do this, but it's been about a year since I originally subbed my concept here - and it's a page I've looked back on quite a few times since then purely out of interest. With that in mind, I felt it might be fun to submit a fresh take on my original idea. To be clear, since I wasn't last time - my intention here is that these characters are base-roster inclusions, meaning by proxy that Sora would be the 100th fighter. As such, I'm not trying to overshadow the DLC - rather, I'm trying to boost the base-roster in what I think could be a realistic way. I don't want to change the development cycle too much, though. Sorry.

One more thing. I'm not going to include characters or concepts that were eventually seen in the DLC. Whilst an XC2 rep was apparently planned for some time for the base game, and an ARMS character of some form probably got considered too, I don't want to tread on the DLC's toes (which limited my initial consideration given Tekken's consideration back in Sm4sh). Coming up with completely fresh stuff does seem like a fun challenge, to be fair! I'm also not going to allow myself to alter the base roster whatsoever. No additional development on any of the other picks. Lastly: no, I'm not allowing myself to use any of the characters that were included as Assist Trophies, but Spirits are fair game! With all that in mind...

Let me explain myself a little here. I'll seperate my discussion into three distinct lists, being First-Party Newcomers, Third-Party Newcomers, and Echo Fighters.

First up: our home-made heroes, the First-Party Newcomers.

• Nabbit is a character from the Super Mario series, introduced originally in New Super Mario Bros. U but going on to feature in a variety of games across the Super Mario series, such as Mario Golf: World Tour and Mario and Sonic at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games as a playable character. Having another Mario rep aside from just Daisy (and eventually Piranha Plant) felt like an important opportunity I couldn't miss out on, and Nabbit specifically was chosen due to his prominence as a character in the series prior to Ultimate's release, his continuing presence in the series, and his unique moveset potential - as well as having another villain/rival character of sorts to add to the fray. I did consider King Boo for the role, but Nabbit felt fitting somehow.
  
  As for his moveset, Nabbit is on the smaller side and is quite a fast character, a little like Pikachu. Unlike Pikachu, though, Nabbit's got a few attacks with pretty solid power and range - many of these involving him swinging his sack at people. He'd have a command grab utilising the sack in question, but he's overall a reasonably simple character to try and get the hang of. Given he's a New Super Mario Bros. series rep kind of as a whole, I'd say it'd be quite funny if his up special recovery move is the recovery bubble.
  
  
• Qbby is the main character of the BoxBoy! series, a Nintendo-exclusive series developed by HAL Laboratory and primarily released on the 3DS (with the exception of Bye Bye BoxBoy!, released on the Switch in 2019.) The series is one of Nintendo's newer ones, only coming into being in 2015 and being a staple of the 3DS's library, but also brings a unique puzzle-platformer element of character design to the roster - a design we really haven't seen all that much elsewhere in the roster. I felt including a new series here would be pretty important, and BoxBoy! actually fits pretty well into the timeframe.
  
  Qbby's moveset overall relies on a combination of a scrimblo's honesty and a puzzler's unorthodox complexity - a lot of his moves involve either spinning or headbutting due to his lack of arms, but he's also able to manifest blocks for certain moves. Note that, unlike Steve, Qbby is much less complex and doesn't have the whole inventory management system, nor does he have floating blocks, so he shouldn't be banned in Kansas.
  
  
• Lana is a prominent secondary protagonist from Hyrule Warriors and its various expansions, the spinoff of the Legend of Zelda series into gameplay more akin to Koei-Tecmo's Warriors series. Whilst there were a variety of characters that I genuinely did consider despite prominent picks like Skull Kid, Ghirahim and Midna being off the table due to their Assist Trophy status, a lot of them ran into some... problems. A huge frontrunner for me was Tetra, but at the time her most recent appearance would have been the Wind Waker HD re-release on the Wii U in 2013. A similar issue arose with Vaati, who has a good case being one of the only actually recurring characters from the series, but also hasn't been in a game since the mid-2000s. Lana, on the other hand, is a fresh face with a completely new moveset, someone who doesn't run the risk of spoilers like in BotW, someone from a "series" that'd be prominent even on the Switch, and a Zelda character with some very unique potential mechanics to pull from.
  
  Lana's moveset focuses predominantly on her three key weapons from Hyrule Warriors, those being her Tome, Staff and Gate. Similar in concept to Byleth, my concept here is that her moveset would incorporate aspects of all of these throughout her moveset (albeit in a more fluid way, less akin to the directionally-focused inputs that Byleth had.) Overall, Lana's got a variety of mid-range poking tools as well as plenty of unusual or unorthodox hitboxes, befitting of her nature as (basically) a mage. Unlike your archetypical mid-range character, though, Lana's also got above-average proficiency in terms of stringing moves together, albeit not to the extent of Bayonetta - representing her game's, well, gameplay.
  
  
• Magolor is a villain and supporting character from the Kirby series, introduced in the Wii game Kirby's Return to Dreamland as an ally/antagonist but then taking on a more supportive role throughout the series following this point. There's a few reasons I decided on Magolor as a character - firstly, the Kirby series didn't get a lot of content going into Ultimate, but unlike series like Star Fox, F-Zero or Mother, the series is still a consistent and well-recieved presence in Nintendo's lineup. Magolor himself is a consistent recurring character with a more recent origin, being prominent for having a unique personality whilst also having the potential to represent the nebulous concept of "Kirby bosses" in some way or another. I know Bandanna Waddle Dee is the big pick that a lot of people really want - but even in terms of voting, Magolor seems to have done well too. Likewise, I did consider Susie, but Magolor has had more of a presence overall.
  
  As for his moveset, picture his Star Allies kit combined with his Kirby Fighters 2 kit. He's got a variety of great zoning tools as well as a variety of disjointed spacing tools, being good at keeping enemies away and applying pressure, though suffers a little up close due to being on the slower side overall. He's sort of in a good spot where he's in the solid centre of the Kirby trifecta - slower than Meta Knight, a little weaker than Dedede, and a little less manouverable than Kirby, but above average in all of these areas.
  
  
• Balloon Fighter is last up as a veritable retro rep, originating from the Balloon Fight series. He may not be the first character that comes to mind for inclusion, but Balloon Fight is an undeniably important game, and has the interesting distinction of being one of Iwata's earliest projects overall. It's a game that's appeared in a metric ton of different collections and re-releases over the years, and honestly it just feels kind of fitting. I considered a variety of "retro picks" for this spot - Mach Rider came in close, and I reeeeally wanted Sukapon - but Balloon Fighter felt the most reasonable.
  
  In concept, Balloon Fighter's moveset is reasonably simple - mostly consisting of either balloon-based attacks or basic kicks and punches. However, he's also extremely floaty, excelling in the air. Coupled with his numerous projectiles and stage control methods, such as his lightning, he's a formidable opponent unless you bring him down somehow or other. Balloon Fighter also has alternate costumes based on the birds you fight, as well as on the protagonist of Balloon Kid, Alice.

Next up, our guests of honour, the Third-Party Newcomers.

• Bub is the main playable character from the Bubble Bobble and Bust-A-Move series, originally introduced in 1986 as an arcade title by Taito. I felt a Taito rep would be a lot of fun to include, giving us an opportunity to bring in a variety of Taito-adjescent media (similarly to how Terry brought in a lot of SNK media), and not only that - but they're pretty closely related to Nintendo as a whole. The original Bubble Bobble was ported to the NES with surprising success, which was even included in the NES Classic console alongside a variety of other third-party games - but both series have continued to maintain a degree of relevancy to this day, being overall long-lasting enough to warrant inclusion. The only potential problem that comes to mind here is that Taito is now owned by the infamously stingy Square-Enix - but I feel like there could hopefully be some wrangling to allow Taito content in the game.
  
  Bub himself would be a character on the lighter side, using his nature as a small but hefty dinosaur-like lizard to have a weirdly proto-grappler moveset coupled with a genuinely solid projectile. I picture him being like a combination of Luigi and Ridley, in some weird way. He's not as manouverable as some characters out there, but his solid tools and overall pretty well-balanced moveset makes him a solid introductory character to cut your teeth on.
  
  
• Arle is the main character from the Puyo Puyo series of games, originally owned by Compile but now by SEGA. It's most notable for its puzzle games, but also has seen RPGs and competitive puzzles, as well as crossovers with Tetris. It's considered to be SEGA's second-largest series in terms of sales, and it thus made a lot of sense to include Arle as a secondary SEGA rep to diversify the company's representation beyond just Sonic and Bayonetta.
  
  In terms of moveset, Arle has some passing similarities to Lana in the whole "mage" archetype. However, Arle's moveset is more closely focused on her combining both her magic and her Puyos for several different effects. She's more of a traditional magic-user, having traditional elements in addition to her use of Puyos as both an offensive and stage-controlling tool. However, Arle's also got Amitie as a series of costumes similar to Olimar's Alph, with slightly unique taunts, voicelines, and victory animations.
  

Lastly, our recycled rivals, the Echo Fighters.

• Shadow Mewtwo is an Echo Fighter of Mewtwo, notable for being altered mostly through minor value changes into more of a glass cannon (akin to Akuma), as well as having a generally more directly offensive moveset and playstyle. A lot of its moves have been altered too - Teleport has reduced range but increased speed, Confusion is replaced with Psycho Cut (also a reflector, but with a crippling property similar to Ridley's down special) and Disable is replaced with Psystrike, which deals significantly more damage whilst stunning the opponent but doesn't send them flying. Shadow Mewtwo's Final Smash is also changed, having it enter Mega Mewtwo X form instead of Y, and unleashing a flurry of both physical and energy-based attacks on opponents.
  
  As for why Shadow Mewtwo was selected, there were a few reasons that came to mind. Firstly, an opportunity to represent Pokémon spinoffs as a whole felt like one that would be worth taking - especially in the form of an Echo Fighter who wouldn't need too much work (compared to, say, Grovyle, who who would inevitably need to be developed pretty much from the ground up.) Pokkén Tournament specifically had existed since 2015, but was also having a high-profile re-release on the Nintendo Switch in late 2017, meaning it maintained relevency during this time unlike other high-profile spinoffs such as Snap or XD - and helpfully already had Bandai Namco developing it in the first place. Also, Shadow Mewtwo's design could be changed up slightly here to differentiate it from Mewtwo, a little like Dark Samus to Samus. I imagine it would take a few hints from Mega Mewtwo X's overall look whilst still obviously being Shadow Mewtwo.
  
  
• Leon Powalski is an antagonist from the Star Fox series of games and an Echo Fighter of Falco, first (in terms of appearance) appearing in Star Fox 64 or Lylat Wars, though his first actual appearance was in Star Fox 2. He's a member of the antagonistic team known as Star Wolf, led by the already-present Wolf O'Donnell and also consisting of other members such as Pigma Dengar, Andrew Oikonny, and Panther Caroso. However, Leon (and Panther) have appeared the most overall throughout the series. Whilst the Star Fox series isn't seen now as a particularly prominent one, it's important to consider that around 2018 was a pretty good time (comparatively.) Star Fox Zero was still a reasonably recent release, Star Fox 2 had finally appeared on the SNES Classic Mini, and negotiations would have been underway for the series' appearance in Starlink: Battle for Atlas.
  
  Whilst Leon's an Echo of Falco, he's actually got quite a lot of differences from the source - mostly only using a similar baseline and a couple of similar moves - but he also pulls from a variety of sources in terms of animation, not dissimilar to how Sonic was handled in Brawl's development. Whilst Falco's moveset rewards flamboyant showmanship, Leon is more of an assassin. Notably, most of his attacks come out quite quickly and have high damage, but equally high end-lag, a little like Wolf. It's also possible for Leon to use a plasmatic knife blade for certain attacks, mostly just jabs and tilts. His neutral special replaces the blaster with a full-on rifle, working well over a long distance and being able to be aimed slightly upward or downward - dealing solid damage, but having high lag all around. As for his Reflector, Leon is able to move slowly whilst it's active, though the Reflector has more end-lag than usual (albeit offset by lower start-lag.)
  
  
• Charlie is the first of several playable characters in Pikmin 3, being a protagonist who in this game would act as an Echo Fighter of Olimar. My thought process behind having Charlie as the Echo as opposed to, say, Louie, is for several reasons - primarily that Charlie could have some prominent stat-based differences which could differentiate him from Olimar whilst still having a similar moveset overall. It also helps that Pikmin 3 was still a reasonably recent release and there was also the recent release of Hey, Pikmin! to promote, too. Whilst Charlie's not necessarily one of the most requested characters as an Echo Fighter, he feels fitting nonetheless.
  
  Overall, Charlie's moveset can be extrapolated as "the Ganondorf to Olimar's Captain Falcon". He's slower, heavier, and much stronger than his counterpart - with moves that hit harder overall - but suffers a little in terms of manouverability as a result. It should also be noted that Charlie's Pikmin are all Rock Pikmin, which work similarly to the Purple Pikmin but deal more damage. They're slow, but heavy - meaning that Charlie's up special is pretty poor in comparison to Olimar's. Nonetheless, this is the sort of character you can absolutely trust to defeat a Vehemoth Phosbat on his own.
  
  
• Glass Joe is one of the several bosses fought in the Punch-Out!! series, appearing as early as the first arcade game back in 1983. An Echo of Little Mac, Joe's typically the first foe you go up against in each game - a deliberate pushover with a 1-99 loss count, but with the sheer determination never to give up under any circumstances. Whilst the Punch-Out!! series isn't exactly an active one by the time we get to Ultimate's early development (with the last major release being 2009's Wii game), the NES title has been a prominent inclusion in Virtual Consoles, the NES Classic Mini and later down the line in NSO, and Joe being a semi-joke character feels fitting but still fun overall. I momentarily considered a few other picks - Doc Louis felt better-suited as a unique fighter, and characters like Mr. Sandman or Piston Honda don't feel as inherently fun to me.
  
  A lot of Joe's animations and move properties have been significantly altered, indicating his weaker and less confident nature than Mac. He's slower, too. Overall, his moves are slightly slower with more lag overall - but the kicker is that some of Joe's moves have very, very specific sweet spots that do massively above-average damage if you manage to hit with them (referencing his infamous singular fluke win-by-K.O.) Imagine Luigi's taunt as a whole character. Yeah. Joe's also got a few alterations here and there - his down special, for example, replaces the counter with an evasive taunt of sorts where he'll leap out of the way and brag. Likewise, his side special has him collapse onto the floor after using it, but has ever so slightly more range than Mac's. Perhaps most uniquely, Joe doesn't have Mac's K.O. Punch meter, nor does he have Mac's sliding punch. Instead, he has a closer-range attack akin to his own knockout punch. Overall, Joe's a bit of a weird character to play as... but damn, he's fun.

There were, admittedly, quite a lot of characters that I kind of wanted to see but couldn't really justify. Funnily enough, I had a wholeass writeup for Opa-Opa in Arle's place and attempted to justify it by using SEGA's numerous re-releases and their arcade works as a whole, but it didn't feel right. Some of these are less likely than others. Nonetheless, here's my take on what I think a semi-realistic bunch could look like.

Also, time for a quick-fire round where I justify my cuts:

• Kamek came close to inclusion, but the opportunity to represent the NSMB series (as well as the presence of two mage-oriented characters) made him feel a bit pointless. Also, I think Nabbit's just a lot more "weird in a cool way".
• Toxtricity was cut due to possibly not existing yet. I felt a Pokémon would still be important to include, though, so I went with Shadow Mewtwo. Admittedly, I was reluctant at first - I came close to suggesting Grovyle as a unique pick - but Shadow Mewtwo felt like a fun inclusion overall.
• Ravio really hadn't had as much of a recent presence as Lana, and as much as I love the guy (especially his item-based moveset potential), the fact that his game released back in 2013 hurt his chances somewhat. Also, when two "purple rabbit-like creatures with masks and large sacks" are added at the same time, it inevitably raises questions.
• Jason & SOPHIA again had the issue of not really being relevant enough yet. Whilst Blaster Master Zero had released by the time Ultimate launched, I don't think it would yet have warranted inclusion - in DLC maybe, but not for the base roster. Also, the role of "third-party NES-adjescent pick" kind of works well with Bub, and I feel like "a Taito rep" is probably more interesting to most people than "a Sunsoft rep" in some ways. This hurt, but it felt right.
• Isaac is an Assist Trophy, hasn't had a game since 2010, and again kind of fills the mage archetype. Even aside from that, Qbby is more relevant as a rep for a "new series" to Smash. Sorry guys.
• Wiimote would be funny and really cool, but that's about it. Glass Joe is kind of a spiritual successor? Wiimote doesn't really have much going for it aside from the novelty of its inclusion. Like, "point and laugh, it's a playable Wiimote". I still like the idea, but it doesn't feel like a base roster pick.
• Shadow is another Assist Trophy and kind of got replaced with Arle for the sake of diversifying SEGA's representation. He'd be cool, but SEGA is more than just Sonic, and it felt necessary to represent that.
• M.Bison kind of feels... unnecessary. Given we already have Ken as a newcomer as is, Bison kind of just feels like a shoehorned villain - maybe a Mega Man villain could work on the Capcom side, but then seeing SEGA actually get something and Taito get included at all works well enough as is.
• Sub-Zero is admittedly a cool (get it?) pick, but I really don't think Mortal Kombat made sense as a base-roster pick. Maybe as a DLC pick it'd be more reasonable - he'd fit in quite well with Terry, Min Min and Kazuya - but he feels kind of out of place as a base-roster character.
• Neku could have been in the right place at the right time, but Square isn't exactly known for being easy to work with, and The World Ends With You really isn't mainstream enough to warrant much. Sure, there's Nintendo history what with the series being closely associated with the DS, but that was close to two decades ago. He'd be undeniably cool, but it's difficult to justify him compared to even other Square stuff - Bub works well here.
• Geno isn't happening. Sorry. Like, genuinely, I tried to justify it but it didn't feel quite right. Him over Nabbit would be "hype", sure, but then felt weirdly front-loaded. Him as a third-party rep didn't really do much either. He'd undeniably be a really cool character to play as, and it'd be nice to finally see him get into the game, but he didn't fit into the lineup very well in my opinion.

Right, that's about it. I'm gonna be real, I spent longer than I'd like to admit on this. Like, about 6 hours. Nonetheless, I think I've got my thoughts in order. Hope you like!

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

Right, this is probably a necropost, but I've found myself glancing through old posts of mine - and this thread's inspired me to give another shake at this concept, albeit approaching it from a slightly different (and somewhat more... realistic) mindset... though with a few oddballs here and there.

In this case, I'm splitting the eleven character candidates between six first-party newcomers, three echo fighters, and two third-party newcomers. Additionally, I'm presuming that the decision process for this would have ended shortly after Sora's release in late 2021, so only characters that could reasonably be presumed to have existed in some form could be included here. The actual rerelease would probably have released in 2023's holiday season, though.

1. Sidon feels like a pretty good starting point to work from here. While I originally suggested Lana, I think she runs into a similar problem with a lot of Zelda candidates - that is, she's sort of "one-and-done". Sidon's unique in this case where he's made multiple appearances in the... "Wild" sub-series? That is, he's made physical appearances in both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, as well as Age of Calamity, all in pretty substantial roles for a side character. Being that he's also a fan-favourite with plenty of moveset potential to differentiate him from the pack, he'd be a nice starter.
2. E.M.M.I is a bit of a dark horse pick, given it sort of plays second-fiddle to a lot of fans' wish to see Raven Beak - and as much as Raven Beak would be incredibly cool, I think it's also important to consider the prominence that E.M.M.I had in Dread's marketing and promotion. Admittedly, another Metroid rep was something I deliberated on including given the base roster's inclusion of both Ridley and Dark Samus, but I think E.M.M.I's unique visual styling and moveset potential - as well as Dread's massive signal-boost to the Metroid franchise - just about justifies this.
3. Magolor returns from my last suggestion for a number of reasons. Again, while he isn't as prominent in fan speculation as another candidate (a certain... bandana-wearing mook-turned-ally), I think Magolor's in a unique position to be very well-suited to inclusion. Even putting aside his surprisingly large number of appearances in both playable and non-playable roles (or, for that matter, the relatively recent release of the Return to Dream Land remake), Magolor's also got plenty of moveset potential that'd differentiate him from pretty much any other character on the roster, giving him a unique flavour.
4. Hisuian Decidueye is perhaps an odd Pokémon candidate, but one I think makes some sense for a few reasons. Firstly, the original Decidueye was genuinely considered for the base roster of Ultimate, and was a hot-button topic for some time amongst fan circles - not to mention appearing in a playable role in Pokken Tournament. That aside, Hisuian Decidueye was a prominently marketed new Pokémon in Legends: Arceus, a particularly well-recieved game in the series which seems to be starting off a Legends spin-off series of its own, if Z-A is anything to go by... and represents a unique element of the Pokémon games, that being regional evolutions. Couple all of that with a unique moveset that'd be unlike anything else, and this suddenly doesn't seem all too far-fetched, even if it's a little odd at first glance. (Also, while Legends: Arceus released in 2022, I reckon we could see a design process not dissimilar to Greninja's - albeit with more to work with, given Decidueye also already exists.)
5. Mio is another pretty obvious candidate, representing Xenoblade Chronicles 3. While I get that a pairing of Noah and Mio would probably be preferred, I imagine there'd be similar technical limitations to those that prevented Rex from appearing with Pyra and Mythra, so I'd say that Noah can appear at times for certain attacks (such as Ouroboros-related stuff.) That aside, Mio's a generally well-liked character with a unique fighting style, representing one of Nintendo's larger modern franchises, and I think she'd make for a solid candidate a lot of people would enjoy. (Similarly to Hisuian Decidueye, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 releases in 2022, but I think there'd be enough concept art to work with to make her moveset work well.)
6. Officer Howard is here to represent Astral Chain, which might seem... a little odd, but I think it makes sense. Ultimate already has a Platinum-related character in the form of Bayonetta, and Astral Chain's success has resulted in statements of plans for a trilogy - plus, they were another hotly-discussed candidate around the time of Astral Chain's release. And, again, not to sound like a broken record - but there's tons of moveset potential here with their various Legion mechanics and the like.
7. Louie is our first Echo Fighter (of Olimar), and I think he's a logical candidate. Obviously Pikmin 4 released recently, so that's worth consideration - but unlike the Rescue Corps member who'd probably work best if paired with Oatchi, Louie wouldn't need too many changes to feel like himself while still being unique - and he's also got the advantage of being a long-running character dating back to Pikmin 2. I'd recommend maybe changing his recovery move and maybe giving him slightly different Pikmin, but that aside, he wouldn't need much else.
8. Tom Nook is our second Echo Fighter (of either Villager or Isabelle), who I imagine would probably be more mechanically unique - bordering on Ken levels. He'd have a similar "accidental combatant" feel to the other Animal Crossing characters, but a lot of his attacks would predominantly rely more on having Timmy and Tommy build things while he occasionally causes a little chaos of his own with things like bags of bells. Probably the least realistic as an Echo Fighter specifically, but he feels like an obvious candidate - oh, and I imagine his default look would be from New Horizons.
9. Octoling is our last Echo Fighter (of Inkling) who I imagine could be handled in a number of ways, but is a pretty obvious candidate given the continued success of Splatoon as a series. There's a few things you could do with them moveset-wise, but I'd say giving them a few altered weapon and Ink properties and some alternate animations here and there would go a long way to make them feel unique. Plus, the Octolings have only grown more prominent with time, especially since the Octo Expansion.
10. Calico is our first third-party candidate, representing Capcom's Monster Hunter series. While this might seem like a slightly odd pick at first (given the obvious candidate would be, well, the Hunter), the Calico/Felyne race has been around since the dawn of the series, often supporting the main character in a lot of ways and acting as one of the series' icons, to the point where they've managed to attain a spinoff series of their own. A couple of other notes - Monster Hunter already has representation in Ultimate's base game in some ways and there were a couple of Monster Hunter spirit events, so it's pretty likely that Capcom would sign off on this, and on another note? Sakurai does have a known love of cats.
11. Rabbid Mario is our last candidate, representing Ubisoft's Mario + Rabbids series, and... okay, this might seem weird, but I think it makes sense. The Mario + Rabbids series has continually performed decently well as a more recent franchise, cementing Nintendo and Ubisoft's relationship - and the latter have been pushing the Rabbids for almost a decade and a half by now. Plus, Rabbid Mario would easily have a unique moveset using weapons like the Boomshot and the Dukes - not to mention potentially using Spark abilities or buffs for unique effects. Very much a dark horse pick, but one I think is an underdiscussed but plausible candidate.

Oh, and seems as I did this for the last one, I may as well go over some of the cut characters from the last roster!

• Nabbit - Nabbit's an unusual case, because while he does have a decent amount of recent appearances and a decent amount of moveset potential, I don't know if fan reaction to his inclusion over a few other candidates (such as Toad, Waluigi or Geno) would be all that good. He doesn't have Toad's longevity or Waluigi/Geno's ravenous support base, and the Mario franchise is already pretty well-represented with what it has.
• Qbby - While BoxBoy! probably could have been a solid candidate for representation if Ultimate's base roster was a little larger, I think by this point, the series (despite having a few games and a decent 3DS presence) isn't really prominent enough over others to warrant a space. He'd still be a really fun candidate, but it doesn't look like Nintendo's planning on revisiting BoxBoy! any time soon.
• Lana - I kind of got into this in Sidon's section, but Lana kind of suffers in a couple of ways. Even aside from the problem of being a side character in a now inactive series, her ownership was a little in question too (as for whether she's owned by Nintendo, Koei-Tecmo or both is up for debate), and if the latter, I feel like there'd be better candidates from Koei-Tecmo over her. Even so, I still think her moveset would be fantastic.
• Magolor - He was kept anyways. Whoops.
• Balloon Fighter - While a "retro" pick wouldn't be completely unprescedented, I think two things on this front - firstly, there's a lot of more fitting picks at this point with limited roster space to fit them in, and secondly, I feel like there's better "retro" picks to pull from, like Lip (Panel de Pon) or Sukapon (Joy Mech Fight), both of which have had a bit more of a presence through NSO releases. And even then... not much space for them.
• Arle - Something I'd say for Arle is that she'd be pretty much a lock-in if there was a third third-party space. As the protagonist of a long-running puzzle game series which just so happens to be arguably one of SEGA's flagships, she's an obvious candidate with plenty of moveset potential. To be honest, she only lost out to Calico and Rabbid Mario because the former already basically has their foot in the door with previous representation and the latter is one of the better-performing series with direct Nintendo involvement at the moment. If Ultimate Deluxe got DLC, though? Keep your eyes peeled for her.
• Bub - Sort of similar to Arle in some ways, but less because of the series, more because of the company. Taito feels like a really obvious third-party to look out for, and Bub's a pretty obvious character to represent that with a long-running series of their own... which hasn't really maintained much popularity as of recent, and doesn't have the same qualities as Calico or Rabbid Mario to ensure their entry. That said, I think Bub would be another obvious candidate to look out for in this game's DLC, perhaps acting in some ways as the "Terry" of this roster.
• Shadow Mewtwo - The first Echo Fighter, and... honestly, looking back, the most unlikely one. While I think there's a few cool things you could do with this and that it'd be pretty cool, Pokémon has much more prominent or relevant spinoffs to showcase over Pokken. Weirdly, I guess this means Hisuian Decidueye was sort of the replacement here, and while unorthodox, I don't think it's a bad thing.
• Leon - As much as Leon could be a cool candidate, the Star Fox series has basically been dead in the water since Zero (with the major exception of Star Fox 2 on the SNES Classic Mini and some rereleases), and frankly, Louie, Nook and Octoling feel like more prominent candidates from more prominent series. Leon could be a lot of fun, but I think he's ultimately a bit too late.
• Charlie - Basically replaced with Louie, which almost completely boils down to Louie being both more long-lasting and popular than Charlie while being able to fulfil the same role. Nothing against the guy, by the way - but he feels like he'd have been a more logical candidate in Ultimate's base roster than in a post-Pikmin 4 rerelease.
• Glass Joe - Ultimately, Punch-Out!! doesn't really have enough power to be capable of usurping Pikmin, Animal Crossing and Splatoon in getting this guy in - and for as much as I love him, I don't think a "joke character" would be particularly popular with limited roster space, especially in a roster that contains potentially controversial picks like Rabbid Mario.