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[DICKS AHOY]

• Zelda U
• Pokkén Tournament
• Retro's Wii U Project
• Next Level Games' Wii U project
• Paper Mario U (supposedly leaked)
• SMTxFE

That's a decent 2016 for the Wii U right there.

There's nothing to say Pokken will have a Wii U port (I mean, it probably will, but acting like it's a done deal seems presumptuous) and Next Level/Retro/Paper Mario sound like complete guesses. Nothing stopping those three games if you're going off rumors and 'leaks' getting their Wii U versions cancelled and brought over to the NX instead.

Or a simultaneous release instead, which is what everybody and their mother seems to think will happen with Zelda U at this rate ala Twilight Princess on the Wii.

Spoiler

I think I'd take an Uprising NX remaster before a Smash 4 one, even if the latter makes way more business sense. :X

 

[MrSaturn99]

While I definitely see the appeal/business sense in an NX port, I imagine Sakurai wants to move on eventually.

If the system comes out in 2016 (which I think it will too), it may be possible. 2017? Notta chance.

If they actually do it though, I wonder if they'd take the opportunity to polish up Onett to a graphically acceptable standard...?

 

[Neoxon]

There's nothing to say Pokken will have a Wii U port (I mean, it probably will, but acting like it's a down thing seems presumptuous) and Next Level/Retro/Paper Mario sound like complete guesses. Nothing stopping those three games if you're going off rumors and 'leaks' getting their Wii U versions cancelled and brought over to the NX instead.

Or a simultaneous release instead, which is what everybody and their mother seems to think will happen with Zelda U at this rate ala Twilight Princess on the Wii.

We've known about Retro & NLG's Wii U projects for a while (though no specifics on what those projects are), & Paper Mario U was leaked in a hand-out straight from Intelligent Systems. And given Namco's patterns with arcade fighters, Pokkén will come to the Wii U.

 

[JCX]

Smash 5 newcomers

Inkling
Pokemon from newest gen
Paper Mario
A hunter from Metroid Prime
Takumaru
FE avatar (could replace Robin)
Isaac
Tails
Impa
Isabelle
Medusa

 

[Neoxon]

Smash 5 newcomers

Inkling
Pokemon from newest gen
Paper Mario
A hunter from Metroid Prime
Takumaru
FE avatar (could replace Robin)
Isaac
Tails
Impa
Isabelle

I wouldn't count the Inklings out for Smash 4 DLC. Also, I don't see them replacing Robin with Corrin, but instead letting the two coexist.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

I don't think the newest FE game needs a rep necessarily. Unless the game sells extremely well or does something really important for the series, it would just seem like adding a new FE character for the sake of adding a new FE character

 

[Green Mamba]

We've known about Retro & NLG's Wii U projects for a while (though no specifics on what those projects are), & Paper Mario U was leaked in a hand-out straight from Intelligent Systems. And given Namco's patterns with arcade fighters, Pokkén will come to the Wii U.

Paper Mario U was not leaked in an Intelligent Systems handout. What it was was that someone went to a convention or something that some Intelligent Systems employees were at and, according to the person who went, an Intelligent Systems employee told them that a Paper Mario thing was in development, supposedly. The handout itself that that person posted was just used as proof that they were there, not that it had anything unannounced on it (which it didn't--it listed Paper Mario games, but all ones that had already released). There's no evidence that the person is telling the truth and even if he is it's entirely possible that M&L Paper Jam was the Paper Mario project they were talking about (which I'm sure AlphaDream is at least in communication with Intelligent Systems to use their Paper Mario assets and such).

And I have certainly never seen any proof that Retro is working on a Wii U game.

 

[Bulbasaur]

I feel like Ken should have been an alternate for Ryu as well.

Also imagine Inklings in Smash? Could they incorporate the swimming mechanic into a platform / fighting game? Love to seem them try.

 

[Hatchtag]

We've known about Retro & NLG's Wii U projects for a while (though no specifics on what those projects are), & Paper Mario U was leaked in a hand-out straight from Intelligent Systems. And given Namco's patterns with arcade fighters, Pokkén will come to the Wii U.

They've only hinted at a console port for Pokken. It's entirely plausible that they'd skip the Wii U and bring it to the NX.

I mean, shit, given the Wii U's lack of Pokemon games outside of one digital title, it wouldn't surprise me if they delayed it to be an NX launch title instead.

 

[Muzy72]

But as I've said numerous times, I doubt that the NX will be released until 2017. Though Smash 4's DLC will likely go into 2016, so you may end up being right anyway. And I have a good feeling that we'll get the Inklings sooner rather than later.

Satoru Iwata has made it abundantly clear in the investor meetings their next platform is launching in the fiscal year ending March 2017, and the Wii U lineup for 2016 is pitiful. NX is launching in Holiday 2016, bet on it.

I definitely think they should port Smash 4 to NX and just focus on adding content. So I think the future should play out like this:

-DLC set 3 (Pichu, Wolf, Dixie Kong; August 2015)
-DLC set 4 (Ballot winner: King K Rool; October 2015)

No more DLC after that, then in holiday 2016 for NX launch, Super Smash Bros. for NX. Add in Inkling, Chorus Kids, Chibi Robo, Captain Toad, Ice Climbers, plus 5-7 more characters. Maybe de-clone Dark Pit and Lucina. A few balance changes, maybe all the stages in Smash 3DS + Wii U + 64 with some new stages. A mode to replace Smash Tour/Run. Bam, the ultimate Smash game.

 

[Neoxon]

Satoru Iwata has made it abundantly clear in the investor meetings their next platform is launching in the fiscal year ending March 2017, and the Wii U lineup for 2016 is pitiful. NX is launching in Holiday 2016, bet on it.

I definitely think they should port Smash 4 to NX and just focus on adding content. So I think the future should play out like this:

-DLC set 3 (Pichu, Wolf, Dixie Kong; August 2015)
-DLC set 4 (Ballot winner: King K Rool; October 2015)

No more DLC after that, then in holiday 2016 for NX launch, Super Smash Bros. for NX. Add in Inkling, Chorus Kids, Chibi Robo, Captain Toad, Ice Climbers, plus 5-7 more characters. Maybe de-clone Dark Pit and Lucina. A few balance changes, maybe all the stages in Smash 3DS + Wii U + 64 with some new stages. A mode to replace Smash Tour/Run. Bam, the ultimate Smash game.

Just out of curiosity, you have a link? Not that I don't believe you, I just want to see the link & bookmark it for later.

As for the characters, I doubt we'll get any ballot characters until Early 2016. They still need to evaluate the results.

 

[L Thammy]

That's assuming that they're only going to read the results in October. These aren't paper ballots that have to be counted; it's going to be fairly trivial to tally the results. On top of that, most of the votes have probably been made within the first week. Just go to the first few pages of this thread. Lots of driveby posts saying "I voted for so-and-so". Then it dies off in favour of the discussion we have now.

The span between Mewtwo's announcement and release is about the same as the time between the opening of the poll and its future closing. It's plausible that the ballot results have already been read and the character(s) has started production. Perhaps it started after the recent set of DLC was finished.

 

[Muzy72]

Just out of curiosity, you have a link? Not that I don't believe you, I just want to see the link & bookmark it for later.

As for the characters, I doubt we'll get any ballot characters until Early 2016. They still need to evaluate the results.

IIRC in the January 2014 investor meeting he says something about "it'll take us approximately two years to redefine what a video game platform is," but I'm on mobile so I can't find the exact source. In the Q&A of that meeting though he says they plan on making their video game business robust in the fiscal year ending March 2017. You might want to ask mpl90 about it, he's generally the go-to source for these kinds of things.

For the ballot, I'm sure there's a clear winner by now, so at least 1 DLC character from the ballot can be released by the end of the year. Maybe the ballot ends in October because after they make the winner a DLC character, they have a full year to work on characters for SSB for NX?

 

[Pizza]

I think a ultra smash bros arcade edition would be neat as hell.

Even if it was all the dlc + like two new characters (maybe ice climbers and inkling, for example) and stage parity it'd be rad. It'd be even better if it had *every* character


If they want to go all in (I want them to so bad) add Smash Run, Arcade (old-style classic) Mode, and an Adventure mode back in. Along with all the other game's stages.


If Nintendo dropped a "complete" smash bros game with their next console it'd be insane. And then from there it's all new content. Costumes for characters, all-new characters, HD options for retro stages etc. once they got the framework totally done they could go wild.


A smash with all or even most or *even* just the 3DS stages would sell me on the new console. This smash is a few big additions away from being all but perfect.

 

[DICKS AHOY]

If the two remaining DLC spots just amount to what was decided on independently from the fan ballot, think I think Ryce was right on the money thinking it was Wolf and Dixie. After that maybe the ideas and feedback they get from the fan ballot will impact how much DLC happens from that point on-wards, hence why at the moment the DLC feels more pre-planned?

 

[mStudios]

Pichu is the actual Pikachu in Smash 4.

One rat is more than enough.

The only acceptable DLC is Majoras Skull Kid. Any other dlc is irrelevant until Skull Kid makes it to the roster.

edit: I know he's an AT. I'm just playing around

 

[Neoxon]

IIRC in the January 2014 investor meeting he says something about "it'll take us approximately two years to redefine what a video game platform is," but I'm on mobile so I can't find the exact source. In the Q&A of that meeting though he says they plan on making their video game business robust in the fiscal year ending March 2017. You might want to ask mpl90 about it, he's generally the go-to source for these kinds of things.

For the ballot, I'm sure there's a clear winner by now, so at least 1 DLC character from the ballot can be released by the end of the year. Maybe the ballot ends in October because after they make the winner a DLC character, they have a full year to work on characters for SSB for NX?

I'll keep what you said in mind, but until I find the link on my own, I'll have some reservations on that date.

That being said, I also have my doubts that they'll do anything with the ballot until the results are finalized. A lot can happen in 3 months. And I don't think it's only gonna be 1 character from the ballot.

Pichu is the actual Pikachu in Smash 4.

One rat is more than enough.

The only acceptable DLC is Majoras Skull Kid. Any other dlc is irrelevant until Skull Kid makes it to the roster.

He's already an Assist Trophy.

 

[DICKS AHOY]

Also if Tanabe's recent interview about Corruption is anything to go off and there's a Prime 4 before a Smash 5, Metroid might finally have a proper potential newcomer who doesn't have the same design issues Ridley does, assuming Dark Samus' chance is up.

Spoiler

I'm talking about Sylux.

 

[Pizza]

While we're on the topic of Majora, I'd love to see *Majora* in smash, not skull kid.

I mean look at him! Even from a gameplay standpoint he'd be the only dual-whip user. Also he's the only proper option for a new Zelda rep imo.

Spoiler

sure he'll never happen but he's still my boy in my heart

 

[Green Mamba]

Also if Tanabe's recent interview about Corruption is anything to go off and there's a Prime 4 before a Smash 5, Metroid might finally have a proper potential newcomer who doesn't have the same design issues Ridley does, assuming Dark Samus' chance is up.

Spoiler

I'm talking about Sylux.

Lol, Sakurai, picking a character from a Metroid Prime game? What is this, opposite world?

 

[DICKS AHOY]

Lol, Sakurai, picking a character from a Metroid Prime game? What is this, opposite world?

I said 'potential' for a reason.

To be honest I sort of get the impression he just isn't great with Metroid in general. Most of the stages are either weird over-generalizations of Zebes or taken from near the beginning of their respective games and the music selection is normally even worse than DK's. Got a nice mix of AT's in Smash 4 though.

 

[RK128]

Considering how the NX seems very close to release (late 2016, if Nintendo's E3 Digital Event and the rumors of Wii U games being moved to NX are correct), I feel like the following will happen.
-Super Smash Bros. for NX will be announced early 2016 as one of the first games on the platform (alongside Zelda U being confermed to launch with the console as well).
-Roster is the same as the Wii U and 3DS ones but with the DLC Characters (Ryu, Mewtwo, Roy, Lucas, and hopefully Wolf if he gets announced), a returning character (Ice Climbers) and five newcomers (Chibi Robo, Inkling, Crous Kids, Dixie Kong, Metroid Prime Hunter (any of them I guess)).
-All stages across both versions + the DLC stages included
-All modes from both versions (Smash Run and Smash Tour) included as well
-Cross-Save supported
-Amiibo's have stronger support (can bring them along with single player modes though they level up slower than in the MP modes, can also being them along with Smash Run, ect)

 

[Neoxon]

Considering how the NX seems very close to release (late 2016, if Nintendo's E3 Digital Event and the rumors of Wii U games being moved to NX are correct), I feel like the following will happen.
-Super Smash Bros. for NX will be announced early 2016 as one of the first games on the platform (alongside Zelda U being confermed to launch with the console as well).
-Roster is the same as the Wii U and 3DS ones but with the DLC Characters (Ryu, Mewtwo, Roy, Lucas, and hopefully Wolf if he gets announced), a returning character (Ice Climbers) and five newcomers (Chibi Robo, Inkling, Crous Kids, Dixie Kong, Metroid Prime Hunter (any of them I guess)).
-All stages across both versions + the DLC stages included
-All modes from both versions (Smash Run and Smash Tour) included as well
-Cross-Save supported
-Amiibo's have stronger support (can bring them along with single player modes though they level up slower than in the MP modes, can also being them along with Smash Run, ect)

I still have my doubts for a 2016 NX. Plus, as I've said earlier, I think the DLC for Smash 4 will run into 2016 with the Ballot Characters.

 

[Green Mamba]

I said 'potential' for a reason.

To be honest I sort of get the impression he just isn't great with Metroid in general. Most of the stages are either weird over-generalizations of Zebes or taken from near the beginning of their respective games and the music selection is normally even worse than DK's. Got a nice mix of AT's in Smash 4 though.

Yeah, for real. There are two non-Ridley songs taken from Other M for god only knows what reason, but there are zero (zero) songs taken from Prime 3, a game much more well known for having an actual soundtrack. Not even in my wildest imaginings did I think Metroid Prime could get hosed that badly in that particular area.

 

[RK128]

I still have my doubts for a 2016 NX. Plus, as I've said earlier, I think the DLC for Smash 4 will run into 2016 with the Ballot Characters.

I do wonder about the Ballot Characters.....did they say only one character or will it be for a 'series' of characters....

I guess we will learn more about Smash DLC around September (as that is around the time when Star Fox Zero is coming out I think). What better way to hype up the release of a new game then to say "Hey! You know that Wolf character you see in Star Fox? Well, he is BACK in Smash !" Would be a great push for the game I think .

I do hope Shantae, Shovel Knight and/or Rayman make the cut in the future; all three have great potental for movesets and would be a blast to play as.

 

[RK128]

Yeah, for real. There are two non-Ridley songs taken from Other M for god only knows what reason, but there are zero (zero) songs taken from Prime 3, a game much more well known for having an actual soundtrack.

Well, Smash was a way of saying 'We are cool with Other M; a great way to represent Metroid !", so I imagine the stage/music selection was a bit thin in that regard :l.

I find it interesting that the 3DS version didn't get the Prime stage from Brawl back, as now that we know Federation Force is coming to the 3DS next year, I would think that Nintendo would say "Well we have a Prime tittle coming to 3DS, lets throw a stage based on the first one on the system".

 

[oreomunsta]

While we're on the topic of Majora, I'd love to see *Majora* in smash, not skull kid.

That Majora looks like he's straight out of Mortal Kombat or Soul Calibur 0_o

Smash 5 newcomers

Inkling
Pokemon from newest gen
Paper Mario
A hunter from Metroid Prime
Takumaru
FE avatar (could replace Robin)
Isaac
Tails
Impa
Isabelle
Medusa

I'm seeing a lot of these in other people's lists, but they just feel so... safe. With Sakurai firmly blowing the lid off 3rd parties, some characters like Bomberman and Snake (it's still possible in the future) would bring much-needed star power if lots of the remaining choices are secondary characters

 

[Masked Man]

Regarding the Ice Climbers, I wonder if they could be reworked to fight as a single unit standing back-to-back. All of their attacks would hit on both sides, and the two would no longer be separable.

 

[Azure J]

I agree with your point completely. Nintendo can't afford to wait another 2-3 years for Smash. Porting over Smash 4 at launch with all of the DLC included + new characters and a story mode would be a wise decision. My list:

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U DLC:

Wolf
King K. Rool
Dixie Kong

Super Smash Bros. for NX:

Inkling
Captain Toad
Takamaru
Tingle
Waluigi
Ridley
Azura
Krystal
Chorus Kids
King Hippo
Ice Climbers
Chibi Robo
Snake
Rayman
Some random Pokémon

14 new characters in total, which is in-line with the amount of newcomers in SSB4.

This is cool. I want to take a shot at it:

Smash 4 DLC

Wolf
Ice Climbers (as a total "we fixed them" surprise)
King K. Rool

Smash 5

Inklings
Gen 7 Pokemon
Impa
Dixie Kong
Ridley [I'm still very half and half on this; fan support is a hell of a thing]
Chorus Kids/Reporter/Rhythm Girl (Rhythm Heaven)
Azura (Fire Emblem Fates)
Takamaru (The Mysterious Murasame Castle)
Wonder Red (The Wonderful 101)
Chibi-Robo
Isaac (Golden Sun)
Chrono (Square)
DQ Hero/Slime (Enix)

Edit: Wildcard: Shantae
Edit 2: I forgot about a lot of people that were really popular.

 

[Drago]

I just want Chibi Robo, man. He's the last character I desperately want in Smash (that isn't a lock for the next game like Inklings). Anything else would be gravy, just give me my little helper robot.

 

[Zalman]

We're doing Smash 5 lists now?
Alright.

From old franchises:
Impa - Zelda
Waluigi/Daisy - Mario
King K. Rool/Diddy - DK
Isabelle - Animal Crossing
Elma - Xenoblade
Someone from the latest Fire Emblem at the time of release
Someone from the latest Pokémon at the time of release

From unrepresented franchises:
Ice Climbers (duh)
Takamaru - Mysterous Murasame Castle
Saki - Sin & Punishment
Andy - Advance Wars
Isaac - Golden Sun
Chibi-Robo
Inkling - Splatoon
Someone from Rhythm Heaven

Third-party characters:
Bomberman
Simon
Snake
Basically, Konami.

 

[Neoxon]

I feel like everyone's counting the Inklings out for Smash 4 DLC.

 

[Gyossaits]

When are they adding Shantae?

 

[Mizerman]

I feel like everyone's counting the Inklings out for Smash 4 DLC.

Yeah, I don't think they'll make it as DLC for Smash 4.

Now Smash 5? You bet your sweet ass.

 

[Neoxon]

When are they adding Shantae?

Considering the fact that she's nowhere near as iconic as the third parties in the game already, probably never without the ballot. And even then, I wouldn't count on it.

Yeah, I don't think they'll make it as DLC for Smash 4.

Now Smash 5? You bet your sweet ass.

The thing is, after Wolf, they don't have a lot of options outside of the ballot. And it's not like Sakurai thinks "Hey, let's save this character for Smash 5".

 

[Zalman]

The thing is, after Wolf, they don't have a lot of options outside of the ballot. And it's not like Sakurai thinks "Hey, let's save this character for Smash 5".

He has to think this way. They need recent characters to headline the next game, and Inkling is the perfect choice for that.

 

[Neoxon]

He has to think this way. They need recent characters to headline the next game, and Inkling is the perfect choice for that.

But again, they don't have very many options left outside of the ballot for DLC. We still have 1 more placeholder slot before the ballot assuming Wolf gets the first one.

 

[Regulus Tera]

We don't even know how many years it will be before Smash 5. The time to cash in on Splatoon's popularity is now.

 

[Neoxon]

We don't even know how many years it will be before Smash 5. The time to cash in on Splatoon's popularity is now.

While granted, we're almost guaranteed a sequel at this point (& maybe for the launch of the NX if the system drops Holiday 2017), Nintendo would likely want to strike while the iron's hot.

 

[Azure J]

I feel like everyone's counting the Inklings out for Smash 4 DLC.

I'm in the camp that feels like they could make it with no trouble especially given the splash they've made, but I could just as easily see them being the headliner newcomer from the Nintendo stable in whatever comes after Smash for.

 

[Neoxon]

I'm in the camp that feels like they could make it with no trouble especially given the splash they've made, but I could just as easily see them being the headliner newcomer from the Nintendo stable in whatever comes after Smash for.

Not sure if pun.

That being said, the ballot doesn't end until October & there aren't a lot of realistic options for characters before then besides Wolf. So someone like the Inklings who have been gaining relevancy within the world of Nintendo rather quickly would make sense.

 

[Crayolan]

I feel like Ken should have been an alternate for Ryu as well.

Also imagine Inklings in Smash? Could they incorporate the swimming mechanic into a platform / fighting game? Love to seem them try.

They'd have to have the swimming mechanic, no question. That's their main thing.

I think all their attacks would leave ink on the ground (except when used off stage) and then you'd be able to use certain specials only when in your ink, or their moves would be more effective when used while in ink. Though ink would probably disappear after a short while or enemies would be able to use attacks to get rid of it.

For their actual moves, they have sooooo much potential, but here's a few ideas off the top of my head:

B-Turn into squid form, can't attack, will move much faster and jump farther when in your ink. Also it might realistically be OP, but I think it'd be awesome if you could shoot ink onto the sides of a stage and then just jump into that and swim back onstage to recover.
B side-Splat Bomb (or really any kind of bomb)
B down-Ink Mine, invisible in your ink
B up-Super Jump
Fsmash-Splat Charger, Distance it goes depends on how long you charge, uncharged is 1/4 FD but fully charged covers the entire stage. Does less damage/kb the farther away you are from the target
Usmash-Splattershot, Just a powerful blast from the splattershot straight upwards
Dsmash-Splat Roller, slams the roller down facing forward so it hits both sides. Alternatively I guess it could hit only the front but also spread ink pretty far forward.

Too lazy to think of tilts and aerials but I think most of them will just be shots from the splattershot in various directions. And I guess another obvious one is one of their taunts will definitely be "Booyah!"

Regarding the Ice Climbers, I wonder if they could be reworked to fight as a single unit standing back-to-back. All of their attacks would hit on both sides, and the two would no longer be separable.

The appeal of the IC's is their unique playstyle in controlling 2 characters at once. Take that away and what's the point?

I won't speak for anyone else, but personally I'd rather they be left out of the roster than added back in without their usual play style (for the Wii U version, anyway. Don't care what they do in the 3DS version).

 

[Cell_Biology]

Were we told how many characters they would choose from the ballots? I wonder how they are going to choose. Is it just the character with the most votes win? I voted for Geno, but I doubt Nintendo would ever choose him...

 

[Neoxon]

Let me try my hand at an Inkling moveset...

• A Jab: Splattershot*
• Side Tilt: Move forward while using the Splattershot*
• Up Tilt: Swipe gun upward (see Shulk)
• Down Tilt: Sweep Kick
• Side Smash: Splat Charger*
• Up Smash: Ink Brush (swipes above her/him)*
• Down Smash: Ink Roller*
• Standard B: Splat Bomb*
• Side B: Inkling Squid (Swim across ink placed by your other moves)
• Up B: Super Jump (is invincible & can kill if you're in your ink, but can be performed in the air without any ink near you)
• Down B: Ink Mine*
• Final Smash: Kraken*

* = Leaves ink on the stage. If you die, all the ink you've placed disappears.

Were we told how many characters they would choose from the ballots? I wonder how they are going to choose. Is it just the character with the most votes win? I voted for Geno, but I doubt Nintendo would ever choose him...

The ballot is looking to be more of a "suggest characters that we could use" than a "whoever gets the most votes becomes DLC". While I think the number of votes will help in the deciding process, I doubt it'll be the end-all-be-all for certain characters.

 

[ShadowFox08]

**** man. Really irritating that people are already talking about the next smash bros game and the NX like the Wii U is done for already

For pete sakes, this game isn't even a year old, and the Wii U is just getting a steady stream of quality games.

ENJOY THE MOMENT DAMMMIT. No way in hell is Sakurai gonna develop another smash bros game anytime soon anyway.

 

[SaikyoBro]

I really don't think the Inklings are gonna make it this time. The Mii costume is literally identical to their design other than the Mii face. Yeah, there's a Link costume too, but it's clearly much simpler and the Mii's proportions are different from Link's. It's not any kind of reference to the Inklings, it's designed to simulate playing as one of them. They're a lock for the next game, but the only way they'd get in this one is if they patched out the costumes and refunded everyone who bought them. I'll let you determine the likelihood of that.

And regarding all the Snake discussion, it's difficult to say. I think Ryu's confirmation made me more optimistic about his chances for a couple reasons; now we know that not all of the third party characters have to be cutesy mascots, both SFV and MGSV are skipping Wii U, there are actually quite a few parallels between Ryu's inclusion and Snake's potential return. That being said, I think there's a pretty good chance Kojima and Konami's fallout was the absolute final nail in the coffin. I have trouble seeing Nintendo, Konami, Sakurai and Kojima all deciding to come together and work it out. Unless Sakurai decides he's determined to get every single Smash veteran into this game as DLC I don't think it's good to get your hopes up for Snake. All we can really do is use the ballot to let him know that, yeah, we noticed you got rid of him and we want him back.

I would really like for Sakurai to at least acknowledge Snake in one of his Famitsu columns or something, because I really have trouble understanding where the deal fell apart and for a while not knowing was killing me. He addressed the absence of the Ice Climbers, it's a safe bet Squirtle and Ivysaur were dropped when they decided to get rid of transformations, and we can assume Lucas and probably Wolf were left out of the base game due to being low priority characters under time constraints, but we really don't have any idea what happened with Snake. Sakurai always speaks highly of Snake and Sonic's inclusion in Brawl, Kojima's made comments in interviews about wanting Snake to come back, Konami's made a couple retweets about Snake's return/voting for him in the ballot, and from everything I've read Nintendo leaves the roster selection just about 100% up to Sakurai. I don't understand what party involved wouldn't want Snake to come back and I would really love some kind of answer in the future.

This is all just a theory but I think maybe they were intent on getting an E10+ rating on this game from the beginning and made a lot of design choices to ensure that they got it, including the brighter colors and more cartoony design of some of the items. Maybe they didn't see Snake fitting the kid-friendly game they were going for? I'm not making the argument that Snake and his Brawl moveset/design would singlehandedly bump up the game's rating, but judging by the removal of the Tharja trophy on the 3DS version it certainly seems like they didn't want to take any risks.

In other words, I think it might have been a creative decision to make sure Smash 4 ended up getting a lower rating.

 

[Azure J]

I feel like Ken should have been an alternate for Ryu as well.

Also imagine Inklings in Smash? Could they incorporate the swimming mechanic into a platform / fighting game? Love to seem them try.

I had a small breakdown thinking about their potential in Smash when the game launched and I got to feel things out. The gist of their specials went something like:

Neutral: Weapon Fire (customs would make this either a Splattershot/Charger/Roller) where the Inkling can hold the button and "strafe" while firing in the direction they're facing. Chargers would take a sniper's position and fire without the ability to move but full 90 degree aiming) and rollers would just roll forward as long as the special button is held down.

Forward: Sub Weapon (customs would be the Burst Bomb, Splat Bomb and Suction Bomb) would throw the weapon forward. Angling the stick after triggering the special would have them pitch or roll the weapon forward (if possible) and you can change the arc of the toss as well.

Down: Squid (customs would be Ninja Squid and two others I hadn't thought of previously) basically, as you ink the stage, you get to cruise at a faster clip through the ink on stage. You can also use squid to kid to avoid oncoming attacks that don't target your "puddle" on the ground. Ninja squid would basically be a teleport that puts you on the furthest end of the ink patch you've laid down. In the event that the distance is minimal, this would just be a glorified dodge animation with slightly longer duration.

Up: Super Jump (customs would be the regular Super Jump, fast Super Jump and Ninja Jump) which would be a standard "jump really high" recovery with a bit of cool down on landing. fast Super Jump would trade verticality for fast horizontal travel and Ninja Jump would have you temporarily hide in Ink [if you land in it] on the stage intangible before playing out your "squid to kid" animation on cooldown.

Final Smash: Inkstrike or Kraken. Or maybe it'd be dependent on your custom neutral special layout.

I'm also really hoping the Inkbrush makes up a good amount of their normals. :lol

 

[Neoxon]

I really don't think the Inklings are gonna make it this time. The Mii costume is literally identical to their design other than the Mii face. Yeah, there's a Link costume too, but it's clearly much simpler and the Mii's proportions are different from Link's. It's not any kind of reference to the Inklings, it's designed to simulate playing as one of them. They're a lock for the next game, but the only way they'd get in this one is if they patched out the costumes and refunded everyone who bought them. I'll let you determine the likelihood of that.

And regarding all the Snake discussion, it's difficult to say. I think Ryu's confirmation made me more optimistic about his chances for a couple reasons; now we know that not all of the third party characters have to be cutesy mascots, both SFV and MGSV are skipping Wii U, there are actually quite a few parallels between Ryu's inclusion and Snake's potential return. That being said, I think there's a pretty good chance Kojima and Konami's fallout was the absolute final nail in the coffin. I have trouble seeing Nintendo, Konami, Sakurai and Kojima all deciding to come together and work it out. Unless Sakurai decides he's determined to get every single Smash veteran into this game as DLC I don't think it's good to get your hopes up for Snake. All we can really do is use the ballot to let him know that, yeah, we noticed you got rid of him and we want him back.

I would really like for Sakurai to at least acknowledge Snake in one of his Famitsu columns or something, because I really have trouble understanding where the deal fell apart and for a while not knowing was killing me. He addressed the absence of the Ice Climbers, it's a safe bet Squirtle and Ivysaur were dropped when they decided to get rid of transformations, and we can assume Lucas and probably Wolf were left out of the base game due to being low priority characters under time constraints, but we really don't have any idea what happened with Snake. Sakurai always speaks highly of Snake and Sonic's inclusion in Brawl, Kojima's made comments in interviews about wanting Snake to come back, Konami's made a couple retweets about Snake's return/voting for him in the ballot, and from everything I've read Nintendo leaves the roster selection just about 100% up to Sakurai. I don't understand what party involved wouldn't want Snake to come back and I would really love some kind of answer in the future.

This is all just a theory but I think maybe they were intent on getting an E10+ rating on this game from the beginning and made a lot of design choices to ensure that they got it, including the brighter colors and more cartoony design of some of the items. Maybe they didn't see Snake fitting the kid-friendly game they were going for? I'm not making the argument that Snake and his Brawl moveset/design would singlehandedly bump up the game's rating, but judging by the removal of the Tharja trophy on the 3DS version it certainly seems like they didn't want to take any risks.

In other words, I think it might have been a creative decision to make sure Smash 4 ended up getting a lower rating.

But the point is that you can have a Mii costume & be playable as well. If anything, there are other reasons for certain Mii costume characters not being playable (Dunban is already in Shulk's Final Smash, Harada isn't too keen on Tekken characters being in Smash, etc.). The Inklings have nothing of the sort holding them back, & the success of their game is only helping their chances. If anything, they'd want to strike while the iron's hot. It's not like they'd play the same if the Inklings get in. And like I said before, who else is there to add besides Wolf before the ballot results come in?

As for third party selection, notice how all 3 third party companies with characters in Smash are close with Nintendo in some way (Sega had that Sonic deal with Nintendo, Namco made Smash for Nintendo, & Nintendo has worked with Capcom on localizing the recent mainline Monster Hunter games). They have no such partnership with Konami or any other third party besides Atlus, but they technically count as Sega as well.

 

[jph139]

With Inklings, I think the ability to leave ink on the battlefield is pretty integral - like, I can't imagine Sakurai NOT implementing that in some way, shape, or form. I'm not sure that can be done with Smash 4 as DLC - it seems like it'd be a really, REALLY complicated system to try and patch in long after the fact.

That's one of the reasons I'm skeptical they'll be included in Smash 4.

 

[oreomunsta]

**** man. Really irritating that people are already talking about the next smash bros game and the NX like the Wii U is done for already

For pete sakes, this game isn't even a year old, and the Wii U is just getting a steady stream of quality games.

ENJOY THE MOMENT DAMMMIT. No way in hell is Sakurai gonna develop another smash bros game anytime soon anyway.

I was under the impression that GAF is a forum... Where discussion happens.

I think every SmashGAF member finds something to enjoy about the latest Smash. This Smash is different, though, in that it brings DLC to the franchise and also falls (relatively) shortly before the reveal of new hardware. Of course people are going to be wondering about where the series is headed, and how to reconcile the generational tear that the game faces.

If you want to see discussion that is solely based on the current Smash, then maybe the Smash thread in the Gaming Community board will be less aggravating for you.